So, things are pretty normal around here lately for me. I had Malaria about a month ago...but got some medicine pretty fast and was feeling better within a few days. We had a great ladies' retreat where we talked/learned all about time management and being good stewards of the things we have. This is the last week of the quarter for school here so my students are busy working like crazy (some of them at least) to try to get as many PACES completed as they can. I got two new students last week....since the ACE school system is self-paced it doesn't really matter that they're coming into class the last week of the quarter. They're doing ok I think....I have started the process of applying for my Ghana Residency Visa. That means instead of a tourist visa that I have to renew every couple of months (and pay every couple of months) I'll only have to pay once a year. It will probably save a lot of money in the long-run because the last 2 or 3 times I've renewed my visa there has been some sort of problem and I've had to pay the renewal fee AND an overstay fee which is more than the yearly cost of the Residency Visa. So, I'm excited about that. My nephew's 14th birthday was yesterday...I called him to wish him happy b-day and he said he'd been waiting for my call all day...I guess having an aunt that lives in Africa is pretty cool. Anyway, I can't believe he's 14. I was 14 when he was born...he'll be learning how to drive soon! My niece is starting school next fall and my other nephew is going to be 10 in December. They make me feel old sometimes. I'm planning on traveling to the US this summer...I'm in the process of getting my ticket changed so I can be there for my friend Sara's wedding in July. I'm a little excited and a little nervous about going back "home" again this summer....it's complicated. I know that I will miss Ghana A LOT!! I'm at home here now. Well, that's about all I can think of for now so until I see you all again.....
Peace & Love
5.04.2010
4.13.2010
it's a long post, this is your warning :-)
Well my 2 weeks of vacation are just about over. We spent a week at the beach just like we did last year. The beach at Axim is amazing…my pictures last year were a lot better. At the beginning of the week I was still feeling kind of crummy from malaria but it only lasted a couple of days into the vacation. I cannot describe how beautiful the place is….you’ll just have to come & see it for yourself…but don’t come during “our” week….then there will be too many people on “our” beach. Haha. I joked that this year it was strange because last time if you saw a white person you knew they were with us…but this year there were LOTS of obrunis there. Everywhere you looked there was a white person. We always have a good time at the beach. I usually spend a lot of time sitting on the beach by myself at night. The beach is just so beautiful at night when no one is around and it’s all quiet….All you can hear is the wind and the waves. The stars are all out and there are millions of little twinkling lights in the sky. So, while other people are sitting in the room watching TV or playing video games, I sit on the beach.
All that sitting on the beach gave me lots of time to think. I think a lot, too much many of my friends say. I’m realizing lately that they might be right. I have a tendency to sit & think about my life so much that I end up worrying about things that I have no control over. I know better than to worry about life. I know that I can’t add a single second to my life by worrying and that in actuality, worrying will shorten your life. So why do I still do it? I don’t know. I have to say though, that I’m a lot better than I used to be. I think living in Ghana has done that for me. Seeing the faith that people around here has helped me to have more faith. I know that God has plans for my future, and I know that they are good plans; plans for prosperity and not for calamity (Jeremiah 29:11) so there’s no need for me to worry about anything.
I sometimes (ok, quite frequently) wonder what people who have known me for a long time would think if they could see me here without me knowing they were watching. A couple of my friends have told me that I have changed significantly since I came to Ghana the first time. I wonder what kinds of changes people have noticed. I think about my future a lot. When I look back over the last 5 years or 10 years even, I never would have thought that this is where I would be right now. But I still think and wonder where I’ll be 5 years from now. God has a way of surprising me. He’s so much more creative and surprising than I think I give Him credit for. Now I know how silly that statement sounds….I mean He’s THE creator….creativity is HIS invention but I think that I, and many others, have a tendency to sort of forget that God is not some gray old man sitting on a cloud just passively watching us go about our day to day existences. He has entrusted us with His most precious creation, The Church, so of course He cares about our lives.
Another thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is my own self-image and lack of confidence. For as long as I can remember I’ve hated getting compliments, especially about how I look or some talent I have. I have frequently debated with the person giving the compliment about how undeserving I am of said compliment. I’ve had a revelation here in Ghana. Who do I think I am to turn down a compliment from anyone? God created me to be the person that I am. I am “fearfully and wonderfully” made by the creator of the universe (and so are you by the way) so how can I say that I’m not good enough? As far as confidence goes, I need to remember that I don’t get my confidence from myself. I should be getting my confidence from God. Sure there are things I probably can’t do….but God can do anything and HE is in me! He can and will give me the ability to do anything that He wants me to be able to do. Anyway, that’s my big revelation for now. As usual, life is an adventure, but I’m starting to really enjoy the twists & turns. I know that God won’t let it get out of hand. I don’t know what the future holds and that’s finally ok with me. More than once here I’ve heard the phrase “let God surprise you.” I’ve never liked surprises….but life can be surprising sometimes so I’m getting used to it.
that's all for now....
BAM
All that sitting on the beach gave me lots of time to think. I think a lot, too much many of my friends say. I’m realizing lately that they might be right. I have a tendency to sit & think about my life so much that I end up worrying about things that I have no control over. I know better than to worry about life. I know that I can’t add a single second to my life by worrying and that in actuality, worrying will shorten your life. So why do I still do it? I don’t know. I have to say though, that I’m a lot better than I used to be. I think living in Ghana has done that for me. Seeing the faith that people around here has helped me to have more faith. I know that God has plans for my future, and I know that they are good plans; plans for prosperity and not for calamity (Jeremiah 29:11) so there’s no need for me to worry about anything.
I sometimes (ok, quite frequently) wonder what people who have known me for a long time would think if they could see me here without me knowing they were watching. A couple of my friends have told me that I have changed significantly since I came to Ghana the first time. I wonder what kinds of changes people have noticed. I think about my future a lot. When I look back over the last 5 years or 10 years even, I never would have thought that this is where I would be right now. But I still think and wonder where I’ll be 5 years from now. God has a way of surprising me. He’s so much more creative and surprising than I think I give Him credit for. Now I know how silly that statement sounds….I mean He’s THE creator….creativity is HIS invention but I think that I, and many others, have a tendency to sort of forget that God is not some gray old man sitting on a cloud just passively watching us go about our day to day existences. He has entrusted us with His most precious creation, The Church, so of course He cares about our lives.
Another thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is my own self-image and lack of confidence. For as long as I can remember I’ve hated getting compliments, especially about how I look or some talent I have. I have frequently debated with the person giving the compliment about how undeserving I am of said compliment. I’ve had a revelation here in Ghana. Who do I think I am to turn down a compliment from anyone? God created me to be the person that I am. I am “fearfully and wonderfully” made by the creator of the universe (and so are you by the way) so how can I say that I’m not good enough? As far as confidence goes, I need to remember that I don’t get my confidence from myself. I should be getting my confidence from God. Sure there are things I probably can’t do….but God can do anything and HE is in me! He can and will give me the ability to do anything that He wants me to be able to do. Anyway, that’s my big revelation for now. As usual, life is an adventure, but I’m starting to really enjoy the twists & turns. I know that God won’t let it get out of hand. I don’t know what the future holds and that’s finally ok with me. More than once here I’ve heard the phrase “let God surprise you.” I’ve never liked surprises….but life can be surprising sometimes so I’m getting used to it.
that's all for now....
BAM
3.07.2010
insufficient
I wish I was better with words....don't get me wrong, I can communicate..I majored in Communication for crying out loud. But my communication abilities are best utilized in a technical aspect. I can write newspaper articles, commercials, advertisements...just about any kind of technical writing or editing; I can do it. But when it comes to creative stuff, not my forte. "What difference does it make?", you might ask....well the fact is all the technical writing in the world is insufficient to tell about my life here in Ghana. I read other people's blogs (more creative people) and I just WISH I could write like that. People don't want to read a newspaper article, checklist of stuff about my life. All the words I can think of are insufficient to describe the joy and sense of fulfillment I get from being here. I just wish I could do justice to how I feel about Ghana with the words I write.
I feel at home here. I don't know how to explain it. I've heard some preaching/teaching lately about how God had purposed us for something before we were ever even born...this is something I've heard before, but after being here it has a new meaning to me. Was it God's plan all along for me to come to Ghana? When I was a little girl getting scared by my brothers and playing outside with no shoes on and catching mice and moles and catterpillars to bring in the house, was HE planning to send me here way back then? When I didn't get into the college I wanted, didn't get accepted into the music department, found out from Campus Christian Fellowship that I LOVED misions.....was HE planning then.....It's crazy to me to think that there's some larger purpose for my life than I know of right now....I guess I know that God has a purpose for everyone's life, but most of the time I feel insufficient to do something for God. Me moving to Ghana and living here and working as a missionary is something I never would have imagined in my life but the fact is....this is where I am. If God has planned (and set in to motion) all the events that got me here; what in the world is HE planning now?! It's kind of fritening to me, to be honest. I like to know what's going on, what's going to happen next. Ask any of my family and friends....I don't like suprises. I like to know when, where, why and how thing are going to go down. Well the problem here is that God, well HE really REALLY likes to surprise people. So God and I, we're kind of at odds sometimes. He wants to surprise me, only I'm not sure I'm ready for whatever surprises he has in store for me. Isn't that STUPID! He wants to give us good gifts and he owns everything in existence so why wouldn't I want Him to surprise me....? Short answer, I don't know. Maybe it's about control. Maybe it's about pride. Whatever it is, I need to get over it.
All my life (as long as I can remember at least) I've had issues with my self-image. I have always felt insufficient. Insuffiently smart. Insufficiently pretty. Insufficiently talented. Insuffcient in just about every way. I'm smart enough to know that all these thoughts of insuffiency are straight from Satan. If someone feels too insufficient to work effectively for God, then they won't do anything. They'll be stagnant. They'll fester. Eventually, they'll die spiritually. Since coming here I've been able to start seeing that I am not insufficient. All the feelings of insufficiency are from years of believing the lies I heard from people. Mean kids at school, mean kids at church (unfortunately) mean total strangers. Sometimes even from family members. Proverbs 23:7 says; "For as he thinks within himself, so he is." So after years of hearing that I'm not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough talented enough....I guess I've started to believe it. The tide is turning though. No one ever tells me that here. Here when people hear me say something negative about myself, they reprimand me for it. They KNOW that you will eventually act out what you belive about yourself. So yeah, I am insufficient, but HIS grace is sufficient for me. I'm unbeliveably thankful for God bringing me here. I LOVE Ghana. I can't imagine being anywhere else. I have no idea whatsoever, what God plans on doing with me next, and that freaks me out a little.....but I know I'm ready for it.
I feel at home here. I don't know how to explain it. I've heard some preaching/teaching lately about how God had purposed us for something before we were ever even born...this is something I've heard before, but after being here it has a new meaning to me. Was it God's plan all along for me to come to Ghana? When I was a little girl getting scared by my brothers and playing outside with no shoes on and catching mice and moles and catterpillars to bring in the house, was HE planning to send me here way back then? When I didn't get into the college I wanted, didn't get accepted into the music department, found out from Campus Christian Fellowship that I LOVED misions.....was HE planning then.....It's crazy to me to think that there's some larger purpose for my life than I know of right now....I guess I know that God has a purpose for everyone's life, but most of the time I feel insufficient to do something for God. Me moving to Ghana and living here and working as a missionary is something I never would have imagined in my life but the fact is....this is where I am. If God has planned (and set in to motion) all the events that got me here; what in the world is HE planning now?! It's kind of fritening to me, to be honest. I like to know what's going on, what's going to happen next. Ask any of my family and friends....I don't like suprises. I like to know when, where, why and how thing are going to go down. Well the problem here is that God, well HE really REALLY likes to surprise people. So God and I, we're kind of at odds sometimes. He wants to surprise me, only I'm not sure I'm ready for whatever surprises he has in store for me. Isn't that STUPID! He wants to give us good gifts and he owns everything in existence so why wouldn't I want Him to surprise me....? Short answer, I don't know. Maybe it's about control. Maybe it's about pride. Whatever it is, I need to get over it.
All my life (as long as I can remember at least) I've had issues with my self-image. I have always felt insufficient. Insuffiently smart. Insufficiently pretty. Insufficiently talented. Insuffcient in just about every way. I'm smart enough to know that all these thoughts of insuffiency are straight from Satan. If someone feels too insufficient to work effectively for God, then they won't do anything. They'll be stagnant. They'll fester. Eventually, they'll die spiritually. Since coming here I've been able to start seeing that I am not insufficient. All the feelings of insufficiency are from years of believing the lies I heard from people. Mean kids at school, mean kids at church (unfortunately) mean total strangers. Sometimes even from family members. Proverbs 23:7 says; "For as he thinks within himself, so he is." So after years of hearing that I'm not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough talented enough....I guess I've started to believe it. The tide is turning though. No one ever tells me that here. Here when people hear me say something negative about myself, they reprimand me for it. They KNOW that you will eventually act out what you belive about yourself. So yeah, I am insufficient, but HIS grace is sufficient for me. I'm unbeliveably thankful for God bringing me here. I LOVE Ghana. I can't imagine being anywhere else. I have no idea whatsoever, what God plans on doing with me next, and that freaks me out a little.....but I know I'm ready for it.
3.03.2010
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
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
1.19.2010
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
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
12.26.2009
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
In Christ
BAM
10.25.2009
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
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
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