March

 It's the last day of March and I am struggling to find words to describe March. I look back at the pictures from the month and think about how unknown the future really is and how frail life and all our plans really are. In no particular order, here is a glimpse of or month.

With Tom and Galyn moving back to the US, we started going to their house once a week to have playtime. She always let the children come Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, but with us having to drive over there and our other obligations, that isn't practical. So every Saturday evening we go there and start with some singing and a Bible study. Then they play for about an hour. These two little girls never get enough attention and I frequently find myself carrying both of them. They are quite the mischievous pair.

                                                    
There are usually 40 to 50 children there. Thanks to the rules and hard work Galyn put into it, it is manageable. They don't appreciate the little changes we make at times, and they do try us out to see if we really mean what we say and also to see if we will make them listen like "auntie" did. She is dearly loved and missed!

Kelsey has quite a following of little girls. This past Saturday they sang for quite awhile. She dreams of the day she can be a teacher, so this is good practice!

The older boys always play foot ball. Kenny has been getting his exercise! He doesn't always help the whole game but it is a great way to get to know them.

The funeral was hard. I desperately wished to have a quiet funeral like I am used to so I could process and grieve. Instead we watched the cultural dances by the school children. Kenny spoke a few words in the grave yard but everything was rushed because the body has to be in the graveyard by 12 because of the spirits. We watched the sister and father, besides themselves with grief, be pulled away from the grave. And the tears flowed inside. Kenny put his arm around the brother and he hung on to him, exhausted from trying to reason with his dad. Grief is so hard no matter who you are. But in this culture, without the hope of heaven, it is unbearable. This past Sunday his whole family attended our church. It was good to have them with us and our prayer is that a door has been opened that will never close.

His class mates all gathered around the coffin. One of the most special parts of the day for me was seeing the tears in his teachers eyes and his classmates weeping. I had gotten so frustrated with the way people don't seem to value life here. At the hospital everyone was so callous. So to see those tears, I thought, this boy was loved! A few days later we sat with his parents and sister and they told us how Francis was different from most boys. He was kinder, more helpful, and more respectful than the typical 14 year old. I was so glad to hear we weren't the only ones that thought that of him.

                             

For my birthday Kenny and I went to a beach resort for the night. My birthday was the day of Francis funeral and it was the biggest blessing to just sit and talk by the ocean. There was so much to digest and discuss. We also bought tickets for our furlough for mid July to mid August. 

This boat is fascinating to our family. It has a crane with a grabber at the end of it. They plunge it into the dirt at the bottom of the harbor they are constructing and then bring it up to the boat. After the boat is loaded they go out farther or over farther and the bottom of the ship somehow opens up and dumps it out again. 

Sunday morning normally finds us getting to church early to unlock and start set up. This particular Sunday Austin was unlocking in true monkey style!

Kaylene's brother and a few of his friends came to visit them. We used the man power while it was available and cleaned out the Peace Ave house. It was wonderful to have Jay and Miriam along as well to help make decisions on what to do with things. They pulled down the WiFi tower and put it up at Duane's house. It went smoother then anything I had imagined! 

We have been enjoying the puppies. They are almost ready to go to new homes. Yesterday I went outside and could hardly walk for the crowd of puppies around my feet. That is when I say, time for them to go!! At least two of them have homes waiting for them already.

We spent several hours at the immigration office waiting on ID cards. Our things are being processed but then we should be legal to live in Ghana for the rest of our time here. If you have ever been frustrated by the legal processes in the US, living in Ghana could cure that for you! Unless you are willing to pay the right amount to the right people.

And one last puppy picture!

   Our teacher, Heidi, is leaving a few weeks early to attend her sisters wedding. Since I am planning to homeschool next year as well, we will set up school here. I also plan to keep them working a little over the summer. Since we don't have summer and we actually just have busier than normal weeks here, there and everywhere. I'm hoping to stay on schedule but be able to skip days when needed.

  We are enjoying our time with Jay and Miriam here. They have done a lot of babysitting and feeding our family over the two weeks Francis was in the hospital and then the funeral. Brent calls them Grandpa and Grandma occasionally. He still warms up to people slowly but he really does like being around them. They leave April 11th.

  On April 10th we plan to have communion here in Ghana. Pray for us over this time that it could be a time of enrichment for the whole mission. The next Sunday will be a special service for Easter and the following weekend we have a wedding to attend. It doesn't look like we will be bored anytime soon!