These are the girls celebrating after they scored a goal. You will notice on the left side a little boy in a read shirt. This is one of my students. What can I say, he is relly enthusiastic about football!
Aren't they beautiful! They all hve beautiful smiles along with glittering personalities. They were happy with the tie and were proud of themselves.
Aren't they beautiful! They all hve beautiful smiles along with glittering personalities. They were happy with the tie and were proud of themselves.
I am actually writing this part on a Tuesday before my usual weekend deadline. Blogging sounds a lot better than school work right? Anyways, I wanted to share a joy spot about one of my students. He is very quiet as he is still developing some of his English skills but very intelligent. I feel like he is turned off to the bible and does not like to participate much which is easy for him to hide from it since he doesn't talk much. However, on Monday, we were creating the wordless bible and looking up references to go with each color. He wanted to look a verse up and then read it aloud without much hesitatuin which is such a huge breakthrough with him! Usually it takes me 10 minutes to persuade him to read aloud. He read Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of eternal life is through Christ Jesus our Lord." How powerful of a verse to read and realize we are all sinners but Christ still loves us. Anyways, I was talking to hims mother after school and telling her how proud I have been of his willingness to read aloud. She told me that he came home yesterday telling her bible stories that were taught in class. She told me she is not familiar with the bible or the stories but she was happy he was interested and showing more effort. He then asked her later at home if she had a favorite verse. Of course the mother wasnm't familiar with the bible so she told him she doesn't read the bible and doesn't know verses from it. However, this boy is excited about no an ordinary book but the innerent word of God. Praise the Lord. I had no idea he even listened during Bible let alone take it to his heart. This just proves that it is vital for me to who him constant love and the truth so his can meet Jesus where he is at and accept him openly into his heart.
Games!
Today started a two day festivity of soccer games! We had the girls' game against another international school Galaxy(Wedneday.) We rushed on the bus after school to travel right down the street to this school to play 7 vs. 7. The girls were so nervous to play but they seriously outplayed the other team as they made great passes. Unfortunately, the other team packed in the box so it was hard for my girls to shoot but we finished the game with a tie which isn't too bad. It was such a fun atmosphere having the girls play their hearts out while they were supported by students and the boys' team. Having sports to watch is a first for students at AIS so it gives us all pride to rally behind our athletes and show a little school spirit! After the game, the kids were telling me how thankful they were for AIS as this other school was playing "ghetto music", in their words, and didn't seem to have much class. It was funny hearing them say that as usually they are talking about how lame our school is. Now they are starting to realize that our school isn't that bad afterall. I guess the saying is true, the grass isn't always greener on the other side, well except they have grass on their field and we don't! Anyways, soccer has been good for our students to teach discipline and confidence but it also is beneficial for the entire school.
Games!
Today started a two day festivity of soccer games! We had the girls' game against another international school Galaxy(Wedneday.) We rushed on the bus after school to travel right down the street to this school to play 7 vs. 7. The girls were so nervous to play but they seriously outplayed the other team as they made great passes. Unfortunately, the other team packed in the box so it was hard for my girls to shoot but we finished the game with a tie which isn't too bad. It was such a fun atmosphere having the girls play their hearts out while they were supported by students and the boys' team. Having sports to watch is a first for students at AIS so it gives us all pride to rally behind our athletes and show a little school spirit! After the game, the kids were telling me how thankful they were for AIS as this other school was playing "ghetto music", in their words, and didn't seem to have much class. It was funny hearing them say that as usually they are talking about how lame our school is. Now they are starting to realize that our school isn't that bad afterall. I guess the saying is true, the grass isn't always greener on the other side, well except they have grass on their field and we don't! Anyways, soccer has been good for our students to teach discipline and confidence but it also is beneficial for the entire school.
Unexpected JOY in grass!
On Thursday, the boys team had their turn for a match against Galaxy. I was looking forward to this one for a specific reason. New this year, a former soccer player for the French team and Chelsea created a complex down the road from us for soccer. The fields are grass, not really nice American grass, but still pretty thick, green grass. Since Galaxy and us did not have a field big enough to play on, I rented this field for 100 Ghana Cedis which the going rate started at 800. My boys were very excited to play on a real field but I think their coach was the most thrilled. When we first got there, I sat in the grass for a long time, in my happy little zone. One of my boys said, "Miss Sop you are acting like a village person who has never seen grass before. However, I did not care. My boys did not play as well as they did the other day but I still saw some good passing. We unfortunately lost 3-1 but through the process we are learning and become a better team. First thing, we are not use to playing on grass which is slower than the sand. My boys would be dribbling and then all of a sudden lose the ball because they were faster than the ball on grass. Also, we play on a small field at school so there a large picture problems that we cannot see unless we have a large field. Please pray that they finish our soccer field. During the game, I feel like I have plenty of assistant coaches as all of our fans are on the same side as the bench. This causes some difficulties as I have the opinions of parents, players, students, and teachers being thrown at me during the game. Even after the game I had a random parent that doesn't have a son on the team, tell me the negative points. I would rather focuse on the positive! I know I am not the best coach but I am doing my best as it is only me with 30 students. I love the kids and wouldn't trade it in for the world but it is hard to get criticism and not help. Forunately, I coach for these kids which will hopefully see Christ in me and follow good values and make wise decisions. These kids need to feel involved in an activitiy that encourages them to work hard and succeed. We will get there.
Friday was a day off as Sunday is Independence Day for Ghana! This is a huge deal for Ghana as it declared independence from Britian before any other country in Africa. It has been 54 years! Ghana also prides themselves on this fact as it is a peaceful nation as we thank GOD for this considering all the unrest in other countries right now. So on our day off, we traveled to the beach! The beach is not too far away but yet we don't go that often. I don't understand why because I love the calming effect of the ocean and the might power of the waves which reminds me of Christ Jesus. The beach we picked, Bojo Beach is very secluded and you have to take a small canoe ride to get to the actual beach as a littlle bay separates it from the main road. This made it feel like a true remote area with just as, the Lord, and th water. I always feel closer to the Lod at the ocean as I stare at one of his most beautiful creations in my opinion. The waves crash in and then dissipate in moments reminding me of God's presence in my life. He is there, waiting for us to call out to Him, a constant in our lives. We enjoyed the beach by jumping in the waves, laying out a reading a book, and even conversing with Ghanaians who were fascinated with us! We even took home souvenirs of sand, shells, and redness all over my body! Yippee! Overall, it was a beautiful day to soak in rays from the Son and be in fellowship with good friends. It is also fun to think that most people are still freezing and I am at the beach getting burnt. Sorry, not to rub it in but you can always come to visit.
Saturday brought the usual; tutoring and Auntie Jean's. I finally took the girls from the street again to the library. They were so happy even though it is a long trip for them to make. They are good troopers about it. They love picking out new books and sitting down to read them. Auntie Jean has moved houses but just down the way. This house looks out onto the "mountain" which the girls liked seeing. It made a great place for a breeze and for teaching maths(as they call it here and in England.) It was so fun to have the tables placed on the grass and the kids rotating groups to learn different math skills. I used The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle to teach time. It is such a classic and the kids loved the book. It doesn't take much with these children as they do not get to play with manipulatives at school or learn concepts in a creative way. These children soak in anything they can get! By the end, my girls were tired and we headed home, fortunately not taking forever to find transportation! The girls are now happy with their new books. I love these chilren on the street! They always come running up and asking to carry my things home. One night Kim had my bookbag as I went somewhere and for a second they thought it was me! Please pray for these children as they do not live in real homes and obviously do not receive the same resources as I have. They are so precious to the Lord and understand His goodness even when it seems like they are lacking
Praise God almighty for His goodness and for showing us JOY in ways we would have never expected!
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