Post Trip Update

Three weeks wasn't enough time in many ways. 22 days in Ghana and I still couldn't manage to post many updates. To be honest, even when there was time, my mind was in too much of a fog. So here are pictures and updates from this amazing trip.

All the kids were out of school this time, the first in many years, and all came to stay with us at Sister Bernice's house. We ended up with some extra kids as usual so there were a total 26 people staying in this house. It was interesting, fun, trying and crazy at times.





A creative boy. He made his own drum out of a tin can, paper and a rubber band!



Peace and Princilla making colored rubber band bracelets. This was a special 'girls-only' activity and being left out was torture to the boys. We had several knocks at the door and attempts to invade. Afterward, several boys somehow got themselves some of these prizes to wear proudly.



My sweet and beautiful Sika. She just won the belt she's wearing during one of our many bingo games that week!



Lots of love.


 



This is Sweety. =) She is one of our next door neighbors who is in the yard most days and loves Momma Carol and me. She has two sisters (Blessing and Peace) and two brothers (Shepherd and Wisdom). Wisdom is kind of like Waldo in 'Where is Waldo' because he was everywhere we were but we often didn't know it until he would just appear!




Preparing lunch for all these kids. I look very helpful, don't I?




Sister Bernice hosted a group of 30+ high school volunteers (from Global Leadership Adventures; they happened to be on my plane on the way there) on day to learn about her history with the kids and helping the community. The group paid for a day of cultural entertainment (drums and dancing) and lunch for local kids; over 100. Here's the dancers warming up. 



The drummers.



My once little Noble is about to enter high school. So proud of him. Currently, he is interested in the medical field. So we arranged for him to help with a medical outreach event one day that my friend Richard's group was conducting in a nearby village. Noble loved it. He got to observe the doctor as he was consulting and treating patients.




Neighbor kids making jewelry. Always a favorite activity.



I was a little too excited to find wine available at this restaurant at the local hotel! This was a kid free night for Momma Carol and me and we were ready for it. I didn't order this whole bottle. Here's how the conversation went. ME: do you sell this wine by the glass or the whole bottle. OUR SERVER: yes. ME: Hmm, ok. Can I just order a glass of wine? OUR SERVER: yes. ME: Great, I'll have a glass of this. But just a glass right, not the whole bottle. OUR SERVER: yes, a glass. ME. Great. ME to MOMMA CAROL: uh oh, pretty sure, I'm getting that whole bottle.
What did I get? A glass and the entire bottle. =) Oh well. Luckily, some friends met up with us a little later so it didn't go to waste.



Look at these big kids! L-R: Edem, Peace, Princilla, Sika, Elikim, Emma

While at one of the 'real' stores (aka. has walls and a door) I bought a tub of ice cream for a real treat. We all enjoyed on our last day. Frank- lover of all things Cardinals. Though I still don't think he understands they're a baseball team.



Sammy. Pausing from his soccer game.




Sammy, Jr (Bernice's grandson), Edem, Peace, Patricia and the boy. We were in the middle of the busy market just after buying shoes. They were embarrassed because there were so many people walking by and looking at them getting their picture taken by a yevu. I was struggling to get smiles. I managed this by threatening to start yelling to get EVERY ONE'S attention in the market. See, I am definitely a mom! 



These two are always hungry! They may differ in size, but they're good buddies.



Peace, Patricia, Princilla and I stopped in the parks and garden department to tour their beautiful plants.

Sweet Awoenam. Big Momma from the US once again spoiled this girl. Thank you, Monica, for this fancy barbie complete with many dress options!

He may be a big boy now, but I can still pick up this sleepy boy.

To add to the excitement of travel in Ghana, the bridge over the lake is closed for the next couple of years and now a ferry is used to get vehicles across. This worked well for us on a weekday when we went to pick up Momma Carol from the airport. But on the weekends the traffic is horrible and the wait for the ferry is over an hour! Yikes.



Momma Carol was the 'hostess' of the house and in the center of this party when the volunteers came. Big surprise. She got the kids and guests out dancing in the middle!

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.   

School bags, shoes, clothes and swimming!





Thanks to so many generous people, our kids and others were showered with new backpacks, shoes, a pool day, and many nights of bingo with prizes! There were also a lot of needs around the house with repairs needed for the sink, water pipes and an electric pole. And many trips to the market were made to keep enough food stocked to feed this house full of kids!

Thank you Joe and Lynda for the school bags and support. We were able to bless a few extra kids with new school bags as well!



This boy loved his bag so much he wore it while playing! =)



Peace.

Sika

Our own shoe store! Each kid got a new pair of shoes. They wanted to line them up like this to show them all off. Buying shoes was a fun adventure this year. Momma Carol and I each took a small group separately to the market, told them the max price and let them pick their pair and negotiate on their own while we hid so that the price didn't suddenly increase! =)

The boys have very unique styles!

Frank in his big green kicks.

The boys are clothes shopping in our room. I always have them draw numbers to see who picks first.

Joshua and Noble.

Elikim and Sammy. The brothers.

The girls took much longer making their choices than the boys!



These two never fail to crack me up. Noble and Emma took the girl's dresses and purses and put on a fashion show.



Pool day with the girls.

The boys' turn.

Dry land

The initial steps of this journey sure have been challenging, but we are here safely and are blessed. Our separate travels went well and Momma Carol got a fun surprise when I picked her up from the airport on Tuesday. I can't say much on here about the other activities happening other than there has been some movement. Slow, but positive and hopefully something more concrete after a meeting next Tuesday. More to come....

Our trip in pictures

Who would have thought? Not me.

We’re back home after relatively easy traveling. Door to door, it took about 28 hours, but I think my mom and I both didn’t feel the full weight of that; we’re feeling well (just a little tired).The kids had a holiday from school on Friday, so our last couple of days were filled with kids morning to night! We celebrated their day off school with a trip to the AWESOME hotel at the top of a huge hill (we didn’t climb this one, took a taxi (two in fact) up this time) to enjoy some soda, ice cream and music!


Coming back is always a little strange; it is comforting and sad all at the same time. Before we left Sokode on Saturday, Sika asked us when we were coming back. While that question isn’t as difficult as the first time they asked, it is still choked me up. My mom and I both feel more confident than ever that we will be back (God willing), but it is 1) hard to say for sure when, 2) you say a month and those kids remember it and expect you to stick with it and 3) it always seem so far away! Even being blessed enough to go once a year, it was hard to say ‘okay, see you next August (maybe).’ That’s hard. But the fact that is difficult is actually really amazing. On our ride to the airport I tried to intentionally soak up the beauty and culture of Ghana. I love that place! Sometimes it can be a difficult place to be: physically it is hard on the body (the heat, the food & water [and subsequent stomach issues], the smells [burning trash, diesel exhaust and sewage issues], lack of sleep, tight quarters, little privacy, etc), emotionally it fills us, but can also easily drain us if we try to take it all on ourselves (as this blog has demonstrated, caring for 16+ kids is not always easy) and spiritually we’re in battles we don’t even see! But regardless, Ghana is a beautiful experience! As we drove through the gorgeous landscape and little towns along the way, I took a step back and realized just how unbelievable it is that my mom and I were in that exact spot.

Six years ago, for the most part, I was really self-absorbed (ok, I still am….just not as much some days) and would never have thought I’d ever be so committed to a group of kids halfway across the world that I would be willing (let alone desperate) to travel each year to be with them and on top of that, do it with my mom. It is crazy what happens when you let Jesus in your heart and ask him to start showing you what he cares about and what he is doing. It’s crazy, because I don’t really feel like we’re doing anything. It’s more like we’re the ones receiving. And that is because this is all from him. I’ve heard many times from people how they think that my mom and I are ‘good’ for what we do and that we bless the kids. I have to confess, I (we) can’t take any of the credit nor do we want to. This is truly a God thing. Trust me, neither of us are that ‘good.’ Not even close. This is something way beyond our doing. God put his love for and perspective on those kids in our hearts. If we were left to ourselves, we undoubtedly would have given up in 2008 or never have been there in the first place. But he is good and keeps giving us the strength and support to carry on. We get to see it in those kids. Their lives. How they are growing. How they’re improving in school. How they’re personalities have developed. How they love. They’re compassion. They’re hugs. Even now, I still find myself in selfish moments when we’re there. For example, I hesitated for a moment around some of the village kids this past week. I was tired, they’re not ‘our’ kids and they were super dirty and had runny noses. So, I was tempted to blow them off quickly and then go inside. I feel bad saying that, but it is true. But then in an instant God was so good and gracious to remind me of his view on these kids and how Jesus lovingly treated the children the disciples were quick to dismiss. My heart panged, I was about to do the same thing! Then I let go of my earlier thoughts and gave those kids exactly what they needed. Something so little and easy: love and attention. I held their hands, let them hug me. By focusing on them and not on myself and my petty worries, I was actually filled.

Six years ago I could not have even imagined loving a group of people on the other side of the world this much. My heart aches for them, but it is so full. I am the blessed one. I am privileged and so humbled that God led us to those kids. And he did just that. He gave me a desire to volunteer in Africa. He presented the perfect timing. He provided just enough savings to go for three months. He led me to Ghana and to the Volta Region. I didn’t seek those kids out, I didn’t even want to work with them when I first went to Ghana. Working with kids was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought it was like babysitting. I thought they were dirty and exhausting the first couple days. But he changed my heart quickly. They became my passion while I was there and after. So much of a passion that my mom’s heart opened to them without even meeting them and so much that she changed her thoughts of traveling to Africa and now is just as much in love with Ghana as I am. He led us to those kids…actually, I think he led them to us. They have been such a blessing in our lives. We don’t give up anything to go there, not really, not anything that truly matters. Yet we get so much in return! We get what really matters! We’re the lucky ones!

Thanks for being part of this adventure and playing a role! We pray you're blessed as much as we have been!

Slideshow of pics is on the way.

God on the Move

Our days here in 2012 are coming to a close much too soon. It has been wonderful to have a couple more days than usual, but we're still not ready to leave. We'll head to the airport around 1pm on Saturday (8am CST) and will be back in St. Louis at noon on Sunday.

The past four days have been a roller coaster of emotions, but as always, God is with us and works all things together for his good. There are some pictures below of Awoenam. Hopefully they show how great she is doing! She is in her first year of kindergarten, super smart, a chatterbox, very tall and healthy, everyone's friend and mainly a wonderful example of what God is doing in these children's lives. She has come a long way in the past three years! She is the little girl who would not smile or talk and was very small for her age when she first came.

We've had to deal with some issues with Frank's (Wallasy) living situation over the past few days that have tested us and required humbleness and partnerships with everyone involved. For those of you that I emailed for prayers and know more details, I am happy to report that Frank is going to be joining Elikim at his boarding school this year (in the next week) and living with Elikim and the headmaster's family. A situation that all parties feel good about and finally agreed upon. And thanks to generous donors to the One by One Foundation, there is money for the boarding school fees. As far as the relationships and reconciliation issues, please continue your prayers for the truth to be revealed to all and that we all always keep the kids' best interest in mind.

There are also a few pictures below of Sika, Frank and Marissa being little servants. We prepared small bags of cookies, candy and words about God's love to hand out randomly to some strangers in the neighborhood! We're trying to intentionally teach the kids about blessing others. Honestly though, they already get this and always have. They've been blessing us so freely for many years.

Awoenam loving her Dora backpack!

We brought all the kids several photos from the past couple years. Awoenam was enamored with one of her and her Momma Pat!

Helping me freshen up!

An African lady! This is the outfit our friend, Richard had made for my mom the first year we met him.

Enjoying a drink and some music. Awoenam didn't sit long...she was dancing all around this place and talking to everyone around.

Momma Pat makes us look like giants!

Making some notes for our blessing bags of treats.

Sika's note. She did this all on her own...the Lord is my shelter and the Lord loves.

Heading out to hand out little bags of love.