Victory!

In past blog entries, I have voiced my frustration with soccer as it has been hard to earn their respect and they don't appreciate anything I do for them. For the past two weeks, things have been better after I have yelled at them and showed them who is boss. They don't mouth off to me as much and do what I tell them to do. It really has been a blessing and I am beginning to like soccer again. These kids really see me as their parent, grade inforcer, and coach. They even said that they are my kids and that deep down I know that I love them. I do love them and the craziness they bring to my life. The other night after school I had a gamet of players in my room. I had one of my second graders doing work, a high schooler finishing work, a girl player talking to him, the brother just talking and trying to one up me, another boy telling the rest that they have to go or his driver will smoke him, another girl player juggling, and a third girl player chatting with my mom on skype which she loved. After they had left, I thought about the former scene. I never pictured myself having frienships with high schoolers to the point that they feel open to share with me . It really is a blessing even though it is a little too much sometimes! Fortunately, I am able to run with some of the girls where we pray and just offer up praises to our Lord! I will not survive without them.

Anyways, the boys and the girls had a game last Monday against Ghana International School which has a pretty good team. The girls unfortunately lost 2-0 but they only had 7 players total where the boys played on the same field with two more players. They are learning so much and improving each time. I just have to keep them from getting frustrated. It will just take time to build up their program a little more. Pray that I have more coaches coming next year which I think I do so we can divide the two teams and please pray that we get more committed girl players.

For the boys, I knew our first victory was going to be Wednesday. We were starting to build from each game and I saw it coming together just at the right moment. I just had that jumpy feeling inside that today was the day. Well, I guess I was right because we got our first win, 2-1! I know winning isn't everything but it felt so good to finally have a victory! It also helps encourage the boys to know they can win and boosts their self confidence to continue to win. The boys were a little insane on the way home, I thought it was too much celebrating but a guy teacher with me told me that is how they are and it is good for their ego. There is so much to learn about coaching boys! Anyway, I keep telling them they can't get to cocky as we have more games to play. Through this experience, even though it is just a sport, I am learning the importance of riding the storm to see the good effects afterwards. It has been a struggle trying to teach all day and then put up with teenage attitudes but I am startng to realize that by hanging in there for the long haul, I am gaining their respect and trust and that is more important than anything. On the way home, they cheered for me and one of them even thanked me for helping them win. That really meant a lot since I never hear that from them, I usually get complaints! I don't need their approval but it is nice to feel appreciated once and awhile. These 30 middle school and high school students are my kids and I know my life would not feel complete without them no matter how crazy they make me!

Oh big a praise! They have cleared the land and have ploughed it for our new field. Ou next game will be on our field and I couldn't be more excited!

On a more important note than soccer, today is Good Friday. I pray you all have a chance to reflect on the sacrifice our Lord made for us so we can ultimately spend eternity with Christ. I had the opportunity to share with my kids yesterday and really dwell on the fact that the only way to go to heaven is to trust that Jesus Christ died for our personal sins. This created interesting conversations as one of my muslim girls said they celebrate Easter by celebrating the God for everyone. She said they believe that God will allow everyone to go to heaven. My kids then had words to say about this but they all did it in a kind way. They said, but I thought Muslims believe that Jesus was just a profit. My kids are great missionaries and want everyone to know the truth. I had the chance to share how I became a Christian and how people can go to church all their life and still not truly believe in Jesus Christ. It is important to accept him immediately into their hearts. If they learn anything this year, I pray it is the redeeming love of Christ. It is hard being gone for Easter as I love this great celebration with friends and family. However, I will be home very soon and I know we are all in the right place for God's right timing. I will be heading to the village to teach reading this week. Please pray that I have the words and they understand the message I am trying to convey to them.

HAPPY EASTER!

Neighborhood fun!

Kids club eating pizza and watching the Easter story video. They were so well behaved! I love them all so much!

If there is one aspect of living in my neighborhood that I adore, it is the half clothed, shoeless children that run through the streets yelling sister Christy and random songs that we sing on Tuesday nights. They are so precious and just children but have to grow up earlier to survive on the streets and help their parents. Tonight at kid's club, one of my friends received money from her church to use for the children. We decided to give them a special treat by buying pizza and tampico's. a type of juice in a bag. After we sang, we showed them an easter movie which mezmerized them while we passed out the pizza. Obviously they do not have TV's in their homes so it is a rare occasion for them to watch something, especially on the large wall. Fortunately, we only had 25 so we were able to contain them better and pass out everything to them without utter chaos. It was such a blessing to share something so small to us but a huge treat for them. At the end, I stressed the importance of knowing Christ as their Savior and I just pray that they truly believe in their hearts that He saved them. This message is hard to convey as not all of them speak English well but they know they are loved by us and our love comes from above. These children are truly my family. We laugh together, sing, play games on the street, read together, and even carry my groceries home together. I would feel loss without their bundle of energy and openness as they are who they are. It was interesting watching them eat their pizza as none of them finished the two slices. They saved at least one and wrapped it up in whatever they could find. The younger siblings would give their left over pieces to the older siblings to keep for later. They know how to conserve as they don't know when they will get their next complete meal. At the end, we still had many left over pieces so we handed out more until it got a little crazy and then had to stop. They for sure won't pass up free food and will probably feed the family. Also, pizza isn't their normal diet so this is something different to their tastebuds, hopefully it won't make them too sick. I love these children, they give me such joy. On Sundays, I read with some of them and I am teaching on to read. She is 8 and doesn't know her alphabet which is just so sad! We just have a good time sitting on my front porch while we laugh, tickle one another, and read their favorite books. It doesn't have to be something spectacular with these children as they just want quality time. Some of the children don't have mothers but also Ghanaian parents are not that compassionate towards their children. I don't want to step on their culture but at the same time, these children need to know they are loved. One of God's most beautiful creations was children and I am so fortunate to see that gift each day. Please pray for these childrena nd their education as the schools are extremely poor. If you would like to donate anything for them please let me know or my parents as they can bring it in June.

No Regrets!

These are my kids after our Fairy Tale plays that they created! They are so cute and creative!

As the week drew on and I realized my patience with the kids drew thinner(a tad more yelling than is required), a rather astounding thought came to mind. Is it really necessary to lose patience or raise my voice with these precious little ones? Well, I guess sometimes yes but I believe that there are better ways to handle situations than getting upset although I have not mastered remaining calm in every situation. However, I only have 5 weeks left with my children. Yes, only 5 weeks and I have loved each one of them. Before I know it, the year will be over and I will no longer be able to call them mine as alas, they will be third graders. Instead of getting bent out of shape over children fighting over a marker or making shadow puppets infront of the projector when they should be working, I should take advantage of each fleeting moment to love on them and enjoy the moment no matter how crazy it may seem. I know this is easier said than done, but it is my prayer that I take ahold of each day and look at the JOYFUL part of it instead of the negative, out of control elements. My kids deserve my best and I want them to leave impacted from my class. I only have 5 more weeks to accomplish that goal so I cannot lose sight. I encourage you to take a hold of each day and embrace it with JOY as you have the opportunity to share Christ's love and message with all sorts of people.

In class, my kids have been learning the elements of a fairy tale and fracturing a well known fairy tale into their on skit. We finlly presented these yesterday to the kindergarten class which you can see pictues and video above. I love to watch my kids take hold of a an idea and have the freedom to run with it through any random materials I have. In a country where you can't get a lot, we get good at being creative. The groups worked well together and ultimately produced interesting but creative fracture fairy tale skits.

Also at school, we had the second annual Poetry Slam where the whole school could participate in reciting a poem to peers, teachers, and parents. I had the privilege of putting together the schedule with a result of 101 poems from prekindergarten to teachers. The program ran 45 minutes over the scheduled time, but remember we live in Ghana! Overall, the event was a success and we are already looking towards improvements for next year. What is amazing about this event, is the opportunity for students of all ages to come together to encourage one another in the recitation of poetry. The younger kids look up to the older ones who don't think it is too cool to say poetry and the younger ones are just adorable. I must say that mine did extraordinary or maybe I am biased. They had feeling into it and great motions. Unfortunately, we do not have the best sound system but it worked! One of the most amazing moments is when one of mine recited a poem by himself who struggles with reading and told me an hour earlier that he would not participate. He is very self conscious and does not speak infront of his peers but God gave him the courage to say it with a clear, distinct voice. His mother was thrilled and everyone erupted in applause as they realized what a great accomplishment this was. We have a unique school environment where older kids get to interact with younger ones on a daily basis. The older ones really help out the younger ones and don't feel it odd to play a soccer match with them and hang them upside down after school. Of course, the younger ones are just mesmerized by the older ones and love the attention. These dynamics make for a great school setting.

In other random news, an 82 year old lady who was the first director here 4 years ago came back to help Mr Crosby get the school accredited. We had her over for dinner Monday night since she use to live in our house and knows the guard. She is so cute and nice. She is not replacing my grandmother but it is nice to have a grandmother figure around. Last night, she took us out for dinner and made sure she took good care of us. She is precious. As we were going to the restaurant, we stopped at the ATM and there was a man behind us who realized we were from America. He was from Lexinton, Kentucky so we had things to talk about since Cincinnati isnt too far. He has been here for 2 months and was looking for some good English conversations. He just talked our ears off, it was so funny as I guess he hasn't worked with a lot of Americans lately. He told us he would take us out to dinner but he wasn't hitting on us since he has a fiance and she will be here in June. This man was desperate so we didn't mind the conversation, it was just random and funny. Welcome to Ghana. Then last night at the school during movie night, the guard told me I shouldn't never wear my shirt again. I asked why wondering if I was inappropriate in some way. He said because it made me look like an old lady. Ha, never got that comment before! Usually it is the other way around so it didn't bother me so much. I love how honest they are here, as I can't think of many other places where someone would actually say that. God to love Ghana!

Profound thoughts for the week! We have been studying Ruth in bible study and it has been a fresh breath from God to dig into his word and hear again how he is our ultimate kinsman redeemer. This week, we read how Ruth went from widow, to maid, maiden, wife, and ultimately mother to the line of David and then line of Jesus. Talk about a 360! This as believers should give us great hope and encouragement to know that the process from grieving to redeeming may take a couple steps and a process but it is so worth it as it will be accomplished through God's timing. What a blessing from God! We need to be patient and see God's hand in each step of the way so we can ultimately be redeemed and serve our mighty God for His glory. Hang in there if you are tired and feeling inadequate, God will use us and mold us into His servant in his timing.

Homesick

My kids are busy putting together their fairy tale plays. Since we had testing last week, we had to have some fun!

I promise she is not strangling him! She is holding his cape together since he a super hero.

A lady who created a phonics program that we like sent us free books. The kids were excited and wanted to show off their new books and phonics cards. We even sent this picture to the lady. God bless people who will help us out!

This week has been like most weeks. Full teaching schedule and headaches with soccer. I leave each day feeling exhausted but love every moment of each day. On Thursday after bible study, the wife of one of my students and a teacher at the school told me I needed a couple of months at ome to recooperate. Once she said that, I started to realize that I really do want want to be home. I mean I love it here, this is home but when I take the time to realize what I am missing out on at home, it gets overwhelming. Fortunately, after I had my pit party and called my parents wee early in the morning, I snapped out of it. I am human, and have those moments but I am very thankful for the Lord leading me to Ghana, this is where I need to be. Through my breakdown moments, I am led back to the cross, back to my Savior, and back to His sacrifices. I can sacrifice time with my family if it is God's will and his name is being magnified. Being homesick, ultimately reminds me of the homesickness we have towards Heaven. That is what we should be longing for. The day when we can see our Savior face to face and spend eternity praising our King! I will post a song down below. Until then, we will keep plugging away, getting our quench filled through God's holy word and encouraging one another to press on.

Last week we had standardized testing and we survived four days of me reading everything to them! They had a hard time not answering questions aloud but we had fun in the process! We always know how to have a good time. On Thursday, we made cookies in class to practice fractions, mixtures, working together, and so much more. They said, wow this is a lot of subjects. Teaching at its finest when you can combine all of the subjects. During lunch, I ran to a teacher's house next door to the school and baked them all, which left them all glued together since they didn't have time to cool but they all seemed to enjoy them although one of the girls said hers was poisoned. Don't worry, she is still with us today. We are also working on fairy tale skits that they have fractured. They are not very developed but they are proud of their creations so I will stay satisfied! I love seeing my classroom when the kids are creating, there is material everywhere like confetti blown from the ceiling. My motto, you aren't working hard enough unless you have a huge mess!

Today I went to Auntie Jean's new house to help the kids learn maths. Yes, with an s, supposedly the Biritsh say it that way. Anyways, some of the kids are absorbing the new skills and others are not. Next week is the competition. Please pray that I have everything together for next week and the kids are responsive to the activities. Today, there was light coming through one of the clouds which created a rainbow. Someo of the kids said, Jesus is coming back and the angles are paving the way. You have to love the beauty God has shown.

Thank you to all those who support me and pray for me. Please know I pray you as well.

Only be homesick for our heavenly home.

United

Another Saturday filled with soccer! What could be better right? I took the kids to Tema today(45 minutes) to play against another school which consisted of mostly Ghanaians. The players were small but proved to be strong and fast which I wared my players against. After riding the bus, my boys were very lethargic and it showed as the other team scored two goals right away. It wasn't the way I wanted to start the match. Fortunately, by the end of the first half, my boys had woken up and equalized the game as they call it here. During this time, I also found out that I was only allowed to sub once and once they came out, they could not go back on. I must admit that I was a little angry about this as they never told me this rule. Some of their fans said then I didn't know soccer rules which I told them not to insult me. It is a hard place to be in as I am a white American "small girl" in a man's world. There was no more goals in the second half but my boys were getting hammered and the ref always sided with the other team. I am just thankful that one of my boys didn't lose their cool which almost happened a couple of times. I am fine with the draw as the officiating was horendous and I a glad none of my players were injured. My boys learned an important lesson that you can't worry about the refs, you have to keep playing until the end as little things can get your head out of the game easily. My boys were very upset and did not want to be friendly but again I had to remind them of the school we represented and most importantly Christ which we needed to reprsent. This was difficult for them but they were good little boys on their best behavior as good as they could at least. The funny part was the other team spoke mostly in twi and they thought none of my players understood. Half of my team speaks twi so my players would come back from half line telling me what they would say. They would say, "coach they don't think we understand but we do, and they are saying this" They were so proud of their sneakiness. Anyways, we survived and through the experience they bonded as a team which is what we really needed. They are always telling me they are't coming or I don't do this, or that but this experience made them realize the importance of working together and rallying behind their coach. We only have a few more matches before the end of the year and even though I really want a win, i am proud of the way my players are growing and learned the hard work ethics that are vital. These players cam to me without the basic knowledge of working as a team and I want them to learn this concept more than anything! Sorry I just blabbed about soccer. It is so entertwined in my life. I might complain but I love the opportunity to share a game I love and utimately the love of Christ.

Most Important Lesson

After teaching the same grup of students for 7 months so far and another 2 months left, I pray that the students glean many of the acadmic skills that I have taught them in order to be successful throughout their student career. Beyond academics, I hope that I inspire them to be hard workers who seek out opportunities to learn and push themselves to achieve the impossible. Beyond the work ethics, I pray with all my heart that they undestand and believe the geatest truth ever which I cannot restate enough. On Wednesday, this special topic was brought back to our attentions again and again with much joy we addressed it to its finest. If you are not sure what I am talkin about, don't worry I am tellin you now. During bible this beautiful question was asked..... "What do you have to do to be saved?" Oh those words kept my eyes wide and my smile big as I quickly prayed for the Lord to give me the right words. I then went on to tell them that I wanted them to know this truth more than anything even though Ihave told them before. I gave the salvation message and walked though the prayer that they need to have with God in order to surrender their life to Christ. I want them to know that I am always available to talk about Christ and how important it is for them to accept Christ. 2nd graders are excellent about getting off topic so we ended up talking about underground churches in Ghana. Through that, one of my muslim girls asked if sacrifical deaths were okay. I asked what she meant and she said killing yourself. WOW! Well, no it isn't. If someone kills you because you stand up for Christ then that is different but to just kill yourself thinking that will help is not okay. THen my other Muslim girl asked does God still love the people that say Jesus is only a prophet? WOW! Another heavy topic that shows the difference between Christanity and Islam. Again, I referred to Christ as the Savior and the only true way to get to heaven is through accpting him as our personal Savior from all of our sins. THese two girls are testing the waters and deciding which way to go. It is a struggle as they hear one truth at home and another at school but please pray that they will begin to see Christ as their only true way for salvaton and eternal life in Heaven. They know the truth, they just now need to accept with all of their heart. Some of my student have acceped Christ, even as early as 4 and others are still trying to make it personal by realizing acceptance is the only true way. Yes, they are young but they are really searching for the truth. I love being able to have these conversations openly in class as this is what life is all about. I desperately want them to know how to read and know their math skills quickly, but in reality, if they know the truth about Christ, then they have achieved everything. April Fool's Day! A teacher has to love April Fool's Day as kids are always trying to pull pranks. I am pretty safe as a second grade teacher as their pranks consist of "Everything is gone Miss Sopcisak" "Look over there" "I don't have my homework" "Your papers are missing" You just act surprise, they say April Fool's and then they think they are hilarious for fooling you. Whatever makes them happy! One of my girls wrote in her journal that she would prank someone by hiding the map or globe and yell Rome is no longer a country. Oh I laughed so hard since Rome is not a country to begin with but she is trying to be creative at least! One of the high schoolers made a fake newsletter that stated we didn't have school today. It came from someone noone would expect so it was amazing but administration did not find it as funny as we did. My teacher friends and I had our fun too as we switched classes for awhile. I began the day in kindergarten and then later on I went to 9th grade which has most of my soccer players in it. I read them a kids story before giving them a test. At first they complained about the story and said "I can't believe this is suppose to be our soccer coach" but then they all listened. At one point I had to stop and voice my throught aloud that I couldn't believe that the were all actually being quiet. It was quite funny to look at and watch them look at the pictures and interact with the book. Some of them enjoyed the book as it gave them a few more minutes to study. It is good to switch up the day some, keeps us all alert and on our toes. My kids really didn't say anything about the two switches with two different teachers. One girl even said, "Wait you were gonge? I didn't see any other teachers in here?" Oh man, that is scary! Here are some encouraging word to leave you with; "And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" Deuteronomy 20:3-4 Amen that we do not have to fight the battles alone! We have Christ so why do we have to fear at all? He does save us and protect us and I must remember this truth constantly. Praise God for his ultimate sacrifice and his unconditional love. "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. The Humbled and Exalted Christ 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Light Bearers 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. " Philippians 2 Christ was able to give up his kingship to be a lowly baby and carpenter. Why? To save us from our sins? Are we worth that sacrifice? Are we willing to sacrifice our time, our reputation, all for the one who sacrifice the most? These verses really put in perspective the important matters in life and the true example Christ as set before us.