Saturday, April 28, 2012

Snap to It!

Friday proved to be a "snappy" day in more than way but mostly because of our third annual Poetry Slam!  This has proven to a be a fun event for the past three years and I had the privilege of helping with it again this year.  One of the most critical parts of the Poetry Slam is snapping instead of clapping after each poem.  Obviously, it isn't a real big sound but it makes the ambience more artsy!  My students were amazing of course and I was proud of them as they have all shown improvements in one way or another throughout the year.  Listening to them yesterday, you would have not known that I had three who came in hardly knowing any English, some too afraid to speak, and others not confident in reading.  Instead, my second graders showed the rest of the school that they can memorize and present poems with a great rhythm, stage presentation, and even enunciate although their teacher needs helps in this department sometimes!  Alright, I do sound like a proud teacher who thinks her kids are the best, but I can't help being proud of them.  They have taught me love, unconditional love and I know the Lord has placed each one of them in my life to be a true blessing.  I told them yesterday that I was leaving and as you can imagine this was a hard conversation to have. Of course, they started asking who is going to coach soccer which seems to be the first question out of their mouths but I reassured them they are in good hands.  Oh, it doesn't get any easier leaving except that I have confidence in the next door the Lord has opened for me. 

         THis week we also made fraction pizzas which has been a favorite for three years!  I lead them in covering their pizza with sauce, cheese, and other ingredients by calling out different fractions.  We then microwave them and they feel like real chefs which is hilarious!  Of course, they have sauce all over their faces and proudly allow it to remain for proof that they indeed cooked pizzas in class.  I love sharing moments with them that seem so common to me, like cooking! 

On Friday afternoon, we hosted minute to win it games for the middle school students.  We had them eating cookies off their faces, keeping feathers up, flipping shoes onto tables, and so many other random things.  Of course it was more fun to watch then participate but I am so thankful we can have fun activities for the kids and allow them to see that it is okay to look ridiculous! 

In other random news, they are still filling in the gutters on my street.  Yes, the war zone continues as I step in puddles in mud at least twice a day.  This week I learned an interesting fact I hadn't thought of.  The new gutters are a little farther away from the drainage pipes so right now the lovely things that come out of the pipes are just dumping on the ground.  I was told that we had to drill holes into the new gutter so the drainage pipes would drain actually into the gutter.  Who knew that was our responsibility?  Oh, God Bless good old Ghana! 

This morning I was running and I was called Chinese and then Korean.  I didn't respond, so they just went with Acos which means Sunday born since they think all white women must have been born on Sunday.  I never pictured myself looking oriental bur I am always up for a good laugh while running.  One of my kids asked me if it was racist to call someone black.  I said, in the states, you would never just yell that out to someone.  Then some of my white kids ask, "well then why do they call us white people here?"  What a heavy question!  The different cultures do pose interesting questions that even second graders can begin to grasp.

Today(Saturday) we spent the day at City of Refuge which I have been at before.  They rescue children from the Volta Lake where they are used as slaves to catch fish.  They also have a school and are working on many other projects.  Several teachers and one family went today so we could show love to the kids and survey the project.  We are taking around 20 kids on Tuesday, since we have May Day off, to do work projects.  We are looking forward to teaching good work habits to our students and showing them how it can be rewarding to serve others.  There are so many needs out there and I am thankful that the Lord is allowing to show us how we can share the Light with Christ with so  many of his children.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Truth with a capital T


Oh yes the truth, nothing but the Truth. I have been going through a book with my ninth grade small group about young lies that women can believe and how to steer away from them. Again, of course I know the Truth stems from Christ but it can be easy to get caught up into feeling sorrow for myself or other random feelings. There are days when I just don't want to get out of bed or do work and yes, I know we all have those feelings but I want to feel free and feel excited to start each day. There is nothing stopping me if I continue to stand firm in the Truth and run to Christ for my acceptance. I know, random thoughts but I like sharing struggles because it just shows how powerful Christ is!

On Saturday, Josiah and I went to read and sit with the onion boys. On Friday, I mentioned to him that at the first tree we go to with the boys, it just seems awkward and they are not as accepting to us. He reminded me of something I had written in an earlier blog about loving on these boys since noone else does and they are seemed as a lower class. I needed these words that were ironically written by me to remind me that we do not always have to feel welcomed or like we are making a difference but we are always called to love and to go to all people who need the gospel. Of course God showed reminded me of His Glory and the call we have to continue to love because we had a fantastic time with the guys. It might have been because we had been gone for three weeks but they loved reading and talking to us. They loved teaching us Zarma even more and hearing our horrible pronunciations. What a blessing God showed me through this time.

Today, I played in a gutter. I know this sounds ridiculous but it is oh so true. Before you have those thoughts of never wanting to be close to me again, it was a clean gutter that has not been used yet! Our street is putting in new gutters so it looks like a war zone right now. They decided to tear up the whole entire street on both sides before constructing each part of the gutter along the long road. However, it does become a great playground for kids! We spent some of the afternoon rolling a ball down the clean gutter, playing our version of "gutter ball!" I was helping Rafik jump across the gutter but then he was trying to jump on his own which makes me a horrible Auntie! He was then taking cement pieces and saying in Twi, "God has given me money!" He is such a funny little kid! Please pray for all of these children as they just need a lot of love!

In other random news, we went to an Italian circus in Ghana on Friday.  I know random  right?  It was something else to do on a Friday night and we went with some friends of ours from church.  Who knew that Ghanians are deathly afraid of snakes?  We really want to take some of the kids on the street since they never would  have this chance.  Please pray it works out.



I pray everyone has enjoyed there wonderful weekend and are ready for another fantastic week to praise the Lord!




Saturday, April 14, 2012

To Go!

Bea twice a week teaches the fifth and 6th grade a half hour of English. She was using volunteers to show a family which the kids though was hilarious!

La Lumiere which mean the Light in French. This is so fitting!A school, a moto, and the Togolese Flag. This pretty much sums it all up!

Aren't they beautiful?

Beautiful little Abigail in 1st grade. She came running up to me immediately when I came and loved to be hugged. Oh the crazy kindergarten kids! You can tell they have a lot of personality.
I was attempting to speak to the first grade teacher with my French but eventually needed help with the translation. Soon I will be fluent, I hope!
The first grade teacher was teaching Bible to her 40 students. They stayed pretty engaged throughout the lesson.
This shows you most of the class with me in the far left corner. They love to have their picture taken!
If you put these two small words together, it spells a fantastic place that has recently become near to my heart. I hope you can guess it by now.... TOGO! Yes, this past week, I have been privileged to travel to Togo by trotro(never a dull moment!) to explore the endless possibilities to be a help there next year. Once leaving Accra, and seeing the untainted beauty of Ghana and Togo, I am always reminded that I was not meant to live in a city all of my life. The green exotic foliage and jagged mountains seem to stretch on forever bringing hope and new life around every dangerous and bumpy corner. After waiting for a trotro to fill up for two hours, the rest of the trip went by fast to Ho which is still in Ghana but close to the border. I spent sometime with some other missionaries and then made my way to Kpalime with another misisonary. One thing I am realizing here, you just get use to meeting so many different people all the time and sharing your whole life story even if you will never see them again. I love that you can just be honest with people as we all share the same passion of giving the Gospel to the nations.
Once in Kpalime(silent K) we stayed with a missionary who does many outreaches in the village and who takes care of three Togolese children. They immediately latched onto me and we enjoyed the afternoon playing and conversing in the little French that I can use. However, when playing with kids, the same language is not necessary as smiles, laughter, and tickling is a universal language! I did enjoy the moments when they totally understood what I said and vice versa in French. Lightbulb!
On Wednesday, I visited one of the 14 Christian schools associated with the Baptist churches. I had to endure 40 minutes of the students reading the same passage on the board over and over again. The teacher insisted that they must work on pronunciation but this does no good if they don't understand what they are reading plus they are only 7 so as I know, their attention span is small. These are some of the small areas in which I hope to help the teachers in as they are just copying how they grew up but we want them to understand that there are better ways to ensure the students' learning. However, it is small when you have 40 students in the room to do this and every space is filled with a desk, but I am praying that I can find a manageable way to ensure everyone's learning need. Oh the needs are plenty and I feel so inadequate to discover all the answers but I am willing and I know the Lord will provide.
Wednesday night helped me realize the importance of prayer and to not take for granite the chance we have to pray openly. I spent the night at another misisonaries house where she had Togolese company staying for the night. We were talking for awhile until the man said, "Prions" or Let's Pray! He prayed for many things including me and my transition to Togo next year. It was such a blessing and wake-up call that prayer is esential as we must deliver Thanks to our Father in Heaven. Everytime we got into the car, we prayed as travel here is a miracle with the potholes, livestock, and motos.
On Thursday and Friday, I spent more time in the schools. I most enjoyed a first grade room as she was energetic and tried to keep the kids engaged. However, this is a challenge when you have 40 6 year olds and nowhere to go but the small wooden bench but they did well. She proved to have more challenges than this as she had a 4 year old in the class and one precious girl who is autistic and always up to something. I long to work with this class and help find ways to keep everyone active and learning. She did a good job going around to check on the students' work but she had to spend so much time with two in particular that the others proved to be restless. I enjoyed giving her praise in the French I could muster to speak but I got to the point where I needed a translator to express my encouragement. Oh, it would be so much easier if I was fluent in French, but I know this will come if I keep working on it.
Thursday night was a very productive night as we met the the Togolese church leaders to discuss a CEG(middle school) for next year. There is a lot to determine for this project to happen but we are excited for the children to continue their education in a Christian school environment. During this time, I definitely got to work on my French as I had to concentrate to pick up on the gist of the conversation but it was good practice. Bea(missionary) feels really convicted to provide afterschool programs for the students, especially for the girls so they do not become pregnant as a prey to older men. I am in charge of this project which I am excited about. Thank goodness for the years I spent trying a new craft every week! I am also thankful for Nanette who taught me how to crochet and knit after Sunday School. I am more convinced than ever that it is important to remember what you were taught at an early age as it will come back to haunt you later on! This just shows that the Lord equips us early on for His glory in ways that we can't even imagine! Anyways, I will be teaching the girls different skills so they have something to look forward to or make money from instead of thinking their only answer is pregnancy. Yes, I am knee deep in projects already but the Lord will provide as always!
My trip home was not too eventful but I guess more so than in the states. In the first trotro, I found myself in an old station wagon sitting in the middle front seat. Ah, this reminded me of the days going to Pennsylvania with all 6 of us crammed in a car and me sitting up front center. However, the scene was a little different as I was surrounded by Ghanaians, we bumped along red clay roads, and I was surrounded by luscious green foliage and palm trees. Oh the memories! The next trotro but even more cozier as I was crammed between two larger woman and a child for 4 hours. Talk about fun! We all survived and I made it home within 6 hours of leaving the house where I stayed in Togo. Going home actually proved another exciting change as they are tearing up our road to put in new gutters. So imagine a dirt road covered with piles upon piles of gravel and dirt along with broken up cement from the old gutter. Than imagine a huge gaping hole between the road and your house and looking down in a muddy pit. Yep, home sweet home. I had to laugh as I walked the gang plank to my gate since we call our house the Palace and now how fitting as I had to walk the drawbridge across the moat. Oh blessed Ghana, never a dull moment!
I guess the real question is are you actually moving to Togo? The answer at this point is yes! I feel that the Lord is making it possible for me to work with the Togolese people to provide Christian education for the students and to disciple the teachers. I feel so inadequate and overwhelemed but the Lord will provide!
Happy Sunday

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Decide to Follow

When I was walking Sunday evening, I realized that an ordinary sight to me here, is something quite extraordinary in other cultures. I was turning the corner from my street when a lady was pulling out certain branches from a large pile of debris. She smiled nicely at me when I passed her and then went back to her work. While she was working, I heard the familiar sound of, "I have decided to Follow Jesus." It was such a powerful message to hear because as this woman did menial work, she was still singing praises to her Savior and proclaiming that no matter what the job she has been called to do, she has still taken the stance to Follow Christ. I needed that reminder as I tend to worry about the future and if the plans will work out. However, if I am committed to following Christ, then I do not have to worry about the details. God is in control of the details, I just have to make the decision to fully follow him no matter the obstacle that seems to stand in the way. What an easy concept but a harder one to actually practice.
On Wednesday, we had chapel for the entire school to stay focused on the meaning of Easter. Some students put on a the Easter Story through song, interpretitive dance, and even a scene between the devil and Jesus with the background of the Final Countdown. It struck the kids in a new way and really made them think of the sacrifice God made for them. After one of the songs, I turned to my second graders. One of them was clapping wildly and exclaiming, "This is amazing!" It was very cute! Afterwards, we talked about the true meaning of Easter and one of my girls aksed if we could pray that everyone would decide to follow Jesus. Yes, what an amazing example of childlike faith. Please pray with me that the students will fully understand how they can follow God full heartedly.
I was talking to a friend of mine who is moving to Kenya with her five kids and husband. They are very dear to me and I will miss them emensely. We were talking about stepping out on Faith and trusting God to provide when there doesn't seem away. We so easily say yes, God and then say "but God" right afterwards. If we are truly telling God that we trust Him, there should not be any "buts" afterward as preacher said nothing good comes out of a but. Instead, we should be saying, "OK God!" Yes God, it seems impossible, OK you will move the mountains and of course he will. Will it be the way we envisioned it? Maybe, maybe not, but if we are willing to say"OK God, here I am and take all of me," then what culd go wrong? Yes, easier said than done but each day as we walk with our Savior, we see His goodness a little more and understand a little more how much he really is in control.
This week in my classroom, we put on our fairy tale plays. Leading up to this, the students created an explosion of color and construction paper as they designed their costumed and prepared for their play. I truly love these moments because even though I am running around assisting in anyway possible, the kids are truly happy and having the opportunity to allow creativity to flow. One day we were picking up, which takes a decade!, and I found a shoe under the table. I was looking for the owner when I found the match under the next table. I knew immediately who it was as he is notorious for this and then I had to laugh as I sent this student on an errand to kindergarten not knowing he was missing his shoes! Oh my! It really never is a dull moment in my classroom and I just have to laugh at the craziness so I don't lose my sanity although some of you might be questioning if I ever had any. Good question!
Of course this blog would not be complete without mentioning our Savior! I love worshipping in a mixed cultural groups with a variety of mother tongues and knowing that the Savior of the Universe died for us all! He is risen! He is risen indeed! This joyful proclamation was started by Christians centuries ago who wanted to make sure they were meeting with other true believers. If a person responded in the right way, they knew they were a true believer and was not trying to infiltrate the Church meeting. Unfortunately, this is very true for many believers today, especially in Northern Africa where Christians must meet in secret. They too, are celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior but alas, they are doing it underground. I am so thankful that our God is bigger than persecution as he has Conquered Death once and for all! I pray that today and everyday you can joyfully exclaim that Our Savior is Risen and He is Risen Indeed!