The teacher in the Yendi Village

Yendi was an amazing trip! Sunday morning the 7th of this month my housemate and I met up with a team that was heading to Yendi to work in the same school as us. They had invited us to ride with them so instead of having to take public transportation for the 15 hour trip we had a private driver which was such a blessing!! We spent the entire week and a half at the school working in the class rooms and unloaded the crates that the team had shipped over, over the last year. It turns out this team was responsible for the starting of the school, they have helped with the funding as well as sending them crates of school supplies to get started. They brought with them new ways of teaching and held workshops with all of the teachers after school each day and trained them with some of the best teaching materials available in America. Since I’m not exactly a teacher I worked in the nursery, a little in the kindergarten class and helped out in the office for the majority of the time when I wasn’t moving boxes of books.


The man that started the school’s name is Musstafa and he is a wonder all on his own. He has started over 200 hundred churches in the Northern region from the East to the West as well as a bunch of schools throughout the villages. We visited two of these schools while I was there. The first one had an amazing story that touched me heart. When we arrived at the school we found the first two classes we visited without teachers? We were all a little put back and thought that maybe the teacher were just slacking off (that is known to happen around here a lot). It didn’t take very long before we found out there was only one teacher for all 5 classes that day. After talking with him a little bit to find out what was going on we also found out that he had moved there from a village far away and was working as a volunteer in the school. Then we found out that the school had promised him all these things but he wasn’t getting any of it. They weren’t giving him food or pay or even a place to have a garden and I am not sure about a place to stay. He had been there 8 months working at the school most of the time by himself or with one maybe two other teachers at the most and all he could say was that he was working for the Lord. I could tell by the look on his face he meant it and I knew that God had been providing all his needs. Before we left God allowed Liz and I to bless him with some cash before heading out… when I handed him the money and tried to speak to him I broke out in tears this man truly showed his love for Gods children and that their education and well being was worth the struggle. Musstafa also talked to the head of the school and he will now be taken better care of praise God!



Yendi itself was an amazing village; it is so beautiful and peaceful. It made me wish that I had gone there sooner to work. It was a wonderful ending to my hard 5 months here. I made it safely back to Accra on Thursday the 18th tired and worn out but feeling accomplished.

Eye Exams!

The glasses could barely stay on
What can you see?

She is such a doll

A couple that came in to pick up their child was an eye doctor so she did eye exams for the children. I couldnt help but snap a few cute pictures!

Carnival

On the 21st of May I had the privilage of spending the day with a team that knows the Mozley's. I joined the ladies at OSU childrens home while the men went to the Beacon House to help Romana do some moving and building. After helping with Lunch for the whole group we then all headed to the Beacon House around 3 to set up a carnival for the children. The team is going all over Ghana to set up carnival games for orphanages everywhere, from here in Accra all the way up to WA and Yendi in the North. The children as well as the staff had a great time! If you would like pictures check out : http://picasaweb.google.com/Sweet2thaT

Helping out with the youth...

Thursday the 28th of May was my last time to work with the youth at Agape church where I attend. It has been such a wonderful treat and pleasure on my part to get to spend some time with these great kids. I was allowed to help out at game night where I showed the youth how to do different origami figures. Then on the 21st they were doing a message about Health from a Christian’s perspective. The sermon was in three parts of health: spiritual, emotional and physical, so I chose to speak on emotional health. It had been a while since I had to get up in front of a group so I was super nervous, even after I was up front for a while. In the end I think I did pretty well though, we all did, it turned out really great and we all worked off of each others’ sermons. Afterwards I talked to Pastor Evans about teaching the youth some skits I learned for the trip to the Philippines last year and he really liked that idea. So this last Thursday, May 28th, we broke the youth into two groups and taught each group a skit and they would perform it for the other group. When they were finished I would get up and explain what the skit meant. Then we had the groups switch and taught them the other skit and had them perform it, so it was kind of like a competition. It was so neat to see each one really get into their parts and add their own thing to it. After I turned them back over to Pastor Evans he asked them what they had learned from the skits and I really think they got something out of it. This youth group is the next generation of Ghana and I really am truly blessed to have been a part of teaching them Gods word.

Crazy Ghanaian Wedding!

On Sunday the 24th I got to attend a Ghanaian wedding. It really wasn’t what I expected! The invitation said the wedding was from 7:30-11 and then the reception was from 1-3, I couldn’t imagine a wedding being that long but then again being in Ghana everything is way longer than usual. When we pulled up to a building site at 8 I was a little confused, the building itself was a stone shell and there were piles of building material all around. When we got inside there were literally hundreds of people inside, we were quickly ushered up to the balcony seating area. It didn’t take us long to realize that we were in a church service and became even more confused! We thought that since we were late maybe we had missed it or maybe it would be the last hour or so of the church service. The service itself took us by complete shock! While they were praying the preacher would scream “face your sins” then everyone in the congregation would scream “face your sins”. And by scream…I mean SCREAM! Then he would scream “DIE” and the whole congregation would scream “DIE” then they would start shaking and “praying” really loud! So imagine being in a room of HUNDREDS of people while they are shaking and screaming at the top of their lungs…It was crazy! I figured if I was an unbeliever and this had been my first time to church I would have been scared to death…needless to say we were the only four people sitting in our chairs looking like everyone else had lost their minds! They probably thought we were all sinners that refused to face our sins lol. So none of us really listened to the sermon, we were all ready to get the heck out of there. . That quickly faded when the wedding finally started at 11:30. Once the wedding was over we greeted the new bride and groom and made a quick slip out of the parking lot by 1pm. The whole experience was def not something I would want to do again. However I don’t think that was normal even for a Ghanaian wedding. I have another wedding this coming Saturday so I am hoping it will be a better experience.

Teaching

The teacher has been out for two weeks so Dominique (another volunteer) and I have been asked to take her place until she returns. It has been an interesting change in pace. I am seeing a side of the children I have never seen before. Some of them are so shy in the class room and don’t want to participate, thankfully we have been able to open several of them up and they now enjoy being involved. There are still the few that feel like they just don’t get it and need more one on one teaching. We have been teaching them about the solar system, math, writing skills, geography, as well as many other subjects. It’s amazing what these children don’t know! They have learned a lot since we have been teaching and it’s been a learning experience for us as well. I have decided that teaching is a crash course in learning patients.

Random:

· The air here smells like it has some sort of lime twang to it sometimes. That is only one of the smells of course. There are way too many to count!
· The Medina Market has smells of its own…most of them are good. But the first time I went they were cleaning the sewer and it was disgusting smelling!
· Red and Black represent mourning and white and black represent celebration
· Since we are so close to the airport planes are constantly flying over really really low our heads and I love it!
· I had to pay 5 cents to use a really nasty restroom with no running water and no toilet paper, at the court house of all places!
· The left hand is unclean you cannot use it when coming into contact with another person, like when you are shaking hands or exchanged money. It gets really tricky when you are purchasing something and they are handing you the item at the same time you are handing them the money, but they’ve got it down so it usually works out pretty well.
· I was shocked to see that the people dress amazing well around here. I mean of course we are in the city and there are still those who don’t but for the most part people are dressed very nicely in slacks or a nice dress. Most of the time I feel under dressed so I try to look a little nicer when I know I am going to town.
· We have power outages on a weekly basis. Since I have been here we had 22 hours straight and then 37 hours straight without electricity. It really wasn’t that bad except for the fact that all of our food went bad and we had to throw it out. Recently we have experience half power outages. The side of our house where are rooms are had no power but the rest of the house did. Then it would switch, it’s the weirdest thing ever but thankfully only lasts for a few hours at a time.

Up date on Armed robberies

Since my last post there have been 6 other white families that have been robbed in the same manner in my neighborhood. Thankfully no one has been hurt physically, the robbers seem to only be interested in cash and valuables. The Accra police force has set up check points along the roads leading to my neighborhood to pull over anyone that looks suspicious. This last week was the first week that no one was robbed since it all began. Please continue to pray for the families in my neighborhood that have been effected by this as well as the ones that are worried they could be next.

I visited the first African president...

I went to the Mausoleum and learned a little about the first African President…Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

Market

A shoe vendor


Snach shop


Cloth shop

The market experience here is an interesting one. The first thing that greats you when you step off of the tro tro is the smell of open sewers, and street vendors trying to get you to buy anything from plantain chips to shoes or nail polish. Once you make it to the market you are faced with crowds of people and vendors tugging on your arm or calling out Abronie (white one) trying to get you to look at their merchandise. Once you do find something that you like you then have to barter with the seller to try to get a good price…now that’s when it gets tricky especially if you don’t know how much the item should really be. Some merchants will try to charge you way over and you have to talk them down to sometimes less than half of what they are asking for. But then there are those who don’t try to rip you off but it is still culture to at least try to bargain with them so you offer then a Cedi or two less then what they are asking and usually end up meeting them halfway. I have learned after being here for some time that it truly pays to be able to speak a little Twi. If you greet them in Twi and exchange a few words it’s like your friends for life and they will give you great deals on just about anything you want. Now I have never been brave enough to take pictures in the market because I had a guy tell me about getting arrested when he tried to take a picture of a Yam and had to pay $100 American dollars just to get his camera back. Well my housemate is much braver and so I finally got some pictures of the market.

For more pictures check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/Sweet2thaT

Armed Robbing

The Mozley’s, where I eat every Monday with the teachers, were robbed at gunpoint the night of March the 18th. They are unharmed but their laptops and cell phones were taken. The robbers requested money but thankfully they don’t keep cash in the house. When the father, who happens to be a pastor told them he was a pastor; the robber said Oh! I am a believer too! Wow I was shocked when I heard that! Please keep them in prayer as they recover from this traumatic encounter.

There are shops that line the roads everywhere you go here in Ghana. These shops are where the people here conduct every day business, I have seen barber shops, hair salons, clothing stores, what we might call grocery stores, and many many more. The thing that amazes me is that each store is the width of a 1 or 2 car garage and about half as deep (these are the larger ones). This is where they base their family income; in a room the size of a building we Americans use as storage sheds. I have heard that most of the stores are illegally placed and that every now and then the city will come and smash the buildings down if the people refuse to leave by a certain date. Just like that their only way of income is gone. This happens a lot because they have no place to move them, and if they do it’s just a matter of time before they are told to move again. Things like this make me grateful and blessed to be from a country with so many opportunities.

Praise reports/prayer requests

I have so many praise reports to share with you!!! As some of you may already know I found out on Thursday that I had Malaria, but thanks to preventative malaria meds and the prayers of each and every one of you, I beat it with very few and minor symptoms and in a very short amount of time! After getting much needed rest and relaxation I am please to say that 4 days I am on my way to recovery and should be better in no time. Please pray for me as I continue to gather my strength.

Second: finally after two weeks of hassle and goose chasing I was able to report the money taken by the ATM to my bank in the states. I received the money back 3 days later with all the fees included; they also fixed my account so I no longer get charged to with drawl money! Praise GOD!

Third: Thanks to the donations you guys have been sending in, I was able to donate 560 GH cedes towards school fees for two teens attending culinary school here at the Beacon House. Once they graduate they will be able to go out and support themselves. Please keep the donations coming so not only can I continue to be here loving on God’s children and blessing them spiritually but also so WE can bless His people financially.

Prayer request: Three boys will be joining their new family in America this coming Wednesday. Please keep them in your prayers as both the children and the parents go through the adjustments! What an amazing voyage they are about to embark on! There are many more children lined up to join their new families as well!

Sign Language

There is a little deaf boy here and I have had the opportunity to assisting with teaching him to learn sign language. He has done such a great job! Due to his age I am not sure how much he actually understands but I made him a poster with the pictures on it and he does a great job making the signs for each one. He is the sweetest little boy and is always happy. We are looking for a family for him so pray that we find the right one that will be able to help him develop into an independent person.

Gods Will

Recently I have somehow I found myself in the middle of a war between the orphanages here and social welfare. Social welfare is trying to close down all the orphanages here and only do temporary foster care instead. This has already happened in other parts of the country. They have already closed down three or four this year right here in Accra and are hoping to do the rest of them! Romana’s orphanage is one of many that are on the list for them to try to close it down. Please be in prayer that God’s will, will be done in this situation.

Getting things done!

Since I have been here I have filled out forms for 14 out 0f the 30 kids here for social welfare getting them one step closer to their actual adoption date! I wish I could share every moment of me being here with you guys! It has been such a blessing. Not only getting to help with their paperwork so they can be adopted out and get a good home but also on the day to day moments of just getting to love on these children! Each one of them is so special and unique. I pray that they see how much God loves them through me.

Update 1

Greetings from Accra!
Thank you for keeping me in your prayers! I am so thankful for the uplifting emails; they have been very helpful in my adjustment time. It was such an adventure getting here and that was not even the beginning. It has been a wonderful experience already and I am sure it will only get better!! Since I have been here, I have assisted Ramona with a child abuse case (not at the Beacon House), taken a child to the agency to try to find him a home and been to the doctor with one precious little girl that has malaria. No worries though they have medicine for that here and since they caught it early enough she will recover in no time. There are about 10 out of the 20 kids who are adopted with all of the paperwork done, but they are waiting for their passports, which they have been waiting on for a long time. Please pray that their passports will come in soon so these precious little children can get started on their new lives!
On a personal level I have had my own adventures. I have experience riding the tro tro (a van) to the Medina market, which is jam packed with Ghanaians selling everything from toothpaste and clothes to electrical equipment. It is shocking how expensive food is at the shops here (it’s a cheaper in the markets but not as safe), just a few examples: a normal large container of strawberries runs $20 and one cucumber is $8 (keep in mind that Ghana money matches American money almost to the dollar).Of course not everything is that expensive but those are the two that blew my mind the most. I have also been to the fish market at the harbor. That in itself is a whole different story! Let’s just say that frozen dead fish smell just as bad as live fish! J They are taking very good care of me here and I look forward to sharing more adventures with you along the way. Please continue to keep myself, the children and the workers here at the Beacon House in your prayers!
p.s. I have attached a few pictures from some of my recent adventures.
God Bless,
Becky