Ask For the Nations Ministries

GHANA, HERE WE COME!

2012-02-16T16:27:00.006-08:00

It is finally happening! We are leaving for Ghana. Our ticket have been purchased. We head out March 20th.

We have a mandate to go to Ghana, and like never before everything is saying GO NOW. Jody hasn't landed long term construction project in awhile. The house we rent is being sold, and is priced to sell quickly. We have people requesting to visit us in Ghana, and projects waiting for us when we get there.

Our desire, what we know God wants us to do, is to live and minister in Ghana. Never have we felt we were to be part time or short term missionaries. Because of this we've held back, waiting for everything to be right. Waiting for all the pieces to be in place so we can go knowing it is "forever". However, there is an element of faith and trust required that "having all your ducks in a row" doesn't allow for. It seems,we are at that place. We've gotta choose to take the leap, and trust that God's got a plan, even if we don't.

So, we're gonna jump. We leave for Africa March 20th. We will stay for at lest six months. We are believing that during the next six months, God is going to make a way for us to stay more permanently.

Leaving with us on March 20th is our team member, Tesia. She has committed to a six month term. She will be ministering with us, and also teaching our children.

We're just a little over four weeks away from departure. We've got a lot to do, including move our entire home into storage! Please keep us in your prayers. Our team needs to raise $7,000 more to ensure we are fully finances for six months. If you would like to give, please click HERE for our address. You can also give online, HERE.

Thank you for all of your love and prayers and support that have gotten us to this place. The journey has just begun!!!

P.S. Expect to receive regular updates now, so be sure you're following us on Blogger, Twitter, or Facebook.

July, August, September Newsletter

2011-11-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.askforthenationsministries.org/roscoenewsletter09.11.pdf

Pastor Frank is coming, and we really are going to Africa!

2011-10-03T09:28:00.003-07:00

Waiting is the name of the game around here lately! September 20th was our target return to Ghana date. There was nothing magical about this date, other than it worked well for all parties (at the time we set it). Scheduling kinks and delays have seen that target date come and go. Leaving us a little disappointed, but knowing God must have something better in store.

It wasn't long after we returned from Portland that we received word from Pastor Frank (our main contact in Ghana) that he was going to be in the USA for most of October and November. It would have been quite a challenge to try and get settled in Ghana with Pastor Frank back here in America.

As of now, the plan is still a bit up in the air about when we will go to Ghana, but we are getting closer to knowing for sure. We will either return with Pastor Frank at the end of November, or wait until after the holidays and go in the beginning of January.

Please keep praying for us! We are ready to go, but still do have some important details to work out.

We also continue to be in need of monthly financial partners. If you are interested in getting involved with our ministry, please visit our website or contact us: roscoe@afnministries.org .

Also, if you would like to give towards Pastor Frank's traveling expenses and love offering, please click here for a direct online giving link, or visit our website for mailing instructions.

The Kids with Pastor Frank and Cecilia during their last visit in 2008.

Back from Portland, Heading toward Africa.

2011-09-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

We are back from vacation in Portland. Well, we're almost all back. Jody will return in just a few more days. We had a great time visiting many family and friends. We wish we could have seen more friends and family, but the three weeks seemed to zoom by too quickly.

Now that we are back, it's time to go to Africa! ....just slightly later than originally planned.

We are working with a local Christian company who is interested in business ventures in Ghana. Working with them would help supplement the remainder of our support needed to live and minister in Ghana. We were supposed to have a meeting to solidify things prior to leaving for Portland. Due to scheduling conflicts the meeting was postponed.

Our original scheduled return date was September 20th. We are pushing this back by a few weeks, so that we can reschedule our business meeting, and finalize all our plans.

This change in schedule doesn't mean a change in busyness! It just means we won't be pulling out quite as much hair as we finish all the last minute preparations and packing.

So, we will keep you posted during the next few weeks, and will share our new departure date as soon as we have it. In the mean time, enjoy a few pictures from our time in Portland.

The kids with their friends at the Oregon Zoo.

Fun at the Beach.

Son being baptized by Papa at Truelife Church. His confession of faith: "I love God... I want everyone to know I love Him and that He's the boss of my life."

Cousin wrestling time!

My beautiful niece and me.

From Stephanie's Blog: A Year's Adventure

2011-08-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

http://wannabe-worldchanger.blogspot.com/

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of one of the most life altering decisions our family has ever made. We packed up all our belongings in a small Uhaul trailer, hooked to our big blue minivan, said good bye to all of our family and friends, and headed out for South Carolina.

What a year it has been! Our trek across the United States was an adventure in itself, seeing Old Faithful and Mount Rushmore, visiting friends and family in Missouri, and viewing the beautiful landscapes across this great country.

This year we have gone to Mexico (twice for my husband) and Washington D.C., and have made friends with missionaries serving around the world.

We participated in an amazing missions training program, and have built life long friendships with some wonderful people with a passion to serve others with a missions call.

Making the decision to move was difficult. It took months of prayer, thinking, and discussing. It was the source of many tears and pain. It is never easy to choose to leave all that is familiar and loved. Stepping out in faith into the great unknown causes a person to take pause; to make a conscious choice to fully trust in the Lord.

The Lord is so good to those who put their trust in Him! He has honored our step of faith and
we have experienced His abundant favor this year. We are so thankful for all He has done.

Our desire in going to South Carolina and the World Outreach Center was to fully focus on getting to Africa. Now, one year later we are weeks away from starting yet another adventure, this time on foreign soil.

At the moment, we are back in Oregon, visiting, and savoring every moment spent with family and friends. We take a moment to give thanks for all He has done this past year, and for all that this next year has in store.

I just don't think I am ready.

2011-08-13T09:08:00.001-07:00

While on an ice cream run to the grocery store the other night, my son turned to me and said, "Mom, I just don't think I am ready to go back to Africa." I asked him why and he went on to tell me, as best he could, that he wants to go to Africa, but he also wants to stay. "...I just know I will miss everyone so much, so I don't think I am ready."

I took this moment for what it was, a chance for my little man to express his mixed emotions, and an opportunity to teach him a life less: We are never fully ready.

I, too, just don't think I am ready. My apprehension goes a bit deeper than anticipation of missing friends, family, and the comfort of familiarity. Am I prepared to do what God has called me? Am I "spiritual" enough? Holy enough? Do I have enough faith and love? Is my Bible knowledge and prayer life up to par? Am I ready to face all the obstacles? Do I have what it takes to give my children the extra care and attention required? When I take inventory of all these things, through my own perspective, the answer is always NO, NO, NO!

However, as I was able to share with my son, it's not about us or our abilities. We will never be ready on our own. That's why we need Jesus. That's why there is grace. If we were ever ready all by ourselves, there would be no need to trust in and rely on the power of Jesus. It's normal not to feel ready. It's in those moments that we cast our cares upon Him, and allow Him to be strong where we are weak. If God tells you to do something, He will make you ready and able.

We are about six weeks out from our target return to Ghana date. There are so many things that just aren't ready in the natural. There is an internal battle going on between totally freaking out and fully trusting that God has everything under control. Truth is, He does have everything under control. He is the Alpha and Omega. He knows how it's all going to work out. He IS ready, and for that I am so very thankful.

MAY-JUNE Newsletter

2011-07-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, sure, July is almost over, but whose counting, right?

Read our May/June Newsletter: HERE

Moving Forward in Faith

2011-07-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Our family is schedule to leave for Ghana, West Africa, in just 12 short weeks. EEK!!

As each day passes, I find myself having to daily choose to live out one of my favorite scriptures: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight." (Prov 3:5-6)

In the natural, everything is not in place for us to go in 12 weeks. We do not have the monthly support we need. We have several promising possibilities for support, but you can't take a promise to the bank.

I have been here before: scheduled to go, with no finances to leave, and God did not provide. Looking back, if I had listened to Him, I would have heard Him clearly saying, "This is not the path I have for you," and saved myself from a very humbling lesson.

Now that I am here again, I have a choice. I can look at what happened last time, and respond with caution and fear, or I can more forward in faith. I have listened, He has spoken clearly, now is the time to go. I can look at what He has done, and trust that this is the path He has for our family.

God has already miraculously provided all the funds we need to move to Ghana. He is opening doors for us to work with an international company that would help supplement our income while also helping the people of Ghana. He has provided a team member to join us (a HUGE answer to prayer). He's brought us this far, can't I just be at peace and trust that he will bring us the rest of the way?

The doubts play over and over like a broken record in my mind. What if it doesn't work out with this company? Where will the rest of our finances come from then? What if this person or that church doesn't come through on their promise of support? What if September comes and we don't have the finances? What if we didn't hear God clearly? What if, once again, we are wrong??

I like things to be set in place, plans concrete, organized, no room for error, no room for doubt, no need to trust. But if there is no need to trust in God, that means I am in control. If I am in control, then God has no room to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think (Eph 3:20).

It is for my benefit that He doesn't reveal the whole plan upfront. It is for my benefit that I move forward in faith, trusting that God will make my path straight, according to His perfect will.

As a family we are choosing to move forward in faith. We are submitting and trusting God. Keep praying for us, and together we will see God do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think....

P.S. Did I say a new team member was joining us? Yes I did! Tesia is a young woman who was a part of our missions internship class. She has been living with our family since March. God has spoken to her heart, and she will be joining us in Ghana for three months. We are very excited to have her with us!

The countdown has begun!

2011-06-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

There has never been question as to if we would return to Ghana, it has always been WHEN will we return to Ghana. We know that God is in control of all things, and we seek to walk in the fullness of His perfect will and timing. We may become inpatient at times, but we know He knows best.

At the beginning of the year we set a return goal date of mid September. Since that time God has been opening many doors in the way of relationships and future opportunities. However, here we are, just 16 weeks out from our departure date, and we are still so far from our financial support goals that things were beginning to look like they were never going to happen.

However, it only takes a moment for God to do a miracle. On Tuesday of this week, we received all of the up front money needed to return to Ghana!! God is so amazing! I love being surprised by His goodness.

We are still in need of monthly financial support. For us to minister in Ghana, the cost is $24,000 annually or $2,000 monthly. If you feel the Lord leading you to join our ministry team by becoming a financial partner, please contact us for more information.

In the mean time, we will continue to move forward and follow the Lord as He prepares the way for us to return to Ghana. The next 16 weeks are going to be crazy busy and very exciting. Be sure to subscribe to our blog or "like" us on facebook, for regular updates.

March-April Newsletter

2011-06-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

March-April Newsletter

Spring Family Update

2011-04-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

From Stephanie's Blog...

This year is just FLYING by! Seriously, it seems like Christmas was yesterday. Spring promises to be just as busy as winter as we get closer and closer to the big move to Ghana!

Jody just got back from Juarez, Mexico, where he and a team built a roof on an orphanage. The lucky bum got to go with my sister and an old family friend. They had a great time while the kids and I took care of things on the home front.

I recently started a part time job, to help make ends meet and bring home a little extra bacon. Trying to find something that would work with our family's schedule is near impossible. This job basically fell in my lap! Thank you, Jesus!

I work in a Christian call center, answering phones for various Television and Radio ministries. It's open 24-7, so I am able to work evenings, after the kids and hubby are in bed.

About a month ago we took in a new family member. Tesia is a young lady that was in the internship with us. She is as sweet as can be and we are so happy to have her living with us. She is even praying about coming to Africa with us for awhile!

The kids are enjoying the nice spring weather we've been having, playing outside 'till dusk with their friends, building forts, riding bikes, and playing games.

They only have 6 weeks left of school, and are counting down the days. Papa Roscoe made them a BIG promise. "Finish school with As and Bs and I will give you $100.00." That is A LOT of money for little a kid. They have been dreaming of all the things they can buy, "once we are rich."

My babies are growing up quickly and will be 7 and 8 very soon. It's about time they have some of their own adventures. If everything works out, they may be going to spend some time with Nana and Papa with out Mommy and Daddy! I've never been away from my kids for more than two days, so I am not nearly as excited about this as they are.

Life is full and we are blessed. As we move forward in the things God has called us to do, we strive to "Trust God from the bottom of our heart; we don't try to figure out everything on our own. We listen for God's voice in everything we do, everywhere we go; he's the one who will keep us on track." (Prov 3:5-6 Msg)

January-February Newsletter

2011-03-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Click here to read our Jan-Feb Newsletter!

December Newsletter

2010-12-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

We are wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
--The Roscoe Family

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR DECEMBER NEWSLETTER.

Change in Plans

2010-11-30T10:33:00.001-08:00

Our internship class was supposed to go to New York this weekend to participate in ministry and outreach. Personally, our plans to join them fell through. We just didn't have the finances.

We were disappointed, but God has all things in control, and we were at peace about it.

The trip ended up being canceled due to other interns not being able to go as well.

God has opened up another door that we are VERY excited about!! Next weekend our class will be going to Washington D.C.!! These times together help us about team building and relationships,which are so important for missionary life! We are so excited that we will be able to participate.

While there, we will be spending time ministering in churches and communities, and most importantly, praying for our Nation. We may even have an opportunity to join the ministry Bound 4 Life in a time of prayer.

Please pray for us this coming weekend that God will teach us what we need to learn, and that He will use us to minister according to His will.

Please pray also for protection and traveling mercies. (Our team will be driving, its about 6-7 hours away.)

Amor por Juarez

2010-11-19T18:25:00.001-08:00

We are back in the wonderful US of A! God is so good, and we had an amazing time in Mexico.

Before I post my daily journal, I want to tell you about the wonderful missionaries we worked with. We had the most unique mixture of people.

There are two missionary families associated with WOC that are working in Juarez.

The first is Randall and Tina. A family of seven from the USA, and fellow college alumni. They live in El Paso, and go into Juarez to help in the orphanages. They are doing a great work, and opened our eyes to the giant needs in the Mexico orphanages. Our time of fellowship with them was encouraging to us and our children. We are blessed to have made this connection.

The second is Rita and Leo and their two children. Rita and Leo were missionaries in Italy for eleven years before coming to Mexico. Rita is from England and Leo is from Italy. Their testimony and the story of their journey to Mexico is smothered with the grace and provision of God. It challenge our faith and gave us hope at the same time!

The love that Leo and Rita have for Jesus and the passion they have to share that love with the people of Mexico is deeper and richer than words can describe. I want to go back to Juarez if just to fellowship and learn from them!

Our kids fell in love with their kids. Our kids had so much fun playing together that they didn't want to come home!
Thirdly, we were hosted by a group of Mennonites from Canada (Frank, Liz and Emil). They have been coming to Mexico twice or more a year for eight years to build houses for the locals. They have built a beautiful out reach center that is ready to house teams and be used to reach the community with the love of Jesus.

They took very good care of us. I have never eaten so well on a mission trip in my whole life! Liz is an AMAZING cook! This group dear group of Believers are some of the kindest and most generous people I have met.

On top of the unique mix of missionaries, we have our unique team, which consists of North Westerners, New Yorkers, Southern Bells, and a German.

God, in His infinite wisdom and love brought us all together for a moment in time to share His love and salvation with the residents of Zone 29 in the city of Juarez in country of Mexico. My mind boggles at the greatness of His love and the lengths He will go to touch an individual and change their lives forever.

Thank you all for praying for us. Thank you for being apart of the process of bringing His love to Juarez. We will together share the rewards from this week.

While we were there, we saw no evidence of violence. We heard of one episode, but even the locals commented on the unusual quietness. We know it is because we had an army praying for us.

Friday

Today was a typical missionary sort of day. Nothing went according to plan. We checked out of our hotel at noon and went to get something to eat. We had to wait for Leo who was at a meeting until 2. Two o'clock came and went, finally, around 4 we were headed into Mexico.

Crossing the boarder we were stopped by the US police. The tags on the car were expired. The officer was nice, but stern. She was ready to give us a ticket. We prayed for grace. Leo spoke with her, and showed her he was a missionary and she let us go. Thank you Jesus!

Off we went. Our original plan was to go to the Outreach Center and get settled in before heading to the tent. That didn't happen. We went straight to the tent. The first night, Leo showed the movie Facing the Giants in Spanish. The tent was full, and everyone enjoyed the movie.

After wards, Mr. Cava, shared a short message and invited people to give their life to Jesus. About 15-20 people responded! PRAISE THE LORD!!! He prayed with them and then we prayed for them and for anyone else who wanted prayer.

I want to take a moment to be a proud Momma...both kids jumped right in and prayed for all the children who responded to the altar. When they were done with the kids, they helped us with the grown ups!

After everyone went home, we finally headed to the outreach center. We were so ready for bed! And what a treat to be staying in such a nice place!

The outreach center is huge! It has a meeting hall, kitchen and dining room, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms downstairs. Upstairs is five more bedrooms and two more bathrooms. Each room has a set of bunk beds with a full on the bottom and a twin on top and then a single twin bed. Each room also had a personal sink.

AND---RUNNING HOT WATER THROUGHOUT THE PLACE!!! What a luxurious place for a missions trip!

Saturday

Today was AWESOME! Today was Kids day at the tent. We arrived at about 10 am, and already there was quite a crowd. We estimated that there was around 250 kids, plus some parents. They had clowns, pinatas, and bounce houses. We provided face painting, stickers (Son was in charge of passing out the stickers and did a great job), and made bracelets for the kids.

Daughter made the bracelets. She really, really, wanted to do the face painting, but wasn't very good at it. (It's hard to paint on a small, moving canvas!) After a bit of a fight, and some time spent praying about it, she died to self and made bracelets for the kids, something she is very good at. She learned an important lesson about listening and obeying God even when you don't want to, and what it means to be apart of a team. I was really proud of her.

Myself and three other ladies were in charge of the face painting. I was not much better than Daughter, but all the kids seemed happy. We did lots of stars and hearts and flowers and mickey mouses and cars. I attempted and failed at two spider mans, but Jody successfully painted one batman.

We were doing all this outside the tent. Inside, the clowns were singing and sharing the Gospel message with the kids.

After the message, the children came out to play on the bounce houses and break the pinatas. Each child received a small bag of candy and a stuff animal. The parents who came received free clothes for their family.

Rita told me this is a BIG treat for these children, whose lives are very hard. This sort of event doesn't happen very often. I am so glad we were able to help bring some joy and fun into their lives.

We spent the afternoon relaxing at the outreach waiting for the evening service. The tent was nearly full, and the service was great. Some of our team members sang and shared, and Mr. Cava preached. The prayer time after the service was incredible. Salivations and people being set free and experiencing His love and presence.

It can be a challenge to pray for someone if you don't know the language, but you just have to remember that you are praying to the Creator of all Language, and the Holy Spirit is the best of translators.

However, it was nice to know a few words of Spanish. My very limited High School Spanish education came in handy. I could pray "Amor Mas" (More Love) "Senor Mas" (More Lord) "En el nombre de Jesus" (In the Name of Jesus) "Gracias Senor" (Thank you Lord). When I had nothing else to pray, I prayed in the Spirit.

Sunday

Today we went back into the USA to visit a church in El Paso where Mr. Cava was scheduled to speak. We were given a chance to share about Africa with the church. Then they anointed us and prayed a blessing over us. Thank you Lord for this divine meeting!

On our way into El Paso, we got stopped again! (Different car this time) This time for speeding (we weren't speeding, though). We prayed and once again received favor. Randall told us that they stop people, especially Americans, who them buy them off so they wont get a ticket. Randall did not do this, he just asked forgiveness and for grace, and they let him go. Thank you Lord!

We also got to walk across the boarder! Randall has a fast pass that allows him to go quickly through customs, but he cant do that with extra people in the car, so we walked across and went through customs on foot. A much quicker process than waiting in the car.

Our team was split up, we were in the early group with Randall, and the other group was with Leo. Leo doesn't have a fast pass and it took them 2 1/2 hours to cross the boarder.

We spent the afternoon at Randall and Tina's house. Kids had so much fun playing and we had a good time hanging out with our team and the Partridges. Mr. Cava had a good time napping on the couch. How he got any sleep is beyond me because it was NOISY in their little home with 18 people!

We went from their house to the Outreach Center for a quick change of clothes and then onto the tent.

When we got there, the place was already hoppin'! The worship band was AMAZING!! There was such a sense of joy in the tent, it was a time of celebration! After much worship, Mr. Cava gave a brief message and a call to salvation. About another 20 people gave their lives to Jesus for the first time. He prayed with them, and then we spent more time in praise and celebrating our Lord. The only thing that would have made the night even better was understanding what the heck we were singing! :-)
After everyone was gone, we decided we were hungry and went to an authentic Mexican restaurant, La Cabanna. Best. Mexican. Food. Ever. They bring beef, chicken and shrimp out on a platter with cooked peppers and avocados. A bowl of warm melted cheese is in the center, and beans are on the side. They also served amazing baked potatoes. Not really a Mexican food in my mind, but it worked! And the chips and salsa were AMAZING! The pork rinds served with the chips....not so amazing.

With a full and happy belly, we went back to the Outreach Center and hit the hay.

Monday

We were supposed to help take down the tent today, but it was VERY windy. We got to the tent and Leo and his friends already had the entire inside torn down. The next step was to take down the walls, and it was too windy to do that, so we returned to the Outreach center.

Later that afternoon we joined Randall to help in a feeding program. We went to what appeared to be a much poorer part of the city. We thought we were going to an orphanage, but it was actually a pastor's home. Their home was small, but they had an entire room dedicated to the children. It was only about 10' x 15', maybe 20'. There was about 60 kids of all ages crammed into that room, waiting for us (we were late). It was so full and small that only about half of our team could fit into the room.
The children obviously from poor families, and we were told that for many, the only food they ate all week was what they would receive from this program. Sadly, because of funding, they are only able to offer lunch to the children three times a week.

There lunch consisted of a bologna sandwich and juice. A church in El Paso had donated chips and cookies, and that was a real treat! We had enough sandwiches that whoever wanted seconds could help themselves. One little girl asked for a sandwich for her mama, and ran home quickly after she received it.
We sang songs with the children and shared Bible stories. We held them and loved on them. We fed them, and we prayed for them. For some on our team it was overwhelming. I myself had a hard time containing my emotion.

We have so much, I have never had to go hungry, yet I worry and complain about the silliest of things. Seeing children in conditions such as these reminds me how blessed I am and how great the need is throughout the world.

People are not only starving for the Love of Jesus, they are literally starving physically! More children will go to bed hungry tonight than will go to bed full. Next week, during Thanksgiving, Americans will consume more food in one meal than most people consume in an entire year.

After everyone had eaten and been prayed for, the children went home. Then the pastor and his wife prayed for us. This couple, and people like them, are my heroes. They do not have much, but they gave what they have. They saw a need, and found a way to fill it.

The Word of God talks about the first being last and the last first. I think in heaven, they will be among the firsts. There will be a lot of firsts that no one on earth has ever heard about, but who are very well known in the heavens because of their faith and love and obedience and generosity.

The pastor is desiring to expand the room so he can have more space for the children. He wants to enclose his patio area and knock down the wall of the small room they currently meet in. The total cost of this project is about $3,000. Jody would love to help with the construction. If God provides them with the money for the project, we are praying that God will provide him away to return to help build it for them before we go to Africa.

Tuesday

Today was a do nothing day. Our scheduled appointment wasn't until this evening, and some of the team had dental work that needed to be done. (I am told that Mexico is the place to go for dental work.)

So, hung out at the outreach center. We make good use of our time and baked cookies for tomorrows feeding program.

Finally, after dinner, it was time to head out. We went to an orphanage. Our mission: love on the kids.

The orphanage we went to was a very nice one. It is ran by a beautiful Mexican couple. They have several supporters who help them. However, they did not start out this way! They opened the orphanage 25 years ago. For 15 years they had no electricity or running water. They had to believe God for food. (They often still have to do that!) They remained faithful to the children, and over the years God has blessed them.

We had such a good time with the kids. I fell in love with a few. Leo played guitar and sang songs with some. Mr. Cava was surrounded by a group of kids watching him play bowling on his phone. Jody arm wrestled many of the older boys. Our kids colored with the children.

One eight year old girl was writing her Christmas list when we arrived. Her letter said, "All i want for Christmas is a pair of boots and some clothes, but if not, then anything is ok."

We took a tour of the facility. They dorm rooms are simple, but very nice. Each child has a small locker (1'x2'x2') This locker holds all their clothes and possessions. Most were not even half full.

The directors (below with Carolyn) explained to us that their goal is to find forever homes for the children. They love them all, but know that a forever home is their best option. They have a lawyer that donates his services. The Mexico adoption fee is only $60.00. Then, whatever fees are requires on the US side (which are next to nothing if you are not using an agency).

Only $60.00!!!???!!!! Oh, Jesus, I see two I would like to take home right now! Lord provide Godly homes for these children.

When it was time for the kids to go to bed, we made a huge circle around the room, and prayed for all the kids. Then it was time to go home.

Wednesday

Today was our last day in Juarez. We have had such a blessed week! Our family has decided that although our heart is in Africa, and we know that is where He wants us to be, we would would be happy serving anywhere among the Nations. As long as we can bring the Good News to the poor and broken hearted.

After breakfast this morning, we made 200 sandwiches. The plan was to go around the corner from the Outreach Center and feed the children as they come out of school.

We gave them a sandwich, juice, cookies, and a track. We fed all the school children, and any adults that passed by. Some of our friends took the Outreach Center bus and went and picked up their friends so they could eat. As parents picked up their children, they would send them back for another sandwich for themselves.

A truck of workers was parked across the street. They watched us for over half an hour. Jody decided to bring them some sandwiches and a track. They were so happy and thankful for the food!

The food we were offering was far from a five course meal. We used bread that a few days old, but still good, a thin slice of ham, and an even thinner portion of mayonnaise. A woman on our team mentioned that this food be discarded by most of America's poor, and it's true. Although there are poor and hungry in America, even the poorest American is richer than most in this world.

After all the sandwiches were gone, we went to the Outreach center, loaded up the cars and headed into Jaurez to go to the international market. What we found amazed us. The place was virtually deserted. Only about half the shops were open and we were the only customers. The violence has scared away the tourists. And the threats of the drug cartel who demand money for "protection" from the shop owners has scared away most of the business people. Still we were able to find a few nice things to remember our time in Mexico.

Then, it was back to La Canbanna for a final meal together with all the missionaries. (Daughter was sick today, so it was just Son and I shopping and at the meal.) We had a good time together, but it was sad to say good bye to our new friends.

Tomorrow we will wake up, pack, clean our rooms and head back to El Paso and then home. We are so thankful for all God has done in us and through us during this week. Thank You Lord, You are a wonderful and magnificent God, full of Mercy, Compassion, and Truth.

Thanks to all who have prayed for us during this time.

PLEASE NOTE: FOR MORE PICTURES, BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK.

Poverty All Around.

2010-11-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

I have personal opinions regarding illegal immigration and what this country should do about it. However, as I drove across the boarder into Mexico yesterday, I understood why so many would do whatever it takes to come into our country. I knew that Mexico was a poorer nation, but I didn't realize how poor.

My expectations prior to going to Mexico was that it would be comparable to the poorer parts of LA. Jody and I joked about the possibilities of it looking just like SE Portland! :-) I was surprised to find that the conditions were much worse than what I imagined.

My only other point of reference to extreme poverty is West Africa. If, in regards to poverty, Ghana was a 10 and America was a 1, I would put Mexico at a 7. The contrasts between El Paso, and Juarez, which are only minutes apart, is night and day.

As a mother, if I were living in a home with spotty electricity and water that had to be trucked in, and could see the America skyline, I know I would do everything within my power to get there and make a better life for my children.

Juarez is a city of 2 million people. A few years ago it was 2.5 million, but many have left because of the violence. This city needs Jesus. The people are losing hope, and need the Hope that comes from the sacrifice made on the cross.

We are working with missionaries from around the world who have come to Juarez to see this city changed for Jesus. In the mix are Americans, British, Italians, and Canadians. Their hearts are broken for Juarez, and they are standing in the gap interceding for this city and Nation.

A few weeks before we arrived, a team from IHOP came here, and spent a week interceding specifically for Juarez. We are praying that we will be able to reap what they sowed in the spirit.

Beginning tonight through Sunday, we will be helping with nightly crusades. We are expecting great things.

Kids update: My kids are amazing. They are flexible, adaptable, and share the love of Jesus in their own way. It took them no time to jump in. They helped set up the chairs in the tent and played with the local kids. Son even took initiative to learn some Spanish words, so he could talk to the children.

Last night, we went to a missionary families home. They have a 5 year old boy, and my son was in heaven. They had a great time playing together.

Daughter is enjoying being apart of the team. She took time yesterday to pray over each chair in the tent. She can't wait to be able to minister to the kids through face painting later this week.

I want to encourage you all, there are hurting people around the world, everywhere you look someone needs Jesus. What are your passions? Are you interested in a specific ethnicity or people group? God has given you those desires for a reason, look around, and find where you can share the Good News locally and where you can help share it Globally.

We are packing up now to head back into Juarez where we will remain for the rest of the week.

Be blessed!!

Hola from El Paso!

2010-11-11T08:05:00.001-08:00

Good morning! We are in El Paso right now, preparing to head into Mexico. We left yesterday afternoon, and arrived at our hotel around 10:30, 12:30 EST.

Our kids were very tired, but were very good all day. The crawled right into bed when we walked in the room and fell asleep.

The kids love to travel, especially on planes. Traveling in a group is different than being on your own. You have to make more stops and wait for people. Son especially keeps asking why we are "just standing here". This is good training for them!

We will be in El Paso one more night, and so I will be able to give another update. After that, I don't think we will have internet, but I will still blog about our trip, you'll just have to wait to read it! :-)

Please keep us and our team in your prayers. Please pray for Jody's Dad. When we arrived in El Paso, we received a message that he had had a mild stroke. He is ok right now, but will be in the hospital until at least tomorrow.

October Newsletter!

2010-10-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

October Newsletter!

October Newsletter

If you do not currently receive our newsletters, and would like to, sign up online click here.

WE LOVE THE WOC INTERNSHIP!!

2010-10-19T14:54:00.001-07:00

Three weeks down, and nine more to go. Time is going by too quickly! I wish I could push a slow motion button, so that I could be sure to absorb every last drop of wisdom and information I am receiving.

I want to share with you all more about WOC and what we are learning. You'll soon receive our newsletter, which will give you a tidbit of information.

WOC (World Outreach Center) is a local church and missions support community. They have missionaries serving all around the world! Missionaries come here to receive ministry and training, both before, during, and after their time on the mission field.

WOC teaches and ministers through relationships and believes strongly in community and sending people out in teams. We are building many new relationships that we know will last a life time.

Now, let me tell you some more about out internship! I forgot how much I enjoyed school until now. I love it!----Especially knowing there isn't going to be a test.

Our class has eight students. When we came here, we figured we would be the "Old Goats" of the class. We assumed it would be mostly young people, fresh out of college. I am told, last year that was exactly what it was! Not this year! With one exception, we are all "Old Goats."

The other uniqueness to our class (another opposite of last year) is that, with the exception of Jody, it's all women!

The smallness of our class allows us to interact with our teachers, which is great. We're able to ask questions, and receive more interaction than in a normal class setting. We are also getting to know each other very well!

The first week of class was taught by Mr.Cava (our former college professor). People call him John around here, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I think he will always be Mr. Cava in my mind.

The class was "Intro to World Missions." Jody and I both took a class similar to this in college....ten years ago. So much has changed in the past ten years, and so much has been forgotten that it was like a brand new class.

The second week was "Ministering in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit." Scot Ford, a fellow class mate of mine from BRSM, was the teacher this week. This was more that just a time of learning. It was practice time. God has given us gifts and it's time to stir them up and use them. This was a very powerful week.

Last week's class was one of my favorite subjects: Cross Cultural Communication. I just love learning about how other cultures communicate and perceive things. Our teacher this week was Paulette Swiger (more about who she is in a minute). She teaches a nine week college course on the subject and we were lucky enough to get the condensed version.

This week is Discipleship; teaching us how to disciple others. This is also a college course of which we are getting a condensed version. It's taught by Mark Swiger. Both Jody and I have been blown away by this class and the week is only half over! The simplistic, yet thorough method from the Bible he is teaching is like nothing I have ever heard before. It's practical and can be modified to fit any situation and culture. I am so excited about this class!

Every Tuesday morning we have Experiencing God class. Through the week we are going through the book, Experiencing God, and on Tuesdays we talk about it. Ms. Jeanie (Scot's wife) teaches this class. She is a great teacher, and this series is one I would highly recommend.

Paulette and Mark Swiger were Missionary Evangelists in India for over 10 years. They have done more crusades in India than anyone else, and have done crusades in many other parts of the world. Their story is incredible. They were blacklisted from India because too many people were getting saved!

So, that's a glimpse into our internship, which is Tuesday through Friday for three hours in the morning. The afternoons is prayer each day, with internship 'chapel' on Thursday afternoons. We also have prayer on Tuesday nights.

Wednesday nights is our Missions Realities home group. We gather for a meal, and then discuss the practicalities of missionary life. Scot and Jeanie lead this group. They were missionaries in Italy and Germany for six years.

Friday nights is the Open Door Cafe. They open the coffee bar at the WOC center to the public and have live music. We're located in the middle of a neighborhood, and often have people drop by, plus many of the interns and church people come. It's a lot of fun!

We have also been taking advantage of living so close to Morning Star. We go each Sunday, and sometimes on Friday nights. Their worship is AMAZING!!

About every other weekend we head down to Cheraw to see Jody's family. His dad tickled pink to have his boy back. I know they are both benefiting from having this time together.

Our kids are doing very well. They've done a great job adjusting. Their schedule is close to ours. They come with us class and go into their own room where they do there school work and play. After lunch we go over their work together, and then they wait (not-so-patiently)until their friends get home from school. Then, they are out the door, and don't come back until I drag them inside.

We are learning and gleaning so much during this time. We are becoming more and more excited about what God has in store, and are so very ready to return to Ghana.

On the flip side, it has been hard to be away from our family and friends. We miss them all so very much. Skype helps, but it's not the same as doing every day life with the ones you love. But, as I often remind the kids. That's what eternity is for.

Has it really been a month?

2010-09-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, as of tomorrow, we will have been away from Portland for a month. It sure has gone by quickly.

The first ten days was our trip out here, followed by 3 days in our new home, followed by a six day visit to our SC family and the beach. By the end of it, I was just ready to get back to life as normal and settle into a routine.

Two more weeks have past. All of the boxes are unpacked, pictures hung, and we are officially settled in. We have even had two successful weeks of home school!

Jody is working on transferring his business licenses to NC and SC. We are about halfway through the process. He has advertised anyways, and has already completed two small jobs with another scheduled for Monday. Praise the Lord!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE our new home. It is just a bit smaller than our old house, but much newer and nicer. The kids have their own rooms (son is not fond of this, but daughter loves it) and I have my own bathroom! (Well, I do have to share with Jody, but I do have my own sink!!)

We could not ask for a better neighborhood, either. It is a very safe and quiet neighborhood---quite a contrast from our SE Portland neighborhood!!

Nearly all of our neighbors are Believers, and there are several families with kids. It took awhile, but the kids have finally made friends, now count down the hours until all their friends will be home from school, so they can go outside and play.

We are beginning to get to know our new church family as well, and have enjoyed several meals with different families in the church.

We live less than a mile from Morning Star Ministries, which means we live ON what used to be the Heritage USA grounds! The Heritage Tower is just a hop, skip, jump away from our front door.

I knew that WOC (World Outreach Center) was located on the old Heritage Property (located about a mile in the opposite direction from us), but I forgot that morning star had also bought several buildings of the old Theme Park.

Sunday, we decided to go to the early service at Morning Star, which is where we discovered this bit of history. Their services are held in in the recently renovated Grand Hotel. The Children's center is on "Main Street". (Which we thought was an actual street at first.)

Later that afternoon, we took a drive and found as many remaining portions of the theme park as we could. It was a very fun and interesting adventure. (If you have no idea what I am talking about, google Heritage USA, and you will learn all about it.)

Now that we are settled in, we are turning our focus back to the reason we are here: to prepare for Africa. Yesterday, we watched a program about Ghana on TV. It made us all homesick for Africa, including the food. :-)

A week from Tuesday we will begin our internship. We are very excited to plunge into learning more about ministering and living cross culturally.

We are also excited to continue to raise funds, and get some help/tips in that area during the internship. God has blesses us, and we are beginning to see things take shape financially for Ghana. We still have a ways to go, but look forward seeing Him provide for us. We serve an awesome and faithful God!

A few prayer requests...

--Kids continued adjustment, and comfort to their hearts when they miss Portland and their family and friends.

--Continued wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and guidance during this season of our lives, and the season to come in Ghana.

--Continued Business/Jobs for Jody. Financial provision for our family.

--Finances for Ghana.

Final Update From the Road

2010-09-01T19:22:00.001-07:00

August 26, 2010

Today was the first day we have been able to sleep past 6:30 all week! Once we finally got up and about we went to the prayer room at IHOP. I just love being in His presence! It was a great way to spend our morning.

No trip to IHOP is complete without a trip to the bookstore (our check book flinches any time I go near a Christian bookstore!). Son is all decked out with a IHOP T-Shirt and Hat. Daughter got the long coveted IHOP water bottle, "just like Nana."

The rest of our day was spent hanging out with my sister. I was spoiled to have her near for so long, and I miss her so much. It was nice to be with her again.

Our stay is too short, and tomorrow, it's back on the road. I am trying to talk Jody into pushing through and driving the final 18 hours all at once. It's a tall order, yes. We'll see how persuasive I can be.....

August 26, 2010

What a LONG day. 14 total hours in the car with very few, very short stops. We didn't quite make it all the way home, but we're close. Only 4 more hours.

Our car has been so great, but the "driving stick/shifter thingy" decided to go out on us today. We can still drive it, but we don't have park, and we have to start it in neutral. We stopped in in a little town to have it looked at, but the mechanic said to just go on home with it as it is. He was about to close shop, and we would have been stuck over the weekend.

So, we went on, but decided not to push our luck and drive in the dark. We stopped in Canton, Ga. After a bunch of "cheap" hotels we sprang for a nicer hotel with an indoor pool. The kids, who were excellent in the car all day, needed to "release the wiggles."

We all enjoyed a swim and quickly decided not to try and get up early tomorrow, but to sleep in and enjoy to free hot breakfast. We are all so tired....

August 28, 2010

We are here!!!! Finally! We pulled up to our new home at about 1:30. After a quick look around at our new place and new furniture, we wall worked together to unpack the trailer and van. It didn't take long, but us wimpy North Westerners were about to pass out from heat exhaustion! I forgot just how humid it is here, and just how much I HATE humidity.

To celebrate our arrival, we went to our favorite Southern Restaurant, Cracker Barrel. YUMMY!!!! Then a quick trip to Wal Mart for some essentials, and we were back home.

We have already met several of our neighbors. One even brought us cup cakes! We live on a street that is still being developed and there is a large parking lot and field behind us, so the kids have lots of room to play and ride bikes.

Tonight's goal is to just get the best put together and made. Tomorrow, we will paint and start unpacking after our first morning at World Outreach Community Church.

Pictures....

2010-08-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

I have been posting a lot of pictures on my personal face book page, and will be putting some on here and the AFN facebook page soon. In the meantime, feel free to send me or Jody a friend request facebook!

Update From the Road Pt. 2

2010-08-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

August 25, 2010

We are sitting in my sister's basement. We arrived safely in Lathrop, Mo. on Monday night. After a quick dinner and visit with our friends Asa and Carol, we were off to bed. It had been a long day. Our drive went smooth and the kids did great. By the end of the day it looked like a food mart and craft store collided in the back seat.

Yesterday, my sister joined us in Lathrop and we drove out to see some Amish country. It was fun and interesting for the kids. Son just couldn't get the concept that the horse and buggy weren't for "rides" but were actually someone's mode of transportation.

We really enjoyed the rest of our visit in Lathrop, and hope to come back soon. Daughter and Son now have to new heroes. McKenzie and Isaac were so sweet to our kids. Daughter said McKenzie is SO beautiful. She got to watch her cheer, listen to her sing, and played makeup with her. She was mesmerized.

Son said Isaac was "just like my brother" and had lots of fun playing basket ball and the Wii with him.

Today, we spent our morning at a dairy farm. We got to milk a cow, pet a calf, see how they process the milk, and taste all the different of milk they make. There was Banana, Orange, Strawberry, Root Beer, and Chocolate. They were all yummy and we bought some of each to take along with us.

Then, it was off to IHOP (International House of Prayer), only about an hour away. We went to the prophecy room---all four of us. It was a great experience, and they ministered and encouraged each one of us.

Then, it was off to dinner with my sister. Last time I was here I went to an all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant. I knew daughter would enjoy it, as noodles are her favorite!

Now, we are all ready for bed and a full day tomorrow at the prayer room.

Update From the Road

2010-08-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

August 20, 2010 AM
We're on our way to West Yellowstone. Yesterday was a chaotic morning as we finished getting everything packed in the car and into storeage. All this week was chaotic, honestly, and very emotionally draining as we said good bye to all of our family and friends.
Although it was hard to say good bye to all our family and friends, saying good bye to Elli (my beautiful niece) was by far the hardest. Elli will be so much more grown up the next time we see her. Four months is a lifetime in toddlerhood.
Our drive to Walla Walla was a breeze, and we made it with no stops. Once we got there, we checked into our hotel, and then walked down main street. We stopped in at the Medicine Shoppe and said hello to Brian's Dad. Then we ate some pizza and headed back for a swim. Sadly, the outdoor pool was COLD, so our swim was short.
August 20, 2010 PM
Today was a long day in the car, about 10 hours. Yesterday, our check engine light came on, and Jody wanted to get it checked out, just to be sure it wasn't something serious. So, we didn't head out of town until about 9:30.
We took Hwy 12 through Idaho and into Montanah. It was beautiful, but lots of climbs, which were hard on the van. At some points we were only going about 20mph while flooring it! We stopped about 90 minutes shy of West Yellowstone in a town called Whitehall. It was about 7:30, and Jody was tired.
The kids did great in the car. They played their nintendo, watched a movie and colored. There was no above normal complaining, and no asking "are we there yet?"
August 21, 2010
What a day! We got up early and were on the road by 6am. We stopped about an hour later in Ennis, Mt. Jody wanted to get the car checked out because of the hard climbing yesterday. They did a few minor repairs, and told us we were good to go. The mechanic said that part of why we weren't able to go too fast (aside from the massive load we are pulling) is the elevation. We were climbing pretty high up.
While the car was getting fixed we are some breakfast at a local cafe. It was good, and must have been the hip place to eat. because it was full of locals.
To kill some time (no punn intended) we shopped around at the biggest store in town---the gun store. It bigger than even the grocery store! They were having a big sale and the place was PACKED!
On to Yellowstone we went. It was beautiful. I am really enjoying seeing new parts of the country. At yellowstone, we stopped at Old Faithful. We made it just in time to see it blow. It was AMAZING!! It is one of the wonders that solidify the existence of God. How can anyone look at His Creation and not believe.
After Old Faithful and some shopping in the gift shop, we finished out our drive through yellowstone. I had all but given up hope of seeing any wildlife, when on a hill beside the road was a small herd of buffalo. YAY! Our trip to Yellowstone is complete. Oh wait! What's this? Up the road about a mile. A buffalo walking on the street. So close, I could have touched it. It was truly one of the neatest things I had ever seen.
We got a bumper sticker at Yellowstone about the elevation. At the highest point it's over 8,800 feet! Our poor van had a time, but she made it.
We stopped in Cody, Wy for the night at Big Bear Motel. It is pure Cowboy Country in Cody, and that is about it.
Kids did great in the car again. We took a long walk and had a good swim to get some of their engergy out. Tomorrow, it's six hours to Mt. Rushmore!
August 22, 2010
Today was an intense driving day. We were on Hwy 14, which goes up and over a mountain. WAY up, 9,033 feet elevation up! With lots of curves and roaming cows along the way. It was so beautiful. From the top you could see into the valley for miles and miles. An absolutly breathless view.
Again, faithful big blue made it, but it was a slow go, and sucked a lot of gas. All this climbing has severely hindered our gas mileage.
After we got off the mountain, it was smooth sailing to Rapid City. A quick check in to the hotel, and we were off to see Mt. Rushmore. Did I mention that it is HOT in South Dakota? Very HOT.
The steep climb up to Mount Rushmore just about did us in. We reached our slowest speed yet 10 mph. But, again, the van is fine. God is being very merciful and gracious to our van! Praying over your car works!
Mount Rushmore was great, but the kids and I agree that it is smaller than we expected. I think, really, it's just further away and higher up than I pictured it being in my mind. I guess with the illusion created by TV I expected it to be closer, more accessible, and larger. I am very glad that we were able to see it, though. It's really an amazing piece of art, and a once in a life time opportunity.
We looked around the small museum and gift shop, and then headed back down the mountain.
After stopping short two days in a row, today we caught up and are back on schedule. We spent our evening swimming and doing some laundry (oh yay!).
Tomorrow will be our longest day of driving. We'll go all the way to Lathrop, Mo, nearly 700 miles! Oh, Lord give us grace!

You're Doing What?

2010-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2010

Why are we packing up our family, leaving all that is familiar and comfortable, and moving 3000 miles away?
This is a question I have asked myself several times over the past few months. The simple answer, "Because God said go."
If you would have asked me ten years ago to map out our route to fulfill His calling as missionaries to West Africa, things would look quite differently than now. His Word is true. We make plans but the Lord directs our steps, and we don't know what tomorrow brings. We listen and follow as He leads, praying that His grace will correct the missteps we make along the way.
It feels as though we have come full circle. Ten years ago we graduated from Bible College, in Florida. Now, we are returning to school, on the East Coast, with one of the same college professors.
But, why? We know that God has called us to Africa. That is where we to long be. After a lot of prayer and soul searching, we realize that we need help in the "getting to Africa" process, as well as mentorship to know how to best minister and care for our family once we are there.
Coming to the realization that needed further training and mentorship from seasoned missionaries was only half the battle. The next question was from where? From who?
We began to pray for direction. We began asking other missionaries about their experiences, their training. We talked to alumni and former college professors. We wanted to find a place that would offer relationships and mentorships, not just class learning. We wanted a place that understood the importance of the local church and could work with us and our church.
All this led us World Outreach Center. We know this is where God wants us to go for this next chapter. Sometimes we don't understand why, since it is so far away from home, but we have peace that we are in His perfect will.
We are excited about what God has in store. We are not sure what to expect, but we know it's gonna be life changing.
We are excited to be near our Roscoe family, and have the chance to reconnect with them. They have been a huge support and blessing during this transition. To save us time and effort, they not only found enough furniture to fill our new town house (with the help of Ms Jann---thank you!!), but they moved it all in for us!
And so, with this, we begin another adventure, and with that comes blogging! To give you a summary of what things are going to look like for us in the coming weeks and months, here is a brief overview:
For the next 10 days we will be traveling. We have packed the necessities from home into a small uhaul trailer, and crammed the rest into "big blue" (our 1994 Ford Areostar. It's not much to look at, but it's has low miles, runs well, and best of all it's fully paid for.) Armed with enough food and snacks to last a month, we hit the road. Our first stop Walla Walla, then West Yellowstone and Old Faithful. Then it's onto Mount Rushmore and Rapid City. After that, we will drive a really long day to Lathrop, Mo. We'll Spend a day with friends, and then head down to Kansas City to visit Katie and IHOP for two days. Then it's on to Nashville, and finally, our new home, Fort Mill, SC.
We'll have three weeks to get settled, start home school, find work, and fall into some sort of new schedule before starting our internship.
Internship classes are four days a week in the mornings. Sometime along the way, we may even get to go on a mission trip! (but not to Africa. :-( )
Check back to the AFN blog for updates on the family and our internship. I'll still be blogging on my personal site, too, whenever any personal "profound" thoughts come my way. :-)

JULY NEWSLETTERS

2010-08-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

July, 2010 Newsletter-Roscoe

July, 2010 Newsletter-Katie

Gloryify God by Enjoying Him

2010-05-27T21:38:00.001-07:00

May is always always busy for us. The sun is out....well, it was out for about four days....summer is coming. We are on the home stretch of the school year, both the kids and I are beyond done and ready for summer. It's time to switch out the sweaters for the shorts. Time to finish all the spring projects before the hot weather arrives----if it ever arrives.

In May we celebrate Mother's Day, Malachi's birthday and my birthday---along with my eldest niece, nephew, father in law, best friend, and best friend's son. Our schedule is full of celebrations, parties, and special family dinners.

On top of all the busyness of life, we've been busy with "missions stuff." All the stuff that goes along with being a missionary that is building relationships and raising support to return to the mission field.

This is just the beginning, things are just going to get crazier from here. The to do list is growing, and the calendar is filling up.

Today SJ Hill (a former professor of ours) said this: ""The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."//The best way to understand this quote is to replace the word "and" with "by.""

To bring God the most glory, to please Him the most, all I need to do is enjoy Him. Can it really be that simple? Yes, it really can. God is more interested in intimacy and fellowship with me than He is in how much I accomplish in a day's time.

So, as we head into summer, knowing full well that it's going to be a crazy three months, I am reminded to slow down where it counts. Slow down and enjoy God. Enjoy His presence, His love, His goodness.

April Newsletters

2010-05-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

April Newsletter--Roscoe

April Newsletter--Katie

They need us.

2010-04-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

I realize that my posts have been less than exciting the past several months. As things begin to rev up in our journey back to Africa, I am sure we will have more interesting and personal news to share.

We are looking at 9-12 months before we move to Africa, depending on God's provision and timing. It seems like plenty of time, but we know it will be here before we know it.

Once again, we are faced with the reality of what we are asking our children to give up. As adults, we understand and are at peace with giving up the comforts of America and the ease of living near family and friends. It isn't without some sadness, but the discomfort is temporary, the benefits eternal.

We talk about the Nations and those who have not heard about Jesus with the kids often. Now our conversations have shifted into preparing them to return to Africa, for longer this time. Sometimes these conversations are met with tears of sadness not wanting to leave their friends and family, especially their little cousin. Sometimes they are met with excitement, as they remember the adventures we had last time. And some times, they are met with understanding and maturity beyond their young age.

We have told our kids it is important that they are always honest with mommy and daddy about how they are feeling about being missionaries. It's OK to be sad. It's OK to be happy. It's OK to be both at the same time. It's OK to not want to go sometimes. It's OK to be excited to go sometimes. They have done a good job at being honest, expressing a wide range of emotions.

During bedtime prayer last night we asked the kids, how are you feeling about Africa. Daughter, whose answer changes from day to day, moment to moment, said, "I am feeling good!". We asked why, expecting the run of the mill answer of some fun memory from our last trip.

With sincerity and maturity she looked at us and said, "Because I realize there are people who don't have what we have. They don't have food or clothes, and they don't know Jesus. They need us."

Tomorrow her answer may be different, but I know that God has been ministering and speaking to her heart, bringing her comfort and understanding far beyond what mommy and daddy ever could.

Thank you, Father, for speaking and ministering to our daughter. Please continue to prepare and protect her heart for what lies ahead.

And so it begins....

2010-04-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was World Missions Day at our home church, True Life Church. It was a great time of being able to share the vision and burden God has given us for West Africa.

Over the past two months, we have been sharing and talking with others about Africa, but yesterday felt like a launching point. It's real now. We are really going to be full time missionaries.

The journey has begun. It is an exciting and nerve wracking time all at once. It takes a lot of faith to leave the familiar and live in a foreign land. It takes just as much faith to walk the journey of preparation. A journey of faith and trust in God as He prepares your heart, your families hearts, and the hearts of those who will partner with you. A journey of faith as you raise funds, trusting in God to provide for each and every need.

God is good, and He does good. All this is for His Kingdom, for the sake of the Gospel.

2010-04-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

World Missions Day this Sunday at True Life Church in Vancouver, Wa. Join us and learn more about AFN.

March Newsletter

2010-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

March Newsletter-Roscoe

March Newsletter-Katie

Child Trafficking

2010-03-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

We must pray and bring the truth and love of Jesus to break the stronghold of poverty if we really want to see things like child labor come to an end.

http://www.worldvisionreport.org/Stories/Week-of-January-2-2010/Ghana-Child-Trafficking

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8583000/8583499.stm

Easy Fundraiser

2010-03-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

We have something new and exciting we'd like to share with you! It's the new Ask For the Nations Ministries toolbar - once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,300 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Ask For the Nations Ministries - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides coupons and deals as well!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to Ask For the Nations Ministries. http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/ask-for-the-nations-ministries

Not only will you be giving each time you search, but if you frequently make online purchases, if you connect to your favorite store through goodsearch.com, a portion of your purchase will be donated to Ask For the Nations.

Some of the stores included:
Ebay
Amazon
ITUNES (I was excited about that one)
Best Buy
1800 Flowers
Home Depot
etc....

PRAYER NEEDED FOR NIGERIA

2010-03-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Please pray for Lagos, Nigeria. A weekend of violence by a Muslin group against Christians has left hundreds dead.

Click Here for news.

They are waiting.

2010-03-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

This past weekend marks one year since we have returned from Ghana. We miss it more than words can say.

We miss our Ghanaian Family: Pastor Frank, Cecilia, Laura and Colin (Pastor Frank's daughter and son in law that we were just getting to know), Coby, and Clinton.

We miss Colin's brother who runs the little store across the street. He was teaching us Twi.

We miss Anointing, a young man who loves Jesus but struggles to live right. He is waiting for us. He needs a mentor.

We miss the chief and people of Ankaan who welcomed us into their village. They need a water reservoir so that they will no longer struggle to survive during the dry season. They are waiting for us to build it.

We miss the young lady whom our church helped buy a hair dryer. Her business has grown since then, she wants learn more about what the Word of God says about finances. She is waiting for us to teach her.

We miss the jr high kids we taught at Mother Smith School. We miss Aquia and Quedru. We miss Lucinda and her mom and dad.

We miss the lady who sold us our cell phone minutes every week. She doesn't know Jesus personally, yet.

We miss the people of Oda and Weneba and Dormaa. They are ready to learn more about God's Word and what it says about what it means to be blessed and walk in freedom from poverty. They are waiting for us, for the Canaan Life Project.

As I sit here, pondering the obstacles that have to be over come before we can return, my heart aches. Time is precious, and there isn't much left. I think about the finances needed, my inadequacies, and all the work it takes just to get there. I think about time that has passed since we have been there, and how much more time will pass before we can return. Each one of their faces come to mind. They are waiting. We told them we would return, and they are waiting. Will we come through on our promises to help?

The harvest is ready, but the workers are few. In a country with a population of 26 million, there is only 400 missionaries. Half of the people don't know Jesus. Many that do need further discipleship, teaching, and training. There are wonderful Christian leaders and they are doing an amazing job, but there simply isn't enough to go around.

We can not help every person in Ghana who needs it, but we can reach those who God has put in our path. There are specific people in Ghana that He wants us to minister to, and they are waiting.

Lord, I thank you that You are in control of all things. Nothing is a surprise or obstacle to you. Continue to prepare the way, provide the means, and open the doors. Protect my friends in Ghana. May they experience Your love in new ways each day. Send more workers. Prepare our hearts, continue to equip us so that we can minister to them adequately. Thank you, Jesus.

YAY! We're going back to Africa!

2010-02-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a year since we were in Ghana. We are once again sensing His release, and so it is with excitement and hearts full of anticipation that we announce we are going back!

For the next year, we will focused on sharing with others the vision of Canaan Life Project and reaching the people of Ghana with the Gospel. We will be raising financial support, so that we can return to Ghana for an extended amount of time.

Our target for returning is early next year. God is in control of all things, and we know that as we are obedient and diligent in the work He has called us to do, He will provide the means, and open the doors for our return in His perfect timing.

Once we return to Ghana, our first areas of focus: Implementing Canaan Life Project in the villages, re-building the church in Oda, and building a water reservoir for the village of Ankaam. On top of that, we will be doing our best to learn Twi, so that we can better communicate with our Ghanaian friends.

We cannot do it alone. We depend on the prayers and support of others. Please pray us. Please pray for financial provision, spiritual wisdom and open doors.

In Him,

Jody and Stephanie Roscoe

For more information about Canaan Life Project, ministry in Ghana, or Ask For the Nations, please visit our website. www.afnministries.org

If you are apart of Truelife Church, or if you life in the area and would like to learn more about Ask For the Nations and our ministry in Ghana, please join us March 28th for a special World Mission Sunday. Visit www.truelifechurch.tv for location, time, and directions.

New Year Update

2010-02-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

It is already into the second month of 2010! Like always, time if flying by. It has been quite awhile since I have give an update.

A year ago today, we were half way through our two month stay in Ghana. So much has happened since then. 2009 was a very good year, and we are looking forward to what 2010 has in store!

This year has started off quite eventful. Right after the new year, I was able to go to IHOP--International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo. It was an awesome experience, and I can't wait to take the whole family. It was a week of just being in His presence. Is there anything better?

My sister has decided to abandon us all, and move to Missouri. She's interning at IHOP, with the hopes of becoming a staff person. We are sad she is no longer living with us. :-(

The week after my return from IHOP, Jody decides it would be a good idea to break his hand. Truly, it was an accident with a drill, a very common injury. This is his first ever broken bone. He has been able to do some work, but not much, which means he's been stuck at home. He's going stir crazy, and taking me with him! We are all counting down the days until he can return to work full time.

This accident certainly put a damper on our financial situation, but God is always a faithful provider. We will be receiving a tax return this year, which was quite unexpected. It is exactly what we need to see us through.

At the end of this month, we will be going to visit our family in SC. It's been two years since all of us have been back there. We are looking forward to this time with his family. While we are there, we will also be reconnecting with one of our former professors who works with missionaries.

The kids are doing great. Daughter has taken off in her reading, and has entered the world of chapter books. She is so proud of herself! She got a sewing machine for Christmas, and loves making things. We turned Aunties room into a craft room, and it's Daughters personal heaven!

Son isn't interested in learning to read, because he believes he already knows how! He likes to just tell the story according to the pictures, and that's good enough for him. He loves building, and he is very good at it! He built a bridge the full diameter of our kitchen table from marshmallows and tooth picks---all by himself!

Two weeks ago we held our first AFN advisory committee meeting. The committee is made up of a handful of individuals from our church. They are here to help us as we move forward in working towards returning to Ghana. We are so thankful for each one of them.

As you know, we long to return to Ghana. We will be working hard this year raising support and making plans to return. We do not have specific return date yet, but our goal is the end of this year. We are trusting that God will lead us as we follow Him. Please pray for us.

As we enter into this new phase of preparation and support raising, I will keep this blog more up to date.

Also, if you didn't receive one, we did send out a newsletter in November---a very over due newsletter. Visit our website to view it. www.afnministries.org

Prayer for Pastor Frank.

2009-11-20T14:57:00.001-08:00

Please pray for Pastor Frank in Ghana. The Bishop of New Testament Assembly in England has passed away. This was a dear friend, leader, and mentor to Pastor. He will be traveling to be with the family and other leaders of the organization. Pray for comfort, traveling mercies, and provision for this unexpected expense. Thank you!

Tomorrow is World Toilet Day!

2009-11-18T23:22:00.000-08:00

The headline at ghanaweb.com today gave me a bit of a chuckle: Toilet - A very essential part of every home. As a scanned the article I learned that there is a day dedicated to toilets, and it is tomorrow. Yep. Tomorrow is WORLD TOILET DAY.

It sounds silly, but truth is, 2.5 Billion people don't have proper sanitation. That may not seem like a big deal, but you go without a toilet for a week, and you will soon change your mind! :-)

So, tomorrow as you go to the potty, when you flush, be thankful for your toilet!

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=172132

Amazon.com

2009-11-09T21:36:00.001-08:00

If you are going to be doing any holiday shopping on amazon.com, be sure to begin by first going to our website (http://www.afnministries.org/) or blog. Click on the amazon.com link. That is all you have to do. Each time you make a purchase by going to our website or blog first, we receive a 4-10% referral fee for your transaction. All monies go to AFN!! Happy Shopping!!

Important Prayer Request!!

2009-10-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

I met a lady today during Friday school who has a 15 month old foster son. They have had him for 10 months. He's been in the system for 12, taken from a very bad situation. They are praying to be able to adopt him.

They have a very important hearing on the 22nd. Please, please be praying!! I cannot share this family or the boy's name, but you can pray for the "S" family. Pray that he can stay in with his family so that he can grow up healthy and to know Jesus.

New Blog

2009-09-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

This blog is for AFN and missions and stuff in our life that relates to it. I try to keep it just to that, too.

But I have found that this whole blogging thing can be quite theraputic. I'd like to start doing it for more personal stuff. I don't expect some great audience to read my stuff. Either here or on the new one, but I will write anyway.
Check it out: http://wannabe-worldchanger.blogspot.com/

Condending for this generation

2009-09-22T09:02:00.001-07:00

Our church, which has a new name, Truelife Church, is 9 days in to a 21 day fast. Each Sunday for the next 8 weeks we are condending and praying for diffrent areas. This last week we Contended for this Generation.

Pastor Brian preached. It was an awesome service and message. It was heart breaking and eye opening to see the pain and brokeness that this whole generation is expereincing.

I know my heart was changed about how I see this generation and how I really need to pray!!

Take a listen or download the prayer sheets. Click here.

Operation World

2009-09-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite tools for learning about the nations as it pertains to missions and the spread of the Gospel is the book Operation World by Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk.

It assigns a country to each day of the year for prayer. It gives you prayer targets, facts about the country, its progress and position in regards to the gospel being spread.

Obviously, God had given us a heart for the nations of West Africa. That is where he has called us to serve, at least for right now. But we also desire to see the gospel spread to all the nations, especially the nations in the 10/40 window. (Click here to learn more about what that is.)

The Word says "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Mt 24:14

I encourage you to check out their website daily, or to purchase a copy of their book, and begin to pray for the nations, specifically, on a regular basis.

Sodom and Gomorrah in Ghana

2009-09-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying clearly that it has nothing to do with homosexuality---as is usually the assumption when these two Biblical cities are mentioned.

I just posted a video about Joy beyond circumstances. I am now moving to the complete opposite realm and am going to show you some really not so great circumstances that people are living in.

I check http://www.ghanaweb.com/ to see what is happening in Ghana. The headline today read "Sodom & Gomorrah To Be Destroyed." Like most, who know the reference, my mind went to homosexuality. It has nothing to do with that at all.

When I clicked on the article, my heart sank at the images I saw, and the news I was reading. It was a slum near main business district of Accra, with a population of over 23,000 people. The article goes on to talk about how terrible this place is. It did get it's name from the Biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah, but not because of homosexuality, but because of the pure sin--sexual and otherwise---that is prevalent in this place.

Here are some excerpts from the article. Click here to read the whole thing.

"ON A SULTRY mid-Thursday afternoon of Thursday stands a lady, almost nude, throwing water on her body. A group of young men sit idle meters away from her, chatting and puffing marijuana. Not far from her and just by a ramshackle that passes as a place of convenience besides a huge pile of refuse dump, two young men stick their knives into the carcass of a slaughtered sheep. Bloodstained cotton pads lie not far from the slaughter slab."

“Sex is nothing here; rape is normal. Few things surprise few people. Sleeping outside in the night is an invitation for a predator to strike. Most of us sleep with tight protective underwear – especially tight worn-out jeans on because you could wake up in the middle of the night to find somebody crawling on you to do his own thing.”

"Life here is the survival of the fittest. It’s unlike anywhere else."

The point of the article is the slum is going to be destroyed, because the settlers are there illegally, and the city has other plans for the land. The settlers are not happy about this, and are protesting to keep their homes; to be able to stay in their slum. They already had no where to go and now they will really have no where to go.

23,000 counted (which means there is probably alot more) people live in this one slum in Ghana. 23,000 that do not know or understand the love and grace of a Savior. This one slum represents thousands like it around the world.

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matt 9:37-38

Click here to see these photos with their captions online

True Joy

2009-09-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

My Pastor/Brother in Law posted a video about Africa on his FB this week. It was about true Joy not being defined by circumstances. The theme: "I need Africa more than Africa needs me."

I have experienced what this video talks about first hand. In parts of Africa where dispair should be prevelent, you will find joy. They are not sad be cause of what they do not have or because of thier circusmances, instead, they are happy, and understand that things and circumstances are not the source of true joy.

The point is that we can learn from this--we need to learn from this. We base our joy and happiness too much on stuff and circumstance rather than the true source of Joy.

The only true source of pure joy is the Lord. The Joy of the Lord is our strength. That Joy comes from knowing that I have Jesus, no matter what comes my way, I know that He is my strength, my peace, my portion, my deliverer. Knowing that, I move forward. I press on towards the goal.

Click here to see the video.

Please pray for this very special family.

2009-09-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

http://rebekahspage.blogspot.com/2009/08/rebekahs-scans-are-stable-mommy-not-so.html

This link is to a blog that I read regularly. It is a family that I know, in fact, the Dad is our adoption attorney that handled both our adoptions.

Several years ago, his daughter (who is Maudilee's age) was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsey, six months later, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She has gone through treatment, and is currently cancer free.

Two years ago, their house burned down, on Rebekah's birthday (that's the daughter).

A few weeks ago the Mom was diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease. The prognosis is not good.

My heart breaks for this family. They have been through a lot. They are believers, and are praying for a miracle. I am praying with with them, and ask you to pray, too.

It's been awhile, so a quick update.

2009-08-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over, and like all summers it has gone by way too quickly. We had a wonderful summer, but I am looking forward to fall and getting back into a routine.

I will be homeschooling again this year, so I have spent the last few weeks getting the house back in order and the school room cleaned out. The kids are very excited about school, so we decided to start this last Monday. Daughter will be in 1st/2nd grade this year, and Son will be in K/1st grade.

Jody's new business is going very well. God is faithful, and has truly blessed us. He has a steady client that he subcontracts for, and has been picking up several other small projects as well. We are very thankful.

My younger sister who lives with us left this week to attend a three month internship at IHOP in Kansas City, Mo. We miss her already, but are excited for her and this new adventure she is on.

We have had an amazing summer at church. God is doing great things, and fall is going to be even better. Our fall kick off service will be in two weeks, and we will be officially revealing our new church name---True Life Church. I like it. I am excited. I love our church! :-)

We keep in touch with Pastor Frank, by phone calls and even more so text messages. It can be a challenge calling into the country, and sometimes it just doesn't work, but strangly, text always go through. He is doing well, the church is doing well, but struggling financially, as the economy is not doing so great in Ghana right now.

I am looking forward to fall, and I know it is going to be a great season.

The need

2009-08-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted share with you a blog from a missionary family that is based in Kumasi, and does work mainly in the upper east region. The upper region is within the boarders of the 10/40 window--part of the most unreach section of the world.

There are so many people that lack everyday necessities, like food and water. These same people have no idea that there is a Savior who loves them.

http://nicholsministry.org/Blog/781B8FE9-852C-4584-B248-CFB4297BC0F7.html

US President set to visit Ghana

2009-07-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

While we were in Ghana, we taught some jr high classes. During one of the classes, we had an open Q&A. Almost immediatly, all of the kids began asking about our newly elected president. They were quite mezmerized with the fact that an Africa had been elected president of the USA. Infact, that is the ONLY thing they actually knew about him; that he is from Kenya (well, his dad is, but to them, that means he is) and that he is the first black President of the USA.

They were quite disappointed when they asked if I voted for him and my answer was a big huge NO!!!!! I explained to them that, even though I was proud of the progress our country had made in electing our first black president, politically our views are quite opposite, and that I do not agree with him on most issues.

Never the less, this man is a huge hero to them; a status that he is cementing by visiting their country. This is a huge honor for Ghana. Although I am not thrilled with anything Obama, I do wish that I were there to witness the excitement of his visit first hand. Ghanaians are going all out to show their respect and support for this man that to them represents ultimate success.

Here is a little preview of the preparations taking place...
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=164851

The Amazing Timing of God...

2009-06-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

Today, Jody became a licensed contractor. This has been a dream of his for a long time. He enjoys working with his hands and is really good at it.

Since we have been back from Africa, Jody has singlehandedly supported us doing handyman work (something he had done on the side for quite awhile). All the while looking for a job at the same time, because he is very limited in what he can do as a handy man without a license.

He had several interview, and even had a very promising job that fell through. So he began to study for his contractors test and we began to save so he could get his license.

Then, out of the blue, he gets a job. God held off, and saved this job just for him. His boss has encouraged him to get his license, and promised to make him a sub contractor once he did.

So, today Jody is a business owner, licensed contractor, and has a client with enough work to support our family.

I sit back in awe looking at how God perfectly orchestrated the timing of events to bring this all to pass, and at how He made provision for us every step of the way. He is a good God, a good Father, who gives good gifts to His children.

A year ago...

2009-06-29T21:25:00.000-07:00

A year ago, it became official that we would be going to Africa for at least two months, and the fundraising began. Because of your faithful giving, and God's provision, we made it! Our time in Africa was blessed. We saw many lives touched, as well as our own.

We have been home for nearly four months now...can't hardly believe it. Life is back to normal---better than normal! Jody is working for himself, and I am at home with our kids, not working!! :-) But, we miss Africa. We are all ready to go back.

We are praying and seeking God's direction as we make future plans, and hope to share those plans with all of you soon.

In the mean while, we are going to be focusing in on developing the Canaan Life Project state side, so tune in for details on that as well.

Ghana News

2009-06-16T10:22:00.001-07:00

Ever curious about what is going on in Ghana? (I mean, isn't everyone? :-)

This is the site we check daily. You can even listen to the radio live, which we do on occasion when we are homesick.

Check it out, it's pretty fun to see what their headlines are compared to ours in America

http://www.ghanaweb.com

I'm back!

2009-04-29T00:35:00.001-07:00

OK, I am back to the world of blogging. I can't believe we have been home for nearly two months! My computer's power cord went kaput 3 weeks before going home, but I continued to journal and i typed it all out when we got home. So, I have finally edited and published it, something I meant to do about six weeks ago. So, there is that, and then some info from our Sunday presentation and then a video. I will get more pics up soon, too.

Since we have been home, a lot has happened. One thing that hasn't happend is a job for Jody. But, God has been so faithful. While we were away we prayed about what to do, knowing we were going into a bad economy. Our plan, we were going to persue getting our license and growing our small business, but Jody would also look for a job at the same time. Jody really loves working for himself, and is good at what he does. We are trying to get him fully licensed so he can do more on his own. We already have a registered small business, but you need a license to do handyman jobs larger than a few hundred dollars. (It takes about $600 upfront to get your licenses and bonds and all that.) Although he has applied for nearly 100 jobs now, nothing has opened up. However, he has remained busy doing small odd jobs. All of our needs have been met. God is so good.

I have NOT applied for any jobs, and I couldn't be happier about it. We felt so strongly that I should not work, other than helping Jody out from time to time. The most important thing I can do is be a mommy. That is why I got a "at home" job to begin with. It just kind of over took.... but moving on....I am enjoying being ONLY a full time mom and wife for the first time ever.
While we were gone, our house had a sunroom added on, and then another house attached to the sunroom. It was supposed to be done in Feb and my sister was going to move our stuff in for us before we got home. Well it was done but the other house was not, and so we had to wait on the insepction. In the meantime, we had a garage FULL of stuff. I spent the first few weeks home going through the whole house spring cleaning and purging junk. Something that was well overdue. Finally, we were able to move into our new room, and I finished the cleaning and purging project. Now everything is nice and organized. If only it would stay that way...

Other changes in our life: My sister has moved in with us. My kids think it's great and brag to all their friends that their auntie lives with them. I think its great to have someone else around who actually likes to cook and doesnt mind washing a dish once in a while.

I am loving being an auntie again. I already have two beautiful nieces and a handsome nephew, but they live all the way in SC, so I dont get to see them much. Elli is so beautiful, and sweet. She loves me the most :-) Well, she might love her mom more, but that's because she is dependant on her for food. ;-)

Our church has had some BIG changes since we have been home. We have been given a wonderful opportunity to merge with a church in Camas, Wa. So, we are now a bigger church with two locations. I am pretty excited about that.

We are working on getting a 'plan' for what to do next regarding Africa. In the mean time, we are going to get started on teh list of things we can do statewide for the canaan life project. Keep in touch for updates. First thing, a website dedicated to cannan life and all the projects involved with it.

Video

2009-04-28T23:13:00.002-07:00

March 29th AFN Missions Day at PHC

2009-04-28T23:13:00.001-07:00

Today was our presentation to our church regarding our trip. Except that the Holy Spirit decided to interrupt! What an awesome service.

God is calling us back to surrender. To living set apart for Him. To live diffrently. Something that has been a personal challenge for me, especially since returning from Africa.

Since I didnt get to share all about our trip, I decided to post the section of my notes that were about the trip. I write out my sermons word for word...helps me process my thoughts, so it should be easy to follow. I will also post the video and more pictures!!!

March 29, 2009 Jody and I want to thank all of you for believing in us and supporting us. We love you and it was an honor to be an extension of this Body in Ghana. But I need to tell you, this trip only wet our appetite. We are anxious to get back “home” and back to the work God has for us there.

The video you just watched was just a glimpse into what our life was like in Ghana and what the people of Ghana are like. You just got a glimpse at our true home. We love our family and we love all of you, and the luxuries of America are great, but our hearts, our home is in Kumasi Ghana. God has truly knit our hearts with theirs, and we could not get back quick enough.

Ghanaians are the kindest most giving people you will find. They are very welcoming, hospitable, and loving.Jody and I’s main goals for our trip was to first of all see how our kids would adapt, and also to get a better grasp on the Canaan Life Project.

Our kids did great. They adapted better than us! They did miss their family, but they really enjoyed Africa. Which was such a relief to us. Our prayer has always been that they would share in the work God has given us to do, not just be there because we made them.They had to put up with a lot. Bad food, long car rides, people constantly swarming them and touching them, but they took it like champs.

Son was really not going along with the whole food thing. He is a really picky eater, but by the end he was asking for more. And he will tell you his favorite thing about Africa is that there is no melted cheese, which he absolutely hates. But he loves pizza---go figure!

Daughter is a trooper. She ate everything without much complaint, and reached out to the other kids, and even got up and sang a song with mommy during church. God’s little gift to her was during our last few days, Frank’s neighbor, and good friend came home from Accra, and brought his daughter with him. She is Daughter’s age, and she knows all about Hannah Montana, so they played “Hannah montana” for two days straight. Daughter thought it was amazing.·

Canaan LifeCanaan Life Project as most of you know is was founded by pastor Frank to help get his people out of poverty by teaching biblical financial principles. It teaches the people to tithe, and save, and run their own small business.Speaking of tithing.

Africans know how to take an offering. They have a minimum of 4 offerings on Sunday morning. Your first is the tithes and offerings. Then there is an offering of worship, then an offering of thanksgiving, and then, and this was my favorite, the tithes, in which all of the members/regular attenders brought up their offering records with their tithe in it. They do not mess around!

Although he has been working on this project for over 2 years, he has not gotten very far. Nothing happens fast in Africa. He has several participants in Kumasi, but is having trouble moving beyond the Kumasi church. It is not the program itself, which is great. It is getting the people on board with the concept that God does not mean for them to be poor.

They believe that they are just to keep on keepin on until Jesus comes back. For most of them, when we came to tell them about God’s desire to bless them, it was the first that any one had ever told them that God desires for them to prosper and be successful. And these are people in the church!

We are working with generations and generations of strongholds. Ghanaians are extremely hard workers, but they have a lazy mind set, believing that anyone who has more than them should give them a hand out…sound familiar?? That lazy mind set has kept them in bondage. It has kept them poor and ignorant.

It is a stronghold that will take a new generation rising up and saying, no, I no longer choose to live as a pauper. I am a kings kid and I am going to live like one. It is going to take a new generation to say, God has given me the gifts and talents to care for myself and bless others. We are not talking, either, about a prosperity message of mansions and bmw’s. we are talking about prosperity to have enough to eat and live.

On our way to Oda, we stopped to get some coconuts. We bought about 12 at 10 peswe's each. The man was so happy. He said God had heard his prayer that he would sell a coconut today. Who knows how long he will have to make that small amount of money stretch. This is just one example of the poverty in Ghana.This is the practical ministry need in Ghana. The hands on need.

Canaan Life needs further development of educational/discipleship classes and well as implementation and oversight of the program in the villages. This is what we will be doing. While we are here in America, we will be working on developing materials for the project and raising funds and grants for the project. When we go back, which we hope is very soon, we will be the project coordinators. Traveling to the villages to teach and help with the program and other various projects.

This practical need is not the only need. Ghana, much like the American church is very religious. They take church very seriously, and EVERYONE believes in God. But for many, that is as far as it goes. There is no intimacy with the Father. There is not a knowledge of the father’s heart. God said to make disciples, not converts, but sadly, the church has failed so much in this area. We leave people with a dangerous half knowledge of the ‘good news.’ It is more than a get out of hell free card. Jesus has so much more to give us, if we will only follow him. We want to teach them to follow.

And then, there is the ‘other’ side of Ghana. The dark side. The side that the girl inside me who so desires to take the road less traveled wants to see touched for Jesus. Ghana is 50% professing Christians. The other half is Muslim. Do not believe what the media and our ‘president’ want you to believe about this religion. It is not peaceful religion. It is a religion that is destroying lives around the world while the majority of the Christian world just sits back and watches.

We could always tell when we were going into a more Islamic section of town without even being told. It was more poor and sad and more hopeless than other parts of town. The upper ¼ of the country, called the upper volta, is almost completely musilm. Because of the violence, the entire region goes under cerfew and military control at 4pm in the afternoon.

Our dear Cecilia, whom we love, says it will make you cry and cry. She says the people are so sad and dirty, and simply hopeless.All the other stuff is great, and I know God has called us to do it. Canaan Life is a wonderful evangelistic opportunity, but our desire is to see the many people groups of Ghana that have yet to hear and understand who Jesus really is and what he did for them. And it doesn’t stop in Ghana.

The Ivory Coast has always tugged on my heart. All of the west African nations are in need of the gospel. See, they are the road less traveled. They are the ignored African territory. But just imagine, if there is a Jesus movement in these nations that are open to the gospel but primarily Islamic, just imagine what they can do to their neighbors to the north, the closed nations of the middle east?

Many have asked what is your plan? What did you do and what do you want to do? When are you going back? I wish I had all those answers. While we were there, we preached, built relationships, studied and promoted the canaan life project, and did a lot of waiting around. A lot of waiting. A lot of reading and praying and dreaming and talking. Our plan? What we want to do? We want to go back, set up camp, and get to work. And we want to do it soon.

In the mean time, there are hurting and broken people in need of a savior wherever we go. We are going to keep our eye on Africa. We are actively persuing his call and actively persuing getting back there. In the next few weeks you will begin to get more information about what we are doing while in the US to help with Canaan Life, and what our plans are for returning. But in the mean time, we are going to be hard at work here. Gone are the days of idleness. We cannot afford to be ilde. The church cannot afford to be idle any longer. God’s calling is active no matter your location.

March 12--Trip Overview

2009-04-28T22:49:00.001-07:00

Trip Overview…

We accomplished what we set out to do, which was to get a picture of what is going on with canaan life and what needs to be done, and what our role would be in that. We will be bringing you more details on that soon.

The second objective was to introduce our children. This was very successful. They did great, and they adapted wonderfully.

We want to thank all of you for your love and support. We saw many lives touched while we were there, but none more than ours. Our hearts are renewed with a vision and passion for the people of Africa.

What now? Well, if it were up to us we would be on the next plane out. We will be taking the month of march to get settled and debrief. Then we will begin to pray and speak with our leaders about what we do next.

One thing we know for sure, time is slipping away from us and there are still so many that need to hear the gospel! Both here and in Africa.

FINAL AFRICA ENTRY, FINALLY!! :-)

2009-04-28T22:33:00.001-07:00

ENTRY 4

Feb 12, 2009
Today was a major bummer of a day. This afternoon our external hard drive, which had all our movies were lost. I tried everything I could think of to recover them, but it didn’t work. Nothing had happened to it, either, so it was strange and quite sad. I will certainly be bringing it back to the store. I hope they let me return it.

Then, this evening, again, nothing abnormal happened, but my computer’s cord would not work. It wouldn’t charge the computer. Now, not only no movies, but no music, email, journal, nothing!!!

Aside from these two tragic events, we had a good day. We went to the church/school to teach, but we didn’t. We will next week. We also met with George regarding the dam project. Not sure what we accomplished, but it was a good meeting! J

Feb 13, 2009
Today was a good day. Nothing much during the day, but we stayed over at Franks after dinner and I had a good talk with Cecilia. She showed me all the pictures of her dresses, and one from when she was a baby. She told me about her family and then and showed me a picture from her Christian wedding. She and Frank looked so young!

While we were talking and there was an obituary on the TV of the ‘sudden’ death of a 107 year old man. He was a family member from her father’s side. She said that her grandmother lived to be 110 years old. She was never sick, slipped while doing laundry and broke her hip, she died a few days later. She also said in the villages that often people will lived to be 120, 130, sometimes even 140!!

Feb 14, 2009
Valentines Day.
Today was a fun day. First, we gave the kids a whole cedi to spend at the little store. They love going to the store across the street, and now they had their own money to spend! All during and after breakfast they kept saying Im ready to go home (aka I want to go spend my $$)

Finally, we go to the store and they each choose a pop and lots of little candies or sweets as they call them here.

Then home to rest. We are going to go to the craft village and pizza at noon.

Well, at noon, er…uh…2pm. We head to the ATM. I need to get money before we go. Well, that’s not going to happen today, BOTH ATM cards and 2 ATMs I am still getting the same message, Invalid Transaction. A quick, yet paniced call to dad and we find out that our account is fine, but some of our banks ATM cards have been compromised. Ours must have been among them. We will have to wait until Tuesday (Monday’s President day) for dad to confirm and then transfer the money to our personal account. No craft village today.

Instead we go to see the bats. There is a part of town where all the bats tend to congregate. There were a lot. This place happened to be by the Kumasi Zoo. Frank asked how much it was. Again the broonie gets the shaft. 3 cedis for each adult, the Ghanaians are only 1. Still 3 bucks for a zoo is not bad.

The zoo was small. Only about 20 exhibits, not including the 1000s of bats flying over and living in the trees above you. There was nothing fancy about the exhibits, simply cages with a sign.

There were ostriches, snakes, turtles, crocodials, lions, porcupines, baboons, monkeys, and chimps.

The chimps were by far the best part. They surpassed all monkey exhibits in the US. They would perform—hang upside down, do flips, put out their hands for food, etc… If you threw food at them they would catch it. If you didn’t---watch out! They would fling poop or spit water at you. One baboon threw it at Jody, but he blocked it with his hand. They were really neat.

After the zoo we went to pizza at a small resturaunt at a hotel. They advertized oven baked pizza and Frank says it’s pretty good.

We ordered two. One cheese and one with the works. (Ham, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, artichokes)

They only had one size, equivalent to a US small. And they were 12 cedis each (about$10). It was worth it. They were really good. Malachi ate 4 pieces—2 of which were with the works. Something he never would have done at home. The kids loved it.

After pizza we drove around for a bit and went home. When we got home a storm began. We sat out and watched it, the wind cooling us down. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

February 15, 2009 ELLI IS BORN!!

Today we spoke at a small church in Kumasi.

Daughter summed up her feelings about Sundays quite well this morning. She said, “Is it Sunday?” I said, “yes.” She said, “Oh man, Sundays are always so long!”

That is true, especially for them. They have to wear nice clothes and sit still in a long service that is really hot, with nothing to do, that is in a language they don’t understand.

Son expressed his same feelings during church. He said he felt like he wanted to go home (in Kumasi), because church was hot and long.

During church Daughter was entertaining herself by cleaning her shoes. I looked back and she has rubbed the bottom of her shoe with her hand and then looks at her hand and licks it! It was so gross, even the pastor next to her told her to not do that; it’s bad for you. Oh, that girl!

After church we went home to take a nap while we wait for lunch. Right as we are about to fall asleep and right after Malachi already had—coby comes to the door. It is time to eat.

We get up. We wake up Son. Quite reluctantly. We go over. Walk in and dinner is not ready. It’s not even close to being ready. We were not happy. It appears that Coby decided it was play time.

Finally, dinner is ready. It was so good! Cabbage and Califlour, chicken, rice and a sauce. It was a good sauce, a little spicy but not much. Son ate two helpings of it!

After dinner, we went home to finish our nap. At about 3:30 I get a text that Elli is on her way. Jenn’s in labor. After our nap, we went over to franks for a bit and visited. They were all happy to hear about Jenn and prayed for her.

We went home and waited anxiously for news. The kids prayed for Jenn and Elli. We went to bed early and slept with the phone next to us. I certainly wish I were home right now. I am so sad I am missing her birth.

Finally at about 11:30pm I get the call that she is here. I am so happy, but sad that I am not there. Now, I am anxious to get home to meet my niece.

February 16, 09 Monday

Today we went to the school to teach. I taught English. We were supposed to leave at 9, so I could have time to review the lesson before my class at 10:35am. We got to the school at 10:20am. Thankfully it was a test day. So I didn’t have to do much.

This evening we played card games with the kids. They love it. They love, love, love playing games with mom and dad. After that, we read some from swiss family robinson. Then, early to bed.

Feb 17, 09
We had the day off, so we did some pre-packing and cleaned up the room.

At dinner (which was vegetable stew with fish) we brought over the toys and gifts we had. We gave coby some rescue heros and cars. Quedru, we gave a dool with several outfits, a bottle, and feeding tray, and a purse. Lucinda, we gave a doll. We gave Linda and the baby some lotion and receiving blankets. The rest of the toys we gave to Cecilia to do what she like. She said she would bring them to the church to use in Sunday school. She said they also need toys for nursery kids.

The kids really enjoyed giving their gifts and seeing the kids play with them.
Feb 18
Today we when we went over to Frank’s we saw Lucinda playing with her doll. She was carrying it everywhere. Her mother came over just to say thank you. She was so grateful.

Today we went to the church to meet with George about canaan Life. It was a good meeting. George is a vital need for Canaan Life. Bringing management to Frank’s vision.

Linda had her baby today. Via C-section. So Frank and Cecilia and I and Malachi went to the university to see her and to get some money from the ATM.

He is so cute! Linda was still in recovery, so we didn’t stay.

Feb 19
We were supposed to teach today, both Jody and I, but the truck is broke and frank had to leave early for court, so no teaching.

We spoke to Cecilia quite awhile today about old methods of discipline. She said that in the old says, parents would mix ginger and pepper and put it by/in your nose, ears, eye, mouth.

They also beat you with a cane, either on your hand or your back or legs. If you were really bad, they would hold your arms and legs and beat you. Some parents would even take their kids to the police and have them beat you, if you were really bad.

WOW! Sure glad I wasn’t an Africa kid.

They still “beat” kids with a cane. Nothing like what was described. They may get one on the rear or the hand, but that is it. Even the schools do this. BUT, this I must say, the kids respect adults and are very well behaved.

We had a great dinner of fried chicken and yam chips. Yummy! After dinner, we all went to the hospital to see Clifford. He is so cute! Linda seems to be doing well and will come home this weekend.

This afternoon, when we were talking about going to see the baby, Son asked if the baby drank mamma’s milk. I said yes. He said, I have seen lots of baby’s drink mamma’s milk in Africa. It was so cute, and so true! There really isn’t a “bottle” option around here. Formula is WAY too expensive. Even orphan babies are usually wet nursed.

After two weeks with no water, we finally have water. Yay! But then we (and all the pastors staying for the conference) tripped a breaker. So, no power, but we have water again! The power was turned back on soon.

This weekend is the annual NTA Ghana council conference. All of Frank’s pastors come into town, and most are staying in the conference center. It will be a very busy weekend for Pastor Frank.

Feb 20
Typical day in Africa. We went to the church with frank because Jody had to teach…or not. They took a field trip! So we are in the hot office for nothing.

Frank has his pastor conference, so we will be here awhile.

During our office visit, we were served porridge. It smelled so so good, but it was the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten in my life! It burned, and was sour and bitter and spicy all at the same time.

Feb 21
Today, we went to a funeral. It was Frank’s uncle who passed away. It was quite an ordeal. A BIG ordeal.

When someone dies, the family gathers that day. Then there is a celebration one week after the death. Then, sometime after than anywhere from a few days to a month, there is the funeral, which is on a Saturday. EVERYONE comes to the funeral. First there is the burial, not as widely attended, mostly for family. But then there is the memorial portion. People come, there is LOUD music. You greet EVERYONE, shaking their hand. Then you sit and visit for a moment. Then, you are brought to a courtyard where you are fed or given drink, depending on what is being served and what time you come. Thankfully, we only had sodas. Then you go back and sit and visit. During the visiting, you make a donation. A receipt is made out, and an announcer announces who you are and what you gave. Then you sit down, and EVERYONE, comes to you and shakes your hand and says thank you.

Certain clothes are worn, and they are either red or black or a combo.

The NTA church came, about 40 in all in one group entrance, to be an example and say we are here for you in your time of need. It is one of their ways of evangelizing.

There is dancing. One person will get up and dance and people will surround them and like “brush” them with their hankie. It is their way of saying we are here to lift you up when you are down. This funeral lasts from early morning, around 5 until after dinner time, around 6/7.

Then, the next day, the family, dressed in black and white, get together for a meal of thanksgiving. This happens after church and lasts all afternoon.

Finally, the next day, the family gathers one last time to sort out family matters such as the will and take care of the funeral bill, which is paid for by the donations. Then they will decide what to do with the remaining balance. This time is also used to resolve any existing family disputes.

And, that is it for the funeral…until a year later. Then there is another big celebration, celebrating the anniversary of the death. This is always advertised by posters around town. This is also when the tombstone is put in place.

During the funeral, which was really boring for those of us who don’t speak Twi, Daughter was so board. She said it was the longest day of her life!

She was slouching all over the place, and I kept telling her to sit up and put her hands in her lap, and to sit like a lady.

After the funeral, Frank asked what I was doing, and I told him, I was reminding her to sit like a lady and to mind her manners. He said that is what he thought. A lady came to him and asked. She thought I didn’t want Daughter touching the chair, because I thought it was dirty. But then when she came over to thank us for our donation, Daughter shook everyone’s hand, so she changed her mind about being offended.

I was so hungry on the way home, but too scared to say anything, so I just prayed lord, please let them have us over for yams and chicken, but not if its anything else.

Lo and behold! Yam chips and chicken! Yay! It was like 8pm, so it was cold, but still good. We ate fast, and then we went to bed. It had been a long day.

Oh, right before the funeral, we did have jalapo rice. We had to eat fast, and didn’t really have time to finish, so Coby got his rice in a plastic bag. Son wanted more, so he got some in a plastic bag, too. He ate it all, some before the funeral and some after. He loves it. He is truly African now!

Feb 22
Today was Sunday. Our final service in Kumasi. Jody spoke on Joseph, it was great message. Very sad, though, I am ready and not ready to go home. I want to see my family, especially Elli, but I am not ready to leave here for good.

Afterwards, we napped and had peanut butter soup. We also walked to the store, and guess what we found?! Chocolate chip cookies! AWESOME! They are so so good.

Feb 23 09
Today we just hung out as we are winding down our trip. The plan is, which changes often, to leave for winneba and accra on Wed. We will stay in winneba until Sunday AM and then go to accra. We’re gonna stay in a 11 cedi/night hotel with no ac. That should be interesting.

Fried chicken again for dinner. It was pretty yum. I love it. Cecilia made fufu for herself and Jody asked if he could beat it. She agreed. They all thought it was so funny! He did Ok, but will have to work on his technique. The Collin finished the job. Making fufu is quite an art. You take boiled yam, casaba, or plantain. Place it in a wooden bowl that his wet. Then you take a large stick with a flat surface (this is usually made from bamboo) and beat it. While one person is beating it (usually a man) the other person (usually a woman) gathers and folds while adding just a bit of water with her wet hands. She also picks out any imperfections. This is all happening within the rhythm of the beating of the fufu. So, you gotta pay attention and hope the beater is, too, so that you don’t lose a finger. In about 20 minutes, you have fufu!

Feb 24 09
The past two nights neither Jody nor I have been able to sleep. Last night we were both up until 2am! We mentioned this to Frank and he said it’s home sickness. He says whenever he is about to go home the same thing happens to him. Hmm. Never knew that.

Today, Anointing came over and brought Jody a tie. It was very kind of him. We’ll miss him.

We also noticed today that there were some hot pink chicks (as in chickens) running around the yard. What is the heck?---ask Malachi would say. We asked Frank about this and he said the farmers will paint the chicks pink so that the hawks will think they are bloody and dead and will not eat them. That made me feel a whole lot better---I thought it was some sort of radioactive freak of nature!

Other than that, nothing much today. Oh, but we are not leaving tomorrow. Car problems again. We’ll leave Friday. Maybe.

Feb 25
Today we went to the Post Office box to see if our package from Susan and Krista made it. After 3 hours, we still don’t really know. Let’s just say, the Post Office workers aren’t in a hurry to help. T hey wanted a tracking number, but when we said we didn’t have one, they wouldn’t even go look to see if it came. What a bummer. They said if it comes before Friday that they will call us…I don’t have my fingers crossed. That they will call, that is.

We went to Wed night church. It was a farewell service for us, but it rained, so there was only like 5 people there. Well, at least they told us that’s why there was only 5 people!

We said good bye and gave a final word of encouragement. The lady that our church helped by a hair dryer for several years ago gave me a thank you gift. A beautiful cloth a photo and a letter of thanks. It was, of course, presented to me. One thing we have learned is that anonymous giving is not the way to go around here. Everything is a presentation followed with handshakes of thanks.

Feb 26
Today we got ready to leave. We are not leaving now until Saturday, and we will stay in Winneba until Wed. We packed up most of our things and cleaned out most of the room. We spent the rest of the day resting and spending time with Cecilia. She was making palm soup. It is quite a process. You start out with the palm nut/seed. You boil it for a day, and then all of the oils begin to come out. You press out all of the oils, and use that to make soup. It is pretty good, without the fish.

Feb 27
Papa’s birthday was today. I am pretty sure the kids were the first to say happy birthday, since they called him at like 6:30am Oregon time.

We had a very special treat today. Collin’s bother, the judge we met in Accra was in town. He lives next to frank and owns the small store we go to, which his brother runs. Well, he has a daughter who is 8. Her name is Aquia. She and Daughter played together all day. Aquia knows about Hannah Montana, and even has the DVD. So, that was WAY cool. Daughter was smitten. They played “Hannah” all day long.
Before dinner, it rained. All of the kids played on the porch during the downpour, but they didn’t stay very dry, playing in the water seeping through the gate. They had so much fun. Daughter says she is sad to be leaving Aquia tomorrow.

I can’t believe tonight is our last night in Kumasi. Two months goes by fast. Too fast.

Feb 28 Final Day
Today, we left Kumasi. It was really hard. I cried as we said good bye and as we left town. I am not ready for this adventure to be over. I am not ready to say good bye to my family here in Kumasi.

This morning, we finished the packing and cleaning up of our room. We had some fufu and packed up the car. We took some final pictures and said good bye. Gabriel will be driving us to Winneba. We were in the car and on our way by noon. The kids took a nap and 4 hours later, we were in Winneba.

Winneba is the poorest city in Ghana. It is about 45 minutes from Accra. They are known for fishing and smoked fish which they export around Ghana. It is way below the poverty line for all of Ghana.

That said, the beaches are beautiful….except for the excessive trash. We are not staying at the hotel we were told about. Instead, we are staying at a “resort” that is right on the beach. It is a pretty nice place. We feel really luck to be staying here. It is going to be fun.

We got all unpacked…unloading all 11 bags. Then we went and got some dinner at the restaurants and went and put our feet in the warm water.

Then, after showers (an over the head shower, what a treat) it was bed time…at 7:45. Our room is small with only 1 double bed, so dad and Malachi are on the floor. The ladies get the bed.

Mar 1
Final Sunday. Winneba was one of Jody’s favorite places from last time. I didn’t go last time we were here, I went to another church, so I was excited to check it out. WOW! It was LOUD and they were into it! It was a great church service. I spoke on Standing and God’s armor.

There is a blind man there, whom Jody remembers from last time. He really gets into the service and has someone watch for him so he can dance.

The service was LONG, and afterwards we went back to the hotel. They brought us dinner, jalapo rice. We ate and then spent the afternoon playing in the water. The kids loved it. They have never been able to place in the ocean without freezing.

After a swim, we got cleaned up and went to get a soda. Half the church was at the restaurants. There was a soccer game on, so we hung out at watched it while the kids played on the playground.

Mar 2 Monday
Today, we went into Accra to go to the craft market. We get there, and get out and Malachi has to go to the bathroom. He said in the car that he had to go number 2. Jody took him to the bathroom, but only accomplished #1. Ok, we are on our way. The market is always crazy, because everyone is trying to sell, and you have to not act interested and trust in your guide to barter for you, so you don’t get ripped off. I was prepared for a long day.

Well, about 30 minutes into it, Son is crying. I realize he is probably hungry, so frank buys him a soda to tie him over, but the vendor has to go and get it. In the mean time, he breaks down. His tummy hurts. He tells daddy, I gotta go, and I gotta go now. So Jody had to run with him to the bathroom. They barely made it. Poor guy is “running”. We meet up with him, and I bought him some Imodium. He WOULD NOT take it. So, this day has gone downhill FAST. So, I said, give me 10 more minutes and I will be done. I and Frank go into the market, I picked a store, and just bought what I thought would work for people. I am about to leave and run back to the car so we can take him home when I get a call. It is Jody. Son wants a lion. (He could not decide earlier). He is also feeling better. I get him a lion and we get on our way.

He is fine now, even though he has NOT taken the medicine. We decided to get some pizza on our way home. We got pepperoni pizza. Well, it was NOT pepperoni. It was cut up hot dogs on pizza. No one ate the hotdogs. They got picked off. Yuck.

We went home, took a nap, and then went to the beach again. Then some dinner and bed. Tomorrow will be our last full day here.

Mar 3
Today, Jody went to go meet some guy who is an inventor. Frank wanted to meet him. They didn’t get to meet him, you have to write a letter and request an appointment. While they were gone, the kids and I hung out, got some lunch and finished Swiss family Robinson.

When Jody got back, we spent one last afternoon at the beach. Tomorrow, we will head home. We are so very excited and so sad, too.

Mar 4-Final day.

Today we packed up and were on the road by 9am. We went into accra and went to the accra mall. WOW! It was SO COOL. It was a touch of the western world in Africa. Two supermarkets, a book store, and several European stores, with a few American ones, too. They had a real food court, and even a real movie theater with new releases. We got REAL pepperoni pizza and real ice cream. They had nice bathrooms. One in which I found a one peswe, which I needed to complete my collection. Thank you Jesus for that little gift.

After looking around for a bit, we headed to the Trade fair. We went last time on our way from accra to Kumasi We looked around for awhile, but after a bit, we were just done and ready to go home.

So, at about 4, we headed to the airport. We went to customs, and the lady asked if we had kids. We said yes, and she said OK, and passed us through. It pays to have kids when going through customs.

We got all checked in about 6, and waited. And waited. Finally, three hours later, we are on the plane. The kids fell asleep right away. Jody and I stayed up watching movies. We would sleep on the next leg.

We got to Amsterdam and were so tired! But the end was in sight. We found a bathroom and took “showers” and got new clothes on. Then we found a mc Donalds, and at 6:30am in the morning, we had hamburgers and French fries. The kids were SO SO excited. They ate it up fast.

Then, we decided to “cross into Amsterdam” so that we could go to the starbucks. We wanted to get KT and Brian a city mug. And some coffee for ourselves. First coffee in 60 days. It was SO good.

Well, about 20 minutes after our mcdonalds and starbucks binge, it was payback time. Yeah, the tummy does not like fast food and coffee after 60 days of good eating.

Finally, back on the plane. I was so exhausted. So was Jody. But neither of us slept. I think it was the combination of excitement and real movies that just needed to be watched. The kids slept for a few more hours and then watched movies the rest of the time.

Finally, we landed. We were home. It was so good to see Ellie for the first time and the look on the kids faces when they saw their nana and papa was pure joy.

We are home now, but our hearts are still there, and we are open and ready for the next chapter God has for us. When will we return? What will we do while we are here? Only time will tell, but one thing remains true. We are not our own, we are bought with a price and where HE goes, we will follow.

Update on the broonies.....

2009-02-12T03:38:00.000-08:00

ENTRY 3

Day eighteen, Monday
Today went to go get some fabric for Elli’s dress, and go to the dress shop. Daughter and I went with Cecilia. Gabriel drove us. He is the school bus driver. Very nice guy. We go to a fabric shop. I picked out some ‘lace’ for Elli’s dress. It is not what we would think of as lace. It is the eyelet (I think that is what it’s called) type of design. It’s pretty and white. Then we pick out some material for me. I am getting dresses made for me. Not because I want any (I have a whole box full of African clothes at home that I never wear. I am all for looking native, but they just are not very comfortable.), but because I am told I need some! So, I picked out some flower pattern, the best of all the choices, and not only end up with that, but also some of the material that I chose for Elli. I guess I am now getting more than one outfit!

So, Cecilia bargains a price, says something to the driver, who comes in and pays the lady. During this whole process no one says a thing to me or even looks at me. We get in the car and go to the dress maker. We get there, and Cecilia looks at me and says, “you have the bag?”
Uh…no! No one told me to get it! So, Gabriel and I get back into the car and head back to the fabric store and pick up the bag. Now, back to the dress shop.

I pick out a pattern. Some crop pants and a shirt. I really just picked at random, because I know the chances of me actually getting that are slim, and the chances of me actually wearing it are even slimmer. I also said I wanted an outfit like Cecilia wore on Sunday—a skirt and top. She measures me. This too, still means little. You still don’t know if it will come back right. I have had outfits made every time I’ve been in Africa, and it never quite turns out like you asked or imagined. And it’s a 50 50 chance that they will fit right. But hey, I could never make something as beautiful as what they make using an old fashioned sewing machine, so who am I to complain if it isn’t perfect.

I told them I wanted a dress made for Elli. For size 3 months. I say this knowing it will come back big. I had some 1 year old clothes made last time I was here, and Malachi was able to wear them when he was 3, and Maudi when she was 4.

Back home. Back to sitting around. Frank says he will make us tomato soup and bring it over, since Jody still isn’t feeling well. It comes, and there is a whole fish floating in our tomato soup. As soon as I lifted the lid the whole room smells like fish. We…uh…weren’t hungry. Praise God for PB and J. And toilets that flush things. (A major missionary no, no. You are supposed to eat what is prepared for you out of respect. Yes, this is true, but desperate times call for a bending of the rules. One can only take so much fish!)

Day nineteen

Well, Jody is finally feeling better today! We are going to speak today at Christ the King Palace. They are having a Fulfilling your Financial Destiny seminar all this week. Jody and I are the key speakers. (They certainly didn’t choose us for our successes in this area!).

After breakfast today, we spent some time talking with Bishop. We were talking about the mindset of the people as a whole. Many are lazy in their thinking, and expect anyone who has more to take care of them. They think only of today and not tomorrow, and it has been this way for generations. Even the government depends on other governments to balance its budget and such. What a sad bondage.

We also talked about the church as a whole here. Very religious. Everyone goes to church an whoops and hollers, but there is a lack of depth and a lack of commitment to Christ.

Elli’s dress did get done today. It turned out so cute!!! Super super cute. I was going to mail it but now I am not. I don’t want to risk it getting lost. So, Jenn, you’ll have to wait. And, like I predicted, it does not look like a 3 month olds dress. More like 6-9 months. But that may be a good thing for Elli.

Service went very well. We talked about poverty and what the Bible says. After church, we got in the car, us and 6 other people! I guess we were giving them a ride. 12 people in the car. That is a new record!

After we dropped off the people, we went into Bishop’s for some tea, and a cucumber, and bread and a cheese spread. Oh, it was good. It was some fake sharp cheddar cheese spread. I am all about fake cheese. I absolutely LOVE cheese in a can, which this tasted just like. I had two pieces of bread with the cheese on it. It was awesome.

Then, home and to bed in our hot hot room. I think I am beginning to change my mind about an AC.

Day twenty.

Today was exciting! We got our package from mom and dad! We walked down to the little store around 10, and got some Pringles. Paid 2.90 USD for them, but it was SO worth it! We also got some pop in a can, and Son got Chocolate Milk. (which has way too much chocolate syrup in it, so it has a nasty after taste, but he liked it.)

Right before we got home, our phone rang and it was the post office saying we had a package!! We were super excited.

Jody called frank to tell him. He called to ask if he could pick it up, but Jody had to pick it up because it is in his name. So, Bismarck (or as we call him Bisquick) drove Jody to the post office. He had to wait forever, of course, and pay 7.30 USD in tax, but he finally came back with the package.

The kids LOVED it! Son kept asking if Daddy went to Papa and Nana’s house to get it. I told him it came in the mail, and he finally got it. Then he thought that it was pretty cool that we got mail.

They had to eat a sucker and life saver right away, and use their paper and color book right away, and read their cards over and over. And, they would not be quiet until mom shared one of her pop carts (as malachi calls them) with them. And then, of course they had to have some gum. Daughter wanted the kind from Nana’s purse. 

Daddy loved his books, and I enjoyed the pop tarts and dots, but I am pretty sure I will not be able to keep them all to myself.

We are back to church again tonight. Jody’s turn to speak. He is going to talk about having plans and goals for our life and money.

Day twenty one—three weeks here!

I can’t believe we have been here for three weeks! It doesn’t seem like that long, and yet at times it seems like the days last forever!

Today was another around the house day, as we prepare for tonight. It has been SO HOT. I have hardly slept the past two days. We have decided that we are for sure going to get an AC. I am ready to go get one right now. Frank says we can go get one tomorrow.

I am the speaker tonight. I spoke on Heb 12:1-3 and running your race well and fighting off discouragement. We have had a good size crowd each night. I pray that they all received value and knowledge out of the seminar.

Day 22

Today was long and miserable, but quite adventurous, too. Yesterday, frank said be at the house by 7:30 for breakfast, and we will leave at 8. We will go see a pastor and then get the AC. We’ll be back by noon, so Jody can prepare for tonight. He is speaking at the church we went to the Sunday after we arrived when we didn’t speak, since we didn’t know we were supposed to. They were disappointed, so we are going back.

Well, unsurprisingly, that isn’t exactly how it went. We left at 8:30, and that’s not bad. We went to the village to see the pastor. But both Jody and I had forgotten he said that, so we just kept driving and driving, and we’re like what? Where the heck is this Air Conditioner? Togo? Well, we finally remembered. The village was 30 miles out of Kumasi.

On our way we passed a bus. A very full bus, I might add with people and things stacked in, on top, and on the back. I am pretty sure if they crashed, no one would be hurt, except maybe the people on the top of the bus, because they were packed in so tight.

When we got to town, we found out the pastor was on that bus on his way in to see frank. I guess they had a little miscommunication about where they were meeting. We also found out we had a flat tire. So we pulled over to put the spare on. A guy came and did it for us. Not surprisingly. People are always willing to help….as long as you tip them.

While we were waiting, a crowd began to form, as it usually does (about 50 kids and some adults). George video tapped them trying to greet the kids, who were in the car. Many asked Daughter if she would like to come live with them, and told her how beautiful she was. One touched her arm, and then she and her friends all giggled. Many boys greeted Son and said they wanted to be his friend.

George gave me the camera back, and I recorded a bit more. Once they see what you’re doing, they want to make sure you get a picture of them. Well, then I remembered that my screen flips. If I turn it, they can see themselves. Coby loves it when I do that, and so do Daughter and Son. So I decided to give it a shot. I flipped the screen, and they went bananas! They started jumping around and singing. It was so much fun!

Finally, it was time to go get that AC….or not. Let’s go look at a dam, which included a small hike. So, off we set to the dam. We take a look, chat for a bit with the dam keeper, and head back.

As we were heading to the dam, I saw an old lady sitting out in the courtyard of her house (a courtyard in the center of several houses, actually. And by house I really mean hut. At least that is a better description.) She had no top on. No big deal, just keep walking. Well, on our way back. She called out to us. She wants to greet the kids, because they are so beautiful. Frank says, go say hi to grandma. So we do. The kids go up and shake her hand; breasts down to her knees and all, out for the world to see. I thought oh great! Now I have to explain why this lady is sitting here with no shirt on and why that is OK. But, no, they didn’t even bat an eye. They didn’t even seem to notice! I asked them if they noticed anything different about her, and both of them said no! Perhaps the Holy Spirit was shielding their eyes.

Ok, back in the car. We drop off our guide, and of course, tip him. Now we are finally on our way…..and then the spare tire goes out. So we stop, and get the regular tire fixed.

Alright, tires fixed, off we go to the AC….or not. How about another dam. Alright, not to panic. It’s only 12:30. Still early. We get to the dam site, and I stay in the car. The kids have fallen asleep. About 20 minutes later, we FINALLY really head back to town.

We get to the AC place. I am in the car with the kids while Jody and Frank and George go look at the AC, and make sure it works. It works well, so Jody comes back to get the money. He gives the money to frank, and--- MAJOR mistake here--- gets back in the car WITHOUT Frank or the AC. A few minutes later, we see George and frank go down the street. About 30 minutes later, they come back, and go back to the AC place. Then, finally come to the car and tell us we are waiting on a part from another store. What? . Apparently there is no hose. We have to wait for someone to bring it from another store. So we wait some more. It is now 2:30. After waiting some more on a guy who was supposed to be there in 20 minutes, about an hour ago, we finally leave, without the AC. I am about to cry at this point, because I am SO HOT, and the kids are board so they are driving each other and me crazy, and Jody is cranky because he needs to get back to get ready for tonight (which by the way, we didn’t know about until last night after church). My only hope was a cold room, and that hope was quickly fading. The guy says he will call when the part shows up and will deliver it. Even frank isn’t confident in this. Thankfully, we had not given him any money yet. Let’s go home.

We head that way, and drop off George. We stop and pick up Cecilia. I thought Jody was going to lose it. Cecilia means many stops. And right he was. We stopped at a shop, then we stopped to look at an AC Frank spotted. Finally, we are on our way home. I think frank could tell we were getting agitated. As we are heading home, we pass a place that Jody had seen an AC when he had gone to the post office. He, to me, mentions it. Well, shouldn’t have opened his mouth, because as soon as he did we pull over to look at it! I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

A few more stops to get bread and water and eggs and we are FINALLY home. The time is now 4:30. We are hot and cranky. Jody decides that he will go by himself tonight. The kids have been in the car all day, and I need to pack for tomorrow. I decide to give the kids a shower, just to cool them down. They really liked that. In the midday the water is warm, not super cold.

After our rinse off, we head to dinner. Jody will come later. While at dinner, the AC arrives. Jody finally comes back and says it is on and our room is cooling. We hurry up and eat so we can get back to our room. When we get there, Jody stays out so the kids can play outside. I go to check out the AC. I get to the door, and I can smell something burning. I open the door, and the AC is off and the room is full of smoke. I look over, and our extension cord/power strip is melted, and there is a burn mark on the floor about ½ and inch away from the carpet. Jody came in and was not happy; it had just been one of those days. He had asked specifically if the AC was too strong for the cord. Both Frank and the AC guy said yes. Well, they were wrong. Thankfully, it was only an overload on the power strip. It didn’t damage the AC or my computer cord (which was plugged in, but the computer was not plugged into it), and it didn’t damage the outlet at all. We plugged it into the wall, and it worked fine. Our first cool night. Very worth it. Jody heads off to church; I get the room tidy, pack for our trip, and give the kids a bath. Then to bed for all of us. Even I was exhausted and couldn’t wait up for Jody.

Day 23, Saturday

Today was quite uneventful. First, something from yesterday. Since we have gotten here, every time we pass a group of kids, and sometimes adults, we hear them shouting the same thing, but we have no idea what it is. On the way home yesterday was no exception. Cecilia told us they are saying O Broonie! Which means Oh, white people or white person. So that’s us, the Broonies.

So, today, we were supposed to go to a village, Dormaa. But, Frank’s car was having issues, so it got put off to tomorrow. So, we spent the day at home. We played with the kids (Jody played hide and seek…perfect building for it…with them) and read and rested.

We went over to Franks in the afternoon and watched “Free Willie” on tv…the latest American blockbuster!! Malachi thought it was cool because it had a killing whale (what he calls killer whales).

After a lovely dinner of rice and fish sauce, we went home. We were ready to shower, it was exceptionally hot and humid today. We got the kids showered, and the water ran out…No shower for us. Yay. Perhaps the morning will bring us water.

Day 24, Sunday
Up at 4am today. We are leaving at 5am, and we wanted to take a shower, since we didn’t get to last night. We beat the trumpet blower this morning! Thankfully there was water, not much, but enough.

We are on the road by 5:30 not bad. We put the kids PJs on, and they went in that, so they could go back to sleep.

We noticed as we were driving out of town, lots of groups running with their trumpets, whistles and cow bells. So, it is just not our neighborhood that gets to wake up to this weekly pleasure. Frank says it is the latest trend with young people. They will wake up early on Sunday to run—for fitness---but then when they are done they go eat and drink, so it really is of no benefit. It is more of a social event.

We got to Dormaa at about 8:30, and pull into a filling station with a car was area, an oil change area, a mini mart, and….a hotel!! Yep, right on top of the mini mart. This should be interesting….

We check into our room, and oh, God is good. It is nice and bright and clean, has an excellent AC and cable…meaning cnn. That is really the only other channel that comes in, but it is American, so we are happy. And, to top it all off, there is a hot water heater. WOOHOO!!! Hot showers!! You never quite feel clean from a cold shower, especially one from a bucket.

Church was great. I was speaking. I had prepared what I thought was a great message. I didn’t prepare my usual way, which is writing out the statements I want to make. Instead I used the outline system. It usually doesn’t work for me that well, as I forget half the stuff I want to say, and well, that theory proved true. My message, with an interpreter, was only about 10 minutes!!! Not that it mattered. Church was still about 3 hours long, and that is when we left. They were still going when we left.

I noticed something that I haven’t seen before in Ghana, but in the Ivory Cost. When we prayed, all the women covered their heads. Frank says he has been trying to break this tradition for years, but they still insist on covering their heads. That and sitting segregated, women on one side, men on the other. I have only seen the head covering in this town, but the segregation is everywhere. He says that he will tell them sit together! They will do if for awhile, but pretty soon they are back to their segregation.

Frank sent us back to the hotel in a taxi. He knew we were tired and hot. We had a wonderfully relaxing afternoon. We enjoyed the AC and CNN. The kids and I took a 3 hour nap.

Frank told us that there would be an evening service, which we didn’t know about, so Jody spent the time preparing.

We were to leave at 7. We are ready at 7 and they bring us dinner. Yam Chips. They were great; would have been even better with ketchup. He also brought Planate chips for the kids. They are like a dried banana but thinner, the size of potato chips, fried and salted. They are not that great, in my opinion, but Son LOVED them; ate two whole bags. (A bag is one serving.)

About 7:30 we head to the church. I noticed that it was extremely windy outside. Half way to church, I saw lightning. We get to the church, and they have postponed the service, because it’s going to rain. It’s not canceled, just postponed. Rain doesn’t last long, usually, so they will have it afterward. The people won’t come when it rains, but they will know to come when it stops.

By this time, it is nearing 8pm. Frank says we will go back to the hotel and wait. Jody says why don’t we drop off steph and the kids and then go back. Frank said, we can, but they really want the children to come. They love seeing the kids. He said if they would sing a song in front of the church that thousands would come to see it. Both kids said NO WAY! 

It is true wherever we go the kids are the ones who get the attention from other kids and adults. They think they are beautiful. I think they probably very rarely see white children, where as white adult might be more common. One lady told me my kids had beautiful round heads!

The rain didn’t let up, so the service was cancelled. The kids were a bit freaked by the storm, but also found it fascinating. We gave the kids a bath…a real bath with hot water that they could soak in and play in. Daughter went first. Son second, and while he was in the tub, alone, the power goes out. Thankfully, Jody was right near the door. He was able to get in there before he started to freak out. I found my cell phone, to use for a light, and we got him out and dried off.

We all climb into the one king size bed, and watch a little CNN. The power comes back on, so Jody gets up to turn on the AC, but not 10 minutes later the power is off again. We decided to call it a night, even though it was only about 9:30.

Day 25, Monday

We all got up about 6:30 this morning. Not surprising considering we had a long nap and went to bed early yesterday. I took a nice hot shower. Loved every minute of it. We are SO getting a hot water heater when we live here.

We were ready to go at 7:30. Frank comes, and says we are not checking out yet. We are going to go to the border town he told us about, and then to the pastor’s home for breakfast.

We head to the boarder of the Ivory Coast. We don’t take the main road, because you have to go through all the customs and paperwork, but if you take a side road, the border control will usually let you in to visit the village. He was right. He let us right in. The village is half on the Ghana side, half on the Ivory Coast side. Before colonization, there were not nations, nor borders. There were only tribes, so there was not national line dividing the land, so these people have lived together for hundreds of years. All people born in this town have dual citizenship.

We walked right into the Ivory Coast, and almost instantly, you could see the difference. It was poorer and dirtier that even just a few houses down. IC is much more Islamic and it is French. Both French nations Jody and I have visited were much more oppressed and much poorer than the English settled nations.

We spoke to a woman whose house is on the border. She says when she sleeps her head is in the Ivory Coast and her body is in Ghana.

We get back in the car, and we drive to the official border crossing, just to see it. One thing I have noticed about Dormaa is there are many more Muslims. Not surprising considering its location.

Then, it was off to the pastor’s for breakfast. We get there, and it is a small, but nice home. We sit, and soon they come out and put a serving bowl in front of Jody and one in front of me of rice pudding. Each bowl could have easily fed 12 people. Easy. We both look at Frank and say, is this all for us? He says yes. We ask, are they expecting us to eat all of it, and he says yes, eat as much as you can. They also brought us bread and avocados. The kids serving came out of mine, because I had more than Jody. Not that it even put a dent into my portion. Malachi wouldn’t touch his. He was being a pain. He eats it at Franks. Jody was able to eat his whole bowl, and I probably ate 3/4ths. I can usually defeat things like that, but it was either, puke and eat more, or stop. I have never eaten so much rice in one sitting in my entire life. Frank said you did well, that was a lot of rice! He didn’t have the rice. He had boiled plantains dipped into the chicken sauce we had last night. I would definitely rather have all the rice.

Day 26, Tuesday
Today we stayed at home. Frank had court. After court, we went over to his house, and talked about Canaan Life and our role. I have had a lot of questions about the matter, and we were able to sit down, and really get a feel for what is going on, what will be going on, and what role we will play. The needs here are many and great.

Not long after we wrapped up our talk, Son comes running in, “my eye, my eye, it’s burning!” I see that he has a big blue spot by his eye. I ask him what he has been playing with and he says I don’t know. So I take him into the bathroom, and was his eye out. He, of course, is screaming and resisting the whole time. He is still freaking out that his eye hurts, so I go outside and ask Daughter, and she says I don’t know. Well, I look down, and there is the same blue stuff all over Maudi and all over the ground. The trail leads to a bucket full of water and laundry detergent. Next to the bucket is a bleach/soap stick. “We’re you playing in the soap?” “No” Wrong. They finally confessed, they had been playing in the soap water, and Daughter flicked water at Malachi and it got in his eye. Thankfully it was the soap and not the bleach. Many drops, and much water later, his eye is red, but fine. What will they get into next!

After that we got the kids all settled again, we watched Oprah. It’s on everyday at 5pm, and once in awhile we get to watch. We rarely, if ever watch it at home, but it’s American, so we watch. The episodes are all a few years old, and there is only a handful that repeat over and over. There was one about Katrina a few days ago, and then another with a date of 2005.

There is a station her Viasat 1. It is a new station, and has lots of American shows, current hits like Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Cosby, and Friends. And the latest blockbusters like Matrix, Swim Fan, and The Day After Tomorrow.

Then it was getting close to dinner. We prayed, Lord, please, no fish! The Lord has heard, and answered our prayer…we are having Fried Chicken and Yam Chips. Our favorite. Jody drove to the store to get Ketchup. You have to have ketchup to make the fries taste like fries. The Fried chicken is really good. It isn’t battered and fried, but it is really good.

Well, dinner was good, but we didn’t quite escape fish. Frank made us a Tomato Sauce of his own for our fries. It had tomatoes, onions, peppers, and of course, FISH!

It rained right after dinner. Not for long, but long enough to cool things down.

It is not the rainy season, so Frank says that we must have brought the rain. Gladly!  We actually miss Oregon rain and cool weather.

Day 27, Wednesday

Today, was another day at home. We’re starting to go a little stir crazy, so we decided to go on a walk. We took a really long walk, about 3 miles. We walked up to a school that we can see from our house, up a hill, then down to the filling station (where we stopped for a Fan Ice) and home. We passed a sign that said Boogie Spot, and pointed up a road. We thought that was so funny, and told the kids it was a place people went to pick their nose. They of course believed us. (I’m pretty sure it’s for a Dance Club.)

Dinner was fried chicken and rice. God must really love us!!! A thunder and lightning storm started right after dinner. It rained, but only for a few minutes.

We took the kids home, and sat on the porch and watched the lightning. It was really neat, and a lot of fun. They had never done that before. Son was a little concerned that the lightning was going to sting him. He kept saying, lighting can’t sting you right? I kept telling him yes, but it almost never does. That didn’t seem to be a good enough reason for him. So, I told him it was too far away to sting anyone, and that seem to make him feel better. It was beautiful, that’s for sure!

After awhile the kids got board, so they went in to watch a movie while we stayed outside, it was nice and cool. Robert, our downstairs neighbor boy came in and watched with them. He is 14, but was fascinated with Toy Story 2 none the less,

Anointing came over and struck up a conversation with us, Jody right about that time, got a call from Brian, so I was stuck talking with the chatty cathy. Then Jody came back, and the time the movie was over, so I went inside, while Jody visited with him. He is quite a talker. Anointing is a nice guy, and faces many of the same struggles as most Ghanaians.

Day 28, Thursday

We are down to one month left. The time has flown by! I am ready to go home and not ready to go home at the same time. I think we all feel that way.

Another day spent at home, for the kids and I that is. Jody went with Frank to look at a dam building site…the one we were supposed to go look at the Sunday he was sick.

We are supposed to go to ODA tomorrow, so we spent the day cleaning our room. Aquia came over and swept for us. Then we packed, and the kids and I spent the day being lazy and playing together in our cool room.

I believe that is the thing I am most thankful for regarding this whole trip. Being in Africa is great, but more so is all the time we have been able to spend together as a family. Africa forces you to slow down. In America, we are going, going, going. There is no concept of time here (which drives me nuts), so no one is in a hurry. So, we wait, a lot. It can get annoying, but it creates a lot of family time. We are building so many memories that I will cherish forever.
Time for dinner. Chicken again! YES!!! Oh,yeah, and some fried cabbage (which by itself I love) with tomato, and FISH! It wasn’t half bad. Would have been even better without the fish.

After dinner, it was home for baths and bed. We have been experiencing a water problem. There is something wrong with our pump. So, Jody had to go to the community well to get water. He, of course didn’t actually draw it or carry it home. The neighbor did that. We don’t do anything around here. Not that we wouldn’t or don’t want to, but they don’t let us.

Right as we go to give the kids a bath, the power goes out. Thunder and lightning again. So, we get the little battery operated lantern, and head to the bathroom anyway. Nothing like a bucket shower in the dark to remind you that you are in Africa. To remind you how blessed you are to be here. We are one of the few who are blessed to be able to have all these adventures while also doing the will of God.

Day 29, Friday.

After breakfast, Frank, Daughter, and I went to the bank to get some money before our trip. That, of course meant also stopping at the church, and for gas, and for propane.

We get back, and an hour later, load up and head to ODA. Us, Frank, Cecilia and George. Nothing like spending 4 hours squished in the car. To give us all a little more room, I got in the back with Son and Daughter sat between Jody and George. The back is NOT made for adults. Even I, with no legs am quite squished, but I have a window, so it’s worth it.

ODA, if the roads were good, would probably only be an hour away, but it takes us 3 ½ to get there. Every few hundred feet you have to slow down to avoid a large pot hole, speed bump, or large truck. That is on the paved roads, of which only half of the way is.

We stopped about half way there for some coconuts. There wasn’t drinking water for sale, so we get coconut milk. Frank buys just us like 10, plus several for George, Cecilia, and himself. Seriously overkill. But, when he gets into the car, he explains why. The man who was selling them told Frank “oh there is a God, and he has answered my prayers. I prayed this morning that I would sell some coconuts.” The coconuts were 10 peswes (Ghana change). He made about 1.5 Cedis. That is about $1.23. He was very excited about his ‘successful day.’

Finally made it to Oda. Drive right up to the Pastor’s home. Get out, sit down, and discover, we are not going to a hotel. We are staying here. In a room with no fan. Talk about a mood killer when you were mentally prepared for a nice cool room.

The Pastor rents a portion of this complex. The portion we are staying in is like a boarding house. There are about 6 rooms and a sitting area. All the rooms are empty right now, so the land lady said he could use them for his guests.

Well, we greet the pastor, and his wife brings us some Malta. We have been able to dodge this nasty drink so far this trip. But, now our time is up. Malta or Malt as they call it. Is like root beer with hops and malt in it. It is non alcoholic, and very popular. It is not very tasty in our opinion, and I know that Son is going to agree with us.

Jody tries to trick him by telling him its root beer. He takes a drink and says “Yuck! That tastes like beer!” Uhhhh…ok….. So, mom has to drink his. Daughter isn’t a fan either, so Dad drinks hers.

We get settled, and they serve us dinner. Rice, cold cabbage salad with FISH, and sauce. For dessert, apples. YUM! Now, the sauce. Most interesting thing to date. It had sausage (aka Hot Dogs) so the kids were stoked about that. It also had some “beef.” Very chewy yet crunchy beef. IT WAS NOT BEEF. I believe it was snail. We asked Frank, but he didn’t have the same as us…they gave us the good stuff. He says you can’t get snails this time of year. Well, then I don’t know what the heck it was, but it was something with a small body connected to a small head. I have had snails before and they tasted and felt a lot like that. If they were not snails, I don’t really think I want to know what they were.

After dinner, we get cleaned up and head to church in the next town. It was a small church, and Jody spoke. He spoke on David and Goliath, tying it into God’s plans for us. We have been speaking mainly on that topic; his plans and purpose for us, and that he wants us to prosper and be blessed. It is such a simple message; the basics of the Gospel. But, sadly, for most it is the first time they have heard these concepts. They believe in God and that he wants to save them, but that is it. They are here, they will die, and they will go to heaven. That is about it. It breaks our hearts.

Well, while Jody is speaking, Son is entertaining himself by making up songs. He does this a lot. He is not doing it quietly. While Daughter next to me is doing the potty dance and making horrid whiney faces because she has to go. I, too, have to go desperately. The two Malta’s I drank are now sitting in my bladder begging to come out. It was seriously hot, too. But, despite all that, we had a great service and a great prayer time.

We went home, and Frank said if it’s too hot, you can bring your mattress out here (to the sitting area). So, that is what we did. It was too late to bathe the kids, so we just put them to bed on the couch.

Because Frank, even up to the last minute, was not sure of our hotel accommodations, I wasn’t feeling really secure, so I packed sheets and towels, just in case wherever we were staying was not up to par. Thank You, Holy Spirit for prompting me to do that. We used all that I brought.

I took a nice cold bucket shower, and went to bed. I was beat.

Day 30, Saturday

Today we went to a neighboring town. All of us, and the pastor, too. I don’t know the name of the town, but it was the first town where the Holy Spirit visited Ghana, and it spread from there. We went there to meet with a pastor who wants to join Bishop’s fellowship. Well, we really were just along for the ride, and just sat there while they talked.

Afterwards, we went to visit West Africa’s biggest tree. It was discovered in 1850, and was as large as it is now, supposedly, which means it is REALLY old.

They jipped off the broonies. We had to pay 10 Cedis to see the tree. Frank and Cecilia only had to pay 2. Gheesh!

Off we go on our small hike. The forest was beautiful with lots of colorful butterflies, trees, and even a large ant trail like you would see in a documentary.

The tree was quite large. Nothing compared to the redwoods. Daughter started to run right up to the tree…BIG NO NO. See, it’s not just the largest tree, but also a shrine. They worship it. They believe that if you are sick, you can pray over a coin, and put it in the tree and the gods will heal you. Or you can bring it liquor, and the gods will come and drink it and heal you or bless you (and there was a large pile of liquor bottles). If you bring the gods a meal, they will come eat it. They also believe that little dwarfs come out and sweep the forest floor by the tree, and that the leaves have power in them. They say they believe this and nothing can convince them otherwise, because these are their beliefs.

Our guide is telling us all of this. Frank isn’t interpreting a thing, since he thinks it’s a load of hooey. We are with another family of Ghanaians, who keep telling him to tell us. Finally, George gives us the heads up about what the guide is telling us.

After a few more minutes of looking at the tree we head back to the car. We go down the road, and buy some oranges. Oranges are in abundance here, but they are not eaten as we would. The top layer (meaning the color) is cut away, and then the top of the orange is cut off. You then suck out the juice, using the remaining peel as a cup, and throw away the orange. Sometimes they will slice and eat the orange, but not often. Well, I think that is a waste, so I start peeling away. The kid’s too, don’t get the concept of just sucking the juice out (probably because it is something they would be told not to do at home). The pastor comes over like a minute after we get our oranges to collect the remainders. I tell him I am not done. He looks at me peeling my orange and gives me the strangest look. He asks “Is something wrong?” I said no. He stares a bit longer and walks away.

When we get home, Frank and Cecilia went to rest. We stayed in the sitting room. No naps today, it is WAY too hot. After their naps, they come out, and we had a really good time talking for several hours. We talked about the challenges the churches face.

We also talked about the not so nice part of Ghana that everyone wants to ignore. The Upper Volta Region. The Muslim area. Curfew is at 4pm, and the region goes into police control until 6am. This is to control the violence. (Wait, I thought Islam was a peaceful religion?). Cecilia tells us it will make you cry. The people are sad, dirty, and very poor. She tells us that there is hardly any Jesus up there.

Frank also tells us that there are many villages within the bush that he believes may be unreached or have little gospel.

There are so many needs here. So much Jesus revelation and love needed. We must get back here soon.

Finally, time for showers and bed. As I am getting ready for bed, and writing an email, Maudi turns to me and says, Mom, when we move here, I am going to miss all of my friends. I said, well, aren’t you going to miss your African friends when we go home? She thinks for a minute. Then she says, “Well, if Coby has an extra suitcase, he and Quedru could come home with us. They can visit us in Portland, and then when we move, we will bring them home!” She was so proud of her idea.

Day 31, Sunday.

Today did not start out well. We got read for church, and out goes the power. No fan. It is really hot. And it does not turn back on. We are sweating, and getting cranky.

Breakfast was a first. We had ‘spaghetti’ (noodles with a red hot sauce, peas, green beans, and fish) and a custard type thing that tasted like they forgot the sugar. The kids thought it was so cool that we were eating spaghetti for breakfast. Maudi kept telling me she couldn’t wait to tell Nana.

We head to church, hot, sweaty and cranky. Church doesn’t have power either. That doesn’t really matter to them. They worship wholeheartedly, putting our bad attitudes to shame. It was by far, the best service we have to date. The Holy Spirit was there, and the people were open and responsive.

I spoke on fear, and one of the verses was Josh 1:9. Daughter was very brave, and came up and sang with mommy the be strong and courageous song. The people LOVED it. We were very proud of her. That did something in her little spirit, because since that time, she has been participating in service: clapping (way off beat), singing, raising her hands and praying. She is developing more and more each day into quite the little missionary, but more importantly than that, she is beginning to on her own, develop a relationship with Jesus. That is more important to us than anything she ever does or doesn’t do.

After church, we went back to the inferno house, ate rice with spinage and fish casserole, and got on the road. It was a long, but peaceful ride back. We were all happy to have some wind blowing in our faces once again.

Day 32, Monday

Today was a rest day. We didn’t do anything. We were all so tired. We just laid around, played soccer with the kids, and rested.

Jody scored a major victory for us. During breakfast, he told frank how much we love Aquia’s fried chicken. He told frank that he’d be happy if we had it the rest of the time. I think Frank got the hint that we were tired of fish. This statement, along with the barely touch sardines, tomatoes, and onions that were served with breakfast, I think made our point. WE HATE FISH. We didn’t before, but we do now.

We have not had fish for dinner since that time. Praise be to God.

Still no running water. It has been nearly a week. They are fixing the pump. I am pretty sure it is a few hour job, but that isn’t really relevant around here, so in the mean time, we are fetching our own water from either Frank’s or the well.

Day 33, Tuesday

Today was a Son victory day. We spent the day at home, Jody prepared for tonight. We were going to be speaking at a church we were supposed to go to during our first week.

Anyway, at dinner we had fried chicken (God bless chicken) and Jalapa rice. Jalapa rice is sort of like Mexican rice. They didn’t put as many peppers in it as they normally would, since we are a bunch of wimps, so it was really good. Son ate FOUR servings. FOUR!!! Oh, it was so nice to see him eat. Daughter liked it, too, and ate three helpings.

Service was really good. Jody spoke on talents, and how God has a plan for each of us and called all of us to use our talents for him. He talked about how God can call you and anoint you to be anything, not just a pastor. This, too, is a new concept.

Day 33 Wednesday
This evening was my most favorite we have had so far in Africa. I will always remember it.

The day itself was uneventful. We were supposed to go to the church for a meeting with
George, but Frank forgot us. I don’t know why he didn’t just turn around and come back, but he didn’t.

After dinner, a storm rolled in. It was quite a big one. We pulled out the chairs, and watched the thunder and lightning. Soon the downpour came. We could feel the mist from the porch.

Jody tells Daughter, you can go play in it if you like. She thought that was such a neat idea. So, we all head out. Within seconds we are soaked. There is a heavy downfall from the roof, and we ran in and out of it, like a heavy sprinkler. Daughter was laughing and giggling. She loved it. Son did not. He clinged to me and screamed. Jody and I really enjoyed it too. It was fun and felt really nice. How often in life to you get to play in the rain in Africa? It was one of those few moments in life of pure bliss and joy. God is so good. His little gifts to us are so amazing.

After a few minutes, the kids are starting to get cold! So we go into the bathroom and wring out all of our closes, get cleaned up, and together, sat down and watched some bugs bunny. I love the life God has blessed us with.

Africa 2

2009-01-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Day Seven

We went to the school today. Daughter got to go to class for awhile. She really liked it. The kids met the other kids. They were shy, but then I would be, too, if a million kids wanted to touch me. They would swarm around them and pet their hair and try and hold their hands. We tried to play games and interact, but it didn’t really work. All the kids wanted to do was swarm us and touch us.
This afternoon we tried skype with mom and dad. No luck. Our internet connection just isn’t strong enough. We can hear them perfectly, but they can’t hear us, and the call keeps getting dropped. Very disappointing. We will try again in the morning. Maybe we will have better luck then.

Dinner was very interesting. It was a spinage fish casserole thing. Quite strange. Didn’t taste bad, though. Son really wanted to go out and play with Cobi. He was down to just the bites of the spinage thing. Jody said, you gotta eat it. He downed it without us telling him again. Praise God! Maybe we are getting somewhere.

Day Eight—Friday

Today we took the day off to rest and prepare for Sunday.
After breakfast, Dad, who stayed up until 1 am their time waiting on us and I tried skype. No success again. L I could tell he was disappointed and upset about that. Perhaps it will work at the church or an internet café. I know this is hard, and skype would make it just a little bit easier.
For dinner we had peanut butter soup. So good. We didn’t have fu fu with it, thank God. It was rice. It would be perfect if it was all chicken with no skin and no fish! AND if they would cut back the peppers to about none!
After dinner, Coby came over and he and the kids watched kung fu panda. They all seemed to like that, but poor Coby, they kept telling him what was going t happen next!

Day Nine

Regular breakfast again, oatmeal, eggs, bread, tea. After breakfast we went back to our house. We don’t really know what to do around here half the time social wise. Do we hang out, or what? So, we just go home. We’ll figure it out eventually.
After awhile, we went and looked for bikes for the kids. We didn’t end up finding anything within what we were willing to pay. We did go back down town, and we waited on Frank, forever!!

We went into a muslim part of town. You could tell the difference. We also passed the palace.
For dinner they made us spaghetti with meatballs....but it was Ghanaian style.
Pastor Frank bought Son a cucumber. He was so excited. . They are available here, but not a part of Ghanaian’s diets. Coby had never had one. He was afraid to try it. He ate his whole slice, but didn’t ask for more. He said he liked it but I am not sure. Daughter got two slices and Son at the rest. It was fun to see the roles reversed!

Day Ten-Sunday
Our first Sunday here! After a slow week, I am ready for some action. We headed first to a smaller church that is in Kumasi, but further out. We have met the pastor before last time we were here. Jody preached there, and the pastor interpreted for him. He preached on dreams and persuing them. The church was only half done. I asked Frank how long it had been like that and he said many years.
Daughter and Son both went to kids church. Daughter went first, and Son went when he became too wrestless in church. They both liked it and had a good time. Kids church was outside under a tree.
After offering there, we went to Christ the King Palace. I was to preach there.

They took 4 offerings. The first was tithes and offering, then a worship offering, then an offering to God, and finally tithes---like for members or people with giving records. They bring it up in their record book. I’m telling you, that is the way to do it!
I spoke on purpose and being created on purpose. Frank interpreted for me. It went good, other than the kids acting up! But what can you expect. It was hot and boring and they couldn’t even understand what was going on!

Day Eleven

Today we went to the school. We were told we would teach TODAY! Eeek! I was to teach JR high English (4th grade) and Jody was to teach Math, algebra and Religion and Morals. I was to teach on paragraphs. Ok, I can handle that.
While waiting, the kids went out a few times, to face the kids. You can only do it for a few moments at a time because they want to maul the kids. They are just so excited to touch them and be their friends. At one point the head master came over with her stick and said, go away or I will beat you. Boy did those kids run!

Here at lunch time kids bring their bowl or some sort of container and a spoon (sometimes) from home. Lunch is served at the school. No brown bagging it. They ate up… whatever it was….
My class was first. It went well. I was nervous, but after I got going, it was a piece of cake, and the kids really seemed to enjoy it.

Jody enjoyed his class, too, and said the kids did as well. After our classes, we went home and took naps….we sure do sleep a lot around here.

For dinner it was left over fish. Daughter loves fish, but not fish skin (never has). We picked as much of the skin off as we could, but she still was not being cooperative. Then she took a big bite and choked on a bone. I think it was more because she was throwing a fit and upset than anything else. She gagged it all up. I took her to the bathroom, cleaned her up, gave her a pep talk, and she came out and ate it all like a champ. I was so proud of her.

Day Twelve,

Back to the school today. Jody is teaching math again. He was supposed to teach at 8 but read his schedule wrong, so they changed it to 10:30.

I received our itinerary for the rest of our time here. We are speaking tonight, wednesay, and Friday. We were supposed to travel somewhere this weekend, but it isn’t going to happen, don’t know why. (side note: our Wednesday and Friday meetings were cancelled)

They showed me a list of pastors and asked if I could set up a website for the school. After discussing it for about 20 minutes I then realized that what they wanted was email addresses, not a new website. The ‘tech’ guy showed me how to get on with Franks computer, but for whatever reason the connection in his office doesn’t work. So I used the one in the assistant’s office. His computer is SO SLOW, so I set it up on mine to see if it would be faster (and to see if skype would work). It was so much faster on my computer, but skype still didn’t work. Sad. L I was able to look at the pictures katie sent, so that was cool. Not long after I got all set up, it was time to go home, so I will have to finish tomorrow.

We went home and took a nap again. We headed over for dinner about 4, and made it just in the to watch the inauguration. Then we had dinner and headed off to our meeting. We got there at 7 and the pastor said he thought that we were coming last week, so no one was coming to see us. We waited to see who showed up. Only 3 people, so Frank decided we would go and we would reschedule. On our way to church he had said that after church he had 2 places to go the DR and somewhere else. We headed to the DR’s house, and got stuck in traffic for what seemed like forever. It was probably at least 30 minutes.
Finally, the DR’s house. We were there for about 45 minutes. Then we left and wend to some other person’s house. I have no idea who they were or why we went there so late (got there at 9). I guess it was just a house call. They gave the kids a soda, and opened up what looked like a champaing bottle for us (and they had champain glasses). Jody and I just looked at each other. Had we been on our own we probably would have just drank it to be polite, but we know that frank says Christians do not drink in Ghana, so what are we to do? When it was given to us we both smelled it and it didn’t smell like alcohol, and the he tasted it. Whew, we were safe, just sparkling fruit juice.

Day thirteen

Back to the school today, jody is to teach Religion and Morals. I set up all the email addresses, about 15. I also got our banking info and posted a blog. All of this at home would have taken about 30 minutes. Here it took me 3 hours!! I was more than aggravated.
After I was done, we went home to rest again. I am about as rested as I can be! We were supposed to speak tonight, but it was canceled.
After our rest, we went to the university to go to the ATM. On our way home, we passed the church school bus. By the smell you could tell that something was wrong. The clutch went out. Frank said it was 200 to fix it. But what they really needed was a new bus, which is about 3000.
Day fourteen

Back to the school today, but not until this afternoon. So, we hung out at the house. Frank told Jody he could drive us to school. So he did!

Cecilia had to come, because she had somewhere to be. We dropped her off at the seamstress. Jody had to drive down a very narrow roadway to do so, then he had to turn around, and ran over someone’s fabric that was drying on the ground. Actually he parked on it as he waited for Cecilia until someone told him he was on it.
I taught English again today. I finished the lesson on paragraphs and then we did irregular plural nouns. For the last 20 mintues of class we talked of America and took pictures. They had all sorts of questions about Obama and wanted to know if I voted for him. Of course all they really know about him is that he is part Kenyan, black and the president of America, so he is a mega hero in their eyes. I told them that no I did not vote for him. He is not from my political party, and he and I have opposite political views. VERY OPPOSITE!!!

I asked them what they thought of Americans and the first thing they all said was that we were rich. Oh, don’t I wish! But truly, we are rich in comparison. In comparison, the poorest American is richer than the average Ghanaian.

After class, Jody drove us back home. We picked up Cecilia first. He did a good job driving
Day Fifteen

Friday. Jody taught this morning, religion and morals, and while he did that I tested all of the email addresses and taught George (Frank’s assistant) how to use them. That took awhile. If he has such a time, I can’t imagine how they are going to teach all the pastors.
After Jody’s class, we went home. Jody drove us again today. The car wouldn’t start when we went to leave, the kids had to give us a push. Jody has never jumpstarted a car that way, but it was no problem.
Dinner was yam and lamb stew. It was so good! Tasted almost like mom’s stew. After dinner, we sat outside with Frank and talked while the kids played soccer. I saw a huge beetle/cockroach looking bug and called the kids over to take a look. It was big; the size of a quarter. While they were looking at it, it flew up and touched Daughter’s dress. They all screamed, but she freaked. She hit her clothes and hair and then jumped into my arms. It was so funny! The little kitten saw the bug and attacked it and ate it. It took Daughter a good 5 minutes to calm down.

Son was beginning to be cranky so he and dad went home. I stayed with Daughter so she could play awhile longer.

I talked to frank about wages. The min wage is 2 cedi’s a day. That is for gov workers. They bribe people to get things done so they will make more money. He says it’s quite corrupt. Other trades make more money. Like a mason. He makes about 10 cedis a day, which is considered very good. A maid who does not live with you would make about 5 cedis a day. That is not the best, considering that she has to pay about 2 cedis to get to your home. One that lives with you would make about 3.
While we were talking, I noticed that Daughter is laying down in the small pile of sand/dirt (for building) that they have been playing in, making ‘snow angels’. I was not so happy about that. She came over and was filthy. Her hair was gray she was so dirty.

Not long after that, we went home. I gave her a bath and had to wash her hair 2 times and condition it once. It was nasty. Oh, the things that girl does when she gets into her own world!
As we are settling down, I noticed that Son isn’t looking so great. I took his temp, and it was 101.7. I gave him some Tylenol, and he went to bed. He said his head hurt, too. “Like a bone is broken”. And he is stuffed up. I hope he feels better in the morning!
Jody and I are a little freaked as malaria symptoms (and the bugs love Son) are similar to flu symptoms. But it is flu season here, too.
Day sixteen,

Saturday. Son had a fitful night, and in turn so did we. He seems to feel much better today, but we are going to take it easy just in case.
Jody talked to Frank, who called his DR (the one we visited, Isaac), who told us to be on the safe side, get Son some malaria medicine. It is available over the counter. Even though they are on anti malaria, it is not 100%. Jody went with frank to get it, which means many detours along the way. He took 100 cedis with him, since we had no idea how much it was. It was 4 cedis.
Day seventeen, Sunday.

Well, it seems that Son is back to his old self. But Jody was up all night. He was “running” as they call it. It was either the bean soup or the pineapple that he ate right before bed.
Daughter seems to have a bit of the runs, too.

Well it is Sunday, so off we go, good bad or indifferent. We are at his house by 7, so we can leave by 7:30. We leave at 8:15. We are going to a town about 30 miles out of Kumasi to preach and look at a dam sight. We are going to meet a chief. Frank asks if we have anything to give. We don’t (I should have remembered that!) He says we will give him an envelope instead (i.e. money).
Jody is not feeling well, but is going to go anyway. Off we set, of course stopping several times along the way. George, Frank’s assistant is with us, and so we are nice and snug. Daughter is now feeling bad, so she is in the back laying down.

Our first stop is the church, but we don’t get out. We pick up another person. Now there are 9 in the car. We are going to meet the chief.

We get there, and greet the queen/chief mother (very important person) then the chief, then a few other guys. We shake all of their hands. They shake all of ours, after we are seated. Frank tells them why were are there (to help the people, possible dam). The chief gives us his blessing and his support and says that he will write a decree saying that if he passes then the next chief must give us his support, too.
This is the youngest chief I have met. He looks to be in his 20s. He is actually 35. Just recently have chiefs been young, as they are not looking at wisdom in age so much anymore.
The chief speaks through a spokesman, which is funny. The spokesman stands up, and the chief talks, looking at him. But the spokesman doesn’t say what he says to you. You just respond to the spokesman. Jody spoke to the chief, but used his left hand to gesture. Not something you do, which we didn’t know. Thankfully Ghanaians are very gracious.

After our meeting, we took pictures, and then off to the church. The service was long, but good. Daughter was burning up the whole time. I felt so bad for her. They brought her some crackers and coke to make her feel better. Jody wasn’t doing so hot either. He preached, but I could tell he wasn’t feeling good. He had to go to the bathroom outside in the woods, twice. Gross.

After church, we met with the church leaders. We were going to look at the dam sight but didn’t. We will come back to do that. Jody was happy, since he felt so bad. So, then we are on our way…or not. We go to the pastors house for lunch. Rice with fish (I am pretty sure that Ghanaians put fish in EVERYTHING). Daughter said her tummy hurt and she needed to go potty. The wife takes us to the potty. It is a cement square with a hole. I figure you sit on the square, but you don’t You get up on it and squat. I was going to help Daughter, but the wife insisted. Daughter wasn’t getting the whole squat thing, so the lady sat her on a small bucket, like they would use for a child to potty train.. Daughter sat there for a minute and couldn’t go. I don’t blame her. I don’t think I could have either. So after a bit she got up.

Son did good on eating. They gave him a huge bowl of rice, which I was not expecting him to eat, but he ate like 5 bites without complaining or whining, which was good.
On home we go, and yes. We stopped several times. We were about 10 minutes from home, but stuck in traffic, when Jody suddenly stuck his head out the window. At first I thought someone grabbed him or something, but no, he was throwing up. The looks on people’s faces was priceless. One guy told frank to pull over because he was puking. I guess you don’t do that on the street. You pull over to a bush.
Poor Jody, I felt so bad for him. Finally, we are home. It’s 4 o’clock. Frank insists we eat something for dinner so he is going to make tomato soup. Sounds good, but I am sure it is not campbells.
The kids all slept in the car on the way home, so they watched a movie while Jody slept. Daughter still has a temp, but seems to be feeling better. Well, Daughter, Son and Jody all had to go “running” before we settled down, and to put a cherry on top of the day, our water is not working. I think the plumber was here working on something, and forgot to turn the water back on.Dinner was in fact tomato soup, homemade. And it tasted quite good, except for the fish floating in it. Again, they put fish in everything! Our baked beans, our rice, any sauce even if it has another meat has some fish in it too, our soup, EVERYTHING! Enough with the fish already!!
Jody didn’t come to dinner, I brought dinner to him. He wasn’t hungry.

Finally, we have water. Jody flushed the toilet (the whole bathroom and hall smelled so bad!). And I gave Son a bath. Then into bed we all go. It has been a long day.

Finally, a post from Africa...

2009-01-21T03:13:00.000-08:00

So, I was so busy running around getting all the last minute preparations done that I didn’t even have a chance to write and say we are on our way. But we are here, and in one piece. I don’t know how often I will get to post, but I will as often as I can.
You may find this quite detailed. I am journaling our whole experience while writing for the blog at the same time. I will try and cut uninteresting stuff out for you guys, depending on how much time I have to devote to editing.

Day One and Two
We are finally here. It was a very long flight, but everything went smoothly.
The only small glitch was in Amsterdam they made us check two of our carry on’s I think they thought they were mine. It was all of the kids stuff. Yes, I freaked out a bit, but then again I usually do when things are out of my control.

Everything made it to Ghana unharmed. Thank you LORD! You are faithful. I was telling Jenn that I always pray over my luggage, and have never lost a piece or had one delayed. I said I think it’s because God knows it is more than I could handle. J

We were the last ones through immigration, so we had to wait forever. We got all our bags. Including all our carry-ons we had 15 bags total. 2 of give-away stuff, 1 of food, 1 of bedding and towels, and then the rest were our regular stuff. I may have over packed on everything but the clothes but only time will tell. You just can’t run down to Wal Mart to get something if you forget it. You most likely will find it but will take all day and pay twice as much.

So, when you leave the airport, you are greeted by a few guards and hundreds of people. All that separates you from them is a fence, and a large sign telling you to beware of people who want to help you with your luggage.

One guard/worker helped us all the way to our car—unrequested (our car was in the parking lot across the street, so we had to cross the street with all our luggage). Then came along 8 other men to help us. Again, unrequested. Thankfully Pastor and Cecilia were there. We got everything in, and between Frank and us only paid out about $4.00 for the unasked for help.

We went right to our hotel. It is very nice. They had wireless internet, and gave me the code, but for whatever reason, I could not connect anyway. Bummer. We tired our cell phone, and they work like a charm. Better watch it or we could run up a bill real quick!
We were very tired, but so gross, too. So, we all took showers, cold of course, and after a snack, all of us got into the one king size bed. Note….Son not liking the cold shower. The kids were out cold within seconds. It took Jody and I a bit longer, as it was really only noonish our time. Son and Jody woke up at 4am. I woke up shortly after, and then Daughter. Yeah, our clocks are a bit screwed up. The kids played, I tried to get the internet to work, and Jody tried to get back to sleep.

Finally, breakfast time. Breakfast is included in the hotel room, so off we go, We order boiled eggs, sausage (for a little extra money), pancakes and OJ and Coffee. No pancakes today, and no OJ. Pineapple juice instead and toast instead.

Out comes the sausage….errr..uh…hot dog. Yeah, that’s right a hot dog. And, get this… the menu said 2.50 for sausage (2.5 cedi’s is the same as 2.5 dollars. Which for a Ghanaian is a lot) We didn’t know that meant per sausage, we thought per serving, which we ordered two of. They brought us 4 ‘sausages’ and it cost us 12 dollars!!

Back to the room to wait for Frank, and take a nap. When he arrived the kids were sound asleep (actually we were, too). We were going to wake them up and leave, but Frank said, No, let them sleep. We will come back at noon.

So, we all went back to sleep until noon. When he came back we reloaded the luggage. We had all of our luggage (15 pieces) in the back of his land rover/Mitsubishi Montero-like car. Then, in the back seat was all 4 of us, and in front was Cecilia and Frank. The kids think it is so neat that they don’t have car seats or seat belt. Off to Kumasi we went.

We stopped at a Judge’s house that Frank knows, used to be a pastor I believe for lunch. Yams (white like potato) and some red spicy fish sauce and boiled eggs was served. Daughter was a champ. She ate almost all of her food, and she was given quite a lot. Son at least tried it, and ate some of a boiled egg.

After lunch, we drove 51/2 hours without ever getting out of the car. We could have, but we just wanted to get it over with. The kids weren’t complaining, so we might as well take advantage of it. A full 46 hours after we left for the airport in Portland, we arrived in Kumasi. During the trip the kids just took it all in. They love it when they see someone carrying something on their head, and every goat, cow, chicken, dog and lizard deserved to be noted. Along the way, we pulled over and frank bought stuff. Kinda cool to do all your grocery shopping without getting out of your car!

When we got to their house, Frank said he was going to put us in the guest house (which we thought was the house on their property, but he was actually referring to the retreat center), but that cecilia thought we might get lonely, and so we were going to stay in their house. They were also worried that we would not feel safe. We went to look at the retreat center, and the kids stayed with Cecilia. Bad idea. When we got back, Daughter said I had a bloody nose. I said ok. You alright? Yeah. Well then Cecilia told me that Son punched her. I looked at him and he was on the verge of tears. He covered his eyes and buried his head. I told him It was OK, and we would deal with it later. Daughter said she swallowed the blood and that it still tasted yucky, but she said she didn’t cry (she really is a tuff girl when it comes down to it.)
Then Rice and some HOT red stuff and chicken. Again, Daughter was a champ. She ate everything on her plate. Son really struggled. He was tired, hungry, and it was just not good. Then Frank said would you like some chocolate milk? He said yes, and then when he found out that mean hot chocolate, he fell to pieces. There was no returning.

We took him to our room, and gave him some of our American snacks. I am so glad I decided to pack them. They are a God-send. We told them only one a day, but this day we let them have three. They deserved it. They had been thought a lot.

Then it was bath time, and again a cold shower. Son was not so happy about that. He cried and cried. Daughter, the pleaser, of course loved it. Son pretty much cried the rest of the night, and said I want to go home. He had both Mommy and Daddy in tears. We know this is a huge adjustment for them, and we wish we could make it easier.

Off to bed we go. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Day Three

Today is Sunday. We were going to take the day off, Frank told us to, but then when we went to breakfast he said they are expecting you be ready to go at 9. Then when we were about 5 minutes from the church he said, which one of you is going to share? Uh…thanks for he heads up. What’s that verse about being ready in and out of season? Yeah, so not ready. Jody and I both ended up sharing just a little bit. Daughter and Son sat with Coby (Frank’s grandson). In the congregation while we sat on the platform. They were pretty good….except that they kept playing with their water bottles. They started out with one and were fighting over it, so I went and gave them mine, so they each had one. Then they kept putting it on their heads. Finally Jody went and took them away. Two minutes later they had another one from the “water lady”.

During worship I saw something dart across the stage toward me. I stepped forward, and looked back to see a lizard (a good size one, body about 6 in) running toward me. It passed me and Frank and another guy trapped it and shooed it out the door. The kids thought that was awesome and both agreed that Papa would have screamed. Frank said another lady that was here did scream really loud when the same thing happened to her.

During church, the kids were starting to act up, so I went down to sit with them. Daughter said she had to go to the bathroom. I told her to hold it. She really had to go so after awhile, I got Jody’s attention (Son had fallen asleep on me) and he took her. He said an African lady had to show her how to squat and go on the ground. All I know is that when she came back in I asked, did you go? She said yes. I said, in a toilet? She said NO (with big eyes). I just started laughing.

OK, so this morning, we were woken up by some strange noise. Sounded sort of like a cow, but not quite. I thought it might be an elephant…in my very dazed sleepy state….and I also thought the white sand/cement outside was snow…yeah I was out of it. It eventually woke up Son, and so we were all up at 5am. A few minutes later, we hear a cow bell and singing… not a great way to start your day. And then that noise again. It turns out there is this group that each Sunday get up early and run and sing. No one likes it. The noise was a trumpet.

Oatmeal and eggs for breakfast and fried plantains. Son loves oatmeal, but wouldn’t touch it. It was not the same consistency, so he was not going for it. Neither of them liked the plantains. I don’t blame them.

After church, we went to a convenience store with three fast-food restaurants in it. A pizza place, a grilled chicken place, and a fried chicken place. We went there to get Malachi some fries. They also had a play structure just like McDonalds. By this point, Son and Daughter both had finally warmed up to Coby, and they played together the rest of the day.

The fast food is equivalent in price to fast food here, so for a Ghanaian, it is really expensive. The average Ghanaian very rarely goes out.

When we got home we had peanut butter soup. YUM!! Of course Son didn’t really like it. We ate it Ghanaian style…with our hands. Kids thought that was fun, but not for very long, and they wanted their spoons and forks back.

One thing I have noticed, it that things are more expensive than they were last time we were here. Bread is 2.50 fan ice is .50 and pop is .40 Last time fan ice was like 5 cents, and bread was a dollar. Pop was .25 cents. Frank says that they raised the minimum wage from 1 cedi to 2 cedis, and right after they experienced some major inflation. Hmmmmm…..sounds familiar….. We definitely have to be more careful with our money, as it will not go as far as it used to. In actuality, cost of living in regards to food, gas, and utilities, is quite comparable with home, it is only slightly less. Makes you wonder how they can make it on 2 dollars a day and we struggle with 8 and up per hour!

Day Four
Typical African day. We have sat around waiting. Which drives me nuts! I’ve got to put a book or bible or something in my bag. Frank had a court date today. We were supposed to be over for breakfast at 7:30, but we all woke up late! We were 30 minutes late.

After a while, we went on a walk to the fueling station which has a food mart. It is less than a mile away. We were on our way by ourselves when Rev. Bismak saw us. He was on his way to town, so he escorted us to the store. He held Son’s hand the whole way, which I think freaked him out, because he grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go. Ghanaians are very touchy, and it is hard to get used to.

After our walk we came back and sat in front of the fan. After a while we started school, then Frank showed up, and we went over for lunch. It was a really good lunch chips (fried yams…sort of like fries), fish, and baked beans. Loved it. Best meal so far. We spoke with frank for a bit, I went out to check on the kids, who were playing outside with Coby. Jody came out, and we walked through the house they are building. It is HUGE.

Went back to frank, but He was gone. We were supposed to go to town. We waited and waited….finally coby went inside and when we asked him if he had seen his Grandpa, he said he was sleeping. So we came back home. The kids and coby are playing outside, and here we sit.

I want to talk with the ladies more. Esi is our ‘maid’ and her sister helps, too. I don’t know the etiquette. They are almost always working, so do I and speak with them while they work? Would it be rude if I helped? I want to build relationships and be culturally relational, but I am not sure how.

Everyone serves us here, weather we ask or not. Ghanaians are very hospitable to their visitors, and it is pretty obvious that we are visitors. They want to serve us, and denying their service is offensive. Many act this way towards their leaders (aka Bishop, as we are getting used to calling him) as well. It makes it hard to relate, at least in my American culture brain. Here I want to serve them and they are serving me.

I asked Frank at what point do we stop being visitors. He said, when we move here, people will show us the ways and then we will be on our own, but this time, we are visitors. Two months doesn’t seem like a visit, but I guess that lengthy of visits is probably normal.

After awhile, we went back over to Bishop’s house. We sat around. The kids fed the goats and tried to pet the goats, but Coby scared them away. We ate dinner. White rice and some red fish sauce. It was actually pretty good. Little spicy, but good. Son ate the rice but we had to force him to eat it….even though it was plain rice. He wanted to just be a pain.

After dinner, we visited some more and then went back to the house, because Son was beginning to act out…he was tired.

We did what has become our regular nightly routine. Baths for everyone, tidy up the room, pb and j sandwich for the kids, prayer, and then bed for the kids. Jody and I go out to our sitting area and read.

Tonight, Collin, Cobi’s Dad, came to sit with us. It was a challenging conversation. He speaks little English, so it was hard. He is so very nice. I wish we could talk with him more easily. He is about to be a dad again, Laura, his wife, Frank’s daughter is about to have a baby. I asked him if he was going to watch and, with big eyes, said, “No, no, no,no!” He laughed when we told him the dads almost always watch and cut the umbilical cord in America.
Collin is a legal clerk. He wants to be a lawyer and will be going back to school soon. He has 4 more years to go. He is 35. His brother is a judge (the one we ate lunch at his house on Saturday). His brother also owns the little store across from our place. His younger brother runs it.

This afternoon, we went to the little store for a soda. You have to drink your soda there, because they want the glass back. They have to pay if they don’t return all of the glasses to the manufacturer. So we are sitting and drinking our sodas listening to Snoop Dogg cuss up a storm. That’s right…f this and f that. Thank goodness the kids don’t know what naughty words are…at least yet. See, neither do the Ghanaians (at least the ones that don’t speak it well) so they don’t think twice about it.

Day Five
Today was as eventful as yesterday was uneventful.

After breakfast, we went to town to get a wireless card and cell phone and a fridge, and about a million other things. We were in the car for about six hours. Stopping here and there and everywhere. It was us four, frank, Cecilia, and Esi. Tried to talk to Esi, nothing. Frank says she is very shy. We got the fridge, and a garbage can, and an extension cord, a bunch of food (Cecilia got), a blender for Cecilia, and I think that’s it. All of it in the car with all of us….and right before we get home, we have to pick up their granddaughter, Crystabell (about13) from school. She got in the car, too.

While in town, we went out to lunch. We had a “continental” lunch, chicken and chips (fries). Frank, Cecilia and Esi had fufu. Lunch was expensive. 44 cedis (about 40 dollars) for all of us! Geesh!

Our first stop in town was the internet place. Now mind you, we have made about 10 stops prior to this. It seems we can’t go 2 miles without stopping somewhere. One of which was to buy us water. 10 bags of 25 baggies of water for 10 cedis. Each bag is about 16 oz. Not too shabby.

It is going to cost 220 cedis (about 200 dollars) to get it set up. (expensive, but worth it if it means contact with the outside world) I said we want to do it, but I need more Cedis first. Off we go to get cedis. But we don’t. We go to lunch. Then after lunch, we go to get a cell phone. We (meaning frank) barter for awhile. We finally decide on an old school nokia for 25 cedis…about 22 dollars. It is used (they almost all are), but will serve its purpose.
Then we go to a few other stores, look at some fridges, exchange some money, and then we finally get in the car and head back to the internet place. We get there and find out that you have to bring the computer in. It will have to wait until tomorrow.

Then we stop to get a fridge. We looked at several places (when I say places I mean sides of the road), and decided, or rather Cecilia decided on a Frigidaire with a freezer. It was 100 cedis, about 82 dollars. It is a really nice half fridge, and it works great.

We get back in the car, and head to an onion market. Yeah, all onions all day. It smelled very strong. Tons of onion stands, but all from the same truck. Like how does anyone make money? Too much competition. Anyway, an old man came up to the window and asked Jody if he could marry his daughter, so he could go to the USA. He said a bunch more, but that is all we got. We get some onions.

On we go. We stopped and got yams. We stopped and got peppers. We stopped and got a watermelon. We stopped and got bread. We stopped and bought a blender. We stopped and got a fan ice. We stopped and got an extension cord. We stopped at what seemed like every seamstress (Cecilia sells dresses) in Kumasi. We left the house at like 10:30 and got back at 6:30. It was a long day in the car. Son slept half the time on Jody. Daughter was next to me with a garbage can on her lap. Esi was in the back with the fridge and all of our groceries.

Almost home…wait, nope….we need to go get Crystabell. OK, now, finally we are on our way home.

We were beat after such a long day in the car. So not long after dinner we headed back to our room. Unfortunately it wasn’t right to bed for a little MR. that had a nap! Grr… He was up until 11pm!

Day Six

Today was productive…sort of.

After breakfast we went to our room for a bit and did some school. Then we walked to the store and bought ketchup and ice cream and pop. We went a different way this time and found a little strip of shops (i.e. booths). It is an easy walk, but part of it is uphill, not so fun.

After that we had lunch, the same as a few days before, fish and chips (fried yams). The chips are very close to fires, especially with ketchup. Son didn’t agree. He said they tasted funny.

At 2 we were to go to the internet place. Well, when we went to get into the car, we knew we were in for it---Cecilia was coming with us!! Sure enough, we stopped several places on our way to the ATM. Then we went to the Internet place. They had a bit of difficulty because of my firewall. Once I disabled that it worked right away. I really have no idea what was going on, but it got working. 220 cedis later we have the internet…..well, sort of. We had to buy some minutes. We got those. OK. Mission accomplished.

Now, back into the car…oh, no! We are headed back down town! I have no idea what for, but we waited on Cecilia for a long time. While waiting we had a coconut each. Coconut milk is not that great—sort of like sugar water, and coconuts must be eaten more raw here or something, because they are slimy. Not hard like the ones you buy in the store. Anyway, they are gross. Son, of course would have none of that. While waiting we did see a lady with a whole pallet of toilet paper on her head. That was pretty cool.

OK, we are on our way….stop. Fan Ice wholesale. Stop again, some building materials. Several more stops and seamstresses, finally home.

Two things I have learned from our two days in the car. DO NOT say you would like to get something, don’t even act interested. If you do, you will most certainly be doing it right then, and prolonging your trip.

Secondly, you hardly ever get out of your car to do anything. You just honk or call out, and they come to you. That is sort of nice.

We get home and dinner is ready. Rice, Spaghetti noodles, and red sauce. It was good, but spicy. Son is eating better if we only give him two bites worth of the foreign stuff. He doesn’t fight as much on the regular stuff. Also, Coby has been eating with us, and that really seems to be helping.

I LOVE HIS MIRACLES!!

2009-01-02T22:25:00.001-08:00

We serve an awesome God who is able to supply all our needs. Today He was my pill multiplier. :-)

The kids are taking anti malaria medication. It is not cheap. Their insurance covers it at no charge, which is awesome, but here is the clincher...they will only cover 2 pills a month per kid. They are supposed to take half a pill each week, so 2 pills is a month's worth. And you cannot fill it until 28 days have passed. It's kind of hard to fill a prescription while you're in another country. So I bought 4 more pills, which cost $50.00 like I said, not cheap stuff! That would get them through the trip and when we get home I can refill it for free to cover the 4 weeks after that they are supposed to take it.

Well, tonight I am looking at the calendar, and I realize that I am a week short. I need one more pill. I have one bottle left to open. It's supposed to have 4 pills in it. I pray, God, please, please provide another pill. We need one more pill.

There were 5 pills in the bottle. Sure, some may say the DR mis-counted, or slipped in an extra for good measure. NO! MY GOD, MY JEHOVAH, HE made provision for us! He put that pill there....don't know what means He used, and it doesn't matter. What matters is His Word is true.

I just love miracles! God is awesome.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

As 2008 draws to a close, I am doing what I love to do...hanging out with my babies (Jody, the "old man," has already retired for the night). They are very excited to go outside and bang pans to ring in the new year. (which for them will come two hours early...)

Like most people I ponder the year past as the new year begins. This year was a good year. There were some challenges and losses, but overall it was a very blessed year. God has done big things in me this year, and I am so thankful for His faithfulness.

We are one week away from leaving for Africa. I am excited and nervous. This is such a milestone, one that we have been waiting for for quite some time. God is faithful and His timing is always right. We are starting this year off with an adventure that is right in the center of His will. That is the best place to be.

May each of you begin your new year in the center of His will. May His blessing reign in your life all year long. Happy New Year!!

Anniversary

2008-12-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is our Anniversary. We have been married eight years. I can hardly believe it! It has been eight wonderful years full of adventures--both good and bad, but all of which have only brought us closer. I love him more now than ever, and am so thankful for the wonderful marriage God has blessed us with.

Happy Anniversary, sweetie, I love you!!!

Election Update

2008-12-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

The elections in Ghana are not over yet. The two main candidates did not reach 50% of the votes, so they are doing a re-vote, which will occure on the 28th of Dec. Please continue to pray for the right man and for peace.

The Snow is Falling...

2008-12-14T23:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is snowing outside. I love snow days. You never out grow snow days. There is just something about a snow that says "be lazy, have fun, and do nothing of importance." We had a fun day with our family and kids. They love the snow, and are so excited it will be sticking around for awhile.

We are a little less than a month away for Africa. So exciting. We have raised all of our funds, THANK YOU, LORD!! And thank you all for supporting us.

We are down to the small details of getting everything ready. The final big hoop is our visa's which have been applied for and we are awaiting their return. Now it is a matter of getting everything packed and in order. It's a good thing I LOVE this part! ;-)

And with all that, there is Christmas around the corner...only 3 more gifts to go! And, also, Jody and I will be celebrating our 8th anniversary next week!

One thing for certian, we have a busy few weeks ahead of us....

One Proud Mommy!

2008-12-13T11:43:00.000-08:00

I love my kids. They are good kids. Sure, they drive me insane some times, and some times they can be really naughty, but I think that goes for all kids. And like all kids, they have a tendency to be selfish. They even throw tantrums once in awhile when they don't get what they want.

For the past few weeks they have been after me to go through their clothes and toys, so that they could give some to the African kids that do not have any. The clothes part is easy--if it's too small it goes. The toys, well that's a whole other subject. But, today, Son and I went through all of his toys, and he gave away quite a bit! He looked at every car, one by one, and gave away over half of his collection. He kept three of his rescue heroes and gave away the rest. He gave away one of his little buzz toys, saying he had another one like it that was blue.

The biggest suprise to mommy---he gave away a stuffed mater. (Malachi LOVES his stuffed animals, and he especially loves mater. He has one that he sleeps with everynight--along with about 10 other things!). That one was a little tough. He thought about it for awhile, and said "good bye". I told him (like a hundred times during this process) ,"you don't have to give away anything. It's up to you, but you don't have to if you don't want to." He said, "No, I want to." I asked him "why?" He said "because, some kids don't have any stuffed animals at all, and I have my other mater."

Elections December 7th

2008-12-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

That's right! Election day is coming this Sunday---in Ghana. Please pray for the right man to be elected, and for a smooth, fair, and peaceful election. And even more importantly, for a somooth and peaceful transfer of power.

God's Peace

2008-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] John 14:27Amp

This has been our theme verse this weekend. God is good. His peace reigns in our hearts and lives. We serve a VERY good God.

Can't go without a fight....

2008-11-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day of work. Praise the Lord I am free. For the last few years I have worked for a small family business. It has been one of those jobs that you can't check out of at the end of the day, and has occuppied way too much of my time. Truth be told, I should have left a long time ago. I should have listened.

Anyhow, I am free, but that freedom isn't coming without a fight, and we are in one right now. We could really use your prayers.

I know that is seriously vauge, but I can't say much more.

Moving on.....to make things even better, Jody is no longer employed. Great timing. We serve a souvreign God, and He will provide.

The last two weeks have been crazy getting all the last minute stuff done for work, and I am so glad it is behind me. My kids have been with a sitter most of that time, and since they are not used to that they have been acting out to let me know that they need my attention!! So, Jody and I decided that a weekend away was the ticket. We packed the car up in less that 30 minutes and headed to Seattle. We are crashing at my Aunts house for the weekend, just us and the kids.

Please keep us in your prayers.

60 days and counting...

2008-11-08T19:05:00.001-08:00

Before I begin, my sister is home and OK. God works miracles and they were able sew her up and send her home. She doesn't even ahve to be on full time bedrest like first thought. Praise the Lord!!

OK, well we are down to the sixty day mark. We are so excited. I only have 18 more days of work. I am really excited about that.

There are still quite a few things on my ToDo list, but they are getting done. Slower than I would like, but that's OK. Most importantly is getting the kids as ready as we can. We talk alot about it, and read about it and look at things are the internet.

Well, the Christmas season is officially upon us. The halloween stuff is gone from the stores, and the Christmas stuff is up. Malachi is very grateful for this as he is not a fan of halloween stuff. Somehow Thanksgiving always seems to get skipped in the world of retail. Why is that?

As I write this the kids are watching their favorite Christmas movie, Elf. They have been waiting all year, and are so excited that they are dancing around and quoting the movie. This is my favorite time of year, too, and I am looking forward all our family Christmas traditions.

Our second newsletter goes out monday. You can read it here.

Please continue to pray for us. We really need it as the time gets closer. Also, we are still in need of finances, so please keep that in your prayers as well.

I know this has been a random post, and here is one more random thing. We as a family to do not celebrate halloween in the traditional sense, but we do dress up and go to some sort of party each year. This year we went to a carnival at my Aunt's church up in Bellevue, as we were up there for Grandpa's memorial service.

Each year the kids get to pick their costumes. This year Son was Optimus Prime from Transformers. Daughter wanted to be Jasmine, but the Jasmine costume showed her tummy and so she chose not to get that out fit (so proud of her). All of the disney princess costumes were really expensive, so mommy gave her the option of being Hannah Montanah (a wig and t shirt were so much cheaper). She was so excited. She loves Hannah Montanah (even though she's only seen the show once).

So, here are some pictures of my little Hannah Montanah and Optimus Prime.

Grieved....

2008-11-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

My spirit is grived this morning regarding our next president, and even more so by the passive attitude I have encountered from several believers regarding it. It is time for the church as a whole to wake up! This election is about way more than a "democrat" winning. WAY MORE.

But on to other things, because I have already spent my morning "educating" some young voters about their "oh well" attitude.

Even more heavily on my mind is my sister. She is 24 wks pregnant, and at a random ultra sound three days ago they discovered her cervix was opening. It got worse over night, and they transported her to a hospital that has a neonatal center. (I am sure I just butchered that word) Today they are going to sew her up, and hopefully that will fix the problem. She will still be on at least moderate bedrest for awhile. PLEASE keep her in your prayers. That the baby will stay in full term.

Why argue with tithing?

2008-10-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

I got to admit, my blood is boiling right now. I just deleted a comment from someone I don't know who had made it his mission in life to prove that tithing is not new covenant nor for Christians. He is a "theologian" and from what I gathered from his blog, looks like he has even written a book about it. From glancing at his blog (not gonna waste my time or pollute my mind by reading it in detail) it looks like one of his major proving points why tithing is not for Christians is that tithers have also been affected by the economic problems we are facing. What a load of crap!

For those of you who stumble upon this blog or perhaps don't know me well, I am not one to keep my opinions to myself, and if you are wrong, I have no problem telling you. THIS GUY IS WRONG!!

This is not the first person I have come across that shares this opionion. Amazingly, the first time I ever heard of someone not believing in tithing was right after I graduated from Bible College, and it was a fellow student. I was floored. I didn't even know that the issue was up for debate.

Since that time, I have talked about this issue in depth with fellow alumni, and I have also....get this, what a concept....studied the Bible and what it has to say about tithing. Many of my fellow alumni don't have the same attitude that this guy seemed to have. They are generous, giving people who genuinly love the Lord. Their motive is not to find a way out of giving, as it is with most who object to tithe, but rather . So I have listened to their standpoint. However, I still find too much in the Word that says otherwise.

The arguments are all pretty much the same. Tithing is not mentioned in the NT, and Jesus never says anything about it. Giving is talked about, but not tithing. Tithing was to take care of the priests in the OT. We are now all priests and kings, so why tithe? Tithing is law, and we are no longer under the law. Things like that....

Well, first and foremost, I would always rather err on the side of caution. When speaking with unbelivers who say, what if you are wrong about God, my typical answer is then I am not out anything. On the flip side, if you are wrong, well I hope you like hot weather....

I feel the same way about tithing. If I am wrong, than I am not out anything (except money, and who cares about that). If I am right, which I am, then I get to recieve of the blessings of God.

Tithing is not a mosaic law. First fruits and offerings are mentioned as early as Cain and Able. Giving of 10% is mentioned as early as Abraham.

Jesus came to fulfill the law, not do away with the law. For instanace, he says that not only are you not to commit adultry, but you are not to even lust after a woman, for in so doing you have committed adultry in your heart. Jesus takes the law and takes it one step further. The same holds true to tithing. We are not to stop at 10%, but we are to give generously.

Many that I have spoken to who do not believe in tithing, also believe that any of the OT that is not mentioned in the NT is not applicable to us today. What a load! God's Word is WHOLE, and it ALL applies to us! If you care to study it deeply, including all the "boring" laws, lineage, etc... you will glean something that is applicable to you today. As my mom says, the Word of God is finely woven together from start to finish with the same thread. It all ties together. OT and NT.

Well, I gotta run, it's time for family dinner, and Maudi just fell in the toilet (dont laugh, ok, you can laugh, it is pretty funny...). I know this is not the deepest most thorough exegesis on tithing, perhaps on another day.... but for now, if you find yourself questioning tithing, I say ask yourself two things, first why am I questioning this? what is my heart motive? Then, I ask that you go to the word and study it for yourself. And ask God to search your heart, and to reveal HIS WORD AND WILL on the matter to you, he will.

PS One more quick note....God never takes back His Word. He will always fulfill it. I have never seen a faithful tither that God did not bless, but I have certianly see those who don't go without....

Tithing, Giving

2008-10-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

The issue of tithing and giving has been on my mind quite a bit lately. First, we want to thank each and every one of you for your generous giving to AFN. We are blessed and humbled.

For us 'seasoned' believers, we know that God's word is clear about tithes and offerings. He says to bring both to the storehouse. (See Malachi 3) Tithe is the first thing we give; our first 10% belongs to God. Anything that we give above that is an offering. These are basic principles most of us know and live by.

However, the question of where does tithe belong is sometimes not as clear. I, Jody, and the leadership of AFN believe that your tithe should be given to your local church. We believe that the storehouse is the local church. Your church, where you are equipped and where you minister, is your storehouse; your tithe should always go there. If it doesn't, your church will not function properly.

Think of it as you would your own household. You get your food and rest at your home. You work to provide for your home. What if you began to give your earnings to another household? What would happen? The funds would dry up, and your household, your family, would go without. The same is true for the local church.

I want to take this even further now. Within each local church are multiple ministries or needs or departments---however you refer to them. These ministries are branches of the church body. Just like your own body, you feed the stomach, which then nourishes the rest of you---your arms, legs, hands, etc... Your tithe belongs to the the stomach of the church---the general fund as many call it. You cannot feed your body through your arm; it does not receive nourishment that way. If you give your tithe to a specific ministry within your church instead of to the general fund, a malnourishment occurs, and the church as a whole begins suffer and cannot function properly.

When you bring your tithes and offerings to the church your tithe belongs to the whole church body, or general fund. Your offerings belong to whatever ministry, need, person, etc... that God directs you to.

To all our supporters, we say thank you, however, we ask that you remain faithful first and foremost in your tithes to your local churches general fund. That is where it belongs. Any offerings or givings that you feel led to give to AFN, we humbly accept.

Just an update...

2008-10-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

The time is going by so quickly!!! We are now only 82 days away from departure. We are all so excited. In the meantime, there is quite a bit going around here. When we moved into our new home, this past January, we were told that they would be building a house in the "lot" behind ours (aka, the back yard). In actuality, they are turning our home into a glorified duplex. They began construction this last monday. It hasn't been too bad. They start around 7 and are gone by 3. Sure has kept the kids entertained!!

However, because the back yard is completely gone, and our front is too close to the road, we had to make the hard decision to find our dog a new home. We had talked about this with the kids two weeks ago, and so they knew this was a possibility. They were sad, but they understood, and have had a really good attitude about it. To "make it up to them" we took them to the pet store to pick out a new pet. We are now the proud owners of "Elaina the Hamster." The kids are so excited about the hamster! The deal was that Son got to pick out the hamster and Daughter would name it. So, Son keeps saying "I did a good job! I picked a good one!" To which Daughter replied "And I did a good job naming her!"

Beginning Monday, I will start training my replacement at work. We have found the perfect person for the job, so that is great! I have put alot of time, sweat, and tears into this company. However, I know it is time to move on, and I am looking forward to being able to focus fully on the kids schooling, my family, and of course, Africa!!! :-)

Prayer Calendar

2008-10-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

You can now sign up to pray for us while we are gone, as well as while we prepare to go. Click here to get more info and to sign up.

Free Clinic

2008-10-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cecilia had been complaining about a pain in her side, which would happen most often after eating or going to the bathroom. I was pretty certian she had some sort of bladder or kidney infection. What do I do? I can't exactly just take her to the DR.

I checked out free clinics online. Almost all of them were related to WIC or to a school, both of which are inaccessable to someone not in their system. (so much for "free") Somehow, I stumbled upon a clinic called Good News Community Health Center. If you asked me to show you how I found it on the net right now, I couldn't tell you. I know it was God's leading.

I called at 12:30pm to see if she could come in, while I am on my way to pick her up from her hotel in Janzen Beach. The receptionist told me they only take 4 walk in patients a day and that you have to be there by 1pm. And as far as appointments....they are booked for months! Well, knowing that there was NO WAY I could make it by 1pm, I decided to take a chance.

We got there at 1:35pm. I explained the situation, and the DR decided to see her even though they already had their four for the day. What an amazing DR and what an amazing ministry. Everyone was so nice and helpful. They didn't hide the fact that their sole purpose was to love people and share the Good News. They reach out to those in our community who don't have another means of healthcare. They also do lots of classes and education on health and wellness.

I have passed this place (181st and Stark) hundreds of times and never thought twice about the name or what they do. I was really impressed with their ministry, and wanted to get the word out.

worthy of a post all it's own....

2008-10-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

I am going to be an Aunti to a niece!! Yep, Jenn is having a girl. Total shocker!! I thought it was a boy, and I have called every baby right since Taelynn! :-) But, girls are cool, too. :-) I believe they are going to name her Stephanie Jr. Pretty sure I heard that somewhere....

Daughter is so happy it's a girl. Son.....well......he is cool with it now, but not so in the beginning. When I told him, he just stared at me. Then he started to cry. He really wanted it to be a boy.
:-( Maybe next time.

So much going on....

2008-09-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I wanted to tell you all about that I don't know where to start....

I guess I will start with a silly story. I must preface it by saying that Pastor Frank and Cecilia arrived Wednesday evening and we are having a great visit with them.

Today the two of them went to the MFI concert, which is held at a hotel, so they will stay there for a few nights. The kids and I took them there today, and on our way Son fell asleep. So, as Pastor Frank is inside registering, Cecilia and us were waiting in the car. I see Cecilia swat at something, and I asked "Is there a bug?" She said "yes" A few seconds later, Daughter says "Mom, there's a bug back here. Mom, there's a really big bug back here!" I open the slide door, and a small flying bug goes out. As it does,Daughter makes a very paniced whiney sound. Cecilia just busts out laughing. She says, "that tiny bug. In Africa big bugs (using hand motions to make her point)!" Daughter's eyes get real big and she says, very seriously, "I do not like bugs!" Oh, what an adventure she is going to have!!!

Last Sunday our church took a special offering for us. We want to say THANK YOU!!! We are so proud of our church family. PHC...we love you, and thank you. Thank you, also to all of you who have been supporting us. We praise God and thank Him for you.

We have been working with two numbers of what we need to raise. $11,000 is for our trip, for which all donations have been going. It covers the airfare, travel insurance, expenses while in ghana, visas, passports, etc... We are almost there. We have $3077.00 left to go!!

The second number is what we need personally to cover our regular living expenses while we are gone. Funny, the landlord wants the rent if you're home or not! :-) Jody has been working alot of extra hours, and I have been cleaning as many apartments as come my way. We have $3547.00 left to go. Last year, Jody was able to pick up alot of extra work during the fall months, so we are praying for a repeat year.

We purchased our tickets this week!!! WOW what a good feeling!!! With Frank here we were able to sit down and find some dates that work for both of us and have a good fare with only one connection. So, our dates will be: January 8, 2009 to March 5, 2009. We fly directly to Amsterdam (10 hour flight!) and then to Accra (7 hour flight). Then it's a 4 hour bus ride to Kumasi. BUT for the sake of our babies, we're going to say the night in Accra and save the drive for the morning.

I am really getting excited. We are about to begin a new chapter. It is so awesome. We don't know what the future holds (I mean, do we ever??), but just knowing that we are moving forward is indescribably awesome.

We have been spending alot of time talking about the Canaan Life Project with Frank. CLP has been in his heart for many years. We have been praying with him about it for the past two. The more we talk about it the more I see his heart, and the more excited I get about it. It is very practical. It is discipleship. It is seeing past the moments when the fire God falls into the everyday challenges; it marries the two.

Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor. Salvation is the ultimate free gift. But we are whole persons, and Jesus cares about our whole life. He cares if we can feed our families. He wants us to prosper, and have a good life. Canaan Life seeks to teach people how to live for Him in all areas of life. To honor God with your work, your money, your relationships.

I want to see the fire fall. I love to see God move powerfully. I love to see people radically saved and set free. I love to see poeple healed. But, and the same time, I really love to see people disciples. That is the great commission. Duplicate yourself; multiply. AMEN!!

OK, changing the subject now, we are trying to sell our van. It is a good van, but we don't want a payment anymore. So, if you know anyone interested, let me know. Same goes for handyman and cleaning work. If you know anyone looking, send them our way. And, just a reminder, with the holidays coming, if you plan to buy anything of amazon.com, go to our website first. http://www.afnministries.org/ and click on the link to amazon. We get a referral fee each time you buy via our website.

Yesterday was great!

2008-09-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us yesterday. We had a great time worshipping with our friends at Lake Oswego Christian Center. What a great bunch of people!

Thank you, Lord for opening this door and connecting us with another group of believers. Amen.

Please Pray for Us Tomorrow!

2008-09-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with an opportunity to share our vision and trip plans with another local church tomorrow morning. This is the first time we have gone outside of our church family to speak about missions. We are a little nervous! But are very thankful that God has opened this door for us.

Please pray for us tomorrow morning. Please pray that God will show us clearly what to share, what to say. Please pray that the hearts of the people will be open to receive, and that they will give obediently.

We're already half way there!

2008-09-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

I can't believe nearly three months have passed since we first began preparing for our trip! Only three more short months and we'll be on our way. WOW! The time has really flown by!

There is still SO MUCH to do. I know that it will all get done, but sometimes it is quite overwhelming.

Although we we have only raise about a fourth of our total need, we are at the half way point for our tickets!! YAY! Prices have come down--praise the Lord--that really helps. And all of your guys' faithful giving has been awesome! THANK YOU!! God has also been providing us with side jobs, so we have been able to save some money, too.

Pastor Frank and his wife Cecilia will be with us Sept 24th-Oct 7. We can't wait!

Amazon.com is up and running on the website.

2008-09-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Still working on getting it on the blog, but it is now working on the website. So, if you have some shopping to do at amazon.com go to www.afnministries.org FIRST, then click on the links for amazon.com. That is all you have to do and we will get a referral fee of 4-15% of your total purchase price each and everytime you shop. So, spread the word! :-)

Thank You, Seeking the Compass, and Amazon.com

2008-09-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

First, Jody and I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who has given financially. It means so much to us. We are so blessed and humbled. Thank You.

Sunday's sermon on living by the Compass rather than a map really hit home. Pastor spoke about following God rather than the "road map" of methods/traditions. Road maps change, if the landscape changes and you are dependant on the map, you will be lost. A Compass is not dependant on landmarks. To listen to the whole sermon, visit www.phconline.org
Jody and I dont want to go to Africa and do things the same old way. Nor do we want to try the latest and greatest method. We want God to move. We want to see the supernatural change people's lives. We want to raise up disciples. If we try in our own might, we will be dependant on a map. We want to be dependant on God, and follow His compass. This is our prayer "Lord, may we rely on you and not our own methods or understandings. Remind us when we start to pull out old maps to use the Compass instead. May we listen to your Voice and follow you. Keep us humble and dependant on you. May Your Will be done. May Your Kingdom come. AMEN"

In a few days, there will be a link here and at our website for amazon.com. If you follow that link, which will take you right to amazon.com and make a purchase, Ask For the Nations will get a referral fee of 4-15% of your purchase. This works even if you buy something from a third party of amazon.com. (Like a used book from a private seller.) You don't have to enter a code or anything like that. All you have to do is instead of going directly to amazon.com Go first to either this blog or our website, and click on the amazon link. That's it! Happy Shopping!! :-)

Some more great news....

2008-08-27T22:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Jody and I received an invitation to present our ministry to a church in Lake Oswego in a few weeks. We are excited and also nervous. Please keep this in your prayers!! We'll keep you updated with more details as the date gets closer.

YAY! Pastor Frank is coming!!

2008-08-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well, after three weeks of trying to contact Pastor Frank by phone, I have finally made contact! (Note to the previous blog...just because there is technology doesn't mean it always works! :-)

Pastor is in London, and is planning to visit us for a few weeks at the end of September. He will be bringing his lovely wife Cecilia. We are so excited! Pastor Frank is the best example of a New Testament Apostle that I have ever seen. He is a humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and having him in our lives and in our home is such a blessing.

The kids are really excited about it! They Love Pastor Frank! He is a great African Papa to them. For Malachi there is usually a hidden agenda. See, Pastor visiting usually means he gets to sleep in our bed. Little does he know that this time they'll be sleeping in the family room. Malachi will be so disappointed. ;-)

The timing of their visit is great, as we will be able to finalize details of our trip and spend time in prayer together about it.

YAY! I can't wait!

Staying in touch is so easy....

2008-08-25T14:33:00.001-07:00

When I was in college, my Missionary Life Professor said that the saving grace for his wife while overseas was email. He said that being able to communicate easily with family and friends helped her adjust better, and curbed the affects of culture shock.

That was 10 years ago when the wide spread use of email and the Internet was still fairly new. Today, third world countries not only have the Internet, but more and more have access to broadband, and it is quickly spreading into the rual areas.

Gone are the days of analog cell phones. Now with GSM, your cell phone will work practically anywhere in the world---given you have signed up for the right plan, that is.

If hearing your loved one's voice isn't enough, you can see their face while talking live with your web cam over the Internet.

Can't handle just a web cam? Gotta see them face to face?? If you have the cash and a passport on hand, you can get to practically anywhere in the world in 24 hours.

Technology has made it possible for missionaries to stay connected with their family, something that was nearly impossible 100 years ago.

Back then, when you answered the call to be a missionary, you would say good bye to your family (sometimes forever), get on a boat, and make the long journey (often taking several weeks) to a foreign country. Your only connection to family or support of any type was the mail, and sometimes even that was not available.

I really admire those missionaries. What courage and faith to truly lay it all down. Not sure if I could do that....but I guess with God's grace anything is possible. Even so, I give thanks that I live in this era of technology.

I believe that my professor was right. I think today's technology will be my kid's saving grace. They will be able to stay connected with their world back home. It is my prayer that this will help them ease into their new life (even just for 2 months) and curb their culture shock...

Skype

2008-08-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

So, I just signed up for Skype. It's an online phone/video phone. It's free to download and free to call other skype members. Providing we have access to an internet connection (which may mean weekly trips to an internet cafe) this is how we will keep in contact with people while in Ghana. So, if you wanna call us while we're there, check it out. www.skype.com
our user ID is: jsroscoe

THE LETTERS ARE DONE!!

2008-08-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah!!!! Our July newsletters are finally ALL done! (Yes, I know it is August 18th) NEVER AGAIN will I attempt such a feat; I'm leaving it up to the professionals! :-)

Everyone will get a newsletter in the mail. If you don't, it means we couldn't find your address. We would like to get as many people on the email list as possible, to cut down on postage. So, if you would prefer to receive future newsletters by email, please let us know. You can email me your email address and I will put it on the list.

A quick prayer note regarding the kids school. We are homeschoolers. We homeschool for two reasons. 1--I want the priveledge of teaching my kids. It is a decision made with much prayer, and one that is very important to us. 2--We are missionaries, and homeschooling fits that well!

Now, Daughter is supposed to be going into Kindergarden this year, but she is actually nearly finished with kindergarden (she would have finished in June if we would have done school full time last year). She will be done before Christmas. She is so smart and is breezing through the curriculum. She knows all her letters and sounds, and can read small sentences. She can do simple addition and subtraction. She can write all her numbers and letters, big and small (altough she is still prefering capitals over lower case) and can write sentences on her own phonetically. She can also write them properly if you verbally tell her how to spell. Yes, I am bragging for a moment, but I am just so proud of my little girl!

Son has also been doing kindergarden with us (although if you ask him, he will tell you he is in 6th grade), and had been keeping up quite well. He recognizes most letters, and knows most sounds. He can write some capital letters and some numbers. He recognizes most numbers, and can count to 20 on his own.

We have been using ACE/School of Tomorrow (love it!). I found out today that they have a missionary program. If our application is approved, they will help pay for the majority of the materials. We missed the Fall cut off, but we can apply for the Winter semester. This would work out well, as Daughter will be ready for first grade at that time. (Son will remain in Kindergarden for another year). Please pray for favor with this application!

God's Will, Agreement and Alignment

2008-08-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today's message---the whole series of the past few weeks has been awesome. Pastor (aka Dad) has been preaching on the Will of God, Agreement and Alignment. It has really challenged me ask the Holy Spirit to examine me, and show me the areas of my life that are out of line, and those areas that I need to come into agreement with God about.

Durning Cleansing Streams (a class on deliverance) in college we learned about proper alignment, authority, and submission. There was a simple prayer that was taught that I used to say daily. I have gotten out of the habit, but was remined today how powerful and important those words and the action behind them are.

Lord, I choose to walk in agreement and alingment with You and Your Will today. I choose to be yoked with you. Show me those things that would keep me from being in agreement and alignment with you. I recognize that I am dependant on your grace and strength in order to do this. In the Name of Jesus, I command my body to submit to my soul, my soul to submit to my spirit, and my spirit submit to the Spirit of God. AMEN!

If you want to hear these messages click here. If the series is not here yet, it will be soon.

It is HOT outside!!!

2008-08-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Whew! Is it HOT!!! Yesterday and today was in the high 90s. I love our new home (we moved in January) except for one thing---no central air! :-(

To escape the heat, we spent the day at the river. It was crowded, but really nice and cool. The kids had a great time, but were so tired when we got home that they didn't even protest going to bed!

While on the way to the river, we stopped for gas. Jody went in to pay and get some drinks Daughter was whining about the heat, and asking for the air to be turned up. I told her, "Daughter, this is how it feels in Africa." She said, "It does!?!" I said, "yep!" Son said "but Summer is almost over." I said "Summer is never over in Africa. There it is summer all the time." He said "WHAT! No winter, no spring!" I said, "nope. Its always hot. Sometimes it rains alot, and they call that the rainy season, but it is still hot, even when it rains." Daughter said "ohhh man!" .....I sure hope they adjust to the heat and humidity quickly. Goodness knows, I never did....

A few prayer requests, and a small blessing. I have been looking for a good computer backpack that is sturdy and meets the second carryon size limitations. I want something that is not going to fall apart---I am really hard on bags, and tend to over stuff! So, this has not been an easy task without paying a lot of money.

Well, on a whim I went to Office Max to check out a bag that I found on the internet. That bag wasnt there. I found one I liked, but didnt get it because of the price. I turned around and there was a clearance table. On that table was a bag, nicer than the one I chose, on clearance for $18.00 (originally $60.00). I just love God's provision and blessing. I love it when He shows us that he cares about the little things we care about.

Prayer requests... December 7th is election day in Ghana. Ghana has been "coup free" and peaceful since 1981, but in it's 51 years of independance has actually only had one smooth, democratic, leadership transition. This was in 2001 from their former president to current president. Let us pray for PEACE, and that God's man would be elected, and that the transition would happen PEACEFULLY.

Secondly, please pray that ticket prices would go down, and that God would show us the exact dates to leave and return. Right now we are looking at 12/29- 2/27 or 2/28. This is diffrent from our original plan, which was mid January to mid March. Due to a VERY happy occasion, we are pushing our trip up. My sister is pregnant--A VERY BIG ANSWER TO PRAYER and my niece/nephew will be here at the end of February. Also, our annual men's retreat was pushed up to the first weekend in March, and it is very important to Jody to be back for that.

So, the return date we feel good about, it is the departure date that makes me uneasy. See, we have promised to go to SC for Christmas this year (since married in 2000 we have not spent a Christmas in SC, always due to money and ticket prices. Those same two issues are threatening our trip this year, too. Please pray for that as well!) We would be returning from SC on the 26th, and that is a little too close for comfort!

You may say, just pick a later date---not that easy. So far we have ran into one of two things: later dates (even one day later) are either much more expensive or do not offer a direct flight from Portland to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Accra. Some flights had up to four connections! Not something I want to do with two kids, plus, the more connections you have, the more opportunity there is for lost luggage!

We're Done!!

2008-08-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

YaY!! We are all done with shots....well, maybe.....

Yesterday we all got all the necessary shots, the most important being yellow feaver, which you need to get a visa. Both kids did great! Son cried, but didn't freak out. He was a very brave boy! Daughter was very brave as well. We had a great nurse, who was very good at her job. The shots were pretty much painless.

After the shots, both kids got to pick out a prize at Target. Son chose IronMan and Daughter picked art stuff. She is so creative!!

So, as far as shots go, we are all done, with the exception of a possible flu shot this winter.

However, please pray for us! We have a decision to make about the Rabies vaccination. Jody and I have gone back and forth about it for awhile, in regards to the kids. Rabies has been a recommended vaccination since my first trip to Ghana back in '97. Neither of us have received it because it is very expensive, and we are not working with animals. But, kids tend to be more at risk since they are more likely to play with animals.

If you get the vaccination, you would still need treatment in the event of a bite, but it gives you more time, and the treatment is diffrent, more safe, and more available. However, the vaccination is a 3 shot series, and the total cost is $775 per person! If you dont get the vaccination and you get bit, you must be treated immediatly, and the treatment is hard to come by overseas, and the side affects are much more dangerous. Plus, it can cost up to $6000.00.

It may seem like a no brainer, but we really are not sure which way to go. First, that is $1500 that we didn't budget for. Second, that is three more shots for two kids that have already had 7 shots/vaccinations this year. Thirdly, there is a shortage of the vaccination in the US, so we may not be able to get it anyway! So, do we not do it and trust God for protection, or do we find a way to make it happen? Please pray that God would give us wisdom for this decision. We have until November to decide.

On another note, yesterday was a hard day for Son and I was reminded of how much our kids need His grace for what we are about to do. Oddly, Daughter seems to be embracing this big change really well. Usually, she is the one more resistant to change.

However, Son is not as excited. A big part of that was the shots. That was a really big deal for him. Since he HATES them. He has been saying "I dont want to go to Africa, because I dont want shots." But, yesterday afternoon, he just broke down crying. "I dont want to go to Africa and live in a diffrent house! What will we do there? I dont want other kids playing with my toys." It broke my heart. How scary this must be for him. And what can I do about it? I know that God has called us---our family---and I know he will be with our kids and give them peace, but as a mom, I just want to make it all better. I held him and we talked about why we are going (to tell people about Jesus), and that he would have lots of friends his age to play soccer with, and that he could keep his special toys inside. My comfort was doing nothing for him, but daddy saved the day by coming home with a Slurpee at that exact moment.

Even though yesterday was a bad day, there are good days when I see that they, too, share in the burden God has given us. They will talk to eachother and to their friend about how the kids there dont know about Jesus, and we have to tell them. Sometimes they will bring me a toy or a shirt and say, can we bring this to Africa to give to the kids that dont have any? I am so proud of them, and I cannot wait to see how God uses them to minister His love to the kids over there.

Little Blessings....

2008-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

I love the little blessings of God. He is so good. Today I called to make an appointment for our vaccinations at the only clinic in town that does not charge for an office visit, only to find out that they do not vaccinate kids. Bummer. But they gave me the name of another clinic. Well, they do charge for their visit, but their vaccines are WAY cheaper! With the dr visit included it will cost us $60.oo less than the other clinic. God is good!

We also have recieved a HUGE blessing. Our sister church in Lathrop, Missouri has blessed us with $1000.00 toward out tickets. PRAISE THE LORD!!

Tomorrow the kids will get their Menegoccocial immunization at the dr office. My poor babies. I hate to see then poked. But I would rather them suffer a little pain now than alot of pain later! Please pray for them. Especially Son, because as we all know, he HATES shots!

Update....

2008-07-27T22:41:00.001-07:00

God is good. When you are in His will, He is faithful to provide for all your needs. One full month has gone by, and we have made quite a headway.

We have about 1/2 of the clothes we need (we have to buy things now, as it's pretty hard to find summer clothes in the middle of winter). We've been picking things up on clearance, and have ran into some really great deals!

We have the kids passports (they came back quickly!), and are scheduled for yellow fever shots this coming Thursday. Jody has been working really hard on a side job, and has made enough money to cover all the shots we have left. Thank you Lord for your provision!!

Money for ticket is slowly coming in as well. God is faithful, and I know that He will provide for all our needs.

There is one small set back....newsletters. I have been working on getting them out since June!! All the printing, addressing, stuffing and , envelope licking.....oh, it is not my favorite task! I was going to outsource it to the printers, but my loving sister said she would help, and she has been a great help, but the pile is still there.... Next month, they are going to the printers!

Meanwhile, "real life" goes on. Son had an appointment with the speech therapist this week. He has a slight speech impediment. His DR just wanted it checked out, to see if it would need therapy or work itself out as he gets older. Well, it turns out that my baby is an excellent talker! He is 4 yrs 2 months, and his speech is at the age of 5 yrs 4 months. The DR said there is no need for therapy and that he is very smart. She said that his language was advanced as well. She didn't do a language evaluation, because she said she could tell that he would score off the charts! I was very proud of him. I was also very proud of Daughter who sat quiet while brother got to answer all the questions. Something that I know was very hard for her to do. She is my little social butterfly and loves to talk. I could tell it was killing her not to be able to add her two cents!

Daughter and Son just finished Bible Soccer (Day) Camp. They had a blast!

We have our trailer up and are getting it all cleaned out and ready for this weekend's church camp out. We look forward to this trip all year. It's going to be great!

Work is in full swing for the season....it seems the more I cut back, the more I get sucked back in....but that's OK....things will be back to normal in about six weeks.

Next week, it will be time for school again. We took things slow last year, so we need to get a head star this year. We will finish kindergarten by Christmas break, and then start first grade. At least Daughter will. Son will still be in kindergarten, but if you ask him, he will tell you he's in sixth grade. :-)

Shots Phase One

2008-07-08T13:04:00.001-07:00

Oh, what a dramatic day! Today, Son had her five-year-old annual check up. She is in good health, of course, but part of her check up was giving a urine sample. All I gotta say is have you ever tried to get a 5 yr old girl to "go" in a cup? She told me "Mommy! I am supposed to go in the toilet, not a cup!" Son said, "I'll do it!" I don't know if he was trying to be helpful, or was just facinated with the idea of having something new to "aim" at.

Daughter was due for two shots. She is a very brave girl, and didn't even cry! She is now finished with all her childhood immunizations. Yay!

While we were there, the Doctor reviewed Son's immunization records, and decided Son should have his last two shots, the same Daughter had, so that he will have the complete Polio and DTP series before we go to Ghana. He said we could do it now or later. I opted for now. Son is NOT a fan of shots, so we might as well get it over with.

I told Son that he was going to get two shots, and that this was for Africa. Once he got these two he would only have to do three more, and then he would not have to have any more shots until he was a grown-up. AND, if he was really brave, we would go to McDonalds for lunch. My speech was not enough to comfort him. As soon as he saw the nurse come, he took off down the hall. I caught him, and laid him on the table. I had to hold his whole upper body and arms down---it took me laying over him and holding his hands to keep him from getting up. The nurse had to sit on his feet (after two kicks from Son) to get him to hold still so she could give him the shots in the thigh. He is crying, face beat red, and screaming, "Don't make me do this! Mommy, why are you doing this to me!" Ten seconds later, the shots are done, and after about two minutes, he has calmed down. The dramatic ordeal is over, and he is rambling about which Happy Meal toy he hopes he gets.

Both kids have three more shots to get, which will all be at diffrent times and places, so we get to do this all over again three more times in the next six months!

A really big answer to prayer came today, regarding recommended vaccines. One of the recommended vaccines for travel to Ghana is Meningococcal. This vaccine is normally given as a childhood immunization at the age of twelve, but can be given as young as two. At the travel clinic the shot is $220.00 per person, and not covered by insurance. Their Doctor said that he would give it to them, which means that it will be covered by our insurance. He said he could also write their perscription for Malaria pills, saving us another $20.00. Praise the Lord!

One week later and a little bit closer...

2008-07-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

It is one week later, and we are slowly beginning to check off the to do list.

One major check this week was that the kid's passport applications are finally in. What an ordeal!! It required a full morning off work for Jody (both parents must be present to get a minor child a passport), two hours with both kids in the post office, and a failed attempt to get a good passport photo for each kid. But, we survived, and two hundred dollars later.....we should have thier passports in four to six weeks....

Aside from all the preparations, life does goe on. It has been a busy week, the kids are still in school (I know...it's July, but we took alot of breaks...), and things at work are starting to pick up for the season. Plus it was the forth! We had a really good holiday. We celebrated with our friends in Vancouver on the 3rd, and then on the 4th, we spent the evening at home with our kids in the back yard, making smores and watching all our neighbors' fireworks displays.

We're finally going!

2008-06-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

Yay! The time had finally come. God has opened the doors, and we are preparing to go to Ghana, West Africa this coming January. This has been a dream of ours for many years, so we are very excited.

We have so much to do, and only six months to do it. There are passports and visas to apply for, money to raise, shots to be gotten, work to be finished, and kids to prepare.

It is our hope that through this blog we can bring you along on the journey with us.

If you would like to read our July newsletter, please click here.

We also invite you to take a look at our website: www.afnministries.org