Time

So I realized that its been quite a while since I've updated my blog!  I hope there are still a few people who will read it!!

Since I have been here in Ghana for over a year now it seems that nothing really surprises me anymore.  This means I don’t have the urge to write a blog post about something new that just happened to me!  But God has definitely been teaching me through the “everydayness” of living here now.  

I am learning each day to enjoy and cherish the time I have here with the people God has blessed me with.  So many times I get focused on the things I have to do and want to do.  I think of all these things I can do in ministry and other things I can do to serve God.  I have been learning to stop thinking that I have to do all of these things to make God happy!  He already sees me holy and blameless!  All he is asking me to do is to live in the light of His view of me.  Yes, He wants me to serve Him, but that service is not wearing myself out to show others Christ.  That service is learning to love others in the moments and opportunities He gives me!  I am not the way to Christ!! He just allows me to be His tool!  You don’t hear a hammer shouting about all the things it has done to build the table in the dining room.  I know that is a funny example, but I really think it applies to us!  I am continuing to learn to just obey and love and let God do the rest.  No matter how hard I try to be good and to teach others, it is nothing unless Christ is working through it.  Even in my weakest attempts at obedience and love He works!  I don’t have to have all of the right words and actions!

Let me share with you a couple of examples of how this is playing out in my life.  Each of them is from the past couple of days.  On Saturday Becca and I planned on finding some of the neighborhood kids and taking them out to lunch.  Instead we found no one and had lunch and hung out at her house.  Around 3 in the afternoon FeFe came to the gate and wanted to come and see me.  So I went down to see what he wanted.  Little did I know that I would be spending the next 3½ hours with him!  Basically we just hung out and spent time with him, but I know that this is exactly what he needed and needs.  I know that FeFe does not get that time with his family and I so badly wish that he did!!  I wrestled with FeFe for about half an hour and while I was sitting outside resting I just thought about how much he needs this from his father and doesn't get it.  Throughout the day I just kept praying that he would understand the love and affection that he can know from God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son! 

The second example comes from Sunday afternoon.  I came home from church to an empty house so I decided to sit outside, read and listen to some tunes.  While I was in the relaxing and thinking mode FeFe and Eddie came to the gate.  I really did not want to be disturbed from me reading and relaxing.  I sat there debating what I should do and what I actually would do.  I had planned on going to play with them later in the afternoon, but wasn't ready yet and they were disturbing MY relaxation time.  After a while I stopped reading and we went and played in their compound.  I didn't really do a whole lot of playing, but just let them play and jump all over me.  As I was being covered with the dirt from their bodies as they were fighting over who would be sitting on my back, I closed my eyes and prayed and thanked God for them and for His love for them.  I prayed for them to understand His love as they grew up and to trust Him for even their basic needs.  I was not much in the mood to play (to some of you that might seem strange that I ever get in a mood where I don’t want to play haha), but I know that God was using me to share His love with them in that moment.  (side note: I am not a parent so I wouldn't know, but I am guessing parents go through a lot of moments like that.  Moments in which they have to give up the things they want to do in order to cater to the needs of their kids.  So Mom and Dad: THANK YOU for all of the time you spent with me instead of doing the things you felt like doing!)

Each of these moments are teaching me that my time is not my own.  They are also teaching me to take the opportunities God gives me to share His love, even when they are an inconvenience to what I want to do!

Please pray with me for our school.  Pray especially for the high school students and their attitudes.  Pray for us as teachers to be able to love them and guide them toward understanding and knowing the love of Christ.  Pray that we would also remember that no matter what, when we obey Christ, HE WILL WORK, even when our obedience has its imperfections (which, at least in my life, it almost always does!).  Want more information about all that is going on in my life and in the school here in Ghana?  Send me an email and ask!

School is here!!......almost!

       As many of you know, I arrived back in Ghana on the 26th of July!  I am so excited to be back and ready to start a brand new school year!  Pray for AIS as we begin this new year, pray for the staff and students that we would witness God move in miraculous ways in our lives this year!

     I arrived in Accra in the evening on the 26th of July and headed out to City of Refuge the next morning!  It was awesome to start out my second year in Ghana with a 2 hours tro-tro trip!  I can't think of a better way to start out my time in Ghana than to spend hours hanging out and playing with the family, volunteers, and kids at City of Refuge.  Friday was spent coloring, playing games, and watching "Field of Dreams" for movie night!  Saturday I traveled into Accra to the mall for some pizza and a movie to celebrate Caleb's birthday.  I was able to spend a lot of time with the volunteers who have come from all over the U.S. and have great stories as to how they ended up at CORM.  I love hearing how God is working in the hearts of His people in so many different places and in so many different ways!  Sunday was church and then hanging out for the rest of the day.  Late in the afternoon I went out and played some soccer with a few of the new boys (CORM rescued 14 new kids this summer!! 12 of them are boys!!!).  I also tried to teach Edwin, Malvin, and Joel how to take turns and share!  One of the new boys was pushing them around on a bike with training wheels, and each of them wanted to ride on the bike.  Sometimes I had to pull them off of the bike, but eventually they started to understand that they we going to get another turn if they just waited for a little bit.  It probably helped that while they were waiting I walked around while they clung onto my leg and sat on my shoes!  I thought they were actually understanding how to share and take turns, but at the end they returned to fighting and crying when I tried to get them to take turns.  Ooooo 2 year olds and their resistance to sharing!  Sounds kind of like some adults I know, including myself!

Edwin

      Monday morning me and 5 of the volunteers went for a hike up to Pride Rock, Ghana, West Africa! We walked across the street from CORM to the village of Shai Hills and then walked up toward Pride Rock.  We walked through plenty of thorns and some of the group climbed up onto Pride Rock!

Where we are headed, Pride Rock, Ghana

Of course we were allowed to be there!

The thorns and undergrowth we walked through to get to Pride Rock

A side view of Pride Rock with the village of Shai Hills below

Some kids saw us while we were up at Pride Rock.  Naturally we decided to teach them the YMCA motions.  Here are the results!

     Monday evening I had another chance to play some soccer with a couple of the new boys.  It was great to simply just play and see the looks of joy on their faces when they would score on me!  We played the same game for forever and they never grew tired of it!  Now those are my kind of kids!!  We only stopped because they had to go eat dinner!  The new kids are awesome to be around because everything is so new and fresh to them!  But they still have issues they need to work through!  They are not very proficient in English yet, and they still have that bitterness and anger inside from all of the tough times they have been through!  2 of the boys were exchanging words and fighting with each other and I had no idea what they were saying to each other!  They kept repeating the same word and I am assuming the word wasn't the nicest of terms.  All these kids have ever known is hardship, so they learn to be very defensive and cruel towards others.  I grabbed both of the boys by the wrist and pulled them to the house where someone would actually be able to understand why they were fighting and how to encourage them that this is not the way to settle disagreements.  Soon enough the love of Christ that is so evident at CORM will invade their lives and change their hearts!  Pray for all of the new kids at City of Refuge as they are learning more and more what it means that GOD LOVES THEM!  Also, pray for all of the kids there as so many have been through tough circumstances that they will never forget.  There are certain days where it is evident that there is pain still deep inside of their hearts!  Pray for them to be freed and liberated by the love of Christ, and that He would use those hardships to bring glory to Himself!
     Tuesday I headed back into Accra to start getting ready for school to start.  On the way back in the tro-tro from Ashaiman to Accra a man in the front seat stood up and just started preaching away!  It was a new experience for me and I think most of the people on the tro-tro!  He preached on how God did not intend for man to be living the way he is now.  He was so passionate (as most Ghanaian pastors are!) and was an encouragement to me that I can be and am a representative of Christ wherever I am!
     Over the past week and a half we have been preparing for school to start.  It is exciting for all of us as we begin this great opportunity to share the love of Christ with our students and community!  We are all excited and hope you will join with us in praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all of us here at AIS!
One thing that has been keeping me from getting too bored with meetings and paperwork has been the opportunity to hang out with some of the boys from the neighborhood.  This past Saturday I played soccer on the sand field across from the school with Eddie, Fefe, and two other boys.  It was great to just play and interact with them after not seeing them for 2 months!  We spent all afternoon together on Saturday, and then Sunday afternoon Eddie, Fefe, and Daniel came by and hung out at the house with me and JJ.  We played soccer, football, and ping pong.  Now that Fefe knows where I live, he has come to the house every day at least once.  Sometimes I think of it as an inconvenience because I have my own plans for my time, but God is continuing to teach me that my time is not my own!  I don't earn time to spend on myself, God gives me opportunities to share His love with others and I need to use them!  Not because God will like me more, but because He loved me first and I want to love Him and glorify Him in return!  One moment especially sticks out in my mind about my time with Fefe.  He came over and was playing some ping pong when he turned around and asked me, "Are you going to stay here forever?"  Now, for a 12 year old boy that's about as close as you are going to get to them sharing how they really feel!  I don't know if I will stay here forever, but Fefe's question really makes me think about it!  Please pray with me specifically for Fefe!  I don't know if there is something going on at home, or if it is simply he just wants to spend time with me and JJ, but I really want to share the love of Christ with Him!  I hope that through the time I spend with Him God can continue to work in his heart and mold Him into a bold man of God!

Playing some ping pong and listening to some tunes

Fefe's drawing of me....striking resemblance don't you think?

      Pray for our school as we have our first day this Monday!  Pray for all of us as we start this magnificent opportunity God has given each of us to invest in young people's lives!  Here is a video from CBC Junior Camp to close out the blog.  These are the 5th grade boys who were lucky enough to have me and Andrew as their counselors!

   

Summertime

     This past Friday was the last day of PFO (pre-field orientation, or post-field orientation for those of us who had already been teaching in our schools).  Around 130 new teachers and 200 total people came together to learn about our students and how to be the best teachers we can be for them.  The days were full of meetings and food.  The weekday schedule looked something like this: Breakfast, meeting, snack, meeting, lunch, meeting, snack, meeting, dinner.  I think we each ate enough food to send a bear into hibernation!  Evenings were full of basketball, soccer, running, or card games.  For me personally it was a very encouraging two weeks, it helped me to be even more excited about this upcoming year and the opportunity I have to allow God to work through me!  It was great to meet the new teachers at AIS for this upcoming year, and also to meet with so many other people that have a heart for students and missions!  The people teaching with NICS have come from all over the world, and their experiences are so different than mine because of it.   

      One lesson God has been teaching me this summer is that He is good and sovereign.  Who knows how many times I have heard the phrase "God is good"?!  I'm sure it is way too many to count.  I always seem to think of God is good referring to what I think of as good.  Most of the time I think goodness refers to life being easy and comfortable.  Is that what God means when He says that He is good?  I think I have a very skewed view of what God's goodness is!  God has been teaching me that His goodness is way different than my view of goodness.  God in his goodness knows what is best for me much better than I do.  He brings me through struggles and stresses in order to make me more like him, because on my own I will depend upon myself.  God is constantly trying to bring me to the point of completely depending on Him!  I want to trust in the fact that I have money saved up "just in case,"  or that I always have a back up plan encase something goes wrong, but God wants me to say, "This world is not my home, why should I live to be comfortable here, I will trust in You!"

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord.
'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own  eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7

"'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9

How many stories do you hear of people who God did miraculous things through and for because they had their back up plan in place?  I don’t remember reading any.  On the other hand, how many amazing stories do you hear about people who were completely dependent on God to supply their needs?!  It doesn’t seem right to me though!  I want to be self-sufficient and able to provide for my needs.  God wants us to come to a point where we completely depend on Him, and we can’t do it while we live in the comfort we seek so diligently.  How can we depend on God and His all sufficiency when we are sufficient without Him?!  Why are we not willing to live by faith?!  Why not take that money you have saved and support a missionary, support a few kids in Africa, or give it to that family in need in your community?  I don’t know about you, but I am learning more and more that it is better to give than to receive!  I think it all comes down to whether or not we really believe that God is sovereign!  Do we really believe that God knows all of our needs and will supply them if we would only trust Him?  Now, I am by no means saying that I trust God completely for my needs!  I am far from trusting God completely!  I am challenging you and me to seek God’s help in understanding what it means to say to God, “I depend on You, because the Creator of the universe has me in His hands and will never (ever, ever, ever, ever) let me go!”

       

       Another thing God has been teaching me this summer is the power and importance of prayer.  The church in the New Testament seemed to have such a focus on prayer.  Almost every conversion in Acts seems to come through or with prayer.  We can have all the right words to say and all the right activities, but if the Holy Spirit isn’t working through us than it is completely worthless!  Our goal is to love people and share the love of Christ with them right?!  Well, I don’t know about you, but it seems as if praying for people is a good way to love them!  I don’t believe I did a very good job of praying for others this past year, and am praying that God will give me and others a passion to pray!  Pray without ceasing!

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding 

gong or a clanging cymbal…..If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body 

to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1,3)

      

      Please join me in praying for the students at school, that their hearts will be open to the changing work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Please pray for me and the other teachers, that we would be strong in Christ and depend on Him to work through us!  Also, pray for me as I am making my decision regarding the future.  I have to tell the school in November whether or not I am coming back for another year.  There are many opportunities all over the world that I am looking into and I am excited to see where God leads me!!  I fly back to Ghana on the 25^th of July and am very excited to return “home”!

Mighty to Save

     This past week has been a great one for me, and it isn't because something great happened.  It has simply been a great week because God is continuing to teach me his Word and his ways.  Throughout the majority of the week I've been singing out loud or in my mind the words, "Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, You can have all this world, Give me Jesus."  Those words repeated throughout the day keep everything in perspective.  No matter what the world may say or do to me, all I want is Jesus!  It makes each day seem like an opportunity to worship Jesus and live in His glory.
     Another song which encouraged me this past week was "Mighty to Save."  While preparing to walk to the tro-tro stop to go see the onion boys the song came on my ipod.  While I was listening to the song it hit me (maybe for the first time relating to this song) that God is might to save even those that I can't see a way through.  Many times while talking and reading with the onion boys I wonder if it is really doing any good.  We can't share much with them relating to the Bible and Christ because they are Muslim.  Some of the boys have accepted Christ, but we don't even know which ones and are not allowed to know.  Us not knowing is for their benefit.  The village they come from does not allow their people to change from Islam to Christianity, so the boys could possibly be tortured or killed if word got out.  Therefore the ones who have accepted Christ have only told one or two people, and those people have to keep it secret.  Our purpose in being there is to, yes, help them and encourage them in learning English, but really we are there continuing to show each of them that Christians love them and care about them.  So even if we can't share Christ with them, we can share the love of Christ by being there and simply caring about them.  It hit me on Saturday afternoon before going to see them that God is "Might to Save."  He can work in their hearts even though I may not see the results until I get to heaven!
     So let me encourage each of you that no matter what you are doing for Christ, He can use it and is "Might to Save" even when, in our eyes, it seems impossible.  "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17.  So rejoice in the Lord that he is mighty to save and say to him and the world around you, "You can have all this world, GIVE ME JESUS!"

Country music, cow patties, and candy.....what better way to spend spring break?!

Alright, well country music wasn’t exactly a big part of my spring break, but it was a rather funny part!  On the first tro-tro I took on Good Friday (from Christian Center to the mall) I was surprised when the tro-tro driver started singing along to the country music he was playing on the radio.  This is the first time in all of my tro-tro rides I have ever heard anything sounding remotely like country music, let alone Josh Turner’s song “Your Man” (for your information I had to look up who sang the song since I had no idea!). The driver was tapping on the steering wheel and singing along and it just made me laugh and thank God for the random funny things he places in our lives!

God brought me safely on 3 tro-tro’s to City of Refuge just outside the small village of Doryumu.  The tro-tro rides were only the beginning to an amazing Spring Break!  When I arrived at the house everyone was making bracelets.  So naturally I joined in and made a couple of bracelets.  Stacy and Autumn (Stacy is the cofounder of City of Refuge along with her husband JohnBull, and Autumn is the principal of the school and has been working with the Omorefe’s for the past 2 years of so) make bracelets and other jewelry and use the money made to help support the various ministries CORM (City of Refuge Ministries) is involve in.  While I was making the bracelets Justice and Edwin kept jumping on me and grabbing me around my neck.  Immediately I knew that I would enjoy my time spent here, as there is nothing better than having young kids to hang out with all day!

Friday evening and Saturday were filled with basketball, volleyball, soccer, Uno, and a movie.  Saturday was a joyous day at CORM.  At around 3 in the afternoon there was yelling and dancing heard from the Omorofe household!  The power had finally been hooked up after 4 months of no power!!  Would I be willing to live with the very inconvenient problem of no power for 4 months just to live out God’s desire in my life?  I hope so!

Easter Sunday started with a time of worship to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who rose from the grave over 2,000 years ago!  It was great to be able to worship in the house with 40 or more people crowded into the living room!  John preached from I John 3:16-18 and reminded us of the great love Christ has for us which we are to share with the people around us! 

After church we had to prepare the Easter feast!  What is more natural than killing and roasting a goat for Easter?!  I was able to help prepare the feast by joining in on the plucking of the chickens!  The feast also included some Nigerian fufu and Ghanaian fufu.  I tried both, and I think I prefer the Nigerian version better!

After the Easter feast we hid Easter eggs and lollipops for the kids to find.  The kids had a great time finding the candy everywhere and then eating almost all of it before they even went inside!

Throughout the weekdays I spent at Faith Roots International Academy (the school began this year and is on the same land as CORM) I helped by teaching PE classes and helping Autumn with some work in preparing for exam week.  I also spent a few hours helping teach grades 5 and 6 some math.  It was great to be able to interact with the students and encourage them to work hard in their classes. 

I don’t think I can describe to you in words why I enjoyed this Spring Break so much, but I will try.  I don’t think there is any better word to describe it than love.  The entire time I spent at CORM I felt loved.  The kids and the family are so kind and gracious to those they meet, it makes you want to stay there forever.  I kept thinking to myself, “This would be a great place to spend the rest of my life serving Christ.”  The family and especially the kids made me want to stay and hang out with them for much longer than just one week.  I came into the week expecting to be worn out by the end of the week from interacting with kids all day long, but in reality I was so refreshed.  I couldn’t help but feel the love of Christ flowing from them.  I hope God will use my time spent there to encourage them just as much as they encouraged me.  In the week spent at CORM I was reminded how important it is to love and give of yourself for others.  Isn’t this the way Christ showed His love for us?

Before I share a few pictures from this past week I want to share a couple prayer requests:  1. Pray for AIS and the students as we head into the final month and half of school.  Pray that the Seniors and those leaving would establish a solid foundation trusting in Christ as the King.  2.  Pray for the school as the new building is coming along and the administration is busy hiring the new staff needed for next year.  3.  Pray that God would continue to teach me about His love and that He would give me His eyes for the people around me.

Getting ready for church on Easter....we had 40 people in the living room!

The Easter Goat!

Candy and Cow Patties

On your mark.....get set.......

At Faith Roots International School with 120 students in one room.
They are preparing to have their Bible Trivia competition.

You can also join with me in praying for City of Refuge and the many ministries they are involved in:  Pray for the school and the ministry it has to the village of Doryumu.  Pray for the orphans (and the building of the new houses for them) that the Omorefe’s will Lord willing be rescuing out of child slavery in the upcoming months.  Pray for the single mothers CORM is working with in Ghana.  There are many other prayer requests for them!  Check out their website at http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/ for more information about them!

Same ole' same ole'

The past month or so has been much of the same, school, practice, kid’s club, onion boys and learning to love people like Christ loves me.  In each of these areas God is teaching me to see people like He sees them.  This upcoming week will bring some new challenges!  But I will share about those later.  First I want to share with you a few quotes from the book I have been reading by Philip Yancey called Soul Survivor.  In the book Yancey gives a history of 13 people and explains why they helped him “survive the church.”  So if you don't want to read a bunch of quotes from the book and other places, you can skip to the end, but the quotes will make you think!

                Yancey’s chapter on Dr. Paul Brand was very interesting to me.  Brand worked with leprosy patients and was the first to discover and prove that leprosy attacks the nerve cells.  Here are a few different quotes from this chapter: “Do you know about the ductus arteriosus?  A bypass vessel, it routes blood directly to a developing fetus’s extremities, instead of to the lungs.   At the moment of birth, suddenly all blood must pass through the lungs to receive oxygen because now the baby is breathing air.  In a flash, a flap descends like a curtain, deflecting the blood flow, and a muscle constricts the ductus arteriosus.  After performing that one act, the muscle gradually dissolves and gets absorbed by the rest of the body.  Without this split-second adjustment, the baby could never survive outside the womb.”

“Most people view pain as an enemy.  Yet, as my leprosy patients prove, it forces us to pay attention to threats against our bodies.  Without it, heart attacks, strokes, ruptured appendixes, and stomach ulcers would all occur without any warning.  Who would ever visit a doctor apart from pain’s warnings?  I noticed that the symptoms of illness my patients complained about were actually a display of bodily healing at work.  Virtually every response of our bodies that we view with irritation or disgust –blister, callus, swelling, fever, sneeze, cough, vomiting, and especially pain – demonstrates a reflex toward health.  In all these things normally considered enemies, we can find a reason to be grateful.”  “To the problem of pain itself….God gave no direct answer, only this challenge to Job: If I, as Creator, have produced such a marvelous world as this, which you can plainly observe, can you not trust me with those areas you cannot understand?”

Quote from Dr. Robert Coles in Soul Survivor: “There is a worldview which says that anxiety, pain, and fear are part of what life is meant to be, that God himself assumed such a life, that he lived under continual anxiety, pain, and fear, and ended up as a common criminal strung up on a cross and killed.  Now, if you take that kind of existence as a very important one and as a model of sorts, then you’re going to have a difficult time becoming as ‘successful’ as you may have been told you ought to be if you come from a middle-class family.  You have a moral dilemma.”

From the chapter on Tolstoy: “His (Tolstoy) futile striving helped convince me that my failures fully to realize the truth do not devalue the truth itself but instead point out my continuing need to cast myself on God’s mercy. An idea cannot be held responsible for those who profess to believe it.  With Tolstoy, I learned to say to critics, ‘…..attack me rather than the path I follow.’”

“In a world ruled by law, grace stands as a sign of contradiction.  We want fairness; the gospel gives us an innocent man nailed to a cross who cries out, ‘Father, forgive them.’  We want respectability; the gospel elevates tag collectors, prodigals, and Samaritans.  We want success; the gospel reverses the terms, moving the poor and downtrodden to the head of the line and the wealthy and famous to the rear.”

From the chapter on John Donne: “We often do not understand God’s methods or the reasons behind them.  The most important question though, is whether God is a trustworthy ‘physician.’”

From the chapter on Henri Nouwen: “Through Nouwen’s eyes, I saw a new way to look at such people: not as immoral and ungodly, but as thirsty – as people dying for love.  Like the Samaritan woman at the well, they had drunk their fill of water that did not satisfy…..Whenever I encountered someone whose behavior offended or revolted me, I would pray, ‘God, help me to see this person not as repulsive, but as thirsty.’”

“Nouwen was the first person I knew to use the phrase downward mobility.  In a 1981 article in Sojourners he wrote against the uncontrolled drive for prestige, power, and ambition – in other words, the upward mobility – characteristic of American culture.  ‘The great paradox which Scripture reveals to us is that real and total freedom can only be found through downward mobility.  The Word of God came down to us and lived among us as a slave.  The divine way is indeed the downward way.”

This quote isn’t from the book, but I think it relates to the others well: “You have never locked eyes with another human being who isn’t valuable to God.  When this fact grips you to the core of your being you’ll never be the same.  You will live in awe of the scope and depth and breadth of God’s love, and you’ll treat people differently.” –Bill Hybels and Mark Mettelber

                As you may have noticed, the majority of these quotes deal with understanding how much God really loves us and how contradictory that love is to our 21^st century culture.  I am learning more and more from God’s Word (and from other Christians) how different my life should be compared to the non-Christians I meet and know.  They should wonder why I love them and the people I meet without wanting anything in return!  Isn’t that exactly what Christ did for us!!  He loved us when we were in complete rebellion to Him and covered in sin!!  It all comes back to the fact that Jesus loves you and me and desires for us to love him because he first loved us.  Notice a theme here?  LOVE!  How do you love?  Read the Gospels and look at how Jesus loved, then go out and live it!  Also look at I Corinthians 13!

                Let me also add the fact that I am not even close to realizing and living out the love that God has given to me.  God is slowly teaching me to see other through his eyes and I am excited about where He is leading me and will lead me in the future!

                From the 6^th to the 15^th of April I will have the opportunity to travel to City of Refuge in the Volta Region to serve them and their ministries.  (This is the same place we went to the day after Thanksgiving)  Throughout the week I will be teaching some PE classes and training the teachers to have more structured outdoor time for the students.  Other than that I have no idea what I will be doing!  I’m sure there will be plenty of time spent playing and interacting with the 20 or so kids and orphans staying there!  I will update my blog again when I get back and tell you all how everything went!

                I want to say thank you to those of you who continue to pray for me and the people I get to interact with during my time here in Ghana!  Some updates on prayer requests before I show some pictures: 1. Pray for the students in the small groups we have on Friday during lunch!  Pray that they would develop a hunger for God’s Word and a desire to love God and others.  2.  Continue to pray for the Onion boys.  The past couple weeks I have noticed several of them doing their prayers for Islam.  Pray that the couple of boys who have accepted Christ would find a way to share, and that their witness and ours would not come back void! 3. Pray for City of Refuge and the many ministries they run in the Volta Region of Ghana. (Here is their website and a video about the child slaves they rescue: http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/ http://vimeo.com/23274012 

The Limbo at the Fun Fair we had for neighborhood kids

Rafik's painted face after a Sunday afternoon full of soccer

Eddie painting my face!

The results! haha

Me and Kobby (deaf boy from the neighborhood) writing his name with chalk

Our baseball team!

Christy with one of the onion boys

The Onion boys' tree hang out by the side of the road

The other Onion boys' tree hang out and me helping Moro read  One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish  haha

Onion boys, Hiking, and Discipleship!

     The first month back in Ghana has been a month full of learning to enjoy students instead of just trying to get them to listen and follow rules.  I have also been learning to focus on love and discipleship instead of just doing the right things!! God calls us first and foremost to love one another!!
     At school quite a few of the teachers have been burdened to disciple the students at our school that need so much to be shown and taught what it means to be a follower of Christ!  The second week back from Christmas break we had Spiritual Emphasis week for the secondary students.  Rick and Mick came from America and taught a lesson each morning while including some games and music.  The students responded positively to the time spent learning about God and his love for us.  On Tuesday during  spiritual emphasis week the students were placed into small groups (6 or 7) with a teacher leading each group.  Rick and Mick prepared a lot of questions (some silly and some serious) for the students and teacher to share their answers to the group.  Having this time with the students sparked us as teachers into developing some way to disciple the students who had a desire to be discipled. (Most students here do not have a youth group or anything like that to go to and have the opportunity to be discipled)  Well this past Friday we kicked off discipleship groups!  We had a big kickoff during lunch and will start the real discipleship groups next Friday.  I am really excited about the opportunity to minister to students and to share the love of Christ with them through discipleship!!  Please pray with me and the other teachers at AIS that this time on Friday each week will be a time of growth and understanding in the Word of God for our students!

      Traveling to Wli Falls with 5 freshman students was also a time where relationships could be developed and grown with the students.  Christy and I took 5 students along with us on Friday, February 10th to the Volta Region to hike up to Wli Falls.  I don't think the students knew what they were in for!  The driver (Andy) certainly did not know that the hike would be "serious," as he put it.  We left before 7 a.m. from the school and arrived after 11.  On the way we played several word games and all but one of the students fell asleep.  The students are not morning people!  When we arrived we went into the little building where we had to pay to hike the mountain.  The first set of falls was a nice easy 30 minute walk and I think the students thought the whole hike would be like that!

The lower falls

Upper falls

Well, needless to say the whole hike was not that easy!  The hike was 2 hours up and 2 hours down.  The trail weaved right and left the whole way up the mountain and was not exactly easy.  We had to climb over roots and rocks the whole way.  A couple of the students, about 10 minutes into the hike, asked, "How long is the hike going to take?!"  The students eventually realized that there was no use in complaining, and they developed better attitudes throughout the hike.  All but one of the students had NEVER been hiking before!!  It was amazing to me that they had never really done anything out in nature before!  I can't imagine going through life without the many times I have had out in nature enjoying God's Creation!  The hike up is definitely worth the work!  The students went swimming in the waterfall, and I drank some waterfall water!  The waterfall comes from a spring in the mountain.

    The trip was a great experience for the students and a fun time for me and Christy.  It was good to be able to see students outside of school and be able to talk with them about life.  We were able to share our views and how much hard work can pay off in the long run, even if it doesn't seem worth it in the middle of it.  I pray that God will produce fruit through the many lessons and principles the students heard while hiking Wli Falls!

    Time spent with students has been great, but so has the time spent with the Onion boys!  It is hard to believe that me and Christy have really only spent maybe 10 afternoons with them!  Christy and I have gone 4 or 5 times and spent time with them and Gomer over the past month or so.  Gomer is actually traveling back to the States in a couple weeks, so he has moved out of his house and into a guest house.  The onion boys cannot come and just hang out at his house anymore!  So now, when we visit them on Saturday afternoons we just hang out on the side of the road where they sell the onions!  (I will hopefully get some pictures for you in the upcoming weeks so you can see the boys and what we do)  Gomer encouraged us last week that even if we don't get anywhere with teaching the boys to read and write, our goal is much higher than that!  These boys from Niger (pronounced nee-gair) are Muslim and are going to hell if they don't accept Christ!  Our goal is to ultimately, through loving them unconditionally in our words and actions, be able to share the Gospel message with them!  This past Saturday was an especially great time of interaction with the boys.  Gomer was busy, so we went and hung out with them by ourselves.  Christy brought small whiteboards and markers for them to practice writing.  We were able to spend about 3 and a half hours interacting and trying to talk to them.  Some of them know French and are able to talk with Christy, but I can only understand English!  Some know English, but it is tough to communicate with them as they don't understand everything we are trying to say.  But you know what?  Teenage boys are very similar no matter what religion you grew up learning and no matter what culture you grew up in!  We love to compete and goof off, and you don't necessarily need to be able to speak the same language to do that!  The time yesterday was spent developing relationships with these boys so that eventually we can share the Gospel!  Love is how non-Christians know we are different!!  Later in the afternoon we somehow ended up talking about running, and I told one of the boys (Moro) that I would beat him in a race, not expecting him to actually want to race me!  Can you imagine seeing an obruni and a teenage boy racing as fast as they can down a busy street in the middle of Accra, Ghana?!  Well, if you would have been driving down the road yesterday you would have witnessed it!  I'm sure it looked hilarious to everyone driving by, but looking foolish is worth it as long as Christ is able to be shared among these boys!!  (if you're wondering, I won haha)

    So please join me in praying for the Onion boys!  Pray that they would see our love for them and ask us questions about why we are different than the Ghanaian's who make fun of them and beat them up.  These boys have been through a lot in their short lives, but through Christ they can be saved from the grip Islam has on their lives!  Pray that we would know how to interact with them and how to bring up the Gospel in our conversations with them.
    Please pray for the students at AIS also!  Pray that they would understand who God is and what He has done for them.  Pray that they would have a desire to know God and the Gospel!  Pray that they would understand what being a Christian really means (as many of them understand Christianity from their parents who live very luxurious lives, while millions of people around them have nothing!  Many of them also come from broken homes).