Back into the Swing of Things

The excitement and joy of Christmas, of showing my sister around and learning the culture of Ghana at a new level is alas over as I have been teaching again for two weeks. I started this semester refreshed and ready to cram a lot of knowledge in as possible for second grade minds to comprehend. The semester proved to be somewhat different than the last as this one started with two new students. If you have ever seen inside my room, it wouldn't take you long as it is small. You could probably fit two of mine into a regular classroom. Now, I am not complaining but it does make it difficult to move around or do group work as the students are on top of each other almost! However, I did get new taller shelves which helped liminate some of the bigger storage containers but I don't have much room for anything else which I like to collect as much things as possible, just never know when you can use them! We have made do quite nicely and my kids have welcomed the new students openly. It has been hard to teach all the routines over again but I am learning that I must so all students know the rules. I have been somewhat disappointed with the students lately as they have been a little unruly as they fight over silly things like crayons and who stands next to who. I guess we are just getting too comfortable with another, but this behavior has to stop for all of our sanity! It is nice though that I am able to connect Christ into every conversation, even when I am disciplining. We talk in Bible time how to be unselfish, patient, and truthful so when these issues come up, I can remind them what they learned in Bible time, perfect! My kids know the salvation message as they all told me the real meaning of Christianity and how we must ask God to forgive us from our sins to spend eternity with them. It was amazing hearing it from their childlike minds as their peers were able to hear the Gospel message from someone their own age. God is working in their lives, in lives of kids who will become important leaders one day! I have loved watching one of my new students when we see Christian songs because he is smiling to the point of laughing from joy! We really do have Joy in the Lord and I pray it is contagious! On Friday, I was reading with one of the students during silent reading time and he wanted to read me the Bible. He was reading and somewhat understanding when he stopped and said to me, "I like reading the Bible." Of course I asked why and in a very profound and philosophical way he said, "it is nice, readint the bible is nice. Sometimes I wish I was in the olden days so I could see Jesus and everything he did." Wow! That struck me hard as sometimes we and myself included can see Bible reading as a chore but here is an eight year old who can't get enough of it and wants to read it in his free time to learn more about Jesus. My faith has been made stronger thanks to the questions and profound statements of second graders! Okay, one more story, later in the day we were coloring something and one of the students didn't know what color to make it so he said, "What color does Jesus like because I want to color it that color." need I say anything else?

Other than school talk, it has been nice having anyone back to talk to and even have fun with which is usually random things like walking an half an hour to the story to pick up frozen strawberries for one cedi. I know, sounds so exciting! Soccer has started up again and we will be playing an orphanage team in February so we need to train hard for that. I have been to Auntie Jean's land just to pull weeds but she will begin to construct the pavilion that my dad designed in two weeks. It is so exciting! Another praise with that is they found a guy building a house not too far away which means he added a road. Auntie Jean is hoping to use this road to carry down supplies so heavy things like cement and tools won't have to be carried down a small rocky trail for half an hour. She also found sand down by the small stream which means they won't have to carry that down! God continues to prevalently show himself in this situation which shows that He desires for this center to be built for kids to learn better English and to have a personal relationship with Christ.

Okay last subject, I promise. Over Christmas, I started to understand our purpose for day to day living. I still struggle somedays with knowing there is so much need outside my gate while I am sitting on my computer doing schoolwork. However, I had the opportunity especially over Christmas to sit down and just talk with people. I just listened as they poured out their life stories. The list of people ranged from Ghanaian dress makers to Embassy workers. I can't save the world or even Ghana is one lifetime but I can take the time to listen. By listening, I have been able to understand the Ghanaian culture better like hearing the struggles parents go through to pay for school bills. These people obviously need to talk and I am learning to be an outlet in which they can openly share. This is what ministry and life is all about, meeting the needs of others right now and then taking the leap to talk about Christ but relationships have to form first. Although I would like to help Ghana in many ways, one thing I know I can do every second is greet a person, play on the streets with the kids, or really ask someone about their day and be willing to listen. These are needs people have at the moment and I need to be willing to recognize these needs and be on God's open agenda instead of my timeling. If you know me well, you know that is difficult but that is why God is teaching me this lesson. The other day I was walking in the market and there was a man walking by who was very shaggy looking. I was thinking to myself that I didnt want him to touch me at all and then it dawned on me. How dare I have that though as I am called to love the unclean. It is not my job to judge others or be distant from them because I am a sinner also even if I might look nicer and cleaner in my respective. This experience reminded me how much I still need to be molded into his image. Little my little and step by step he will get me there! Well, this blog probably wasn't the most exciting one to read, sorry if you are drooling on your computer right now during you nap time, but it was issues I wanted to deal with openly so thanks for letting me share(not that you really had a say in it. ) Enjoy your Sunday and keep in touch. Remember, I am always a listening ear or reading ear for e-mail!