Christ's Look at the Heart

Putt putting for my birthday!

So what do you do when your ball never comes out? You ask a guard to jump over a fence so he can use a long stick to remove rocks and then our golfballs. I attempted first but obviously failed.

The third grade class(use to be my second graders) made me a beautiful card for my birthday.

Math fun in 2nd grade! It looks like playing but I promise they are exploring their manipulatives.

We gave out all the school supplies that my church back home donated during the summer and during VBS. Thank you so much as the kids really loved them! Isn't his face adorable?

This is actually an organized line of kids getting their school supplies.

My 2nd grade class showing off their belts of truth that Christ has equipped us with. Somehow we manage to learn something.

Week 2 down and only.... don't worry I haven't started to count the weeks left until school is over, it would be too depressing! Although, I rather love teaching and am staying positive so I can just enjoy each beautiful day the Lord has given. The week started as a typical week with trying to get kids in routine and keeping patience. However, Tuesday brought a new twist to the week as I found myself running to the bathroom while teaching to well, I will keep details to myself. By 10:00, I was already sent home, feeling rejected, and hating to leave my kids already! Somehow, I managed to sleep and woke in time to begin the first kids club meeting. Some of my friends thought I should be in bed, but obviously the all knew better than to try to deter me from my kids! Afterall, this was the first one and I had so many school supplies to give away thanks to my beautiful church family! Praise to the Lord, I made it through the time and the kids loved the supplies. There were so thankful as always and left with glistening smiles. They did miss reading as they love that part but I promised them for next time. Thank you so much for all of you who donated supplies, money, or books to these precious ones on the street. They are so appreciative and love getting new supplies to begin a fresh year which starts in September. I do love these children and am so thankful to have friendships with them as they run and hug as from down the street. Oh funny story. One night one of the boys was asking who the mama and papa were with my and then we all left. I said they were my parents. Then he asked if they were rich. I said, they have some money but why do you ask? He asked if they took a car here and then I explained they took a plane which fly over all the time. Of course to them, you must be rich to get all the way over here. Then he asked me what color they were either black or fair. This striked me as funny since it seemed obvious and even another little boy said, "well of couse fair like her." We are so quick to put color on everything but to them, they didn't see a difference. God bless little difference. Also, a lot of them have never had a close interaction with white people so they do become inquisitive and play with my hair saying how soft it is or asking what happened when they see all of my freckles. They are going to be curious and a lot of times frightened as this is how we can be portrayed but the kids in this neighborhood know we love them and that we will tell them all about Jesus. There is nothing sweeter than hearing "Sister Christy" or "Making Melodies in my Heart"(song we sing) while running down the road.

After I recovered from my little illness, the rest of the week went smoothly. I am getting into the groove of teaching and the kids are having fun, well I hope! During bible, we were talking about Moses and the burning bush. I was giving them some background information and asked them who found Moses when he was in the basket. I then received the answer Mary and when they knew that wasn’t correct, I got the Ferry’s mother. You just have to love second graders! I wish I wrote down more than what I can remember in all they say all day long but God has made such amazing children with inquisitive minds. During the weekend, we took all the new teachers to Madina, the market. Just think, 10 obruneis on one trotro! It was hilarious and I can only imagine what the Ghanaians were thinking. I just feel so alive when I am on a trotro well usually with a lot of Ghanians but just living life in beautiful Ghana despite the fumes and smells! (I really don’t want to know how my lungs look!) Every moment in Ghana is an adventure and you just have to open and take what is given to you.

God’s love is everlasting and I am so thankful that He has given us the opportunity to love others. I love all of you and please keep in touch!

We have just started a bible study on David from Beth Moore and I was reminded of 1 Samuel 16:7 which at the end of the verse says "The man looks at the outward appearaance, but the Lord looks at the heart." So many times we and myself are quick to judge others by looks, especially kids on the street who are filthy andd have probably been in the gutter. They might be the least likeable candidate for love but boy are they loved by God! God knows their pure hearts and how much he loves us. It is only fitting that I also look to the Ghanaian people and all people I interact with to see them through their heart then just appearance.

25 already?

As I walk down the street in Ghana, I am met by sounds of men in an unfinished building singing "I have Decided To Follow Jesus" while the distinct sounds of brooms sweeping the pavement ring clear in my head and chickens and goats are everywhere. I am welcomed by beautiful Ghana everyday and I am so thankful for the opportunity to experience such unique sounds and smells although sometimes it can really smell! On this particular day, I am so fortunate to celebrate my 25th birthday! I do not like the idea of getting old but I am still in pretty good condition so I am thankful for that. I began my day by being serenaded by a birthday song that my guard made up(I mean who else can say that!) and taking a refreshing but sweatfilled run. I spent the morning tutoring two precious students who are searching for the truth and even received cute little cards. I then of course had a random time with teacher friends as we went put putting with polo shirts on! I almost forgot we were in Ghana until our balls got stuck in a pipe and the guard had to jump the fence to get a large stick and then he got out two large stones and the balls. We also hard dums, singing, and whistles coming from the property next door, yes we were still in Ghana! We then continued the festivities to dinner and back to a friend's house for pineapple and frozen strawberries, my staples over here! I am so forunate for loving friends who love me for myself and not any other reason. Lets face it, we are all hard to love at times but we are worth the effort because of God and His grace for all man kind. I am blown away by the love my friends' have shown me and I pray that I can only do the same for them. It is still unbelievable that I have celebrated three birthdays here and spent many nights either laughing or crying. God is good all the time and continues to show His faithfulness through all the twists and turns of life. One thing I have learned in a quarter of a centure, life is too short for worrying. We must live with Joy from the one true God and spend each day praising Him on High!

Our God Reigns

There is so much to talk about and I am not sure where to begin. As of last week, I spent the time making my room presentable for children. I must say I am kind of slow in this department and many people didn't have any hope in me finishing. However, witht he last minute touches the morning of school, I was ready to open! This became a tiring week of just working but it was much needed as the school was a mess as they put on a 4th floor. This week reminded me of God's preparation for us. He continues to sharpen us and mold us into his creation, until the time He is ready to use us in a different way than before. I worked hard to prepare my year so it would be ready for my students. It took hard work, but having a loving environment for my students was important so it was worth the effort. Am I willling to allow God to prepare me for His vision in my life?

A highlight of the week came Friday when I had some of the teachers over for dinner. I had given directions to the new PE teacher from his house but unfortunately I failed. He took one wrong turn and wasted an hour and a half trying to find our place. Oops, I even gave him the wrong color gate but he wasn't anywhere close to that. We eventually got him to take a taxi and the problem was solved but I felt bad. It was kind of like his induction into Ghana, you know if you can survive the streets alone. My first year I went running and got lost for an hour so it happens to the best of us. Wow, three years ago, I knew nothing of this place and now it is home. It is crazy how that happens and how God puts a passion into your heart but I am content here and surrounded by family that comes in different forms.

On Sunday, the Lord reminded me of "show and tell" about how I might be the only Christ that these kids ever see. It is so important that everyday I have the purpose to love God so I can in return love these precious children God has put in my classroom. There are definitely difficult days with them but God is sovereign and as long as I stay patient He will get me through. I love the chance to share Christ with these kids and just hang out with them.

I can honestly say that I survived the first week! Praise the Lord and I am not taking that lightly. It is always hard at the beginning of the year as of course they are not at the place where they are at the end of the year. I have to teach everything new again and be a little strict at first so they learn the rules. This is hard to do but God is getting me through. They are precious and I have some that will keep me on my toes but I am just praying for the strength to get through. By the end of the week, we were finally making progress and I know this will continue. They are so cute and I love kids because they instantly love you and tell you that. It really boosts your self esteem! One the first day we made castles out of boxes which at first was hard for them to understand but then there creativity took hold and we made a total mess which I am so good at. Please look at the pictures above! They love to tell stories and be involved so I try to keep things interactive. I know we will get to know each other soon. One of my new students told me at first he didn't want to come to this school but now He is happy because we talk about Christ. What more could you want! One day the PE teacher walked in and one of my boys asked him if he was married. He said no and the kid asked well didn't you go to school? The PE teacher said yes and then the boy said but if you went to college you should be married, that is what you do! Kids are too funny! They are already excited about the bible and we have many good conversations already about how Christ is the only way to get to Heaven by believing in His sacrifice on the cross. Please be in prayer for me as I continue to love on these kids and that I seek out the opportunities to talk to them about Christ.

A praise:

I feel a little prideful mentioning this but I want to praise God just the presence He is in my life and how he has worked out marvelous plans for me to be in Ghana. This week I found out that a relative a significant amoudn of money for Cathy and I when we turned 25. This amount is just enough to finish the rest of my school loans making me debt free! Now I have the freedom to go whereve the Lord leads next year which is exciting but also scary! I am so thankful for God and for just showing His mercies in a huge way. I still need to praise Him through the storm but will definitely praise His name on High through this blessing. Our God Reigns is such a comforting statement and it couldn't be more true. I pray that each one of you hold that truth close to your hearts and never let go.

Home Sweet Home

I am back in beautiful Ghana. It was interesting, coming here this time because it seemed so natural. I was just heading over to my other home, back to where I live now. Please don’t get me wrong, I love my family and friends back at home. I was able to see gorgeous friends, be encouraged by others, and laugh plenty with my family. I will never trade those memories for a second. However, I love Ghana as well, even though that seems selfish at times. The moment I got here, I was welcomed, offered help, and yes even called obruni(white person.) Never a better sound, feeling, and smell(yuck, minus the smell!). It is such a blast seeing old friends and getting a chance to ask about their family and talk a little twi. Hey truly are wonderful people and I am blessed to learn the trust they have in the Lord. Things are a bit stressful right now with trying to finish a fourth floor on the building, wondering if I have to move classrooms, and fit five thousand kids in our school! Okay, not that many but we still have 270 kids. It really is amazing that 6 years ago, we only had 30 kids in the school and now we have 270. Only God could increase that number in such a short time. It is a true blessing but it will take extra effort this year to make the school run smoothly. Yes, God is good and he will get us through each second, even the difficult ones. I pray you are all doing well.