With God all things are possible.....

This week I learned a couple of catchy phrases (or anyway, I guess that is what you would call them)

First, if you do "good" without God, you are left with "o".  Zero! 

Second,  if you remove Christ from Christian, you are left with "ian" which stands for "I am nothing".

I can't believe that I had not heard these before.  I like them alot.  My journey with God has brought me to where I am today.  Takoradi, Ghana.  If you are working for the Lord, he will always provide.  As many of you know, I believe with all my soul that God has directed me to do this work.  However, when I started making my plans and even when I moved here, I had no guarantee of financial assistance.  I came anyway.

Today I am prayerfully Thanking my Lord and Savior for providing the work here with both financial and emotional support.  The Memorial Road Church of Christ has an annual Missions Sunday where they provide emotional and financial support for many missionaries around the world.  The work here in Ghana was blessed by the Lord and the MRCC family this week.  The work here has been blessed with financial assistance for the next year!  This is such a blessing for so many here in Ghana. 

I am also receiving much emotional support from my church family through e-mail and facebook.  It really helps to know that your family and friends are thinking of and praying for you.  I want to share a day which I had this week with you along with some of my thoughts.

On Wednesday I had a student with a bad case of chickenpox.  High temp, welts and itching severely.  I took her home, gave her benedryl and motrin.  I know that so many people here are in severe poverty, but I just did not realize what these kids are enduring.  Many of them are from other areas of Ghana and so they stay with someone who will take them in.  When they are lucky enough to live with a family, they are used as nothing less than slave labor.  One girl was kicked out on the street because she was not able to get home early enough to do the work expected of her.  The girl I took home with chickenpox is one of about 100 students who do not have anyone to live with.  For these kids, hostel rooms and/or rent houses have been secured for them.  They have no one to help them with money and/or food.  Many of these 100, go for several days without food.  The house this girl lives in has no furniture or appliances.  The girls sleep on the floor on small mats with mosquito nets over them.  There are no lights and no fans in the house.  When it is dark outside, they go to bed.  No TV, no radio, nothing.  No one there to love them or care for them.  They just exist with each other and attempt to make it through school with the hope of something better.  So often these students come to me asking for food.  Many of them are living on about 3.50 USD a week!!! 

 

When I am sick, even now at 50-something, I want my mom.....I just want to know that there is someone to listen to me....someone who cares.  I took this girl to this empty shell of a house to lay on a thin mat on the floor, sick and crying, with no one there to stay with her.  I went back to the school and just couldn't get her out of my mind.  I went back to check on her a couple of times that day and first thing the next morning.  I am glad to report that she is doing much better.

 

I offered some work at the school to 4 of these boys on Thursday.  I asked them to weed the school yard which is about 2 acres.  Weeding means cutting the grass, but of course this is with a "cutlass" (machette) not a lawn mower.  It is hard, hot, back-breaking work.  I asked them how much the average person made per day and they told me GHC 1.50 which is $1.00/DAY....not even an hour.  So I am paying each of them GHC 5.00.  They are thrilled and I feel guilty!!

 

I think that the homeless people in the streets of OKC probably live much better than these kids.  I am expecting them to learn how to act more mature and work hard at school.  I can not even imagine how they make themselves get up every day.  And then when they come to school, they laugh and smile and greet you as if you are a Queen.  They curtsy to me and act so jovial with me...Then I go home to my room with a chair, bed, desk, air conditioner, toilet, computer with movies I can watch, books to read and an I-pod to listen to.  How can I possibly complain?  I get to see my family via Skype and read e-mails from friends.  I feel loved and I love.....  They have no one telling them that they are loved! 

 

I am so thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to come to this place.  I am thankful for the support of my family, church family and friends.  I will show these young people that I love them and care for them.  I will tell them of God and his wonderful love and plan of salvation.  I  pray that God will use me in whatever way he can to provide medical care, education and emotional support.

 

I Peter 4:8-11  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering Gods grace in its various forms.  If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.  If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  Amen.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY.....

So, I have decided to play....Actually, I treated the OAVI teachers, staff and students who assisted with the Literacy Program to a day at the beach.  The day was marvelous.  It was good for all to "let their hair down" so to speak.  Activities like this one can help with team building and I believe everyone felt much closer after the day.

This is not one of our students, but she sure pulled my heart strings.

The beach and ocean are so beautiful.  I took time to talk with many of the local children and fishermen.  I heard many stories of severe poverty.  One young man, Andrew, who is 17 wants to be a journalist some day.  However, he is not in school and can not go because his parents live from day to day and do not have the money needed to send him to school.  We talked about what we could offer him at OAVI.  He could at least learn more, but we do not have the courses he would like.  He and I will talk again before our next school year begins in August 2012.  One of our current students comes from this village.  I talked with her brother and met her mother. 

This area is so beautiful, but the people who live here hardly notice it's beauty because all they know is hardship and strife.  It is so sad that many people would pay to live in a beautiful, peaceful beach area like this and yet, those who do are so poor that they can only think about where and when the next meal will come. 

Count your Many Blessings....See what the Lord has done......

Literacy Training

This past week, the students at OAVI were on Mid-term break for a week.  While school was out, we took advantage of the school buildings to host a Literacy Training Program for the preachers and leaders of Churches of Christ across Ghana.  Dan Asiamah worked with the Litercy Training Program from Tulsa, Oklahoma to coordinate this training.  We had 79 in attendance.  They were taught how to teach others to read and speak English.  The participants were very involved and excited about the training.  I heard many positive comments at the end of the 3 days program. 

This program was an introductory training.  A more intensive and advanced training will be held at the school in September while school is one break between terms.  Everyone was very excited about the opportunity to learn more.

Most of the attendees were from other places around Ghana and so they stayed at the school at night on foam mattresses.  Several of the OAVI students, the kitchen staff and myself had the priviledge of serving them for the last 4 days.  We cooked and served them three meals a day as well as kept the "residence" clean.  It was so good to meet so many and make many new friends.  This also provided an opportunity to talk with the students about the "Good News" and their salvation.  I was involved in and over-hear many discussions between the students and leaders about Biblical questions.

As you can plainly see, we had a great group of students to work with.  The smiles were so great to see.  They worked tirelessly from 6am until 9pm for 3 full days.  And everything when SMOOTHLY thanks to them.  I have the privilege of treating them tomorrow to a day of fun at the beach!  They deserve it and more.  Pics of that to follow!

Galations 6:10  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.