Market day

The update on Dr. Kadio is that they do not have to leave their home at this time.  He says that things have improved sufficiently to remain in Abidjan.  Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray as the Lord directs you.

At our house, we now have electricity, running water (sort of), and groceries.  The valve is broken on the polytank, so that is getting replaced, but the city water is back on, and I can again enjoy 2 showers a day!  Yipee!

Groceries?  You guessed it – we made our first solo trip to Market Circle.  Should you be interested, you can actually satellite google Takoradi, Ghana and find Market Circle.  I’m not sure that I’ve described this place yet, and I’m not sure I could even begin to describe it justly, but it’s truly a ‘happening’ to go there.

Market Circle is a big circle, and seven major roads lead there.  As those roads near the circle you begin to see more and more stores and the traffic is thick.  On the perimeter of the circle there are stores and vendors that sell all things imaginable.  On the outer ring of the circle there are more stores and vendors, and when you venture into the circle – wow!  It’s just a maze of vendors selling vegetables, beans, animals, meat – just an incredible selection of items, some very good and some in the process of rotting.  

There are babies crawling around on the ground, and the walk way is broken cement interspersed with sewer drains.  I don’t mean the grates that cover a sewer.  I mean open trenches with sewage running through, or more often than not, standing in the trench.  There are huge sacks of rice and potatoes and onions, and on top there are ladies sleeping.  They sleep on the vegetables or on wooden slat benches.  People walk through these narrow corridors that form the maze with anything and everything on their heads.  Plates of fish, stacks of pillows, basins of purses, basins of water sacs, boxes of who knows what, buckets of squid (or octopus – I don’t know the difference, except I think squid are smaller), etc.  The corridors are only about shoulder and a half width and the traffic is two-way.  You just have to keep ducking to keep from getting hit in the head with someone’s load, and keep an eye on the ground so as to not fall into or over something.  Amazingly, I’ve never seen anyone lose the load from their head.  

The other amazing thing is that everyone seems glad to see you – whether you buy from them or not.  Often I here, “Welcome, welcome.”  You can dicker over the prices, but it helps to know what is a good price with which to begin.  Otherwise, they seem insulted if your offer is way too low.  And when you pay, it should be with the right hand, not the left.  If they don’t have change they tell you to go down to another vendor and get change.  Then you come back and pay the bill.   

I’ve been told thievery is not at all tolerated, and that if someone hollers ‘thief’ about a hundred men, women and children will tackle the offender.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t thievery here – in fact, it’s the most frequently committed crime.  It’s just done in secret. 

When we went to the market on Monday I took about 8 or 9 John and Romans with me (what I could fit in my purse), and wished I had brought more.  Everyone willing took one, and I was able to point out the plan of salvation in the back.  As I said, Ghana English and American English is very different, but I could at least tell them, “This is God’s way to Heaven, not man’s way.”  I’m learning some words, and learning to speak with a different rhythm where they seem to understand better.  When I say ‘medasi’ (of course, I have no idea if this is the right spelling), which means ‘thank you’, they seem to absolutely love it and start chattering away in Fante.  They are a very welcoming people, and I'll be sure to take more J+R next time we go.