Introducing Baby in the Bush's Forever Family!!!

Earlier this year on our March trip to Ghana there was a newborn baby who was abandoned to the ‘bush’ in Asikuma - the village where we do our work. The Lord had us there at just the right place and time, and we were able to eventually get the baby into Kwahu Orphanage and on the adoption track. You can read the story HERE and the last update I posted on him HERE.

I now I sit here with goosebumps, and a flood of emotion that threatens to burst out in gigantic happy tears. Because, today I get the joy of continuing to show you the beauty of adoption… I can now introduce you to baby in the bush’s forever family. :) Before I do, there is more news that you didn’t know yet. You may remember from my original post, that baby in the bush had an older brother – around 2 years old. His name was Ishmael. Here he is…

Well, a few weeks after baby in the bush’s birthmother had relinquished her baby into the care of CompAfriCare (one of the NGO's our Foundation works with in Ghana) to be adopted, we found out that she had decided to also give the older brother, Ishmael, in adoption. I truly felt in my heart that this was the right decision in light of her desperate situation. By that point, baby in the bush had already been matched with a family to adopt him, so they had a decision to make. Would they be able to adopt Ishmael too and keep the brothers together? Indeed, it was meant to be. They went forward with the adoption of both boys, and just last week their adoption case PASSED COURT in Ghana!!!!!!!!!! They now await the official adoption decree and then can ‘fly and file’ their I-600 form in Ghana (which is what Jake did for our adoption case back in August). They are just a few months/steps right behind our own adoption process.

Here's a little background on the forever family...they, Erin (mom) and Kyle (dad) have two children, both girls. The girls are Killian (going on 4 years old) and Keegan (going on 2 years old). You will see the girls in the pictures because Erin and Kyle brought them with on their trip to Ghana back in July so they could meet their brothers. I know – these people are ROCKSTARS let me tell ya!!!!! By the way, they live in Michigan. Erin is a veterinarian and Kyle is an ecologist turned stay-at-home-dad. I will be posting their side of the adoption story on Monday.

Erin and Kyle have also given the boys new names, and I wanted to share the background on those since I will be referring to them by their new names now. Here is the explanation of how they decided on the names via Erin:

“We are naming the baby, Ewan, and Ishy we will add the name Fynn to. Fynn is Ghanaian for "from the Offin River", which he actually is (even though we came up with the name before we knew that). And Ewan is a celtic name, like everyone in our family has, but we also liked it since he is from the Ewe people. We wanted to combine our own Irish heritage with their Ghanaian heritage, and these names seemed to do that.  Our girls have animal middle names...Killian Adelie (Adelie is a species of penguin) and Keegan Kodiak (for bear). The boys full names will be:

~Ewan Osono _____ Horan-Turner (Osono is Ghanaian for elephant)
 

~Fynn Agama Ishmael Horan-Turner (Agama Agama is the rainbow lizard...those cool guys you see running around Ghana).”

The ____  on Ewan's name is still in the decision making process.  I love all the thought that has gone into the boys' names.  Erin has said that they are really into names in their family, so now I know why God kept bugging me about 'baby in the bush' going to the orphanage without a name.  There is always a reason for even the little things! :)

Alright, here we go!  Here are just a few of the awesome pictures from Kyle and Erin’s two-week trip that they took to Ghana to meet their sons...

One happy momma with one blessed baby. :)

Formerly known as ‘baby in the bush’. Now known as Ewan.

Lookin’ good and strong buddy!  Ewan is now 6 months old!

And here is Daddy Kyle with baby Ewan…

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, Jake and I thought the same thing.  Daddy Kyle looks a bit like Jesus. How fitting. :)

Momma with Fynn (formerly known as Ishmael) and daughter Keegan.

Fynn hiding out with sister Killian

I also just wanted to interject a neat little story here that Erin had told me...

"When we told Killian (age 3) about Ewan and talked to her about if she would be happy with a baby brother (since we had been telling her for months that we would be getting her a brother around her size and she was so prepared for this) she kept saying, "Yes, we should get him. A little brother for Keegan. And we can get a big brother for me." We kept trying to explain, "no just one brother this time. You guys have to share a brother." And then when we found out about Fynn she laughed and said that she always knew we were getting two brothers, a big brother and a little brother.

I loved your post about how Justice squashed your fears of worrying about if he would impact your bio kids. So true! The kids are SO good about it. Our girls acted like Fynn and Ewan had always been their brothers. It was amazing to watch, especially Killian who is unbelievably shy, to the point you could classify it as social anxiety. Within a few hours, she was holding hands with Fynn, playing soccer with him, laughing with him. It was good for my heart to see."

Dad with Ewan and daughter Killian

Fynn with his sisters

Sister love

It is striking to me how alive and vibrant Fynn has become. We didn’t see this side of him when we met him in Asikuma. It gives me such peace in my heart to see him this way…..I am overjoyed that he gets a happy ending too.

Looking at pictures of himself and his brother…

They also worked in a trip to one of Ghana's beautiful beaches!

One of my favorites…cried happy tears when I saw this one the first time…an expression of trust and contentment in his momma’s arms…

Fynn, Keegan, Ewan, Killian = SIBLINGS!!!

Ewan. NEVER will I forget those eyes.

Fynn. So handsome I can hardly handle it!

Brothers. Forever.

♥  ♥

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

~Jeremiah 29:11~

How Beautiful the Feet

 

Back on our March trip to Ghana, we encountered probably the most heartbreaking situation that the Lord has ever crossed our paths with. I blogged about it HERE. A few days later, a happier ending – or should I say beginning – was given to this baby as we all had hoped for – I blogged about that HERE. When I received the picture of the baby getting his bath at the foster home, every single fiber of joy that has ever ran through my body was literally all pulled to the surface at once. I was in an adrenaline tidal wave that continued to scream the theme of this story: REDEMPTION!!!! On that same day, I felt an overwhelming confirmation that I was to name this child, with a name that expressed the power of him literally being plucked from the grave. I received the go-ahead from his social worker who would have normally named him, and gave precious ‘baby in the bush’ the name of Joshua, which means, 'God Rescues'. Since then baby Joshua was placed into the Ghana program of Adoption Advocates International, where he was quickly matched up with a family waiting to adopt. Not only that, but his older 2 year old brother was also relinquished for adoption too by the birthmother.

Birthmother.

And that is what this post is about today. Joshua’s birthmother. Another face and story, oceans away, that has settled in my heart and added into the daily snapshots that float through my head. Never will I forget sitting there in that hotel lobby, and feeling the heaviness of the situation floating through the air. The emptiness and hopelessness that seemed so evident. Once we return from our trips and have time to process what actually happened, it seems like action steps become so much clearer. And, in the same way that God has done with Christian and George in my heart, He started ‘bugging’ Jake about Joshua’s birthmother. Here is an excerpt from an email that Jake had sent to ‘K’, our in-country staff-member:

May 22, 2012

I need one other favor from you as God has been bugging me a lot about it lately. During our last trip to Ghana God put a young mother into our lives who abandoned her newborn baby in the bush – the baby was discovered by the workers of our hotel. Only by God’s grace was the baby unharmed, brought back to the mother where she was later counseled on the option of adoption. About a week later the mother relinquished the baby for adoption and now this little one is in the orphanage we’ve aided in Kwahu. The baby is being well taken care of. However, there is never one day that goes by that I don’t think of the mother. I want you to go and bring the gospel to her. I want you to use some of the funds to purchase five bibles (you can buy yourself one if you would like as well). I want you to give one to her, one to her aunt, one to the guy living at the house - I think it is the aunt’s husband. And, when you are standing at their house facing it, look to your left and you will see two men who are making the traditional African scarves. I want you to give them each a bible as well. Then I would like you to start a small bible study with those five people and let’s see what God is going to do. Go to ‘M’ at the hotel and tell her to bring you to this woman as she knows where she lives, and tell ‘M’ what I want you to do. I know you are preparing for your Father’s funeral but please do this as soon as possible as I just think God is up to something!

I am inserting this picture that Jake had taken on his camera of the guys making the scarves, so you can see it as I hadn’t included this on our trip pictures. I love how Jake specifically knew that the gospel was to be brought to these guys as well!

 

So, Jake sent that email back in May. Then, a little over a week ago, we received this amazing news back from ‘K’! An excerpt from his email:

June 25, 2012

P.S:

‘J’, the young lady whose child is with ‘K’ at the Kwahu Orphanage is living with her aunt at some 5 minutes walk from my house.  To God be the glory, I went to preach to she and some of the neighbors yesterday in the evening, and all seven of them, including the two guys making the African scarves accepted and confessed Christ Jesus as LORD and Savior:D!!!  They even assured me of their readiness to be baptized, continue to do more Bible studies with me, follow me to my church and requested to have their own Bible to be reading!  Thus we might be buying maybe up to 10 Bibles:D!  The LORD is really at work, Jake!  Just that her aunt and her step father (aunt's husband) came shortly after the studies, but they also promised to be part of it anytime we gather again:D.  I would now be going more often to them, study with and strengthen them and pray with them.  Jake, this is another thing the LORD has done:D!

I love it! Love, LOVE, LOVE it! THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL PEOPLE! Hearts are ready and waiting to soak up the good news of salvation. The game-changer in this one will be discipleship from this point. Now, that they’ve committed their lives to Christ, what does that mean for them – how does that look in their lives – etc. And therein highlights the ‘benefit’ of us staying put in this same village for awhile. We won’t have to sit around and wonder from afar how Joshua’s birthmother is doing. In just a few weeks when our next missions trip team takes off for Ghana, Jake and the team can actually go and visit Joshua’s birthmother. They will be able to be right there with her and the others, to work on creating a relationship with them – and more importantly, to teach and lead them in what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Another happy beginning, all orchestrated by the Lord. And yet, I am reminded through this that He chooses to use us - His followers - in His work. If we are willing. If we are listening to His proddings. If we move when He says ‘go!’. When we do, we get to experience the tidal wave of adrenaline, the awesome high, the feeling of purposefulness in being His instruments and bringing glory to His name! 

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” ~ Romans 10:14-15~

The Boy with the Bone through His Arm: UPDATE

Below is an update written by Jake on one of the situations we encountered on our recent March trip to Ghana. You can read the original post about this young man here.

Each day as I awake I long to be with the people of Asikuma. Each day my thoughts are consumed with the lives of the people 6,000 miles away from where I call home. There is so much need in this place and every time I set foot in Ghana it seems like God uses me in some incredible ways.

Each time that I pick up my Bible and read the letters Paul wrote to the churches and people of the places God had called him to, he expresses a longing to be with them and desire to see just what God is doing in the places he has been. Since God brought me to Asikuma it has made the words of Paul come alive in my life and since my last trip that longing to be in Africa seems so much greater. It is greater because of the lives that God has thrown into my path.

My two daughters are still waiting on their court date which seems like it will never come. There are two other girls that God has wrapped my heart around - I so much desire to see Adjoa run from me with a giggle and squeal and Yaa melt in my arms. There is the baby in the bush that is now being cared for by Kofi Oppong and CompAfriCare. I know this little boy is doing well but my mind swirls around his mother who is in so much need that she was willing to let her son die in the bush because she simply has no means to care for him. I wonder each day how she is doing. I wonder if God’s Word is entering her heart or does she just need someone to bring the Word to her on this day or that day. Last, but not least there is a little boy not more than 12 years old who came to us on our last visit with a broken arm that was so severe I had never seen anything like it.

 

This little boy had a compound fracture of his forearm with the bone sticking out about six inches and it appeared as sharp as knife. When I asked the little boy how long his arm had been like that he said a little over a year. As I looked more closely at his arm you could see the infection and gangrene setting in. Everyone around him seemed like this was really not that big of deal. When I looked into his eyes I could see his pain and I could see him crying out for someone to help. On that day I decided to make it my mission to help this little boy but I soon learned the realities of hospital care in Africa.

I asked Ken (the individual assisting us in the community) what it would take to get him to the hospital for the doctors to see him and why he had not been there already. Please note that we do have a medical clinic in Asikuma that God called us to build, but they turned him away because they do not specialize in bone care and do not have the appropriate doctors to care for an injury like this. He was told he would have to go to a hospital nearly 70 miles away in a town called Koforidua as they have a specialist from India that can perform the surgery and care for the boy.

Obviously I had an urgency to get him to the hospital and immediately whipped out 100 cedi (equivalent to about $75.00) for the taxi fare to get him to the hospital and for a doctor to see him. In my simple American way of thinking I assumed the doctors would see him and rush him into surgery as this infection could take his life. Actually I got to see the reality of the world we live in.

The boy returned to Asikuma with X-rays of the break and some antibiotics and that was because the only surgeon who can care for an injury like this was not at the hospital. He travels throughout the country from hospital to hospital as there are not enough surgeons who can operate on bone related injuries. My other assumption knowing how Africa works is that the individuals with the most money get seen first which is less than 10% of the country. The villagers who live on less than $2.00/day in most cases never really have a realistic opportunity for medical care and certainly no opportunity for a complicated surgery like this one. As I was leaving Asikuma in March I was told that the hospital would call him back to schedule a surgery. I thought this seemed a little odd but I just kind of went with it.

Well over the last two months there has been no progress in getting this boys’ arm fixed. I have been checking in about every 2 or 3 days to see if we have any news. Finally last week I was to the point of absolute frustration and was going to reach out to anyone I knew.

During my December/January trip I met a missionary who was returning from 15 years on the missions field and was actually a doctor that had helped established a hospital in Ghana . We had a great conversation on the plane and he gave me his email and I saved it on my notepad via my I-phone. I have not ever put anything into my notepad and to this date it is still the only thing in my notepad. This individual is now practicing medicine in South Bend, Indiana. I decided what the heck and I would just send him an email explaining the situation and the need we had to care for this boy. In my mind I doubted that this individual would even remember me, but I guess that God put us on the plane together for a reason.

Cameron,

I know you may not remember me, but my name is Jake Sullivan and I met you and your family on a plane trip home from Ghana in early January. I wanted to reach out to you as we need your help. In the community that we are doing our work in called Asikuma we met a young boy that has a compound fracture of his forearm. We came to find out that this has been the case for the past year and obviously infection is setting in and the boy is suffering. The individual that has been working for us in Asikuma apparently cannot find a doctor who can fix this boy’s arm. I thought I would reach out to you to see if you knew of a place we can take this boy to have the appropriate surgery to fix his arm. If you could direct me to the right people I would truly be grateful.

Thanks,
Jake Sullivan

P.S. I pray that God is blessing your ministry and your impact in South Bend, Indiana.

To my delight, less than 24 hours later I received an email back…..

Hi Jake,

I remember our conversation on the plane last January. Hope you are doing well. It sounds like the boy has an osteomyelitis after the fracture. He will need significant care, likely a surgery to clean out infection, weeks of antibiotics, etc. There is a reputable orthopedic center in Koforidua at St. Joseph’s hospital. That would be my recommendation. There may be other options at either Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra or Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. Hope you are able to help him.

Blessings,
Cameron Gongwer

After receiving this email from Cameron I thought I would take the information and Google St. Joseph’s Hospital, hoping and praying that the hospital would have a website. Let’s just say it is not the greatest website, but it had just enough information and even provided me an email to contact them. Again I did not think I would ever hear a response back but to my delight I was wrong again. The head surgeon as well as the director of the hospital emailed me back immediately.

To St. Josephs Hospital:

Hi guys! My name is Jake Sullivan and I am from the United States of America. I have been to Ghana 13 times over the past three and half years and love the country. To make a long story short we are doing a lot of work in a community called Asikuma. We have had the opportunity to open up a small medical clinic for the community, construct a computer center at the school and some other awesome things that God has chosen to do through our organization. During my recent work in Asikuma in March I met a young boy roughly 12 years who has a compound fracture of his forearm. He needs immediate treatment and up to this point we have not been able to find anyone to help. The other day I met a missionary doctor that has been working in Ghana and he suggested I contact you guys to help. Please contact me as soon as possible and we can get the boy down to the hospital whenever you can set up an appointment.

Thanks,
Jake Sullivan

Dear Jake,

Kindly make available patient's contact number. I will make contact with one of the main orthopaedic trauma surgeons. Dr Abdul Rahman would certainly like to establish the level of injury at least by telephone and a local doctor near Anomabu has to write an official referral if possible if National Health policies in Ghana is to be applied. We know that the policy does not cover implant surgery and the hospital charges will apply.

Thank you.
P. Ofori-Atta President. Motec Life – UK

Later I received another email sent from St. Josephs to schedule appointment and surgery:

See 9am on 30th May. I will leave Koforidua at 12mid day. Eventually will be back to Koforidia for surgeries 11th to 14th June.

Thanks.
Ofori-Atta

So, to my delight we got an appointment scheduled at 9:00am on the 30th of May with the head surgeons and then they will schedule a surgery for mid-June between the 11th-14th. Now it is in God’s hands to see that the appointment goes as planned and that we will have enough resources to care for this boy as hospital fees will apply for his surgery.

Each day when I wake up I wonder how many of these stories exist in Africa. I wonder how many of these stories are in Asikuma alone. I just pray that God continues to use me as his hands and feet here on this earth and I will continue to long to be with the people in a land 6,000 miles away from where God has me now!

Now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are...

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Ghana (replaced Rwanda).

-Lyrics from 'Albertine' by Brooke Fraser-

Trip Highlights: Natalie

After each of our trips I like to give our tripsters the opportunity to write out some thoughts on what impacted them the most during their time in Ghana. I enjoy hearing about the trip from their perspective, and seeing what transpired in their hearts as they were exposed to the culture and people - some for the first time. Although oftentimes it is extremely hard to put the experience into words - especially if you don't like to write - I have always believed that writing helps to process and digest the emotions and feelings of what was experienced. So far this trip I've had one taker - hopefully a few more of these will float in over the next days because I love reading them! In Natalie's words....

Natalie ~ Senior at Iowa State University, majoring in Early Childhood Education

There are so many things that I just… don’t know how to say. I thought I knew what to expect going to Africa, but of course I quickly found out that I didn’t and it was all so beautiful and joyful and hard and heartbreaking and overwhelming and… so much more. First of all, I am just still so humbled that I was able to go. I feel so, incredibly blessed to have been able to see and be a small part of our Father’s heart. That’s really one of the greatest blessings I could ever ask for or receive, to be part of what God is doing and the people that He loves so much.

Before going I thought I knew what poverty was… I thought I knew what to expect. But I didn’t know, because I had never seen beautiful children push each other and fight to get water. I mean, they almost knocked me down when I was trying to give them water. And I didn’t know what it would be like to hold a child in my arms – a child that is so skinny that even though she’s four she looks like, maybe, two years old. Or to see a child so hungry and tired that nothing I can do can make him smile… and all I can do is hold him in my arms and wish that there was more redemption here.

But there were also so many beautiful things. I mean, every single day there was a person, an event, a reminder, something that points to God’s infinite faithfulness and redemption. Every day there was something – the baby that was saved from death, Albert’s fervor for the word of God, Kofi’s passion for orphans, all the times when a child would sit and read story after story after story from my Bible with ten more kids piled around us listening. (This might have just become my very favorite thing in the world to do.)

One of my very favorite moments was the night in Kwahu when I all of a sudden realized (in the midst of blowing bubbles) that we were getting in the van and leaving… with all the kids from the orphanage… to go have a meal with them. A banquet for orphans. We went to the restaurant and I looked down the long table and saw the joy on the faces of these dozens of kids, and I watched them dance – I don’t know if I have ever seen anything more beautiful. It was one of those moments when you literally feel the heart of God rejoicing.

One of the most striking things I have seen so far from all this is a very deep longing to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. This deep longing to see more of Christ’s redemption come to the lives of physically and emotionally hungry children and orphans in Asikuma and Kwahu and Larteh… and more of God’s kingdom to come to the materialism and sometimes relational poverty we have here… and spiritual poverty in so many places. Just to understand this longing and God’s heart more is such an undeserved blessing, and I am so, so humbled and thankful that I could have and learn a small part in that. I am honestly still struggling with what I have seen of how this… pursuing God’s kingdom… is going to be hard and costly and inconvenient but He is also worth it and I’m am so thankful that I was able to go to Ghana and gain a better understanding and vision of that (and a longing to go back)! :)

Tilapia Farm

Our Ghana team ‘regulars’ have also started a new adventure into fish farming! This will be a for-profit business endeavor in which a handful of our regular trip attenders have all chipped in and will share various percentages of the profit. The owner of the hotel that we stay at in Asikuma provided the land for our fish farm which we have named: 2 FISH 5 LOAVES. :) The land sits on the Lake Volta which is about a 20 minute car ride from Asikuma. Once you get to the water entry it is then a 10 minute boat ride to reach the land where our farm will be.

Loading the tools onto the boat and getting ready to set sail (the guy in the striped shirt off to the right is New Life - the owner of the hotel we stay at)…

Approaching the land…

Here is the view once you are standing on our 2 acres of fish farm land, looking back out to the lake.

Beautiful scenery at dusk…

This trip Chris and Dan spent each day out at the fish farm site constructing the storage units which will hold fish food, nets, and supplies.

Day 2:

Chris fell in love with this little guy named Prince who lives about 200 feet from our fish farm land in a little grouping of mud huts called Klager Village.

Always lots of curious onlookers…

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

So lots of progress over the week! As you could see from the pictures, once again we’ve been able to employ a lot of the locals to help with the construction aspects. We will also be hiring a handful of locals as full-time employees as the farm gets up and running. The storage units built during this trip will also house the security guard for the site as well as our site manager.

From this point the cages for the fish are being built by a supplier in Ghana. Each of our tripsters who have a share in the fish farm have contributed to buy 78,000 fingerlings (minnows that become tilapia) from a supplier in Ghana. Once the cages are ready they will be installed about 300 feet off-shore. Then each of the cages will be stocked with the fingerling. Right now the target stock date is May 10th. The fingerlings will be dispersed into 7 cages where they will need to be fed 3 times per day by our ‘feeder’ employee. The fish will grow from about 5 grams up to 500 grams. One of our other employees will be a ‘diver’ who will be responsible for clearing the nets from prevalent predators in these waters like this tiger fish that will try to bite through the nets and get themselves some dinner…

(Yikes!) If all goes as planned, we are leaning towards our first fish harvest being in October of this year. The starting of this fish farm is such a reminder to me that God has given us all different talents, gifts, interests and passions here in Ghana. There is certainly something for everyone on our trips! I know the business minds in our group are especially excited to get this new project rolling and see where it ends up….which just might be here…...

Enhancement of Asikuma government-run school

One of our goals before the trip was to raise $12,000 to continue on enhancing the Asikuma Presbyterian Primary School (the government run school) with the main goal being to install electricity in the classrooms. We also had high hopes to integrate a computer center into the library that we had constructed on our previous trips. I had written more details about the enhancement here. Well, by now you won’t be surprised at me telling you that God provided! We received a TON of donations from the families in Jake’s Kingdom Hoops program for this one, as well as some key larger donations from family members, and a steady stream of donations from people who caught word of our efforts through our friends and past tripsters. We actually raised $12,500 and were able to begin getting the labor hired out and started on this trip! Before I show you the interior pictures, here’s a mental reminder of the outside –

Basically there are 3 long separate buildings of back to back classrooms that are part of the school. We have started upgrading one of the long buildings:

Just for you to compare, here’s a look at one of the other buildings that hasn’t been touched yet:

As part of the building upgrade, last August we began constructing on an additional classroom and library to the end of the school building (construction posts can be found here and here). You can see the addition in this picture there at the end of the building on the left:

Now, onto the progress from this most recent trip. Over the week we were in Ghana the electricity started getting wired (we hired local labor to complete this). Here’s an interior picture of the additional classroom we had constructed next to the library. You can see the white electrical outlets running down the walls ….

This red and black wiring hanging from the unfinished ceiling is where the fans will go….

And here is a look at the inside of the library with the wiring started as well. Since we are now able to also incorporate the computer center, we are waiting until after the electricity hook up and ceiling completion to build the shelves and bring in the books. This picture also shows the new desk chairs that were built….

Lighting on exterior of building – a lightbulb will go in that white holder:

Here’s a look at the new window coverings that had started going up on the classrooms. Each of the windows will have this wire mesh installed on the outside to keep bugs out (hard to see in the picture but it actually has smaller mesh within the squares), as well as the shutters that open and close.

All the classrooms in the entire building will be wired with the electricity, have the window coverings, and will also be getting new doors. The guy making us the doors has his shop right along the street in Asikuma. It’s pretty easy to check in on him! :) He had just started working on the door frames when we stopped by on this particular day.

By the last day of our trip the first load of materials to begin finishing off the ceilings had arrived!

Then yesterday we received one of our regular updates from Ken, one of our in-country employees, and got the following pictures of the completed ceilings that were finished after we left! Yay!

Ceiling and fan in library:

And ceiling in additional classroom – the fans are supposed to be installed in the classroom this week:

Whooo hoooo! Lookin' good!

This week Jake also held an informational meeting with the 17 Drake students (education majors) that are coming on our January 2013 trip. They actually had over 55 students sign up for the trip but because of logistics we can only take smaller teams. Jake was PUMPED UP as he told me all the educational tools the Drake students will be incorporating when they teach in the school and assist the teachers in enhancing their curriculum. The Drake students will be focusing on literacy and reading comprehension during their time teaching at the school.

It's so exciting to continue to see the results of our labor on the school, and yet we know that the most exciting part of bringing in the books, computers, and Drake team is yet to come! When we set out to start helping this school, these are the types of resources that the teachers had humbly asked us for - it is so fun to watch this all fall into place one piece at a time!