that's so Hot!

99.9 degrees Farenheit.  That's what the temperature was here yesterday.  And the thermometer is on the porch, in the shade...and the power keeps going off sporadically.  Right now for instance it has been off for about 5 minutes.  I'm not complaining mind you...I LOVE Ghana and I love being here.  Just an observation.  I'll probably be posting more regularly again.  I bought a wireless modem and it seems to work pretty well so maybe you can keep up with me a little better now. 
I have been going to Twi classes once a week for about a month now.  (Twi is the language in the area of Ghana where I live)  My teacher thinks I'm doing  a good job.  My friends still laugh every time I say certain phrases....but they claim it's because it's just fun to hear someone white saying somethign in Twi; and not because I'm saying it wrong.  I'm not sure if they're telling the whole truth or not ;-)  I'm trying to decide if I'm going to come back to the US or stay here this summer.  School here won't be out by the time my ticket is scheduled so I'd have to pay to move the date....and I really want to stay here this summer...we'll see what happens.  Maybe I'll post some more pictures sometime soon.  For now, I love you & miss you all...but dont' expect me back any time soon :-)  My friends say I'm Obruni (white) on the outside and Bibini(African) in the inside...I'm an honorary Ghanaian according to them. 
In Christ
BAM

Another new year

Well it's 2010.  It feels strange to be able to say "twenty" in the year but that's what it is I guess.  Things are going great here.  I & Laura (another volunteer) have been in charge of the house because the Hs are traveling in India for another week or so.  I have to say that I have so much more appreciation for what they have to deal with sometimes than I did before they left.  Sometimes the teenagers in the house can be a challenge. 
School is going well.  Almost all of my students are back.  One of them came back but she has not been here at all this week so I'm not sure what's going on there.  I have started taking Twi classes with two other people so hopefully by this time next year I will be able to speak Twi a lot better than I do now.  Now I know just enough to get myself laughed at. 
They internet has been pretty good lately, I'll post some pictures in the next couple of weeks I think.  We've been having a lot of lessons at assembly about goals and setting/reaching goals so I have this long list of goals for the new year.  I also have a list (almost finished) of day to day activities to help me achieve those goals.  Now before you start thinking that I am just really driven, it was homework for one of our Wednesday evening assemblies.  I did it though, which is more than some people can say. 
I've been really thinking about my future a lot lately.  I don't see myself wanting to leave Ghana anytime soon.  I need to figure out a long-term projection or plan for what I want to do...pray for me to have some discernment about that.  Thanks. 
I love you all and miss most of you ;-)
I'll do a better job of keeping up to date with how things are going here.  I'll also do better at putting pictures up on here or facebook.  I hope you're all doing awesome in the Lord, I know I am. 
Love you
BAM

Merry Christmas!!!

Hey Everybody.  It's been a long time since I posted it seems.  I'm doing great!  It's been an awesome Christmas and I'm looking forward to New Year's.  I hope you're all doing great in the Lord!  It's been really hot here lately, in the 90's so it's hard to convince myself that it's actually Christmas sometimes.  School is going great!  I have a new class with younger students, so it's a bit of a challenge, but it's good for me.  I'll try to put some pictures up sometime soon...the internet is getting better these days.  Until later. 
In Christ
BAM

hey everybody!

It's been a while, I know.  Sorry.  I actually got pretty decent wireless access in my room this week so I"m posting an update for once.  To those of you that are supposed to be getting my updates, a huge I'm sorry, but my Yahoo email is not acting right lately and I can't send anything so far.  I hope you're all doing great! Just to keep you updated, I got immersed two weeks ago.  I realized after a lot of thought and prayer that the first time I got "baptized" I was not old enough to understand what I was doing.  I'm sure that I understand now and I'm confident that I've made the right decision. 
So far in school I have 9 students.  One of my students has left the school, I'm not totally sure if it's her decision, or her parents, there's a lot of pressure in Ghana for students to go to government schools, so I'm just not sure. She's still been coming to assembly so hopefully she'll continue to grow in Christ, even in the public school system.  Our new Volunteer, Larua got here about a week ago.  She seems to be adjusting pretty well to life here.  I have been sick this week, probably malaria, even though I didn't get tested, Mr. H thinks that's probably what it was, and after taking the malaria meds I feel better.  So I guess I'm officially in the club now, haha.  well, my time is running out online so I guess I'll keep it short for now.  Please keep praying for the work here, I'm praying for you all. 
Love you all
BAM

memories

I've been thinking about memories a lot lately.  There are things I've seen and heard and done in my life that I'd rather not remember.  I'm sure everybody has things in their lives like that.  But, if you could erase those memories, would you?  I mean, don't you wish sometimes that you could forget some things...I listened to a podcast this week by Any Stanley called "Defining Moments."  So far it's a really good series, but it has made me think of a lot of things.  He talks about how everyone has some type of defining moment in their life.  I hate that some of the people I know now have these defining moments in their lives that are bad things.  I hate that some people's defining moment is tragic.  There are people I know that will forever refer to their life as before X event or after X event.  Here's another question for you....do you have good memories that you wish you could erase?   What?!! Why would you erase good memories?  Well, what if you have memories that are good memories, but because of something that happened, those good memories cause you pain?  How good do the memories have to be to outweigh the pain they cause? 
On a different note, does it make you feel bad/guilty/whatever when you know someone that has experienced a tragedy and you look at then differently because of it?  I guess in a way it's almost impossible to not look at people differently when they've experienced some great loss.  It's not exactly that you feel sorry for them......I can't explain what I mean really.  I wish so much that there was some way to help them forget some of those memories....even if just for a little while.  I am so sad when I see them and the happiness and joy they used to have seems gone.....it's like the light they had has gone out.  I know that slowly the light will come back, but it's hard to see your friends suffering and have no way to comfort them.  I don't expect them to be happy....I certainly wouldn't be, but what do you do to bring happiness to someone that has been just demolished by tragedy?  I wish I could share the light I have with them.....I would gladly do so if I could.  I don't know what to say, so I just say "I'm  praying for you" which is true, but probably feels sort of empty to them, especially since every person they see tells them that. 
On yet another note; this is my last weekend in the United States for at least the next school year!  I'm flying out on Tuesday to go to Ghana via Detroit then NYC.  It's crazy, I know!  I almost can't believe that this time next week I'll be back in Ghana again.  So if you don't hear from me for a while on here....that's why.  If you want to get my email newsletter/updates you can email me at bethann82@gmail.com

it has begun

This time next week......I will be on plane, on my way to Ghana.  That means that my week of craziness has officially begun.  I have got SO much to do in the next 7 days that if I think about it I might actually go crazy.  ( I know, here are all the jokes about how I'm already crazy....blah blah blah).  I have to get my luggage packed.  I have to get stuff packed to put in the shipping container that is being sent over to the mission in October.  I have to take my cat to where I'm taking him since nobody I know wanted him..which means I have to find the nearest no-kill animal shelter I can.  I need to go see my Grandma, she's already mad at me for going back to Ghana in the first place...I better try to arrange some type of peace treaty with her before the week's over.  My dad wants to take me out to eat sometime this week...I find this humorous and offensive at the same time, but that's a totally different story.  On Monday we're packing the shipping container so I need to be here for that.  My mom will probably want me to come & stay at her house for the weekend...My friends all want me to hang out with them....earlier this summer there was talk of a going away party for me...who knows if that will happen.  I have things I still need/want to buy to take with me.  Some things for me, some for my friends, some for my students.  I would like to get a new wireless card for my computer and have it installed....that probably won't happen....but it would be nice.  I can't believe I'm leaving in a week.  The summer has felt terribly long and ridiculously short all at the same time.  I'm stressed a little because I'm not even totally sure how many committed supporters I have...and the email I just sent out a lot of them got returned for a reason that I haven't figured out yet.  Just as a side note, why do computer glitches always have codes instead of just giving a reason why something went wrong.....it's annoying to see "this email failed to be delivered because of a permanent error...sorry it didn't work out"  at the beginning of an email telling me that most of the 126 people I sent the email to didn't get it.  Anyway..as you can see, I'm quickly going crazy(er) so I better just go to bed now....who knows if I'll actually be able to sleep....I'll try to post again before I leave, when I'm not as crazy. 

recently....

Recently I've been having fun playing around with pictures on picnik.com. It has lots of cool tools for photo editing. I wish I could get a version of it that is not online. Anyway, here are my two favorites from this week....don't be shocked, they are actually pictures of yours truly....I particularly like the first picture. Even though it kind of looks like some kind of musician glossy photo or something. I just like the style. The second one was my facebook picture for a couple of days and actually got lots of comments. Who knows....anyway, I'll probably play around with more pictures soon and post more just for fun.