First School Week Update.

School has started.  This past week, school opened on Tuesday.  The first 4 days are used to clean the school and grounds prior to classes formally starting next week.  I found this week to be exciting, challenging, a big learning experierence and shocking.

The teachers actually started by having a meeting last Saturday where I was introduced and Dan discussed some issues and changes which he hoped would occur in this next Term.  It seems that while Dan was in the states, two of the teachers had a big disagreement between themselves and displayed their anger in front of the whole school.  Dan and the school leaders decided that this would not be tolerated under any circumstances, so both of these teachers were "Sacked".  Unfortunately, one of the teachers was a very big asset to the school over-all and so his skills and presence will be missed.  I had met this particular teacher last year and am very sad that he took part in such a public and disruptive display. But I do agree with the decision wholeheartedly.

On Tuesday morning, the students arrived and quickly began cleaning the entire school building.  All the chairs and tables were removed from the classrooms for thorough cleaning.  They worked pretty hard all day, sweeping, mopping, washing windows, cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms and offices.  We also had an assembly where I was introduced to the students and Dan explained to the students the expectations for this Term to them.  Before the assembly started, I asked the students to teach me the school song.  Well they sang it beautifully, but I will need more teaching!  Slow learner....

Wednesday, the student arrived and the work for the day was to cut the grass on the lawn.  Now, you may wonder why it would take 300 students to do this.  Well they cut the grass by hand with a "cutlass" or long flexible blade.  This is very hard work and the temperature is about 92 with 110% humidity.  They worked hard and finished by noon.  So after lunch, we had an all school assembly and taught them a new song in English.  "Heavenly Sunlight".    All of the students will come to the Central Takoradi Church of Christ this next Sunday to worship.  They will sing this song with the church members.




The students were so excited to see the new bus.!



Thursday, the students cleared the weeds along the roadway and entrance to the school.  Again after lunch, we worked on learning "Heavenly Sunlight".  I will type the words for them to have in their hands on Sunday.
The teachers and I worked on the class schedules for the Term.  There are 6 basic classes (Fashion Design, Catering I and II, Hairdressing, Draftmanship, and Textiles.  The English, Entreprenuership and ICT (computer) classes are held two times a week in each of the basic classes.  And now Health, which I will teach, will be added to each class once a week.

On Friday mornings, the students have Chapel for one hour.  It is like a devotional time.  Brother Kofi, is a preacher from one of the neighboring village churches.  He delivers the lesson, but the students lead the singing and prayers.  When they first started to sing, they sang "This is the Day that the Lord has Made.".  Great song, but they sang it like a funeral song or worse.....So I got up and told them what the words to the song meant and then I sang it for them.  After I finished, we then all sang it together with smiles on our faces and a step in our beat!. :)  After Devo, the students worked on repairing the bamboo fence in the front section of the property until lunch.  We had an early lunch and then assembly again to continue learning "Heavenly Sunlight" and now a song in a native dialect "Fante". 

All in all, a great week!  Next week the learning truly begins for both the students and me!

Travegators and craters.....

I was driving throught the craters the other day in my little Mitsubishi Eclipse when Linda told me to put on my "Travegator"!  Travegator!....What is a Travegator?!  It is so hard to decipher the Ghanaian English while trying to avoid being sucked into the abyss by a crater in the road.  The picture I am showing you can not truly capture the treachery of driving most roads in Ghana. 

Remember, this is not just one road in one place.  This is every road to everywhere!

I am, as are every other driver, constantly moving from left to right to center and back again to dodge the BIG ONES!



Yes, most roads are two lane road just as we have in America.  Yes, in Ghana we drive on the right side on the road just as in America.  However, due to the size and frequency of the craters in the road, sometimes the right side of the road is actually the left side of the original road, because the left side is now the area to the left of the road.  Sometimes, the middle of the road is the left side and/or the right side of the road.  Sometimes the left side is the right side and the right side is the left side.  And sometimes every side goes both ways!  And then after it rains, anyones' guess goes.....

 



When I am driving down these roads, I find myself holding my breath, clinching my teeth, grabbing the steering wheel so hard I have "really white knuckle" and frequently saying "Ouch" out loud as I imagine the pain and suffering this car is enduring.  And in the middle of all of this, I am now trying to figure out what "put on my Travegator" means.  Talk about brain over-load!  I mean there are cars on either side of me, some coming at me, some passing me and people attempting to walk along side of you with BIG loads of goods balanced on their heads trying to sell you items as you drive.  "Travegator".....what?!



So this is where British English, Ghanaian English and American English meet.  I am sure some of you have already figured out the "Travegator".  In Britich English it is a "Tafficator", in Amerian it is a signal light (blinker).  This has been my Ghan-english word for the week...Travagator.  So now as I drive through the craters, dodging the other cars, and watching for all the pedestrians with BIG loads on their heads, I know that I am "Travegating".



This make me think about the "narrow" road to Heaven and my journey on that road.  There have been many, many detours from the right side to the left side of that road.  And, yes, I have fallen into many craters, both BIG and small.  And there have been many "pedestrians" along the way with all their "baggage" who have attempted (and sometimes managed) to stop me on my way.  But I praise the Lord today, because I know that Jesus, My Lord and Savior is my "Travegator".  He will help me to stay on the narrow road if I will only look to him for the way. 

Matt. 7:13-14  Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Have you found your "Travegator"?  Jesus is waiting for you.  Let him be your "Travigator".



 





Obrunies!! AND Fruit.....

It has been a few days since I lasts updated you.  I visited Village of Hope on Monday - Wednesday of this week.  I had never been there before.  The college group from MRCC came in Monday night...So I was surrounded by "Obrunies"!  (White people).  I did feel bad for Linda, my ghanaian friend.  She spent more time in the kitchen cooking than seeing the campus.  She said she wanted to learn how to prepare American foods for me.

Jeff and his group were wonderful.  The few days I was there I saw and heard their excitement in meeting and playing with the children.  School is on break and doesn't resume until next week, so the children have plenty of free time.  Jeff also brought me two important items from the states.  The first was another trunk of medical supplies.  AND the second was the new I-pad 2 which I had ordered prior to leaving!  I was so excited to get them both.  THANK YOU JEFF.  Please remember, anyone who is coming from the states to Ghana, I would love to have you bring me an extra bag of supplies for which I will pay the extra bag charge and meet you in Accra to pick it up.  I am going to always be in need of supplies from the states!!!

I am settling in very well.  As I said before, school begins next week and my first teachers' meeting will be tomorrow.  I will find out my teaching schedule and then start preparing my curriculum.   

The 3rd hiccup of my new move is a BIGGIE!  I am experiencing difficulty in accessing YAHOO.  So I have now created another e-mail account.  It is  ghanacheryl@gmail.com    At this time, I am able to use the gmail account, but not the Yahoo one.  I am also experiencing difficulty with I-tunes.  This in itself would not be a big deal except this is how I set up my I-PAD!  I have the new one and can't even use it yet!  What a crime.

I do have one "funny" story from our trip to Village of Hope.  Linda does not yet have her drivers' license; therefore, I am doing the driving!  On our way to VOH, we were stopped by the police before we had even traveled 10 miles.  No problem right?!  I have my international driving license.....Well, it seems that the insurance card we have in the car is expired!  And so, the kind policeman informs me that he is going to arrest me, take me to jail and to court.  Linda jumps out of the car and wants to know what the man wants.  I tell him that I do not want to go to jail.  He doesn't seem to care.  So.....I calmly get my phone (I am entitled to one phone call, right?) and dial Dan's number.  When the policeman sees me on the phone, he demands "who are you calling?!!" in his gruffest voice.  I quietly reply "The car's owner."  I tell Brother Dan what is happening and that he had better not let me be arrested.  He talks to the policeman, who then tells me I can go.  Dan tells me everything is fine.  I ask "What about the next time we get stopped?" (Police stops are frequent in Ghana.)  He just says call me every time.  Linda tells me that the policeman wanted me to pay him some money to let me go.  Well, he didn't get any money from me.

We only got stopped three more times and those policemen only wanted to see my license and then let us go on our way.  When we arrived at VOH, I called Brother Dan.  If you know me at all, you probably know what happened next.....I had just a little anxiety in my voice and asked him "Dan, please tell me you are in Accra!...The police have arrested me and I am in the Accra Jail!  Please come get me out!!! "  He is just in disbelief, but I convince him that it is so.  He asks to speak to the policeman.  I then, of course, tell him that we have safely arrived at VOH.  He just laughs.  I do so enjoy teasing people!!  When we left VOH, I called Dan and told him we were on the way home and if we got stopped I would be calling him.  We were lucky on the way back and did not get stopped once. 

I have had to stop eating so much fruit due to tummy issues.  On one of the religious Kids TV programs Rodney watches, the lesson was on the Fruits of the Spirit.  So I decided to look those up in the Bible. 

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I am certain that if we all lived with these fruits every day our tummies would feel better and the world would be a much better place.  HAVE YOU HAD YOUR FRUIT TODAY?!  Be sure to share it with others!!