Oh my lands. Today was a GREAT day. For those of you praying Is 26:3 over me…THANK YOU. Quite honestly, I am so busy that I have barely had time to think about being sad. Of course I miss my babies…and today I held a little boy who was right around Sams age and I could have snuggled w/ him all day long. Every child I see makes me think of my own. But God has completely filled the void in my heart so that I can devote all my energy to the people of Ghana and to my sister and her family. I have discovered that yes, it is important to minister to Ghanaians but it is equally important to minister to the missionaries themselves. I hope Wendy, even if for a brief time, can allow us to carry some of the heavy load she has chosen to bear. She and Greg carry this load cheerfully, with the most beautiful spirit of self-sacrifice, but still they are human and grow tired.
Today was a complete and total blast. A day that I will remember forever. From the get go it was busy. Every morning at 6:30am (as well as noon and early evening) the kids walk to the chicken farm they started and collect eggs/feed/water the chickens. When I first saw all 300 of those Rhode Island hens I cried! Never cried over a bunch of chicken but I couldn’t believe how healthy they were! Today we collected about 130 eggs. Greg/Wendy are now able to sell the eggs and for the first time yesterday the eggs paid for the chicken’s feed! Soon they will start seeing profit. It just takes a while. On the way to the chickens this afternoon I saw a boy “driving” a donkey/cart and a young girl who was wearing a shirt w/ a HUGE picture of Obama on it. He is quite famous over here. It’s funny though…they know literally NOTHING about him.
I’m not kidding when I tell you that Greg/Wendy’s door is knocked on from sun up to sun down. It’s hilarious. I don’t know how they get anything done! Greetings are VERY formal and VERY important to Ghanaians. There is nothing rushed about how to say hello. My favorite is how they greet you by saying, “You are welcome”. It’s just so sweet! I love how warm and gracious they are. This morning Baba (Clement’s Father) called to talk to me. I have not yet been able to see him and I think the 2 of us are really anxious to meet! I think we will be going to his homestead tomorrow. I can hardly wait to see his family.
We are also going to the orphanage tomorrow. YIPEE! I brought over 19 backpacks that many of you helped me with. I’m very excited to hand them out. I need to stay focused though…back to today.
At noon we went to the Outcast (Witches) Camp in Gambaga. A little history lesson: this camp is made up of women who have been falsely accused of witchcraft in their villages and exiled from their homes. They are never allowed to go back or they will be executed. How does one get accused of witchcraft? Someone goes to the Chief of the village and makes the accusation. It could be over anything from a 2nd or 3rd wife who wants to get rid of the 1st wife so they make up some story to the woman’s husband or child dies and is accused of cursing her own family. Once the chief hears the accusation, he tosses up a dead chicken in the air and if it lands face up they are innocent. If it lands face down they guilty. These women are now in a camp and have been “rescued”. It is supported mostly by the Presbyterian Church. In the last 2 years they have found ways of gaining monthly income to support themselves…making jewelry, grinding millet (corn), making soap, etc. There is a small concrete building where they were separating the corn from the cob by hand. We all jumped right in and helped. They sang some of their traditional music (which I will try and post soon) which I could have listened to all day long. After a while, Wendy asked permission to share a word from God and they all were eager to hear her speak. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of my sister. SHE IS COMPLETELY IN HER ELEMENT HERE. Tears just poured down my face as I took the back seat and just observed. It was a moment, a quiet moment in my heart that I never ever want to forget.
After that we came back home, fed the chickens again, had a quick bite to eat and then Nana and I played football (soccer) w/ the boys and all their friends. I think I’m gonna be SORE tomorrow. These kids can PLAY SOME SERIOUS SOCCER. They don’t mess around and are EXTREMELY athletic. Sorry American kids, but these boys would kick butt. And without any shoes on. They just loved having Nana and I out there w/ them and would just smile ear to ear. They really loved it when Nana scored a goal (I know…I about fell over, too).
Tonight was another great meal made w/ cabbage, tomatoes, curry, tuna and rice. Sounds not so great but it was DELICIOUS.
I haven’t even journaled about how God is working in my heart…but I feel like it’s an evolving situation and changing almost minute to minute. I will have much to say regarding how God is working in MY life by the end of this…but right now I’m just soaking it all in, processing a LOT, and allowing God to use me. I will journal my spiritual experience on my way home as I have a feeling it will take a while.
Tomorrow is gonna be another GREAT day here in Nalerigu. With a cheerful heart I write this…mist
No comments:
Post a Comment