Joy through Trials

An exciting day for AIS soccer as we tied a very good school. Let me just say the boys bring a lot of personality to the field. Can you tell?

An attempt to score. We had opportunities but only found the back of the net once.

Half time pep talk. They usually aren't listening but they are good players!

Fraction Pizzas! My kids earned a fraction pizza party for behaving so well. We covered pitas in sauce and toppings which the children generously brought in. This is fun, tasty, and educational. What more could you ask for? My kids are very photogenic.

A school week is only 5 days long but a lot can happen in that short amount of time. Just enough time to struggle through trials but also a chance to see God's mercy and goodness shine through.

The week started with a teacher work day which was much needed as surprise, surprise, I began to fall behind in school work. However, the day became much more exciting as middle school and high school boys began to enter my room, chattering with anticipation of our game against Lincoln which is the other American school here. They are a very good team and to be honest, I thought above our playing abilities. Good thing on this one, I was wrong! With 20 players, we loaded up the school bus and headed to the school where I found a very nice organized athletic department with a grass field. Yes, grass it is true but my kids are stronger by playing on sand, at least I tell them that. As the game began and my stomach was filled with butterflies, my boys found their rhythm and scored in the first half. What an exciting moment! It didn't really hit me because i didn't think it would happen but indeed it was true. Once that happened, the other team started warming up their starters who didn't play the first half. However, we only allowed their first team to score one against us, leaving the game at a 1-1 tie. The victory would have been amazing but I am still proud of the boys for rising to the occasion and not giving up. It isn't easy coaching, especially alone as I have all the boys on the sideline asking to go in as well. Subbing is the worst, just not sure of the right combinations, but God got me through. One thing I have found out about Ghana is everyone and their brother is a coach, or so they think so. During the game, I was called by our drivers or kids' drivers so they could put in their two sense on who should play. I know they are just trying to be helpful but it gets hard! After the game, some of the boys picked me up, which left me wet since they were drenched in sweat. A little disgusting to say the least! I was really proud of the boys and it really didn't hit me how monumental this was that we tied Lincoln as it shows we can play with the good teams, well international teams, Ghanaian teams are still out of our league. There isn't many activities for these boys to do so I am so thankful that they do have an outlet as long their grades stay up. It is hard work but they are worth it and can't wait for more games!

Well, I opened my big mouth and told some of the boys that if they played well I would throw them a party on Friday. Some of the boys have a good memory and didn't allow me to forget. My house was filled sweaty boys, girls with cameras, video games, soccerballs, and food. What more could you want? I had at least 25 kids at my house with my roommates help. These kids have nowhere else to go even on a Friday and so they will clean to anything that involves friends and food! Of course, we ended up playing soccer in the courtyard and I even showed off my moves shoeless in a skirt. That is right, I sacrificed my bare feet to the disgusting cement for a game of soccer. I am so thankful for these kids who bring joy and laughter to every situation.

Saturday, Children of the Light officially reopened with math month. It was a great start as the children rotated around to the teachers which kept everyone interested and not too crazy. We had a good crowd as all the kids were excited to come back to Children of the Light. These kids are starving for an education and it just breaks my heart knowing they don't have the same opportunities as kids at our school or in America. Little by little we can make a difference. I just have to be listening to the Lord by being in prayer and listening to his calling at the right moment. God is faithful. I love the children of Ghana and they are so precious to God. I know you would love them too.

I will leave you with some journal entries from my children. Whenever you are having a bad day, look at a child, listen to their heart and you will be amazing at your mood swing. You can't help but smile!

Questions: Why do we pray to God?

"We pray to God when we have a problem. Without God, you can never solve problems."

"The Lord says we should"

"We pray to God so he will save me"

"We can be alive, breath, eat, drink,"

Questions: What did your friend send you?

"My friend sent me a package of a talking dress and Miss Sopcisak. The talking dress was for Miss Sopcisak. What kind of friend sends me a teacher who I see everyday? Now I see her even when I go to vacation."

Where do you go to be happy?

"Have time alone with God, tell him stuff like what happened today."

"I love all the hard work we do."

Got to love children!

At His Feet

The kids on my street run to me whenever I have bags in my hands. It is such a joy to see their smiling faces and they are so willing to help. I hate making them carry their bags but they do love it and you can't get this service anywhere else.

Alright, kind of vain to have my own picture. One of my soccer boys took this picture but I thought it would be with the some of the kids. Oh well, I promise there are kids around me!

We taught Jesus' miracle of feeding the five thousand. One of my boys is passing out fish crackers. The kids loved snacks!

Arr!!!! Matey's! We learned the ar sound this week so obviously we made a pirate's hat for Arrr! They had to write all the ar words they could think of before trying on their hat. Alright, they are a little small, but they work.

My kids are so cute and hams for the camera! The boy on the right is Praise whose mother is my friend that works in the village. Someone blessed them with a new truck so they came to pick it up. God works in many ways.

Feet especially here are disgusting. They can never stay clean with all the dust and red clay. The thought of bowing down to someones feet sounds revolting but not when I am facing the feet of my creator, who sacrificed his life for me. I was having a rough Monday, just processing through things when the song below came on my itunes randomly. Obviously it was not random as God had a plan. I have heard this song many times but it impacted me in a huge way at this particular moment. I love when I can tell that God is talking to me. What a relief that we can rest at Jesus' feet and leave our burden there. What a honor to be able to bow down at Jesus' feet and proclaim "here I am Lord" I was comforted by this fact and am so thankful for God who speaks to me at the right moment. There are difficulties but I have God for comfort and this is sufficient enough.

at Your feet, I lay my past down

My wanderings, all my mistakes down

And I am free Here at Your feet,

I lay this day down Not in my strength,

but in Yours I’ve foundAll I need,

You’re all I needJesus, Jesus, at Your feet

Oh, to dwell and never leave Jesus, Jesus, at Your feet

There is nowhere else for me

There is nowhere else for me

Here at Your feet,

I lay my future downAll of my dreams, I give to You now

And I find peace, I find peace

Nothing too exciting happened this week(two weeks ago), just the craziness of my life. On Wednesday after chapel, one of my girls got a bloody nose. The scene the unfolded is comical now but at the time very draining. I have one in the bathroom trying to keep blood in her nose with remnants of the ordeal in the hallway. I am meeting with, well trying to meet with one of the reading groups while other kids are outside my back door sidewalk chalking their spelling words. One of them asked to chalk in an area not covered yet and I agreed, not realizing it was more of a platform and roof of a small box rather than the sidewalk. Just added to the fun! When the kids came back, they were covered in head to toe with chalk as if they had rolled around in it. Could have happened. I still had the one with the bloody nose while the other groups tried to do work. What a mess but a typical chaotic day in my room. I wonder how I manage to be a teach somedays but I know God equips me with the necessary tools. I could worry myself sick but know that i can only do my best as that is what God call us to do. I love my children and they think I am crazy so I think I am doing my job well.

One huge praise! A senior girl asked the director to help her accept Christ. She is struggling right now with her family accepting her Faith and learning how to grow in the truth of her Savior. Please pray for her and that she will be supported by the staff and students at school. There are so many students who are searching and questioning. We pray that they surrender to Christ and fall at his feet.

Is He Worth It?

I wake up at 4:30 every morning to run and do my devotions before trying to get to work by 6. I zoom around the classroom, trying to get it al the lessons prepared before 14 energetic children enter the room. I hear my name called at least a thousand times a day, I listen to tattle tale stories, clean up messes, repeat myself until I am blue, give children praises while scolding others, and try to remember how to teach 1 plus 1. I then continue the madness by making older kids run, not taking any attitude, and finding ways to make them learn without killing each other. All this ends so I can go home, grade my life away, and begin the process again. Or your story might be similar but it takes place at an office building with colleagues or at your house with all the kids running around destroying things here and there. No matter what our circumstances look like and how the task must be complete, we must face the fact that life is hard and can easily get us down.

Luckily, I was asked a rhetorical question that gave me the time to ponder the answer. The pastor in church asked us if life was worth it. Is it really worth it being in the rat race or and most importantly doing the work of the Lord. He then answered, instead of "Is it worth it?" "Is He worth it?" This hit me as I then had to think about the purpose of doing things and the attitude in which I convery myself. "Is He Worth it?" Of course he is! Yes, the demans are too much at times and I lose patience but I have to keep my focus on the one who counts, the one who I am living for, Jesus Christ. I must keep telling myself, "He is Worth it" thus I must continue to perservere to show the Joy that only comes from him and to give the love that can only flor from the Lord. Easier said than done but it is possible if I continue to remind myself of Christ being worth it. Afterall, what I go through, is nothing compared to what my Savior did for all of us on the cross. Continue in perseverance for someday eternal life praising our Savior will be ours! In Corinthians 15, Paul saw that he was daily risking his life for Christ. He even asked is it worth, and to him it was for the salvation that we receive.

30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. 32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus[f]—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[g] 33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.


In other news, nothing too new to report except that I have a soccer game scheduled for a week from Monday. This is against the other American school here connected with the embassy. Everyone says they are good so we will see but we are playing the JV team. My kids are out of shape but I am excited for them to start playing some games. I also am excited to show off my white polo shirt that says AIS coach on it. Thanks mom and dad! What can I say, I am another vain coach who wants to dress the part but also it helps people identify me away from the kids because lets face, we all know I look like I am 12. Anways, the outcome should be interesting and I would love for us to have our first win ever. I just pray they don't give up and play hard the whole time.

Friday we had International Day at our school. We have 28 different countries represented at school with 209 students. It is such a melting pot and and amazing to be a part of that many cultures on a daily basis. During the day, each teacher presented on a different country to the kids and the kids came dressed up in traditional clothing. Of course, most cultures had very beautiful dresses while the Americans wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. We have such a rich culture! Then for lunch, all the families bring a dish to share and we enjoy lunch together with over 300 people. We have dishes from French Fries to sushi to Fufu. You name it or some of the things you probably wouldn't be able to name! My favorite part is after everyone eats as they call up one country at a time to get their picture taken on stage. Most people hate going on stage but it is cool to see them represent their country even if they are the only one. The pictures are on a friends camera so I promise to upload them hopefully later today. They are all beautiful students. It just reminds me of the amazing God we serve! He is a part of all these cultures and languages. He has made a way for all these children and parents to end up at AIS for a reason. It is a huge responsibility but exciting that I have an opportunity to share with these kids about Christ who do come from different backgrounds. I have been invited over to one of my students' home who is a Mulsim. Please pray for the interactions and that I will continue to show Christ in all situations.

Oh the Freedom!

Kids hard at work! I love watching them work on projects. They were righting synonyms for overused words that we put to bed.

The boy in the middle isn't sleeping, he just doesn't like his picture taken.

We made ourselves into food chains by dressing up as animals and taking pictures that will be made into the food chains on paper. This is a giraffe. They were very creative while dressing up.

Here we have a ferocious lion!

A beautiful butterfly flapping her wings! I love allowing the kids to be in charge of their own projects and just going with it!

Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.


7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.



13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I had this finished a week ago and had it finished but then lost it all so I wasn't motivated to rewrite it yet. Fortunately, I will try it again! I will try to keep it short but you know how that goes!

Last week during a morning devotion with the elementary teachers, the fifth grade teacher read this passage. It really hit me and gave me joy that only comes from the Lord. What a beautiful word; freedom! I have never appreciated that word enough. Granite, I loved the word when it meant freedom from rules, school, troubles, and sometimes parents(not anymore, when I was younger of course!) However, there is such a deeper meaning to the word, an eternal meaning that is priceless. We have freedom in life because we are set free by our maker, Jesus Christ. He gave us the ultimate sacrifice so we would no longer have to live a life in chains. Why then, do I allow the chains to engulf me to the point of suffication? Well, good question Christ and the answer is, I allow this dark, evil world to get me down by the difficulties I must face. Why though when I have in capital letters FREEDOM in Christ! Obviously, he is the only one that matters and if He has already set me free, then there is nothing to stop me from finishing the race He has set before me. Sorry, I am sure most of you have this realization, but it just hit me in a powerful way this week. How would my life look different if I never allowed myself to be stuck in bondment but continued to throw off the chains by getting my daily fill of God's word and allowing myself to listen to His still small voice.

I will insert the Newsboys Song, I Am Free. It has a catchy tune but catches this message accurately.

Through You the blind will see
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise
Through You our hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams I am freeI am free
Chorus:I am free to run(I am free to run)
I am free to dance(I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You(I am free to live for You)
I am free(I am free)Yes, I am free(I am free)
Through You the kingdom's come
Through You the battle's won
Through You I'm not afraid
Through You the price is paid
Through You there's victoryBecause of You my heart screams I am freeI am free
Chorus:Who the Son sets free is free indeed.Who the Son sets free is free indeed.


The girl teachers have started a new bible study on the Psalms of Ascent by Beth Moore. This past week we read Psalm 121
1-3 "I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow you foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber."

Is there really anything else to say about these verses as the messages rings "Hallelujah" choruses. I am afraid to say much as it will ruin the beautiful words the psalmist uses to show us we have the Maker of heaven and Eart on our side so we have no reason to worry. Our deliverer knows us and the universe as it is all His. Although He is the mighty One, He is Mighty enough to care for little you and me.

There are some things roaming over my head that can get me overwhelmed but I know the Lord will interceed when it is time for each one to take place.

First of all, I am helping a junior soccer boy look for scholarships as he wants to play Division 1 soccer in the states. I have now became an novice agent and I am clueless! Luckily my coach from college is helping me and I've been surfing the web alot through our oh so slow internet! It is overwhelming trying to find a place and get everything turned in when we aren't even in the states but I know the Lord will provide so as long as we are on top of things, God will get him where He needs to go. If anyone reading this has connections with D1 soccer(you never know, there could be someone out there!) please let me know! Anyways, his mother actually came to school Wednesday to meet me. She is very protective but not very involved in their lives so this was a huge deal for her to come and give her agreement in allowing me to help her son find an university. Now the easy part, staying true to my part of the bargain and finding a place. I just have to keep telling myself, in God's timing.

Soccer: We are stuck playing at the school until they finish building ours. The dust is unbearable right now as it is dry. I have to cut through it to find my players! It has made it cooler out which is nice. We are probably only 100 degrees from you current temperature now if you are living in the arctic at the moment! I suggest we have dust days instead of snow days but the administration hasn't approved one yet. Please pray we get to the field soon and I can schedule some games. Also, one of my players broke her collar bone outside of soccer practice. She is really down about this but the team which is like a huge family, has really been rallying around her and sending cards of encouragement. I am so thankful to have these kids in my life which really offer good support to one another.

Math month: I am in charge of math month at Children of the Light. This is a huge responsibility and not all the way read yet(shhh don't tell Auntie Jean) but it will get done. Last week I went up there to teach the teachers the math centers. Unfortunately, one of them couldn't finish an AB pattern out of colored blocks nor do multiplication. This was sort of frustration but it is giving me good practice for when I start my centers for teachers.
Speaking of that, most of you probably know I want to start my own teacher training centers so the government teachers will have resources and better methods of teaching. It is overwhelming as I want to start developing this idea more but still don't know the certain direction to go towards. Please pray that I continue to pray about this and I will listen to God's guidance. If anyone has any advice on this, I would be more than willing to listen! I know my job right now is AIS so I must stay focused there.

Sorry this is probably boring but I wanted to just give a testimony of how the Lord works in so many little ways. Anyways, praises!

I went to this seminar on a way to teach phonices called "Phonics Dance" I love it and use it all the time along with the 1st and Kg teachers. I e-mailed the lady who lives in Xenia, Ohio about how we love it here in Africa and I use it some with the street kids. She wrote back excited that we were using it and offered to send me free books! Of course I can't turn that down. What a blessing. You never know until you ask!

My parents and Cathy are coming the last week! Yes, it is true and they have to come as we have already booked it. I am so excited and we are already planning even though we have 5 months. 5 months seems forever but I know it will come fast enough, might as well enjoy each day. THe real reaso I want them to come is all the suitcases they can fill with things for the kids. Just kidding, well it is a great bonus of them coming! I am so excited to see Ghana through their eyes and meet the people that are so dear to me. If you would like to donate anything for the kids on the street, in the village, or for Auntie Jean, contact them. They already know they can only bring one change of clothing! I want to give the kids on the street a book of their own so if you have any suggestions let me know.

We are finally making friends out of AIS as we had a couple over from church who are Dutch. The husband doesn't speak much English but we all did the best we could to communicate. We started realizing though that we talk about school way too much and even when we tried to think of other topics, we couldn't! Just shows that we don't have a life outside of school! Well, we hope this friendship will last with this couple as they are really sweet.

Alright last story before I leave you or maybe you have already left me. THis is a weird one so bare with me. I have a scraper that I use to remove the calluses on the bottom of my feet. I just changed the blade and was really scraping away the dead skin. There is a great object lesson in that! Anyways, I have done this plenty of times and never had a problem but when I moved to the second foot, I hit good sking and cut myself. While this was bleeding over the towel, I continued on the other side of the foot where I did it again and yes then one more time. I cut myself three times on my foot! I promise I wasn't doing it on purpose. I just started laughing as a stream of blood flowed across my foot and I bandaged my foot with Garfield bandaids. Then it reminded me of sin. We do it once, don't think it was too bad so we do it again. The effects of the sin still aren't horrible so we do it again. Alright, by this time, the effects are showing and it is hard to stop the flow of consequences from our actions. Luckily, Christ bandages us up but leaves the pain to remind us of our actions so we don't do it again. Oh man, who knew I could find a lesson in trying to get rid of calluses? God is good!

Endless Waves Endless Waters

This is a picture from the retreat I chaperoned for with high schoolers. They had to dig a hole for their whole team to fit in. Is it weird to see people in bathing suits in January? Welcome to hot Ghana!

The high schoolers worked hard to find pictures in the sand with the ocean in the background. Great fun!

Oh how powerful the waves are. They remind me of God's power and goodness simultaneously.

I iced cookies with some of the kids on the street! They kind of got addicted to the icing, not use to that much sugar.

I took three girls whose father works for the school put putting for the first time. If anyone knows me, they know I love miniature golf! This is actually a nice place. Who knew in Ghana?

A typical new years day: watch the Rose Parade on TV while dreaming to be there in person one day, eating kinedle and zelle(bohemian), playing games, catching a few bowl games(not me though), and curling up in a blanket.

A typical new yeard day in Ghana; most people just getting back from church, sweating like usual, eating chicken and rice(always) or fufu, and leaving for a beach with 30 high schoolers for a retreat. What more could you ask for? I had the opportunity of going with the Youth Group from my church to Tills Beach for two nights. A lot of the kids go to AIS so it was fun to get to know them on a deeper level.

I love looking out into the ocean, that stretches forever. It reminds me of God's eternal love and life. I could just stare at it forever! Which I pretty much did when we were not having sessions. We had a youth pastor come from Minnesota who is a friend of a lady from school. He barely made it out before a blizzard hit the area. Praise the Lord. He was really relevant and the kids were listened to what he had to say. The theme was "Emmanuel" God with us. It is such a great reminder as God does seem distant sometimes but no, He really is with us through the ups and downs. I have been reading Hewbrews, and he brought up some scripture that I have been holding on to as well. When you take the time of actually thinking that God is always be our sides, it is such a great relief and comfort. The creator of our world thinks it is important to be with US, US, just lowly humans who know nothing! So many children see themselves as nobodies so it is important that they hold on to the truth that they are someone in Christ who does care about their trivial lives. Verse I find so promising are at the end of Hebrews.

Hebrews 10: 37-39

For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come. and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."

Christ is coming back and we have the Faith to hold on to that truth!

Hebrews 9: 28

"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many: and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

We had time to hit the beach and I did get out far into the ocean. It is so majestic, a symbol of our Lord. The waves were huge and it made getting out far difficult as they kept pulling us under. Some people were afraid and wanted to give up but then when it calmed down for a second, you could make it out if you swam quickly out. Then the reward came as it was calm farther out and we could just float in peace. This effort to get to calm waters reminded of our lives. There are so many rough waves in life that keep pullin us under. We allow it to swallow us and it beats us up good enough that we want to give up sometimes. However, if we endure the rough waves long enough, we get to the calm waters to rest. God gets us through the rough waves or circumstances that face us in life. If we persue Him and have Faith, he gets us past the rough times and unto resting in Him. Just like you have to swim fast when the water is calm, we need to keep our eyes fixed upon Christ so we follow Him into His truth and His rest. Amen!

Hebrews 12:1-2

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

We returned from the retreat on Monday which refreshed me enough to welcome my students back on Wednesday. It was so exciting to see them all. We had such a great three days together even though they were still half asleep most of the time. I seem charged up with energy so I pray this continues. I can't believe a semester has gone by. I need to embrace every moment with them before it is gone.

Praise!!! We have bought land to build a new school as we are busting at the seams. It isn't that far from our location now which is nice. The best part is they are going to clear some land for a soccer field right away so we can start practicing there. Praise the Lord as the people in charge of the field where we play now are being difficult. Please pray that the plans will come through for the land and no complications will come as you never know what could happen here. Also pray for safety as we play on the land considering they have seen green mambas on the land. AKA: poisonous snakes! Yikes! Anyways, it is worth it, spoken by a true football player!

I pray your new year is starting off and you have had time to reflect on the goodness of our Lord and Savior.

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

The building on the land! This is looking through to the library and resource rooms. The Lord has blessed this ministry so much to have the building built this far in just a year.

Sorry, the picture is blurred but it is of the kids at the end. They did an amazing job.

The kids are getting ready to perform!

Merry Christmas or Afrishipa(spelling?) in twi! This is a little after Christmas but it is still the holiday time so lets continue to celebrate!

After returning from the village, the Volta, and surviving Christmas with all the kids(see below), my next project was the Christmas play at Auntie Jeans. Brittany and I ventured up there on Monday to help out which at that point still needed a lot of work before Friday. The kids were working hard despite the hard rain that postponed a lot of our practice. Since English is not their first language, they have to learn all the pronunciations so they sound clear and we can understand it. Noone expects these village children to be able to speak well in English but they work so hard to prove everyone wrong.

I must give a shoutout to Brittany who unfortunately left on Tuesday, a week ago. I am so thankful she was able to come and bless so many in Ghana. She came in and embraced the culture right away as this helped the people embrace her. The children loved her in the village and were sad to see her go. People were shock that she was able to learn so much Twi in a short span of 2 1/2 weeks! It was so fun to share Ghana with her as we are similar in personality and love to pour out to the children. We were able to see and do a lot in just a short amount of time. Most importantly, we were able to build each other up in the truths of Christ and I really needed that from a sister in Christ. Please pray for Brittany and her adjustment back to America along with processing what she has learned and experienced here.

Alright, so I spent the rest of the week at Auntie Jeans rehearsing for the Christmas Program. The kids were kept until 7:30 at night and by that time you can imagine they were tired, hungry, and done! Oh I love children at this breaking point! They worked extremely hard though and by the time of the program, they were ready.

On Christmas Eve, the day of the program, it was my job to set everything up at the venue before everyone arrived. It rained in the afternoon but this was welcomed as it was early enough in the day and I pretended it was my snow showers. You know, a girl can dream! Anyways, by the time the show, should have started, they were just setting up the sound system and decorating the stage. I read a book once about hot and cold climate cultures. They said in an African village, which is obviously a hot climate culture, if a wedding says it starts at 2, they don't start setting up until 2. Well, I definitely live in a hot climate culture and that is definitely true here. I am starting to embrace it though since their is nothing I can do about it! So if you invite me to something this summer tell me an earlier time or I will be extremely late. Anyways, the program started just an hour late and although it was kind of insane and kind of unorganized, it worked and most importantly the gospel was given.

While rushing around during the program fixing the powerpoint, getting kids on stage, and figuring out who needed the microphones; a realization came to me. All these beautiful children in a village tucked up on a hill, reminded me of the Little Town of Bethlehem where our Savior was born. He was tucked away behind the main crowd of people in a lowly stable. These children are looked down upon by most that they cannot function as well as the rest of the world but yet they have the Love of Christ and live a life trusting in Him. The center where we had the event, overlooked the city with twinkling lights. It really was like our own Bethlethem. Christ came to earth not in a grand entrance but only welcomed by barn animals and shepherds. I love this truth as it shows that God came for all people and not just to royalty. It is the same with these children. They do not have much at all, but Christ loves them and they truly love Christ and truth in Him as they have nothing else. What a blessing it has been to learn from these children and see their JOY for life without much materialistic things. God was definitely present for the Christmas program and the children will have the memories to last a lifetime.

On Christmas day, we made the trek down to the land which looks a lot different than last summer as it now has a partial building in it. Last year we were praying that the building will start and this year we were praising the Lord for answering our prayers. How amazing! There is still a lot of work to be done, but progress is being done and God willing by next August, Children of the Light will be moved in. When looking back in a year, God works wonders in such a short amount of time. At the moment, it is hard to see that but when you look at the big picture, you realize how much obviously the Lord works as He can move Mountains!

I traveled back to Accra on a trotro which is always fascinating on Christmas Day. At home during a typical Christmas, I sit in the comfort of my home with my family, smelling the fresh evergreen and listening to Christmas classics while wearing my pajamas and sipping hot tea. Oh the life. However, this is not the typical scene in Ghana as the people I passed were still chipping away on rocks, selling products in the market, and driving taxis. Life does not stop for a majority of Ghanaians on Christmas because they can't affordto take time off of working as they simplydo not have the means. This is always a real eye opener for me as people here do not have the luxury of taking a rest like we do. Life is about working to supply them for the day and then they must work the next day again to survive that day. It is just a different world. Please pray for the people of Ghana and otheres would by open to helping them

Merry Christmas. and a Happy New Year!

picture from Christmas with Kids Club

I know I look weird but we are praising the Lord through song, I promise!

Once we finally got all the kids to sit, well except for the ones by Brittany jumping on each other, we acted out the Christmas story with some of the kids. With that many, it was hard to get all of them to listen but we did our best. God's message was preached so that is the most important thing.

Look at them all! Aren't they precious? The line just keeps on going. There are still more to the right of this picture and sitting opposite of them. Thank goodness that God provided and we could be in contact with 84 kids. Even though it was a lot, God sent us a blessing and I must be thankful.

All the kids, including myself watched Charlie Brown Christmas that was projected onto the wall. The kids looked pretty entertained, fixiated on it at least as this is a treat for them. I think I will have to have more movie nights. It calmed them down at least.