Back in the saddle again!

We have recovered from our trip back to the United States and are now teaching again! Jimmy and I are both subbing for the school system I worked at before we moved to Ghana.

It is so wonderful to come back home and see all of our friends and family! God is so faithful to bring encouragement to us when we most need it. He truly is a God of comfort and power...which is an unusual combination. It's great to see Jesus with skin on!

A 30 hour tour!

Six time zones, five airports, four cavity searches, three crying babies, two hour taxi ride, and one blind lady. Just kidding about the cavity searches, but Jimmy did get searched twice for explosives on two different continents.

It all started at around 10:00pm in Accra, Ghana when we left for the airport. Of course the power was off when we left and our lanterns were not charged so we had to make sure everything was picked up by flashlight. We got to the airport and stood in line for three hours to get through customs and have our bags checked. The plane was supposed to leave at 2:00 AM and we left four and a half hours later missing all of our connecting flights.

Good news.....is that when we left at 5:30AM we got to sit in business class and have four seats to ourselves.

Bad news......there was a poor old blind Ghanian lady who didn't know where she was....I don't know how she got on the plane, but she didn't speak English at all.

Good news....when we got to JFK the immigration guy had a great sense of humor and asked if we brought home any dead chickens and said that he had to let us in the country because it was our constitutional right to enter the country in which we are citizens. Then he said welcome home! (That's my favorite part!)

Bad news....we missed both of our connecting flights by three hours.

Good news.....we got all of our bags!

Bad news...we had to take a taxi to New Jersey because we missed our flight.

Good news...the airline paid for the taxi and McDonald's and we got to ride through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Little Italy, China Town, and the Holland Tunnel.

Bad news...it took two hours.

Good news...we only had to pay for our overweight luggage once.

Bad news...we had to sit in the very back of the plane on the way to North Caroline and DFW.

Good news...we made it to DFW.

Bad news...I didn't have a sweater.

Good news...I went to Old Navy and got a sweater.

Better news....I went to Payless and it was BOGO!!!!

Best news....I LOVE AMERICA!

Coming Home!

We are coming home! The Lord has called us back to our homeland to serve Him there! We appreciate everyones prayers and support as we are transitioning from living overseas. We are excited and sad all at the same time to leave. The Lord has taught us and blessed us during our time here in Ghana! We continue to ask for prayer as we are trying to find new places to serve in the US. Soli Deo Gloria!

No Wata!

We were excited for new experiences in Africa and ready for adventure when we came, but this is day 2 of no water...at least no water to take a shower. We have had enough water for two flushes of the toilet and that's about it. It was definitely time for those two flushes, if you know what I mean. I used 2 liters of water to take a bucket bath. A bucket back is truly an art form. I haven't master the art I just splashed here and there and hope it cleaned most of my body. I was disappointed when I got into bed and my feet were still dirty from the walk home. I have decided that 2 liters is really not enough water to take a shower with. I like to soak and there is no soaking in 2 liters of water. Our night guard filled up buckets for us and even carried them up the stairs so we can take bucket baths and flush the toilets. God does provide in any and all situations! Blessed be the name! Thank you Jesus for being our Living Water that never runs dry!

Harmattan is finally over!

Harmattan is basically a cloud of sand that sits over the city for about a month. It is cloudy with sand and you can look straight into the sun without burning your eyes. It is very dusty! you can wipe the dust from a table and five minutes later it will be just the same.It swept away by winds that come with the rain. When the rains are over it becomes dry and HOT!

Here is what Wikipedia says about Harmattan:

The Harmattan is a dry and dusty wind blowing south off the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea between November and March (winter). It is considered a Natural Hazard.
On its passage over the desert it picks up fine dust particles (between 0.5 and 10 micrometres). When the Harmattan blows hard, it can push dust and sand all the way to South America. In some countries in West Africa, the heavy amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days, comparable to a heavy fog. The effect caused by the dust and sand stirred by these winds is known as the Harmattan Haze, and costs airlines millions in cancelled and diverted flights each year. In Niger, people say that men and animals become increasingly irritable when this wind has been blowing for a while, giving it a bad reputation. However, the cool wind brings relief from the oppressive heat, which is why the Harmattan has earned the nickname "The Doctor".

Integrity ~ What does it mean to have integrity?

Integrity is being the same in our heart, in our minds, and in our actions.

Integrity is "the quality or coniditon of being whole or undivided; completeness. Integrity comes from the word 'integer', which means, 'whole or complete.' It is the opposite of hypocrisy." ~McArthur The Power of Integrity: Building a Life Without Compromise

Integrity in it's simplest terms is keeping promises. The person of integrity is one who when he/she says something, can be trusted. When he/she gives their word, you can count on it." ~McCartney What Makes a Man: Promises That Will Change Your Life

Integrity is both inward and outward. Inward - Integrity beings from with and is based on holiness and sincerity. Outward - Integrity includes our behavior which is to be blameless.

"The Christian life is to be an uninterrupted continuity between all beliefs and practices and relationships. It is to be an integrated life as opposed to a segregrated life." ~ Leith Anderson, Winning the Values War in a Changing Culture

The African Trek

Wednesday around 4:30pm we left our house. William took us in the school van to Shangri La Hotel so we could shop at the market and eat dinner at the Chinese restaurant there. We went shopping which means that I found a cute pair of earrings and a necklace to go with my awesome new shirt. We made a new friend named Amanda who actually sold me the necklace and made earrings to go with it.

After walking back and forth on the main road for a few minutes we decided to go to the Chinese restaurant that opened early for dinner instead of waiting until 7:00pm. The dinner was delicious I had sweet and sour pork and Jimmy had cashew chicken. We also had egg rolls which are called spring rolls here for a reason I don't know.

We had an opportunity to take a taxi from the hotel, but thought it would be too expensive so we declined. After that we walked down to the corner. There we found plenty of full taxis, but not an empty one. The traffic was awful. So we decided to walk. One of the places we walked through is in the picture. Only remember it's 7:00pm so it is very dark except for the headlights that are coming and going. We walked on the side of the road for about an hour until we reached home. We figured we were walking about 3 miles an hour...so basically we walked 3 miles home over rough terrain and out of control drivers. We only had two near death experiences. Traffic here is not exactly the drive in your own lane type of traffic.

We were so relieved when we got home! We were hot and sweaty and of course dusty and desieled from the cars passing us on the road.

This is a reason why Africa is interesting.