This weekend I had the chance to spend Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon with the Accra, Ghana mission president and his wife. President and Sister Smith. Randomly enough, I didn't actually know Sister Smith's husband was the mission President! I met her a couple weeks ago at church, simply as "Sister Smith", her husband was gone that particular week. Anyhow... I'm at their home for the Ghana/USA game, which they may or may not have watched without me there. After eating a few homemade.. wonderful.. cookies, we turned on the game. Sister Smith and I both commented that, we would be happy regardless of the result of the game, but we were probably hoping just a little bit more for Ghana. After all, we're in Ghana! It would be fun to see the people and watch the Black Stars continue on to another game. Once Ghana is out of the cup, it just won't be as much fun to watch.
We learned though, that, we're not as Ghanaian as we thought. We were both cheering for the US. We couldn't handle watching Ghana score! The game was 1-1 at the finish, but as this is a single elimination round, the tie had to be broken. 30 minutes were added to the game after a 5 minute break for the players. Ghana scored right at the beginning of the 30 minutes, and we became very anxious about the USA matching the score. Alas, it was not to happen, and both Sister Smith and I couldn't believe just how truly disappointed we were. Happy for Ghana.. but really, much more absorbed in just how disappointed we were. Guess it just goes to show you that Americans.. are always Americans. As soon as the game ended we heard horns being blown outside and people celebrating. It was kind of cool, and I was happy for Ghana. :) There were apparently quite the celebrations in many of the churches around Ghana. Praising God, dancing, Ghana flags, etc. I didn't see as much evidence in the ward I attended, or on the streets, which really surprised me! Though there were a few Ghana ties being worn, I didn't hear too much more than that. This however doesn't give me much reason to doubt reports of the celebrations in other churches :)
This morning on the radio commented on Ghana's win, certainly giving the credit to God. They are such a faithful and God-loving people. There were many many prayers for the Black Stars. My bible study group Saturday morning was just a very small part. When I say they were prayed for... they weren't part of a prayer just saying "and please bless the Black Stars." No,... this is like,.. an entire prayer dedicated to the soccer team. :) The radio announcer told a story of a Ghanaian in the US, who asked an American about the game, who knew that they had lost, but then immediately asked about the Celtics vs. Laker game. (How are the playoffs going by the way??? Someone update me!) The announcer was appropriately shocked that the Americans don't even treat the World Cup as being at least as important as the Lakers Celtics game?? The country that wanted this game the most is the one that should have (and did) win. God looked and saw that, if Ghana won, the praise would be His. The large nation who didn't care, vs the small nation who were praying for their team and who would turn the glory to God. In this view, God chose to bless the Black Stars and lead them to victory! A small insight into the faithfulness and God loving attitudes of the Ghanaian people. Go radio!
Ghana plays next against Uganda on Friday! Time to pray some more! Go Ghana, Go Black Stars!
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