Last update from Africa....

Hello friends :)

This week has been a busy one - with a week long vacation bible school at Frafraha Baptist in a "suburb" area of Accra. The week went something like this:

Monday: we went to Beacon House orphanage, where I visited last week on my own, to help with the medical needs at the orphanage. Mama Colleen Scigliano (a former FIM-Ghana Nurse, who used to live with the McIntyre's) checked all the kids at the orphanage (29 in all) and she said all 29 of them are sick in some form or any other. One little boy in particular was very sick from Aids, and a liver and pancreas problem. He had very tiny legs and arms and a swollen belly, and lesion type marks all over. He had a high fever, and there was not much we could do for him. They have taken him to the doctor and hospital on different occasions, but are not sure how to heal him all the way. Monday afternoon was our first day of VBS - we left the house around 230 in the afternoon, got to the church by 3, and there were already children waiting for us. On our first night we had 104 children (which is way more than I expected, because I have never done a VBS before stateside) but the team was prepared for a large number. Our schedule was the same everyday (more or less) with a 2 hour program consisting of: 30 minutes of game time, 15 minutes of singing, 15-25 minutes of story time from the Bible, and then 30 minutes of snack time/coloring time, and then some singing at the end. The kids really enjoyed it and it was awesome to see some of the same kids throughout the week really enjoying everything they had learned. One little girl in particular, Kadija, was so adorable, she was probably 3 or 4 and was so cute, it was hard not to love her. Another little boy, ThyWill was probably 10 or 11, but was so into all of the learning, and the singing, it was so awesome to see his passion for everything we were doing.

Tuesday: Telaquarshie Art Center in the morning. We went and finished up a little bit of shopping for some loved ones at home, and then came home and got some lunch, rested, and began the prep for VBS again - it is a lot of work to make snack bags for 125+ children, make coloring sheets for all 125, sharpen all the colored pencils they will need for the next day, buy the water bags for drinking (they don't sell water bottles in Ghana, they sell filtered water in sache pouches - very eco friendly and super cheap - about .04 pesawas each - about 2 pennies each!) At VBS we played games, taught and again felt the love of the children. I think by Tuesday I really started to feel the sense of homesickness (as I have been away from home since June 30th) and Tuesday night I really began to feel ready to go home! But the Lord was faithful in continuing to bring joy, peace and thankfulness in from all the different people here!

Wednesday: Medina Market. Oh, boy. Tuesday we were up late popping popcorn on the stove, bagging it, cutting stickers, etceteras, and going to a market that is about the size of football stadium (maybe a little bigger), all outdoors with stands - some 2 stories high - selling fish (some cooked, some raw), clams, snails, grasscutter (bush rat), rice, seasonings, veggies, fruits, clothing, etcetera, it was so overwhelming. I was very anxious and uncomfortable there because it was so congested (extremely tight quarters) and you have to constantly watch your bag for pick pocketers. So by the time we got home, ate lunch, and got on the road for VBS, I was zonched. Only by God's provision, and encouragement from the team did I make it through. This is also the day I got a BIG bug bite on my right arm and each hour it got warmer and redder and bigger, so I took some benadryl and went to bed at 9 o'clock, and woke up at 8. and i needed it!


Thursday: Hacho Orphanage in the morning, not too far away, and very nice. It is a foster care facility for boys, and a branch of Handi - Vangelism (linked to Echoing Hills - the handicap long term care facility we visited). It was a beautiful, cool 70 degree day, and the facility was so nice (by Ghanian standards). The boys sleep 3 to a room, and the director and his wife and family also live there. When we left we had a good time trying to climb the coconut tree in the courtyard. Charity (one of the girls on our team) tried to climb it and was unsuccessful, so on of the boys at the facility took of his shoes, rolled up his pantlegs, and climbed the 30' tree in about 2 minutes, threw some coconut's down so we could try them and I didn't think they were too good. Ghanian coconuts are not as sweet as other coconuts in parts of the world, and the milk isn't white - it's clear like water. Which I didn't expect. After we got back from the orphanage we had lunch, practiced our skits, memorized the songs, went over the story and headed to VBS. It gets dark in Ghana at 6pm on the dot, and so after VBS gets over, we pack up and come straight home - eat dinner, go to bed, and wake up early the next morning. It's an equatorial time zone - which means up at 6, down at 6, everyday, year round. It's pretty cool because I am a morning person. (It will be hard to readjust again when I get home!)

Friday: Last day planning for VBS! Praise the Lord we made it through the week. I was pretty exhausted by the time Friday came around, so in the morning we stayed at home, printed out 200 certificates to verify the kids had made it through the week, and got all of our special candy bags together (about 10 pieces of candy in each) and went over the story and practiced our songs. I spoke on Friday (which I had not done in the rest of the week) and spoke on the ABC's of salvation - it is not an acronym I had heard before, but I loved learning about it (as I love learning all new things!) and had fun telling the Truth to the kids. A stands for "admit you are a sinner" B is "Believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross" and C is "confess your sin to the Lord and turn away from it Creating a new life! We had a great time, even though it was a bit chaotic, we got it done!

Saturday: La Palm Resort pool for some R & R...that's all I have to say! It was beautiful and relaxing, and the water was cool, and the air was fresh, and for a whole day at the pool by the beach and for 2 scoops of ice cream, it only cost 10 cedis (about 6.50 bucks!!) What a great day!!

BE HOME ON TUESDAY (to the states) AND WEDNESDAY TO MISSOURI!! Can't wait to see you all!! Miss and love you!!!!

Whitney Sue