I'm back in the states!

Thurday morning, at home typing and sharing from my very own desk in my very own office.  The trip home was eventful, including getting stranded overnight in New York City due to a canceled flight, and when I got home, finally on Wed., my luggage did not arrive with me.  The canceled flight was really a blessing because it allowed me to spend the night with my sister Lauren who lives right in Manhattan, and we had a chance to talk, catch up, etc. and she made me a huge breakfast on Wed. morning!  Funny how life works out--- we both are pretty certain our dad made sure my flight got canceled ;>))

It was so exciting to see Richard, Nigel and Carson last evening--- I haven't seen Nigel smile like that in quite a while!  We spent the evening opening souvoniers, trading stories of the time we spent apart, and also looking forward to what's next--- practice, parent's night, soccer and football games this weekend, etc.  Reality just won't wait!!!

It was amazing trying to summarize the whole trip into small stories and tales, hoping to give as full an account of what I saw and experienced in Ghana--- and everything I shared, brought up something else to share, so it went on and on, until homework was done, and I was falling asleep on the dining room table.  If I were to share highlights, I think they would include:
- Seeing a country full of people making their way and a life out of so little, yet people who are happy, hospitable, and very hopeful for the future.
- A people very tied in to technology to stay connected with each other and those around them.  I was amazed at how FB is just everywhere and on everything technology related.
- A feeling of connection with my own spirit and spirituality that I've never experienced before.  As I told Richard, up to now my spirituality has been very much outside of me and experienced in my church life, my prayer life, through service to others, etc.  This was a very new and certain feeling of my own internal voice and spirit from inside of me that has not been a part of my experience thus far. 
- A new knowledge and understanding of the saddest part of the African story, through visits to the  Cape Coast and Elmina Slave Castles that allow one to experience and see into that past in a way that is not possible anywhere else, except in the places where those atrocities took place.  Those places moved me deeply inside with a sense of sorrow and anguish that really is impossible to describe adequately. One needs to see, touch, smell and experience what those places were/are like to completely connect with the history and legacy of our ancestors.  
- I now have such a desire to tell African Americans how much we still look like our African kin back home on the continent.
- A new desire to learn about my own family lineage and ancestral story and how that connects to Africa, whether it's in Ghana or some other areas or countries.  There may very well be a book in the making; more on that, perhaps, another time.
- A very strong and renewed desire to assist my friend and business partner Nana Gyepi to pursue his vision and dream for the people of Ghana as well as Africans throughout the world to build the "Tower of Return" and bring new life and opportunities to the entire Ghanian country. 

There is so much more to tell, and I think it reasonable for me to continue to think and reflect on my experiences until I have a clearer sense of where I go next with my experiences and new found knowledge, and what "next" really looks like.  The exciting part of the trip seems to be over, and I am grateful to have had the experiences and opportunities that I have had.  I am truly blessed, and have really enjoyed sharing my journey with you and so many others.  I hope to continue writing, and will keep sharing this journey, which may eventually make it's way into a book, "My Journey Home: 400 years in the Making." That is just a beginning thought, and I am open to the process which I know will be necessary to transform this story into a more public offering.  Hopefully some of my "writer" friends might be open to helping me begin that new part of this journey. ;>))

STAY TUNED . . . . and thanks so much for letting me share this with you!!!