Wrapping up...

I don’t have a whole lot to say today. I hope that’s alright. Many of you have read all or most of my really lengthy blogs and for that I want to thank you. It’s been great to have an outlet for my thoughts and feelings, and even better knowing that someone other than my parents actually reads them! I hope that in some way you have been able to live vicariously through me and experience even a smidgen of the joy, satisfaction, and love that I have felt in this place. Now the trick will be to transfer all of these lessons to my life back in Phoenix and persist in pursuing God’s continuing will for my life. These kids are too much a part of who I am though for me to leave and never return. God willing I will be back, in due time. A teacher does get a couple months off in the summers you know! Maybe some of you would like to come with me next time (wink wink)!

With only a couple children left to introduce you to, here is one of our extremely precious and soft-spoken young ones. Aseidu is 6 years old and in P1. He is smart and helpful, and despite his quietness, even the older kids love and respect him. He has been such a joy and a constant source of smiles over the last 9 months.

Trust and Obey, there is no other way

The past couple weeks have proven to be great object lessons in obedience and trust.

Ever since we attended camp with the youth from Calvary Baptist, it has really been on my heart (as I have written previously) to make a connection between them and the children at our home for a variety of reasons. So, in obedience to what I felt like I was being called to do, I got up in front of the church and spoke for a short time about Haven of Hope, what I’ve been doing here for the past 9 months, and invited everyone to come and join us in a “Happy Birthday Everybody” celebration the following weekend, May 16th. I asked that anyone who was interested see me after church so that we could have an idea of how many to expect. There were only 4 people who got my contact information and expressed interest. Extremely disappointed, I went ahead with the party planning and resolved myself to the fact that we were going to have a heck of a time whether or not anyone came to join us. And we did! We had music and dancing and cupcakes and ice cream and enjoyed ourselves very much. The 4 people who said they wanted to come did show up and enjoyed themselves as well. However, a couple hours into the party, 2 taxis pulled up at our gate and 11 boys poured out. Evidently on the same day that I spoke to the Youth Chapel, our pastor also announced it to the Teen Chapel. These 11 teenage boys transformed the party, really engaged the kids, played an epic soccer game, and their presence meant more to our kids than they may ever know. Many expressed a definite desire to come again and it was a great success in every possible way, despite my doubts. Obedience is one thing, but learning to trust that the Lord will work in your obedience is quite another.

It is funny to me how I can teach my own students certain things, yet not always believe them myself. A lesson I find myself repeating often is the plea for obedience. I also want them to understand that I do not ask them to do things “just because”. Every rule and therefore every act of obedience has a purpose. More often than not around here it is to keep the children safe and healthy. I say these things so often that the kids have begun to say them to each other, but when it comes to believing that God has a purpose when he asks me to do certain things, I struggle. He has a plan. I just need to understand that every act of obedience is part of a bigger plan, not “just because”. Faith and trust in my God need to both precede and follow my obedience, because He is good.

Please pray this week for Fausia. She is a hyper, hilarious 14 year old. She is a great dancer and a good student, but more than anything, I would say that she is a good friend.

Life to the FULLEST

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the fullest.”

In this passage in John, Jesus is giving an analogy of the Shepherd and His flock, referring to his saving grace and the life that comes through salvation offered only by Him. Additionally, in Matthew, as Jesus is instructing the crowds how to pray, he says:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

To me, this means that the fullness of life does not have to wait. It is not something that begins only at death, but a glimpse of his kingdom is available to us now on earth! What does that “life to the full” look like though? I believe that it begins with the little things. The other day, I had gone into town and was getting back in the late afternoon. I arrived at my trotro stop about a mile and a half from our home and the weather looked clear as I began my walk down the road. However, due to the fact that we are now back in the rainy season and the weather is very temperamental, it started pouring down rain while I was still a half mile out. I walked that last half mile becoming a human mop and splashing mud on the back of my legs with my sandals, but in the midst of it, I was ultimately very happy. I laughed at the situation and found myself singing, thinking “there is nothing better than this”. If you can see God’s hand in everything and find joy despite circumstances, then that is life to the full. The beautiful thing though is that is only where it begins… there are no limits to the freedom of that life in Him!

This week there are 4 children, 2 sets of siblings that I’d like to introduce you to. The first, Sammy (5) and Kwame (9), came from very desperate situations on the streets over a year ago. They are both very energetic and precious boys who are always eager to help, but also quick to get into trouble! The second is yet another new addition to our family… Ama (2) and Prince (4). Please pray for these precious young ones this week!

One Month Left

Tomorrow, May 10th, leaves me with only one month left here in Ghana. Since Elise has gone, I’ve had a lot more time to think, which for me mostly means a lot more time to worry. I worry about the kids. Who will play with them when I leave, teach them Disney songs, laugh with them and tease them like me? I think that these are MY kids and I don’t know what I’ll do without them. What will they do without me? Will anyone ever be able to love them as much as I do? What can I do to solidify a good future for each of them in the next 30 days? I put an enormous amount of weight on my own shoulders to shape their futures. That is a lot of responsibility for any one person to carry; I thought I would have learned that lesson by now. Finally, after I’m stressed to the point of getting pimples and craving chocolate (which I have none of) I take a deep breath and realize how foolish my worries are. These kids at this home are not mine. They never were. They are precious children, created by God and they are held perfectly in His hand. I was simply allowed to be in their lives for a time. And while they have changed me and taught me, molded me into who I am right now, I cannot take them with me. I do not need to fret about the well-being of these kids. What freedom there is in the realization that we are not always in control.

In Matthew 6, Jesus says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable that they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow? Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

I know that these children are more beautiful than any lily and more valuable than any bird. They are made in the image of the Most High God. I need to be taking my faith, what little there seems to be sometimes, off my own head and placing it in the hands of the only One who is deserving.

One of those precious kids is Adjei. While I know that he is bold and brave and I have seen glimpses of that, he often finds security in hiding behind his supposed “shyness”. He is a very handsome 10 year old with a priceless smile who loves football, friends, and big hugs from Miss Lindsay (but only secretly, for he has a reputation to keep).