He's the Only One I will live For

Please read the blog before this one first. Sorry I have not updated in awhile. I will try to cram in three weeks in this blog while attempting to keep you all awake by the end of it!

Full blown life in Ghana has begun as I am teaching, doing kids club, and coaching soccer to name a few. My teaching is going well, I love the kids even though they are testing me and seeing if I will be consistent. Consistency is so hard! I have a castle in my classroom where we read. It is so fun as noone can find us when we are in it! We also do bible time in there which the kids loe since they get to look up verses in their own classroom Bible. This also proves to be an interesting time as my two Muslim students ask me difficult questions. One day I was talking about Christ as our Savior and one of them said, "He's not my savior." I said, "he saved us all from our sins, He is the only true Savior." She wasn't convinced by she is hearing the truth. Then the other day after chapel, she was singing this song with the lyrics below on her own. Anyone believe like me that the Lord is stirring in her heart? I thanked God for his sense of humor as she sang this song which talked about the only one to live for is Christ. Amen!

I lay my life down at Your feet
Cause You're the only one I need
I turn to You and You are always there
In troubled times it's You I seek
I put You first that's all I need
I humble all I am all to You
One way
Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for
One Way
Jesus
You're the only one that I could live for
You are always, always there
Every how and everywhere
Your grace abounds so deeply within me
You will never ever change
Yesterday today the same
Forever till forever meets no end
You are the Way the Truth and the Life
We live by faith and not by sight for You
We're living all for You

My prayer for each student in my class is for them to seek Christ on a deeper level, for them to understand that He is there father as their parents do travel a lot. I also pray that they can also grow as a student and I can meet every one of their needs. I have one student who will be in Korea until November. Don't worry, I gave her a load of work to take with her!

I am a chicken with my head cut off during the day but it gets worse after school on practice days. The kids now must meet in my classroom after school but I am usually getting my kids out the door and then running around trying to pick up. Last Thursday I found some of them in my castle with a soccer ball, hitting it against the walls. It isn't that sturdy! We had a talk about that one! Even though it can be a stressor, I love soccer practice as I get to hang out with the older kids and be sarcastic with them! When I finally passed out the permission slips to play, they almost mulled me to get one! They are desperate to be a part of something as they have nothing to do after school. Right now we are still on the amazing sandy field!(I am being sarcastic now if you didn't notice!) However, there are rumors that I might be able to use a grass field not that far away. Yes, Grass! I heard it is so green and beautiful! Personally, I don't want to go see it until I know that I can actually use it because then it is just a teaze. I am actually coaching by myself right now with a different teacher coming every practice. They are great help but don't know the game so it makes it hard to get to all 22 players and help them with their skills. Also, they are not respecting me right now or listening to me, so we have also talked about this. I want them to have a good time but I also want them to improve their skills!

Kids club at the house finally started two weeks ago! The kids had been showing up every Tuesday even when we weren't back yet. They were so excited when we finally had it as we had around 50 kids. I gave out school supplies that my church's VBS had donated. Thank you to all who donated as the kids oohed and awed over the gift they received! They each got pencils, colord pencils, sticky notes, erasers, markers, pens, and crayons. Oh most importantly, they all got a small sharpener. They loved this as they use razor blades to sharpen their pencils and as you guessed it, can cause cuts! I still have my little friends down the road but I need to find more time to spend with them. Where does each day go? They are asking me to take them to the library, Auntie Jean's house, so I will have to take them soon.

Speaking of Auntie Jeans. She made it back from her Holiday in New Zealand where she is from. It was a relaxing and renewed time for her which was much needed. Two weekends ago we had the reading month banquet where the kids got more rice than they probably eat in a month! The next even is competition for spelling. I will start going regularly to help them prepare for this. It is so sad that they are not making any improvements at the government schools. Thank goodness for Auntie Jean's vision so the children can actually learn the material instead of rote memorizing different book topics. Auntie Jean will continue with the building project on her property which will be amazing to see how the Lord brings in all the funds to make this much needed facility a possibility.

The other night, we were in a taxi when the traffic was stopped behind us so a lady who had no use of her legs could drage herself across the street on the groud. Her little daughts carried the bucket and their other belonging as they made their treck against the usual constant traffic. I couldn't look at this sight but then I started taking the time to think about it. Am I going to turn my back on reality? This is real! A friend last year said that America is good at hiding that we are American with all of our stuff. However, in Ghana and in other parts of Ghana, what you see is reality. You can't hide anything so life is out in the open. Instead of turning my back, I need to face the music that the sick and crippled are not taken care of here. Instead of turning my back, I need to let people know of the injustice occuring and constantly pray about how to decrease this problem. Instead of turning my back, why am I not getting out of the taxi and helping her cross the street. Well, I wouldn't be able to lift her on my own but at least I wouldn't be turning my back on those who are need. It is blatantly obvious of those who have plenty and those who have very little in Ghana. Am I doing everything in my power to get out of my comfort zone and literally be the hand and feet for my brothers and sisters in Ghana. Please pray for those struggling in Ghana to make ends meat and that I will fully invest myself in seeking after Christ's desire in every situation.

I was running this morning and I came to a street where it framed the sunrise perfectly. GOd is good all the time as his beauty if overwhelming. As I was staring at the vast array of orange, red, and yellow streaks filling the skies, I noticed a little higher in the skies the sunshine that was breaking through the clouds. To me, it was a reminder of Christ's promise to take us home at the right time. Those glimpses into the open sky and keep me motivated that the Lord is in control and it is my responsibility to be ready and wiling to go when he calls. This picture in the sky also reminded me of a song that Cathy and I love. It is by Toby Mac who is normally crazy but you can hear each word on this one. The words are below so think of a reggae beat when reading the lyrics. Jesus, break open the sky, we are ready! But for not, I will keep focusing my eyes on You Lord. Somedays I feel like I have not done anything for Christ or for others but I must stay faithful to Him and he will not keep my idle.

From the lips of desperation Different nations,
every man’s cryComes a song of anticipation
As we wait for a crack in the sky
Side by side,
we recognize thatHope has brought us together tonight
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Break open the sky
Won’t You turn off gravity so we can fly?
We wanna see Your face
So tear the roof off this place
Jesus, break open the sky
So we sing
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
We believe, and we imagine
‘Til the dawn of our beautiful dream
Through the noise, I hear the voices
Melodies that are flooding our streets
Not forgotten, are your people
So let a thousand church bells ring
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Come, Jesus, come Come quickly
Come quickly