Yesterday afternoon there were no classes held at school, which isn’t completely uncommon, but this time it was for a different reason. The school director has decided to have dorm inspections for the kids once a month. I was put on the committee of teachers judging the dorms as the secretary and was not super excited about it, but I actually enjoyed it.
The kids had spent the past couple afternoons after siesta getting their dorms cleaned inside and outside. It was something that all the kids had worked really hard on together. Some days the kids struggle to do anything together, like playing games or sitting in class so it was exciting to see them work hard together. They got “dressed up” and both the boys dorm and girls dorm had students to greet us, the girls even sprinkled glitter over the path we walked on up to the dorm and had a flower bouquet for us. All of the kids stood by their beds and you could tell they took pride in the work they had done and I think these inspections which are a new thing will really help them step up and take ownership for things around the compound.
I went into it thinking it was a silly thing and a waste of class time, but I realized that this discipline is a part of their culture and it also gives the kids a chance to demonstrate some true Ghanaian hospitality.
This is Ebenezer Aseidu the boy who greeted us at the dorm. He is generally pretty quiet, but almost always looking for a hug, happy and able to bring a smile to my face quicker than almost anyone.

The one month mark

I have officially been here a month! Wow! School is now in full swing and life is busy. I enjoy each day getting to know different children here at the home a little better. Some days it is easy to get frustrated with things at school, with the lack of textbooks, the fact that my papers or students notebooks are constantly being blown away by the wind, the wide range in levels of students, the ever increasing class sizes, switching classrooms, and how the school often operates on Ghanaian time. However, I am learning to work with it, and most of my fifty students seem very eager to learn and I am starting to develop a routine with my classes as I gauge more where they are at and set down expectations and goals.
In the biblestudy I’m leading with the younger girls we have been talking about the fruits of the spirit and going through and studying them beforehand and then again with the kids has helped me to remember to have peace about different things, and patience in the situations that come my way this past couple weeks too. So I leave you with this, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

My first classroom

My first “teaching job” will not be in a one teacher classroom with four walls. I won’t have spent hours decorating the walls and creating bulletin boards. If it rains, we won’t have class. I won’t have to worry about offending a parent or about some piece of technology not working.
My first class will have a group of students with a great need for knowledge, it will have students ranging from probably 8 to 18, and it excites me beyond belief.
The school is switching to subject teaching where different teachers teach different subjects to different grades so I’ll be moving to and from different classes. They are making this switch so that they can add a JSS 1 (like junior high) class to the school which for now is going to meet in the chicken coop since there is only one chicken.
I am loving getting to know the kids and doing different activities, games and outings with them, but as I begin to plan for the school year I realize how much I like teaching and how important I see education as being. I see all the information I want to impart to these students and visualize ways I can convey those things. Many of the kids here are very far behind in their schooling due to many different things. I want to be able to help these students, and the school, make great strides this year.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the short time I’ve been here it is that I shouldn’t expect anything to go as I plan, so we’ll see what God has in store for the school year and what happens come Monday, but I’m praying we will be able to help these kids get a good education and solid biblical background to hopefully build a brighter future for them, and that we will be able to help push the academy forward and raise the standards they set for the teachers and students.

On the streets

There were kids standing staring at our van as we pulled in to the train area, latching onto our hands and our skirts as we tried to step out. They are kids who sleep on the train platform in Accra at night, kids who push and shove each other because that’s the only way they know to get what they need. They are dirty with uncleaned wounds because they don’t have the 50 pesewas needed to use the public showers or the soap and sponge they would need when they got there. They are kids who are searching for someone to love them, someone who will give them a hug and remember their name. They are living the life that the kids at Haven of Hope have been rescued from. Auntie Felicia goes out and learns the names of these children, she gets to know them, listens to their stories, and works to let them know she cares.
The other obrunis and I went and helped at the ministry she does on Sundays with these kids. We read to the kids, did some basic first aid, helped with a bible story and phonics lesson, and then helped serve a meal to as many of the kids as we had food for, which unfortunately wasn’t all of them. As we prepared to go we heard a little more about the children’s lives and the health and other problems the kids faced. I left and was heartbroken. I looked at these kids and was hesitant to touch some of them because of their lack of hygiene or clothes, when they need someone to love on them more than almost anyone I’ve ever met. My roommate shared with me that she goes and when she leaves she feels inspired because it shows her that one person really can make a difference when she sees what Auntie Felicia does for these kids, and it’s true though it’s tough to see where these kids are growing up, her getting to know them and loving them does make a difference. It pushes me to keep working and loving and praying for these kids more too, and helps me see more how the things we do matter.

This past week has been a blur of new activities... fishing with the boys, doing laundry with the girls, visiting markets, eating Ghanaian food... so many, many things. We also had the opportunity to take the girls to a pool in Tema, thanks to some friends of Lauren! It is crazy to me how excited they were to ride in a crowded van for an hour and a half to swim, but they seem to love and appreciate everything we take the time to do with them which is exciting. They are all so beautiful and I feel privileged to be spending this time with them.
Today we went to help out at the street ministry in Accra, it was really good to see what Every Child Ministries is doing there and help out with it, but hard to be there and see where these kids are coming from and what they go though. More to come on that when I have sorted through my emotions a little more...
I miss you guys,
Amanda

In the photo I am with Maa Abena and Comfort, the two youngest girls at the home. They are bundles of joy eager to get love and attention from anywhere they can.

Some thoughts from my first day.

This is a little something I wrote after the first full day I was here. There are a lot of new and different things I've been experiencing I would love to tell all of you about... it will come though.

Friends, when life gets really bad and difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with Glory just around the corner. 1 Peter 4:12-13.

I made it safely to Accra after almost 24 hours of traveling. Then it was about an hour ride in a van to Haven of Hope. The other three girls who are here from the United States as well as the home directors were more than welcoming, but when we got here at eleven at night after the traveling and had hauled Dana and my eleven pieces of luggage to our apartments and I was being shown around our apartment with a flashlight I was feeling a little unsure about things. The above verse was on a sheet of paper on the wall in my room and it was very encouraging to me. It wasn’t that life was that bad or difficult, but I was intimidated by everything and needed that reminder that God is on the job – which I am sure I will need to be reminded of continually while I am here. This morning was a whole series of new events for me. I woke up at around 6:15 and walked out of my room into our living room area and saw out the window a boy sitting on our porch watching me. The living quarters are more than I was expecting, and while they aren't quite like the apartment I lived in in Fargo ;-) I can see myself living here. The children are beautiful (most of you who know me are probably thinking… when has Amanda seen a child and not thought that). I can’t wait to get to know them more. School starts the middle of September so their schedule is pretty relaxed right now so it gives me a little time to get to know the 47 students here before school starts and there are over 100 of them around. I also got to visit the village that is just down the street with Dana and Tawnee and got a small picture of what many of these kids are coming from and what life is like for many people in Ghana.

God's blessings to all of you,

Amanda

Goodbye familiar

Star-gazing is something I've always enjoyed and it always makes me wish I knew more about the constellations and different objects in the sky. There are a few which I have come to recognize over the years and as I laid outside tonight, I found myself wondering how different the sky will be when I am in Ghana.
There are so many things that I wonder about, so many things that will be changes and require adjustments. It's weird to think that instead of moving back to Fargo, familiarity, and friends in a week for school, I will have even more goodbyes to say and will be heading somewhere foreign where I don't know any of the people. I'm thankful and find comfort in the fact that there is one thing that I can rest assured won't change. God is still the same and he is working everywhere. When I go he will go with me, He will be there helping me and giving me the wisdom and endurance I will need to serve him at Haven of Hope.

Blessings,
Amanda


If you want to see or know a little more about the orphanage and school where I will be serving you can check out their website at

http://ecmafrica.org/36238.ihtml
http://ecmafrica.org/36226.ihtml