Field Day

So last week we had a fabulous Friday, dedicated completely to having fun and enjoying fellowship with our students. It was a BLAST. The entire school was split up into 16 teams (like the world cup). These 16 teams were labeled countries that are currently qualifying for the South African World Cup 2010. Kids from all ages were on each team, so it was crucial that everyone work together. So here's some of what we did:

Our first match was the Over-Under Sponge Relay.



It was Germany vs. Honduras (my team being Germany of course "Bauhof" and my buddy Anne-Clair being Honduras because she loves Honduras). They ended up winning that one.



But we still got to soak a 2nd grader!! That's always fun!



Steal the Bacon was the next game,



which as you can see by our reaction, we won!



Then we played my FAVORITE GAME OF THE DAY...REAL LIVE BATTLESHIP! We had two classrooms so the teams couldn't see each other and messengers that go back and forth to call out the seats...and if we hit 'em and sink all their ships we win, same goes for them. Luckily our shots were dead on because we sunk 'em all!!



After another game (Snowball Fight-with paper balls), that I didn't get pictures of because I was too busy playing, I found some All-Star friends during break :)



Blindfolded Musical Chairs was next. Yes, if you don't sit down when the music stops you get kicked out, but a SECOND person gets kicked out when a number is pulled and it ends up being their chair's number. This evened the big-kid verses small-kid playing field.



Before Sumo Wrestling, we took a team picture. Remember, Germans don't smile for pictures.



Now we didn't have those fancy suits that you put on with the short arms and the big bellies, but we did have couch cushions and carpets! Knock your opponent off the carpet-EVEN by a toe-and you've won!



Jedi-Block was next where you use a noodle to block the paper balls from landing in the buckets.



There was another game, some prisoner/volleyball game that I still don't understand, but somehow we tied that one. With a bunch of wins AND losses...we realized Germans WEREN'T always number one, but they're still really cool. haha :)

After lunch, we had a soccer match. It was supposed to be high school verses the Ghanaian staff members and their barefoot magic from childhood. Not enough of them showed up on time, so my friend Ben and I subbed in. Here's the high school...thinkin' they awesome.



After a lot of hard play, we had each scored one goal. And the game had gone on long enough that Mr. V called it time for Penalty Kicks. A few of the staff scored and a few of the students scored. Keep in mind of few of them missed as well. It came down to the sixth kick. For some reason the "captain" (our plumber from school), thought I should take the last kick. ha...THE GOAL IS LIKE 7 FEET WIDE-FIRST OF ALL...so I took the kick-if I didn't score-the students were gonna win...



I know the kick LOOKS really cool, but I missed outside the post of the SUPER TINY NET (remember), and the onslaught of celebratory students invaded the field. It was a good day for student bonding....and a bad day for my ego.



The very last activity for the day was mysterious for the entire school because nobody knew what "The Box Game" was. Mr. V wouldn't tell us either! Half of us were sent up to a classroom and the other half was to stay outside and "play the game". It was nerve wrecking while we waited and when we finally were called down to participate, the laughter was endless. You were supposed to pull up the boxes that were set on the table and shout out what was beneath them as fast as you could. So the first one was a football, then next came a basketball, next a yellow ball, next a soccer ball, and finally under the last box was...



MR. BEN'S HEAD!!!! AHHHHHH!!!! The reactions were priceless. What a great way to end the day!!! I have one last post where I'll talk about this week and Thanksgiving and all of that. Hopefully that will get done tonight. Thanks all for your patience!!! I hope everyone's Thanksgivings were WONDERFUL! :)

Merry-almost-Christmas!!!!! :)
Love
Meg

November in Aburi

So, the first few weekends in November, a few of my friends and I went to visit Auntie Jean. Auntie Jean, the preschool teacher at our school, originally from New Zealand, was married and has been living here in Ghana with her family of 5 for about 15 years. She lives about one hour outside of Accra, where the buildings are farther apart and there are rolling hills of green. A few weeks ago was my first visit "up to the mountain" (this is what she calls it-because it is a higher elevation than Accra). She had been needing help to clear some land for her children's ministry. "Children of the Light" has been a Christian, reading, teaching after school program that Auntie Jean started in her area about 5 years ago. It has been a growing mission for so long and has an established reputation in the surrounding town of Katasie (which is in the region headed towards Aburi). While walking towards the land area, there were children calling her name from all directions. She has TRULY shown these kids the Lord, and it was an incredible blessing to see for at least a short period of time.

We were prepared for some hard work and a mind-clearing time out of the city, and that's exactly what we got...

Heading from the road to the land is this trail a few inches wide. Before you get into the thick of it, though, you start out with a beautiful view of the hills...



Once we arrived, there was plenty of work to be done. The strong manly men started by working together to move an enormous rock.



Before it was pulled high, and while their hands were all underneath it, the following creature popped out and everyone IMMEDIATELY stopped what they were doing...



We made sure to take care of it after the picture was taken, but this was the largest scorpion most of us had ever seen. Most likely even larger than some we've seen in zoos!!!

In order to plant grass-to make all the weeds go away-we needed to clear a bunch of rocks, and this is how they were carried to the rock pile....totally African right??



Once we were all tuckered out for the day, we took a group picture and headed home, until the next time. You can see all of the brown land, and the next week when we showed up, it was all covered in grass seed. What an accomplishment!!



The next week, we got RIGHT to working on the next section of uncleared land. Ben started and machete-cut an area about 10 x 10 feet. It was super-fast!



While he was doing that, the other Ben was yanking out stumps left and right!



Meanwhile I was working on some major weedage with Christy and the other Meg.



After tuckerin' ourselves out again, Auntie Jean offered to serve us lunch! Yummy!! :) Her 5th grade son was cooking this cabbage stew over the fire and keeping watch on the rice, while she was organizing and working hard.



One of her boys offered more meat for the stew:



we said, "No, thanks!"

It was a wonderful lunch of rice and stew and it was such a blessing to spend the morning up "on the mountain". Thank you Lord for your land and for our knowledge and abilities to cultivate it. Amen!

Hey all...I just wanted to comment on a sermon I heard this morning by John Piper (desiringgod.com). It really hit me in the gut, so I wanted to share...

The sermon was based on John 5:31-47. So quick refresher, before that Jesus was doing a bunch of things on the Sabbath, so the Jews were persecuting him (even though he goes, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”-John 5:17 BAM!). NOW...ut-oh, Jesus was not only breaking the Sabbath, but NOW he was calling God his father!! Between verses 17 and 30 there is a bunch of really good stuff that Jesus used as an answer to them that you should read, but the sermon keyed in on John 5:31-47, so here are the red letters:

If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. You accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?

I couldn't believe how strongly these verses were shouting at me. Reminding me that it's GOD'S glory that we're working for and not man's. We look SO OFTEN for the reassurance of parents and friends and family, when in reality, it's HIS opinion that we should be looking to first and foremost. Reread it and let it push you to your limits.

Love from Ghana

Meg

Starbucks

I forgot to update you pray-ers on my hoarse-voice issues...

About a week ago, my mother called me from her CELL PHONE, so I knew that it was urgent. She found out that a friend of hers had had these SAME voice issues for a while and realized it was the acidity in the stomach that was scratching the esophagus! Yikes! So big fat diet change for this girl. Just about everything I eat is on the acidic list: coffee, tea, chocolate, tomatoes, etc...

SADDEST NEWS YET: NO COFFEE!!!!!

So my 7th Graders who have been with me for the last year and a half, have gotten to know me very well. Whenever I miss my coffee in the morning, they know. So the day after the call with my mother, that was the first question asked when I walked into the classroom. When I replied with, "I no longer will be drinking coffee at all," I was met with explosive bursts of laughter. They obviously know how much I love my freshly ground home-made Starbucks in the morning. It's been about a week and I still get comments such as, "Let's all bring in coffee and drink it right in front of Miss B!" or, "Hey, don't yell at Miss B, everyday is a bad day for her, she can't drink coffee anymore...muahaha." Funny kids. All of this joking reminded me about how much I love this class. They have been such a little comfort family for me. They know my strengths and weaknesses and support me when I'm down. I had about 5 different offers to bring me coffee-flavored toffees and the MOST supportive was when a student brought me these a few days later:



Can you believe it? These socks are SOOO comfortable and make me want to jump into sweatpants and curl up under a huge comforter and watch a movie. Of course, those thoughts are quite counterproductive at school-so I've decided these should be weekend socks. :) Besides my students, my friends have all been aiding me in my new and improved diet and encouraging me whenever I need it.

Even though this might seem like a trivial situation, it has been a not-so-trivial reminder that we all need our brothers and sisters in Christ to lean on every once in a while. Don't struggle on your own guys!! Get some power pray-ers on your side!

Thank you to all of you who CONTINUE to pray for my well being and the mission here in Ghana. I'm so so so so so grateful to all of you. PLEASE enjoy your week and let me know of any prayers that I can send to Jesus for you :)

Oddly October

Can you all believe October is over already!?!?! There's lots to cover so let's hop to it! The first Friday of the month of October was STUNNING. First, in the morning we had two students' (whose families had been reassigned to other countries) last days. Before the tears came we had to live it up and take a goofy picture one last time. :)



It was a mix of emotions, but we supported each other through it. That night we got to watch a soccer match! Our housemates upstairs decided to have a Mexican Fiesta-themed party. The fajitas, chips, and CHEEESSSEEE were all fabulous! MMMMMM! For the evening we borrowed a TV so that we could watch the Finals of the Under 20 World Cup. After an INTENSE 90 minutes of play, the two teams battled it out in overtime, only to continue into penalty kicks to decide the win. We were ALL on our toes in the sitting room, sweating for the team. When the final kick was made, the inside AND outside of our house EXPLODED in cheers/screams/car horns. This was the VERY first time in history that an African team had won this tournament, and it got to be us! GO GHHAANNNNAAAAAAAA!!!!!!



Elyse and I went walking on the street to pick up a few things after our guests had all left and we were greeted with constant yelling and honking coming from every corner of our neighborhood. There was even a point when a car was stopped in the street so some boys could reenact the winning penalty in front of the headlights. What FANTASTIC national spirit. I love it!

Running on my excitement high I escaped to my room to dive into the packages I received during the school day. BELATED BIRTHDAY GIFTS!!! One had my own little party in a bag. My roommates had all gone to sleep, so I had my little party on my own-and might have passed out from all the sugar...



The next had one of the most hilarious things I've ever received in a package (except for Mr. Mines's garbage my first year). It was a special kind of wig, and on Monday, my students couldn't keep themselves from trying it on. :)









HILARIOUS. Thank you both for those packages! What FABULOUS friends you are!!!

Speaking of fabulous friends, what a friend my mom was the other day when she called to tell me it was Zac's birthday on the 21st. SO glad I didn't forget. Immediately, Amanda helped me to use the party-in-a-bag supplies to help him celebrate. Hooray for Troy Bolton! hehe



We had storybook character day on Friday the 30th. Character Day/Halloween is always one of my favorite days of the year. Everyone's creativity is shown and most people are genuinely happier. I'm always excited when things are present that make people happier. Here are some wonderful 6th graders :)



Half of 7th Grade



8th Grade-Not only did he DRESS but he could MOONWALK just "Like Mike". Amazing!



TEACHERS!!! So we didn't dance, but we sure looked good!




The next night was Halloween. We had all grown up trick or treating and were quite sad remembering that it would be another year, without door to door candy. We were, however, able to dream up a pumpkin carving substitute! Watermelons!!! The best part??? You can eat all that "gooky" stuff inside RIGHT when you yank it up! Amanda and I worked together to create this masterpiece.



After a soccer ball, we wrote the word BLACK and drew a STAR, to show our passion for our Ghanaian football team the BlackStars. Plus, our guard was the one who was going to judge the pumpkins and we knew his greatest passion besides Jesus was soccer. Isn't everyone's???





We didn't stop at carving. We pulled our precious candles and stuck them inside, lit 'em up, and turned off the lights. We were hushed by the comfort we felt immediately. Somehow, friends blessed us with a package of pumpkin seeds that we baked and chewed on while basking in the feeling of home.



Speaking of home, two of my favorite people in the whole world had birthdays since my last post, my sister and my dad!!! So if you see them, please wish them a HAPPY belated birthday. I love you two so so so so so so so so much. I hate that I couldn't be there to celebrate with you.

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to check out a video made by a fabulous friend and co-teacher of mine, please copy and paste this link into your browser and check it out! It is a great reminder that God is able to do all things, He loves ALL people, and is constantly changing lives all around the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWa-vGUBmM4

Love love!!!!!