Life is grand.

We had a great weekend with the kids! They were out of school on Friday, so we've had a lot of down time with them. Friday was very productive. They cleaned out the boys room and fixed their bunk beds.  After that, they built a coup to keep chickens and rabbits.On Saturday, they finished the coup and went to purchase the animals. We now have guinea pigs, chickens, and rabbits!

After they finished building the coup, we did a lesson with the kids about the difference between walking in darkness and walking in the light of Christ. To demonstrate, we blind folded them and had them navigate an obstacle course in "darkness." The kids really enjoyed it, and some of the adults even got involved.

Sunday was a much needed day of rest. We had church in the morning, and spent the afternoon loving on the kids. Calm days are a rare occurrence, but we are very thankful for them!

On Monday, I started to teach some of the children how to read. They are very excited and eager to learn! Most of them are catching on quickly, so that's encouraging!

Prayer requests for this week: Comfort for the children and Amanda (a volunteer who has been here for two months), as she prepares to head back to the States. That the Lord will continue to perfect His power in my weakness. My sickness has been a struggle today, but His grace is sufficient!

Counting my blessings!

Ete sen!
It's been such a wonderful week! The days leading up to my trip were very eventful, and Jehovah Jireh continued to provide in such incredible ways! His provision during the preparation for my trip was incredible. "Give thanks to Lord for He is good; His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 118:1.

I arrived in Ghana Wednesday night, and thankfully didn't have any problems at the airport and all my bags arrived safely! When I got to the orphanage, the kids were already sleeping, so I had to wait til morning to greet them. The rest of the week was very busy. Spent most of my time loving on the kids, and getting settled in to all the craziness.

The Lord has been so good to me! The trip here was good, and my body is adjusting surprisingly well to the Ghanaian food and climate. I can't even begin to count how many ways He has blessed me this week! He's so good! "But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble. To You, my strength, I sing praises, because God is my stronghold, my faithful God."  Psalm 59:16-17.

Please be praying that I would be intentional during my time here, and always seek the Lord's will above my own. Also, there's a child in the home who has been causing a lot of trouble, so please pray that the Lord will   work in his heart, and draw him unto Himself.

I'm very excited to see how the Lord will work here in the next three months! Thank you so much for your prayers, and I will try to keep you updated!

"Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the word." James 1:27.

Getting ready to leave!

 Greetings!

Life is pretty crazy right now. My departure date is quickly approaching, and I will be Ghana bound on October 16th! The Lord is continuing to bring everything together, and His provision has been amazing! 

Right now, I'm in the process of getting everything finalized and ready to go. There's a lot of planning that goes into being gone for three months, but the Joy of the Lord is my strength and the excitement of knowing that I will soon be there is pushing me to get even the smallest tasks done. 

Your prayers are most definitely appreciated during this time before I leave. You can pray that God would bring everything together, and that all the details would be finalized. You can also pray that Jehovah Jireh would provide the financial needs for my trip. I'm still short on funds, but I'm confident He'll provide everything I need. Most importantly, you can pray that God would be glorified, because this trip is all about Him!

If you have any preschool/kindergarten teaching supplies that you think would be helpful, please let me know! I'll be teaching the preschool/kindergarten class in the orphanage, and there will be about twenty kids. So whatever ideas/supplies you have would be greatly appreciated! 

you mean, I get to go back?

That's right! Lord willing, I will be headed back to Ghana the first week of September. But it's going to be a little different this time...


Different? Cause I've been there before, I know how to prepare, and I know what to expect? Nope. Different, because  this time I'm going with a chronic illness called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). The list of symptoms is far too long to put here, but basically, it affects my entire body. My autonomic nervous system doesn't work properly, so my blood pressure, heart rate, and internal temperature don't regulate normally. Some of the things you're supposed to avoid with POTS are excessive heat and bending down (Among several other things). Doesn't sound too hard, right? Well, Jehovah is calling me to go to Africa, in the excessive heat, to take care of the fatherless, which requires a lot of bending down. Some people might think it's foolish to go to a third world country when I'm so sick, but the joy of the Lord is my strength, and I'm not saying no to His calling! It's probably going to be the most difficult experience of my life thus far, with lots of challenges and struggles. But His grace is sufficient, and I can't wait to be back in Ghana loving on those precious children. :)


We don't have dates finalized yet, but it will most likely be the first week of September til early-mid December. That's right, three whole months of caring for orphans. =D Lord willing, there will be three other ladies going with me. Please be praying for us as we prepare for this trip, make plans, and raise the funds.


I will be setting up an account through Parkway Baptist Church, so please let me know if you're interested in making a donation. Your contributions are much needed and greatly appreciated! I won't be able to go without the support of my fiends and family, so please consider being apart of this journey!

Thanks so much for your prayers and support! 
-Rebekah

Back in Knoxville.

I made it back to Knoxville Thursday morning. I meant to post sooner, but I have been really busy since I got back. The transition has been a lot harder than I anticipated, but God is good.

I'm praying about going back in August and staying for 4 months, but we'll see what God has planned. :)

Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement while I was gone. They were such a blessing!

When I'm weak, He is strong.

Its been an interesting couple of days.
Emily was sick for almost a week, but praise God she is finally feeling better. I got sick Friday morning, and I spent most of Friday and Saturday curled up in bed. I hated that I couldn't be out playing with the kids because I had no energy. Saturday night, all the volunteers went to have dinner with Johnbull and Stacy. Emily and I couldn't hardly look at the food without wanting to vomit. And sitting in a resturaunt, that was pretty difficult. After we got back from dinner, I was starting to feel a little better. Sunday morning, I got to sit in on Sunday School for the younger ones; the older boys did a lesson about Abraham and Sarah. After Sunday School, it was time for church. The older boys led the music, and pastor Eben gave the message. After lunch, we loaded up and took the kids to the beach. It's pretty chaotic taking 30 kids to the beach, but they love it. As soon as we got home from the beach, it was time to bath all the sandy kids. They love it when mommy does bathtime for them, but man, it's a chore to wash off a bunch of kids all covered in sand. Once we finished bathing, we ate dinner and the boys played soccer.

Monday morning, Sarah and I went over to Assurance Of Hope, the orphanage that Lola is staying at, to help with some crafts. We did valentine cards for their food sponsors, and we also did a little craft for them. It was kind of challenging, because some of them didn't really speak English, and we didn't know their names. But we made their crafts successfully. There was one little boy that stole my heart while we were there. He was clinging to my side shortly after we walked in the gate, and once I picked him up, he absolutely would not let me put him down. If I was able to get him down, he would hold onto my leg until I picked him back up. The kids all love to be held, but he would not leave my side the whole time we were there. It broke my heart to have to put him down and leave, and I've been thinking and praying about him ever since. God has a perfect plan for his life, and I trust He will watch over him. And I also pray Jehovah allows me to be apart of his life. :) I've been living in an orphanage for three weeks, and I love the kids here, but none of them have stuck out to me like this little boy has. I don't know why he's so special, but he sure has a place in my heart.

Today, we are doing valentine cards with our kids. I'm glad I get to spend valentines day loving on the fatherless. :)

 This is Peter. :)

I'm heading home tomorrow night, so please be praying for safe travels. It's going to be hard to leave all these beautiful children, and I cannot wait for the day I get to come back.

"There is power in the name of Jesus"

Its been a very long day. Emily is still sick with Malaria; she feels very weak, and hasn't eaten much the past few days. I wasn't feeling well when I woke up this morning. I threw up, and have had "the runs" all day. I thought it might have been the food we ate last night, but I'm still feeling very sick, so I don't know what it is. Jehovah Rapha is mighty to heal, so we are trusting in Him. Please pray for healing for the both of us. Sarah, the other girl here with us, isn't sick at all, so we are praising God for that!