The Mighty Sea

Thanks to some amazing friends, we were able to take the kids to the ocean for the second time. We went two years ago and for most of the kids it was the first time they saw the ocean. Because of school, a couple of the older boys weren't on the first trip. We all got to go this time. Thank you Amy, Alyssa, and Holly! It was a great day for all of us to just be big kids and play. We went to a beach in a town called Denu, near the Togo border. On the way home we took a detour to see the Ghana-Togo border.

It was a great day away from the house and chores. We even packed rice, stew and chicken so we could take a break and easily enjoy some good food. I enjoyed seeing the kids play so freely, I loved seeing the strong waves of this rough sea and remembering the immense size of God's creation, and I truly enjoyed their loud, off key singing the entire ride to the beach (especially when they started singing worship songs I taught themfive years ago)! What a blessing and great way to end our trip. 


Most of our kids are no longer kids, they're teenagers, which means they're big. We no longer fit in just one tro tro! This year we also got a car so we'd have extra room.



This big boys (Elikim, Emma and Noble) got to be the big shots riding in the car along with Bernice's mother and Gloria.

We found some fishermen selling fresh fish and crabs.

This is Richard. He was never part of Sister Bernice's home but is sponsored through the Hopkins Foundation for school. He attends a boarding school with Noble, Emma, Sammy and Frank so he came and stayed with us for the three weeks. He is SO sweet and loves to read. Also, he isn't afraid of crabs.

They may be big, but they still love to play. Noble, Patience and Emma (L-R)

They couldn't go far into the water- the waves were too rough and only one of them knows how to swim, but they were entertained for hours walking in and running from the waves. Once again, the boys were a little too brave but no one went too far.

We saw lots of fishing boats.

This beach is part of a small village, so we saw lots of locals coming to buy fresh fish from the fishermen.

It was actually a bit chilly since it is the rainy season and it was overcast all day. Plus the wind coming off the water was strong. But these kids didn't complain, some even got in their swimming suits.

Emma, Elikim and Noble on the left. The tro tro driver is on the right. He is actually filling a large 10+ gallon container of salt water for Sister Bernice. She swears that bathing in it is really good for the skin. I was a little worried and made sure to warn them all against drinking it. Because of the Ebola concerns in West Africa, there was a myth in Nigeria about drinking and bathing in salt water to prevent Ebola. Two people there died because of drinking it. I wanted to make sure that she wasn't buying into that myth.