Random News and Updates

The food thief is at it again. Oh, go read the blog below this one(Reality) before reading this one as it is from a week ago and will kind of fill you in on what I am talking about it. Two weeks ago had a kid whose lunch was stolen(whole story below) and this past week two kids had things taken out of their lunches. What is going on? It isn't a big school and there are always people around but somehow they are still getting into my kids things. The kids bookbags are in the hallway in their cubbies since there isn't room in the classroom and I usually have the door open but I do shut it occasionally. It hasn't happened since Tuesday so hopefully it has stopped or someone is getting fed more at home. Only God knows! We really want to put a camera in the hallway to catch the person, kind of be a spy, would be fun at least!

Other random news..... I spent all day at school yesterday and still don't have it all finished. I know exciting news, you are so glad I told you. So, no problem, don't mention it, I am pretty nice! I think I am a workaholic but the verdict is still out. Okay, okay, I know I am a workhaholic and I am working on it. I just know I suffer and my kids suffer if I am not totally prepared for the next week. There are so many things to take care and I do enjoy doing it so how else would I want to spend my Saturday? Anyways, if I was at home I would be working so I just changed up the venue. By the end of the day, I was exhausted as I am also not getting enough. Oh, it is a viscious cycle that really does have to stop. Please pray that I can be friends with baby bear and find out how he can make things "just right." Sorry, that was kind of dorky but remember I am a elementary teacher and I have to live up to my reputation. Really, I do need to find balane between work and play but there is so much need around that it is hard to rest. I guess I just want to make a difference while I have the opportunity since that is why I am here. People say, you deserve to rest but there are people on the street who never get to rest. Something I am still struggling with but it is good to be real with people and to talk about it so I can be more accountable to my struggles.

We have met with the kids on our street for kids club twice this semester. We are giving the kids small sheets of paper with verses on it to memorize. Somehow they keep the paper for two weeks(don't ask me where it has been but they have it.) Some of them are able to memorize the verses and then they are rewarded with a sticker to eventally work up to larger prizes. I love these kids even though they usuallydon't listen and it is chaos but the word of the Lord is there and that is what matters plus they receive water and biscuit(cookie) what could be better? There are two girls down the street that I have befriended. We always talk and they always ask me if I am tired as they carry large things of water on their head! One day they helped me carry home imaginary bags but we kept spilling the contents on the road so we had to keep picking them up. I even carried an imaginary bowl on my head, aren't you proud of me? I did dump it over once or twice but that is minor details. My guard saw the whole thing and just laugh. What a weird obrunei he probably thought. Anyways, I have been giving paper books to these girls and then when they have read them for awhile they read them to me and I give them a biscuit if they did a good job. They have been reading quite nicely and I am excited to help with their reading skills since they don't get much instruction in school. They really do cherish these books just make out of paper. You could tell it was well read as there was dirt all over it and the last page was ripped but the still had it. They really do take care of their things even when they live in unfinished houses exposed to the elements and don't have much else.

Auntie Jean officially has the money for her land and she will begin building on it very soon! God is so good and it is amazing how he continues to reveal his plan to Auntie Jean as he really has provided in enormous(one of our vocab words!) for her. They found a man building a road not too far from the land which will allow her to get large supplies down their faster than the half hour rocky climb down. She called the man last Friday and he was at the airport about to leave. He would have already left but his plane got delayed so he was still in Accra. If she would have waited any longer, he would have been gone and she wouldn't have had permission until April. God is so good and somedays we don't even realize how much He does provide even in the small ways. We are starting reading month next week so I have been getting supplies and ideas together. We will have levels learning their numbers and to count up to kids multiplying. It is amazing what they don't know due to the lack of teaching ability in the public schools. Oh, I want to help them all but in due time the Lord will reveal his plan. Please pray for all the preparation of this month and that the pavilion being built will go as smoothly as it can in Ghana. Remember, it is a lot hard to build here as they have to crush up all the stones, mix the mortar on the ground, and do everything manually.

Last but certainly not least.... today is a monumental day is Ghana as the national soccer team is playing in the finals of the African Cup of Naitons against Egypt. They haven't been in the finals for 18 years and Egypt won it last year making it their sixth time to win compared to our for times. The semifinals were on Thursday and we watched it with our soccer kids at a restaurant(that use to be a container) with the locals. It was so fun when the game was over because everyone was going wild in the streets and all the car were honking as they drove by. It was probably dangerous but the whole country was having a good time. We will see today... either Ghana will be moping around or you will hear their jubilation cries all the way to America. You got to love soccer here and the excitement it brings with it! I think I was born on the wrong continent for soccer!

Enjoy your Sunday and please keep in touch, I try to write back if the internet is working!

Reality

This post was written last Sunday but then the internet stopped working so I didn't have a chance to post it. Sorry about that!

Although I have been preparing to write this blog all week, it jus hit me that it really won't be a light and airy conversation between to friends but more of a "got to tackle hard realities" kind of blog. I am just warning you at the beginning so if you feel down in the dumps after reading this, you can't blame me because I gave you fair warning! Oh, at the end I will put something a little light hearted so maybe that will motivate you to read the whole thing or I guess you could skip to the bottom since I will never know what you actually read!



Anyways, to the matter at hand since I waste most of your time talking about nothing. I have heard and seen a lot of realities this week that must be swallowed and digested carefully with much prayer at the forefront. Reality #1: Even Ghana is not free from fighting. In the northern most region, there are two tribes fighting over land which has left many dead including innocent people. One of the teachers has missionary friends there who have seen loved ones die during the cross fire. One day, a family member died and it took them at least four hours of shooting back and forth to push the enemy far enough back so they could grab the body and go. Ghana is a peaceful country but there are still hateful acts being done especially in the north. However, the fighting here is still nowhere near in comparison to the fighting in Uganda and other African countries. Pity fighting and killing is still on the rampage and it needs to be heard about so prayers can be given. I have one student who just came from the Congo. Without much emotion he talked about how he couldn't leave school one day because they were caught in a cross fire between two fighting tribes. He had to stay at a friends' house instead of going home but all this was said as the facts without tying too much emotion. Kids get numb to it at an early age if it is a part of their normal life but they shouldn't have to!



Last Sunday, we heard news that a trotro had crashed on the way back from Ho which is in the Volta Region. One of the volunteers who works at the orphanage close by was on the trotro but he walked away unhurt. He said he woke up to the trotro sliding on its side. Luckily, the side on the top was the side with the door so they were able to get out. I guess I shouldn't say lucky as GOd was with them through this instance. The mind boggling part was noone came to help those who were hurt. The guys roommates here were calling all the police departments to tell them about it but noone was really doing anything. The guy even told the police at a barricade not too far away and they told him to keep driving. This makes me think back to the Good Samaritan story where noone would help the man on the side of the road. Here is a country striving towards a strong democracy yet they refuse to help their own people with the basic needs. This story brought defining reality to me as that was the same route we took on the trotro when we were in the Volta Region. It can happen anytime or anywhere and not just in crazy trotro's but that is why I have my trust and faith in Jesus Christ as he will not leave me or forsake me. What a comfort we have in knowing Jesus!



Reality #3 that you are all aware of is the Earthquake disaster in Haiti. I can't even imagine the devastation right now as there is nothing and then to be worried about after schocks. This is a huge prayer concern that we should all be lifting up and seeking ways to help. At school, we have been donating money as a class competition to see how much each class can raise. Some of the kids just don't realize how much they really don't have in Haiti while they have a driver, cook, househelp, etc. Please pray that their eyes will be open to the reality that is around them and that they will seek out ways to help in our community and others.



Reality #4: Even kids are not exempt for stealing in weird ways. On Wednesday during snack time, one of my students told me he was excited for lunch because he had pizza. I saw it in his lunchbox and then he shut it where he then placed it in his cubby outside in the hallway. At lunchtime, he was washing his hands and when he went to pick up his lunchbox, everything fell out but there was no pizza inside! We searched the lunch tables quickly to see if anyone was eating it but I couldn't find any culprits. I was so angry and confused why someone would take his lunch and when they were able to do it. All I could give the poort kid was cookies but he handled the situation well. Later in the day, another student went to get something out of her cubby and she found the pizza, half eaten, underneath her bookbag. I know she didn't do it as she showed me right away but this made the mystery even more confusing! The boy was able to still eat two pieces of his pizza but still the principle behind stealing pizza and then hiding it somewhere else is horrible! It could have been one of my students or it could have been someone in the hallway. The students had a stern talking to so I hope it was not one of them.



Reality #5: Make sure you always know where your students are. On Friday morning, one of my students came to me before school started to say that her purse from her bookbag was missing which had money in it for Haiti. When the students came in, I was busy getting them settled when here driver wanted to speak to her at the door. I said she could go talk to him and then I went back to what I was doing. Here is when I become the bad teacher: so about fifteen minutes later as I have been running around the room like always(well it is hard to run since there isn't much room) the kids go to sit down on the carpet something dawns on me. "Um, where is Bobby Sue(not her real name)?" I stammered out. They replied that she never came back from talking with her driver. Oh man, I just lost a kid and I only have 13! I quickly found someone to watch the class and went to the office to call a parent. We couldn't get a hold of anyone but at that time the student came walking in to the compound. What happend I urgently asked and she told me that they went home to look for the money. I ran outside to talk to the driver where I gave him a stern scolding in my Ghanaian(the best that I can) voice.

At least the realities got a little lighter at the end but it is good to be hit by reality to understand that this life is not what we have to look forward. We are pressing on to receive the prize that awaits us. It also helps put things into perspective. I want to complain when we don't have the internet or that I eat the same things everyday without having a single fresh strawberry since August(you can't tell I miss it can you?) but there are peoople in Haiti who have nothing left! Am I really praising the Lord enough. I think my favorite bible verses are appropriate right here:
"For this light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal." II Corinthians 4:17-18

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!

Mount Parades:Need I say more?

This is the mountain that we climbed!

Look at all the lush foliage around us. Oh so gorgeous!

Drinking cold sachet water(water from a bag) in the village after our ascend to the mountain. Ahh refreshing!

Dream come true, playing soccer with local kids up on the mountain and its on grass. That hasn't happened since America!

We made it to the top of Mount Gemi, the tallest point in Ghana! This is our hotel from Mt. Gemi. Notice that it isn't commercialized, just it and God's beauty!

Were lost in the jungle! Don't worry we had a path!

Cathy on the porch of Mount Paradies before we went hiking. Doesn't she look ready to go?

This was the first day we got to the Volta region at a small waterfall and swimming hole. We kept dry except for the sweat dripping off of us!

If Cathy was looking for rest on this trip, she came to the wrong place(she knew better though since I was in charge of th planning) because the day after Christmas we found ourselves back out on the road heading to the Volta Region. Ghana is broken up into regions instead of states. I live in the Great Accra Region(Go figure), Auntie Jean lives in the Eastern Region and then the Volta Region is about two hours away. When you are a tour guide in Ghana without a car or clear idea of public transportation and never been to some of the places before, it causes a little bit of stress but Cathy was patient and graious with me as it was just hard to get around. God worked things out so nicely as we were able to get a ride to the Volta with a family from school. They were going with several families and it was so kind to let us tag along. So we sat in a truck for three hours as we headed to a different part of the country. I actually saw more wildlife and plants than cars and people. It was amazing and so refreshing to get out of the city. I didn't even hear any airplanes go over once when I was there. We passed small villages and monkey sanctuaries as we came closer to mountains and God's beauty! The real jungle is better than the metal jungle back in Accra! We stayed at a place called Mount Paradise which left us on a very bumpy road to a secluded place to ourselves. We spent the first day hiking down to a swimming hole(no, not brave enough to get in the fresh water here) using ropes to climb up and down. We then spent the evening having dinner and playing games with the family. It just so happend that there were two volunteers a little young than myself who were also traveling with the families. I know that one of them for sure was not a Christian so it was just an amazing time to build relationship with these girls. You could tell the one had had a rough past and although I wanted to scream out, "know Jesus" I knew it was more important to just love on her. God is so amazing to have paths cross even if it was two days. I pray that a seed was planted and someone soon will come along to water it.

The next day after we arrived, we began our treck up Mount Gemi which is supposedly the highest point in Ghana. Don't get that excited about how awesome we are, because it really wasn't that tall, but tall for Ghana! The path had been overgrown so for the first part we had to push aside leaves and branches to make our treck up. My calves thanked me for the workout several days later! At one point, we were told to look for a path to the left so we would go up instead of down(makes sense since we were climbing up to the top of a mountain!) Anyways, we missed the trail and instead started to descend. For awhile, we were excited for the descend instead of the ascend, a nice break for our bodies, but then a realization came, "we probably shouldn't be going down." Instead of finding ourselves closer to reaching the top, we had taken a nice detour by little streams and farmers plants. Thus, we had to turn around and start the treck up, at least 20 minutes, to get back to the point where we had to turn to the left. As we were trecking back up, this detour reminded of our own spiritual path. Sometimes, we are looking for God's direction, his path, but we don't look close enough for it so we just make our own path which seems pretty great. Life is smooth until we finally realize it was the wrong direction, it wasn't God's path but our own we decided to take which gets us into trouble. Thankfully God is gracious and allows us to turn around and find His path. Yeah, on the way back up, it wasn't fun, we had wasted so much time and some of the younger boys were waiting up at the top for us, but that is like our walk with Christ. We have to admit the mistake and walk towards Christ even when it may be hard and we have let others down. I am so thankful for the new mercies that God graciously gives us each day.

Well, we finally made it to the top to see the gorgeous view of surrounding villages and our own hotel. There are several villages up at the top but there are roads for people to travel up there. It is such an accomplishment to reach a goal and witness God's beauty, especially on a Sunday. We then made our way to water where we quenched for water, who knew you could get so thirsty on the way up. I thought I was seeing a mirage but no in real life, there was a soccer field up at the top with grass on it so I played for a little with the children and I even scored a goal. This was my first time playing on grass since being in Ghana and oh it felt good! Yes, it is the little things in life that get you excited! Going all the way up was worth it as the trip down was like walking through a tropical paradise. The luscious foliage and quiet drips of water greeted us at every turn. We walked through small villages where they were doing there normal routines of washing clothes in the river, cooking, or making something. I struggle with the fact sometimes that I am able to have an enjoyable hike up a mountain, come back to electricity, and eat a filling meal. Most of the people we pass do not have that luxury as they are working to survive. I don't know how to grasp all of this in my mind yet, it just seems wrong but again I do like my life so trying to combine the two is still a work in progress. The next day we went to a waterfall, which long story short ended up taking us out of our way and a little later than we wanted as we were going to trotro back. You might be asking, but you had a free ride there, what did you make them mad and they are making you suffer on a trotro? No, don't worry, it was our choice(are we crazy) because we needed to get back a day sooner to go to Cape Coast. We finally found the trotro station where the first guy we met was looking for two passengers to Accra, we accepted! Cathy sat in the front and I sat two rows back where we immediately saw a lady with a chicken sitting behind Cathy. It was breathing heavy as she tried to wrap it up in a scarve. Finally, the driver made her put the chicken in a box which Cathy was thankful for as she had visions of the chicken pecking her in the head. Her head stayed undented as we traveled for two hours until we reached a checkpoint. Our trotro pulled over and then got out. He motioned for Cathy and then myself to get out. We assumed everyone had to get out of the trotro but as we looked around it was just two obruneis who had to get out. It was hard to know what was going on because English was limited but they told us that we needed to show passports. I told them that we didn't have them with us so they sent us to the head guy. I talked nicely to him and told him we teach in Accra but don't carry our passports with us. He really didn't give us a hard time, just told us to carry our passports with us next time and away we went on the trotro. This little incident was a small glimpse into what missionaries or others deal with on a daily basss in closed countries. We finally made it home close to the mall where the trotro dropped us off so we could catch a taxi. Even though we were only away in the quiet mountains for two days, we weren't ready for the culture shock that awaited us in the craziness of the city. There were so many people, noises, and lights. We couldn't wait to get back to the house but there we heard airplanes and loud music from the hotel nearby. We really had a culture shock! I guess I am not made for city life for too long! Being around the states has showed me how diverse God has created the world and the same is true here. Nothing will replace the simple life up in the mountains! Another successful trip in Ghana with a few heart beating moments but that is what you have to love about here, you always have a story no matter where you are!