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.
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.
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!
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...
Arrived back in Tamale in one hour. A bit different from the bus and way more expensive but worth it!Language is calling me. I keep rejecting the call but it keeps pestering me:) I need to pick it and get going again this week. Also, I need to start exercising again and eating right. Pray for me!Love you.P.S. When Andrea was here, she checked my cyst wound and found it is pretty much healed! WOO-HOO!! Praisin' The Lord over here people!!!
we stayed in Sandema until Tuesday and I took Emily and Tara back to Tamale with me. We met up with one of my fave pastors, Pastor Stephen Aputara. He came to visit my family way back in 2004. He fell in love with cheeseburgers, custard, and cheese (you wonder where we took him for dinner??). He knew I was in America for Christmas and he facebooked me and said I needed to bring back cheese for him! I told him it was too big of a sacrifice, he will get zero blocks of cheese. But... (sigh) since I am a christian :) I decided I better give him one. So, we made sure to pass by Navrongo on the way to Tamale and hand over the Wisconsin cheese. When I gave it to him he said, "At last". HA.We stopped in Bolga where Em and Tara went looking for cultural treasures like cloth and bags. They ended up with some good finds. Emily remembered a shop that sold tea and fried eggs when she was little. That shop is still there! We had coffee, Milo, and fried egg sandwiches. Classic Ghana. I asked her if it was what she remembered and she kind of shrugged her shoulders and said, "I think everything is a bit more magical when you are a kid."In Tamale we met up with another woman who helped Emily make bags and dresses. We did not stay very long because we had to stop at home before meeting up with Yvonne for dinner. Yvonne helps christian business owners in Ghana to use their work for Kingdom purposes. She is an amazing woman!Now...work time was over...ok, so I still had to drive BUT...where we were driving...O.MY.GOODNESS! Emily, Tara, and I went to Mole National Park, which is beautiful. BUT...we stayed at Zaina Lodge 
For the past couple months I would visit Lamisi and her apprentices. I would interview them so Emily could get a feel for who they are and their backgrounds. Maybe in the future I can pray with some of the girls or lead a Bible study.Emily has been here this week. She needed to work out details, talk face to face with Lamisi, and look at cloth and products here in Ghana. She is with her dad Jay and his friend Ed and daughter Katie. Ed and his family were also missionaries in Ghana in the 90s. Emily has a friend-photographer who has also come to take photos and make a video of what By Grace is trying to do with women in Ghana and her name is Tara.Jay and Ed made plans to come back to Ghana and I think when Emily found about it she joined in with Katie. Jay and Ed worked in the Upper East Region of Ghana in towns called Sandema and Fumbisi. While they are here this week they are doing a course for Good News Bible Churches in those areas talking about bitterness/reconciliation and also entrepreneurship/finances and saving.I am so glad Emily is here because though, I am just the middle person, I have so many questions about business (I know nothing). It has been good to see her joy about the work God has given her to do and made me proud to work with this organization. Emily has helped them to put up a shelter where they can sew because right now they are under trees. She also had a little dedication party for it and gave the girls certificates for what they have accomplished so far. She and Tara have done interviews. One of the questions she asked to a girl was, "What does the word grace mean to you?" The girl did not answer. Then the translator said to Emily, "She is M*slim. She does not know what grace is." That was very powerful to us who believe in Christ. Grace is favor, undeserved favor. God loves us and saved us by his grace, not by anything of our own works. As if our good things could be good enough...oh, we silly little humans. What an amazing merciful, loving God we have to love us just because He is Love!! WOOOO HOOOOO!
One totally different subject-- my wound where the cyst was removed...it was bleeding the other day. Thankfully, near Sandema we have a nurse named Pat. I quickly went to visit her. She said it is not infected but there are 2 little openings yet. It is still not healed. It is in a hard place to heal. Somehow I need to keep it dry. Easier said than done!! You can be praying it would heal and let's hope infection stays away.Love you!
I did not go in the water because of my wound, which is healing quite nice and still pain-free! We enjoyed food and I wanted to get something that I would not get in America and a big ol' ball of banku and huge tilapia were delicious!
It went very well. I went on Monday morning with Andrea. I don't think they had an order or schedule of patients. It was like if-we-told-you-to-come-Monday-morning then it is first come first served. So, I had to wait a couple hours. Then I was put into one of those lovely hospital gowns. Thankfully, this one was big enough I could wrap it around myself and did not have to have the back wide open. And I was really thankful for that because I had to walk down 2 floors of ramps 
to get to the "Theatre Room", which is what we would call an Operating Room. There I had to wait because the doctor came out and said, "Where have you been? I have been here all morning and now I have to do an interview. I will be back in a half hour." Um...Ok... one of the OR nurses brought me a newspaper. While I was waiting, 2 nurses finished up the last patient and then needed a nap so they came and slept on the empty stretchers while we waited for the doctor to come back. I did see another nurse spray with disinfectant the stretcher the last patient was on and then wiped it down. 
I was impressed because really it was about a half hour and the doctor came back in ready to go. The nurses woke up and walked into the OR to prepare. I noticed they wore flip flops and had their nails done. I remember working, just as a file clerk, in a hospital in Chicago and nurses were not allowed to have artificial nails, for the health of the patient. Then they called me in. They did a nice job of making me feel comfortable, but really, how comfortable can you be lying on a table with your rear end for all to see? Ugh...I heard the doctor scrubbing in. The nurse who connected me to the blood pressure machine was not wearing gloves. They found out I could speak Twi so they talked to me a little bit but I kept responding in Dagbani! They all started speaking Ga. When the doctor injected the area with numbing stuff the nurse compassionately patted my arms. I thought that was sweet. That was the only pinch I felt. It took about a half hour. He had to numb more because I could feel it a little and said so. He said the cyst had an extension and he had to really get at it to get it. I think this doctor really knew his stuff. I was impressed with the mostly pain-free-ness of it all.He finished and sutured me up. They covered me up and wheeled me 2 floors up the ramp to where I could change into my clothes. I was all numb so I could have walked and actually did when I got up there. The clerk told me I had to pay my bill. That was on the ground floor. I asked her if I have to walk down there and do it. She was like Duh, yeah. Ok, she did not say it like that :) Andrea offered to do it for me but I was actually feeling fine and kind of sort of wanted to see how much I could do. I walked down and paid and then back up. When Andrea and I were leaving I even told her I could drive! I was very surprised.I felt good all day. I took 2 Paracetamol (Tylenol) and any pain that was hinting at coming ran away. Then Tuesday, I got tired of sitting all morning so I went to take a walk. That probably was too much for me. I took 2 Paracetamol and rested. On to Wednesday, which was very boring, I did not go out at all. How boring! I can hear my mom saying, "You need to learn to be a Mary, not a Martha." (Guess who I learned that from!? MOM!)Throughout these days though, I really had no pain. Of course, when I sat down, I had to do it slowly and I have a donut ring pillow-thing, which really makes sitting wonderful.I went for a dressing change on Thursday and they said it is clean, dry and healing. YAY! This has gone way better than expected. Thanks soooo much for praying!! I just cannot believe it. So, then, since things have been going well...I was able to do other things like finish my prayer letter, write Christmas cards, shop for things I can't buy in Tamale, shop for Christmas presents, visit friends. Friday was a holiday and there was a young women's conference. My friend Baaba spoke. She is so amazing. We then took a trotro to the guest house, with a pit stop for some food, and ate and talked together.
From Tuesday to the weekend I have stayed with my lovely friends, Baaba and Amponsah. She cooks yummy food and they give me a room to sleep and chill. It is so wonderful!! And we talk, talk about everything new and old. OOOO how I love them.Be praying about the procedure Monday morning at 8am Ghana time. Pray for quick healing. I fly home December 5th!! Woo Hoooooo!!!
He was very kind and he was able to refer me to a surgeon in Osu. He took me to the front desk and left me in the capable hands of the receptionist. She called Trust Hospital, where the surgeon worked, to see if I could get an appointment. As she talked I could tell they told her I could come on Thursday but I whispered, "I live in Tamale." She then asked if I could come today. They told her if I come right now I can see him. Then she took me outside to where there was a taxi and told him where to take me and how much it would cost. She was beyond helpful!3. I am off, in a taxi, to Osu, a very highly traffic-y area and was starting to let my worries crowd in...but as we got closer...there was NO TRAFFIC!! Nothing!! I said to the driver, "Where are all the cars? Where is the traffic?" He said he didn't know. He has never seen this before. HA! This is my God!4. I get to the hospital and had to do the paperwork/blood pressure stuff and then waited to see the surgeon. He was an older sort of man, not much for talking. He examined me and said he could do it. I asked him how long it would take to recover from this. He said, very nonchalantly, about 2-3 weeks. Ei!! I had to tell him that I would be traveling on December 5th. As he looked at his calendar and openings he said he could do it in December. My heart sank...Nooooooo... I boldly came up with other options, wondering if I was overstepping my bounds but not caring at the same time. He doesn't usually book people unless they have blood work done. I told him I could be down next week and do the blood work but PLEASE book me in so someone doesn't take that spot. He agreed! The plan right now is I will do blood work on Monday, November 20. Then Tuesday, he will look that over and hopefully give me the go ahead and also give me things I need for my insurance to cover this. Then the procedure is scheduled November 27th, the following Monday. That gives me about a week to heal before I get on a plane. He didn't really like that part but I must have been so convincing :)5. I was finished before noon. Since I was in Accra, I might as well see if I can find some celery to go with my stuffing that I would make later in the week. I got a taxi to one mall. and they did not have any :( I took a taxi to another mall and they had some :) YAY!!6. I was back at the airport around 2:00pm. My flight wasn't leaving until 3:30pm so I had plenty of time to reflect and rest. I brought food with me and was just chilling and praising God for all the ways He made this day go so smoothly. I know that if you don't know Accra, you can't fully understand the amazing-ness of all of this going like butter (butt-ah haha). I was just in awe of the power of God and so thankful I did not waste any of my time worrying.Let's fast forward to Friday. Friday, Damary went in for her language evaluation. She was in there for like, 35 minutes! I was wondering what they were doing for so long and that made me nervous. She came out with a smile--she passed!! Ok, my turn. I also was in there a long time. They must have asked almost every single question etc, etc. but I knew all of them. And-- I passed too!! What a weight off my shoulders! Hooray!!! Let me tell you the house was full of screams and rejoicing.And then to top it all off-- Thanksgiving Dinner!!! All the food turned out. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I enjoyed them enjoying :) I am so thankful for my team. How they really are my family here. Afterwards, we each shared about what we are thankful for. What an amazing end to an amazing day...week?!Thank you so much for praying! Thank you, Thank you!! Next thing on the prayer list is for my trip to Accra on Sunday. I will leave very early and hopefully arrive in Accra before evening. Pray for safety on the roads. Pray for police not to trouble me. Pray for a very uneventful trip :) Then, pray when I see the doctor on Tuesday that he would give me the go-ahead and even have an opening earlier like Thursday or Friday. That would give me a longer time to heal before having to sit on an airplane.Praise God with me! Just PRAISE HIM FOR BEING HIM! Love you all.
In the middle of the week, missionaries from Sandema, in the Upper East Region, stopped by. They do a lot of marriage and family training. It is very needed here. They don't really do counseling but they teach and train church leaders about it. Families here are very broken. Church pastors and leaders are not immune. I have heard some very sad stories. I have even had couples tell me their problems and I am like, "uhhh, I got me no ring on my finger. Why are you asking a single person??!" But I was honored they talked to me about it.So, yes, Doug and Heather passed thru and stayed at the Sher-Damar house :) Heather needed to do a bit of shopping and Doug went to get their car repaired. We hopped a yellow-yellow and accomplished a lot.
Then a woman who sells rice and stew or fufu and soup just bought a fufu pounding machine! To pound fufu, it takes a lot of strength and many times young men do it, so for her to have one will really help her. I was amazed by it. You can see the fufu coming out. She will put it into a ball so it will nicely fit into a bowl and then you can pour your soup in it and enjoy . 
Walking around I found out a seamstress, who I have sat and talked with, died in child birth. So sad. People around the area were quiet to mourn with the family. I went to sit with this girl named Mariam. I told her I heard about our friend who died. Mariam said, "So are you afraid of death?" I said, "Noooo! I know exactly where I will be when I die. I know that I will be with God." She gave me a smile as if I did not know what I was talking about and to humor me. The people who live around me have no hope. They have only their good works to get them to heaven. God says those are not good enough. I pray I would have another chance to talk to Mariam about this.One morning I was out for 3 hours and I received 4 marriage proposals. All of them from married men. How lucky am I? ugh...With one, I got into a discussion on how in my country we are all equal and so if you have 2 wives then I will have 2 husbands and OOO! the response I got from that. It is unimaginable for a woman to do that here.The end of the week my neighbor Hamdiya had a naming ceremony for her baby girl. The name is too difficult for me to say, so sorry, I can't tell it to you :)