A Mix of Groups

Back at Wyoming Baptist we had three different groups there this past week.

One group was from Massachusetts.

The leaders were Tim and Ann. There were 8 energetic high school girls; Allison, Melony, Emily, Hannah, Allison, Kimmie, Hannah and Maddy. I got to do a little bit of ministry with them and they were a lot of fun. Lots of changes coming up for you girls but don't worry God will show you the way.

One group was from Indiana.

Brad and Karen were the leaders. There were 5 high school students: Megan, McKenzie, Natasia, Micheal and Steven. It took a little pushing to step outside of comfort zones but once they did God really used them. Keep on being bold.

The other group was from Connecticut.

This was a group of junior higheres who were very excited and ready to serve the Lord. Leaders: Tim, Karen, Ugo, Megan, Priscilla, Scott, John, Katie, Julie, Rachel, John, Patty and studetns: Michael, Emma, Emily, Carolyn, Jayla, Jackie, CC, Katie, Lizzy, Michael, Erin, Josh, Eles, Katherine, Collin, Steven, Sam, Phinous, David, Elena, Cameron, Jackson, Olivia, Zack, Josiah, Zack, Rommel, Michael, Peter, Ryan, Hassan. It was awesome to see them grow through out the week.

Now that you are all back on your mission field, use what you have learned on the training ground a be bold for the Lord.

It Itches

So here I am in the middle of the big city. I am in the middle of Philadelphia.

We had a work project last week to pull out some weeds form an over grown garden. I did not think twice about helping out. Pulled out a few pairs of gardening gloves for my team and I, and we started pulling, and pulling and pulling. It was like a jungle in there.

At the end of the day I saw a few mosquito bites but it was not bad. Just do not itch it... well the itching got worse and my mosquito bites started to multiply...

I started to second guess myself...Then put it all together...Yep...I got poison ivy!

It is not too bad now. I have spray to dry it out and I am washing all my clothes and sheets to help stop the spreading. One of the church members is a nurse and he is taking really good care of me.

I also told all the students here not to let me scratch. Hopefully it will get better soon.

Back to Wyoming Av. Church

I am back at Wyoming Av. Baptist Church in Philly.

One more week here.

Then I have one week in Roxborough, one week in DC, and then home.

This summer has gone by very fast.

Chciago Group Shot

Cathy, Ryan, Jimmy, Allen, Matthew, Zack, Drew, Austin, Sarah, Allie, Nikki, Jessie, Halsey, Sonny, Brandon, Jim, Dolly, Timmy, Aubrie, Zack, DJ, Andy, Rachel, Megan, Jon and Ms. Pearl (she owned the Day Care we stayed at)

North Carolina Group

Group shot!
Top row: Zack, Izzy, Rabecca, Alisa, Kevin, Matt, Matthew
Middle row: Jordan, Sarah, Anna, Katie, Nikalas, Brandon
Botton row: Sammie, Mikala, Nick, Mark, Pastor Ron (from chruch in Roxborough)


They worked hard. And see that back room that is yellow... That is the nursery and they painted it.

Prayer

We took some time and prayer for the community of Roxborough. In many different ways. The students really got in to the prayers and by the end the whole wall was full of prayers.

Roxborough, PA

I am now back in Philadelphia but I am in the community of Roxborough, which is about a half hour away from where I have been.

I am staying at a Salvation Army. It is cool to see how Salvation Army run because my great grandmother was and officer and I love to listen to stories Grandpa tells.

The group arrived yesterday from North Carolina. It has been fun to hear different accents this summer, especially this group. They have a thick southern accent :)

There are 17 students and they are all Jr. Highers. They are full of energy but they are hard workers.

Chicago Trip

So last week in Chicago I was a little busy. I did not have much time to post but I wanted to share some pictures so you can see how God worked.

I had a great plan for this week. We were going to do so much and it was going to be great. Well I quickly learned that my plan was not the plan that God wanted to happen. The plan I had created was tossed out the window when opportunities to do the Lord's plan dropped right in front of us. Come to think about it... every time I went to make a plan God changed it.

We did God's plan the whole week! One day He lead us to just pray so we obeyed. I had to force the students to stop praying and eat dinner. God was really working!

I got to know a lot of the students really well and got to see Jesus work through all of them. God is good!

I pray that they continue to seek and ask God in all that they do.

Ohio group in Chicago

I arrived at the site Saturday afternoon. Yesterday morning we cooked for the homeless and the group arrived. They are from Ohio and are very excited to serve the Lord with week.

I am excited to serve with them.

Short Visit Home

I flew from Philly to Chicago and there was no complications, no storm, no tornado, did not run out of gas and did not loose my luggage. Other than the baby screaming in the seat behind me it was a great fight.

My mom picked me up from the airport and we got Chicago style deep dish pizza, mmmmmmm. Played some cards with Mason and Mallory, then saw Dad's and Sue's house, fell asleep watching a movie and then it was morning.

Ate breakfast with mom and then lunch with Mason and Mallory. Mason drove me to my next trip and now I wait for the group to arrive.

It was really nice to see my family.

VA Group Shot

This is the group from VA.

Food

Working all day really gives you an appetite.

These kids eat so much!

Ericka: the girl that is bending over in the white shirt is our cook and she makes great food

Work Projects...

This whole white board was full of work projects we could, maybe should, have had the group do but we left it up to the Lord to tell us what to do.

Some of them got done like painting the bathroom in the parsonage (that is our bathroom in the house and it looks so good) but with leaving it open to what the Lord wanted us to do we were able to accomplish more that we could imagine.

Groups went all over talking with people, building relationships, cleaning up trash, praying, passing out food and just enjoy the beautiful breeze God gave us. (It has been soooo hot).

It is cool how if you just ask God will direct you and if you act on how He is guiding you amazing things happen.

He Answers

I was with a group this morning doing our door to door ministry. In this ministry we walk up and down the streets going into small businesses and asking if they need any help: cleaning, organizing, washing tables, mopping, restocking, ect.

Often people look at us like we are crazy that we want to help for free. Our purpose is to show Jesus's love through us, others care for them and rise up the community. Some people say thank you and send us on our way. But then some people really put us to work.

Today was a slower day. We had walked all the way up Front Street and only had 3 more businesses left. I asked the students in my group to pray that God will open some doors for us so He could use us to bless someone. Not only were we running out of street we still had an hour left for our morning ministry time.

They prayed, said Amen and not even five steps later a women was struggling carrying a big pot. We asked if she needed any help and she looked at our (all Caucasian) group and said 'really?!' We assured her we just wanted to help and would do it for free.

She told us she had been asking herself how she was going to get these 6 LARGE barrels of soil to her back yard. She said a quick prayer and then we walked up.

After carrying lots of soil, playing with dogs, planing a few things, cleaning the back yard a little, talking, mowing her little patch of lawn, talking and praying, over an hour had pasted.

Sure we blessed this women but wow did God bless us with answering our prays and using us to bless someone else.

Group from VA

A group from Virginia came Sunday and first day of ministry went well.

I am very busy with finishing up the KC trip, doing this trip and getting ready for next week. I am leaving Philly for Chicago. I really wish I had time to see home but I do not think I will have time. Kind of bummed but God will give me strength to get through it.

27hrs Later

I started my journey Friday afternoon, around 12:30pm. I left Kansas for the airport in Missouri. I arrived way too early due to the fact that there was no traffic and security took about 2 minutes to get through. But that was ok, I had some time to relax.

I had a lay over in Minnesota before I got to Philly. It turns out there was a big storm in MN so all flights going there were delayed. An hour or two later we got on our plane and headed toward MN.

The storm got so bad that while we were flying the airport shut down and we had to circle in the air. After about an hour or so we had to land in Iowa to get more fuel. We got off the plane for dinner and we tried it again. We had to fly up to South Dakota and around the back way to land in MN.

We arrived in Minnesota around 10:30pm only to wait in a long line that told us not flights were going out tonight. The next one was Saturday at 10am. All the hotels were totally booked so I had a choice of sleeping at the airport or calling friends. I chose to make a few phone calls but because it was so late, no one was awake to pick up their phones.

Then I remembered the group I was leading in KC was from MN and they had just gotten back. I called the leader and they were willing to pick me up and let me sleep at their house for the night. It is nice to have connections. Got back to the airport the next morning for my 10am flight which turned out to be a 12pm flight.

I arrived back in Philly at 3pm, my team picked me up and drove back to the church. There was so much traffic going back to the church we did not get back until almost 5pm.

Long day of travel but I made it and now it is time for a nap.

Small World

At Rosedale Church in KC on Sunday, Africa came up in conversation. I then mentioned I spent some time in Ghana. Well this church supports a missionary couple in Ghana. I was really excited and asked where they were. They said in a village called 'Q'. I had no idea where that was but they kept saying in the northwest corner of Ghana. I was in the northwest corner of Ghana. I was in Wa and the surrounding villages. And the Russells knew all the missionaries in the area and I met most of them but I could not put my figure on 'Q'.

Last on in the week I was talking about it with the pastor and found out that these missionaries are in Wa, well rather they are in a village of Wa that you can only get to by dirt bike.

After asking what their names were I realized I had met them! Crazy. A few people from the church are going to visit these missionaries; I wish I could go with. I am going to brush up on my Braille and send some notes to my students along with some school supplies for them to drop off while they are on their way to the village.

Crazy! Usually people have never hear of Wa but they not only know people there, they are going there! Way cool.

MN group shot

Pastor Matt is in the orange and Pastor Alan is in the white from Rosedale Church

Art is in the middle with the gray shirt: he was our cook for the week

Dana is in the green in the first row: she was one of our worship leaders.
John, who is not in the picture was our other worship leader.

Leaders of group: Brian, Dan, Kyle and Julie

Kids: Alyssa, Chase, Grand, Hannah, Kassi, Jared, Lucas, Clay, Lauren, and Jared

KC has come to a close

Wow has God worked this week.

VBS, jr. high youth group, organizing, eating, senior high youth group, cleaning the church, pool party, Rescue Mission, prayer walks, cleaning out the dungeon, running through the fountain, debriefing and always of course bowel movements...

God has shown His compassion for us so that we were able to show compassion to others.

So, let me tell you a little story: It is really hot and humid here is KC and I told the group they needed to drink a lot of water. Well, I found they were just not drinking enough water so I turned it into a game. It was a competition of who could pee the most in one day. The least was the first day at 2 but once we started counting they were going 5-8 times a day. That means they were drinking water. That was good. The total record for most times peeing in one day was 12.

This was a great group and I wish them well as they go back to MN.

What a great week. Now back to Philly.

Pictures bottom to top: songs at VBS, Lucas and VBS kid, organizing the jr. church room, assembly line while cleaning out basement (dungeon), debriefing/praying at the end of a long week

City of Fountains

Look it is the fountain just as I remember it. Well when I was here 11 years ago the water shot way higher in the air but it is still really cool!

First Day Gone Smooth

Breakfast at 7:30, packed vans, dove to church and had devos and worship

Helped out around the church by cleaning basements, closets, buses, vans, organizing things and mowing the grass

Went door to door and gave them fliers for VBS, lunch, VBS set up and go round up kids.

VBS was great! Had a family from Vietnam, Kenya, Mexico, Minnesota, we had a Muslim family come out, a boy with autism and most of them were kids that had never been to church before.

Walk kids home, pack up, quick dinner and off to the Rescue Mission (for the homeless of KC). Got lost on the way but made it just in time for the service.

Set up for the skit, which was a lot of work... big frame, lights, sheet... but oh many was it powerful. They men at the mission really appreciated it. One even said that he had never read or really heard about the bible before but he completely understood it by the skit.

Back to the college right after a quick walmart run and then debrief, a few songs. Ok - now time for bed.

Kansas City

I am now in Kansas City. The group will be here in a little over an hour. Our main purpose of being here is to do VBS and build relationships. The group is coming from MN and is very excited (I am very excited too...I'm becoming a professional at leading day camp).

I was so excited when I found out we were staying at a college. I get a real bed!! I have not slept on a real bed since before graduation. But I not only get a real but I also get my very own room! I made name tags for all the kids coming and it just reminded me of being an RA. Mark Hannah (the resident director at Trinity) has taught me a lot about dorm life that will really come in handy while I am here. (Thanks Mark Hannah).

Well I put my sheets on my very own bed, my towel on the little rack, my suitcase/dresser by the wall and now the room is full of orange, it is just like home :)

SD Group Shot

Here is the group that was in Philly this past week!

First Week of Day Camp

Throughout all summer long the teams in Philly will be holding Day Camp. It is in the afternoons from about 3-5pm. And you would never beleive it but I was put in charge of facilitating it :)

At 2:30 we send groups of three out to pick up the kids at their houses. As the kids filter in they get name tags and there are some activities going on; kick ball, duck duck goose, crafts, soccer, relay races. Then they all come together for songs and a story. The kids get a snack and then we walk every child home.

We pick up the kids and drop them off because while they are under our care we want to make sure they are safe.

So Monday of Day Camp... well... it did not go so smooth. I made some changes and Tuesday was just a little better. Wendesday was even better but Thursday...man that was a great Day Camp. There was no structure or plan just a vision for something great. Good thing God gifted me with organizationsal skills.

During the week of Day Camp a few of the children felt comfortable sharing peices of their lives with the teenages that had come from South Dekota. It was brought to our attention and made very real for our teens that abuse does happen. Please be in prayer for the children that have to endure, the teens that it was made real for, and the staff that is figuring out how to handle it.

Our God is good, even in the troubled times.

Door to Door

Tuesday and Wednesday I lead a group that specifically went out into the community to build relationships. Our focus was to find partnerships with schools, businesses, recreation centers, library and restaurants in the area. Our desire was that we would volunteer at their facilities in efforts to build up the city as well as show them the love of Jesus Christ.

Amious, Austin, Lauryn and I walked up and down the street of Philly. God really opened doors and guided our paths. We build relationships with three of the schools in the area, the public library, a salon, a barber shop, the express pizza, a grocery store and an auto shop.

Right away when we walked into Lou's Auto Shop we saw his need for organization. After some convincing, Austin got up the courage to walk over and ask if Lou needed some help around the shop. Amious game of suggestions on thing we could help with. Then Lauryn looked over and suggested we helped organize his desk. Lou's eyes light up.

After two hours of organizing we only got half way through the papers before it was time to walk back. Lou was very gracious of our efforts to help him. The group wants to go back tomorrow to finish the job.

What a great experience for all of us.

Team from SD

To clarify the church did not have the girls showered finished until Saturday but it was just in time for the teams to start coming. We have not had a team here yet, we have just been preparing for them to come by cleaning, building relationships, learning the community, contacting places to do work projects and lots of praying.

After a 28hr bus ride all 50 students and leaders arrived at 10:30pm. We unloaded the bus and had orientation. It went very well and they loved our 'rules' video. We then prayed for the week, set up for bed and off to sleep.

Today we had church and then we are going out into the community and passing our fliers for the children's camp they are having, praying and getting to know the area. I love to do this. It will be great!

First Group in Philly

Ok we have prepared enough! It is time for the groups to come!

They are on their way. 2 groups with a total of 50 people coming this week. Good thing we finished the girls showers today...

I am really excited to start trip in Philly!

Fun Before the Groups Come

All four of us interns have been trying to keep ourselves busy before all of the groups come and the summer starts to get a little crazy.

We have been cleaning up the church, making schedules, calling groups, taking pictures, videos and eating :) I have been making Doug run with me.

We made some Friends with at the park we will be doing kids camps at. There is a group that comes to play hand ball and they said they would teach me. I am excited to learn.

Even though we are trying to keep busy we still can not wait for the teams to arrive. Saturday is when the first team comes!

Downtown Philly

We figured we would be living in the city for the summer we should probably do all the touristy things so we know what is around.

We loaded up the van, all four interns, the baby and we took a long with us Emmerald (the oldest girl we live with) and her friend Amanda. They are twelve years old and have lived here all their lives and have never been downtown.

We learned all about the history of Philadelphia. My personal favorite is the Liberty Bell. We also went to the old white house and joined the continental army :) That was fun.

Oh and of course we all got a Philly Cheese Steak.

Home in Philly

Here is the house I am staying in for the summer.

There is a family with four kids, ages 12, 10, 6 and 10 months. Marcus and Cathy who are the project leaders and their baby Ramyiah. Jenn is in charge of the house. Then there is the three girls, Sara, Melissa and I. We are all in Jenn's room. Doug is staying in a room in the church.

It is a small house but it will do. We have AC in our room and I try to go to the bathroom right before I go to bed because I can not get in there in the morning. I have to walk over to the church to go, which really is not that far just have to take three giant steps outside and unlock a massive red door.

In Philly

I made it to Philly last night.

My whole team came to pick me up! It was really exciting, nice to be with them again.

We are living in a house the is right next to the church and when I say right next to the church I mean there is not space between the two buildings but we still have to walk outside to get from one place to the other.

Went shopping for food today and did a little exploring.

11 Sheep

Another successful day of sheep shearing. I sheared, well helped shear, a total of 11 sheep! I got better at shearing the second day.

What a great experience and I sure hope the girls form Massachusetts loved it as much as I did.

I am leaving in the morning to drive back to Albuquerque, flying to Texas for a short lay over and then to Philly. My team is driving there from Georgia and will be there in time to pick me up from the airport.

After a week of being here I have really grown to love New Mexico and all the people here. Would love to come back one day. Maybe next year for memorial day to shear some more sheep...

Sheep Shearing!

Today I sheared 4 sheep!

So ok... I may not be the best at actually shearing the sheep but I am really good at rounding them up and tackling them to bring them to the shearing tables. That was my favorite part. I was pushed around a little at the beginning but by the end I jumped right on to those sheep and brought them down. I got a little dirty in the process.

Then we took a ride to Canyon De Chelly. It was beautiful.

Picture: Yep that is me in the sheep pen catching a little (well rather BIG) lamby. These things were like twice my size!

Zuni Reservation

After church and painting the sign for the church we drove down to the Zuni Reservation for youth group. The church is called the mission and the pastor is Pastor Roger. He is awesome!

The Zunis live in clans and there are over 11,000 of them in the reservation.

Less than 1% of them are believers. They have a native religion where they believe in spirits and medicine men. Zunis believe that Christianity is the 'white man's' religion.

If a Zuni makes the step of faith they are often persecuted for their actions. There are about 10 high school students that go to youth group.

It was great to see their enthusiasm and play some games and share stories with them.

The picture is of us on the ride back. We stopped at the cultural center and took a picture of God beautiful creation.

Group Arrived

The group arrived today. They are very nice and very helpful.

There are seniors in high school, Kelly and Melody, one sophomore in college, Amandah, and two leaders who are both parents and teachers, Emily and Karen. They are all from Massachusetts.

We had our orientation and time of listening in prayer. Many things have happened prior to this trip to make it seem as though this trip should not take place. I know in my heart, and through lots of prayer, God wants this trip to happen, even is Satan does not.

It was evident today during our time of prayer that God is at work. He spoke to each one of those girls today and most of them were even willing to share it with the group. He is going to do amazing things!

Be in prayer for guidance, strength, safety and compassion.

Sheep Scissors

I got a good night sleep last night at a friends house and woke up early to drive back to the airport to find my luggage.

My orange suitcase and I were reunited at the United counter. I then met a really nice man at the visitors center who gave me a map of New Mexico.

I drove 2.5 hours to the church in Gallup where I am staying. Met the pastor, got the keys and went shopping. I got food for the group and I for the week. I also went to the T and R Market and picked up a pair of really big scissors or in other words, sheep shearers :)

I am meeting the family that has the sheep tomorrow morning and the church group comes tomorrow afternoon.

Albuquerque

I made it to Albuquerque

Driving a PT Cruser and heading to the Reservation in the morning.

Stuck in Denver

I am currently on my way to New Mexico to lead a mission trip.

I left from Atlanta, GA and had a lay over in Denver, CO. Well there was a tornado in Denver and my flight to NM was cancelled.

I am now working on finding a new flight.

Once I get to NM I have a 2.5hr drive to the Indian Reservation.

It will be interesting.

New Mexico

Sometimes you have a plan but it does not always match up with the plan God has for you...

A project leader had to back out from leading a trip in New Mexico so AIM (adventures in missions) asked me to go lead the mission trip. I said yes and asked what they are doing there. Oh, they are shearing sheep of course... Ummm that sounds great but what exactly is shearing sheep?

Well, for those of you who are from the city... shearing sheep is cutting off the wool of sheep. And I was told there are thousands of sheep.

The packing list requires me to have shears and well, that is just not something I own so I will have to get a pair of these really sharp scissors when I get to New Mexico.

I am leaving on Wednesday to spend a week on an Indian Reservation in New Mexico with a high school group shearing thousands of sheep with really sharp scissors.

To be honest I actually may not be strong enough to do shear sheep but it will be a great NEW experience.

In GA

I flew into Atlanta Ga yesterday for training with Adventures in Missions or AIM.

I am working with them for the summer and leading mission trips with high schoolers. There are three other interns with me Sara, Melissa, and Doug. Our project leaders are Marcus and Cathy and they have a 6 month old little girl. (I am excited for that) :)

We will be in GA for a week finishing training and helping out. Then our team is driving to Philly, yes even with the baby. Hopefully we will stop in DC for a night. We will start driving on June 1st.

Training has been great. We are living in a cabin with bunk beds three high with a total of 36 beds! There is not electricity and we have to use out houses. No big.. I just got back from Ghana :)

I'll keep you posted on what is going on.

Summer Plans

I got an internship with Adventures in Missions.

I will be living in Philadelphia and leading high school mission trips all summer. I will be working with the homeless, people with adictions, and a children's ministry. There are three other interns with me and all four of us will be living in an apartment in Philly.

It will be a different summer (not working with kids with specail needs) but this is where the Lord has lead me. And I am excited.

Graduation

I am done, finished, through - I graduated!

Wow - It is hard to believe I finished college already. Those four years really went by fast but I was able to cram as much as I could into those four crazy years. I will remember it forever.

I graduated :)

Teaching Video

I made a video for class about my view of teaching. It is video and pictures of my students during my whole student teaching experience. Enjoy

Lordy

Lordy is a teacher at the Wa School for the Blind. She went to the university and graduated about 2 years ago. Lordy was lucky to find a job at the school. She is the homeroom teacher for the P6 class. The students love their teacher and Lordy loves her students.

She is about 23 years old. After college she got married and moved from her village to the city of Wa. Her husband is currently in school for his job and is gone down south during the week. Lordy is lucky if she is able to see him on the weekends.

After being married for a year Lordy and her husband has a son named Jackson. Ghanaians pronounce his name as Yackson. He is 6 months old and very cute. Yackson comes to work with his mom every day.

Lordy grew up Catholic but I do not know if she believes that Jesus died for our sins so we can go to heaven. She does not attend church but instead watches it at home on her TV. After school and on the weekends she loves to watch TV.
Lordy and I became good friends over the 10 weeks I was in Ghana. She showed me the good placed to buy fabric and made me many different Ghanaian dishes. Lordy has just moved to Wa this school year and I had was very new to Wa. She understood how hard being new person could be and she helped me out a lot. Lordy is a great friend.

Fuseini

Fuseini is 19 years old and is in P5. He is the captain of his class which means he has the duties of making sure his classmates do their homework, collecting papers, making sure the class is clean and communicating between the class and the teacher.

Fuseini is from a small village in the Upper East. Most of the people in his village are Muslim and Fuseini himself says he is a Muslim. The Upper East, including Fuseini’s village, is at civil war and is often dangerous to travel there.

He was caught making out with a girl (another student) and was reprimanded for it but it was kept between me and two other teachers. He is a teenage boy.

Fuseini has sight and if he has the opportunity to get glasses he could see normally. But if he had glasses he would have to stay at his village and work. Since he is considered blind he has the opportunity to get an education.

When I asked Fuseini what he wanted to be when he grew up, he told me a pastor. I then asked how he can be a Muslim and a Christian pastor at the same time. He was not sure but knew he wanted to be a Christian pastor. His favorite verse is Luke 22:33, ‘But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”’ A powerful verse.

Fuseini is very shy but some what of a jock at the school. He was elected as the sports prefect of the school by the staff.

He has a lot going for him and hopes to graduate from the school in 2014 to go to secondary school, then to college and then become a pastor.

Pictures: Fuseini is in the black shirt working on a math assignment. He is excited after the radio station.

Russell Family

The Russells were missionaries in Wa for the last five years. God led them to Wa and gave them the opportunity be a light for Him. During their time in Wa they helped many churches start, lead many people to Christ and helped out around the community. The Russells have a passion to work with the unreached, specifically the Muslim population in a poverty stricken area. That is just what Wa, Ghana is or rather was.

After five years it is evident that God has used the Russells to show how great our God truly is. Although Wa is still majority Muslim, there is a great increase of Christ followers. Churches are being planted all over the city as well as the surrounding areas. It is clear that the Russells have done what the Lord called them to do in Wa. They are now moving back to America.

Returning back to America is not easy task after living in another country for five years. Much change has occurred not only with the Russells but with family, friends, churches, and culture. The Russells now have a 10 year old, 5 year old and a baby on the way. Issac and Rachel will be going to school. Bess, mother, will be having a new baby. John, father, is looking for a pastoral job. The whole family is just awaiting new things such as a house, car, food, clothes, aspect of time, friends and culture.

I can only imagine how hard it was to leave Wa. Leave their friends, churches, belongings, Lizzy (their nanny), Abu (security/house helper), dogs, house, and so many memories. They know the Lord is going before them and they have complete trust that he will provide and that this is the right thing to do.

It is Sunday, April 25, 2010 and they are currently on a plane to America. If you can be praying for the Russell family and the transition they are going through that would be great.

Pictures:
Bess is doing some medical care in a village
Rachel and Issac with Lizzy
John praying over a church building in a village near Wa

Ajara

Ajara is about 19 years old and is in P5. Ajara is totally blind but she does not let that stop her from just loving life. She is always smiling and is always willing to talk with you. She tries very hard in school, even when it does not come very easily to her.

When she grows up she wants to be a singer. Ajara sings in the school choir. She has a great voice and will sing whenever she gets a chance. Often times she will just start singing during afternoon class just to give everyone a little break.

Ajara is a great example to all of her classmates. It is evident that she loves the Lord. She might not ask questions but she does attend bible study every week. Ajara is just has a wonderful heart.

Razak

Razak is 19 years old and is in P5. He is a very intelligent young man and school often comes very easy to him. He likes to learn but does not always like to do extra work outside of class. He is a very good student and answers questions but in Ghanaian standards he would probably be considered the class clown. I would just say he is an average teenage boy.

Other than the fact that Razak lives in Ghana he is still a teenage boy. He strives on the social aspect of school and has a lot of friends. Sports are a big deal to him and he is often found playing football (soccer) or goal ball. Razak loves to talk to his friends that are girls but according the school rules he is not suppose to have a girl friend.

Razak is from a small village in the Upper East Region. There is some civil war going on between his village and a few neighboring villages. Most of the people in Razak’s village are Muslim and he says that he is a Muslim. It seems to be more of a title, or heritage, rather than a religion to Razak. He sings in the school choir and says that when he grows up he wants to be a Christian worship leader. Occasionally he will say he is a Christian and even has a Christian ring. But he will never ‘slip up’ and say he is a Christian in front of a Muslim leader or teacher.

If Razak had glasses he would be able to see clearly but his family does not have enough money to pay for him to have glasses. If Razak was able to get glasses, and be able to see, he would have to stay home and help out the family. Since he is considered blind he has an opportunity to get an education. Even though Razak would really like to see clearly, he really enjoys getting an education because he knows how valuable it will be to him later in life.

Razak is the one looking at the camera.

Benidicta

Benidicta is about 15 years old and is in P6. She is a very bright student and loves to learn. She is in the school choir and has a beautiful voice.

With her wonderful voice she sings to praise Jesus. She is involved with the student lead worship. The students set up a time to pray and sing on their own and she is on the leading rotation. Benidicta announces what to pray for and starts off each prayer and then everyone prays at the same time. She is a great leader.

It is very evident that she loves the Lord but there is much spiritual warfare where she lives. The week I left her grandmother was taken to the hospital down south. She could not go home to see her family because she lives too far away. If Benidicta left she probably would not have enough money to get back for the rest of the term.

There is much going on at home but she continues to praise our Lord Jesus Christ for all He has blessed her with.

Missions Organziations

It was great to go and see what the Awana clubs were like in Ghana. If you have ever been to Awana before, well let me tell you, it is pretty much exactly the same but outside. It is pretty cool how cross cultural Awana is. They have hand book time, where they memorize verses. They have council time, where they have a lesson or a story. And you can not forget game time where they have all the same crazy Awana games as in America.

Before I left for Ghana I applied at Awana International to go to Africa and help start Awana clubs. While I was in Ghana I received an email stating I was accepted as a missionary candidate and they gave me three countries I could go to. I was very excited and have been praying about it.

Last week I went to the office to discuss a little further about what I would be doing. After talking with many people at Awana, other missionaries and Jesus I have politely turned down the job offer. I do not feel God is calling me to be a missionary for Awana International.

I am currently looking into three different mission organizations: International Teams, Africa Inland Missions, and Serve in Missions. I have had a little communication with each organization. I have filled out an application at ITeams and information forms at the other two.

So far these are the organizations that work with children with special needs and are willing to have to be a missionary for them. I am still praying and have set up interviews with each organization next week. My hope is that during the interviews God will tell me which origination He wants me to go with.

I will keep you updated on where the Lord is leading me.