Well, I'm finally back in Ghana! I've been back since September 1st. I'm so glad that I got to visit the US this summer and see most of my family and friends. It was a great visit. I'm glad that I got to speak at several different places and share about the work we're doing here in Ghana. I had an adventure getting from Accra to Kumasi. Mr. H sent me an email to tell me that they couldn't come & pick me up so I needed to get a flight from Accra to Kumasi at the airport when I landed...unfortunately I didn't ever get that email. So when I got to the airport I was waiting patiently for someone to pick me up...no one came...To make it a little more complicated, my phone wasn't working (the battery got messed up) so all the calls that Mrs. H made to me never got to me...Finally after about an hour and a half of waiting two guys that I have never met in my life offered to let me use their cell phones to call someone. Mrs. H told me I needed to get the flight that leaves at 4:30 so I ran to the desk and what do you know...it's 4:35 and the flight is taking off (on time?!!! no way) so I had to switch to Plan B. The two guys helped me get my luggage to the taxi stand and I took a taxi to the bus station (after giving the two guys some money, for helping me, that's WHY they were helping anyway...but I was thankful none the less). Got to the bus station and got everything squared away to take the bus. Finally got home around 11:30-11:45 P.M. that night. I was SOOOO thankful to see two of my friends waiting for me at the bus stop! It was a little bit of an adventure traveling like that with no one else to rely on. It helps me to remember that even when things aren't going as planned...God is still in control.
Youth Camp started the following Monday. It was a BLAST!! A whole week of diving into Scripture with 15-19 year olds. Playing games, competing in lots of different competitions, singing and just enjoying the company of friends. The team that I was one of the leaders of actually ended up coming from behind and winning! Everyone was surprised. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
The Monday after Youth Camp we had cleaning day at the school and Tuesday classes started! I have 9 students so far. They're all 7-12 years old. They're great kids and I'm excited to see them grow as the year goes on.
I'm sure there's more I could add here....I've already had Malaria once since I've gotten back....I've eaten lots of Ghanaian foods that I'd never tried before....There have been two new babies born (Chloe Wonder and Jedidiah Akola). Weightlifting is still going on...Life is just going and going right now!
One thing I do want to mention is that the mission is really having a hard time financially right now. A lot of our support has decreased or even stopped in some cases because of the bad economic situation in the US right now. I implore you to please remember that if YOU'RE doing bad financially....imagine how bad it is for missionaries that rely on the gracious donations of faithful Christians to keep going. A lot of people here have been affected by this. If support for the mission drops then the mission has to make really tough decisions about how to best use the money that is coming in. People have had to find new jobs because the mission can't afford to support them anymore...jobs are extremely hard to find here. Please, please consider making a sacrifice to help the work continue here. If 10 people would sacrifice $10 a week then that would be $400 month....in a year that would be nearly $5000! $10 a week is basically like giving up two fast-food meals a week. I hope that people are willing to make a small sacrifice like that so that people here can continue to have the chance for Christian education for their children! I KNOW that any sacrifice that is made to grow the Kingdom will not be a sacrifice made in vain...it will be remembered and repaid in the end!
I hope you're all doing awesome in the Lord!
Nyame Adom (by God's Grace)
BA
