Merry Christmas!!!

Well to be honest it does not feel much like Christmas at all. There are no Christmas trees, no lights on houses (that would be mud huts here) and there are no Santa’s laps to sit on at the mall. But then again what is the real meaning of Christmas? I have always felt like I have tried to keep Jesus at the center of Christmas, but being here and having the birth of Jesus really be the center of all the kids talk about and sing about reminds me that He is the focus. We have been teaching the kids Christmas songs to perform to their parents on Christmas. Last Thursday we learned "Do you hear what I hear?" While they were singing I really felt the true meaning of Christmas and for the first time I really listened to the words of the song. We are also reading an advent story to the kids every night. We have been reading about the prophets that foretold the birth of Jesus. I guess not having all the things that remind me of Christmas, I am able to focus on the true meaning without having all the commercialism get in the way. We were able to get every child a good pair of shoes and socks, underwear along with a TV and some DVDs. We are so excited to give them their gifts, we know they will be so thrilled to get there own pair of new shoes.

OK so I didnt write this blog, I have to give Lindsay the credit. We had a very hard time tyring to put this last weekend into words. Lindsay put it so much better than I could.
Last weekend I spent a few days traveling through a part of eastern Ghana called the Volta Region. It is in this region as well as other parts of West Africa including Togo and Benin, that the practice of Trokosi slavery is widespread. It is this region that four of our children at Haven of Hope used to call home.

Trokosi is a belief system in which entire villages believe in and worship a variety of gods. However, in addition to idol worship, this religion requires that in order to atone for sins and appease the gods, one must offer a child, preferably a virgin daughter to the Trokosi priest over the local shrine. That child is then enslaved for a lifetime, at the will and whim of the priest. They are his, for work or for pleasure. There are hundreds of these shrines throughout West Africa, but thanks to the concern and efforts of Every Child Ministries and its full time employees in the Volta Region, three shrines have agreed to the liberation of their slaves just in the past few years and another is being negotiated at this time, hoping for another liberation ceremony in the summer of 2009!

As I mentioned, four of our children come from this region of the country and our mission last weekend, at their request, was to take them to their former homes in order to greet what may remain of their families. While each reunion had its own unique circumstance, their commonality was a lack of attachment, emotion, and love in each instance. As we passed from Sogokopie to Aflau over countless rivers and through soaring coconut trees, I began to ask myself what it was that made these reunions different from those we had witnessed previously in Accra. As much as I tried to avoid the Sunday school answer, it was the only answer that made any sense. The difference was God. Even though they have struggled through poverty, prostitution, and despair, many of the mothers in the streets of Accra know God and believe in the sacrifice of His son. These families in the Volta Region, who participate in an idol worshipping, child enslaving religion completely devoid of the knowledge of the one true God, know nothing of love because God is love. Today I ask that you pray for ECM and its employees in the Volta Region ministering daily to those trapped in the Trokosi traditions, that they may radiate Christ’s love in a land where there is very little.

Please keep the kids in prayer over the holidays, some are very sad about not being able to see their families.

Nov 10th

Dear friends and family. Sorry I have not written lately, things have been busy around here
These past couple of weeks has been the biggest mix of emotion, I have ever felt. So a part of my work here is helping with the street ministry on Sundays. Felicia the street ministry director has planed for some kids to come each week to see their parents. Our first trip was last week, it was sad for some, and for others there were tears of joy. We took our second group today. The pure joy of the mothers and seeing the kids run into their arm gave me an overwhelming joy that brought me to tears.
God has been teaching me the really importance of love and how much it can change lives. God loved us so much that he gave his only son. For some reason I am just now grasping the depth of love that He has for us. Love is so powerful. I have seen that first hand here in my relationships with the girls. Mary, one of the girls we took to the street ministry last week. She is a very beautiful 12yr old sassy girl that runs with boys. She is very tough and would sacrifice her body for the sake of wining a soccer game. She had a very big wall built up around her heart, I think seeing her mother and having to trust me in an overwhelming situation broke down those walls. To be honest loving her was not easy at first, but true love casts out all fear. To receive hugs, love and time from her makes it all worth it. I look at how much God loves us, to be soaked in that kind of love is a feeling I can not describe.

October 25

It has been two months!!! How crazy is that. It feel like I was just celebrating our one month yesterday. This past week was our midterm break; we took a week off school and with that time we were able to help out in the office and take the kids to the beach. On Tuesday we had a long day at the immigration office. We walked in and found out that we needed a lot more than just our passports, so we drove around getting new visa pictures and a letter from ECM office. Praise God we were able to get six months extinction on our visas.
On Wednesday we went on an adventure to find the ECM office. We were given directions and amazingly we found it. (well Lindsay did most of the work considering I am directionally challenged) When we arrived Abby was waiting with piles of papers for Lindsay to type and a desk load of paper work for me to file. We had a great time visiting with Abby; she is a very hard worker with huge heart for the kids.
Wednesday was the big day! We loaded up 35 kids with two mamas and headed to the beach. The pure excitement and joy the kids had was like nothing I have ever experienced. Just to get in the van and go somewhere was a big deal to so many of the kids. There were two brothers who had never been to the beach before; I was so excited for them and all the kids. The look on their faces when they saw the ocean was priceless. We all ran to the water, with a few behind in fear of the waves. Only a few of the kids wanted to go out a little deeper, so with a death grip on my arm we walked out waist deep. I know that may not sound very exciting, but for them it was huge. As each wave came the grip on my arm only got tighter, the terror on their face after a wave hit instantly turned into joyful screaming when it past. I couldn’t keep from laughing. They were all so content flopping around in inches of water and burying each other in the sand. To see them play so contently with each other for hours, just showed me again how we are to be grateful for the little things. God is continually reminding me that He is everywhere. I never really grasped that, I see how different everything here is, but yet God is still same and living in the lives of the kids and seeing him in his beautiful creation in Africa, it has defiantly smashed the little Bonney Lake box I had him in.
Again I want to thank you all for your prayers and loving support.

Oct 12

So this week was one of love and of hardened hearts becoming soft. I have experienced the fruit of unconditional love and trust.
I wrote last week about a boy holding my hand, well his name is Baquin. Baquin is 11 years old and about the size of an 8yr old. He has been very closed off, didn’t talk or even smile, for a long time I thought he hated me. Now he is one of the many that hangs out on my porch with me. He will take my arm and he put is around his shoulder while walk. His smile and laugh melts my heart. He has also shown a lot more compassion and love to the younger kids. To see his transformation in these past two weeks has been an answer to my prayers.
The Gowinns arrived last week are going to be living here for as long as they are needed. They are going to be taking over the school. Lindsay and I so excited to get some organization and changes, it’s going to benefit these kids so much. I am so glad the couples are to here, they are the parents these kids need so badly.
Africa is so beautiful!!! The weather is not as bad as I thought; it stays around 80 degrees in the day and drops down to about 70 at night. The wildlife here isn’t too crazy, well minus the kids I did see a big green snake, and I think I was a green mamba, they are around here. We do have lizards everywhere; we do get little geckoes in our house at night. ( Megan, I have friends here too) At night the toads come out and the kids are afraid them, the first time I caught one they all freaked out. They said that toads are poisonous and where afraid for me because I touched it. I had to tell them if I ate it then I could get sick, but it was ok to touch it. I don’t think they believe me because they are still very afraid. I use the frogs as pay back for when they chase me with the big beetles. It is so funny.  It is a very strange to know that is fall and getting cold there at home. Christmas is going to be weird; December is the start of the hot months here.
Please pray for Abdul, he has not returned, buy law we cant really do anything about it. He has lived at HH for six years, so now some of the other kids are missing him. I am concerned about what the other kids might be feeling about this and if they think this could happen to them too. To be honest, I worry about that too. I have to keep reminding myself that God in control and He watching over Abdul and all the kids here. Please keep all these kids in you payers.

God bless!!!!! Happy Fall 

October 5

October 5

Psalm 29:11
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses His people
with peace.

This week I really had to draw on the strength of the Lord.
It all stared with receiving a new girl to my class. This girl cried the entire week along with the other girl who likes to cry every time I look at her. So trying to get from one place to another is so fun with seven kids, one criers tied to my back, the other I carried while shrieking, and just hoping the other five would follow. There is no way I could do this in my own strength.
This Tuesday we had a boy named Abdul leave with his father for a few days. His family is all Islam and wanted him there to celebrate their holiday. He was supposed to arrive back here Saturday, but has not. Please pray for him, this the first time in six years his parents have come for him. I am trying not to think of the worst. Abdul is 11 years old. He is in the 3rd grade and loves to learn. He is very smart. He is very animated when he is speaking to you, he can’t tell a story without yelling and laughing. And he is always carrying the younger ones around a making sure they are being taken care of. He has a very caring heart.
Yesterday was a very big day for HH, we played a soccer match against Raffiki. (the other home and school a mile away)
The kids have been practicing and talking about this day for weeks, it has even been in our nightly prayers that we would score them. ( which means win) J When we arrived and saw the other team I had to laugh, they were all much larger and also had shoes and uniforms. Most of our boys and girls played with their bare feet. J The boys lost but played with such heart, I was proud. The other girls fought hard and won. We all came home a celebrated with a long nap. JOn our way home some of us slow walkers lagged behind and were sharing stories about the day, when one of the kids took my hand to hold, now my hands are always filled with some kid’s hand, but this one was different. This boy who I have shown love and trust to with giving nothing in return, held my hand for only a few minutes, but those few minutes made my day. The Lord blesses His people with peace. And that is exactly what I felt. God bless!!!!

Sep 29

September 29


It has been ONE MONTH as of last Wednesday!!!!!
God has blessed my heart so much with these kids. Despite the fact that these kids have been through many struggle and hardships and still thank God for their lives, families and friend, just blows my mind. I was walking by the boys rooms yesterday and heard some singing , I looked in and saw all the boys standing in a circle praying and worshiping God, but get this there was no adult telling them to pray, they were doing it because they love God and want to praise Him. Shouldn’t we have something to praise God about? We are the ones with the homes and food, we have parent and families. I felt like I was a thankful person, but I think true thankfulness can not go hand in hand with complaining. I have yet to hear one of these kids complain about sharing a room with 14 other kids or that they eat the same food every week. Yet they thank God!! 1 Thes 5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances”. That’s what I see from these kids.
God has given me feeling of complete joy and contentment in being here. On Thursday I was sitting outside, the sky was full of the orange setting sun and I had Moses and Gabriel on my lap while we watched the boys playing soccer, when I got this feeling of joy that I have never felt before. I sat there feeling the most content I have ever felt, I know this is where He wants me.
Gabriel and Moses are boys here at HH and are also in my class at school, they are both soon to be three, they love to snuggle, sing and play the drums. Gabriel has the biggest dimples when he smiles; he is a tough little boy. He loves to play soccer, sing songs and walk around with a stick in his hand whacking any thing or anyone that gets in his way. ( we are working that)  Moses is a very little boy, when he came here he was undernourished, so he is a little behind in speech, he is also very unbalanced. He does know how to say my name, and at random he will shout hallelujah! From now on I am going to try and tell you a little bit about two kids each week. O and I have moved from my porch to a room, with a table and some chairs! Praise the Lord!
Praise God that Lindsay and I have not gotten sick. The Driscoll arrived last week and have already been sick. What a blessing the Driscoll are to us, just to have other Americans here and to be able to communicate with has been great. They have sold all they have, left everyone they know to come here and live. They will live here until or if God calls them somewhere else. What faith!!!
Things are starting to feel more settled and homie. I think I have gotten the fact that I am going to be here for another 8 and a half months and not some one month stay. Time is just flying by, I wish it would slow down a little, I have the feeling this will be over before I know it.
On Saturday we ventured into town in search if a mall that we had heard was here. Our adventure started with the tro tro ( not cho cho) dying twice. They had to push start it both times. While I was in the mall I got this feeling like I wasn’t in Africa, just like walking through a mall back home. That feeling quickly died the minute I stepped outside and boarded a tro tro, which made it to a town just before Medie ( medie is where I live) when we stopped to find smoke coming from the hood. To top things off, the other tro tro we got on drove right pass our stop!! What a hilarious day!!
Please pray that these kids would feel loved. I know they want love, but knowing how to receive it and give it is very difficult for many of them. They have so much pain bottled up and many cover it up anger, fear or just silence.
And that I would die to myself everyday, allowing Gods love flow out of me on these kids. For it is only God who can mend broken hearts.

Hello

September 14

This week has been one of large challenges, many tears and victories.
God is so good!!! I stated of Monday with my class of three boys, on my porch. Some how by the end of the day I went from three to six. Now I have three boys and three girls. What a fun time we have been having!! My goal is to play hard, in hopes that they all sleep after lunch. We kicked clubs off this week with cooking club. What a great time we had, the kids love to cook. We made spaghetti. I led art club tonight, and we learned how to draw animals. So fun! Please keep theses kids in your prayers. As I have gotten closer to the kids some have opened up to me and shared some of their life. I am so broken hearted to hear what these young kids have been through and seen. We have faced a great challenge in schooling. A lot of the kids can not read and have a hard time doing homework. So Lindsay and I have been making ourselves available in the afternoon for any kids who need help. I had no idea that so many of the kids are so far behind. Some kids that should be in HS are only in 2nd grade, and are really struggling. One of the girls was really having a hard time with math, so we worked and worked and finally it clicked!! She was happy and so was I. The teachers don’t help the kids understand, and so the kids are not really learning. Lindsay and I are gaining a lot more confidence in going out by ourselves. Yesterday we went to an open market, walked around and bought some food. Today we made the long trek to Accra for the street ministry. The street ministry is where Haven of Hope kids come from. The kids whose parents have died or are no longer being taken care of on the street, come to HH. I have never seen poverty and hunger like this. When we arrive we are instantly swarmed with kids. I had kids holding each one of my fingers. We give a short message with a story from the Bible, and then feed the kids. We have been so blessed. I don’t really know what to feel sometimes. I have no running water sometimes and not a great variety of food, but yet I have soo much compared to them. I have nothing to complain about. I am blessed to have a roof and a bed. Well I love you all and am so thankful for all your prayers. God bless you all!!!

Its been two weeks!!!!!!!

Aug 29

Hi
So things are going great. We finally got power to our apartment last night. Lindsay and I were so happy to just have power. It made us laugh to see how excited we were to have the lights on. Today I helped with the moving of corn from the mase hut to a big table were we laid it out to dry. I don’t understand why we put it all in the hut in the first place when it needed to go on the table to dry anyway. Its like a job that takes two days to do could have got done in one day. O well lest I am doing something to help and they are very grateful for it. It has rained the last two days strait, and it is not like our rain its like our walk way turns into a river in two minutes. It was great because our water is not running so I just washed my hair in the rain. We did all the work in the rain. (so much for the corn drying outJ) today we also helped the children write letters to their sponsors, some of the letters are so funny to read. After dinner I read the children some stories and then one of the children asked me to tell the story of Cinderella ( they saw that I have the movie and wanted to watch it but I said we are saving it for next Saturday) so I told them the story. Imagine this. I am sitting in a plastic lawn chair with 20 children around with wide eyes and I telling a very detailed story of Cinderella. Pretty funny!!!!





Aug 30
Today we look a walk to one of the villages close by and I meet the chief. The children told me that they are afraid of him because he is not a chirstian man and that he worships idols and not the one true God. I was more afraid of his rotting teeth and the fact that he was standing 2in from my face. J The village has a one room school house that all the village children attend. As we where walking though I felt like I was in a national geographic magazine with mud huts that have straw roofs. The village people were very kind. The children like to go there so they can play football (soccer as we call it) games against the village children. It is very comical to watch. It is very difficult to get the children to obey or follow rules. They have a “fend for yourself” mentality. Pastor Sammy told me that most of the children are from the street and so they do not have good manners, so Lindsay and I are trying are best to work with them. We have a lot of work to do, but am very excited and the children love us so much, and they love to do things for us. Today one of the children asked me if my mother or father ever beat me. It was sad because when I told her no she looked surprised that they have never beat me. A few of the children told me that their parents used to beat them before they came to Haven of Hope. Keep them in your prayers.






Aug 31

This morning Lindsay and I went to the church serves with the children, church is held in the activity center here at HH. We started out with some singing and dancing while some of the boys played on their drums. I loved it!! After singing Pastor Sammy stood up and preached on how God dose not like it when we disobey and hit other people, but while he is preaching if any of the children talk or move to much in their seat he would hit them over the head with a switch. I didn’t know what the think. Then after the closing prayer he called two of the boys (who had been misbehaving before church) up front and used the switch on their butts. In front of all the children!!! Pastor Sammy is very stern with the children, but he loves them very much. We will not be able to attend church with the children because every Sunday we will be going into town to work with the street ministry. I am looking forward to that. We will also be able to find a church of our own since we will already be in town on Sunday.









September 1

Today was the opening of the school. We didn’t do any classes because the class rooms needed to be cleaned. So that’s what we did, well that is what the children did. I tried to help but all the teachers said that this was the children’s job to clean. I thought it very interesting because all the teachers just sat around and talked for hours while the children cleaned. Today I was able to look around and meet the teacher I will be helping. Her name is Mrs. Gladys. She is a very sweet lady and also very quiet. I am very excited to start!! The kindergarten teacher is very out going and was also very helpful with telling us how things are ran. That is the most information we have had the whole time we have been here. Mrs. Salemi the Knd teacher invited us to her church, and to teach us how to cook Ghana food. She said that the other girls who came even spent the night sometime, just to get away. We might take her up on that offer, because it is just so loud and chaotic all the time. It would be nice to get away one night. Some of the children caught a huge beetle and tied it to a string. The beetle was flying around and the children were running and screaming. The best part for them was to chase me with it. The funny thing is they are so afraid of frogs but will pick up rats and chase snakes. So it is really great when I can chase them with a frog. Tomorrow we start school!!! We have about 40 students from HH and about 35 to 40 that come from other villages from around the area. I am soooo excited to start!!!!!





September 2

Well as I wrote yesterday we were supposed to start school today. Well that did not really happen. Considering that none of the teachers have their books and we had not even divided the children into their grades. So today I just sat in the class room and did crowd control. I found out today that I will taking the younger half of the preschool somewhere, I don’t know where yet. I don’t know much of anything. It is difficult because there is no expectations and no schedule to follow. Please pray for patience!! I did have a very eventful afternoon. Abby the financial director showed us how to get to the market in a cho cho. (a bus like van the hold about 15 people or as many as the can squish in) The market was like nothing I could have even imagined. People were selling food, clothing, and even running businesses all out of 5 by 5 little shops. Some even had small wooden carts or a small table. Lindsay and I are very popular and get a lot of attention, because we are white. Or as they call us “obruni”. In the market one of the ladies told Abby that she wanted to be my friend, so when I put my hand out to shake hers, she was so excited and put my hand to her cheek and said something I didn’t understand, but apparently it was funny because everyone around started to laugh. When we hear obruni we know they are talking about us. Some of the children at the market were very excited to see us and kept running and waving, one of the girls got distracted and fell into a huge bowl of water. Everyone was laughing and pointing at us, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. It was a great way to end the day.








September 6

Well here I am sitting on bed thinking I have been here for two weeks!!
The time has just flown by. We didn’t really start school this week; we just did a lot of cleaning and school preparations. For my class room I am using my front porch with a little table and some chairs. At first I was disappointed and overwhelmed at the thought of trying to teach there, let alone keep them on the porch. My faith was not strong. The next morning I was reading in 1 John 5:4-5 “ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” So I figured that if our faith could overcome the world, that though Christ I could have a class of 3 year olds on my front porch. Every Wednesday we have morning chapel along with worship. Mrs Salemi the Krd teacher is a very lively when I comes to worship. She and I danced!!! Some of the children joined us; it was a blast to worship God with my all. After worship Mrs Salemi told the children to worship like the trees move in the wind, and that if they didn’t worship that God would push them out and replace them with a stone. I think some of the children believed her, because after that most everyone was moving. J After school on Friday Lindsay and I decided to go into town by ourselves. We needed to get some things for cooking club. We flagged a cho cho, go in told them our destination and paid 25cents. We arrived at our stop jumped out and made our way to the store. We had to walk a little ways to get there, on our way people are were waving and yelling Obruni, its like we are the only white people around. O wait, we are. J After our adventure we felt so proud of ourselves for doing all on our own. We are teaching clubs every night starting on Monday. We have cooking, art, games, spots and Bible clubs. Next week is when things start really rolling. On Sunday we start working with the street ministry. I am gaining a lot more confidence and getting used to how things are done here. Thank you for all your prayers!!!!! God bless you all!!!!!!!!

My new life

Aug 26
God is so good!!!! I am in Africa!!!!!!
My flights went well except for the part I almost missed my connecting fight from London to Accra. :) My first day went soo great, I am still in shock that I am really here. This morning Daniel our driver took Lindsay and I to the market to buy food. Bye the way Lindsay is the girl I am living with. She is a teacher from AZ and is also 22.
The people here are so hospitable doing everything they can to make us feel welcome.
The town where the market was is very poor. People are walking among the cars and on the side of the road trying to sell things and food. The roads are nothing like we have, they are dirt, mud and holes. There are no lanes so everyone just drives wherever. (its not scary at all) We have no stable electricity it is only on about 2 hours a day. We also don’t have running water all the time. I tried taking a shower today (the first one since I left) and the water had not been pumped so I used one bucket of cold water. (dad that was the fastest and most water conserving shower ever, you should be proud). When we returned from the market I was a little nervous to meet the children, but the minute I saw them I knew this was all worth it. The children are amazing!!!! They have nothing and yet they thanked God for how He has blessed them. The only thing the children wanted to do was hold my hand, play with my hair and play tag with them, so that’s what I did. I pulled out some childrens books that I brought and you would have thought I gave them each 100 dollars, they sat and listened eyes fixed on the pictures and some mouths hanging open. They don’t see new books very often. I found out today that school starts on Monday and I will be helping with the preK class.




Aug 27
Please pray for Lindsay and I, we talked with the pastor and the director here at Haven of Hope and found out we have some very big shoes to fill. Ashley the girl who was here before us did so much and ran extra classes after school. Well if one person could do it then the two of us should be able to, or at lest try. ;) With God all things are possible!! Every morning the children have chores to do before lunch, and this morning it was picking corn or as they call it mase and carry it in large bags or bowls on their heads to the mase hut. I helped with the mase picking and carrying, although I am not very good at balancing the bowl on my head and the children think it is very funny. The children and workers speak a West African language, the children can speak fluent English, the house mothers can speak English but it is very difficult to understand. The children love to hear about our families and lives back in America, as I am telling them I feel very blessed and yet guilty to have so much. Today I ate lunch with the children, we ate a block of mashed mase (corn) and half a fish, with some very spicy sauce. The electricity only turns on at 6 at night and there is not enough to turn the lights on so we can only use one socket to plug our computers into. For as little as there is here I am loving it and would not want to be anywhere else right now. We are going into town tomorrow to look for some books for school and buy some water. We are also able to buy a cellphone, but in order to use it we have to buy minute cards that people sell while walking down street. Hope to write again soon.

Thank you so much for all your prayer and financial support.
Love Elise