A Dilemma?

After weeks of waiting; it has been 11 weeks since my household belongings (officially known as HHE) were driven away in a 40 foot container from Bar Harbor, 10 weeks since I arrived in Accra and 5 weeks since I moved into my house, I finally received my container of HHE yesterday afternoon.

Even up until one hour before they arrived, I wasn’t sure if they would be delivered on Friday afternoon or the following Monday morning.  Thankfully it was at about 3.20 pm on Friday afternoon that the Maersk shipping container arrived outside my house – well nearly J.  The crew had arrived about 10 minutes earlier and were patiently awaiting the arrival when a large truck and ‘my container’ went flying past my house heading who knows where.  Solomon, my ‘star’ here in Accra, quickly jumped into the car and drove off in hot pursuit after the truck.  Thankfully, about 10 minutes later they both showed up at the house again.

The first thing to come off the container, which still had it customs’ seal intact was my car.  Unfortunately, we had to wait for about another 20 minutes until the truck carrying the ramp showed up and they were finally able to reverse my car out of the container – it was definitely a little hair-razing but also exciting to see my car!

That done, they had to drive the truck back up to the crossroads up the street, where the railroad crossing is and proceeded to do a U turn in the middle of the crossroads J.   For some reason they had to reverse into the driveway from the opposite direction?????  My driveway has a slope to it and it was only just possible to get it into the drive, and that was including gouging out a few lines about 1” deep in my concrete driveway!

Thankfully, although there were about 8 of them unloading the truck, which meant things were coming out of it fast and furious, they were kind enough to wait and the entry door and let me tell them which room I wanted it in.  Believe me not everything ended up in the right place (from my incorrect direction), but the majority seems to have done so!  Within about 90 minutes they were done – everything was inside the house somewhere.  I knew that they had until about 5.30 pm before they left for the weekend so I asked them to unwrap some of the larger items, I knew couldn’t be damaged by some hasty unwrapping and then they were gone!   It really was that quick – but of course, virtually none of the unpacking was done, however based on seeing how the unwrapped my air shipment I had asked it they would allow me to unpack myself and then report any damage – which thankfully they agreed to.  So far there is only one broken vase L - if that is all there is at the end it will be good J.

Of course, being me, I started in on the unpacking immediately, although was sensible enough to call it a night by about 7.30 pm so I could get something to eat before my last night sleeping on the blow-up mattress.  I was so tempted to try to put my bed together, but since I have the ‘sleep number’ which I knew would take some time, decided that I could handle one more night with the holy sheets!

This morning, at about 4.45 am the dog I am watching for my colleague that moved here at the same time started to bark, so of course with that I was up and knowing how much I had to do, there was no going back to sleep.  I showered and started slowing beginning to assess what needed to be accomplished today, knowing that I had Solomon and Daniel (another work colleague) coming to help in the morning with the heavy/awkward things.  I decided that the beds and furniture where the most important; the boxes would come later and then ‘arranging’ the living room – at least a first attempt at it.

The two of them arrived at 8.00 am, by which time I had started to make good progress and had at least moved all the packing materials from inside the house to the ‘boys quarters’ out back so that there was more room to move about.  They worked really well together (as I think they often help out others together) and within about 3 hours, the spare bedrooms were set up with the furniture in about the right places and my living room and dining room were in pretty good shape (at least the furniture) and the boxes and packing materials were all put into the ‘boys quarters’ out next to the garage, so at least it won’t get wet now that it seems to have started raining a little more often.

My next chore was to head to the shops to buy some groceries to last me a few more days before I will be able to drive my car.  That of course, will be another adventure; first it has to be cleared by customs (just a stamp!), then inspected, then it can be licensed and then insured.  At the same time I have to either have an international license (neither my British or American licenses are accepted here) or a Ghanaian driving license – once all that is done I can actually drive it on the roads – of course I to get someone else to drive it to get the registration, etc. done first J.   Praise the Lord for Solomon who I am hoping will be able to help me at the beginning of the week.

So with all this excitement and I can’t tell you how much joy and big smiles from me J, my dilemma now is:  why are my possessions so important to me – why couldn’t I be that happy without them.  We often talk about the importance of putting God first, not idolizing other things including material possessions, and while I thought I did that most of the time, now I am not so sure??

When I think about the reason that led me to Ghana, the END Neglected Tropical Diseases program in a number of West African countries, I of course think about the people that it will benefit.  When I do, I also know that 99.9% of them don’t have a car and all the other things I am blessed to have, I am sure none of them have ‘sleep number’ beds!  Can I say I deserve my “HHE” because I have worked hard and earned each one of them by some means or other?    Possibly, but have the beneficiaries of the program worked hard, worshipped our God, taken care of those less needy than themselves, cared for the sick? I am sure I can safely say the large majority have done that and so much more.   

Are they happy?  I don't know the answer to that question........ but shouldn’t I be able to be just as happy with having less rather than more?  In the developed world it is so easy to get caught up with the importance of material possessions so what happens when for whatever reasons they are no longer available to us?  We should think about that before becoming dependent on them! 

Hmmm………  I have to dwell on that one a while?