In The End, It Is All About Life and Peace

Of all the months I slack off from posting…so many things have happened. In a nutshell: I went to Chiana with Penny and Damary to celebrate, with the church, Pat’s farewell after 38 years of serving. I also had a great birthday with teammates. I was able to share to some friends the creation story and Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit and its consequences in DAGBANI!! I then traveled with Damary to Accra. I had two funerals to attend. One for Linda (age 36) and one for Aunt Theresa (age 68). I went to the morgue and the burial sites. I cried with friends and families. I stayed next to them. I helped wherever I could.Going to Accra, as fun as it is, brings me home exhausted. That is mostly my fault. In the in-between days of funeral things, I really should have rested. It was definitely more emotionally draining than I thought it would be. Instead of resting, I would call someone up and visit. My friends Daniel and Doris always feed me so well. My other friend always knows the newest restaurant. Church had times of prayer, which were so encouraging. Apex had birthday celebrations and ballroom dancing. I had to check out a cheeseburger place. Like I can say NO???[gallery ids="3435,3436,3438,3437,3439,3440,3441,3442" type="rectangular"]Damary and I came back to Tamale on the bus. I am not excited to be here. There were certain thoughts going thru my head while in Accra.

• People love me here (arrogant, I know). The fact that if I wanted, I could stay out every night with friends filled my heart with appreciation and fullness.
• I have deep relationships here. I lived here for 11 years. The youth I worked alongside are now working, dating, married, or whatever and I had some good heart talks with them. I pray I encouraged them as much as they encouraged me.
• Everyone keeps asking about me getting married so then my mind hangs on to the “why am I not married??” and wondering if something is wrong. My mind then latches on to some guy and wonders “what if…” Not a good road to go down.
• People here can understand me. People here have a bit of understanding of where I am from. People here have more education and can talk with me on the same level.
• Maybe I should work back here in Accra…no way. Well, maybe…No, you would hate it. Actually, it is not that bad…No, Tamale is much more relaxed. And my mind goes on with all this back and forth.

As I am back home, I call Tamale home, even though it does not feel like home. I call it home hoping that one day it will be home. So here, at home, I pray I would love this place. It is not easy or have all the conveniences of Accra. I do not have many friends here. I have to work so hard just to progress one step further in my ministry.As I let my mind wander to other what ifs and what elses and fantasies of living some other place…I sensed the Spirit nudge me, “Sherri, love me more than your desires. Have I ever made you regret?”As the bus rolled into Tamale last night, I was reminded that so many of these people are living without Christ and they are dying without Christ. I know the joys of knowing God. I have him with me everyday. Why do I not want to share that with people who have no clue? Isn’t it worth more than what I feel I am missing? I know I am not the most amazing missionary. I know many times I don’t know what to say or what I am doing. I know somedays other people could really do this better than me, but for some reason God wants me here. And, so I will sacrifice my desires daily. (So, easy to type but executing is a different story) I will learn this language and love people here, though as I type this tears fall because I have already failed numerous times. I feel I cannot do this but I will persevere. I will go on even though tomorrow I could choose a road that would give me an easier life.Don’t feel bad for me. I serve a living Savior who walks with me and speaks to the deepest parts of my heart. Don’t feel bad for me because I can’t get real creamy ice cream, I can get fufu. Don’t feel bad for me because I am single, the Spirit fulfills all my needs. Don’t feel bad for me because I can’t go to the theater and watch an exciting movie, my life is an adventure.I need more reminders of Truth. Romans 8:6 So letting the sinful nature control your mind leads to death but letting the Holy Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.Life and Peace. It is what I have. It is what many of my neighbors don’t have. Father, help me share.

Back In The Saddle Again

Back in the saddle again people! Woo Hoo!! I was out and about with language this week. Cheers to Yvonne and the Ethiopians for letting me have a chance to get to it. I am very thankful. I came home one day and I said to Damary, "I had a real language day. Like, for real, like, talking to people and everything!" (Now, don't get carried away with the talking to people...I still barely can hold a conversation.)I had a situation come up. I will not be specific. But it was something I thought I had surrendered and it came up very quickly. If I would have given myself a moment to pray and wait on the Lord, I hope I would have made a better decision. But I made a wrong decision. And then I couldn't let it go. It consumed my mind and I knew I had to surrender this again. AGAIN!! When will I learn?? It took me 3 days to surrender. 3?! It always humbles me when I see how big of a talker I am. I am probably one of the top best pharisees in the world :) I love telling people what to do and what I would do in a situation but then...I never take my own advice. I never listen to me. I just do what I want.Psalm 84:11 got me through it. God is my sun and shield. He will never withhold a good thing from me. I have had to repeat that several times a day. I will not feel guilty. I have confessed. I have given it to God. He will continue to love me and pour His grace on me. That is it.It looks like the Ethiopians may have found accommodation! Yay! Hopefully, we can help them with the lease and all that in the next few days. It is in walking distance of the school they chose. They have 2 apartments close together and the price was right. We are so thankful! Next, they have to fill their apartments with furniture and whatever else they will need. I will be busy again!I am praying that I can be strategic in my language. Even if I cannot do a whole chunk of a day walking around greeting and talking with people. Maybe just an hour or something. I have to keep going. It is so hard and I have to review so many things. It is so easy to let myself be discouraged BUT I refuse to go down that road of thinking.Keep on Praying!  

Normal Life

In my Dagbani lessons, Pastor Andrew and I have been reading a few verses from the Bible. I try and learn the words I do not know. I want to try and read with a flow so if I was asked in church I could do it in a way people can follow, even if I don't always keep up with what I am reading. I am just doing the creation story. I have learned a simple way to say it and even have pictures when I go out and practice so many words I have heard before...it does not mean I use them or even understand them when someone else uses them in conversation but (sigh) small-small. Tuntaaya's mom's funeral was this week. I went and the girls came around me to say HI. During Bible study, we played games and I just tried to keep it lively.I went sewing and Rafia said I may be able to start a skirt! Let's see how that goes.Our Tamale team went to Gushegu for a Northern team meeting and we stayed the weekend. The Ethiopians brought their coffee! They went out with Fela and Rema to a naming ceremony and we took some to the market. And, yes, I showed Asafash how to buy cloth :) Pui and Rachael also had their kids club and told the story of Moses. It was a full, but I rested, weekend. It was nice to get out of Tamale.

With the Ethiopians feeling a little more settled, they are going to wander around and with yellow-yellows to look for houses. Be praying they find good housing, close to the kid's school.I may not have an excuse NOT to do language, hardcore this week. #1- The weather is cooler. #2- I have a bit more time. #3-I had a restful weekend.My wound opened up again. I have to admit, I really don't care. I will put it on hold for now :) and just let it be (to the dismay of my nurse sister, and mother).Love you. Thanks for praying! 

Hope Is In It

We had people staying with us from Sunday until Tuesday. It was a really great time. We went on yellow-yellows to town and did some used clothes shopping. We did some Ghana cloth shopping too, of course! The Ethiopians cooked their food for us and we loved it. Injera. Have you had it? It was good!

Tuesday and Wednesday were out looking at houses. Unfortunately, they were too expensive. Really nice but wayyy too much per month. (Sigh...) we will just keep looking.Earlier in the week my friend from Accra, Dominic called me. He called me the week earlier and told me his wife, Linda, went into the hospital. They did not know what was wrong. Their new little baby (one month old) was no longer able to breast feed because of all the drugs they were giving her. When he called me on Wednesday he said it was bad. He told me that the doctor told him, "your only hope is God." I told him we would pray and we were.He called me Thursday morning around 7am and told me, "God called Linda home." And then he started sobbing and then I started crying too. It was so hard. Linda and Dominic and I would all go to church together for about 3 years. I was in the choir with Linda and I helped Dominic with SS class at Fishpond Church. She was so young. It must have been a liver problem because Dominic said, before she went into a coma, her eyes were yellow.At 9am I was at a funeral for a mother of one of the girls in my Tuesday Bible study. I was on the verge of tears. I went and talked with Tuntaya afterwards and just told her I was sorry. I gave her some money too. As I turned to leave I knew I had to say something more. I found out her father died in January and her sister was saying things like how can God be loving etc, etc. So, I said to her, "God loves you. You need to remember this. All this stuff is very difficult but God still loves you. You need to say it out loud everyday." I saw her lip start to quiver and I knew if she would cry I would too so I hugged her and left.I feel that in the US death is so covered up. Someone comes and takes the body away and prepares it. Someone handles the details. The funeral is usually done with in 3 days and then that is it. In the southern part of Ghana, families keep the body in the morgue until they can organize and pay for a funeral. That can take up to a month to a year! In the north, they bury the body within the day and then within 3 days do a service around their house. If they are Christians, they wait for another time to do the funeral in the church, also, to get money together to pay for it. So, they have quite a time to think and grieve. They wail and cry and do not feel ashamed. Many times the families prepare the body for burial. It is more "in your face" here than at home. I see people going to the cemetery almost every day. People are always praying for long life. (During language, I am always praying for God to take me now-take me now!)Also, with Baaba's mom passing away a couple of weeks ago, she was telling me she has been grieving and it has been getting better daily, but the separation is so hard. And that is it. We are separated from these souls until heaven. (Thankfully, all these people who died were believers.) Romans 8 says "our bodies long to be released from sin and suffering" and "creation will join with God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay" that will be a glorious time.What do people hope in when they don't believe in Jesus? I just cannot understand. My mind rests in His hope. We, who have accepted Jesus, have hope. HOPE PEOPLE!!!Love you. Life doesn't get any easier, does it? Praising God for HOPE!!!P.S. Rafia told me after looking at my sewing lines that next week I could start a skirt. Wooooo!!! There is hope there too ;)

Serving, With A Side Dish of Crabby

Ok, soooo...it was not a serious language week...shamefully, I admit. I really did have big plans about getting back into good quiet times, eating right and exercising and language...but 3 out of 4 is not bad, eh? The language...I don't know. There is a block in my mind or something. I think I have already forgotten stuff from level 2 and wonder how can I progress to level 3 when I need to relearn level 2 and, dare I say, level 1??!! You may think I am exaggerating but I am not. Sad. Disappointing. I'm angry at myself and it came out it many ways. On Monday, after I had this great quiet time with Jesus, I was practically yelling in the car at whatever circumstances were around. Then at home, we had people stop by and I had to totally fake it in smiling and making them feel welcome. How horrid. What is up with that?I did go for sewing on Tuesday and it was great. I did not say much but I was thankful my feet, at least, took me there. Small-small as they say here. My week was filled up with visiting some schools with the Ethiopians and looking/finding landlords and houses for rent. Nothing yet, but we still have people to talk with. It took me awhile to find my place. I am glad when we see a place and find someone else around who knows of another place. I think that is moving forward and that seems to keep happening to us. Yay.

In my morning exercises I have gotten back to my memorizing Romans 8. That chapter is so great. I have to keep going back to it in my crabby times. Verses 10-12 are my fave so far. I also say the verses out loud when lies want to take hold of my thinking. I will take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ!Love You.I will try, yet again!

Mixin' It Up Some More

THE.ETHIOPIANS.HAVE.LANDED :)They made their way to Tamale by bus and Yvonne took Dawit, Eshetu and their daughter, Abigiya and I took Mesfin, Asafansh, and their two kids Barnabas and Naomi to our house. They have been in Accra for about a month and were ready to move out and get up here.They stayed with each of us for a few days and then on Friday they moved into Dooshik and Gaeok's home (they are on home assignment). While Mesfin and his family stayed with us, they served us authentic, legit Ethiopian coffee. Now, it is too bad I do not like coffee but I do love how it smells. I can tell their coffee is one of their pride and joys! Maybe one day I will enjoy it :) We started them with shopping and cultural do's and don'ts, and figuring out transportation. Greet people, don't use your left hand, wear shirts with sleeves, take this yellow-yellow here, etc, etc... The rains have come and in the mornings things were so nice and cool but by 11 am things were not so nice and cool. ughhh...what a nice welcome for them (along with some random power outages, of course). It takes a lot out of you to show people around. I am always checking to make sure they understand or asking questions to see if they got everything they needed or how to respond to people.

It is always interesting to hear from new people. Their perspective is very much of their home culture and "how we do it" and "in my country...". We all were like that. During my first time in Ghana, I remember a missionary asking me where home is. I replied, "Medford" as if she was supposed to know where that is! She was like, "Where is that?" Then it dawned on me, she does not know my tiny little world of Medford in Wisconsin in America! How is that possible??! That was my first brief insight into letting my eyes be opened to the bigger world. I had to tell her it was in Wisconsin. (She was American so she knew that much). I remember feeling small.Thank goodness we have God's promises that he knows how many hairs we have on our head. He knows where I am from. He loves Wisconsin :) That means he also loves Indians, and Brits, and Ethiopians. I can't believe I get to work alongside them all. I know it is not going to be easy to hear someone's point of view or take on things but so far this team has been very humble to one another. We have listened. We have stayed silent on some issues. We have confronted. We have built one another up. I never would have thought this would be my life. When I started raising support to be a missionary I only considered working with Ghanaians. I never thought about the other people on the team I would be working with. It is a privilege.This next week??? I know we have to help the new families find some housing but I hope to get out to do some serious language learning too. Let's see. Thanks for praying! Love you.

One Week Goes Faster Than the Next

Give me a chance to catch my breath, k?Ok, ready.Monday I went out for a good language day. The great thing was that I came home NOT angry. Praise the LORD!! Thanks for praying. On Tuesday, I went to visit Rafia. I told her I would travel to Accra to see the doctor. She asked me if the doctor gave me medicine to heal my wound. I said there is no medicine. She said when women get C-sections the doctor gives medicine to heal the wound. Hmmm...I did not know how to disagree with her and say I am sure the medicine is for something else. All very interesting.Wednesday at 5 am, Salome and I went to the bus station to head down to Accra. It was nice to travel with a friend! About 2/3 way down we stopped at a station in Kumasi. We got out to stretch, grab some snacks and go to the bathroom. When we got back to the bus we looked at where everyone else was looking...towards the only exit. At the exit was a HUGE TRUCK, like semi-trailer truck. It was broken down. Exactly in front of the exit. Exactly the time the bus parked in the station. HA!! These things always happen in Ghana...hence my blog name "'dis be ghana". People were getting all cranky and yelling at the driver. Like, he could do anything. People went out and looked at the truck and talked with the driver of it. These trucks are in terrible shape and usually the owners just bribe police so that they can keep these beasts on the road. Anyways, thankfully, the truck was able to reverse just enough for the bus to get thru and we were back on the road. At our last stop, about 2 hours from Accra, we got out. It was a short stop and the bus was honking for everyone to get back on. The man in the seat in front of us was not back. The bus attendant (yes, like flight attendant but on a bus...wooooo!!) and driver went looking for him. They tried calling him (they all take our number when we buy a ticket) and he didn't pick. So, they just decided to leave. Well, about 5 minutes down the road, the bus pulls over. Salome and I were watching a little video and I noticed we pulled over but did not think about it. UNTIL, a very angry man runs onto the bus yelling at the driver!! We decided live entertainment was better than our video since we had front row seats and WOW did the yelling go on. The bus attendant got into the middle to keep saying to the driver, "Driver, keep going. Focus on the road. Focus on the road." The people in seats even in the back were yelling at the man and the man was yelling back. Finally, people must have gotten tired and they quieted down. Such adventures on public transportation!

The Ethiopian families will be coming up to Tamale this week. Yvonne will have one family stay with her and Damary and I will host another family until we can find some sort of temporary accommodation. They will need to be orientated to life up here. We think that since they are African they know a lot but we are finding out they did not know what yam was or even green pepper. So, I think we really need to start with the basics. They did have a lot of orientation while they have been in Accra so it is not from the beginning but more of the practical stuff like how to get a taxi, buy food in the market, etc, etc.Got another big week ahead!!Thanks for praying!

Back to Buipe

Off the bus and onto a new one is how the week went.We got back from SLC on Saturday and I had a couple days to unpack, review some Dagbani, do some admin things and then pack again and head back to Buipe. Ok, so, not as fast as that. But still, let me have my dramatic flair, ok?My Auntie and my mom are making plans to visit me in October!! AHH!! Really, you cannot even know my excitement. I mean, off the charts WOO HOOOO!!! I should really have a smile on my face all the time. As I was telling Rafia about it in simple Dagbani, I learned the word for my mother's sister. I know I need to learn it because I will be telling everyone they are coming. I hope by October I can say it properly :)On Tuesday evening I led my first Bible study here in Tamale. There are about 8 girls ages 14-18 from a church outside of Tamale. Some can read Dagbani and some cannot. I have to use a translator. His name is Samuel and he was the one who asked if I could do this. I am using a Bible study book called Foundations of Faith. I really do not know where these girls are at spiritually so I will just start at the beginning. They seem like they really want to be there and study. That makes me want to be there too! I taught two things: God created all things and God knows all things. By the end of the night I could say those two things in Dagbani because I kept asking them what are we learning, what are we learning. Hopefully, they will learn things and I will learn things too. So far, so good!Tuesday night our Ethiopian teammates came up. Just Mesfin and Dawit because we would not have room in my car to drive around their wives and children. So, for now it was to give Mesfin and Dawit and idea of the north and to look at school and housing options available. On Wednesday, Yvonne set up several appointments at different schools. We were able to talk to some principles and get a look at classrooms. I was really amazed at what Tamale has. Damary cooked dinner for us Wednesday evening and we found out Dawit is a famous singer in Ethiopia. I said he and Damary should sing together because she is also famous in her area too.On Thursday, Mesfin, Dawit, Yvonne and I headed to Buipe. When we arrived we talked with some missionaries, Amy and Terry. It started to rain so we had to hold off on some plans. But by afternoon Dzallo, a Fulani believer, came over to say HI. Did I mention that the Ethiopians will be working with Fulani people? Yes, they will be :) Dzallo answered any questions they had and told them a little bit about himself. We then went to town and saw a school and met the principle there. We saw a couple houses that are available for rent too. I cannot imagine what was going thru the guys' heads because it was so much information and English is not their first language and everything is so new. But they did well.When we got back to Amy and Terry's we heard that a truck had crashed into a light pole and most of Buipe power was knocked out. So, Terry started the generator but found that was broken. Then he tried the solar panels and that wasn't working either! Thankfully, the rain had come and it really cooled things off. We were able to smile and had a lovely candlelight dinner outside with no bugs. I even slept well because of the cool breeze.The next morning we went over to Dzallo's place. He was not there. His father was there and some women, so we sat down and waited. His father tried talking to us but we can't speak the Fulfulde language. BUT...then he spoke Twi!! So, I tried to pull out from the cobwebs of my mind some Twi and was able to understand that Dzallo's son had malaria and needed to go to the hospital. I was able to tell the father that these men are from Ethiopia and will be living here. OOOO my brain was in such a mess trying to not mix it with Dagbani!! But, we made do, and just a bit later Dzallo came. Afterwards, we went to meet with Pastor Issa who's wife is Fulani. He just started a school and so we met him out there. There were also some pastors that Issa invited because apparently there has been some small acts of vandalism on the school. People don't want a Christian school so they are making it known. Issa had the pastors (and us) pray for God's wisdom and protection. It was a beautiful time to be part of the body of Christ.

We got some lunch and headed back to Tamale. The guys were out as Yvonne, Amy, and I chatted up a storm. I am sure their heads were full with all the info, exhausted from all the travels and meetings with people. For dinner on Friday, Penny was in town and all of us went out to eat. Damary and I thought we would run over to our tailor to pick up some dresses before that. He lives on a very muddy, potholey road and on the way back to town we got stuck. I have never gotten my 4x4 Nissan X-trail stuck before. But my car was tilted and the tires on the left side could not get planted well enough to get the other side out. It took about 4 men and 1.5 hours but they did it. I just felt like a pathetic damsel in distress wondering what to do next if they can't get the car out. (sigh) But we thank GOD for his help! We were able to meet everyone at the restaurant just as the food was being set down. Such great timing :)I have another week of crazy. I made an appointment to see the doctor who did the procedure on my cyst. It still has not healed well. I will head down to Accra for a few days.Love you. Thanks for praying!

SLC 2018

Missed last week. I was soooo busy. I was out and about with language, trying to get the last organizational touches on SIM Ghana's Spiritual Life Conference (SLC), and finish up house/email-y things. There are just not enough hours. For language, I went to Rafia's. I used the charcoal iron at her shop. So fascinating. Then, I went to the grinding mill with Wasila where she dumps in her ground nuts (we would call it peanuts) and then the machine turns it into paste (we would call it peanut butter). Can't get much healthier or fresher!

One sweet thing my team did for Yvonne, Damary and I  was that they laid hands on us and prayed. As each of us shared our testimony individually about what has happened in the past year, though we did not talk about it with each other, ours were very similar. We are all having a difficult time in Tamale. The people, the language, the heat. Our team has been so compassionate towards us and will continue to keep us in their prayers. Keep us in your prayers too!Life just keeps on moving. This week a couple of the Ethiopian missionaries will come up and see things for themselves. Yvonne and I will take them to see schools and any housing options in Tamale and Buipe. I also want to get some language in...not sure how that will all go. I also need to find where we pay our water bill--we just got our first one after 1.5 years!! HAAA.. Then I need to get a new residence permit, buy some food, email lots of people and just get back into some sort of a routine.Love you.

Buipe

April is HOT. Of course it is. It is hot season, silly. It makes for a sweaty life.Ok, so last week and this week--I spoke at a Women's conference. I did the morning devotional. I did not think it was that long but since it had to be translated into Dagbani and Konkomba it took long...the woman in the front row was sleeping. Then again, she was sleeping for the speaker after me too, so I won't take it personally :)I have been going around trying to see what churches are like for Dagomba people. I would like to help a Dagomba congregation and serve however God leads. I find that in Tamale city, there are churches, but they don't necessarily reach out to Dagombas. I have met with pastors from different churches and am finding out Dagbani speaking churches will most likely be on the outskirts of town.I met a Presyterian Reverend named Jasper. He allowed me to come with him as he is over 10 churches. We first visited a village that has no church and we, with two other men, went to greet the elders and get permission to meet in the future. The elder was ok with it but said the chief is away and he would be the main guy to talk with. We then went a little way from there and met under a tree with about 20 believers. They sat on benches and had a drum. They sang, gave announcements and pastor shared from the Word. It was beautiful! They told me one of the young men and one of the old women accepted the Lord last weekend at Easter. Then we traveled to another village. They met in a church. Another pastor was preaching. There were about 50 people there and they met in a classroom.Afterwards, I spoke to one of the men who was with us. His name is Samuel. He is a leader at one of the churches. I asked him about youth activity and Bible studies. He invited me to a Bible study in the village on Wednesday. He even called me that night to confirm the time and that I would consider teaching. Ei!!! This guy is too fast!! I just told him I would come and observe. I did go on Wednesday. It was a lively Bible study and the men were very talkative. There were 7 girls there who did not say a word. I later told Samuel that if I would come I would like to meet with these girls. Let's see what happens!On the Monday and Tuesday before that, Yvonne and I went to Buipe. It is a city over an hour away. We have missionaries from Ethiopia coming to work with Fulani in the Buipe area. Yvonne and I went to check it out and see what they had for housing, schools, hospital care, markets etc, etc. We met two American couples. One of the wives, Amy, took us around and helped us collect a lot of information. I was so thankful for her! It was also nice spending time with Americans. Again, I found myself talking louder and just being more...American. I can't explain what that means. Just, that, I could see a difference :)

One of these ladies gave us a Tamarind drink. And my neighbor gave me a Tamarind drink. I had no idea what this was! Damary knew it is a seed and has had it a lot of times in India. I was able to make it and it tastes like apple cider. YUM! One gal from Switzerland took a drink and said, "it reminds me of Christmas!" It looks gross but it is refreshing after a hot day. You boil water and add this ball and let it soak for about 20 minutes then add cinnamon, sugar and a bit of ginger...voila!Still plugging away at Dagbani. In regards to my attitude, I feel the fog lifting. Thanks for praying!

O So Crabby

One thing that gets me thru the day is my time with Jesus in the morning. But, three days this week I just could not put my whole heart into it. It was me. It was my bad attitude. It was just ugh and frustrating!Well, then, on Thursday I was like, "Ok, no more of this" and I gave Jesus my heart and sat down with Him and we had a such a sweet time together...Then, I went to town with Damary. I could barely talk to people. I had to buy something and it was like it was my only mission in life. When I got back into a yellow-yellow to go home this man next to us was kindly asking us in Dagbani where we are going. I said, without even looking at him, in English, "we are going home". He asked like three times and Damary kindly said in Dagbani that we were going home. I just was so angry. For what???!!! I don't know... then we almost get home and some cute kids come running to us calling our names. I was thankful they didn't call us "white person, white person or siliminga, siliminga" but our names. But then, they try pushing their way into our gate. They would never-evah do that with a Ghanaian. It is very disrespectful. We actually had to push them out of the door. It was awful. One girl had a tire she was playing with and I took it. That made them stop and then cry to have it back. I said you are being very disrespectful. I will take it to your mother. (I know their moms.) They were so angry but we were so angry too! Maybe there could have been a better way to handle that, I don't know. I did go later and give it to the girl's mother. The mother told me her children don't respect anyone. (sigh)We have some guests, one came yesterday and our power went off around 6pm. We had a nice candlelight dinner. Really, I have to say it is not romantic when you are all sweaty and hot. But thankfully, the light came back on. Unfortunately, it went off at 9pm and did not come back until 10.30am the next day!!! I was happy Penny had our battery powered fan. I don't know how she would have slept otherwise because let-me-tell-you I did not sleep! I went outside under a mosquito net and it was bearable but then the chemical in the net made me itchy the rest of the night and today. It was just one of those things I did not need, ya know? But, let me rejoice that our power came back . Our other guest arrived and I am hoping we don't have power out again tonight. (Please, Jesus NOOOOOOOO!!)But one way I got thru the night was I remembered at Christmas Mom and Dad gave me a little gift. It was a little fan you can plug into your phone. I was so excited when I remembered that. BUT THEN...I saw it was for IPhones only and I have an Android. UGHHH SAD!!! BUT THEN...I knew somewhere I had an IPod and guess what???! IT WORKED!!! And I didn't even have to use my phone battery. PRAISE THE LORD. (Talk about and up and down night, eh?) I don't want to sound like a big downer but there are times where I am just not too chippy. I don't want to pretend and make it seem life is flowers when it is not. But thankfully, Jesus is ALWAYS with me, whether I acknowledge His presence or not.Truth, baby. Truth.

Salome Visited

Tune in for my regular scheduled program starting next week...This week we had a lovely guest named Salome stay with us. She is a short term missionary from Switzerland but has lived in Jerusalem most of her life since her parents are missionaries there. She is probably one of the most mature 20 year olds I have ever met. She is so capable and independent. She is helping in Gushiegu doing children's work and a whole lot of other things from January until May. We told her that if she ever needed a break to come over to Tamale. And so she did.She arrived on Monday. I took her shopping in Tamale on Tuesday and then Wednesday Yvonne, Damary, Salome and I went to a pool to chill. It was lovely, especially since the weather has degrees in the 3 digits!!! Ugh... She headed back to Gushiegu on Thursday. She was attacked by ants in our house one night but other than that I think she was able to rest.It was also nice for me to get away from language learning, though I am speaking Dagbani of course, as we go to town and such. I am psyching myself up that this next week and the rest of the month will be serious Dagbani times!!Though, I had a time away from language I still found myself angry. In the car yesterday  I said to Damary, "I am so angry and have no reason to be!" We both are memorizing Romans 8 and I said let's start saying our verses. I need to be surrounded by truth and have truth in my mind. It helped...as God's Word usually does :)Love you. Hope all is well! Thanks for praying! 

Easter 2018

Every morning, well, most mornings anyways, I start with my time with Jesus. Praying and talking to Him-praying, thanking, asking. It goes so well. He teaches me from the Bible and I am really learning things. But then...I walk out the door.I turn into a different person. Like, I forget how much I am loved and therefore should love others. It's like my eyebrows cinch together and I find myself yelling at kids, "don't disrespect me, don't disrepect me!" I called a man "stupid" under my breath and my friend heard. Stupid is very insulting to someone. Where are these things coming from? The Bible will say, what is in your heart comes out of your mouth. Yikes. It's true.The week was rough. It was hot, language did not seem to improve. I found one day I came home happy but then realized it was because I was doing random-errand-list things and not much language. Language really sucks me dry. I can't find a balance with it. It is so consuming.I do have highlights. Like being with Rafia and sewing. Like hearing something someone said and realizing I can respond without a 1 minute of hesitation. Like, not doing language on Friday because of Good Friday. (Another reason to call it good:))Not going to sit and whine. Life is hard. I will rejoice that I serve a risen Savior. One who loves me and walks with me. One who loves me unconditionally and gives me brothers and sisters around the world. I am going to choose thankfulness, though, I really just want to cry and go home.Here are some pics from our Easter Weekend Program:

God is always good. God is Love. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Holding on to truth this week.Love you. 

Sewing and Dagbani!

Another full week of language. Some great parts and some not great parts. One great part was that I bought a sewing machine and Rafia is a great teacher! After we went out and bought the non electric, turn by hand machine, I was wondering if she would just make me watch her for a few weeks or what. Thankfully, she let me jump right in. I now know how difficult it is to sew a straight line. I also know how difficult it is to hear the same word but used in a command form, which changes it!! Rafia is continuing to speak only in Dagbani and it is painful but I am very glad.She has another apprentice named Sahada. On Wednesday I broke my machine. Rafia said it just needed to be greased. Sahada took me to the man who fixes machines and he took the whole thing apart and then greased it and VOILA! It is back to normal! While my machine was broken Rafia taught me how to do a hem. Very. Cool. And, in case you wondered, hem in Dagbani is hem :) While I am busy at work little children from the school next door watch me.

My scalp was so sore and I actually have 2 new bald spots. Not Cool...OOOOOO the things we do for beauty.It has been very hot this week. I have also been realizing there is so much in Dagbani that I don't understand. I have felt overwhelmed and told God I want to go home. It would just be nice to be in a clean place where I have friends and can have some homemade lasagna or something while sitting watching TV with mom and dad... then on Saturday night our power went out. It was out for the next 17 hours. I was trying not to get angry. I just accepted it and hoped it would come on soon. I really did not think the power would come back on because it was Sunday. Who is going to fix whatever the problem is on Sunday??? BUT THEY DID!!! I hugged Damary. There was no way I wanted to do another sleep with no fans.I will not give in to negative thoughts. I know God is greater than anything I am dealing with. I know He is with me. I know all these things. I am memorizing Romans 8. One verse says, "Dear brother and sisters, you are under no obligation to do what the sinful nature urges you to do." LOVE THAT. So, when I get all whiney, or wishing I could be somewhere else, or have a different life (even though, mine is really cool) I don't need to entertain those thoughts. Just cut them off.I googled some home remedies for my cyst wound. One is Aloe Vera which we have. I have already started trying it!Love you. Thanks for praying!

Rain, Language, and Pads

I did not take any pics this week. Weird. I usually use pics to remind me of who I saw, what I did or things that happened.I did language, is what I did all week. And it has been soooo hot! OY! On Tuesday as I was walking home I saw some clouds gathering. It had just rained the night before so I thought, this can't be rain again. But little by little the wind picked up. People were calling to me, "Wunizooya, come here, it is going to rain!" but as small drops fell, I told them the rain feels good. I really thought it would just be a few drops...but it was a lot more than that! I got home soaked thru. I have to say, I really did not mind. I was so hot and that rain and wind just cooled me down. It has been in the 100s. Beautiful blue skies and yellow sun contrasting with the red dirt and patches of green grass...but oh, the heat!One funny experience in my language time this week: I met a woman named Mayli. She took me around to greet her friends. Now, my cyst wound still has not closed completely. It opens up almost once a week. When it opens it bleeds a little. I thought it was going to bleed and I didn't want blood on my dress. SOOOOO...I took a light day pad, a sanitary pad (very thin, small one) and stuck it to the back of my slip under my dress. That way it could soak up the sweat and blood, if there is any blood. As we were walking and walking and sweating and sweating I felt for the pad and it moved. I tried moving it back. Then later, I think part of it rolled up because it was sticking the wrong way. Then later...I could not find it! When I got home, I looked at my slip...no pad.So...that means... somewhere around Mayli's village there is a pad!!! It must have dropped out while we were walking. I hope no one saw it. Maybe it even stuck to my flipflop!! Ohhhh the joys!!! LOL :)I am glad I can laugh because Dagbani really drains me. I am still stickin' with it. I have this week to again push thru and talk. On Monday, Rafia and I will go and buy a sewing maching. This will not be electric or foot pedaled. To sew you turn the side wheel with your hand. Should be an experience! I also, hope to get my braids taken out. I really thought I could make it 3 weeks, but I cannot. I just want them out. I want my own hair back!Love you. Thanks for praying!

OOO Craziness

Friday, March 1st is when all the action started. I came down on the bus on Thursday. Friday morning, the groom had a friend who was giving a car for me to drive them around. (How generous, eh?) I went and picked it up. Then I got a call from the bride she needed me to pick her up. This was her traditional engagement day! Her family and the groom's family would meet together and she would be given over to her husband. Unfortunately, I was slacking on my chauffeuring job and I was not ready. Baaba and I rushed to get ready (Amponsah was ready already...totally a guy :)) so we could pick the bride and get to the engagement. I was so late in picking her up! OOO Craziness...We could not even find the place and then when we did arrive the bride still had to get dressed and get her hair and make up done! Ei! People were already gathering. But, somehow in this country, though things are late, it all turns out ok.

On Monday, no more craziness :) I rested. I slept in. I went to see a movie. I bought a chocolate croissant. It was much needed to just beeeee. Tuesday and Wednesday I went out with people. I ate fufu, I prayed with friends, I sat at shops, friends cooked for me, it was bliss!! Thursday, I found out one of my boys is an Uber driver!! So, he took me to the airport. He is now married and they both come to Tesano church. I am happy about that.Now, back in Tamale. I am bracing myself and psyching myself up to be super serious with language. I have a good chunk of time to go all out. There is a new area I want to go to and practice and also I want to get sewing with Rafia! OOOOO let's hope for hope with this Dagbani.Thanks for praying!

Another Week

I would like to say it was just a normal week, but it really wasn't. Not that it was super exciting or anything either.I went out for language on Monday. I am trying to find out about Dagbani families. I learned some new words but haven't really tried using them. They are too much!! There is always next week...On Tuesday we had our monthly team meeting and it was held at Yvonne's house in Tamale. The Gushiegu team came and it went really well. We heard what was talked about in council, how we need to move forward in our Dagbani strategies, and how to start figuring out SLC. We had a lovely meal together and shared prayer requests and Yvonne lead us in a devotion from John. I'd call all that was done a success!From Tuesday to Friday we had people at our house. Damary and I work together well and I am so thankful for her and how we just team-thru meals and clean up. Wednesday I tried to do language but with people around and hospitality, it gets kind of lost. Yes, I will be the first to admit it is an excuse! I did go just to my neighbors but I didn't really talk I just played with the kids. I can't quite catch all they are saying so I just keep nodding my head. I wonder when they will figure out I can't understand them?

It was all fun and games until one little boy had poop running down his leg. Eww! But one woman just grabbed him and cleaned up him (and this would be another reason why I don't have children haha).Fela, Pui, Grace and Damary left for Accra on Thursday morning. Salome was waiting for Rema and Maami to pick her up but they got tied down with errands and decided to wait until Friday morning. I met a woman from America last week and said we need to hang out one night. I thought since Salome was around we could all go. So, we went to my favorite place called Chucks. We had a lovely dinner and conversations. I love hearing about how God leads people in their lives. He is so amazing.Salome left on Friday and I had the house to myself. So, what did I do? I went out :) I called my friend Martha, who will put my hair in braids next week, and we went to market to buy hair and a hair-net-thing. I love going to the market with a Ghanaian, they just know where to go and how to do it.When I got to Martha's she was finishing some twists on a little girl. They burn the ends so it won't come undone. It is not her hair that gets burnt, it is the fake hair/string that she uses.Yeah, so that is my week. Damary comes back from Accra today. Things will be all back to normal.Got a lot of words to use this week in Dagbani! Thanks for praying!P.S. My cyst wound...I know, the never-ending-saga, is red and puffy and it hurts. Pray for healing!

Adventures in Language

I am back in the game people! I did Dagbani learning every day. I really had to push myself out the door but as I got out there it became not so much of a chore. THANKS FOR PRAYING!!!!I had some not-so-understanding-times though. There is a little girl who has been afraid of me ever since I moved to Kaakpayili. Usually, kids are afraid of me, but after awhile it goes away. This girls sees me quite often and she still cries when I try to come near. On Thursday, I bought some oranges for my friends and she wanted one.What I thought I said:I give you orange. Come Here. (I said it like, 3 times) She would not come.What I realized, as I was about to sleep that night, that what I really said was:Give me orange. Come Here.NO WONDER she didn't come! I was telling her to give me an orange!! AHHH!!!Remember a gal from last year who I went to fetch water with, Asmawu? Well, her brother called me last week, because she doesn't have a phone. She asked me why have I not visited for awhile. She told me her father died last month. I told her I would come and visit her. I went to greet her and her family. We sat and talked...ok, so, I mostly listened :) At the end she asked me if I would like to go to her village. She stays close to town with family so that she can go to school. The village is called Kukuo and that is where her mother stays and her great aunt (who I have met).On Friday, I drove to her home and picked up her, her brother and cousins. We drove to Kukuo, which is only about 5 km away. It was a very local village. I don't even know if I remember seeing electricity poles. Her brother, spoke some English, and of course, Asmawu speaks some too but mostly it was me trying to hear Dagbani. It was really good for me!!

On the way back, we was able to pass by my home and show them where I live. The brother asked me a question.What I thought he said:Do you have water? Does your water stay?I responded:Yes, thankfully we have water everyday. We also have a big tank.There. Was. Silence.He asked me again a question... this time I heard:Do you have family? Do you stay alone?AHHHHHH!! We all laughed and I told them I have a sister and we stay together. OOOOO the joys of language!! (I mean, how funny it must have been for him to ask me if I stay alone and I respond, " Oh, I have a water tank.")I am so thankful for my week. Though, by Thursday afternoon I kept thinking it was Friday and I could sleep in on Saturday!! Ei!! But, by God's grace I made it through the whole week. I was so exhausted by Friday afternoon, but a good-accomplished-sort-of-exhausted.Thanks so much for praying. I will have a very quiet-not-going-anywhere-sort-of-weekend.Cheers to the next week!

Back Into It

Thanks for praying!! I got back into the swing of things! Feelin' good!On Monday, we had Phil and 2 board members of SIM GHANA come and visit. Patrick and Agnes. They have been on the board for awhile and have wanted to see all the people that they hear about and pray for. It was great to share with them what Tamale is like, how discouraging language can be and them, being Ghanaians who have stayed in Tamale, were very understanding and encouraging. I mean, coming to visit alone was encouraging!Tuesday, I did language. I had a lesson. It was good. I made a deal with Pastor Andrew and Jemima that if I did not listen to my Dagbani recording for an hour every day this month I would have to work for them. We laughed, but they have been asking me everyday! I love accountability :) Just a pic of what I see on the roads daily.I was able to go out and talk with friends. I have a little talk about my operation in Accra and then people coming up in January. I told them now that I am done with other things, I can come back to language learning. I also met with 3 students at the youth hostel who said they would help me learn when I come by. I hope to build relationships with them in this way.Do you know what Guinea Fowls are? They are loud, annoying birds! My neighbor has raised some. Actually, he has 2 turkeys and he found out that turkeys will care for baby birds other than their own kind, so actually, the turkeys raised these fowls. I heard one gal say that Guinea Fowls have the most beautiful feathers and the ugliest face. I completely agree. They are very good for protein and eating and their eggs are hard but also have a lot of protein. After they fly over our wall and squawk so loudly in the morning, I am about to roast all of them. Ugh...

Other than that, life goes on and God is always good.Love you. Thanks for Praying!

Just One Hour

I don't want to tell you what I did this week.It did not go as I planned. I planned to be going out, listening to my recordings, and have Dagbani lessons and be all excited. I started. Then, well...I don't know. I couldn't stand it. I was listening to my recording and it felt like forever I was listening to it...I checked my clock--I was listening for 4 minutes! Funny...but not funny. (sigh)I did not lay around and sleep or watch movies. There are always things to do around here like, even just living takes work. I pretty much did every possible thing on my to-do list. I emailed, I made myself a budget!, I figured out healthy meal plans, I visited some friends, I exercised, I organized my Dagbani stuff, I fixed all the light bulbs and bought new ones, went to market (several times), tried to keep up on all the dust (I am not winning on that one), prayed with people on the phone, visited a friend at a school---INTERMISSION WITH AN AMAZING FIND!!Two people, recently, randomly, told me that at a school they have a meat department and you can get pork chops, sausages, ground beef (for the most part I grind my own, a very sweaty process) and other cuts of meat. So, since I had to drop something off for a friend at the school I decided to check it out. Damary and Yvonne came with me as well. You guys, this place was legit!! It wasn't all fancy like a butchery shop in a supermarket store but it was close. The guy talking with us is a meat scientist (never knew that was a thing) and he told us they have farms around and they bring animals and cut them up and sell the meat or freeze it. I know Zaina Lodge, that place we stayed at in Mole Park to see the elephants, gets their meat from this place. It was so awesome. I got pork chops (pork chops people!!!), beef/pork sausages, and ground beef. I could get filet and roasts too. It was heaven for me to know this place is around Tamale!!

OK BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM--  cooked a lot of food, had dinner with teammates, and tried not to feel guilty leaving my Dagbani alone. But, usually the guilt would come before I slept. I would then tell myself, "Ok, tomorrow is a new day. You can do this!" (sigh)Later in the week, I woke up with the mosques call to prayer and I laid in my bed and I heard that still small voice. Those words that are not quite words but in your chest you know it is from the Lord. It was so gentle. He said, "Just one hour". Over and over I sensed Him saying "Just one hour". I woke up. On my to-do list for the day I put "one hour of Dagbani". I did my quiet time. I ran to town for something. I cooked something. The househelper came over. Other people came over. Then they all left. I took my recordings and listened to them for one hour. It was not a burden. I even listened longer as I prepared vegetables and did kitchen-y things. It was a joy.It is always a joy to obey the Lord. I don't know how He does that. It is just if I want to let my attitude go there and trust that. His kindness brings us to repentance. I felt such love and mercy from the Lord. I told Baaba, on the phone a few days previous, that I need a good kick in the pants to get me going. But the Lord used gentleness and mercy. How can He be so patient with me? I will never forget Him using this to show me this side of Himself. Psalm 145:8- The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. I also thought about the verse from Romans 12:12- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. I had two different people this week tell me to find joy in language. Sounds easier said than done. But I will try.To be honest, I do not know what my attitude will be like tomorrow morning. I actually have lots to do and people to meet with. I am not sure I will have time for a lesson. But I will remember the gentleness of my God. And that helps me to make me want to do what He wants. When I think about that, I smile. There is joy. It may be hiding under my ridiculous-ness, but it is there, ready to be unleashed.Cyst update-- my wound opened up. I know I said last week I was good to go, but Andrea looked at it again and said that the thin new skin that grew on it tore. It is just not getting "dry time". But, it is not infected and Andrea really was not concerned so that makes me not worry and just continue to wait and pray for full healing.Love you. Thanks for praying!