february 20-25 2012

Monday

I'll be happy to admit I give in to food cravings. Especially if it's an avocado. :) Buy them firm, soften a day or two until it just gives a little under your fingers & the rind turns from glossy green to a more dull greenish black. Sprinkled with salt, this little veggie is a buttery delight. Guacamole is on my list of things to make, but the avocados just don't last that long.

Tuesday

Rory(3), Arielle(6), Elle(3),Max(6), Kalli (4), Savannah (3), Carter (8)
Tuesday night we took the Bontrager/Sauder kids to Ghana University's botanical gardens. The small fee we pay to enter is well worth the open spaces to run, trees to climb & a playground. It was a great time. The best part? Ron & Audrey were able to have a date while we were gone. The worst part? What should have been a 35m drive home turned into 2 hrs & 45m in crawling traffic. Their romantic evening & our noisy one did not end the way we had hoped.

Wednesday

Chocolate peanut butter spread on fresh bread (not made by me!) was a tasty snack. The spread turned out to be a really nice alternative to Nutella, which is expensive here (isn't it everywhere;)?). It does feel good to make something with pantry ingredients, have it get thick & creamy & have many beggars for more. Maybe a recipe post should be coming up soon.

Thursday

This quiet street in a small town 6km from the highway is an important place to me. In December I was invited to help with a small clinic located in the building in the center of the picture. It has been a source of fulfillment for me. A kindness my Heavenly Father has given me. I did not deserve to pick up something I had laid down for His glory. I did not seek out a place to be a nurse in Ghana. But He led me to it & has blessed my time there.

How convinced I am of His intimate love for me!

There are many Muslims in this area & many needy believers. I go there with a prayer on my lips to spread the peace of Jesus with each interaction.

(I am being intentionally vague on details. There has been trouble with local health inspectors & I don't want to contribute. I hope show you more sometime. )

Friday

Not a bad start to a Friday. Bought eggs & bread at the gate before 8am & my 6 year-old is making breakfast for the children! Thanks, Max.


Saturday

Thanks to Carter Bontrager & Jonathan Groff having February birthdays, we were able to take the afternoon & evening off at Tesano Sports Club. It was a wonderful time of catching up & relaxing together. Audrey, Juanita & I even managed to escape for awhile in the deep end while the men had their feet in the kiddie pool. :)

a cloudless sky

I still read the our church's Sunday bulletin. We may be far away from helping our small group set up for the service, attending prayer meeting & the youth groups progressive meal, but I like seeing those familiar reminders. Because at that prayer meeting, they pray for Jon & I. And at those youth events are young men & ladies whose lives we invested in & we still miss.
Today I got an extra bonus. They are praying for water for Jon & Sara's well. We are grateful for every intercession.
And now I'll have to admit that item has been at the bottom of my prayer list. But my attitude about it, sadly, has not gone to the bottom of the list.

Mind you it's not empty, just very low.
It's a 17 feet deep borehole. An electric pump fills a gravity tank on top of our house. We are thankful to be able to pump up enough water for toilets &, sometimes, enough for dishes. Water bags fill in for showers & drinking. I've been carting my laundry to Audrey's for weeks now. She is incredibly kind & gracious to share her time & washer with me. The short walk to her house has built my biceps & given us a reason to sit down & talk when I come to switch a load. (Often she has the loads changed & ready for me to take back to hang up!)

Max & Richmond enjoying our blow up pool.

It's in storage, but the kids can't wait til we have enough water to use it again.

We expect it to start raining occasionally ...soon... and then the water level will return to normal. We are mindful of the gift of water & wash machines. We are surrounded by folks who never have running water close by & always hand wash.
I actually am very thankful for the water we do have. It's just that the water we used to have is making it harder for me to keep a good attitude about the shortcuts we have to take. A cooling shower at the end of the day is often now a few water bags. Reusing dishwater, filling buckets with 2 cup bag after 2 cup bag for cooking, dishes & drinking. And filthy feet get a scrubbing when what they really need is a soaking. :)
Our brothers & sisters at home are praying for our well to fill. We join them. But we are very aware that God is likely going to choose the character He is building in our hearts without water over the glory He could receive from filling the well.
Whatever water you are praying for today, may you allow the Spirit to focus your mind on the work He is doing in you & through you in spite of a cloudless sky.

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I had intended to post a "week in pictures". I like the look into our daily life it gives you. Proof we do many mundane things, proof that life is remarkably similar no matter the location. In case you ever wondered, now that we are titled missionaries (completely unfair...we've only changed locations) there is no shiny glow to taking care of the family. No angel singing when we sit & talk with neighbors. No heavenly whispers when my children are vomiting again. (So cultivate contentment in your current neighborhood, 'cause, honey, if you're not feelin' it now, it's not going to happen in any other location. )

Whew. Now that's off my list of things I've earned the right to say.(...in love, of course.) ;)
So this week was full of rest and healthiness. I made yogurt, tomato sauce, & have been loving fresh mango & avocado. Not picture worthy, but a really nice week. And yes, thanks to a little thing called a birth day, I've got a new hanging planter & flowering plant. Jon made an excellent choice on that as he did on another item. Sadly, it must be exchanged...more on that another time. :) I also received the gift of Jon being home a little extra & a birthday supper made by Audrey & eaten by candle light. Candle light in Ghana is not done for creating atmosphere. It's called the power being off. :)

Saturday morning Jon, Max, Richmond, Ron & Carter drive to East Legon for some baseball. They spend 90m running, throwing, catching & sweating. They come home tired & scraped up. Max was very proud to have earned a brush burn from sliding into a base this week.

While they are gone, Audrey & I held a Valentines tea party for the rest. We enjoyed a slight breeze under the orange tree while sipping green tea (with much sugar!), having pink cupcakes & pink marshmallow hearts.( Thanks to my Mom for sending paper plates & napkins) Cheese & pretzels were a treat as well. Perhaps the best part was the face paint. Sent by one of my sisters, it was enjoyed by all! Rory was sure he wanted a motorcycle. We settled on a turtle. He is still talking about being "allowed" to join the girls pink party.

And today was our Sunday at Kinder Paradise. We enjoyed the Comm-Ci beach afterwards with some friends. The rocks keep us at the edge of the surf, but the cool water, lemon Fanta & conversation was a welcome change of pace. (This week, I promise to take boring pictures & not talk myself out of posting them...all for you, Anna Z. You asked for it!)

All work and no play?

When we dropped off our weary workers on Saturday night, I was again amazed at the way God brought the people we needed to accomplish His work. Although departing airport runs are sad, especially for the children, we knew that they had accomplished the work they had set out to do. And more so!

Max keeping an eye on the water bags

This trip had difficulty coming together, and with a date change thrown in, we didn't know how everything would come together. We knew that 2 people were coming on the original dates, and that the next 11 would come 1 day before those 2 left. As it turned out, Tim, who arrived January 17th, was able to help Ron prepare for the group to come, which was helpful because I am constructionally challenged. When Sara and I picked up the next 11 guests, complete with their 22 checked bags and all their carryons and backpacks, we had a van full of people and a truck full of luggage. Even with the time change and oven-like temperatures here, they were ready to go the next day, and after the ridge pole was set we were moving. The men worked hard and without complaint, and we even received another worker in Nelson Shirk, who assisted at Living Hope for a week and then came to help us for a week. Thank you Nelson!

Eric enjoying some local food

Our job was to set the rafters on the Bible Institute, and then put the purlins and facia boards on. The rafters are made by joining 2 2x6 boards and putting a scab on. The wood is very hard, requiring grease to help drive the nails in. Then these heavy rafters were handed up to our fearless men on the roof, where they were nailed into place. Musselman Lumber was kind to send 30 pounds of screws along, which made this process much easier. With one screw to hold the board in place, the guys could then drive several nails in the hard wood. Musselman's also sent along 100 construction pencils, and as a mission we are very grateful for their donation!

After the rafters were set, we started putting the 2x3 purlins in place, which the metal will be screwed onto. This required a lot of lumber, and a second trip to the lumber yard. All this lumber is treated with a mixture of turpentine, chemical, creosote, and diesel fuel in the attempt to keep the termites out. Once the purlins were on, the facia board was installed and the job was complete!

A view from the top, including Harmattan haze

Due to the job going better than expected, some of our workers from NCMF were able to go out and help Jon Groff at his place. And the guys that stayed here were able to do some other projects which were very beneficial to us.


We did get to go to the Kakum National Forest, and then visit the beach where the group matched wits with the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Following a delicious meal of cassava fish and charcoal chicken, we left for the 2 hour ride home.
In the evenings, many rowdy games of "Pigs and Chickens", Rook, and Pit lasted well into the morning hours. Cokes in glass bottles disappeared in exorbitant numbers. The Africa Cup of Nations was on, and the team watched Ghana compete to win. Some very good late-night chats with friends and the church ministry was very encouraging. It became harder and harder for them to arise for the 6:45 AM breakfast time, but after a cup of coffee and some thought-provoking devotions, we were good to go.

Thank you Steph!

So, thank you Stephanie and Annie, for your help to Sara in the kitchen. We worked hard and ate even better. Thank you Tim, Mike, Tyler, Kendrick, Preston, Shawn, Jeremy, Eric, Jon, Nelson, Tim, and Janelle. May God bless you for your service to Him!

More pictures are available on our website, http://www.cfcint.com/, and Shawn Graber has written a masterful journal of his time here in Ghana at www.cfcint.com/images/Africa_Trip_Report.pdf.