It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas is tomorrow! This December is going by so quickly. This past week has been so crazy, and it's finally hitting me that Christmas is actually here! All this hot weather is really confusing me about what time of year it is.

This week has been the craziest week since I arrived in Ghana. Sunday, after a morning of worship, we welcomed a family adopting from GMI. They're hoping to take their girls home very soon! On Monday, I celebrated two months in Ghana  by meeting the precious kiddos at another orphanage in town and welcoming my dearest friend into the country. On Tuesday, we welcomed another family adopting from GMI. They brought a ton of donations, so we spent the afternoon sorting through everything. After we finished going through the donations, Pastor John let me drive his car home! It was such a fun experience!

On Wednesday, one of the girls walked up to me and said there was something in her nose. I soon discovered that it was a watch battery. Where it came from and how it got there, I still don't know. But praise Jehovah it was removed successfully without any trouble! After that, it was time to clean out my room. So many donations and Christmas presents were brought in, and there was a huge need for some organization. After spending all morning between the two rooms, I still wasn't done. It was such a chore! We spent the afternoon getting things for Seth and one of the families here for Christmas, and after that it was time to measure and weigh all the kids. So thankful I had extra hands to help with that! 

Thursday, I didn't even get to finish breakfast before 6+ totes/suitcases were brought into my room, and Christmas presents for the children were scattered on my bed. The older boys in the house were getting ready to leave for an outreach, and Richard and I spent the morning at the doctor with one of the children. Once we got back in the afternoon, they were packing up to leave for the outreach, and I had some errands to run. After I got back, everyone had left and I quickly realized there were very few adults left in the house. Almost all the older boys went to the outreach, so it was just me and a few aunties left to run the home. Thankfully, three older boys returned home from school that night, and they have been here to help. Still very crazy, but we're glad they're home!

Friday was very busy. I had to take one of the children to the doctor for another test and to get the results from the blood work. After waiting an hour, they informed me one of the results wasn't ready yet, and we needed to come back in the afternoon. We went back in the afternoon, only to find out the results still weren't ready, and we needed to come back in the morning. That was a really frustrating situation. After we got back in the afternoon, I was hoping to take a nap while the kids had their nap time. Unfortunately, I was quickly called to come care for another sick kiddo in the house. There was still a little bit of nap time left, so I tried to get some rest. But then two of the boys came in a decided it was time for a pillow fight. So much for getting any rest! Seth stopped by to pick up and drop some things off, and he stayed for the rest of the afternoon. The kids spent some time coloring, which allowed me some time to clean up my room. Everything has been so crazy this week, I could never find time to clean it. After dinner, we spent the evening playing hide and seek. The kids don't completely grasp it, but they have a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we had to go back to the doctor for the fourth time in three days. After waiting two hours, we finally got the hear the results from his tests! Everything came back normal. The doctor thinks his liver is trying to recover from malnutrition, and that's what's been causing the pain. He has been feeling better as the days go by, and complaining of pain a lot less! So glad he's feeling better. Once we got back from the doctor, the kids wanted to act out the nativity story. It was pure chaos, but they enjoyed getting to act it out. In the afternoon, we had a tree climbing contest with the boys. Of all the ones who tried, the six year old climbed the highest. He is such a little monkey! Once we finished climbing the tree, it was time to clean up the yard and make things look nice for when Pastor John and the rest of the team returned home. All the kids helped, and it looked great! Seth came over in the evening, so I had some extra help putting the kiddos to bed. Such a blessing!

Sunday, everyone was gone for the outreach, so we didn't have church in the house. They had devotions in the morning, and were done by 7am. Once the kids were all finished taking their baths, I started getting things ready for Christmas. The kids are all looking forward to celebrating! The boys spent the rest of the morning building a fort. Once I put the kids down for their nap, I got to sit down and watch a movie with the older kids. It was nice to have some downtime with them. After that, I headed over to Nyame Dua to take some things to Seth. After walking for thirty minutes out in the sun, my heart took another thirty minutes to slow down. >.< Spent the evening over there, and walked back home. On the way there, we got yelled at in Ga. On the way home, a car accident took place just a few yards in front of us. You never know what to expect around here. =P Once we got back, I put the kiddos to bed and everyone arrived safely from the outreach. Including the cow we're eating for Christmas. Which was butchered and placed in my freezer at 11:30 last night.

So yeah. It's been a chaotic week, but the Lord has brought us through! He has blessed me so much this week, and I'm looking forward to this final month in Ghana!

Thanksgiving Ghana style.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Ghana was such a wonderful experience! In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I asked people, both young and old, if they knew what Thanksgiving was. The answer was almost a unanimous “no”. Being reminded that Americans are the only people who celebrate the holiday made me realize how thankful I am for it, the history that it holds, and an entire day with my family. This was my first Thanksgiving away from home, and I got to celebrate with three adults who were celebrating Thanksgiving for the very first time in their lives. Can you imagine being twenty-eight and celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time? It was so neat getting to experience my first Thanksgiving in Ghana with other people celebrating their first Thanksgiving ever. 

The Lord blessed our day from start to finish, and I’m so thankful for that! He blessed me with a family to celebrate with, and so much more! After two feasts, playing games, fellowship, and laughter, we got to watch the sunset on the beach. I love how His beauty fills the sky!

Corn hole in Ghana!

Our Thanksgiving feast.

Once we got back to the Beebe’s house that night, I was able to Skype with my family. It was awesome getting to see all of them together. My prayer all day was that I would be able to Skype with them right before they sat down to eat. And sure enough, the Lord answered my prayer! Everyone had arrived, and they were putting the finishing touches on their feast. Once everything was ready, they asked me to pray for them. From Ghana! It was so awesome getting to share that moment with them, even though 6,000 miles stood between us. It was the perfect ending to our Thanksgiving in Ghana. 

I can’t count the many ways God blessed me this Thanksgiving! It was hard not getting to spend the day with my family, but I loved getting to experience Thanksgiving in a whole new way. God is so good!
 

Month one: Complete.

It's hard to believe I left for Ghana one month ago today. I'm so thankful Jehovah has allowed me to spend the past thirty days caring for these precious children. There's no place I'd rather be than where Jehovah takes me, and I'm so glad He has placed me here to live and serve for three months! It's not always fun, it's not always easy, it's not always desirable, but I LOVE getting to share Jesus with these kiddos.

I've had the opportunity to meet several adopting families this month, and I look forward to meeting more in the coming weeks. It's such a wonderful experience getting to see parents meet their new children for the first time. Last week, I saw a father embrace his son with open arms for the first time ever. It's such a gift to see God's glorious picture of adoption put on display. :)

"He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:5-6

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:17-18

This month has been a wonderful adventure, and I'm excited to see what the Lord has planned for the next two! Please be praying He continues to provide strength to make it through each day.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Three wonderful weeks.

It has been such a blessing to live and serve here in Africa. I have so enjoyed the first three weeks in Ghana! Adjusting to life in a house with 37 children has been challenging at times, but the Lord has been teaching me more about Him and myself every day, and I'm so thankful for that!

Last week, I said goodbye to my dear friend and roommate, Amanda. She spent two months here at GMI, and it has been awesome to see the impact she made during her time here. She loved well, and everyone speaks very highly of her. It was hard to see her go, but I'm glad the Lord allowed her to serve here for two months. Now, my only roommate is a lizard. Unfortunately he isn't much for conversation, but thankfully he stays out of the bed. =P

Days here are very long, but so good. They start with morning devotions at 5:30 and end with goodnight prayers at 8:00. The time in between is filled with school, putting on countless bandages (Last week, I put on ten in under ten minutes!), singing, laughing, playing soccer, washing dishes and clothes, teaching the children to read, and so much more. I love getting to spend all day loving on these precious kiddos! It breaks my heart to think each and every one of them was abandoned.

How could someone abandon their child? The very thought of looking into the eyes of a child and abandoning them makes me sick to my stomach. But there is hope! A Father of the fatherless is God in His holy dwelling! I've been reading through Isaiah the past couple weeks, and this was part of what I read the other day: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." Isaiah 49:15-16. So thankful that the Lord never forgets us!

"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." John 14:18.  

Made in His image.

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.