My soon to be (temporary) home!

This fun pink house is fairly close to Elolo's school and is where we stayed in September. I'm so thankful for this comfortable and convenient place to call home for a short while.

September 2015 in Review

A day at the market shopping for shoes. Eunice and my mom. 

We let the kids haggle negotiate their own prices while we yevus think we're staying incognito in the background!

Creativity!

Elolo also picked out his own backpack at the market!

A little excursion to the parks and gardens area.

Little Princilla, Eunice and Rina

And then on to check out a different hotel and restaurant we hadn't been to in years. 

This hotel had all kinds of entertainment for us....peacocks, bunnies....

...random statues....

...yummy food....

....and best of all....a playground!!!! Albeit a little too small for most of our kids but they played on it!

Noble. Such a candid shot of this man-boy who is always making me laugh.

Patience. She took over our kitchen and cooked for everyone!!! God bless her!
She is doing so much better than at the beginning of the year. 

A taxi. Normal. We ride in these everywhere. You share them with anyone and everyone. Want to see what is fueling it????

A PROPANE TANK!!!!! Yikes! This tank is not meant to be fueling a car! But gas prices have increased a lot, so this little MacGyver move is the new normal. As if the roads aren't dangerous enough. Lots of praying occurs when we go places! =)

The bros. Elikim and Sammy. Sammy is finally catching up!

Sweet Frank.

Peace cutting the skins off the yams.

We got to celebrate the birthday girl!

Dinner prep. Tomatoes, onions and tomato paste. 

Peace in her school uniform. This is her last year of high school!!!!!

My favorite chef, helper and friend, Patience and her sidekick, Princilla. Patience's Ghanaian name is Enyonam which means All is Well. It has been a privilege to watch God weave the truth of that into her life and heart despite circumstances. She has come a long way in the past year. Contentment and hope are blossoming.

We love our rice!

Market

Sunset.

The Day of Yes!!! The Day God Moved Mountains and Hearts!

September 22. 

A Day of Remembrance. A Day of Praise. 

The day I legally became Elolo's mom! =)

This was our second day attempting a court hearing; the first one we were assigned was missing the judge....no biggie!

We took this exact same picture on our first court date the week before, so we threw up our 'take 2' pose here to keep it light. Full disclosure: I had to tickle him to get him to smile for the pic! =) See, I'm a true mom already. 

The court building.

The area outside court where we sat for three hours wondering what was happening with our case inside. Elolo, my mom and Mercy.

This will be a day for celebrating and praising God, but it was a battle up to the final signature. God truly moved mountains and hearts. Ultimately, the judge was moved by compassion. I'm so appreciative of the men who were inside that court room battling for us. Outside the court room we battled as well as we sat in a mix of nerves, prayer and worship. God used Elolo's love of music and my worship music to speak to and calm me and to lead us all in a little impromptu worship session under a tree. Better is One Day and Great is Thy Faithfulness will forever mark that day. 

With my lawyer and the Social Welfare folks.

We went out that night to celebrate with dinner at a fancy hotel restaurant!

The LORD himself goes before you...

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

Thank you Lord for allowing us to travel to Ghana this time. Thank you for all the needed pieces that came together; for the ability, the means, the time, the desire. Thank you for going before us and being with us. We felt called to be with our kids in February for a few very specific reasons, but were blessed by just showing up. I anticipated some battles, in the physical and spiritual realms, but God went before us and did the work. We just showed up and got to see His mighty hand and love at work already. We were there to focus on three kiddos but were so lucky to spend time with all of them and celebrate Elolo's birthday (posts below). 

I feel so blessed to have these kids in my life - they are growing into amazing, loving and beautiful young people! 

Such beauty.....

Patience. She is so beautiful, funny and caring. Seeing her smile and laugh makes my heart happy. She graduated high school last year and has applied to both a nursing school and a teaching college. She has her interview for nursing school March 3!!

Building his new lego toy - a great birthday present from his uncle, aunt and cousin!

It's a hot, sunny walk from Constance's house to the main road. 

We hung out with these three a lot, which was needed. We are checking out a brand new restaurant just outside our village...it is fantastic, a very nice place!!!

Patience ordered tilapia....it's giant! The white stuff in plastic next to it is called banku.

We all cleared our plates! 

View from our 2nd floor balcony table.

Our welcome to Ghana. At the airport. We went through a thermal screening upon entering and leaving Ghana to ensure we didn't have a fever. Precautions because of Ebola.

Elolo received his Christmas present from our family exchange in St. Louis. Thank you Michael (and Kathy) - Elolo and friends loved the remote control car!!! I'm not sure about the thumbs down kid....actually, who is that kid??? =) Elolo in the middle, holding on to his car for dear life!

Coconuts, eggs, phone credit, a taxi...all kinds of things waiting for us at the Kpando market. 

On the ferry from Ho to Accra. crossing Lake Volta. Dried fish and bananas.

Careful, these guys have the right of way!

Buying new shoes!

Enjoying fufu....like a true Ghanaian.

We experienced a short rainstorm about every other day. This is the wet scene as we are
 tucked under an overhang waiting it out near the market.

At Have school