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.

security

What makes you feel secure? Some very good friends of my left to go to Ethiopia for 10 days and they have entrusted me with the care of their two children. They are going to Ethiopia to meet and bring home a child they are adopting. I took them to the airport today and I've been thinking about this a lot.....they really really trust me. I mean, they basically trust me with the most important things in their lives. If I ponder on it too long I'll probably get really really nervous about this whole thing. But, they feel secure leaving their children with me.
But, we know that there is not true security on this earth. Life is, quite literally, here one minute and gone the next. People that you think will never let you down, will inevitably LET YOU DOWN. They're only human. The perfect job that you love will not always be the perfect job. There is no security in being a mere mortal. Our only security comes through Christ.
"For our citizenship is in Heaven from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." Philippians 3: 20-21
How's THAT for security?

Carpe Diem

I've done a lot of thinking since I've gotten back from Ghana in June. Lots of thinking about taking advantage of every single opportunity and using every second to make in impact on someone. Today has been a difficult day for me. I found out this morning that a couple that I'm very good friends with (I've known the wife since I was 6 yrs old) lost their 4 month old son this morning. These are two people that are awesome parents, amazing Christian friends. I still see them at least every Sunday. Their loss just reminds me of how short life is. Granted, the life of their beautiful boy was so much shorter than anyone would ever have imagined it would be. But all of our lives are short. We are not promised another day, another hour another minute another heartbeat. It is scary to me to think about all the time I waste doing trivial things when there are people that I love and care about that don't know the love of our Creator. Before I was born, my mom lost a baby. Katherine was stillborn. Technically she was dead when she was born, but my mom had a full term pregnancy and normal delivery. I keep thinking, 'I wonder if this is how mom's friends felt when Katherine died.'....Totally helpless, sad, confused. Trying to figure out how to even greet my friends the next time I see them. I thought about writing them a letter, but I have no idea what to say...there are not words to express how I feel and even if there were, it can't even come close to consoling them. We all know that life is short, make the most of it. I don't mean that in the "eat, drink & be merry" kind of way. I mean, since you know that this life is a "vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" then do things with your time, money, talent etc that are NOT so short-lived. Use this life to make a difference in someone else's life. Tell your family and friends that you love them, SHOW them. There is only one way to give your life meaning.....give it up to the Lord. The things that the Lord will accomplish though someone that is totally devoted to Him, will long outlast these beat up, broken down things we call bodies. These bodies are tents, they are not our permanent residence. Remember that. I do not know how in the world this tragedy works into God's plan for my friends....but I know, somehow, it does. I know that this tragedy has really convicted me to really truly live for today. To use the opportunities I get and to try my hardest to make an impact on someone for the Lord. Please keep my friends in your prayers. Keep all of us in your prayers. We all need prayer, every single day not just when there's a tragedy. We need to pray for each other sincerely. I pray that you all seize the day, every day.

Carpe Diem