33.5 weeks

Tomorrow is my 34 week visit to the Clinic. This little one is growing quickly for an introduction into the real world. Baby growth is my growth too. Not just belly size but in walking cheerfully even though I'm slow & to play it cool even when I'm drenched in sweat. I'm leaving the stage of "It's delightful to be pregnant" and entering "I'll do anything to give birth someday soon".

And that little-big self titled princess in the blue dress? She is one excited big sister. She is busy convincing me she can paint her own nails, her eggs really do taste like chicken ( a bad thing on that morning) & that we must name the baby......(I'll never tell ;) )

She prayed this week that our baby would be cute & nice & that she/he won't get dead. From her mouth to God's ears.

gone

What's gone?

Christmas.

And all the Christmas paper & treats that hid in the bottom of the freezer. We enjoyed our Advent calendar so much this year. Taking time each evening to teach the kids Christmas songs, accompanied by Jon on the guitar, made some great memories. They are still singing "I, Said the Monkey from the Rafters High" & "Go Tell it on the Mountain." It is humbling that basically what they learn about the Christmas season comes from us. That thought made us more intentional about the holidays. And that's a tradition we plan on keeping.

 

 

Crackers for a snack at the pool on Christmas Eve.

 A tradition I recommend.

 

What's gone?

2012.

And all the hopes & question marks we had about our 'middle' year here.

 

We had a party-cancelled, power-out, move the mattresses to the living room, cheese & cracker snack & America's Funniest Home Videos kind of New Year's Eve party. The children? Disappointed in changed plans but quite happy with alternate plan. Jon & I didn't complain either. They bounced. We relaxed.

Though we weren't posting here, we were experiencing the holidays. Our second year away from the many delights & obligations of a Pennsylvania Christmas was a quiet one. The good times were spread out over a few weeks. They included our Christmas Eve tradition of going to the pool, a quiet start to Christmas Day & a noisy ending at a church Christmas party, a table full of friends for a holiday dinner that began with (gasp) appetizers, a missionary retreat early in January ...relaxing & fun.

 Juanita & I doing food prep. She & Jonathan made some amazing onion rings for the appetizer table. We ate, talked for a few hours & ended up eating our meal around 5pm. It was the Bontrager, Groff, Sauder extended family Christmas dinner. Now that feels like the holidays I'm used to. :)

We blessed Marilyn & Ray Weaver many times over for the amazing ham. We thanked God also. It got 'lost' coming here in a tote in November. He saved it for us & we enjoyed it with no worry of it having spoiled. Thanks again!

 

 

Rory & Elliot are enjoying breakfast by the beach at the missionary retreat in early January.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. Funny faces over hot dogs for breakfast. And Milo to drink (hot chocolate-ish drink people enjoy for breakfast). These two are about 6 months apart in age & have developed quite a friendship. They disappear before we know it & are off looking for trouble. :) The best kind of 4 year old trouble, of course. Hope this partnership lasts a very long time!

 

 

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.