Christmas goodie

 

A Christmas goodie from me to you. Eat it quick before I do…

 

Christmas Sandtarts are worth a Saturday morning, right? We dabbed, sprinkled & slathered until all were satisfied with their creations. Elle licked the bowl from the melted butter. Max took many long sniffs of the dough. We do love these buttery cookies!

Elle is trying to be patient. She & Rory were sneaking sprinkles before we even started.

 Max is the first one to look for his apron when he hears of a job in the kitchen. Thanks, Mom. Last year's gift is still being put to work.

 Ready for the oven. I see sprinkles...where are the cookies?!  She made sure Daddy got what she called the "most beautiful one". It had the most sprinkles, of course. He ate it cheerfully.

Cookie baking for me has always been a family social event. It stretches us all to do it here away from the cousins, grandmas & aunties that make it an event. My childhood included Aunt Ruthanne's Cherry Winks. Maraschino cherries & cornflakes in a cookie, anyone? It felt a long way from that cold Pennsylvania house buzzing with laughter & conversation to Sandtart cookies on a hot Ghanaian morning while boogieing to TSO.
It is a rewarding thing to take a tradition from my childhood & see my children make it their own.
We did that today & I'm glad we did.

26 weeks

Aren't children a journey? Whether the little (or big) ones in your life are babies of the belly or the kind grafted in by grace, you are on that journey.
We feel like many of you have been 'in' on our family's journey all along. But I suppose there is no harm in starting from the beginning. The better you know us, the further down the page you can skim read. :)

Like each of us, we began this parenting calling with joy & apprehension. Max is 7 now, but I still recall ( & Jon with me) how that little guy turned our independent, scheduled life upside down. We knew, all thanks given to godly parents & a chosen love for the Word as adults, that this new perspective was the right one. This shift in focus & willingness to change meant our definition of things like vacation, afternoon off, meal time, church participation & Christmas decorations changed. Really, how many broken antique glass Christmas tree balls does one endure before finding one more durable?

I thought my work as a nurse & time as a new wife had been one of increasing surrender & trust. Little did I know the call of mothering would take me beyond all of those lessons. I will admit to being surprised by the level of effort needed to deny my selfish spirit & pour myself into the Biblical, culturally radical job before me. Daily denial.
Mothering so often fizzles down into plain servant hood. It has worked more surrender & trust in my spirit than anything else. When your self rears its selfish head at another unruly child at quiet time when I-deserve-to-rest, when thoughts & tasks are interrupted to tie shoes to skateboards, when a carefully prepared dinner meal is declared 'disgusting' ( That one received truth over grace!), when faces are clown painted with marker the night before the church Christmas program, I am thankful to see the works of the Spirit in my life.

My every response is not gracious. But, by grace, the pattern of my responses is. I don't aim to complain or brag. I aim to encourage, to inform young mothers of the difficulty of the path of motherhood. It's not all covered by the sweet love we feel toward that helpless newborn. Or the well intentioned reminders that 'in a blink' the diapers will be traded for a drivers license manual.

When this journey is taken on our knees in surrender & trust, it will be one that bears the fruit of the spirit in our lives through everyphase. We cannot live in surrender & trust if we are constantly sighing for the next, easier phase. I have it from an excellent source those teenagers bring some serious fruit in a mother's life. ;)

Before Max turned 3, our country life was turned upside down again by newborn Rory & an energetic little city girl who came to us through foster care. Although she soon returned to her birth father, a 2 day old little sweetie came & stayed. Elle was adopted 15 months later.
Never before that time had I been forced to so clearly choose between embracing motherhood & just surviving it until kindergarten. Picking up a newborn at the hospital when you have a soon-to-be 3yr old & a 2 1/2 month old at home will do that. Truly, when God moves & we surrender He picks the pieces of us up off the toy-strewn floor, puts us back together & teaches us servant hood. My very existence as mother is proof of the Source of power!

I am grateful for the family & friends around us who encouraged us in this call over & over. Words & actions given are not forgotten to this very day!

And, yes. About this very day. I am entering week 26 of pregnancy. Number 4 is expected to arrive March 13.
My best explanation for getting pregnant while living overseas is that God didn't give us peace about waiting. And He could have. It's what we expected Him to do. We have 'enough' here, right? Apparently not in His eyes.
Max, Rory & Elle are anticipating this baby so much. We have many conversations about what the baby might be doing at this very moment, what they eat (food from blood!?), if they hear, why they wiggle and, of course, just how they will arrive.

I tend toward sciatica pain in my legs during pregnancy. So far the pain rating has only gone high about twice. Honestly, it's not the moments of harsh pain that are the worst. Jon & the children take excellent care of me. It's the weeks when the pain is constant stiff ache. Did I say surrender earlier? Surrendering to pain & doing my work with a cheerful spirit is a current lesson for me. Max so kindly rubbed my leg the other day & told me he just wants the time to come for the baby to be born so my leg can stop hurting. And I agree.

Another joy of pregnancy in West Africa as dry season begins is enduring the heat & accompanying fatigue. It's so strange for me to feel so much hotter than I ever have before here. And have heat rash like never before. On my arms, for crying out loud! FYI, heat rash is a raised bumpy irritation that itches til you scratch it, then it burns. Different things help, nothing takes it away. We'll put that on the surrender list too. ;)

The sweet peace of the Father is present as we continue on. This is His child I carry & He is more than able to care for this little one. This was just as true when we lived in Pennsylvania. Here we carry the reality of surrender & trust before us daily. Our focus may have been blurred before by level one university hospitals, fire companies & ambulances, reliable electricity, the nearness of beloved family. No more.

He provides, He protects, He knows the path ahead.

We have twice visited Egon Clinic for maternity appointments. We travel about 30 minutes in light traffic into Accra to reach it.  So far I am measuring correctly & my lab work is fine. I wanted to include a picture of the inside of a patient room. When I asked for a tour-it's that single story building just beyond the parked cars- they laughed at me & asked if I thought I'd be returning tomorrow to deliver. Then they told me I can wait til another time. There's a glimpse into medical culture for you. Patients are to be obedient & not ask too many questions.
Seriously, the ObGyn is German & I'm pleased with her level of knowledge & skill. I'm not a comnplicated patient & actually look forward to a 'lower' level of care. By lower I mean skilled staff but care in a basic clinic setting instead of a university hospital with all the frills.
Besides,  I've got the best nurse & coach around. His name's Jon & he has gotten me through twice before. :)

These two pictures are just to give you a visual of what a clinic looks like here. The buildings include basically what you can see in the bottom picture. It's dusty & crowded outside, dim, but clean, inside with a sputtering air conditioner. The magazines are in German. The patients are a mix of Middle Eastern, Ghanaian & American. It's mutlicultural health care at its finest. I even get to walk by own labs to the other building for testing.
What an adventure. Grace required!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sauder ( a grandparents tribute)

 

To Mr. Sauder (aka Pawpaw):

We wish you the very best birthday. Max & Rory were delighted to hear you spent it at the cabin stalking deer.

The special times you made possible while we were on furlough this year are priceless. We could not ask for a better example of integrity, hard work, & kindness for our children to follow. We bless you for taking the time to manage our mail & pinch our pennies. We very excitedly await your arrival in just 5 months!

Happy Birthday!

 

Nanny, Grandma & Grandpa,

We cannot resist taking this time to thank you all as well. Two teams of God-loving family- committed grandparents is a blessing too large to be deserved. We are so thankful for the influence you all have on our children. They love each of you both for your differences & for the consistent love you show.

 

 

 In December of 2011, my parents visited us here in Pokuase. My mom made many memories cooking up treats & sewing up crafts. These puppy pillows are no longer crisp & clean, but they are well-loved!

 Also on the December 2011 visit, my Dad joined in the homeschooling venture. I think with all his children endeavouring to home school he was taking a look at what all the fuss is about. Max enjoyed a different first grade teacher. Wonder if this substitute was as much fun as the substitute teaches I had in school. :)

Ah, Nanny. This photo is on our fridge. Elle would like to carry it off, tuck it under her pillow & never share it with anyone else.

Dad, I wish I could sit and talk to you today around the fire, or on the walkie talkies as we check in every hour on the hour from our tree stands. Or to spend a morning bagging horse feed and just having fun and working hard together. Thank you for being my dad, my mentor, and my kids hero.  We love you!

Fighting the good fight

So, just 1 week ago tonight we took our weary travelers from Indiana to the airport for their flight back to the States. Maybe they weren't weary, but we sure were! Just 3 weeks after we returned from the States, 19 enthusiastic individuals showed up here in Ghana to do evangelism, basic health clinics, and some work on the Bible Institute. It was a terrific trip, and together we handed out about 8000 tracts and saw almost 350 patients at the 2 health clinics! We had 4 solid crusades, and the response has been encouraging. Pastor Frank, who pastors the CFCI church in Adawukwao, told me that "the children are many!" Both Pastor Frank and Foster are doing new believer's classes and following up with all those who gave us their contact information either at the crusades or clinics.

It always seems that the time leading up to the trip is always stressful, with many things going wrong to distract and discourage us. This year was no different, with Ron's washing machine clonking out just days before our guests arrived. The power was on serious load sharing, with light being off usually 12 hours a day. With only one working generator between us, and that needing to go out with the team for lights, sound system, ect., we were concerned. Our guests did arrive in Accra on November 8th, after traveling many miles and through several airports to get here. Alas, we found that the airplane did not bring 10 of our suitcases, causing some serious trouble for several of our guests!

We were rained out of the evangelism we hoped to do the first day, although we traveled to Adawukwao and set up the stage and waited out the rain. We did get the crusade in, which we were thankful for. I did call the airport on the way home and they confirmed that the remaining suitcases had arrived. We knew it would be close, but they didn't close until 12 AM so Ron and I raced in. I got to the desk at 11:55 PM, and the lady was just locking the door to the baggage claim. I had been in phone conversations with one of the guys, and he had promised to wait for us and even later if we gave him a small gift. =) This particular lady was not privy to this conversation and was quite annoyed at me, and boy did she let me know. After much growling, griping, and plain down foot-dragging, we finally got the one suitcase that was there. My airport friend then took me up to the conveyor belts where the remaining bags were, but unfortunately only 4, not the remaining 9, were there. We were thankful for what came in, and so were some of the guys who were on day 3 of wearing the same clothes!

The following day we did the clinic with a crusade in the evening, and I got another call on the way home that the remaining bags had come in. Again, we raced home, but since I had responsibilities with the group, Ron and Leon went to the airport and picked up the remaining bags. They brought them home and we unpacked them, and for the second consecutive night the clock pushed past 1:30 AM before we got to bed.

The rest of the time passed quickly. We were extremely tired but we pushed on. On the morning of our final clinic, I could not find the patient forms that I had previously printed out. After tearing up much of our living space (which was quite reduced, since we had 11 extra people staying in our house), I finally just printed more and refused to be frustrated with it. If you don't know me well, I like to have all my ducks in a neat row, and when things get out of line I get a little testy. Well, needless to say, I found the forms just as we were to leave for the clinic. I was thankful as it proved I didn't totally lose my mind, but just looked at it as an attack from the evil one. We were much more efficient with our second clinic, and we had taken care of the patients who had coupons within 1.5 hours, so we opened it up to others for the remaining hour. We ended up seeing 210 patients that day, and if I wouldn't have "lost" those patient forms and printed more, we wouldn't have had enough, thus losing valuable names and phone numbers for later follow-up. See, God works ALL things for good, and we just need to rest in that.

Sara was busy helping Audrey with the food, which was a monumental task. They worked together very well, and nobody went hungry! In fact, some suggested that they ate better here than at home!

After our Indiana team departed on Saturday, the PA group from NCMF went to Jon Groff's place for a visit. We visited Pastor Felix's church Sunday morning, who is a member of our Ghana board of directors and a valued part of the ministry! I think this is the first time for all our guests that the sermon didn't start until after 12! We did leave the church around 1:30 PM, after they served us minerals (Coke/Fanta/Sprite) in appreciation for our visit. We did also get to go to his new home and get a tour. God has blessed Felix greatly. He told us Sunday that Felix did nothing, God did everything, and he took my small faith and made something great!

We had a great time in Apam, and visited the Cape Coast slave castle and Living Hope Ministries. The one downside was our motel ran out of water, so bucket showers were a necessity. We traveled back to Accra on Tuesday afternoon and had them to the airport by 6:30 PM.

Although it was sad to see them go, we had a tremendous group who worked so hard and so well together. We thank those who sacrificed to come, especially those who left spouses and children behind.We look back and see that when things didn't go as we planned, we made due and things were OK. Maybe not to our American guest's standards all the time, but workable.  And I would suggest that in those times when the power is off at night and your sweating profusely in your bed, we begin to understand the blessings that we may take for granted. And when we don't have the "basics" like running water, to understand that maybe, just maybe, we are a bit spoiled. A thorough journal and more pictures are available online at www.cfcint.com.

Eric sharing the love with a small girl.

Naomi fitting right in.

 

Showing the pride here in Ghana!

First Day {School year 2012-2013}

My eager students were delighted to finally begin the school year. They'd been asking for days!

 

Being new to the task of school teaching, I thought I'd share the details of how it goes for me. I believe parents always being a child's primary teacher is so very Biblical. But entering the realm of grammar, math & science can feel daunting.

Most of us aren't trained as teachers, many of us haven't dreamed of schooling our children around the kitchen table & few of us have a safe place to lay out our anxieties of taking the responsibility to not just teach content but the life lesson of loving to learn. And the discipline to stick to something that's not your natural talent. And the confidence to try new things, being measured, of course, not by our success but what we learned from the experience.  All that while diligently following the lesson plans, science lessons & nature walk projects.

Whew.

I am thankful for my sisters who have both listened to my anxiety & shared what works for them & reminded me no teacher need apply for this post. Just get ready for the Spirit of God to prune more selfishness, impatience & worry from your life. Will this be a long lesson, commitment to homeschooling all our children? Or will this be a short lesson, one only given in Ghana? Only time will tell.

Here's what schooling my children looks like. Ideals aside for the moment. [But only for a moment. Any longer & I turn into another grumpy unfocused teacher & they my unruly, lazy pupils ;)]

 

Max has completed Kindergarten & 1st grade with My Father's World. http://www.mfwbooks.com/

The website describes it this way: "Combining the best of Charlotte Mason, classical education, and unit studieswith a Biblical worldview and international focus." Written by returned missionaries, it doesn't feel American culture-centric. They place God's Word in all the right places. A simplified Bible reader was Max's first book conquest! Of course, we spend ample time on grammar, math & science. History has been added this year. Max has been browsing the books & is twitching to learn American history. It seems especially fun now that we aren't in America. I think our travels have given him perspective on how America is just one place on the planet- but it surely is fun to learn about home. At the advice of my sister, who's been a wonderful teacher example to me, I substituted the grammar for another curriculum but all else follows their recommendations. I didn't need much convincing. I see her children enjoying school time & learning well.

On a very practical note, I enjoy the set up of a curriculum that helps us all [mostly me?;)] learn structure, but also gives flexibility for those of us with smaller children & the lack of a Walmart down the street.  Seriously, on my street, I can buy yam, dried fish & AfricanCola. No last minute project supplies available here!

 

The shelves behind Max are the newest addition to the dining room. The books I need for this school year are many & I needed a shelf. They have since been painted & will soon be organized. Our frequent lack of electricity slowed down the process.

So far the most popular item of school is the pencil boxes. Large enough to fit things from glue to stickers to extra pencils [ How many times can a 7yo drop his pencil?!] to tiny gumball machine reward candy. Thanks to Grandma for those! It is really fun for Elle & Rory especially to have a box of items just for school time. New crayons & a sharp little scissors are the best. The other popluar time is recess! We walk down the street to the Bontrager's swingset & enjoy some sweaty play & bike riding together. I am thankful Audrey & I can do this. It helps keep us on task.

We have the opportunity to join a home school co-op in Accra that does field trips & activities like spelling bees. Our coworkers, the Bontragers, have 3 in school & have attended some of the activities & really enjoyed them. We'll see if that happens. For now we are focusing on getting in a routine & enjoying the quiet of Ghana time as we do that. 

 

 

 My second grader! 

 

 Let the fun begin with two pre-schoolers.

Last week...

Last week I wanted to tell you this....

Ever wish for a peaceful Saturday morning? Children sleeping, coffee ready, a mess being ignored.
I've got a peaceful start today.

I can hear some industrious workers beating the heat, pounding away with their hammers, the squawk & crow of chickens & the occasional greetings shouted out between neighbors.
I've been welcomed back by our most persistent neighbor girls,Abigail & Naomi & their cousins Nana Yaw & Nana Kofi. Hugs & conversation sent them on their way, all dressed up to go visit family.
Some days peace is internal but today my still furlough exhausted, jet-lagged children are snoozing. The power is off, the sun is shining & the breeze is blowing. Never mind I can't do the first things on my list. haircuts & re-organizing the freezer require electricity. Instead I'll begin to debug the pantry , the closets. & my tomato/flower bed.

And this....

 ( Not the best travel picture. But, hey, did you really want to see my tired face instead of this sweet little guy using every airline freebie at once? Yup, the whole way to the eye shield, ear plugs, socks & lip balm. )

I should back up a few days & say It's good to be home to house #5 in Pokuase. God (& my vigilant husband) guided us through customs lines, lost tempers & meal carts blocking the path of a certain small girl who urgently needed the toilet. Honestly, although I can't say travel is invigorating, 4 & 6 year olds do really well. Airline freebie socks, funny meals (Turkish airline) with really good desserts, & apple juice got us through. We flew from JFK to Istanbul to Accra, spending 18 hours in the air & enduring 3 time zones.

But this...

     Bugs that invaded our closets. Thankfully, the pantry was mostly lizard droppings, flour bugs & spiders. Not to mention plain ol' dirt.

...And this...Got in the way!

   

The power has been off part of every day. Heat exhaustion, the difficulty keeping things cold for my sweaty family, only so much time on the laptop battery, & managing tasks quick before the power goes off has kept me busy mentally & physically adjusting.
                                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~

This week holds the official start of school for my second grader & pre-schoolers. Pencil boxes & new books for all.
 We plan to begin the year with a thankful tree.
We are thankful. Thankful for noise, thankful for quiet, thankful for going & thankful for coming. Yep, in Ghanaian English we have gone & come.

My week also holds meal prep for our American evangelism team coming next week. I've got the bananas, now to turn them into bread. Team hosting is so much for than baking. My husband has been tweaking the schedule, confirming details & sorting out all manner of things with our director Ron Bontrager. They are committed to fasting & praying over many things related to this trip. There is a very real attack of Satan on everyone's mental & physical health as we prepare to minister in towns that strongly live out idol worship & juju practices.

I will post a link to the mission website with trip pictures & articles at the end of November.

Temporary transplant!

We've been transplanted.  Uprooted (willingly ;) ) from the sandy coastal savannah of Accra & re-planted in the cool soft dirt of our native Pennsylvania.
Our feet are planted on this side of the ocean now & are soaking up love & encouragment of family & friends.
At times, we wither. Changing the soil affects the roots. I think Rory said it best. "Mom, even my skin is tired!"
But we are being nouished, fertilized &, yes, even pruned. The awesome variety of physical food is the smallest example of this. Our true growth is coming from the wisdom & encouragment offered by so many of you.
New scenery brings challenges too. Meat, fruit, veggies that are utterly foreign to my little people. They had forgotten grapes, blueberries & broccoli. They have been reaquainted with booster car seats & seatbelts, air conditioning, & drive thru food. Buckled in a seat without the wind in their face, no horns blowing, no hawkers chatting with them seems, well, a little boring. What they have discovered is the church library, a multitude of cousins &  the endless snack aisle at the store.
The weather is turning toward fall season. Cold air that makes us shiver. Some of us shiver in delight while rediscovering shoes and  socks. Some of us reach for leggings, a blanket & a hot drink. :)
We are taking great joy in worshipping & learning with our home church. They are present in our lives here in the States & at home in Ghana in so many tangible ways. These Senders have been the hand of God in our lives, making ministry possible.

October 17 we will return to Accra. Stronger, we pray for the growth we've been allowed here. And ready to again plant seeds for the God of the harvest.

Max trying out Karsten Weaver's nifty bow & arrow.

Jon & I enjoying his Mom's delicious dinner of burgers, stawberry spinach salad & corn.

Elle & her cousin Hadassah picked up where they left off. Lots of giggles & escapades. We make sure to keep them in sight. :)

August 7, 2012

Last post was a serious skinny on the weather. Shame. Shame. On me.
Clearly, I am no meteorologist or even able to do web research beyond wikipedia. Please realize we, like you, feel most like sharing news when it is at extremes. A bad habit. One I am unlikely to break unless I convert this to a daily journal. That is something I don't want to write and you don't want to read. Rather, we look forward to educating many of you on our life here in person while we are visiting Pennsylvania.

We have many days in the pleasant space between monsoon & drought.  I'm happy to report today was beautiful one of those. Sunny. But not blistering. Breezy. But not door slamming gales. Days like this feel like a warm Pa spring to me. Some ancient ambition, programmed by my practical Swiss-German Anabaptist mother, springs to life & I desire to clean. So far the the kitchen, spare room & both porches have suffered a scrubbing. I must say, furlough is giving me an extra nudge too.
August 14 is just days away! Cleaning aside, we are in that funny limbo between things that can be done on ahead & all that last minute stuff that will come in a few days. The list's of do-before-we-go & don't-forget-to-pack & even things-to-buy-in-Pa are worked on daily.

My hands are busy & my camera is broken (sob!). Painting a picture with words is not my talent. The pictures are, oh, so important.
Thanks to the ipod, I've been able to take some pictures. The quality is poor but I think you can still tell who is who. :)
Elle is enjoying my Morning Glory vine. She is fascinated by the delicate purple flowers & is quite sad each time they wilt in a cup of water. Somehow leaving them on the vine just isn't an option. ;)

 My dear husband had a birthday last Sunday. He had a weekend of fun planned for us all to celebrate. And then came the aching legs & headache of malaria. So we hung out at home trying to keep a little quiet so he could rest. Rory kept going in, rubbing his back. "I'm just so sad when Daddy is sick," he would say. Happily, for all of us, he perked up on Sunday. His only gift was this lovely local shirt. He insists his birthday party starts August 14 & included Phillies games & hunting. :)
He couldn't even tolerate a birthday cake! He did manage a few of the homemade noodles the children & I made for lunch Sunday.

 Jon was also able to help  with the singing for our little Sunday school time. The boys insisted on wearing their Sunday shirts even though we were staying home.

I've been wanting to post these for awhile now. We managed to find a day with (almost) no rain for Audrey & I to take the kids to Ghana University's botanical gardens. We mostly go for the wide open spaces for the kids to run in & the nice play ground.
On the way home we stopped at Maxmart for ice cream. Rory was determined to have mint chocolate chip. He's never had it before. Our standard ice cream fare isn't even ice cream, it's FanIce, a sorry replica we can get easily here. He loved it & was glowing to have a special little dish all to himself.

 Savannah, Arielle & Elle enjoyed their treat too. The server even gave them some broken pieces of sugar cone for free. It was a good field trip. The Bontrager's have become our family. The children call each other brother & sister, alternately cheering each other on & fighting like loving children do. Through sleep overs, car trips, birthday parties & school recess time on the Bontrager swing set, we've gained some awesome brothers & sisters.

To many of you we say, " See you next week!"

rain, rain

 Elle & Sunny stayin' warm. Yes, Aunt Linda, that is Elle's baby towel. She sleeps with it, plays with it & refuses to let the boys touch it.

It's been raining every day. The only Ghanaian I've ever heard complain about the rain is a friend who lives in a low lying area & the rains bring a pond of water up to her front door. "Ah," she says, "The rain, it is too much."
In rainy season many exceptions are made as people endure the rain. If a school child is caught in the rain or must wash a very muddy uniform there is no chance it will dry by morning. So they are allowed to wear street clothes the next day. If children are not in school we are often told it is because of the rain. I would have to ask a headmaster how acceptable that excuse is!
Last year our co-workers has made an appointment with a man to do some work at their house. When he didn't arrive at the specified time, there was no phone calls or frustration. It was raining. The man came two days later. The work was done. Americans, adjust yourself to that kind of flexibility!
We see all sorts of improvised rain gear. From banana frond umbrellas while waiting for transportation to plastic bag rain hats. No one wants a wet weave. ;) Jon snapped a picture out the window, showing the latest fashion in rain gear.

The southern section of West Africa has a varying savanna climate two rainy seasons occurring from April to July and from September to November. The northern part of Ghana has only one.
Average rainfall 83 inches, 8 inches of it being in June here in the coastal plains. (wikipedia) Air quality improves (less garbage/refuse smell), plants grow immensely & mosquitoes spread the malaria parasite.
3 foot deep concrete gutters here in our neighborhood & large canal type water channels are present in Accra to carry the rainwater. But in our part of town, trash, & eroded dirt almost fill our gutters. Water runoff is not part of the building code (smile) so the dirt roads carry pockmarks & craters.
Rainy season especially the months of June & July are marked by dreary days punctuated by downpours that fill the rain barrels & soak the laundry in seeming seconds. Some days play the game of alternating sun & rain. Sometimes I play along: wash out, wash in, wash out. Musty smelling indoor dried laundry compels me to chase the sunshine.
So when this week ended with 3 sunny days in a row, I did a happy two-step the whole way to the wash line.

Max scrubbing muddy shoes quickly while the sun is shining. He is a great help to me!

Rainy season Sundays are especially challenging. The cool rain keeps the windows up most of the way & fogs up the windshield. Our defrost? The multifunctional hankie. It serves to wave in worship, cover a women's head in church, wipe up & dust off.
A jolting 1.5 hr drive to Adawukwao left Rory with his chin in a plastic bag & Max trying to keep his eyes on the horizon. He is not convinced (Mom, I gave you due credit. Max, Grandma always told me do that &, for goodness sakes, put the book down!).
A misty rain kept us cool during the service & made enough mud that Elle & Rory got back in the truck to leave streaked with dirt. Rory's hands were even cold to touch. But we did get to see Pas. Frank's new baby son, Kingsley. Very cute.
Were we local church members we would have lifted a stack of plastic chairs or tossed that infamous hankie over our head to dash home. And I would have pulled out the heels & for Jon, the white dress pants. And return home with them spotless. It's an amazing thing! Let's remember we are guests & for now are leaving the heels & white pants at home. :)
 We are enjoying the cooler temperatures, hearing the children say they are cold & doing our share of watching it storm from the front porch. Tomatoes are growing, a flowering vine (whose name & seed packet have long been discarded) has overcome it's bug infestation & is climbing & flowering. The bougainvillea is over the wire (!) at several places.

 State of the union is rainy. Spirit of the union is cheerful (37 more days!!).

A Sunday afternoon storm watch. With blankets & books. After, of course, Max & Elle indulged in some puddle splashing & a dip in the rain barrel.

how to date your wife while living in west africa

Venturing out to celebrate our 11 year anniversary on June 1, 2012.

Drop the kids at the neighbors. Thanks, Audrey & Ron!

Wisk [actually, rattle] her off to town in the Tata.

Go to the nicest restaurant at the [only] Accra Mall .

Sit near the huge sparkling windows so she can ogle every glamorous pair of shoes or dress that passes.

Let her have all the sour cream - and guacamole -while you enjoy the cheese on the appetizer nachos [after 11 years you know she likes that green stuff just as much as cheese]

Join her in ordering just water....our spending does have limits.

Don't complain when she orders a meal more expensive than yours- and it's a salad.

Laugh with her at the ridiculous fountain for hand washing [the kids would've loved it] and the attendant standing guard over it.

Wander into Shoprite [the most 'normal' grocery store in Ghana] & only buy some doodad on clearance. No potatoes. No hotdogs. No pretend butter.

Let her order a ghc 7 caramel latte & be totally cool with the guy making it giving her a wink & dashing her the cost of the flavour and don't roll your eyes when she wonders if they could make it skinny.

Pay waaaay too much for a cinema ticket- but enjoy laughing at a ri-dic-u-lous will smith flick. We take ourselves way too seriously these days. This place is an emotional rollercoaster [only for her of course] & it feels good to just get off for awhile.

Take her up on running through the rain to our India-made luxury pseudo-jeep. Maybe a lady would've chosen waiting for you to pull up at the entrance but this girl has come too far in 11 years to bother with that kind of nonsense.

Last bit? Do this again. Soon.

Walls of peace

And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart & your minds through Christ Jesus. [Ph. 4:7]

Ever felt like a prisoner in your own home?

That's when the children...the schoolbooks...sickness...no money...no vehicle or just no reason to go keeps you in one spot. Those walls just close right in, don't they? When my 3&4 yr olds were infants I often fought those feelings from behind a pile of diapers, dishes or laundry.

Then the walls were mental. I [usually] had a vehicle, sometimes I had a place to go. Like Nanny or Grandma's house or the mom's playgroup at church.

Now I have concrete block walls, barbed wire, gates, padlocks, barred windows, barred doors & a guard [not so much] dog. And more reasons to stay home than go away. Sound like prison? Yep, & it has felt that way at times.

Within these walls, in a way more focused than ever before, lies my purpose. To care for my husband. To make his labor easier. To care for my children. To keep them clean, healthy & learning to labor with me. [NO, shoving the toys under the bookshelf is not cleaning up. YES, I love when you do the dishes..so do the ants. ;)]

These walls that pen us in also seem to hold onto our attitudes & tensions rather well. We all want to do better at letting them blow up & over the wall. One of the things the children pick up so quickly is my continued attitude about living, in these walls, in Ghana. They've heard enough about the obedience part of moving here! I have to show them consistently that home is wherever God has placed us. Pennsylvania is not the promised land of toys, fast food and all that other stuff that just doesn't happen in West Africa. Snow & Cherry Crest Adventure Farms top Max's list. But it is the land of Nanny, Grandma & Aunties!

The walls, locks & gates have also been a practical adjustment. When we leave, we go out through the back porch where the door grate is separate from the door. Makes padlocks much easier. However, when my mental list is scattered, and I have to go back in for something...through several padlocks & two doors. Not good. Once in the shuffle to leave, we had locked the house & were locking the front gate when we realized Rory was not with us. Jon went back in to hear him calling "Daddy" from the washroom! Poor fellow.

We tend to lock up as soon as it gets dark if we will be staying home that night. Ghanaians tend to go to bed soon after dark & rise with the sun. So there is often no coming & going after 7pm. Locking up means padlocking the driving gate & door gate & the three doors of the house. I used to go to take out the garbage & find myself locked in! Who is so determined to take out the garbage that they open 5 padlocks to do it? [That's when I use the city dwellers trick for garbage- freeze it! Thanks, Anna Z.:) ] And all that would make me sigh at my super-responsible padlock-loving husband. It's taken us a year, but we've worked out our evening routine now.

One of the favorite spots for the boys is in the orange tree by the front wall. They have a front row perch for the traffic passing, the construction going on next door & for friends to come home from school. They don't feel trapped. Instead, they enjoy the security & perspective the walls & tree give them.

I want that too.

Security in being a help-meet wife & truth-grace mother. And perspective on who is my priority, who is my standard & how very blessed I am to have spiritual walls of peace to guard my heart & mind through Christ Jesus.

[Now. Who has the keys?!]

Jon & Elle locking up after I left for the clinic this morning.

A Mother's week

  Happy Mother's Day!

 We are thankful for our mothers today. We send blessings to them back in Pennsylvania, knowing our siblings are honoring them as we wish we could...in person!  We are thankful we were able to skype with both of them this week. They patiently listened to the children [& to us!] & filled us in on the news from home.


Here is a few pictures from my week. Jon already posted this picture on fb. It was sweet of him. His confidence & encouragement have gotten this mother through some tough days this last year. This is the sort of picture you get when you try to take a nice picture after church but before lunch.

No mother's week would be complete without some food prep. This was my list all lined up on the table. Tomatoes to sauce, mango to chop, beans to soak, yogurt to grow [:)], & some sour lil oranges from the neighbors to figure out what to do with. The children like to eat them like their Ghanaian friends...chew out the juice  & spit out the membranes & seeds. I stepped in just about enough of those little gifts for one week & it's only Monday!

We were very pleased to find this Banana-gram game at a yard sale. Missionaries & other ex patriots living here have yard sales when they leave. And we found some good stuff! Max was happy to trade his phonics workbook for a game today. Here are his words of choice.
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Many days our electricity is off part of the day. Sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes more than 12 hours. On a good day, I've got a plan for supper, Jon is home & we enjoy supper on the porch before darkness comes. And this time the lights came on while we were eating. I am always thankful for that. Clean up by candlelight is not as relaxing or romantic as you might think. ;)

We like lizards. Like this one. The boys love to catch them, feel quite sad if they pull off the tails [but love to watch the tails "run" around on their own!] & delight in chasing Elle with them. We often must have the wild animal conversation. A lizard would not be happy trapped in a jar.....:)

Especially not this lizard!!! This mampam was behind the house under the cocoa trees.
Here's the story in Max's own words.
Elle & I were playing with the bamboo sticks under the orange tree. She dropped chocolate spread from her bread onto her foot. She went to wash it off & started screaming. I went to see what was wrong & saw the lizard. Mom. We ran, yelling for you,  the other way around the house to get you. [I was sure someone had broken a limb.]
We took this picture from the back porch. It had climbed the wall by that time. I went across the street to see if some men working there wanted to kill it. They  like to eat them or sell them to the natural healers. They came with a fufu pounder to kill it, but it had jumped into the bush behind our house & they didn't brave the swamp to find it.
I wasn't getting any closer & had to take the picture with Elle hanging on me...so here is a better look if you want one.

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