Ghana Trip Journal: Day 5 Part 2

As we continued our drive to Samuel’s village Kofi kept saying “The family is so excited for your arrival!” In fact, along the way one of Samuel’s uncles called Kofi asking if we were almost there. Kofi said that this uncle had already called 4 times earlier that day, and during our drive he called Kofi 3 times! It was very reassuring that they were so excited to meet us. As we drove through a village on the way up the mountain I pointed to one of the houses and asked Kofi if Samuel lived in a house like it. Kofi said, “No, when you see Samuel’s house you will cry.” I thought, Great, let’s pile on more reasons to have an emotional breakdown in front of Samuel and his mother! One thing I had remembered Jake telling me from his last trip to Ghana when he met Solomon’s family was that Ghanaians do not show sad emotions, especially in public (other than for funeral processions). So, he would remind me that I really needed to try not to cry when I met them, because it comes across quite awkward for them. Luckily I was getting most of my tears out of the way on the car ride, so I was hoping it would not be a problem!

Once we arrived in Samuel’s village it had gotten completely pitch dark and I wondered how we would be able to see since Kofi said the village would have no lighting back in the housing area. We parked our car in the market area and Samuel’s uncle met us on the road to lead us back to Samuel’s house. Thankfully he had a flashlight so we could see as we walked. We were making our way down the alley way through the housing area, and then all of a sudden, out popped Samuel from a random doorway where he had been waiting for us! Jake and I were shocked that he was all of a sudden standing right in front of us! We both grabbed him and gave him a huge hug. Then, that is when I saw it….his smile! In the pictures that we’ve had of him he has not been smiling, and so to see him with this big smile was just the best greeting ever! And, the other best part was to know that he had been waiting right there in that exact spot for us, expectantly. He knew we were coming. And he was excited about it. You could tell by the smile on his face. Then the first thing I said to him was, “Samuel, how are you?” And much to my surprise he answered back in English, “I am fine,” and he grinned. When I had asked the question I hadn’t really expected an answer because I didn’t think he would know much English, but he did! Then, with the smile still on his face, Samuel led us further down the alley way to where his mother was at the house. These first few moments of meeting him were so surreal and quick that I didn’t have too much time to think, which was good! When we got to the house his mother was putting out some chairs for us to sit in. As Kofi introduced us to her she smiled right away, and I could see that Samuel had her exact smile! All of this smiling and excitement left no room for tears or sadness in me. There were none. We had just walked into this exciting, happy, smiling atmosphere and it was contagious!

I’ve already posted a ton of pictures from this first night that we met in a previous post. So, I won’t re-upload those now even though they correspond with this journal entry. But, I will upload this one because it is my favorite because of all the smiles!

This is Jake, Samuel's mother, Samuel, Kofi (our adoption representative in Ghana), and me.

To see the other pictures from our first meeting, you can click here.

I tried talking with Samuel’s mother but Kofi said she did not know English, so he translated some things between us. Meanwhile, Jake had been talking with Samuel and telling him all sorts of things. One of the first things Jake said was, “I like your hair color. It’s the same as mine.” Samuel smiled and nodded. Samuel also did say a few phrases back to Jake in English, and you could tell that he knew a few English words and could understand us pretty well. Samuel’s mother then introduced us to those who were gathered there. We sat in the chairs for awhile and talked and I showed Samuel his welcome book which was a big hit! After we looked at the book I remember there were a few moments of silence, and then I will never forget what Kofi said. He looked at Samuel and said, “Now you start dreaming, Samuel. Look at these pictures and then when you go to sleep at night dream about where you will be. Dream about your new bed.” Samuel looked Kofi in the eye and said, “Yes,” with a big smile.

By this time I could tell that us adopting Samuel was not a sad occasion for his mother. She was so excited. I know I keep coming back to that phrase, but I don’t know how else to describe it. There was just this happiness in the air that was so opposite of how I thought it would be. Since coming to Ghana I have realized that it is every child’s dream to come to the U.S. And it is every parent’s dream for their child to come to the U.S. Hands down. Go around village to village to village in this country and just ask people what their dream is. I guarantee you they will say they want to go to the United States. And when you ask why they will either say education or opportunity. I ‘get it’ now. I didn’t understand this concept before our trip, but now that I have seen what we have seen, and heard what these people have to say, I ‘get it’. Kofi told us during our car ride that there has even become a jealousy among the other families in Samuel’s village about his adoption. Some of the other mothers have said to Kofi “Why Samuel and not my child? Can they adopt my child too?” Kofi simply explained to them that Samuel was the first one up for adoption in the village. And now since then, there are 4 other children available for adoption in Samuel’s village.

After we went through the welcome book we gave Samuel his gifts to open. When I handed him the box he said ‘thank you’ but he didn’t know he was supposed to open it! So I showed him how to tear off the wrapping paper and then everyone ‘ooohed’ and ‘ahhhhed’ over the clothes. By this time I thought I had a pretty good idea about Samuel’s personality. He is very shy and softspoken, and smiles a lot! He also has these little tiny freckles under his eyes and on his nose, and his reddish/brown eyelashes curl straight up, almost as if they were curled with an eyelash curler (only a mom would notice this I am sure!) I think I studied about every inch of his face so that I wouldn’t forget any of it.

At some point within all of this we posed for a few pictures, and Kofi asked Samuel’s mother if we could take some pictures of her house and kitchen area. Then, I think it was about this time that I noticed something. It’s fuzzy in my memory as to when it exactly happened, but Samuel had taken a hold of Jake’s hand, and would not let go. At some points while we were talking, Samuel even took his other hand and held onto Jake’s arm right below his elbow. Wherever Jake walked, Samuel clung tightly to him. It was like Samuel had known Jake for years. And this all happened in a moment. It was almost like that was the exact moment that God whispered to him, “Samuel, this is the Dad you have been waiting for. This is him.” Because in that moment when he took Jake’s hand I saw a different side of Samuel. It was a vulnerable, scared side. And somehow, to him, Jake was protection. It’s like he sensed it.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. –Helen Keller-

This was such a beautiful moment but it was at this point that I felt my heart break. Reality sunk in right then and there that tomorrow we would have to leave Samuel here. And, I now knew how hard that was going to be.

After being there for about an hour we were told that one of Samuel’s uncles wanted to give us some dinner at his home which was about 5 miles away. We were kind of confused by the customary things and the language, so we weren’t sure if Samuel was coming with us or not. By now it was about 11pm Ghana time, so we assumed Samuel was staying behind to go to bed. We didn’t really want to leave Samuel already but the uncles were quite persistent that we come eat. So, we started to head to the car. Samuel led us back out to the market area, and I tried desperately to snap pictures as he and Jake walked ahead of me! I will never forget walking through that dark, dirty, rundown alley and just praising God for the beautiful moments that had just happened. Everything from Samuel’s mother’s excitement, to Samuel’s smile, to getting to have the experience of seeing Samuel’s village, to now this, watching Jake and Samuel’s unspoken bond with my own eyes. WOW. This couldn’t have gone any better. It really couldn’t have.

This was one of the pictures I took while they were walking. It was extremely dark and this photo didn't turn out, but I tried to lighten it and I kind of like how it turned out.

We got to the car and told Samuel that we would see him tomorrow morning. Then we were taken to the two uncle’s house where we were introduced to their wives and children. These uncles live in a nicer house about 5 miles from Samuel’s village. I am not sure that they are actually Samuel’s uncles, but I think they are more or less men in the community who have a higher status. Kofi had been calling them Samuel’s uncles, so I’ve just been sticking to that terminology, but I don’t think they are related. Kofi had mentioned that usually when visitors come to town it is customary that they are ‘hosted’ by someone. Since Samuel’s mother couldn’t afford to do this, the uncles had offered to be our hosts. The wives of the two uncles cooked us a very fun meal of homemade bread, fried eggs, bananas, oranges, and tea.

Once they brought out the food they all went into the other room while we ate. Jake and I got some good time to talk about Samuel and reflect on the trip. Eventually some of the kids who lived in this house came out to talk to us, and they wanted to know how they could come to the U.S. ! Of course! That is what everyone wants to know here! Jake talked them through some things and he asked them why they wanted to come to the U.S. so badly. Each one of them said for the education.

After we were at this house for about an hour Samuel and his mother showed up! Samuel just keeps popping up out of nowhere! Samuel sat between Jake and I and Jake showed Samuel how to play a matching game on his I-phone. He played for about 30 minutes straight and every time he got a match he would tap Jake on the shoulder and show him. Then after awhile Samuel turned to me and said ‘camera’. He wanted to take some pictures! So, I showed him how to do it and then he took about 30 pictures of all of us sitting around and talking. His favorite part was viewing the picture on the screen after he took it.

By this time it was getting pretty late, and we all decided to call it a night and say our goodbyes until the morning. We weren’t sure if it was customary to ask and see if Samuel could stay with us in the hotel for the night, but since it was so late we decided against it since we would be seeing him in just a few hours again. Samuel and his mother left, and Jake and I were taken to our hotel.

Once we settled into our hotel room I realized that I was physically and emotionally exhausted, but in the most beautiful way. All I could think of was Samuel and the thing my mind kept saying was “He’s perfect! Just perfect.” I loved his personality and thought that he is going to fit in so well with our family. I started thinking about getting to take him to all of his firsts….first football game, first weekend basketball tournament, first time swimming in a pool, first time ordering some ice cream at DQ, first time riding a bike, and on and on. I was so grateful that this first meeting had gone so well. Better than I could have ever imagined. And, most of all, my heart was full of joy because Samuel’s mother was so excited about the adoption. What a great day! I fell asleep thinking that there was no one else in this entire country of Ghana that I would rather adopt. Samuel is the one. He’s perfect for our family. And I prayed. Thank you God for leading us to him. YOU, Lord, are faithful. YOUR mercies never fail. YOU, are mighty to save.

Haiti Orphanage: Urgent Needs

I've been following the blog of a friend of a friend of a friend who is currently in the process of an adoption in Haiti. They were literally about 4 weeks away from bringing their children home when the earthquake hit. About an hour ago she posted a note expressing urgent needs for the orphanage that her 2 children are in. My heart was moved to post this and ask that you not only pray for the points that she has listed, but to also consider a monetary donation to this specific orphanage in their state of emergency. It doesn't have to be a lot. Just $10 would help tremendously. $10 could buy them a small can of formula for the infants in their care.

Here are the details:

Saturday, January 16, 2010
URGENT CALL FOR PRAYER
From the FHG website:

We received word from Pierre this morning that the situation in the orphanage is becoming dire. We would like to ask EVERYONE that receives this to use this information to get on your knees before our Lord and ask Him to provide.

We have one nanny that is deceased and the orphanage needs her body to be removed.

The orphanage has no drinkable water.

In addition they need:

-formula for babies

-medicines

-IV fluids (one child is currently on an IV)

-charcoal to cook

-diesel

-cash to buy supplies if they find them. They are running out of cash and there are no banks open to get cash, so it needs to be delivered by someone already on the ground or by helicopter.

Others are beginning to rob them of what supplies they do have.

There are helicopters flying over the orphanage and they have made a sign on the roof that says they are an orphanage and need help.

The staff is also working to get together all the paperwork for each child that has an adoptive family in a way that it can be attached to their body if there is an opportunity to evacuate.

For His Glory is doing everything we can on this end to contact people who may be able to help. Please pray. Currently, that is the best thing you can do to help. Kim is doing everything she can, and respectfully requests that adoptive families do not call her at this time. We realize this is a very difficult time, however she needs her phone and time available to do everything she can to make contacts to try to help the children and staff at the orphanage. We will give you any updates we have as soon as they are available.

After reading this, I went to For His Glory's website, and found that they have a very secure donation page set up to accept monetary donations that will go directly to the earthquake relief efforts for their orphanage. You can access that here: http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/earthquake_relief

If you haven't donated yet to the earthquake relief, I strongly encourage you to pray about doing so, and asking God for direction in how much to give. Even a small amount can go such a long ways in these poor countries. Also, here is the blog that I've been following if you want to check it for updates on their situation. http://jockandlisa.blogspot.com/

In a tragedy of this magnitude, it's easy to feel helpless. But this is a way that you CAN help.

Ghana Trip Journal: Day 5 Part I

This morning we were up early to head to church with Mark. He attends the International Central Gospel church located in Accra. When we drive somewhere in the car, it is always my opportunity to take in the sights. This morning we left the hotel at 6:30am, and the city of Accra was already up with the sun.
I saw tons of people walking to church. You can tell when they are going to church because they wear their traditional African garments sewn from vibrant, beautiful cloth. The only time they dress like this is either for church, weddings, or for some sort of celebration. We also saw a lot of soccer athletes out for their morning run, and there were numerous soccer games going on in various dirt fields. There is also this one stretch of road that we have driven by a few times now, and this morning we drove by it again on our way to church. It is about a ¾ mile strip where the homeless live. Mark calls it the slums. Every time we drive by it I get a huge lump in my throat. This morning as we drove by I saw a mother cuddled up, asleep with her small son. They were sleeping right on the ground under a thin and worn blanket. They were two of about 75 people on this strip. The strip is right along the side of the road, so these people are not hidden at all. It’s interesting because in the United States it seems like the homeless are somewhat hidden away from us – living by rivers, under bridges, or back in trees (or maybe this is only the case in Iowa). Here in Ghana the homeless live right on the shoulder of the road. I force myself to look every time because I don’t want to become numb to it.

Well, we finally got to church and boy was I ready to hear from God this morning! And, let me tell you, these people know how to worship! I thought that Jesus might come back at any moment because with a 2000+ congregation singing and shouting and dancing so loud for him, I thought for sure He would want to come and join the party. I think this church had about 3 different overflow areas outside, plus the regular seating, plus the seats upstairs. And, this crowd was just for the first service. Apparently I wasn’t the only one ready to hear from God. There was also another second service still to come which Mark said would bring in another 2000 people. The preacher gave a powerful sermon entitled “A Fresh Start” which was in line with the celebration of the New Year. I took notes, and here is my favorite excerpt of what he said:

God’s forgiveness prevails when we repent of our sin. Sin brings guilt and weighs us down. It takes away our confidence. We cannot function fully in our life when we carry our burdens of sin. But, through God’s forgiveness we can have confidence to come to His throne. The assurance of God’s presence in our life banishes fear and timidity. With confidence in God we can embrace life. Real life. And, we can embrace it with excitement. Life is sweet. No, we are not ignorant of the problems of the world, but we are also not ignorant of the power of God to redeem and save. When men abandon you, God will be there. God is coming! Help is coming! Don’t run away from your problems. Don’t cry yourself to sleep at night because help is coming, and it is from above. (Psalm 32:1-2, Hebrews 4:15-16)

After the sermon the preacher prayed and gave the opportunity for any who had not asked Jesus to be their Savior to do so. Those who had never put their trust in Jesus before had the opportunity to go up front and pray along with the preacher. There were about 150 people that made the decision to give their lives to Jesus this day. It was a beautiful sight, and I had to take a picture.

One thing that the preacher said to this group that really stuck in my mind was that a life lived in faith is like a walk. You take a step, and then another step, and another. Each of these steps forms your walk. He told them that putting their faith in Jesus was the first step to a new life. The old has gone. The new has come.

I also did find out today about someone who actually is doing something about the trash problem. Across from the church grounds there is an area (behind the slums) that used to be a refugee camp. It is no longer used for that purpose, and when it shut down there was piles and piles and piles of trash left everywhere. It literally stretches about ¾ of a mile of just trash and junk.

Well, the preacher of Mark’s church decided to do something about this area. He purchased this land and he is now in the process of cleaning it up. He has hired people to go through the trash and pick out the plastic….

Which is then cleaned. These girls are cleaning and scrubbing off the plastic pieces.

Then it is recycled. These piles of bags are waiting to be picked up for recycling.

I was glad to hear of someone doing something about this trash issue which frustrates me so much!

Here are some more pictures that I took from the car on our way back to our hotel.

This is how the women carry their babies:

I don't know why I took so many pictures of people carrying items on their heads, but I just find it fascinating that they have the balance to carry these huge loads!

Those are oranges that he is selling right on the median of the road.

After some lunch we then made our way over to the basketball courts where the Kingdom Hoops Ghana team was going to have their first game as Kingdom Hoops! I took a TON of pictures, so I will let these paint a picture for you:

The court:

The team warming up.

So far, one on-looker. Also, that is the scoreboard in the background...a chalk board. And, notice what the hoop is being held down by...concrete blocks!

The surroundings. There are always random goats everywhere. Kind of like you see cats running around in Iowa. In Ghana there are stray goats. At least I think they are stray.

You can't tell in this picture, but she has a baby strapped to her back.

Mark & Jake talk over strategy before the game.

Giving the game to the Lord! I LOVE this picture!

This bench was the only seating in the whole place (except for some tree stumps).

Half-time talk.

Jake downs some bagged water!

LOTS of onlookers now. When there is something going on in the town, people find out!

Meanwhile, during the game, some kids started a soccer game on the side of the court. Notice that many of them play in their BARE feet! I don't know how they do it!

Well, during a time-out, Jake decided to go and give these boys a speech about how they should be practicing basketball, not soccer. :)

I couldn't hear what he said, but I imagine he told them that basketball could take them places they've only ever dreamed of. :) Then he gave them a basketball.....and they fought over it!

Jake also chatted with this little boy name Prince.....

Prince is 11 years old, very well spoken, and knows English (which means he is probably in school). He told Jake that he wanted to come to America and go to school, and he asked for Jake’s phone number. Jake gave him his number and Prince called Jake every day after that, and has called numerous times since we’ve gotten back home. He keeps saying that he wants to come here to go to school. Jake is working on finding him a host family situation, so I’ll have to keep you updated! Prince was a really sweet boy!

Well, Kingdom Hoops Ghana ended up losing the game! Bummer! The boys were so bummed too because they really wanted to put on a good show for Jake. Hopefully Jake will get to see many more Kingdom Hoops Ghana games in the future. Here is a good team picture:

After the game, Kofi (our adoption representative) picked us up at 5pm to head to the eastern region where Samuel lives! I was SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got Kofi’s car loaded up with our luggage, said goodbye to Mark for a day, and then hopped in, brimming with anticipation of what this part of our adventure would be like. We chatted with Kofi for a bit, and then, get this, Kofi said we would be meeting Samuel and his family TONIGHT! AHHHH! I had no idea! I thought the plan was to meet them tomorrow! Of course I became even more excited at that point, but then I started getting nervous. At least I had a 2 hour car ride ahead to emotionally prepare myself!

The drive to the eastern region took us up a beautiful mountain. We had the windows down and Kofi had some American Christian music playing…the first song he played was My Redeemer Lives by Nicole C. Mullen. I sat there in the back seat taking in the fresh and cool mountain breeze, thinking about little Samuel. I got this huge lump in my throat from trying to hold back the tears – I wanted to pray that God would have the meeting to go well, but I was speechless. I just felt very still sitting there, almost frozen. All I could do was sing along to the music in my head and that was about it. Tears of excitement and happiness welled up in my eyes as I continually pictured what it might be like during that first moment of meeting Samuel.

As Kofi’s tiny car inched us along, it was then that it hit me that this car ride up this mountain was an exact representation of how our adoption journey has been. Here we were, slowly slowly slowly going up this mountain, blindly following twists and turns, traveling through overgrown trees, completely weighed down by our baggage (literally – Kofi drives a tiny 2 door Volvo sort of car and we had 3 full size pieces of luggage somehow jammed in the back….the car could barely go 30mph). And yet, I knew that if we could just stay on this path, up the winding road, it would lead us to what God had for us. On top of that mountain was Samuel’s village. We would finally see his face. And I would finally be able to breathe. Every detail of this trip up this mountain has been exactly how our adoption journey has felt. In this journey we could never see where God was leading us. There have been twists and turns and disappointments. There have been emails full of bad news, unexpected happenings, and trials that have completely weighed us down in this journey. It has been an uphill climb the entire way. And, still, who really knows what is ahead. Only God. But, as we went up that mountain, I knew that at the top was Samuel’s village, a place where we could rest, and breathe. We would finally see what we had been climbing for!

And, you are going to hate me, but I am going to have to continue from this point on Monday! Sorry but this post is getting really long and I have about 3 more pages of thoughts written from this day. On our trip we didn’t bring our lap top so I hand wrote my journal and it’s taking me a little longer than I thought it would to type it all out and post corresponding pictures! I need a blogging break over the weekend, but at least you already know some of the details about our meeting with Samuel, so I am not really leaving you hanging! If you haven’t seen that post of our first meeting with Samuel, you can click here to read it. More on Monday!

Ghana Trip Journal: Day 4

Today we were rolling by 9am and went to take a look at the basketball courts where Mark’s team practices and plays some of their games.

After a quick tour we then made our way over to our pizza joint meeting spot to hand out uniforms to Mark’s team. This would make it official that their new team name is Kingdom Hoops Ghana!

African pizza doesn't quite taste the same as it does here. The crust is very flat, almost like a tortilla. However, I think I ate pizza for lunch 3 days in a row....I needed a break from chicken!

Mark's wife, Amina, and I eating our yummy lunch. Amina plays professional soccer for the Ghana National Team. She is the team captain! We've heard she is the best player on the team, but she is very humble and shy so you would never know it!

We ate pizza as Mark and Jake gave speeches about what it means to be a Kingdom Hoops player, and the opportunities for education available in the United States through the platform of sports. I’ll pause here by saying that these boys love basketball, but what they are really after is an education. This is a foreign idea to many Americans…it too often is the other way around here...sports first, education second. But, in Ghana, education is held up on the highest, highest, highest, pedestal. To Ghanaians, education means breaking the cycle of poverty that almost every family finds itself in. If you are never able to get yourself out of Ghana, you will likely be there your entire life, selling something on the street, unless you are one of the few who are able to work hard enough or catch enough breaks to find a job. And, jobs as we know it are very scarce in Ghana. To these boys, the opportunity to come to the United States and receive an education would be the biggest and best dream that they could ever have come true. And, hopefully, those who get this opportunity will eventually come back to Ghana and help their country. Sadly, not every single boy on this team is going to be able to get the chance to come to the U.S. So far, Jake only knows how to scholarship these older boys through the means of basketball. Which means, they have to have some sort of basketball talent for the opportunity. Many of these boys are 18 and 19 years old, which means their next move is college. They have no money, so the only option is for them to somehow receive a scholarship at a college to play basketball. That is where Jake comes in. His goal is to get these kids seen by college scouts, to wake the world up to Africa basketball, and to work hard to help these kids get opportunities for education in the U.S. There is also a way in which potential college students in Ghana can apply to study here in the U.S. without the use of sport. However, with this route the potential student has to find a sort of host family either in Ghana or the U.S. that will vouch for them and say they will help them financially through school. You all already know, that this has spurred Jake to start his Kingdom Hoops hosting program in which younger kids can come to the U.S. on a student visa and attend a private high school. For this sort of situation, they don’t have to necessarily have basketball talent. However, the future hope is that any potential host students will be identified out of Jake & Mark’s Kingdom Hoops Ghana program once they can start developing and training younger teams. Hopefully that all makes sense. I just want you all to understand the yearning of these kids to come to the U.S. for education. It’s at a whole different level than how many American children view education.

So, back to the pizza joint! Jake handed out brand spankin new Kingdom Hoops uniforms to some very excited guys! Here is ‘Big Sam’ after he got his uniform:

Big Sam is the next student to be part of the hosting program. He is supposed to be here by the end of January…he is still waiting on final approval of his visa. He will be staying with the Gerlach Family in Des Moines and will attend Des Moines Christian Highschool. He is 16 years old so he will have two years in highschool. So far, Jake only knows how to coordinate his hosting program with private schools. Because of the type of visa these kids are coming to the U.S. on (F-1 visas) it is very complicated to get them into the public school system. It is a different process than a typical foreign exchange student program. However, the future hope is to be able to coordinate with the public school system as well.

Two of Mark’s players also spoke to the group, thanking Mark and Jake over and over for starting to pave the way of opportunity for them. These kids are SO GRATEFUL and VERY well-spoken. To hear these words coming from teenage boys was just unreal. They are so humble and just overflowing with gratitude.

The team ends the meeting in prayer.

After lunch and the meeting with the team we went to Mark and his wife’s house so they could show us their place. Mark & Amina live in a village right near Accra. Their house consists of a living room that is about 10ft by 10ft and a bedroom about the size of an American’s master bathroom, if even that. They also have a small corner with cooking supplies designated as the kitchen. This is where they live, along with their 7 year old son. Other than being in the chief’s house, this was the first time we had actually gotten to go inside one of the little houses found in these villages. I was quite in shock as we sat in their living room in the dark because the electricity was out. I had not at all expected that Mark and his wife also lived in one of these tiny houses with a metal roof. I wanted to take pictures so that I wouldn’t have to figure out how to describe it. But, this has been one of the thousands of times when pictures are just not appropriate. I wanted to dig for my camera when we came out of Mark’s front door and were greeted by a group of baby ducklings and goats, or when I looked across the street and saw a young mother hand-washing her clothes in a giant bin, or when I peered into a store to see a woman sewing beautiful African garments that she would sell, or when I saw a little 3 year old girl with an extended belly running barefoot through the dirt – dodging metal and glass, or when I saw two paralyzed little men sitting on the shoulder of the road dragging themselves around with their hands, or when I see the young boy pushing his wheel-chair bound grandmother up to the cars to beg for food. These are the moments I wish I had in pictures, because they leave me speechless and I am experiencing them every minute. Some of the moments are beautiful, and some are dreadful. And, I want to share them. But I know that these people do not want to feel like they are specimens for Americans. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t either. They know that they are poor. They know their country is in a state of desperation. Ghanaians will tell you themselves that they are waiting for their Deliverer. “Help is coming,” they say with a smile. They talk about it on the radio. They hold conversations about it in restaurants. It is the subject of sermons at church. They know that their country is severely impoverished. They will mention it time and time again. They know they have starving children. They know that much of their population is illiterate and uneducated. And yet, they hold their heads up high and carry on. Because they know there is no other choice. What else can they do except wait for someone to help them? They want help! I’ve heard it so many times since being here. Ghanaians will tell you face to face that they lack the vision and ideas to better their country. We heard this exact line from 3 different people in the past few days, and I’ve also heard both Nana Yaw & Esi mention the same thing. But they say, “If someone will show us how, if someone will teach us, we would do it.”

Today was the first day that I felt this intense feeling in my soul to cry out for these people. It’s not stemming from pity. It’s stemming from frustration on behalf of these people. I just want to cry out! Does anyone see all this trash lying around? Somebody start a garbage disposal system. Somebody put up garbage cans every ¼ of a mile on every street and get garbage trucks to come pick it up and take it to the dump. It’s no wonder the water is contaminated and undrinkable here…every single river and waterway is trashed with litter and old food and feces and animal remains. Does anyone else notice the construction workers out there on the roads using primitive hand tools? It takes them 20 times longer to build anything because they have no machines or modern equipment. Somebody help them! Does anyone know how to start a massive water filtration system so that these people can use and drink their water? Someone, show them how to do it! Somebody, please, organize the traffic! Somebody, please start schools here with free education! Somebody, please help these people farm every inch of their land so that no one goes hungry! Somebody, please find a way to bring jobs to this country so that little 6 and 7 year old children don’t have to sell bags of water on the side of the road! Somebody, please set up shelters for the homeless women and children that line the streets and beg for food and money! Somebody, teach these homeless women how to sew, how to do hair, how to basket weave, something so that they can learn how to provide for themselves and their children. Somebody, ANYBODY, help! These thoughts are endless in my mind today, and they just swirl around and talk back and forth to each other in my head. I am just frustrated for these people today. They are in this never ending cycle of poverty and I am feeling the weight of their bondage in my heart today. They just so desire someone to reach out and help them. And if someone would, they would be so grateful. They are a kind and loving people. And have I mentioned that, somehow, through all of this, hope reigns in this country? There is this spirit here among these people that is so uplifting…..even amongst all of this tragedy. These people are expectant, waiting, hope-filled. They carry on, and wait for their deliverer.

Okay, deep breath. I’m done freaking out now.

Well, after we visited Mark and Amina’s house we went back to the hotel to meet with ‘Big Sam’ and his mother. Big Sam’s mom is very excited and nervous about Sam’s soon departure to the U.S. so she wanted to speak with Jake and and talk it over one more time.

Sam’s mom gave us a gift as a thank you…..it was one of those wraps that the women use to sling their babies on their backs with (I still need to get a picture of that for you). It was the most beautiful fabric! However, I am quite sure Jayla will not let me attach her to me with it, so I think I may use it as a table runner instead. :)

After our time with Sam and his mom we said goodbye to everyone for the night since we all would be heading to church in the morning at 6:30am! Jake and I went back to the room and put together the goodie bags which we would be handing out to the children of Samuel’s village in less than 1 ½ days!

BIG smile when I think about getting these bags into those little hands! I can't wait!

2 Prayer Requests

I am going to take a break from posting the Ghana trip journal today because I feel these two prayer requests are more important. Yesterday we received word from Kofi that the court date they were supposed to have had to be postponed because Samuel's older brother was killed in an accident. You can read Kofi's notes here:

I had to ask the lawyer to postpone Sullivan's adoption case today because Samuel and the mother could not come to Accra today due to the death of Samuel's senior brother. Samuel's senior brother was involved in an accident and died when he was traveling from another village to see his brother Samuel upon hearing that Samuel had been visited by Americans and that Samuel was going to the US. According to the Ghanaian tradition the brother should be first buried before the mother can travel. This is an unfortunate situation. The lawyer has rescheduled or postponed the case to 26th Jan in order to finish the burial next week. I remember the Sullivan's met Samuel's junior brother and took a picture but the senior brother was living in another village.

My heart just sunk when I read this. Every mother's worst nightmare has now just come true for Samuel's mother. Please pray for her and for Samuel today....that God would comfort them and give them understanding. Please also pray that God would cast out any fears that this tragedy has brought up to Samuel's mother. Please also pray for Samuel's safety. Every day I force myself to give my worries about Samuel's safety to God because I know I have no control over it. It is only God's hand that can protect Samuel from danger. Please pray for protection and safety for Samuel.

Also, you may have heard that the island of Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake yesterday. This was the hardest earthquake to hit the country in 200 years and currently communication lines are down. My first thought when I heard about the earthquake was for some families here in Iowa that are adopting children from Haiti. Two of these families have been in the adoption process for over 2 years and are still waiting to bring their children home. I thought about them immediately and I wondered if their children were safe and had escaped the destruction, collapsing of buildings, and falling rubble. I wondered how this tragedy would now postpone their adoption cases even more since this country is going to be in absolute chaos for awhile. Then, I thought about all the children who would emerge from under that rubble and find that in an instant they were now orphans as their parents were no where to be found. I think we can add this country to our prayer list today. Please also specifically pray for the many families that are adopting children from Haiti and are awaiting to hear the status as to whether their children are okay.

Psalm 27:1,5

The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.