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LOGBA TOTA LOVE Nov. 2000 by
Sandi Laufenberg
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We just returned from our trip to Logba Tota, in the Volta
Region of Ghana. Wow, what a
Heaven on Earth!!!!
And I do not say that lightly. This is a
mountainous region full of beautiful vistas and luscious flora and fauna. To
me, it looked like the African jungles of my imagination; however, I am told
we were only in the "forests" of Ghana, and that there are no real
jungles in this part of Ghana.
Logba Tota, pronounced "Loba Tota", is a town at the top of a
mountain. To get there you
need to travel for some time along a dirt road, and then you
start a steep climb on a paved road. Meanwhile, the vistas start to show
and they are fantastic. The
mountains are covered with forests, and are quite
steep, with one mountain having a really strange shape at the top. We stopped
partway up the mountain at a scenic spot. I
honestly could not believe the
beauty surrounding me. I was
gazing across an expanse, so beautiful
and different to behold.
It's like the perfect setting for a movie, so beautiful!
Here and there, at random locations, some down low in the
valley, some up high on the
mountainside, were 5 or so small villages. I
am told that most of these do not
even have access via a road, only foot paths.
I feel like I have discovered the meaning of the term,
"breathtakingly beautiful".
It's what I felt when I first saw the view. Takes
your breath away. It
is so unbelievable!
Logba Tota itself is a very quaint town of about 5000 people. It
was unlike the villages at the
foot of the mountain, where much of the
construction was of bamboo and palm leaves, or buildings with thatched roofs. But
Logba Tota's buildings are of
concrete block with plastered walls.
It is surrounded by fantastic views of the
neighboring mountains.
After stopping in at Chief Togbe's mission house (pronounced
"Toby") and meeting his family. We
walked the village and met many other families. Their
customs are different from what I saw in the city of Tema.
Since we were with the chief of the village, the
first thing that we did upon entering a home
was to be seated in a circle in their main living area, or 'hall'. Then
we waited, without anyone speaking, until the man of the house gathered perhaps
a few more people. Then he would first greet the Chief. And methodically, this
man would then greet the rest of the group that came with the Chief. It seems
that until the Chief is first officially welcomed,
none of the other visitors can be spoken to -- if they are, it is considered
a sign of disrespect to the Chief.
After the rest of us were greeted, the Chief and the man of
the house would engage in
conversation in Ewe, their native tongue. While
the rest of us would speak with
other members of this family, or with ourselves.
This would be rather brief, and then we would go
to another house. I really enjoyed
holding a 4 week old baby girl at one home. She was really precious.
Then upon returning to the mission house, we ate supper, sat
out in the cool evening air of the
inner court, and then retired. I
found that these people retired
very early, and I think that is because they had to get up so early
in the morning and leave to work in the fields. The
next morning, the people were gone
to the fields at first light, which was around 5:30 a.m.
I found the weather in these mountains to be very refreshing. The evening
breeze was very cool, not as hot as in Tema. And
though it was very hot during the
day, the cool shade in the forests was filled with herbal smells. It
reminded me very much of the hot summer days in Wisconsin in our own forest.
We visited a waterfall that was cascading down from very high
up in the mountain.
There at the bottom was a clear cool pool that we swam in. Wow.
Thank God for wonderful places like that.
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Would you like us to contact you? Sonshine Valley Ranch
76 Trillium Ct. Madison, Wis. 53719 (608) 220-3428
in Africa: Pastor Paul Dickens Doe c/o Christ Harvests the Nations PO Box CE 11067 Tema Ghana West Africa (233) 28 207 860 Sonshine Valley Ranch Ministries
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