Easter in Ghana

Hohoe Easter
Originally uploaded by Lasse80

I work with a woman named Agnes, whom I love. She is from Ghana. In her village, this week is an important one. On Friday night, everybody dresses in black and usually there is a storm. There is singing and a commemoration of the events of the crucifixion. This starts at Midnight. On Sunday, the people awaken at 3 am when the moonlight bathes the village. Everybody is dressed in white and they all are singing hymns. 

Here in America, we get dressed in our black "clubblin'" clothes on Friday and it rains one of the 10 days of the year it does that here. It storms until Sunday morning. About 3. And then it stops. My brother and I wake up at 5:45, throw on our white sweatshirts, and drive to Tempe Town Lake. Where I look for my Reflections of Christ CD and put on "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." The sunrises at 6:01, and I impatiently think I'm waiting only for the sky to light up. When it does, I'm ready to leave, and Brad says, "I just want to stay until I see a sliver of the sun." I'm reminded that sometimes the Lord doesn't operate on our time table and sometimes we need to have patience with Him. I turn the car around, and within 10 minutes, I have watched a full sunrise for the first time. Amidst planes, power lines, and freeways, flanked by a man-made lake, I imagine Ghana and the Resurrection, and I celebrate Easter. Even as my retinas recover.

And then sleep, for 1 more hour, until I wake up, and worship in a different way.