Lauren, Tawnee, and I
Sylvester being goofy...this was hilarious! :)
I’m thoroughly enjoying being back in Ghana. I arrived late on Tuesday night and was given a wonderful welcome at the airport by Tawnee, Lauren, Mama Carolyn, and Papa Jim. After all my naps on the plane I was ready to go for the day when I got home…the only problem is that it was 11 pm. So, in true Ghanaian fashion, we got out our flashlight and began unpacking bags , and I think it’s safe to say that I made a tornado in our apartment that Tawnee had just neatly cleaned and picked up. We finally went to bed about 3 a.m. and woke up around 7:15 to some boys outside our window who were peeking in to see if I was back. Although I was still tired, I couldn’t lay there knowing the kids were out there…. I was so anxious to see them, so the hugs and happy reunions quickly followed, and it was so fun to be welcomed back so excitedly. I feel right at home. My favorite continuous welcome was by a little boy named Nii and he has said to me with his big ol’ beautiful smile, “You come again!” at least 30 times! Not even kidding.
During the past couple days we’ve kept very busy with the kids and just getting re-settled in. One exciting thing is that we started a Bible study in the local village, and we’ll be meeting Thursday nights for that. We had our first one this week and had about 15 adults and of course, about 3 times as many kids huddled around! It was so encouraging to hear their eagerness to learn the Word of God and their gratitude for having someone come who is willing to teach. Please pray for wisdom, guidance, and for the Holy Spirit to be very evident in all we do there. I am excited to see how God will work through this Bible study.
I have many new Oburoni faces joining me this year, so in addition to Mama Carolyn and Papa Jim, Tawnee has been here since April, Lauren came in June, and Amanda flew over with me. So, needless to say, it’s such a blessing to have them here!
Also, when I drove in on Tuesday night, I noticed a big ol’ pole in the middle of one of the roads and quickly realized that this was indeed a very exciting thing. We are happy to report that we did a little cheerleading yesterday as we drove by a crew of men putting up the wires that attach to these poles to provide….you guessed it, ELECTRICITY! Rumor has it that it will be up and running in about a month or so…I’m not holding my breath, but it would be great if it was operating before I left.
We have about two more weeks before school starts, so I’m looking forward to spending some good quality time with the kids. Today as we were driving through a “rougher” part of Accra, I had to be very watchful as people ran across the road in front of me and children were out playing in the streets. It really hit me when I realized that many of the children at Haven of Hope come from this area of town, and those kids out there on their own at the age of two or three are just as precious as our little Moses, Kweku, Comfort, and Seyram (our little ones) and that because God has given two people a vision to make a difference in these “forgotten” childrens’ lives, these kids are given hope for this life and for eternity. Praise God for His plan is greater than we could imagine. As always, thanks for being a part of it through your prayers and support.
