For sports on Friday we had balloon races. The kids enjoyed doing something different, even though they all looked silly!

This is Cynthia cooking in the outside kitchen at Fenaso. Food preparation takes a long time as you can see below. It definitely is worth the work as it is all delicious. Well, I guess I didn't make all of it so I can say it was worth it!

They are smashing the Palm Nuts to make the soup.

The older children put on Daniel and the Lions Den as a skit. They did a great job!

This is a typical house in the village. It is made out of palm branches for the roof and branches and mud for the sides.

The girls showed me how to make a broom out of palm leaves. They are very resourceful with their supplies. I have a cutless in my hand but the scary thing it belongs to the girls. I have never given sharp knives to kids before. I guess there is a first for everything.

This is the entire school with Megan and me. Aren't they all adorable?

This is me playing bingo with my class. Can you see the rainforest out the other window?

This is the kindergarten class without any manipulatives or fun things at all but yet they are still disciplined in coming. How I wish I could offer more to them!

This gives you a good view of the classroom as we were writing words. Each child must bring their own desk as you can see are all different. Some of them are just too small for their growing bodies!



Good Friday commenced our much needed Spring Break as we reflected on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord by dying on the cross for our sins. Although I would have rather been at home, I spent my Spring Break visiting a missionary family whom I met at Laurie’s house during New Year’s Eve. We almost didn’t go because they had company but I am so glad we did as I met a life-long friend. Christine and her husband Kirk, live in the Ashante Region which is known for their gold and is west of Accra. They are lifestyle evangelists and they live among the people and help meet their needs. Another girl who is volunteering at the school and myself, started our journey early Friday morning by boarding a non air-conditioned bus for five hours. The open windows helped a lot. The journey was beautiful as we left the smelly, dry city for the sweet fragrance and luscious palm sprouting land. Oh life outside of Accra is gorgeous, such a tropical oasis. Upon arriving in Dumkwa, a nice size town, we quickly made ourselves comfortable in their house surrounded by Ghanaian neighbors, gutters which make bathrooms for some(don’t worry not me!), and munching goats. I forgot to mention walls around each house with a guard, is that what you said? No, I didn’t! Freedom! Yes, a place without walled in houses where we can live in community with one another. Isn’t that beautiful? I really respect them and the work they are doing as they are reaching out to the Ghanaians in their own environment. In their house lives two boys, which they are fostering. They have had the six year old since birth and the teenage boy since he was six. They are very nice boys and were able to go to the US with Christine and Kirk just last summer which has westernized them somewhat. America ruins everyone! Just kidding! Anyways, that night we then traveled to one of their villages called Fenaso. It is a town of a thousand people living in mud huts without electricity and very happy. There, the Wiltse’s have a beautiful grassy yard which I hadn’t seen in a long time! We were so hot in the city but when we arrived in Fenaso, it began to down pour as we found ourselves running in the rain. Seriously, the time of our lives. We were able to rest in Fenaso as we had our own simple guest house accompanied with a hole in the ground for a bathroom, bucket showers, and lanterns for light. I am so thankful for camp as I experienced all of these things in somewhat of the same form while working at Spring Hill. On Saturday, we walked a good distance to private property where they have found gold. It is illegal to mine without a company but it is good money so it doesn’t stop anyone. Actually, a town not too far away, Obuasi, makes the most money in the world from their gold! We witness many men, most who were standing around, shoveling in knee high mercy infested water for small pieces of gold. They did have three pieces of machinery to help them but other than that it was very simplistic in the process not to mention dangerous. It was definitely an experience to witness these men searching for gold to have a small earning from the profit.
On Sunday, we awoke to the usual calling of roosters, which crow a lot earlier than daybreak, to a bright beautiful Easter morning. I must say that this Easter was far different than the rest as we went to a church in town with dancing in the aisles and the preacher preaching about stomping on the devil with our feet. Typical church for Ghana but not my church in America. I did miss everyone at home with the sunrise service and the music lifted up to God but we made the most of it. The sermon was given in English but there was a man who interpreted everything into Twi, yes, just a tad different than Easter in America. I spent the afternoon not looking for Easter eggs but playing games with some of the girls that they are looking after while they attend middle school in town. They are such nice girls which enjoyed learning new songs from camp of course and playing games like Uno, or our favorite, Killer Uno. Communication barrier is somewhat difficult but I am picking up more Twi and I am learning how to phrase words that are more coherent to their English. On Monday, I had the opportunity to bake with four Ghanaian girls which was a real treat. Only one of them had read a recipe before as they cook by watching their aunties or mothers but they never bake. They had a good time adding ingredients, stirring and of course putting flour on their face which is a tradition of mine. Cathy would be proud of me as I did not make that much of a mess! I am so thankful for the laughter and sometimes tears shed in the kitchen with my mother as we baked or ruined recipes as it has helped me teach this skill to girls who have never experienced this joy. I am realizing how important it is to spend quality time with the people here to bring them new experiences and show them that we care.
On Tuesday, we packed all of our school supplies and headed to Apebrouso. This is a remote village where Christine taught for four years. She has a quaint little house which is nice compared to the crude mud huts that the Ghanaians have built. There are only about 20 houses and less than 100 people in this village so everyone knows when Auntie Abinah arrives since she is the only one with a car! The children immediately rushed to her house where they helped us bring in our belongings like little ants. You might get one shoe at a time but they got the job done. These children were willing to help in anyway possible. Christine asked who would get her water from the pipe and they all ran to get her some! They just love to help! I never had to hold anything in my hand because they would take ot from me and find pleasure in carrying whatever I needed. Talk about service. As a teacher, it was hard for me to see children who were the age of a normal fifth grader but really was at a second or third grade level. Right now, there is only one teacher for about fifty children of all ages which doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it just isn’t cutting it for a solid education. Also, the teacher tried her best but she doesn’t have the proper education either to be teaching some of the older children.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with these children even though it was only for three days. I played phonics games with them and even read some of my favorite picture books. Their lack of English and lack of schema from not leaving the village causes some miscommunication problems and this can be frustrated but I have to remember any little help they can get goes a long ways. In the afternoon, we taught on the solar system and then looked at the stars in the evening. It was such a great place to look at the stars since there wasn’t lights to interfere! The kids loved looking at the stars through a telescope and it was so fun watching them experience things for the first time through their eyes. Throughout the time there, I was able to teach them games and songs while they taught be life skills like how to make a broom out of palm leaves, grow their own plants, take care of wild animals, or share their constant love. One morning when I was running, a man stopped me with a rifle in his hand and reached into his bag. He pulled out a huge rat the size of a small dog and I am not kidding! It was very fury and well dead at least. These people have no fear as they must hunt and plant crops in the rainforest to survive. I love it! Friday was a hard day as we had to say goodbye to all the kids. Before we left, we gave them all pens, pencils, erasers and such which were donated by students at AIS. They were thrilled and jumping up and down. I think they thanked us at least three times each! Here at AIS, or in American classrooms, students lose pencils every few seconds and they don’t care what happens to them because they know they will get another one. Here, the children cherish pencils because they can’t get them anywhere else and it is something they don’t receive all the time. It really puts all the things I own into perspective as I have so much, mostly junk, compared to them. However, some of the things I am glad they are missing as their lives are simple but it would be nice for them to have better resources for health and educational purposes. I am so thankful to Christine and Kirk for showing me the “real side” of Ghana and not just the city. I have learned so much about this beloved country in one week as I am truly loving Ghana for the welcoming people and gorgeous scenery. Who can beat running in the Rainforest? I must admit when I realized that I have less than two months until I go home(yippee!) but I consider this as home now. I have been here for 8 months straight and I am glad I made that decision as I have been able to know the people in my life on a deeper level and understand how the country works although it is sometimes not the best way. I am excited for this summer to be home but after this week in the village, God continues to tug on my heart to establish teacher training centers in Ghana. Teachers hate their job and they don’t get paid well so they don’t show up which results in the majority of kids getting to high school without being able to read. I want to fight this trend as much as possible and I will be praying to God to show me in His time how I can fulfill His will for my life.

Well, sorry this was very long and informative. I just wish you could have all come with me! Maybe next time? Please keep in touch!