Peace

To find tranquility and peace, some people seclude themselves or go to a restful place. When I want peace, I go to the village. Last week I spent glorious spring break with my beloved friends Christine and Kirk. The first day I was there, christine did not arrive until the evening so I spent the afternoon reading, doing crafts with the kids, and itting outside with one of the girls. Sometimes this is hard for me to jsut sit around and do things for pleasure. However, it won't last forever so I should enjoy it. Also, it is good to just be, enjoy people's company, and reflect on Christ. Monday night when I was looking over my journal, I came across a quote I must have written down from church. It states, "Do not let busyness be an idol." "Oh man, that hit hard as I stay bussy instead of being still before my creator. Today has given me the chance to read a boo the challenges my walk with Christ and dive into God's word. I should be thankful for that time with my Savior and look for ways to make that more a vital part in Accra. Afterall, my busy life will have no purpose unless it is rooted in God's truth and is connected with guidance. On Monday, I heard some of Chrisitne's past week which proved to be wearisome. They traveled to Mole with eleven of their friends to see the animals. Luckily, they saw 7 elephants but Christine saw her own nature. She decided to take a nap in the room until she was awaken by a banging sound inside her room. She looked up to see a baboon starting at her by the door. you can imagine the horror. She stayed in a corner but the baboon took a bag and ran out the door. That bag happened to possess all the supplies for a birthday party for her mother that the baboons enjoyed instead. Party crashers!





Thre is much drama that Christine must deal with living in a small town. Please pray for sanity and direcction as one of her foster children had to be in the mental hospital for over a week as she kept trying to run away. They are dealing with real life situations and need your prayers. Also, her father is very sick so she is traveling to the states. Please pray for her summer as she spends time with her family and finds a place to belong in Michigan.





For the rest of the week, we made our way to the village. Three of the girls who were from the village, lived with them for two years while they went to middle school in town. On Tuesday night, the girls had their last dinner with my friends before they went back to the village until they find out which high school they will go to. Some of these girls are 17 years old but it just depends when they have had a good enough education to continue on. Two of these girls didn't know English until Christine taught them 4 years ago. Even though they have a late start, they are still determined for an education to better themselves. Christine and Kirk have really impacted these three girls and given them an opportunity that most village kids don't see. I was filled with chills when the fathers of the three girls came to Christine in the village and thanked her for helping their girls. It hit me that these parents were getting an education through their children like they have never experienced. The parents cannot read or speak English but yet their girls can now pick up a novel and enjoy. A first generation is enjoying literacy that noone in the village has ever experienced. This is a huge deal and such an exciting step. Watching this in action helped me realize the importance of helping villages through education. It gave me the drive to partner with these village so they can better themselves and give them pride in knowing how to read.





For two days in the village, I spent time teaching these girls how to teach phonis first starting with how to say each sound which is always a good place to staet. They got pretty tired after awhile but we had fun especially when the small children sat in the class and we all taught each other. Picture this scene, four walled spider infested room with windows open for lighting. Looking out the window framed tropcial foliage with ladies and men coming back from their farms carrying wood and vegetables on their heads. This is typical life for them but picturesque beauty for me. This is real life and while they strive for an education, normal life surrounds them, that of surviving each day by working hard for the next moment.





It was an exciting few days teaching thse teenagers how to teach as it was my first step into writing curriculum and presenting it to future teachers. I spent one afternoon and evening writing down everything they should teach for 12 weeks of school. I am not entirly sure what I am doing but Iam learning as I go and that is a step in the rght direction. It really is a passion of mine to teach the children of Ghana and give them an opportunity to achieve their own goals. I am not sure what it all entails at the moment but these children have grabbed my heart as they have such a heart for longing. Everyone is so welcoming in the village and you can't beat living in the rainforest and taking a bucket bath under the crisp twinkling sky. We even saw the southern cross! Now you can't see that in the city!





Saturday morning was my favorite as Christine brought out the face chalk. It is like face paint but you can just draw on faces like with crayons. Now we are talking about real fun. The kids decided to go make a play so we made them into wild animals such as cheetahs, lions, zebras, and tigers, oh my! We found every kid we could to draw on them as it was just too fun. They made up a cute skit of a hunter shooting a zebra which looked so realistic as she twitched when she hit the ground. Christine said they see it all the time so it is realistic. Then all the animals ate the zebras. Too cute! If i would have known 5 years ago I would be in Africa painting animals faces on children, I would have said God you are too good to me. There is nothing better than just living with the children and loving on them in unique ways. I have village life in my blood now and it won't leave. I am hoping to take the rest of the family here in June and can't wait to share this part of my life with them.





We started this week again from spring break. The students handled themselves well. The big stressor came from soccer this week. I have been trying to get our new field forever! I thought we had it this week and after all week of waiting for a grater to come, they came on Friday and wouldn't do the job. I then spent 24 hours trying to play a new place to play. Let's just say it was a mess and even though we found a place, it wasn't ideal. God is good though and we survived. I am realizing I am too intense as a coach and need to learn how to relax. I just want the best for my kids and feel bad to disappoint them. We are all learning from this experience. They finally grated the field today and hopefully by next Friday we will play on it. Praise the Lord. Please pray for this as I just want it to work out but this is Ghana.





My parents come in 4 weeks! Praise the Lord for this! It will be such a blessing to have them experience life here. Please know you are all loved by our creator and me. God gets us through each and everyday. Let us live singing a song of praise to Him.