June

  Sometimes we feel like we have given everything we could give and been stretched as far as we can stretch. And then God hands us a test. June was a test for me personally but also for other people in our mission as well. Work crews were over and we were looking forward to a few quiet weeks before a group of visitors came. Some staying with us and some staying with Burnell Martins. The week that the last of the work crew left, Burnells son Drayen got sick. We had all been having stomach issues and quite a few people had had fevers so they didn't think much of it. But after a few days they realized something was really wrong. He tested positive for malaria so he started treatment. The next two weeks were a roller coaster of up and down. He would improve only to get worse. The day after their and our visitors arrived he had blood in his urine and they ended up in the hospital. What followed was several days of up and down. Friday night things reached a critical point with his fever off the charts. But at this same time they heard of several of the work crew that had serious stomach issues after returning to the US. They asked his doctors about treating him for that and miraculously on a Friday evening they were able to get opinions from several doctors and he was started on antibiotics. His blood levels had also dropped dangerously low and he was given a blood transfusion. From that point on, things slowly but surely improved. On Wednesday of the next week, he was discharged. He did have malaria but also had some type of infection as well it seems. It was wonderful to see our mission family all pull together. Babysitting, running them food and water (since hospitals don't supply that here), and taking care of the girls that sadly didn't get to see much of the people they came to visit. Every time something happened (like running out of water at our house) and I thought I couldn't take one more thing, God gave me strength and we carried on. And proved to me once again, that He giveth more strength when the burdens increase.

  So that was what filled our minds for part of June. But here are some snap shots and highlights of other happenings.

A charcoal pit was started next to our house. They dug out the dirt a bit then stacked the sticks in.

One day the boys went to one house to play, the girls went to another house, and I got the three "littles". It was quite interesting having three four year olds for a day!

I love all the fresh fruits ands veggies we constantly have available. 

Several days after they stacked the sticks in the charcoal pit, they covered it with grass and then palm branches. Later they covered it with dirt and then lit it at one end to smolder it's way to the other end. I was not looking forward to smelling that for several days but it actually only bother us a time or two.

The most exciting thing about June was definitely Amy coming for a visit.

We took them around and had lots of fun. The fabric stamping lady was happy to give us a tour.

We went and exchanged their US dollars into Ghanaian cedis. A Muslim man sat us in the back of his shop while he went and got our money. There is at least one of these men near most large markets.

We had to eat at Mable's Table one evening of course. It was a group of 8 teachers. Amy and two of her co teachers, and then the teachers that taught Burnell and Lisa's children before they moved to Ghana.

I have so many pictures of waves crashing over this rock! But it is so beautiful you just can't help taking another picture.

I had the pleasure of spending a day at the beach with them. Life was going crazy right then and it was good or me to have to sit and soak in the beauty and the sunshine.

We have the most beautiful sunrises from our bedroom window. I often wish I could open the screen and take a picture. Austin was up early with Kenny one day and went out and crawled up on the ledge outside our window to take a picture. I love being reminded first thing every morning what a mighty God we serve that has blessed us with another new day.

One early morning we had a heavy rain shower. There was quite a bit of flooding. The school at Living Hope was closed for the day. 

Our road, of course, flooded too. I had a bit of a heart pounding moment getting past this stuck taxi. You want to stay as close to the center of the road because the edges are very soft and suck you in, but neither do you want to side swipe the taxi!

  Albert was Kenny's first teacher. He needed to rebuild a transmission on a school bus and Albert was recommended to him as a helper. He lived locally and was retired. He was so happy to have something to occupy his days and started teaching full time. Kenny knew his health was declining and his quality of work was as well. He was trying to decide what to do about it, when God decided it for him. Albert wasn't feeling well and one night Kenny and his other teachers and some students took him to the hospital. What followed was tests and scans and no straight answers from the doctors. They don't like giving people bad news and it isn't unusual for them to avoid telling the whole story. But the long and short of it was that he had a blockage in his intestines. He was a frail, weak man by this time and they said he was too weak for surgery. His family didn't want him to have surgery and most of them never came to see him. He travelled for work for many years, even going to Canada for training, and obviously didn't have much of a relationship with his children. For two months he lived first with his cousin and then in his own house with distant relatives taking care of him as he lay on his mat. Kenny went to visit him often. It was heart breaking to watch him reap what he had sewed. His wife and children never came to see him even as he slowly got weaker and died. None of his brothers would speak with him to our knowledge. Only one sister came to see him that we know of. The day after he died, everyone came. His wife, his brothers, most of his children. To see with their own eyes that he had died. A week later they had a meeting to plan the funeral. But now his family and his wife's family are feuding over funeral costs, so the date for the funeral is still undecided. Most likely the very end of July or in August sometime.

  Do we thank God for our families enough? Do we spend the time with our children and with our extended families? Our heritage and background values family so highly and this situation made us value it all the more. How blessed we are to never have to wonder if anyone will come and sit with us when we are sick. How blessed we are to be surrounded by people that care about us. It was such a contrast to see Albert suffer alone and at the same time see the support that was shown for Drayen and his family while he was sick. The challenge to myself and to you is this, do we have enough time for people today, so that some day, when we need them, they will have time for us?