Saturday night

Saturday night the current HCJB Global team here in Accra went out for dinner (except Joseph). We were celebrating a few things.

Here are Steve and Cyndie Iwan who just arrived to work with us in the office. They are SIMers who are on loan to us. Cyndie is helping at the missionary school here and Steve is doing all sorts of mechanical and technical things at the office. They have 4 children. Akwaaba! Welcome to Ghana. We are glad they are here.

We weren't specifically celebrating anything for Lee and Michelle but I had to take a picture of them:)







We were also saying an early farewell to Jeremy Maller. He has been here for almost 6 weeks and leaves at the beginning of March. But he will be back in June for two years as the Project Manager for the region.





Kevin and Dayna Garland are here for our big conference that starts on Weds. but they were able to come a week early to be tourists. We are so glad they were able to do that! Dayna works for HCJB Global in the communications department and Kevin is an IT man for a large company. I hope they can return to spend time with us again. It has been a blast having them here.

Cultural dancers and drums

This past Friday I had a very unique and wonderful experience. Dayna and Kevin Garland came to Accra for the meetings at the end of the month. (Dayna is in the communications dept. at HCJB Global.) Kevin has a strong interest in African music and is a drummer. Through a contact that Kevin and Dayna have they met an expert drum maker, Vergasto. After talking with him for quite awhile they all decided to work on making him a website where he can sell his drums directly. He is so good that music students from UC Berkley come here just to meet him. To do the website, Vergasto gathered
several friends to play with him and also some dancers to put on a real concert for us. Words cannot possibly do justice to the private show we were privileged to see. I hope to have a video link to what we recorded at some point. They were all amazing. Kevin, Dayna, Lee and I drove all the way to down town Accra to meet them at the Art Center. After waiting about 1 hour for everyone to show up we followed them to a little housing area near the ocean where they had rented a space for the show. Eventually we were surrounded by onlookers who enjoyed it all as much as we did. I am not sure I understood all
that the dancers were interpreting but they performed 5 or 6 dances from all over Ghana and even Africa. To say they were amazing is a gross understatement!! Dayna and I got a brief dance lesson - hers is on tape:) After about a 2 hour show and "recording session" we all carried the drums back to the road where the guys took over a tro tro and we piled in. And I mean piled in. About 15 drums of all sizes and 20 people. It was crazy. The two guys at the back were literally hanging out the door. Crazy but fun. It really was just a wonderful time to meet more Ghanaians and to see a new aspect of their culture. We even were able to have a brief talk of Christianity and
Rastafarianism after the concert was over. Opportunities to talk come in the strangest places sometimes:)

You can see more pictures of the dancers and drums by clicking the link to the left.

Dayna being hugged by several children- all at the same time.























I was taking pictures of the kids and then showing them how they looked in the digital screen. It was quite the hit. I suspect that many of them have never seen their own picture.









Getting some tips for Ghanaian dancing. This isn't your country line dancing that's for sure!!!











One of several beautiful onlookers for the concert. She is just precious.























Dayna being captured on "film" and video for her dance lesson. She did a great job!

Hail to the Chief!

President Bush arrives today in Ghana. I think that is so cool. Doubtful if I will see him other than possibly in a motorcade but still that is closer than I have ever been to a US President. My friend Stacey might get close to him. He works for the US Embassy here and has something to do with the President's security but from a distance. Anyway, we are all finding the whole thing very exciting. I wonder if I will get to see Air Force One fly over!!!

Update: My team and I went up on the balcony at Lee and Michelle's and we did see Air Force 1 fly by. It was pretty cool. Huge plane and remarkably quiet. That is the closest I have ever been to a US President:)

Patience is a virtue

Remember a couple entries back where I mentioned how relaxed I was at immigration when I was wearing my favorite jeans. Well I should have worn them again today. Wow was my patience tested by a lady at immigration. Michelle and I went back for the third time to immigration this morning with what we thought were all the appropriate papers that were needed. Wrong! The same lady that wasn't nice to us last time was there again and continued her testing of our patience and Christian love:) This time we didn't have the right papers to back up Lee's signature so after a bit of protesting - nicely - and asking what all we needed we drove to Dzorwulu where SIM Ghana has its headquarters. Auntie Ruby - the director- was able to give us her signature and the proper paperwork to back it up. See, Lee doesn't have all his paperwork b/c it is ...at immigration ..waiting to be renewed. Michelle and I were hoping that since his papers were already there that the two things could be connected...but no. So Auntie Ruby to the rescue - or so we thought. The person who typed the letters changed one little thing that has worked for them in the past but neither Michelle nor I caught it. We drive back to immigration and the lady points out that very change and says it has to be changed back to what it was for her to accept the papers. It was the difference between the words "Director of Immigration" and "Chief of Immigration". We tried to point out the vast similarity between the two words but to no avail. Back to SIM we go. I have to break in here to tell you the very funny thing that God sent us to help us keep our sense of humor. Men relieving themselves on the side of the road, the side of the sidewalk and most any place else is very common and not against the law here - unfortunately. As Michelle and I are walking back to the car there is just such a man doing what they do just outside her door. Of course I am laughing already b/c I am driving and she can't get in b/c he is there. So she is waiting at the back of the car trying to be nonchalant when he finishes and comes around the car. All he can say when he sees her is "when you gotta go, you gotta go". Michelle motions for me to move up as she doesn't want to enter the car at quite that point in the road. Can't say I blame her. We have a nice little laugh over that. Ok so we are going back to SIM to get the new paperwork and then whip around and hurry back to immigration before it closes. Finally, the lady gives us the stamp of approval and we are able to complete the rest of the process ...for today. I wonder if she was as sick of seeing us as we were of her:) Anyway, hopefully the visas will be ready on Friday as scheduled and we can get them to our partners/teammates coming from Malawi and Congo next week. Really and truly we praise the Lord for helping us through this process b/c it wasn't easy.

There were two things I enjoyed about today - well three. One was the driving. Yes, I really like it now and am trying to be as Ghanaian as possible when doing it:) Second - was the time spent with Michelle. Even though much of what we did was frustrating we still had a good time together and got several other things accomplished. Thirdly - I had some time to talk with Auntie Ruby who has lived in Ghana for I think over 30 years. Isn't that incredible?? In the few minutes we had she was really understanding and encouraging to me about the culture stress I am experiencing and that yes life in Ghana is hard. This is from a woman who really knows. I am understanding more why I am tired. It isn't just the heat and the running around to get almost anything done. A large part of it is the mental work. I am seeing more and more that my natural thought progression in a given situation is - of course - American and I have to really work to adjust to what is done here. That is the mental strain - and often emotional strain - that goes on. A simple thing like customer service. Now I know we don't expect a lot of that usually from government workers even in the states but I am talking more generally than the episode with immigration today. If I go to a store or office in the states, I expect to get at least most if not all of the employee's attention. And if their attention is distracted, there is usually an apology and attempt to make it right. Here that doesn't happen. Whether at the bank, the store, immigration, the money changing place...people are always stepping in front of you to ask a question or give a paper and the person working with you will answer 3-4 people at once as well as answer the phone. Somehow things almost always end up the right way but it is irritating at first to have all this confusion and not get the worker's attention. Believe it or not that simple situation takes a lot of mental work and prayer to remain calm and adjust to their way of doing things. The strain comes from doing this over and over in many, many different ways and situations.

My awareness of my surroundings is coming in layers. I have noticed this over the last few months. At first I was overwhelmed by the driving and the whole atmosphere of living here but as I have settled into it, I am seeing deeper into the community. Little things like seeing past the first line of houses to notice the church or mosque in my neighborhood. Or the fact that the chickens I see everywhere are hobbled in some form or another so they can't run too far or fly away. Unfortunately this seems to mean they only have one foot or leg so that is a little hard to look at. Or the fact that the men often seem to take a very active - and tender - role in caring for the children. Anyway, it is like the shock of the first layer is wearing off and now I can see underneath it...and then underneath the next layer, etc. Of course having to deal with government officials is a whole different layer but I am being exposed to it little by little and sooner or later the shock will wear off. Just like it did for the driving:) I find this process fascinating and tiring - ok and yes frustrating- but still interesting. Never a dull moment that is for sure.

On to things with more value

So I did enjoy watching the preliminaries and about 2 hours of the Daytona 500 yesterday. But I didn't watch the finish (and considering where Jeff Gordon ended up I am glad I didn't). I would have had to be up until after midnight to see the whole thing and there is just too much going on this week to do that. It is just entertainment after all and there are things of eternal significance that need attention. It was a nice little break though.

Next week we are hosting a conference for our partners around the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. We also have several colleagues joining us from the US. One couple arrived this past Friday for their first visit to Africa. They came early to get in some sight seeing before the conference. There is so much to do here that even in the two weeks they will be here they have really had to prioritize what they want to see and do. We will do the "usual" visitor things which include going to Kakum National Park to do the canopy walk, see Elmina slave castle and get at least a few hours at the beach. Then they have a few specific things that they want to do. In the middle of this we are trying to finish organizing the rest of the accommodations, visas and flight schedules for those attending the meeting. I don't anticipate that I will be doing any sight seeing with Kevin and Dayna as there is still plenty to do and I expect many last minute things to come up. In the midst of the work though there is an excitement as so far we have confirmation of attending the conference from every partner in SSA except one. And it will be neat to spend time with our friends and co-workers from HCJB who are coming in for the meetings.

I am happy to say that Eva is doing better. Although she has a slow road of gaining her strength back, the infection and fever are gone. It was determined that she did not have typhoid fever but instead had malaria and also a severe infection. Actually the doctor said that she was very close to septic shock and that is not good at all. We thank the Lord for protecting her in Liberia and for her not getting really sick until she was home where she could receive good care and attention.

I'll try really hard to keep the NASCAR references to a minimum on here. But I am so excited that Lee told me yesterday he will be getting some of the races on TV here. Can you imagine NASCAR in Africa? We think it is b/c there is a South African who is going to be racing on the circuit so the South African run DSTV will be airing some races. Very exciting! One last plug for Jeff Gordon before the Daytona 500 tomorrow.

(It is Sunday night and I am watching the Daytona 500 live!! Thanks to my boss for "giving" me his TV for a few hours.) Really feel home now!

A favorite thing

This is one of my favorite things to do... put babies to sleep. Those who know me well know I have an uncanny ability to do this. I don't know why - no I don't bore them to sleep:) Just rock them and cuddle them. This little girl is Hope. She is being fostered by someone at the missionary school where I was today and will be adopted soon. Isn't she adorable? This is the first time I have really done this since I got here. It was so wonderful!!

My Lucky jeans

I am wearing my Lucky jeans today. (Lucky being the brand name). My favorite jeans and a simple white t-shirt. Why am I telling you this? B/c I just realized today that most of the time when I wear this outfit it is when I want to feel home. It is so very American and I feel very American in it - especially the comfortable, "worn-in perfectly" jeans. I walk differently in them and my attitude is different -quite relaxed. Almost like a tourist. The cultural stress/shock has been pretty pronounced the last week or so. Some of it is just the cycle of it coming around again (the 9 month cycle) and some is due to me being sick recently and then taking care of Eva and Margaret while they were sick. Maybe I am just tired. But nonetheless cultural stress is making its presence known. Fortunately I am past the "I can't stand this place, get me out of here" phase and now am just feeling a little blue and homesick. So I put on my Lucky jeans and you'd be surprised how much it helps. Feels like home. A friend today told me that when his wife or his kids were homesick and feeling the culture stress that he made them a special food they liked that normally they didn't buy. It helped some. It was in talking to him that I realized that was why I was wearing my jeans today. Really it is way too hot for jeans but somehow that didn't bother me. I wasn't bothered waiting in the doctor's office with Eva for her follow-up visit. I wasn't bothered in immigration where the lady wasn't helpful at all and now we have to go back a third time for the papers we need. I wasn't bothered when we got home and the electricity was off at home and the office so I couldn't get anything done. I just wasn't bothered. These are some pretty powerful jeans aren't they? :) Just a little break from trying to fit in and not look quite so American. Tomorrow I'll be back to reality but today I am wearing my Lucky jeans. Feels like home.

Happy Valentine's Day

True Love is...

I am reading a book called "Sex God" by Rob Bell, Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church. As I say on the sidebar, don't be shocked by the title and certainly don't judge this book by its cover. I am going to share a passage from the book that really struck me about what true love is and how God demonstrated that to us. In light of tomorrow being Valentine's Day I think it is a good call:)

"The story the Bible tells is of a living being who loves and who continues to love even when that love is not returned. A God who refuses to override our freedom, who respects our power to decide whether to reciprocate, a God who lets us make the next move.

Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that they will hand it back because they don't want it. That's why it's such a crushing ache on the inside. We gave away a part of ourselves and it wasn't wanted.

Love is a giving away of power. When we love, we give the other person the power in the relationship. They can do what they choose. They can do what they like with our love. They can reject it, they can accept it, they can step toward us in gratitude and appreciation.

Love is a giving away. When we love, we put ourselves out there, we expose ourselves, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

Love is giving up control. It's surrendering the desire to control the other person. The two - love and controlling power over the other person - are mutually exclusive. If we are serious about loving someone, we have to surrender all of the desires within us to manipulate the relationship.

So if you were God - which I realize is an odd way to begin a sentence - but if you were God, the all-powerful creator of the universe, and you wanted to move toward people, you wanted to express your love for the world in a new way, how would you do it?....

If you're God and you want to express ultimate love to your creation, if you want to move toward them in a definitive way, you have a problem, because just showing up overwhelms people.

You wouldn't come as you are.

You wouldn't come in strength.

You wouldn't come in your pure, raw essence. You'd scare everybody away.

The last thing people would perceive is love.

So how would you express your love in an ultimate way? How do you connect with people in a manner that wouldn't scare them off but would compel them to want to come closer, to draw nearer?

You would need to strip yourself of all of the trappings that come with ultimate power and authority. That's how love works. It doesn't matter if a man has a million dollars and wants to woo a woman, if she loves him for his money, it isn't really love.

If you were an almighty being who made the universe and everything in it, you would need to meet people on their level, in their world, on their soil...like them.

This is the story of the Bible. This is the story of Jesus. ...

His (Jesus') entire life is about the stripping away of power and control. Jesus always chooses the path of love, not power. Inclusion, not exclusion. Connection and solidarity rather than rank and hierarchy. Touch rather than distance. Compassion rather than control. He comes on a donkey, not a horse. Weeping and broken, not proud and triumphant."

I'll stop here before I quote the whole book:) It just struck me in a fresh way how much God loves us that He would send Jesus to be on our level to connect with us. Just as in earthly relationships where we can move toward or away from someone, we can do the same with Jesus. And yet He never stops loving us and never turns away. Talk about amazing love!

I encourage you to read this book. Perhaps it will impact you as it is impacting me.

Harmatan

The harmatan has effectively been blown away. For those who don't know...the harmatan is the fine dust that is blown down from the Sahara Desert on a yearly basis. It hangs in the air making it difficult to see normal things like...the sun...and it puts layers of dust on everything it comes in contact with. For example, when it was here I could wipe the kitchen counter 4-5 times a day and each time the cloth would be dark brown with the dust. It does play havoc with the sinuses. But the nice thing about it is that b/c it hangs in the air and blocks the sun, the temperatures are quite cool for here and there is little humidity. About last Tuesday, I woke up and knew that the harmatan was starting to leave b/c I could feel the rise in humidity (yes otherwise known as starting to sweat). So now it is pretty much gone and we are about to enter -from what I am told- the hottest part of the year. Apparently Feb-April are going to be scorchers. Yikes. I am learning that we have three basic seasons here sweat, dust and rain:) It will be great once we get our first good rain b/c it will clear the dust from trees and plants and fresh new growth will be everywhere. I can already see new leaves on the bushes from a slight rain we had on Saturday. Ok the weather lesson is over.

(You can see from the picture that the lake and hills right in front of where I am standing to take the picture are barely visible. That is b/c of the harmatan. Normally they are crystal clear.)

By the way

I am sad to say that the Ghana Black Stars lost to Cameroon last Thursday by a score of 0-1. The winner of the Africa Cup of Nations is Egypt. Now I imagine that life and traffic will get back to normal.

Oh and the Daytona 500 is Sunday. Have I mentioned that already? :)

Monday night

Poor Eva has spent more time in the doctor's office lately than in probably her whole life - well maybe not but I am sure she feels like it. I know I do. Today we went to the doctor's office for a follow up visit and he wasn't pleased with her progress. She was still quite ill and very dehydrated despite our best efforts at home to thwart that. After several tests and hours at the doctor's office, he put her on an IV drip to re-hydrate her. Michelle, Eva and I were all thankful that Dr. Kanda could do that at the office as the other option was going to a hospital. We are all now back at home and the patient is resting fairly comfortably. There is still a long ways to go but we are hopeful that the worst is behind us. Margaret has taken over the nursing job from me for the evening and I am grateful for the rest. Eva is working hard at trying to drink and eat even though she really doesn't want to. I can certainly understand that.

I am thankful for the little things today like having our internet back up and working, having electricity right now and knowing that many people are praying for all of us living here. Thank you all for your prayers and for "listening" to me as I write about the weekend. :)

A most difficult weekend...

It is Monday morning and I am still feeling the effects of a very challenging and exhausting weekend. I am physically tired and emotionally fragile but somehow I sense that God is with me and for me as I wrote in my previous entry. In that entry I described how Friday Eva took very ill and we spent much of the day trying to get medical care. On Sat. she was a bit better but still very sick. And on Sunday, we took a huge step backwards as her fever in the morning again was just over 103 degrees. Margaret and I were quite distressed as we had been giving her all her meds and still she was doing poorly. It is amazingly hard to stand and watch someone suffering with chills and headache and stomach ache and burning with fever and be able to do very little to alleviate it. We sponged her and got some Advil down her but it took over an hour to get the fever down. Dr. Kanda was wonderful in that he answered our calls on Sunday morning and had us call back a couple of times with updates. The fever did break enough that we didn’t need to drive her to the office. For me personally, all this was compounded by the fact that I was really exhausted from 3 nights of very little sleep – partially due to checking on Eva and partially due to being so hot from not having electricity. The concern for Eva was weighing heavy on me but I kept crying out to the Lord for help and wisdom and He did give it. Margaret stayed home from church with me and we spent most of the day in the kitchen where we were close to Eva’s room and could check on her frequently. The electricity was off for a record almost 16 hour run – from Sat. at 7:30pm to Sunday noon -which was frustrating and distressing. Margaret and I sat together in the still of a Sunday morning in the kitchen reading, talking, being quiet, praying and eventually cooking. It was interesting to us that in the middle of all this our internet was gone and we couldn’t even send out an SOS for prayer to our respective prayer teams. But God alone knows why it was this particular time that it happened. On the practical level the internet was off b/c of two mistakes – one mine and one Margaret’s. In the midst of being ill and taking care of sick roommates, I didn’t pay the internet bill on time and they are very quick to cut any service like this if you don’t pay early or on time. On Friday b/c the internet wouldn’t connect Margaret hit the reset button on the wireless box which effectively wiped out all connections. So between the two of us we took care of our internet for the weekend:) Live and learn. The electricity and internet issues were really rather small in the midst of Eva’s illness but somehow they were large to me as I was so tired and frustrated. Once Eva’s fever broke, Margaret and I took a small rest and it did wonders for both of us. It never ceases to amaze me how being tired can skew things so much. The electricity came on and the afternoon was better all around. Eva was more comfortable, I had a better perspective on life and Africa, and Margaret started cooking which she loves. We thanked the Lord several times for electricity and for helping us through the morning. I was reminded several times that the Lord is for me even in the midst of a tiring and stressful weekend. He never left me and brought me strength and patience when I cried out to Him. Please pray for Eva for continued and complete healing and for rest for her mind. She worries about the burden she is putting on us and Michelle no matter now much we tell her we love her and are glad she is with us so we can care for her. And please pray for Margaret and me as we care for her and also try to get our respective jobs done. The big conference we are hosting here is just in a couple of weeks and there is much to be done for that – most of which is my responsibility. I know that God is and will help me to accomplish it. I just need to trust Him and not panic:) Thank you for praying.

One of those days...

(This one is a little long but those of you who like to read about daily life in Africa might find it worth your time)

Thursday night I woke up when the electricity cut off. It came back on a few minutes later – well partially. See electricity here runs in phases. I am not an electrician and don’t understand all the details but from what I understand different parts of the house run on different phases. So this means that half the house will have electricity and the other half won’t. And when I say half I don’t mean any kind of orderly split down the middle. It is odd but it means that some of the switches in one room will work and the others won’t – even if they are side by side –and this is throughout the house. On this particular night the phase that stayed off was the one that happened to run my AC and my ceiling fan. Honestly I could live without the AC but the ceiling fan is really hard to do without – partly b/c of the heat and partly to keep the occasional mosquito from doing fly bys with my ears. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep that night and I was rather cranky in the morning . Upon waking up Friday morning, my roomie, Eva, came in to tell me she was sick and had had a fever in the night. She thought she had malaria. So being the angelic missionary that I am I got irritated and stated sharply that every time she gets sick it isn’t malaria. Yes, I did repent of that incredibly selfish response to someone stating they are ill! Then I did the right thing and went to her room to see what was going on. She was burning up with fever – 103- and very hot to the touch. B/c of other symptoms she described I was pretty sure it wasn’t malaria and actually was afraid it was something much more serious. After talking with Margaret, Michelle and a missionary doctor on the phone, we arranged to get her to a local doctor. My friend, John, had recommended awhile ago a doctor that was trained in the states and that is where we took her. Before we got that far, we had a lot of coordinating to do as Michelle had an appointment for our new colleagues to meet with someone to look at a house, I absolutely had to go to the bank that day to get money for some plane tickets (it isn’t as easy to do either of those things as you might think – get plane tickets or get money from the bank) and Margaret had a meeting (which she was able to reschedule). But the priority was Eva and so after much juggling and phone calling, Margaret and I were on the road with our patient. I have to say the highlight of the day for me was Dr. Kanda. He was kind, patient and thorough in his examination of Eva and if I get sick I will be seeing him. He understands the American mentality of medicine since he was trained in NY and practiced there for awhile and as he is Ghanaian he understands the African mentality of medicine. Here is one example of that difference. In America, generally speaking, even though we know the cure may be uncomfortable, even painful, we will go to the doctor to see what is going on if we are sick enough. So we often take the pain of the cure over the pain and unknown of the disease. In Africa it is generally the opposite. Partly b/c of cost and partly b/c of fear of the cure, an African will take the pain of the disease over the fear of the pain of the cure until the disease gets so bad it may cost them their life. In Eva’s case the doctor was actually afraid she had gotten that far. As best as he could tell without having access to a CT scan, she has typhoid fever and in danger of a perforated (torn) bowel. Something she surely got while in Liberia due to the poor living conditions there and contaminated water and food. B/c of her symptoms he wanted us to get an ultrasound scan of her abdomen. This proved to be an excessively frustrating endeavor. He sent us to the “best” place which was on the other side of town. We get there and are told that the doctor had something come up and he left and wouldn’t be back until 1pm. It is 12 so we wait b/c at least Eva can lie down in the car. At 1:30pm he isn’t back and knowing how things can be he could be gone for another hour or the rest of the day. The thing is that once we get the scan we have to wait for the results and take them back to the MD. No phone calls, etc. here. We call Dr. Kanda and he sends us to a different place closer to his office. After fighting traffic we get to Medlab only to have them tell us in no uncertain terms that they don’t take walk-ins even if they come in as an emergency. I was not pleased and really was on my last nerve by this point (being tired never helps anything!). Back to the doctor’s office we go without the scan. He rechecks Eva and determines that some of the disconcerting symptoms have responded to the meds he gave earlier and says to go home and continue with the meds, monitor her and call him if there are any problems. The long and short of it is that Eva is better this morning (Sat.) but we will keep watching her. This whole process took from 9:30am until 3pm. Margaret was able to stay with Eva for the rest of the afternoon while I ran to work to do some necessary things. I have to say that b/c of the fatigue, concern for Eva, other stresses in life and the frustration with my first “real” experience with healthcare here I was not at all liking living in Africa right now. After being at the office and having dinner with my team I come home to find the internet is not working. After the electricity went off when we turned everything back on the wireless wouldn’t connect to the server. (and yes everything is on a stabilizer and an external power supply). Someone in their desire to fix the internet hit the reset button on the wireless box which unfortunately did what it said – reset everything. Now it won’t work until our IT friend, George, comes and fixes it on Sunday. I am so tired, frustrated and down right mad that I go to bed b/c really no one should have to be around me when I am like that. Why am I writing all this? Well apart from sharing about life here – even though this is not a daily occurrence – I woke up this morning (Sat.) still thinking about it all and experiencing this almost crushing pain on my chest that was homesickness. Some of it I am sure is just wanting to be where things are familiar and seemingly easy – although life and medical care in the states are not a cake walk. (It is so easy to think that life is easy over there when I am struggling here but that isn’t true). The primary thing that is on my mind this morning is a sentence from Ps. 118 that struck me a couple of days ago in a deep and meaningful way. It brought me great joy and comfort and peace that morning. But today and yesterday it seemed, at least in some ways, that life conspired to test my core belief in that very same statement. The statement is in verse 6 and again in 7 – “The Lord is for me…” Although there are many wonderful encouragements in the whole chapter this phrase was what I focused on. So today I am thinking “do I still believe that the Lord is for me in light of the frustration of yesterday and the homesickness of today”? Or did it only mean something on Thursday when I felt God giving me victory over some stresses in my life and mind? B/c yesterday I didn’t feel victorious at all! Do I believe what I read in His word or do I believe what I feel and what circumstances around me suggest – that God has forgotten me in the stress and frustration of this life that I am living? Right now I am listening to a song by Russ Lee called “Live what I believe”. The line “gonna live what I believe” is challenging me to look at what I believe. So right now in the middle of laundry and cleaning and taking care of Eva I am stating to myself and to you that I am gonna live what I believe. And I believe that God’s word is true and that if He says that He is for me, then He is – period – no matter what is going on in life. It doesn’t take away the stress and struggle of living but it starts me on the path to focusing on Him and who He is rather than on me and my circumstances. And may He help me as I crawl down that path b/c I do feel like a baby right now in this journey. But my loving Father is for me and He is helping me. The whole verse says this…The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Even now I hear Him saying, “hang in there. I am for you.” Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

Feb. 17 is a big day

I just had to mention that the Daytona 500 is Feb. 17th. The beginning of the 2008 NASCAR season. (Thanks for letting me put in that little plug.) Go Jeff Gordon!!

Oh yeah and tonight the Ghana Black Stars play Cameroon in the first semi-final game of the Africa Cup of Nations. Go Black Stars.

Ghana beats Nigeria 2-1!!!!

The whole gang going to the Fan Park to watch Ghana beat Nigeria on a big screen with thousands of excited Ghanaians (and a few other obronis). It was neat to go as a group because eveyone that is in the office right now was able to go. Could we look any sillier? :)

L-R: Jeremy Maller (our new regional Project Manager), Jonathan Callus (teacher at missionary school -AIS), Eva, me, Michelle, Lee and their son TJ. And down in front - Cebu the guard dog:)
Not pictured but went with us: John Schindler (friend) and Joseph Kebbie (our Training Co-ordinator- he was taking the picture)




Yes, this is my boss - Lee Sonius. And yes, he is into football and the national fever for the Ghana Black Stars as much as anyone. Actually the nationals just love it and were honking and waving to him (and all of us) as we rode to the game yesterday.



















Well.....when in Rome.....

(I just had to borrow Lee's goofy hat for a minute. Can't take myself too seriously can I?)

I don't know if you realize how important to national pride a football tournament like this is here. There is no way to adequately describe the electricity and fun and camaraderie that is around the whole country right now. If they win the cup it will be unbelievable.

At the Fan Park last night after each goal and the win, everyone was dancing and shouting and singing and hugging whomever was near them. It was crazy and wonderful all at the same time.