Awesome week this week friends! I have been able to see a distinct difference in the behavior of my students. By Tuesday, the majority of my students were focused and on task, completing their work, asking questions, and working together! I think that the change was instigated by my altered perspective and therefore lessened visible frustrations. In turn, they are responding to me even better. All relationships within the classroom are much more positive and now, the learning can occur, though very slowly (huge sigh). It doesn’t hurt that I have also begun a type of reward system in which the students can earn points for positive behavior throughout the week and then on Friday, the student with the most points receives a butterscotch candy! Oh the wonders that food can do around here! At dinner club this week, 6 kids, all but one under the age of 10, ate 2 full packages of spaghetti noodles. We were absolutely shocked as they all continued to file into the kitchen and refill their plates! Shortly after we first arrived here, Prince told us that “whoever has food has power”, a bold statement that is right in more ways than he could have possibly understood.
Now for those of you who have ever seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine, this next story may be a little easier for you to visualize. Elise and I have been taking the tro tros everywhere since we got here and are getting pretty good at getting around downtown. So, on Saturday, we took Miss Carolyn with us to try and find the Accra Mall (which ended up being really nice) and just wander around some. On the way there, prior to our first stop, our tro tro stalled and would not
start back up again. A few men piled out of the van and started pushing it until it hit first gear, they were able to start it up again, and then struggle to jump back in the moving vehicle. This happened several more times before we reached our destination. Then on the way back, we apparently chose a faulty car again and continued to witness this hysterical event all the way home to Medie! This experience not only provided us with a lot of laughter and a really good story, but also a new perspective on thankfulness. I found myself in those moments thanking God for the little things. I was thankful for the laughter. I was thankful for the cool breeze. I was thankful for the kindness of the people here. In Paul’s first letter to the people in Thessalonica, he says “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL circumstances.” It does not say to give thanks only when things are good, only when your tro tro works properly and you arrive at your destination in time, but in each and every circumstance. While I experienced a single moment in which I thanked God in a slightly unpleasant circumstance, I have been so humbled by seeing that thankful heart in our children here day in and day out. They constantly thank Him for waking them up in the morning and giving them a bowl of rice for lunch and dinner. They thank Him for the health of the little kids, and the chickens and goats. They thank Him for the chance to go to school and for our families letting us come here to stay with them. These children who have very little are the first to thank Him for every single thing that they do have. May we, who have so much, not take anything for granted, and learn to thank Him in ALL circumstances.
This week’s child is Mary, though she is not much of a child anymore. She is 12 years old and is better at soccer than most of the boys. She is very athletic and very smart, but her standoffish attitude can make it difficult to get close to her. We are in the process of breaking through those walls and connecting with this beautiful girl. Please pray for our efforts!
I love you all and hope things are going well at home too. Keep me updated!
Love,
Obruni
Now for those of you who have ever seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine, this next story may be a little easier for you to visualize. Elise and I have been taking the tro tros everywhere since we got here and are getting pretty good at getting around downtown. So, on Saturday, we took Miss Carolyn with us to try and find the Accra Mall (which ended up being really nice) and just wander around some. On the way there, prior to our first stop, our tro tro stalled and would not
start back up again. A few men piled out of the van and started pushing it until it hit first gear, they were able to start it up again, and then struggle to jump back in the moving vehicle. This happened several more times before we reached our destination. Then on the way back, we apparently chose a faulty car again and continued to witness this hysterical event all the way home to Medie! This experience not only provided us with a lot of laughter and a really good story, but also a new perspective on thankfulness. I found myself in those moments thanking God for the little things. I was thankful for the laughter. I was thankful for the cool breeze. I was thankful for the kindness of the people here. In Paul’s first letter to the people in Thessalonica, he says “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL circumstances.” It does not say to give thanks only when things are good, only when your tro tro works properly and you arrive at your destination in time, but in each and every circumstance. While I experienced a single moment in which I thanked God in a slightly unpleasant circumstance, I have been so humbled by seeing that thankful heart in our children here day in and day out. They constantly thank Him for waking them up in the morning and giving them a bowl of rice for lunch and dinner. They thank Him for the health of the little kids, and the chickens and goats. They thank Him for the chance to go to school and for our families letting us come here to stay with them. These children who have very little are the first to thank Him for every single thing that they do have. May we, who have so much, not take anything for granted, and learn to thank Him in ALL circumstances.
This week’s child is Mary, though she is not much of a child anymore. She is 12 years old and is better at soccer than most of the boys. She is very athletic and very smart, but her standoffish attitude can make it difficult to get close to her. We are in the process of breaking through those walls and connecting with this beautiful girl. Please pray for our efforts!
I love you all and hope things are going well at home too. Keep me updated!
Love,
Obruni
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