"I'm back baby!"

Hey Everyone!!!!!

So it's been quite a while since the last post, but I swear I've been busy! Thank you to those of you who nagged-I mean encouraged me to write. Haha :)

I'd like to start out with a story for one of the church ladies. Our day guard/friend Daniel was in need of some boots. So he e-mailed me while I was in the States, and on the same day, a lovely church lady called and queried if there might be something that I needed to take with me to Ghana. Knowing I might never get a chance to get Daniel some boots, I said maybe some boots size 9? After 5 different stores, she was able to find boots that she was satisfied with. Bringing them to dinner along with perfect socks for the boots, (and some shirts and shorts for my after school kids club), I was amazed at the awesomeness of these boots. I got the steel toed boots in my bags and somehow God helped me to fit all my crud into 3 bags of 49 or 50 pounds each (just reaching the limit). PHEW! I arrived in Ghana, opened my bags, brought Daniel the boots, he immediately started raving about how incredibly awesome these boots were. When I was curious as to why he needed them, I found out it was SOCCER boots he needed. Soccer shoes! How could I be so dense!?!?! Two weeks later was last night, he asked if he could speak with me and the girls. He told us that he had been accepted into school and that if it was okay with us, our day and night guard would be switching duties. After many logistical talks, we asked what type of school he was accepted into. He said a building school. Architecture/design and best of all, he'll be helping to BUILD HOUSES!!!! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU CAN HELP TO BUILD HOUSES!?!?!?! STEEL TOED BOOTS!!!! At first I was DEEPLY depressed about the fact that there was a gi-normous miscommunication. But then God shined his light and was like, see guys, if you would ever just be patient enough to find out what I've got planned, you'll be ecstatic. So I am. And so is Daniel. HE SAYS THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO THE CHURCH LADY!!!!



So far we have had 3 birthday celebrations among us younger teachers (out of 14). We have 3 more in these next two weeks! It's CRAZY but wonderful because we have SO many excuses to eat cake and go out to dinner. Our pocket books are getting a little thin, but we're having a blast, and the best part? We have 9 new teachers and we have 6 birthdays to force us all out together to get to know one another!!!
p.s. NEW TEACHERS=FANTASTIC. They don't even read this blog so I'm not saying that just to flatter them! Each new teacher has new excitement for Ghanaian culture, for teaching, for LIVING! It is SO happily contagious and it's this GREAT refresher. We would love some prayers for no drama though, because we've had none so far, and we're all getting along so well, we would just love it if it stayed that way!



The first day of school FINALLY came! The school had undergone MAJOR GROWTH in student body and additions to the building over the summer. We jumped from 120 students to 160 in just 2 months! God is good! :) We also added on 3 classrooms, and extended 4 or 5 older classrooms, YAY! It's been a blessing and a curse. With the Ghanaian mentality at its strongest, the construction ended 15 days later than "planned". Which would have been fine if school wasn't supposed to start in the middle of those 15 days. We pushed the start date back which was nice and it gave us some extra time to prepare. The students were of course loving the extra days of vacation, but thankfully we roped 'em into coming in 5 days later. Here's a pic of one of my new classes. Crazy already, I love 'em!



During what WOULD have been the SECOND week of school and was actually the hectic day after school began, we had our first Lily Street Kids Club gathering. For two weeks we had been asked by every kid we met, "Sista Mek, shuld we com TEEUZ-DAY??" My reply was always "TWO TUESDAYS" "TWO TUESDAYS". Then all of a sudden two tuesdays arrived and the kids were banging on the gate. Now, I'm not sure how it happened. Maybe the kids cloned themselves or something, but instead of our normal high twenties, mid-thirties, SOMETIMES forty, became FIFTY-FIVE KIDS!!!!! Four of us were out there with 55 kids so "discipline" was difficult. We sang songs (that they all remembered-except for the new kids), listened to a Bible story, played with bubbles and chalk and a flatter-than-flat soccer ball, prayed and sat them on the wall to receive their drinking water and biscuit. It was Liz's turn to bring biscuits and confident she would have leftovers, she brought 48! This normally would have been plenty but we were dealing with 55!!! We rummaged around the house to find 7 more things to bring out, while they sat silently (MIRACLE) awaiting their snack. After we sent them on their way, we all collapsed on the ground and thanked Jesus for his mighty power and decided that next time we'd have a whistle handy. Thank you to those of you who have sent gifts for these kids, you have no idea how a little goes a long way around here. Thank you.



Speaking of a little going a long way...MY PARENTS SENT ME A PACKAGE AND IT GOT HERE IN ONLY 8 DAYS!!!!!!! That's the fastest package arrival in the HISTORY of my time here in Ghana. Remember the time my parents sent me a Christmas package that arrived in March?? hehe. Anyway, this package made me FREAK! 17 AGAIN-HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ripped open the package in our school's kitchen and immediately stomped my feet up and down in rapid succession while closing my eyes, throwing my hands in the air and shrieking like a little girl. Thank you Momma and Dad for bringing me such joy. THANK YOUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you.



DAY FOUR OF SCHOOL was the best day yet! We began a bitty study on the Egyptians before making our way to ancient Greece in World History. Last year I didn't feel as if I did an AMAZING job teaching this subject that I hardly knew about. As the wise old lady I am after one wholllee year of teaching it, (and talking to a few middle school history-teaching friends), I realized maybe I should make this stuff fun! So today, to study the 8 steps of embalming...we embalmed a kid. Don't worry he came back to life...and I dare say the boy was giggling while we took out his organs and sprinkled him with spices and oil. Maybe it was all a hoax, but hopefully they'll remember the day they got to embalm one of their peers.



And last but not least, a moment that MAY have been even greater than embalming a live student (not many things are)...was the moment when I walked in the orphanage and got STAMPEDED by the kids I saw just last week! Gosh it's SUCH AN AMAZING feeling to know every time, they are excited to see me, even though I'm only able to visit once a week. Can you imagine that that's how God feels whenever we spend time with Him!?!? EVERY SINGLE TIME we stop to say "Hey" or "By the way my Uncle's sick, could you do something about that?" He's just screaming and jumping up and down on the inside because He loves us so much. I don't know how He pays attention to all those prayer requests while He's loving us the way He does! Mystery.

Thank you ALL for your THOUGHTS and PRAYERS and LETTERS and PACKAGES and LOVE and LOVE and LOVE!
Thanks to those of you who read all the way 'til the end.
I miss you all already. Thanks for letting me come.
lovelove!
meg