Signed and at Peace

Afterward the game against Kinder Paradise, we had a lunch together. Although the meal was an hour late, got to love Ghana, we had a great time fellowshipping together.

Can you tell I am not happy? I am burnt just on the places on my face where I wrinkled it. Kind of funny but I have proof that I was not happy! Oh the joys of the coach.

Here is one of the chances we had of scoring but it never happened. We did play hard in the first half.

The girls got to play a game as well on the smaller field. If you notice closely at the other team(in yellow) soe of the girls are not wearing shoes. They are Ghanaian and tough, what more do you need to know?

These are the girls before the match in my old high school uniforms. They are all beautiful girls in the inside and out. They were excited to play as this was their first game as just a girl's team ever! We are making progress.

Yesterday we had our second soccer game of the season. We played Kinder Paradise which is the children's home we go to in Pram Pram. After a year of trying to set up a game, we finally hosted them at our field. Although the game was at 11 which of course is the heat of the day, noone was injured, just my players pride. We lost 6-0 which I didn't mind losing since they were better, but my kids didn't try at all second half. This did not make me happy as everyone should play the entire game no matter the score. Granite it was hot but that is still no excuse for not trying at all. Tomorrow before practice, I am going to show them all the pictures of them standing, maybe this will get the point across. I love coaching these kids although they need more discipline and need to learn how to work hard. It is hard being a coach as everyone wants to tell you how to play the game and do your job but I guess that is part of the job title. We have a lot to work on but we will keep working hard hopefully and I know make better improvements.

After the game, we all went back to the school for lunch. I had the cleaning ladies cook for me and I told them to have it ready by 12:30. We all came back to the school at 1:30 to find that it was not ready yet. They said it would be finished soon but I told them I needed it now since I had a lot of hungry kids. I became very American on them as I expected them to meet the deadline. However, to them it wasn't a big deal as it is finished when it is finished. However, when I am in charge of a lot of kids, it makes it difficult to go off the schedule. Even when I try to think of everything and plan it out, it still doesn't go according to plan, welcome to Ghana. A quote from a professor at Taylor, "We have the opportunity to be flexible" which is so true here. Getting worked up about situations does not change it so you just have to relax and wait although it is good to push the Ghanaians some and help them understand how importance of staying with a schedule. I see there way of living and I see ours as well. I guess there should be a happy medium somewhere. Despite all this, both teams ended up having a good time together and even played more soccer in our school complex. I don't know how they still had energy but they did. I know this relationship will continue to be strong.

So in random thought, I was on the way to school one morning and I got to the place where usually it is overgrown with weeds. We usually walk on the wall of the gutter which was necessary this day since it was flooded. I hopped on the wall and carefully walked across the crooked uneven bricks hoping not to fall into the open disgusting gutter. I then looked up to see a chicken coming towards me on the wall. The thought then occurred to me that I was playing chicken with a chicken.(just in case you don't know, chicken is a game where you try to push the other person off of a small wall, or into the water, or off of the blob if you are at camp). I don't know why I found this so humorous but at 6 a.m. I guess it doesn't take much. Don't worry, the chicken became a chicken and jumped off first before I had to. So that was a pretty big paragraph to explain something ridiculous but I hope you enjoyed! we must learn to take joy and humor in the little things of life, it definitely helps me let go of the big things and realize it doesn't matter.

Now to the title. A week ago, we received the letter of intent from our director, asking us to decide by December 7th if we were going to stay or leave next year. I knew this time was coming but it became real once I had the paper actually in my possession. I tend to rush into everything so I wanted to make sure I was not jumping into this decision without praying about it and listening to the Lord leading in my life. When thinking of next year, there is no other place I would rather be than here. I love Ghana and would love to be here for a long although not at the school forever. However, at this point, I have not finished my work at AIS, as I want to use the materials I have a little more since I finally have enough to teach with. I also couldn't leave the soccer kids knowing they might not have a coach next year. On Friday, Mr. Crosby reminded me that I still had the letter in my school box and I explained that I didn't want to lose it. I finally realized that I was just putting this decision off and I since I already know where my heart is, I should just making it official. So with that thought, I signed the paper Friday night declaring that I will be coming back to the school next year. I miss people in the states, especially my family and it is hard to be away but I feel that the Lord has me here for a reason and this is where I feel at peace. It is hard knowing what is the Lord's will and what is my own but I have been praying about this and know this is the right choice. Thank you to all those who support me through prayer and financially. With your support, I have been able to feel at home here and know that the Lord has me here for a reason, for such a time as this, just as he has everyone else at a certain place. God is good all the time. So here I will be for another year, one year at a time, as God has given us one day at a time and he never gives us more than we can handle. I will leave you with Psalms 146. I am so thankful that my confidence lies in the Lord and him alone!

Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord. 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. 4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. 5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. 6 He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. 7 He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. 8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. 9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem,[b] throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!