This Past Week- More Language.

I am sorry but I am sure there will be a lot of posts about language learning since that is about all that I do.This week I had some funny and some annoying comments. On the funny column we have:

• I learned how to say, "let me help you". I said it to a woman who sells porridge. Now everyday she wants me to sell it for her.
• The name of my blog is Dis Be Ghana because Ghanaian English doesn't use the "TH" sound. Instead of this and that they would pronounce it "dis and dat". So, having someone try and explain to me they, which they would pronounce dey. is also a word which has a different meaning. So trying to find out which was English and which was Dagbani for me was confusing but funny and took a longer time than I want to admit.
• There is a sound we don't have in English (well, a few actually) and sometimes when I really want to try and say it as perfect as they do, I nearly choke, like actually...choke with coughing to follow.

Now in the annoying column, and now I can say they are kind of funny but at the time they were not:

You need to comb your hair.

I like your skirt. I want it.

Have you ever gone to school? (because I was soooo terrible at speaking!)

Do the people in your country have eyes the color like yours?

Repeat this- and then go on with a very long sentence in Dagbani.

These kids are always around laughing at me. These gals help me out...and they laugh too.

So, week 3 has come to a close. Our language helper's grandfather died so she couldn't meet with us. I just went out practicing and tried learning new sayings along the way. It is a very slow process but I am still not discouraged! Thanks for praying.UPDATE ON HOUSE:I talked to Fadel yesterday and he said the last last day will be November 7th, meaning everything should be finished by then or at least we can move in and they can do small, detailed things. This week the plumbing will be completed and they will put up a water tank. They have the paint for the outside and inside of the house. We were able to put our suggestions in for the inside colors but who knows what he ended up getting! Ghanaians love bright, loud colors so I think the outside of the house will be a mint green or something. I don't care just finish for-the-love-of-doughnuts!!

This photo is of the kitchen with the pantry. This photo is my room with a built in wardrobe! Woooooooo!

Fire Festival

It would just be more simple to give you the link that tells you what the Fire Festival is all about and why they celebrate it. The story I heard is a bit different than what is on this site but who really knows anyways...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugum_ChuguI went with Brother Andrew, Jemima, and a friend. Andrew's brothers were very involved. His older brother is the chief's warrior. So before the Chief can come out his brother will come and shoot off a gun (no bullets). His other two brothers were painted up and danced to the beat of drums for hours! It was raining that night so I was told there were hardly any people there. I thought there were quite a lot. When the rain did die down the chief's warrior came out and signaled and then the chief came out. He threw water out on people and it is said that if the water touches you, you will have special favor...like things you want will come to pass. Then, we all went with burning grass torches to a tree. At the tree, we all threw in our torches so that it would light one big fire. When that fire was lit, we walked to another part of town where they were celebrating and joined in with their tree torching ceremony. I met some chiefs and was very honored to be a part of this festival. I was thankful I had my friends with me explaining the whys and whats of the nights. I even got to get jiggy-with-it with Brother Simon.

 Part of me thought it was like our house on 4th of July...except not as safe. I know my brother-in-law could not imagine more unsafe than my brothers and Dad! But there were Roman candles going off and these huge explosions. I got knocked back a step at one point. Guys had aerosol cans they were lighting and the torches people would run around with. Boys had big machetes they would scrape on the pavement to make sparks and girls would scream and run around. It was crazy, and yet I felt protected with these people. I know Jo-Jo (my extreme pyro brother) would have really joined in. I kept thinking someone is going to get a finger blown off, but, nope, none, that I saw, anyways. Andrew's family took me home around 12.30pm and I was a bit chilled (just a bit! hard to be chilled in this weather.) because of the rain and wind.Amazing Experience! Come and join me next year!

Language is Work

When I first came to Ghana in 2005, after a 10 day orientation, I was sent to a language school to learn Twi. Twi is widely spoken in the southern parts of Ghana. I learned some of it. I came back to the city and started working in the office. That took away my zeal for becoming fluent and, to be honest, I wasn't disciplined to keep with it. So, now forward 11 years and I get to learn another language, Dagbani. There is no language school. It needs to be self directed and there will be no other "work" at this point than to build relationships and learn Dagbani.Damary and I have found someone to meet and teach us for an hour or so in the mornings and then in the afternoons we walk around and practice what we have learned. We try to learn things that people will ask like, where are you from?, are you married?, Where is your house?, and all the greetings. Wait, stop a second...I should have wrote greetings before all the other questions because greetings here are soooooo very very important. How is your family? How did you sleep last night? How is home? How is your health? How was your journey? How is work? How is it? AHHHHH!!! While Damary and I were going a bit crazy trying to learn even more greetings as the days go by, and getting frustrated we tried to remember in each of our cultures how many ways there are to say "hello, how are you?". And we also have lots of ways, just think about it. We do.It gets to be a bit frustrating "just" learning language. I say "just" because it sometimes doesn't seem like work. I think of a missionary and think I should be teaching at a school, or building churches or telling people about Jesus, or helping the poor--whatever the thinking is, it is usually not walking around talking like a baby. With a new language to learn it you have to use it. And you may only be able to say short sentences that make people laugh when you say it. It is quite humbling!Sometimes I forget to be faithful in persevering in this because it doesn't seem like traditional "work". But it is work. Work even on day 2 was like-- I CAN'T GET THESE SOUNDS!! If I want to learn, it is self directed and it is up to me to go out and practice. People work 8 hours a day, an honest days work, so I think...8 hours of language???? I know the benefits will be great but right now I am sounding like a 4 year old child and it is hard to see the finish line.I know God has given me all I need to do this. He has made me adequate in every circumstance. It is my drive and discipline that needs to kick in. I met some great ladies this week. Of course, I cannot understand them but I can sit next to them and observe. Listen to people talking, or working or selling. Listen to the rhythm of the language and the ups and downs as they pronounce words.I have been in bed every night before 9pm. My brain is so tired. BUT I am not discouraged. I am not cranky. And I am not without hope. ......... it is only week one after all!!! AHHH!!!I just know this is my work for now. And it needs to be done. I am the one who can make it great and laugh or suffer, complain, and quit. In my quiet times with God He has really been strengthening me in His Word and He upholds me. It is a daily battle to give in to what I want but it is a miracle to see Him putting in His wants in me (Psalm 37.4). His delight is mine! Wooo Hooooo!Last word, and then I'm done. The other day after I was out practicing and couldn't say the words right and even felt too shy to keep asking people to listen to me and I was a bit down. I got into a yellow-yellow to get to town and go home. When I got off I saw a meat kebab seller. Why not? and so I bought 2 and the man said in Dagbani, "What is your name?" and I understood immediately what he said and was able to respond back with my new Dagbani name which means God is great. (Woon zoo ee ah) And the most gi-normous smile came on his face and mine! I understood that! He understood that! WOW, God. is. really. great!!!

Friends

I am loving Tamale not only because of Tamale but the people I have been able to hang out with thus far. I have been wanting to use the word THUS. How fun. Probably not grammatically correct...alas, I digress. I wanted to use the word alas too. Ok, finished, for real.Yes, I am loving Tamale. I miss my Accra peeps but I really don't miss anything else. I am very thankful about that. I need you to meet some of my friends.Damary is my new roommate. She is a new missionary coming from Northeast India. She has never been to Africa before but in some ways her culture is a bit similar to Ghanaian culture. She is the cutest little thing! Don't tell her I said that. It is nice to have her around to find things in the city. It is nice to eat her food. It is nice to go shopping with her because she can really bargain! Ei! I love it. She will also learn Dagbani and work with youth here in Tamale.My other fave friends are Pastor Andrew and his wife Jemima and their little baby Bernice. Yes, Bernice is my friend! I don't care if she can't say my name yet, she will...very soon.My Tamale team leader has traveled to his home country for a few months and another team member of mine in Tamale has traveled outside Ghana as well, leaving me and Damary a bit stuck when we have questions. BUT with Pastor Andrew and Jemima around I have questions no longer! When I was looking to buy some meat he told me where to go. When my tire got punctured...and then the other got punctured the next morning he had his brother and friend come out and help. When I feel the need for some fufu I go to their house. When we feel like hanging out with some fizzy drinks we all go. When I have a cultural question I ask it to them. When I need directions to a church I call, and even in his SS class he answered me. He wasn't teaching though :) I am so very thankful for how they have supported me. They have been so hospitable. (But, really, find me a Ghanaian who isn't.) They have prayed with me. They have laughed with me. Ohhhh, I wish I could record Pastor Andrew's laugh. It is a great one. Jemima told me the other night she likes it when I come because I make things light. I think they just like laughing at me! This is the Body of Christ working together.Pastor Andrew and Jemima have a church that he leads. He also works with a youth hostel and oversees all the High School students who have come to board while going to school. In the evenings he does tutoring, Bible studies, and prayer. They also have people coming in and out of their house for counseling or for food or maybe just to hear Andrew laugh :)UPDATE ON THE HOUSE: We went to see it the other day. Fadel is the landlord and was there. He took us through and all the rooms have doors. All the floors have tiles. The kitchen has tiles and the bathrooms have tiles. They have cut out a door in the kitchen and I will be able to have a storeroom/pantry sort of area. I was so excited I wanted to scream. But, they would think that's weird, so I suppressed it and waited until I got inside the car. Damary, Pastor Andrew and myself have all put our dates out there when we think we can move in. I am the most optimistic and think October 19th. P. Andrew thinks October 25th and Damary thinks October 28th. The winner gets to keep their money in their pockets while the others will pay for some drinks. (and just for a FYI- when I say drinks, I mean NON-alcoholic. I know some of you raised your lil' eyebrows.)Thanks for praying! 

Tamale (ta MA lee--like tom and lee...sort of)

As I try to find my way around the city I find myself really liking it. There is a part of the city called "town". That means it is the busiest and center of Tamale. There are traffic lights there and sellers of all kinds of things. The market is there with tons of vendors and shops. Many times they are selling the same things. It has been more convenient for me (and cheaper) to take public transportation- like the little "yellow-yellow" or a taxi and then I don't have to try and find a parking spot or figure out how to weave in and out of all the motorbikes and vehicles.If you want info on Tamale I found a couple sites-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale,_Ghanahttp://buzzghana.com/tamale-ghana/Or you can just let my photos do some talking for ya.Bright, busy, colorful, friendly- you are all welcome to come and stay with me and see it for yourself! 

Coming along Slowly but Surely

One of the first things I learned here in Ghana was that things take time. Relationships, finding your way, work, cooking, and whatever else I can't think of right now. For example, well, let me back up, and cheer because-- I found a house!!! YAY!! But it was not like I could look in the paper and see the rentals listing. It wasn't even that I knew people who knew people who knew people who could find a house. It was me and the few people I do know asking around. I got into a "yellow-yellow", which is a 3 wheel motorbike with a backseat pretty much and they can drive you around for a cheap price. One time I got into one the driver looked like a little boy! I said, "Hey, how old are you?" He looked at his buddy sharing the seat with him and smiled and said, "17". I said, "You lie, you are only 12". They laughed, and actually I did too. Another driver, I told him I just moved here and was looking for a place and he said his father has a house for rent. So, that is kind of how it goes. I did find one through a taxi driver named Gefaru. He has been a big help. He found several houses for me to look at. But this house that I have chosen was a friend of his brother who is the landlord for his mom who has traveled. So, you could say it was a taxi driver's brother's friend's mom's house that I found. Love it.The house is not finished. It has ceilings and walls and electrical holes. It has a wall around it and a nice high roof to keep hot sun/air from beating down which will help keep my house a bit cooler. The thing I really liked about it is the area. There are family homes around and kids all over the place. It is near to the main road which makes it convenient. Since my first years will be spent learning Dagbani it is necessary that there are people who I can learn from and practice with. Also, safety issues the more people around the better. The landlord and I have gone back and forth with a monthly rental price, Gefaru being the middle man, which has been very helpful. Then we talked about when the house will be finished and made some verbal agreements. This all took about 2 weeks. Kind of long, isn't it? But like I said, things take time. So, as of now, the house is being worked on. I went last week and saw them putting up doors and fixing things on the outside. I am very excited and trying to kindly add in my input for tiles and colors...we will see if the landlord catches my subtleties.So, now that I know I have a house in the future, I have been thinking of other things. Next on the checklist is a language helper. A woman to meet with me Monday thru Friday for 1-2 hours a day. It has not been easy to find this. One gal I thought would help me, she just took a job as a teacher. So, I have put out the word (now that I am getting to know people) and praying to get one soon so I can start learning.Another thing that takes time is shopping and cooking. I have no box mixes, packaged frozen dinners, or fast food around. So, I go to the market and find veggies, meat, rice etc and bring it home and start preparing. And wow, is it tiring! I made a bunch of meals up and put them in the freezer so I don't have to do this often. I thought about moms and how amazing they are to be cooking everyday for their families...and yes, I did call my mom and thanked her! Some days, though, I just make a quickie peanut butter banana sandwich and eat some fruit.So, small-small (we would say little by little) things are coming along. Thanks for praying! Keep praying!  

Very, Very Thankful!

These past couple weeks have been great. When someone calls me and asks so what have I been doing it is pretty much, "just checking the city out, driving around, hanging out with the few people I do know, looking for a house". I am surprised the lies of what-good-are-you have not shown themselves. But, I really shouldn't be surprised. These couple weeks God has gone over and above. Let me say that again people- OVER AND ABOVE!! I have had so many prayer requests answered, tiny detailed ones to big you-gotta-step-into-this-for-me ones. I have had great quiet times. I have been protected from whatevers. I have my needs taken care of. I have had peace in the midst of uncertainty. I had to call my friend in Accra the other night because I just couldn't keep the excitement to myself with all these answers. I had to tell someone! I am more than thankful. Is there a word that is "more than thankful"?At church yesterday I was so thankful people move and dance when they praise because I just couldn't keep it all in. I was in full rejoice mode. I hope even when things are not going so well I would stay in rejoice mode.One experience I had at church yesterday was meeting a little boy. Maybe he is around 10 years old and I can see he has mental disabilities. He sat right next to me. He stared directly at me. There was no embarrassment or shyness. I get stared at quite a bit but this boy was about a foot away from my face! and I am supposed to be paying attention during the SS lesson :) Well, one of the ladies yelled at him so he stopped. But then I looked over at him and he had his hands over his eyes peeking thru his fingers staring at me. Is that not cute???! I had to suppress my chuckle.One question that was asked in SS class was, "should we do ablution in church?" That is not a question I have ever thought about before, never had to think about it. Ablution is a cleansing ritual done for religious reasons. Like, washing hands, feet, face etc...One strong religion here does it very often. I was impressed with the young SS teacher's response. He said we need to make sure our hearts are clean more than our outside parts of our bodies.Truth, baby. Check your heart. Love it! 

No House Yet. Moving Soon.

No house yet in Tamale but I am not short of options. I am thankful for that. One house I looked at was 5 bedrooms but not quite complete. The landlord kept saying, "oh, we will do that. or we will get that done". I have learned being here that that is not always the case. Another 5 bedroom house was HUGE. I mean, it just seemed like wasted space in some places. It was nice though, but so big!  One place was 3 bedrooms but it was laid out very strangely. It had the bathroom way in the back and you had to pass thru a bedroom to get to it. Also, the ceilings were very low and in the hot weather that house would be a cooker!I have been back in Accra and buying things and Julie helped me pack up my house. A family in Tamale is going to travel for a few months so I will stay in their home when I move up until I can find a place. The plan is to leave the 23rd. To be honest, I am not sure what I am exactly looking for in a house. I have been told certain things would be good. For example: good water supply (Tamale can get very dry and wells in certain parts of the city dry up), security, an area with lots of local speakers around, and my own personal want- a nice kitchen. Some have one or two things. Some have none. I don't know. Sometimes, I try to find that one house that really doesn't exist but it really exists in my head. Maybe that is why i don't really like shopping. I get this idea into my head of what I want and that idea is a bit too much and you can't find it and in the end you get so frustrated and quit. i can't quit on this otherwise i will be homeless. Not a very good option :)Yesterday I visited 4 people. It was wonderful to see people and have nonfacebook conversations. I am always amazed at the lives some people live. Some people really struggle from day to day. Some have no idea how to move forward in life or they don't really have options available. It is hard here, and it is hard here for me to listen and not be able to do anything.Remind me to tell you about Rashid. This post is getting too long.  

Never Ending Suitcases

You think I would love suitcases by now. You think I would be an expert packer. You think I would relish prioritizing what goes and what stays. NO. None. I have no love for a suitcase. I mean, I love we have such things called suitcases and that they are roll-able, and sturdy, and light. But, there is no love in packing. No love in organizing to get the most in. No love in wondering if it is overweight...again. But I do love traveling. This past year I have flown and drove to many places. I was never in any place very long. I was visiting with churches and speaking. I was updating people on the work in Ghana. I went to weddings. I went to restaurants. I went to National Parks. I do love seeing new places or reconnecting with new/old people. I love that friends and family open their homes up to me to stay. I love that someone will even sometimes carry my suitcase for me!Alas, the bittersweetness of it all.I have arrived back in Ghana but have not finished with suitcases. I will be moving 10 hours north of Accra to a city called Tamale (not pronounced like Mexican food Tamale, but emphasis on the TAH and then ma lee. Try thinking of two men named Tom-and-Lee). It is a big city (500,000), compared to where I was the past year in Wisconsin, but not as big as Accra. Tamale is in an arid, dry area. Many people are farmers. It is 90% M*slim. It is very spread out. The church I was working with in Accra has branches here in Tamale. The Dagbon people speak Dagbani, which I will start to learn when I move.So, as I write this, I am in Tamale but only for a few days. I thought I would try to find a house that I could rent. I will travel back to Accra and make a final move to Tamale in mid or late August. I need to pack up my house. I need to decide what I can sell or what I can take with me. Furniture, dishes, appliances???? I need to think about a moving truck. I need to repack all the suitcases I have to take them north. Lots to do! Another transition! More suitcases! Ohhhh the joys!!

My Wet Night

It is rainy season here in Accra. And every-so-years the rain gives Accra a beating. We got one of those last Wednesday. It already rained the previous Sunday and Monday night quite a bit so things were saturated. And so it began...this is my story--My car’s back lights were not working so I took trotro to church. It takes two trotros (which are vans that pick up and drop people on routes for really cheap city transportation—always an adventure on one). When I got to church at 5:30 it started raining. I was going to meet with my kids but of course no one showed. Bible study is also on Wednesday nights and after we closed at 8:00pm it was still raining. I am not talking about a drizzle here people. I am talking DOWNPOUR. The church has a zinc roof so when the rain hits it is so loud you can’t even hear the person next to you. And so those of us who came for Bible study were stuck and we really couldn’t even talk to each other! But by 9:30 we saw an escape. The rain slowed for a bit so I and this man Theo made a run for the bus stop. The rain started up again. I could see it running heavily down the roads but didn’t consider there would be flooding. There were no trotros coming to take me to lapaz. Theo was flagging down taxis but either they were full or they didn’t want to go to where he asked. Finally, a trotro came but to be honest, I didn’t think these guys were normal trotro drivers. They seemed like this was a fun game or something. They broke their side window but didn't think anything of it and they took a different road, but anyways…we got to lapaz. Theo went in a different direction than me and so we said goodbyes and there I was. In lapaz, thankfully, with a few other people. Power was off in this area of town so it was dark and the water on the road (a dual carriage way) was up to my ankles. Now lapaz is usually a bustling place. You actually have to wait in line for a car or step over a woman selling her goods to get where you want because they even sell on the sidewalks. But at this time, there was nothin’. Lights are out. No sellers. No cars. No people. It was really weird. The rain was to a drizzle at that point so I was thankful for that.It was late and I was standing with a few people and if a lone taxi/trotro came by people would rush up to it, but it usually only had room for one and I knew I would never get a seat or I would have to wait forever (insert dramatic sigh and hand gesture). So I started walking. And walking. And walking. I would pass people randomly. We don’t advise people to be out so late so I was walking fast and it was still drizzling and lightning. On the other side of the highway traffic was backed up until I couldn’t see. The cars were not moving. Earlier in the week when it rained I was at that spot and the water was up to mid-tire on my car so with all this new rain I cannot imagine how high the water is and how many cars have stalled.I would stop at each coming bus stop, just in case there would be some sort of transportation…nothin’. So I kept walkin’.I was getting closer to my place. I noticed people. Many people. I live near a really big church so I thought maybe they had a program that closed late…as I got closer I saw why all those people were walking. People thought, like I did, that it would be faster to walk than sit in their cars or there was no way a car will come so they better just walk. I heard later that when taxis/trotros saw that area they told the people to get out they are not going any further. The rain at the traffic light was mid calf on me. The dual carriageway was backed up with honking cars. Cars were jammed. A motorbike would not have been able to pass it was so tight. Now, on a normal dual carriageway cars are going in opposite directions with 2 lanes on each side. Well, on this night, no one wanted to go on the one side because it was absolutely flooded. So, cars decided (funny how I blame it on the car and not the drivers) to cross over the median and make a new lane going against the 2 lanes coming at them. Don’t ask me. I don’t know how someone thought that would work and here if someone does something like this everyone follows. I just stopped and stared. It was already past 11pm and I could tell there was noooo way this would be taken care of quickly. There is a small gutter I cross over when I walk to my house and it was like a rushing rapids, probably 10-15 feet of water. That gutter water was on my road. I heard a man comment to his friend, “someone is going to die here” because the water was so high. I was walking in between cars, since they were not moving. I saw some obrunis in a van, I assumed they were Mormons because of their white shirts and black ties, and those boys did not look very happy! I should have asked them how long they were stuck there but I just compassionately smiled and kept walking because the water was running so fast and my pant legs that I rolled up were already soaked.I made it home around 11:30pm! I must have walked almost 5 miles. I don’t know how long people were sitting in traffic. I heard some crazy stories that it took people 4 hours to get home or getting home at 1am or they had to walk long distances because there was no transportation.It is not just because of the heavy rains that the flooding occurred. Many people build homes or put shops up in places near waterways or in the path of water. They are told to leave but either they ignore the warning or they pay a bribe to someone to allow them to stay. Also, people just throw their trash in the gutters. That clogs drainage and water cannot flow out so it ends up on roads and blocking water…which causes flooding. Everyone is always telling everyone not to dump their rubbish in the gutters but people do it anyways. People throw out trash from the vehicle windows. It really makes the city filthy. So, imagine all this flood water…what is in it…and how it ends up everywhere…even the ocean. (shaking my head…sigh)I have heard some sad stories that all people’s belongings have been destroyed because of flooding, cars were pulled by the rushing waters into gutters and flipped over, and fires started because water was going into outlets and also some people drowned. The next morning I went out and saw rubbish everywhere. Chunks of pavement have disappeared. People were cleaning their shops out and throwing things away. I kept hearing people using the word all. As in, all their stock was destroyed, all their things washed away. All their money was gone.Earlier that same evening there was a huge explosion which killed over 70 people because they came for shelter from the rain at a gas station. A night of tragedies. Very sad for Ghana. Please be praying for help for the people affected. Pray for Ghana’s government that they would work towards putting things in place that this would not happen again. This is 100 feet away from my house. You can see the chunk of pavement that disappeared. The white van is a trotro and the blue one is a taxi. The slant going down is the gutter which was almost overflowing. This is the dual carrageway I walked on trying to get a car and ended up just walking.

a nice ending to 2014 and nice beginning to 2015

I left accra on dec. 27 th for my journey up north. i had not been in northern ghana since march. the past few months have been really busy. but accra is always busy. so it should all be normal. and with christmas there is added programs and such that add more busy to the platter. all i am trying to say is i really needed/wanted to get out of accra and i was looking forward to this trip. one of my associates, brian and i headed out of accra by 5.30am. brian is from northern ireland and looooves his country. so on our long trip i got to hear all about it. for a small country, brian had a lot to say about it :) i am not complaining because i would rather have a passenger who is talking than one who is quiet. it makes the drive faster...even if i am not always paying attention to what is being said.being december, things are very dry. dry and dusty. the land changes from big, loud accra to countryside, bush and villages. the green becomes less and less and the brown more and more. around this time a tree grows with red leaves that look like berries. they could be berries for all i know. i love the color in the midst of brown, dry grass.i know this picture doesn't show it but the reason it is so dusty is because of the harmattan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmattan. if you don't dust your house or your car you end up sneezing. this year is really thick. it is like a fog and our domestic airlines were even shut down for a few days because of it.the traffic on the roads was quiet so we made good time. about half way up we passed a tourist site called a monkey sanctuary and we decided to go. we met the tour guide who led us into a forest, saw some monkeys, fed some monkeys bananas and listened to his spiel ...though i have to say i think i was taking more photos than actually listening. we continued on our way and made it to tamale safe and with no hassels from police. (police hassels is a whole other blog) we stayed at andrew's house with his new, lovely bride jemima. if you meet andrew, you will never forget him. he is so funny and laughs all the time. and  you know how much i laugh, imagine the pair we are! andrew and jemima are so hospitable, big hearted and love Jesus. the next day was sunday so we went to the church pastor andrew (did i mention he is a pastor? he is) leads and then came home for lunch and then helped them put together some food and drinks for a village we were going to visit. now, in this village there are no christians. andrew, another pastor, and an SIM missionary have been going to the village for the past year to do a football club and talk about God. they asked the chief if they could explain why christians celebrate christmas. he agreed. as one of the pastors was sharing about Jesus andrew asked me if i would like to share something. "oh, no, that is ok, thank you for asking" was my response. about 5 minutes later andrew comes back, "ok, you will share something when pastor finishes." he of course laughs. AHHHH what am i going to talk about??!i cannot remember what i said. just a word to encourage them. as i was sharing i was thinking, "this is such a privilege to share in this community!" (i was also thinking, "i hope this is making sense.") afterwards, we shared the rice and drinks with those who came. i pray they would know the love Jesus has for them.the next day we went into tamale to explore. i think it is the 4th biggest city in ghana. another associate flew up from accra so we picked him at the airport and continued hanging out. we went out for dinner with a missionary family and then back to andrew's place for more laugh-time. the next morning we headed up to yagaba. now, yagaba was the final destination but there were a lot of stops i wanted to make on the way. we stopped in chiana (where for those of you who know a.ruby, that was her home for 20 years) and saw pat who is one of our SIM missionaries still going strong. then we came to a village called chuchiliga. i think that has to be one of the coolest names in ghana. we picked up the national youth president over good news bible churches and headed to sandema. we met up with some other pastors and had a great time. i have known a few of them for many years and i don't get to see them or their families often. they are such great people and we had some great times of talking and laughing and they learned a bit from brian about northern ireland too :) james, the youth president wanted to come to yagaba and see the youth camp that was going on. and the youth camp was my reason for going also.when we arrived in yagaba the camp was already in day 3. pastor peter was preaching. let me back up, when i say youth camp, those of you in the western world are thinking camp--like, tents, cabins, lots of activites etc, etc. but that is not how it is here. it is more like staying in a school building and having a lot of times for prayer and listening to speakers. when pastor finished speaking they had a time of praise and did some dancing. thankfully brian and matt are always up to try new things and they joined in on the dancing. yagaba is a small village. mud homes, very few lights, and one main dirt road. we stayed with pastor joseph and his family in their compound. pastor joseph has invited me to come for the youth camp many times and every year there was some reason why i couldn't make it. but this year, i made it! another pastor named francis stayed with us at pastor joseph's home too. as we were settling in i asked francis where the toilet (latrine, outhouse whatever you want to call it) was. he said, "ei! sistah sherri, he doesn't have a toilet here." i know my eyebrows jumped into my hairline "ei!! so...you mean...we go...um...ok. no problem". let me just say a few things. one, there are no tall trees in yagaba, small bushes no higher than my knees. and two, the moon was bright and white people...we somehow glow in the dark. three, snakes.that evening the youth met together and matt shared something about his life and following the Lord and brian also shared his testimony. the next morning the youth met for the last time before heading back to their various homes and i gave a message about faith. pastor francis translated. i grabbed a volunteer for one illustration. i hope i didn't freak him out. afterwards we had a time of praise. and these people, i tell you, they know how to sing and dance! for our coming and taking part in the youth camp they gave me a gift. let's all say "awwww" together...or maybe we should say, "YUM!" (notice how i am wearing a sweatshirt? the mornings and evenings are a bit chilly with the harmattan).the afternoon we spent driving to other villages to see the work that is going on. one village was way out there. i mean, way out there. as i was driving on this small, narrow dirt "road" i thought about the verse where it says "...and to judea, and samaria, and to the remotest part of the earth." this was remote! i was very humbled by hearts of people who serve God in difficult areas. some face persecution, some face hunger, some face sickness. this village has to travel very far to get clean water. sometimes they just use the water that the animals use. people go blind and are sick. the chief asked us to pray for them that they would get a borehole or help somehow to fight against these sicknesses. right before we left, pastor joseph asked me to pray for this young woman who was pregnant. she was in a small room just laying there. i was told she had diarrea and could keep nothing in. she looked so tired and worn. i prayed for her. i walked away with a heavy heart.that evening was 31st night. at the small yagaba church we had a time to worship and time to thank God for how he has seen us thru 2014. i gave a short message that evening. i shared a bit from brian's testimony about how he used to be an alcoholic and how God saved him-spiritually and physically. i pray they were encouraged and i pray they grow in God's Word. it was God's Word that changed my life and i love sharing it! that evening pastor joseph got a phone call from a man in the village we visited. the man said the woman who had diarrea got up and went to fetch water after we left. she feels much better! i was soooo thrilled!!! God is so gracious to hear our prayers!!!the next day we had to say our goodbyes to this lovely family who cooked for us and made sure we had all our needs taken care of. it was a drive of 95 kilometers on dirt roads to get to walewale where i dropped the boys into a trotro (ok, not literally into a trotro) so they could get to tamale and catch a bus down to accra. they had a great time seeing the north. it is opposite of accra life so i am glad they got to experience it.more dirt roads were in my future as i headed from walewale to gushiegu. a village i have never been to before. where we have a church and missionaries serving. i had such a nice time with them. and their little girl!!!!! ahhh!!! so cute. and yes, that is all her own hair!they took me around gushiegu and we met up with a fulani group of people. they gave us fresh milk from their cows. they took me to the market, and to a friend's home. fela helps with a football team and they asked me to share a word of encouragement with them before they started. i am getting used to this, so this time i was ready! after i spoke they played football and pui and i stayed on the sidelines where her baby is the center of attention to the women and girls passing by to get water. fela and pui let me rest. instead of helping them with whatever they would just say "oh, go and rest". i didn't realize how much i needed it. yes, i get a day off in accra every week, but to have consecutive days off...wow, it was really nice. i felt refreshed and unwearied (i think i just made up a new word). in accra if i have a sec, it is like, i almost feel guilty for taking a break. like i have to be busy all the time and plan, and visit, and teach blah, blah, blah. in gushiegu i didn't feel busy because there was nothing for me to do! it was wonderful!!! i really thank God for those few days of rest and fellowship.from gushiegu i traveled with some pastors to our annual pastors conference which was held in tamale. there were a lot of church leaders and pastors from the good news bible churches all over ghana. this year's speaker was rev. enoch thomson, who had been a lecturer at maranatha university college for many years. he. was. amazing. he was. i don't know what else to say i was so encouraged and fed. i got to talk with pat and penny, my other SIM teammates. penny and i also had a small excursion to find a new seamstress in tamale!! i hope she is good. i should have a couple new dresses soon...i digress...back to the conference. in my opinion it was one of the best ones. in the photo is my friend felicia.and then, the next morning...with 3 people i made the way back to accra. again, no police hassels, we made good time, we had great conversation. it was a nice way to end the trip.so THANKFUL for safety in the many, many kilometers i drove. so THANKFUL for the people i got to connect with. so THANKFUL for the new people i got to meet. so THANKFUL God uses me. so THANKFUL for the church i partner with. so THANKFUL for the life God has planned for me-- "to give me a future and a hope" so THANKFUL for your prayers.Happy New Year!

doesn't matter what my title is, i still do stupid things

all i have to say i do stupid things.i am a missionary, which doesn't make me perfect. but that title makes me feel like i am not supposed to do anything wrong. it is a hard standard to live up to. and i think because that standard is hard, when i fail, i don't want to tell anyone, because "i am a missionary, and we are perfect". but no one has told me that. it is a weight i have put on myself. a stupid outlook on how i saw missionaries and since i can't think of a time one has failed like i did, therefore, i am the only one. which is such a lie of the devil i know that, but it still kicks a good hit.i am just angry. angry that i fell. angry that i can't go back and change things. angry that i expect myself to be perfect. angry that i was weak. i guess that all leads to angry that i am human! grrrr...

africana

if you are friends with me on facebook you have probably seen the video i posted of playing the shakey-shaker thing with a drumming group. but if not, let me tell you alllll about it. got your tea/coffee ready? pretend we are sitting for a chat...and you don't get to say anything. man, i love those kinds of conversations....HA HA!i have known faisal since 2006. we had a gal sort of serving with SIM but not really named chelsea. anyways, chelsea is the life of the party. she loves to dance, loves to talk, loves to laugh. if she is around, you want to be next to her because she is so cool and vivacious. i secretly hoped her coolness would rub off on me. well, she found this dancing/drumming group, called africana, practicing and since it wasn't far from where she stayed she would often go. they open up their rehearsals for outsiders and if you want to join you pay a small fee and try. i say try...i went once, or twice, i can't remember...but i do remember the way i felt the next day. p90x has nothing on the soreness i felt after dancing with them. every inch of my body was in pain. and i am talking don't make me laugh, or touch me, or make me move suddenly sort of pain. apparently, chelsea was so good they even asked her to be a part of africana! many of the people who are part of africana are artists and have shops where tourists go. as i am often with short termers who buy the touristy things,  chelsea and i went and we met up with some of the africana group. now, chelsea has gone but i am still here and still take people to the touristy shops and meet up with africana peeps, faisal being one of them. faisal makes jambe drums. he and some other people always tempt you with these drums to join in and play. my friend margaret stepped in and played and then i did too. so then faisal was like, "you should come and i will give you lessons". uh, whatever. then another associate i had knew how to play a little bit so she asked if i would take her to get lessons and me, being the lovely person that i am, took her and tried my hand at the drumming again. i find i really like it, though, don't think that rhythm flows thru me like it should to be really good.so since 2009-2010 i have been getting lessons every so often. i should really be amazing by now but it is more fun talking and hanging out with africana people than drumming...and i always get yelled at for not practicing:) thankfully, i have associates who want lessons and they get me from being too busy and we all go. side note--- associates think i am so amazing when we drum,,, when really i can only play a few rhythms...but they don't need to know that!sooooo, faisal's cousin had a fancy-fancy wedding and invited me and 2 associates, ashley and grace. we were only there for the reception and africana was asked to play. so, here we are sitting at the nice white covered tables waiting for the bride to come (we are white people so we came on time unlike everyone else on ghana time) and africana is setting up. faisal comes up to me and says, "you want to join us?""excuse me??i can't drum!""we need someone on the maraca. you can do it.""are.you.serious??""yeah, feel freeeeeee! come and join us.""uh, YEAH!!!!!""ok, go and get your costume."so the girls helped me take off my shoes and dress and put a wrap on and tied my headscarf around my head. i was so nervous. but they were excited and that made me excited.so i came down the stairs and they gave me the maraca and i sat next to the drummers. they started. inside i was FREAKING OUT!! often times with faisal i get off beat and lose it so i was concentrating so hard on not "losing it". people walking around or entering were looking at me and smiling. ashley took lots of videos and as i watched them when i got home i noticed i looked so serious in them and it's because inside i was focusing on keeping the beat and trying to look cool!!! oh, the stress of it all. i wanted to smile, and i should have but i thought i would've looked like an idiot with a huge grin on my face. i was seriously in heaven shakin' it up with this group. it was theeeee coolest thing ever.ok, yes, let me admit, i did get off beat. faisal at one point came drumming over to me and was like, "1, 2, 3..." and i would make it look like, "of course this is what i am doing".so, was it because it was africana? was it because i was part of a group, i was "in"? was it because a friend asked me to? i don't know what made the experience so cool. maybe because we see this traditional drumming and dancing to be very african, and i live in africa and i love africa!can i just say again what an incredible experience that was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is in my TOP 5 list of great ghanaian experiences. thinking of TOP 5, i should really write those 5 down...i guess that is for another post.

it worked!

his name is jackson. he used to be in my kid's club but now he is a teenager and has moved to the next class. jackson is the kid all my associates wish they could take back with them to their home countries. he is the sweetest and funniest kid, that you can't help but love.

one of my goals this year is to memorize a Bible verse every week. i have a card to guide me which verse for what week. i encouraged the youth to join me and ... well, i think i am mostly on my own, or i thought i was. a couple weeks ago, jackson came to me and told me i needed to pray for him. he said the verse for the week is very difficult. the verse was romans 12:19-- do not take revenge my friends but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, "i will avenge, i will repay" says the Lord. he told me the place where he stays is not the house of his father. a girl also in the house makes fun of him because he does not stay with his father. it sounds like she taunts and teases daily. he told me he wants to beat her, it makes him so angry. but he is trying to leave it in God's hands because of this verse. i, first of all was shocked, and then in awe, of this kid and said maybe we need to pray for the girl. i said when people are mean like that it is probably because they are hurting, so let's pray for her (and him too).

a few days later i got a text from jackson. all is said was, "it worked". i knew exactly what he meant but i was so excited i called him. he told me she has stopped bothering him.

i just praise, praise, praise God for his faithfulness and the power of His Word!! what an experience jackson had with God and will hopefully remember because he remained obedient.

it is an example for me!

Emmanuel

i have a brother. a friend. a ministry partner. his name is emmanuel awortwe, or emma (pronounced eeeeema). our friendship/partnership started out quite rocky. to be frank, i just did not like him. he always had views that were opposite to mine. his personality is opposite to mine. he would do things i would never do. he is very serious. he is quiet. yet, i knew i needed to work with him. he is very involved in church and has been so i knew our paths would be crossing a lot. i started praying that i would love him, that it would be a joy to work with him.

i don't know how it happened but while he was in college we started meeting. We would meet every week and eat fufu. and we would talk. and we would fight. and we would try to convince the other to listen. and we would try to stay calm thru the whole thing. and sometimes we would laugh. and we would pray. and God being so gracious, brought us to love one another! to work in unity together! and so we have been. side note-- remember in acts when the early church was meeting together? they were also eating together and i think food really breaks down barriers! when i think about this transformation in our relationship i think how important the eating part was...and still is! emma has since graduated from Maranatha University College (top of his class!!!) with a bachelors in theology. he has now been licensed as a pastor and is helping to get a branch up and running in the ashaiman area.

our pastors do not get paid. how do they live you ask? i.have.no.idea. many, if not all, have other jobs, they have to. they all have families and bills etc, etc. it is very difficult for them. but by faith, they move out and watch God take care of them. and that leads me back to pastor emma---

he would like to get his masters in religious studies    which would enable him to teach at a university and be paid while he is leading a church. but, he has no money. would you be willing to help him go to school? he has already been accepted at the University of Legon in Accra. i told him i would make people aware of his need and if you feel God leading you to help him please contact me and we can work out how to go about it. He would need about $4,000.00 and that would cover everything-- classes, books, fees, and transport back and forth for this two year course.

wanna-be big and burly

last wednesday i was driving with 2 associates to a school where we teach kids. the road...hmph... how do i explain this road???! the school is on top of a hill, a hill of rocks. people are literally carving out of rock to build homes there. getting to the top is best done with a 4x4 pick up truck. it is just the most brutal road, if you can even call it a road. so, anyways, i am driving and i see some young punks sort of filling a part of the road with dirt so that the pothole isn't quite the size of a volcano but more like a crater. when young guys do this they are doing it out of the very sweetness (i say it with sarcasm) of their hearts which in turn they hope to get a "dash", a little somethin' somethin' for helping us drivers. we made it past them without them troubling us but i knew they would be waiting for me to come back down the hill. now, we finished teaching and we left the school and got back on the road and...yep, there they were. Four young punk kids, who yes, put effort into filling a hole, but not enough effort, in my opinion, to warrant a "dash". but what these guys did was put 4 cement blocks in the road so you could not pass. you had to stop and give them something for them to move the blocks. well, i pulled up to the boys and opened my door and got out. i said, "ohhhh, i see you need me to help you? please, i would love to help you!" i'm not sure they heard my accent or what and they just stared at me. i proceeded to the cement blocks and picked one up and hurled it (thanks P90X!) out of the road and did it with a second one as well and the guys shouted, "ei!! obruni!!" (obruni is white person) then i got back into the truck waved at them nicely and we drove away. we were laughing and watching them in the rear view mirror. they were just standing, not moving, just staring at us. i am not sure they knew what to think. i know some ghanaians think we foreigners are very weak, and yes, sometimes compared to them we really are. but then other times...hmph, my farmer tough-girl attitude wants to come out and feel all big and burly and take on the world!

Winners School

since last year i to to Winners Family School once a week to teach Bible. It is a great school.  It is run by one of our church leaders and his wife. I teach 2 junior high classes for an hour each. we study the names of God. names like Elohim, El Shaddai, Jehovah, Jehovah Or, Jehovah Sabbaoth, El Shammah, etc,etc. it has been a great study and God has helped me be creative, which makes it more fun for everyone. i have taught the younger kids in the past but since I have Associates like Kyndra and Max they have been doing the primary students, and i am thankful for that.one thing i notice in Ghana is that people threaten a lot. parents and teachers are great at this. "stop that or i will beat you" don't do that or i won't give you toffee" (there is no toffee) i can't stand it. winner's school is no different or the other school i teach at or the kids club i do. i have really had to train my kids that when i say something i mean it. like if i say i will cancel class after one more warning, i really do it. or if i send a kid home after for being disruptive and always, always the kids are shocked. "auntie sherri, why?" i tell them, "you don't joke with auntie sherri". as i hear myself, i laugh inside. but it must be hard for them. i wonder what age they stop believing adults? i wonder what age they start doing it themselves? and they do do it.all i know to do is continue being consistent and doing what i say.

a new year, a new fave

i notice every year my favorite ghanaian food changes. last year when i came back from home assignment i really craved banku. i lived in the guest house and there just happened to be a banku/okra soup seller right down the street. i cannot tell you how much banku i ate. i remember the first time years ago when i ate banku. i remember thinking, "i am never going to like this. it is sour, and the soup is so slimy". but somehow 2013 comes around and i LOVE BANKU. so strange. well, 2014 started even stranger. i find myself craving...this is so wild...craving--kenkey!! and pepper!! and fried fish!! i remember saying i would never like kinkey. and i just learned to accept and resign myself to eating fishy-fish. you know, the kind that smells really fishy, not the dipped in beer batter and fried so you can't even tell you are eating fish. so now i find myself going to a chop bar** and voluntarily ordering very spicy pepper-tomato-onion sauce with fish and kenkey. this is really wild. i have always said i will never like kenkey. never.what is kenkey? it is corn that has been soaked, fermented and ground. then they pack it into a ball and wrap it with leaves. the pepper sauce is red chiles that have been ground with tomatoes and a bit of salt and some raw onions thrown in. the fish is just fried and slightly salted. i do still have a little growing to do because i still am not able to eat the fish head and the eyes and all that. when i am questioned about it i tell people i don't want the fish to see what is in my belly. it usually brings about a laugh and they forget to try to convince me to eat the head. PHEWWW!in all this madness i do remember to thank God because i always tell new people keep trying the food even though you may not like it and now i can add because maybe after 8 years you may find yourself liking it!** a chop bar is a place where you can buy food and "chop". it is usually small, cheap, furnished with plastic chairs and tables, and not the most sanitary. but they are so handy and usually have hilarious names!

north and back

 i  left accra on the 31st with 10 other people from accra. we headed for tamale which is located north central ghana. it took us about 10 hours to get there. there were times, as i drive, where i look in my rearview mirror and see people laughing and talking and i love that i can help be a part of that happening. i feel life in accra is so busy and people don't stay still for long periods of time. so i like that my van forces people to be together. ha ha. then other times i would look in my rearview mirror and see everyone sleeping...that made me want to pull over the van and sleep too.

 We arrived in tamale (pronounced tah mah lay) by evening and went over to our friend andrew's place who had banku and pepper for us. then went to one of our churches in tamale to celebrate new years with them. new years eve is the most celebrated day of the year. every church is packed. maybe because everyone wants to start the year out in a good way? i don't know. anyways, we had a good time singing, being encouraged by God's Word, and dancing. one of the pastors there has a conference center and next to it is a vocational center and that is where we stayed. and believe me after church, i crashed!

we didn't have to rush the next day. navrongo, our final destination, was only a couple hours drive. but i did need to find some food, i did need to take a walk and i did need to get my tire fixed. but all in all it was a good, restful day. we made it to navrongo by evening and just chilled with other people. we stayed at a secondary school campus. the girls had a dormitory. it was like a really, rough camp. there were about 40 bunk beds all in one room. the toliets were latrines. the shower was a wide empty space with four walls. we had to go and fetch our own water. community living is a post for another time!

we stayed a few days for the conference. there was an american couple who did devotionals and talks. their accent was a bit hard for ghanaians to understand because we talk sooooo fast. they had a quiz night and sword drills. the food was ok, but i wasn't expecting it to be wonderful. i really thank God i have learned to like ghanaian food! that is for another post! some kids threw a rock through the side back window of the van so i had to run to bolgatanga to find someone to fix it for me. i had a pastor come with me, so he knew where to go. and then my friends from accra paid for it. am i not soooo blessed?? God is good, always. also, the national BCA youth elected new members. so we pray this new leadership will be an encouragement for the church.

then on the 4th we woke up early and headed to kumasi. it took us about 10 hours. should have been shorter but none of us knew kumasi and we got stuck in some serious traffic. most of the youth got out at a bus station and took transport to accra. i, kyndra and 2 church guys stayed in kumasi for pastors conference which was another week.

it was an exhausting time. but i really love being able to serve in this way. many youth would not be able to go from accra because transportation would be too expensive.

christmas

Christmas...though far from home, away from family and sweating in humid temperatures was a blessing. how many people can say they are loved by a family of people in africa? my friends really were there for me knowing it is difficult to be away from what is normal at this time of year. on christmas day i ate fufu. thankfully i had men around so i didn't have to pound it. we exchanged gifts and had a chance to spend time talking. it was nice. the whole week of christmas was full of people. i had people over and went to a youth party and our SIM party. all so very wonderful.

i talked with my sister on the phone last night and she gave me a good update on all that happened at home. i felt like i was sitting right next to her. cell phones are amazing!

the photo is of my kids that i am with on monday and wednesday evenings. kyndra organized the song by whitney houston, "who could imagine a king" and the kids sang it and did some acting with it. it was soooo cute!!!