Let the children come!

So today was "Our Day" at the school. "Our Day" is the last day of school before kids go for break. It is a big celebration, full of food and plenty of dancing and playing! The kids get to bring food from home and wear jeans and an OLHCS polo shirt. :) This is the first year with the shirt, for in past years the kids wore their own house clothes. I am told this was half of the fun, since many kids wore ridiculously funny outfits (I vaguely recall someone mentioning a girl who came with a wig, can you imagine?!). Maybe it wasn't quite as funny as in past years, but the children sure looked cute/nice with their shirts today! Anyways, after all of the kids had arrived, we sat oustide (the tables and chairs had been put there under 3 big tents) and everyone ate their lunches. Afterwards, we danced while the music was still playing and then the kids just played until it was time to go home. :D

The day was long and hot, but Lizziey and I managed to clean most all of the garbage randomly thrown about, and we even put the heavy tables back in the dinning hall. Though the day came with its share of frustrations, I can't help thinking back to when the kids were dancing with me. At one point I must've had like ten kids crowded around me, each trying to dance just with me. So I decided to have them hold hands and make a circle; we would dance by walking to the middle and then walking away from the center. This worked for all of two minutes before they were fighting to get to hold my hand! After a while though, most left and I had a smaller more manageable group with me. Eventually I had only 4 kids who basically followed me around for the rest of the day ( at least until I managed to hide out in the library at the end of the day)! Oh yeah, and one of the kids was a girl who had made it her mission, since she saw me in the morning, to never leave my side for the whole day! I think she did really good, considering that the only time she was not with me was when they were all eating and when I manage to hide from her. :) Now don't get me wrong, I love her, she's a pretty good kid, but I did not want someone following me around for the whole day...



Those kid mob-attacks have become very frequent lately, a lot of the kids just randomly come up to me and hug and hold on to me for long periods of time.  I don't mind the hugs, honest,  but it is problematic when 10 kids are all trying to hug you at the same time, and you can barely stand from the pushing and pulling of it. Also, telling them to "stop" and to "let go" doesn't seem to work. I don't know what to do about it yet... Of course part of me loves that they do that (it's cute and sweet), but I can't do much of anything when it happens, so we shall see how I find a balance...

Often times when this happens I tend to think about Luke 18:16-17.
"But Jesus called to the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
I know what it feels like to have kids practically mob you, so I think I understand where the disciples were coming from a little better now. Having grown up with this teaching, as a child I could not understand why anyone would not want children to come near Jesus. It seemed obvious to me that the disciples were a little dumb because children couldn't hurt Jesus, and in the end it was one of them who betrayed and hurt Jesus. Now, I don't know if there was a cultural norm about children and where they could/couldn't go (and if this is why the disciples protested their presence), but I do know how annoying they can sometimes be, even when their intentions are good. However, I don't think that's what Jesus meant when he talked about the kingdom of God belonging to children...
In my time here I am quickly learning how special children really are! Did you know that a child will most always believe ANYTHING you tell them? They don't really question it or try to figure out how it works, they just believe you because they trust you. Also, children who believe they can do something very well will do it "on their own" but forget to pay attention to the directions of what they should be doing. Those who don't feel like they can do the work will ask you to do it for them, or for you to help them (and consequently will pay better attention to the directions). Children are also very loving, they always want to be with you, and even when it's only been one hour, they will miss you when you are not near. Children learn by example (monkey see, monkey do); if you pick up the trash, they will eventually pick it up with you, even without you asking them to. Finally, children are very sweet (eye de paj*), they are so sweet that one cannot help but love them even when they are doing things we don't necessarily like or enjoy. I think this is because they unabashedly show and share their love, so one can't help but love them back even when they are doing things you don't like. Granted not everything a child does is "good", but there are some valuable lessons that we can learn from them. Most of them reflect how we should interact with God : Do we trust and believe Him like a child would?; Do we long to be near Him at all times?; Do we recognize we cannot do anything without His help?; Do we follow Jesus' example and model it for others? Are we as sweet and loving  as a child, sweet and loving as Jesus?
I hope that as my time here passes I may better learn to be more like a child.
God bless
Jamie

*With spanish pronunciation, "eye de paj" means very sweet... The english would be something like "eh-jay day pah"

Thoughts...

As a deep thinker, I like to think... a lot.
There are few things that send me into a verbal frenzy, and even fewer things lead me into a writing fury.
So what is a deep thinker to do? They must find a creative outlet, one that doesn't involve talking or writing much. My solution is drawing.

 Below, some of my thoughts:

Now, tell me, what do YOU think?

~Jamie

December 6, 2011

My exuberant Basic 4 class crowded around me this morning, all 40 of them asking at once:

 “Are all humans equal?”

“Of course they are,” I say. 

“How, Madam?! It is not true.” My most indignant little one answers. I love her spirit. 

“Like this,” I tell her placing her hand in mine.  “You see your fingers and the dips between? Your fingers are your strengths and the dips your weak areas. I have strengths and weak areas, too, see,” I say, showing her our clasped hands. “You and I, and everyone else,” I turn to the group, “we were all created by God. He made us differently. But, yes, friends, we are all equal.”

“I am equal even with C?!” my same girl, still full of spunk and life, retorts.

“Exactly. And equal with me, too.”

Farmer's Day: December 2nd

                 I’ll start this post by saying that I am thankful that I was educated in Plymouth, Indiana. To all my teachers, coaches, aides and administrators, thank you for not only giving me the tools to learn whatever I want, but for giving me experiences that I will take with me wherever I go. 

            I really don’t mean to gush. Few days go by where I don’t turn to Jamie after something good happens and say, “oh, well, that’s how we did it in P-town.”   Yesterday we finally executed an idea that sprouted from Plymouth’s Saturday Enrichment program.

The Idea
         Jamie and I don't have backgrounds in teaching.  We have backgrounds in psychology/anthropology and economics/philosophy respectively. So were were a little dismayed that our students could tell us about Halloween, Thanksgiving and Columbus Day; yet they knew nothing about the origins of some of their own nation's holidays. Saturday Enrichment is not really a concept that has hit Ghana, or at least Kasoa, yet.  But when we asked if we could have a Saturday Enrichment program on Farmers' Day, our Headmistress, Sister Esther, was receptive of the idea. Jamie and I started researching (since we knew nothing about Farmer's Day ourselves).  We planned art projects and activities, eventually sending home letters with our students in Basic 3 and 4 explaining that we wanted to have an educational morning where together we'd all learn about Ghana's Farmers' Day through experiential projects.  We were hoping to get at least 20 students to come.

            Two mornings after we sent home the letters, the program was filled.    We were turning kids away in tears. (One student cried so much, Sister Esther let her attend, so we actually had 41 students).

Welcome to Farmers' Day!: Introduction

            Yesterday, with the excitement of a young child before Christmas morning, Jamie and I jumped out of bed out of bed at 6am. Good thing, too!  Our first student arrived for our 9 am program at 6:20 in the morning! He was sent home to eat breakfast and come back.  But when Jamie and I arrived at school a little before 8, students were already there.  Armed and ready to teach these kids everything we had learned about Farmer’s Day, we began with our lessons!

                  To warm up we had our students make “maize” name tags.  They got to use markers and crayons however they wanted to design their name tags - something our students don’t get to do often.  Jamie is my official organizer; she checked everyone in and took care of problems like the girl who showed up, but hadn’t signed up.  She also wrote names on the plastic cups and managed what could have been a chaotic morning.  We talked a little about what crops grow in Ghana before transitioning outside.

In The Beginning...
               Each student received a black piece of construction paper and some sidewalk chalk.  I read the Creation story from Genesis and everyone drew their own picture of what they heard.  We went back in the classroom and matted our pictures (with glue!) on a larger sheet of construction paper.  The emphasis for this project was that God creates the Earth and commands us to take care of it.

Farming and Trees: Keeping the Balance

            After a break, Jamie used her former environmental club experience to explain that we need balance. While farming is good, because we need food, it also leads to major deforestation and a lack of trees. She talked about Ghana and subsistence farming, and how subsistence farming accounts for the majority of deforestation in Africa. She talked about how we need to be cautious with how much of things we use, and to not waste things especially paper.  To illustrate her points she made the classic, “newspaper tree,” where one rolls up 5 or 6 sheets of newspaper, cuts some slits, and then pulls up the middle to make a giant tree.  Through the project our students learned a) less can really be more as it is hard to cut through layers of newspaper with safety scissors and b) while we need paper and pencils and things made from trees, we shouldn’t waste our resources.

Planting Seeds: Practicing Sustainable Agriculture

            Of course, what good would a Farmer’s Day enrichment program be without actually planting crops? Every student was able to plant their own pepper, tomato, or garden egg (eggplant) seed in a cup.  We talked about how to care for plants and a little bit about crop rotation. Mostly, however, we talked about ways we can not just celebrate farmers, but be better farmers and consumers ourselves.  After I told the story of  Wangari Maathai’s Green Belt Movement (www.greenbeltmovement.org) , we came up with ways we could actively take care of our world: we can plant trees, we can throw our biscuit wrappers and water sachets away in the bin instead of on the side of the road, and we can chose to not eat our pencils in class. 

Education Is Key to Being the Change You Want To See In The World

            And so that was Farmer’s Day. If it seems a little bit like Earth Day, you are correct. Ghana’s government gives a lot of machinery and monetary gifts to the “top” farmers in the country.  But the focus of this year’s celebration is agricultural sustainability, and so Jamie  followed the plan we laid out.  Some of you may ask, “Isn’t it a little hypocritical for an American to teach kids in a developing nation to use less resources?” To this I will admit that there was some guilt present as I realized how much I waste on a daily basis simply because our life is easy.  But the consequences of the Western World’s development are impacting, and will continue to impact, Africa the hardest.   While I have a responsibility when I go home to make sure I am taking care of our planet, my students here also need to be prepared.  The way we live now is not sustainable and the change must begin somewhere.  I would love to go to school tomorrow and witness my students throwing away all of their wrappers.  I would love to see my students take care of their pencils instead of eating them, losing them, breaking them or throwing them at things.   But if I do not see any of those thing for the rest of the term, I have the confidence that a seed has been planted.  I’ll keep watering, but not unlike the rest of education, the light and the ultimate outcome are in Another’s hands. 

           

Our Week in Pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us in Ghana!

What?! Jollof Rice with Turkey? HECK YES!

Helene was wonderful enough to take some pictures of our classes. 

We are very proud of our Thomas the Tank Engine train.

Lizziey's idea, Jamie's execution

Read to Grow, Grow to Read

The library: always a work in progress.

Of writer's block and jumbled thoughts...

So I had planned on writing a blog post soon after Lizziey's last post... but that didn't happen... obviously. 

The problem: I honestly don't know what to write about. 

The approach: Writing about being unable to write. This comes teacher advice for writing reflections and journal entries. Whenever students complained about not knowing what to write about, teachers would usually say to write about the assignment itself. Of course, this usually turned into long rants complaining about the absurdity of the assignment, but Hey! It was technically a reflection/journal entry after all. Wow, I just had a flash-back memory of TAPATEA(O)s* for Spanish in middle school!

The solution: To start writing, even though I don't have a specific topic on mind...

The result:

 I still don't know what to write about! I have plenty of budding ideas, but most of them are too time consuming to actually carry out...

A long while back I wanted to write about the facial scars some of the kids have at school. I had known that these deep and noticeable markings had been made intentionally, and were not the result of some strange type of abuse. I carefully asked one of the B4 kids about it, and he managed a short mumbled explanation.

      "Other people have it too..."  "It's okay." I said after noticing his reluctance. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to, I won't force you, I was just curious." Then I resumed my work of organizing books, so as to make clear that he needed not continue his story. "It is not good Madame"...  (I waited patiently for him to continue) "It means my mom had a baby that died." He explained a little more, but the gist of it was that when a baby died, he and and his sibling got the marks. 

Recently I remembered to do some research about it and found that the facial scars in Ghana held many meanings for different people. Some were basically "tribal marks", others were used for beauty, and others for medicinal/spiritual purposes. I found a better explanation about the one's pertaining to an infant's death. According to the information I found** the belief is that after the death of an infant, that same spirit goes into the next child born. They are considered children who "come and go", and the marks are meant to keep the child from dying (so as to keep him/her in the realm of the living)... 

I don't know how accurate this finding is for the case of the student here, but I presume it to be pretty close....

I still don't know what to write about...

Women often wear long colorful tailored dresses to special occasions (such as church). Street vendors often carry things on the top of their head. Babies are carried piggy-back style, using a large sheet for support. Drivers treat traffic signals as mere suggestions, even seat belts are optional for passengers (but not for drivers). Plastic bags and random trash lay by the waste-filled ditches by the side of the roads. Traffic is a nightmare (literally you can stay in the same exact spot for 20 min. before advancing!). Herds of goats and sheep lurk in every corner. Sunsets and star filled skies are breathtakingly beautiful. Music and signing can be heard at all hours of the day (and night). Ants and lizards are everywhere, it is impossible to avoid them. The pineapple is very sweet!...

That's the end of my fragmented and rambled thoughts.

~Jamie

*TAPATEA(O) were basically complex and thorough book reports for spanish, each letter stands for a different section of the report: T(title), A(author), P(characters), A(argument), T(theme), E(style), A(environment and atmosphere), and O (personal opinion). 

** An Ancient Practice-Scarification and Tribal Marking in Ghana by Alyssa Irving. 

Thursdays

Thursdays are Jamie's favorite day of the week.

I am not Jamie, and Thursdays are not my favorite. Usually the only things I love about Thursdays are the fact that the house serves Jollof rice with PLENTY PEHPEH and that Friday is the next day.

Today we had fried rice, but I guess that is okay because today was the best Thursday I have had yet.

Yesterday I sat in the library feeling like a total failure. I leaned up against the wall and did what any teacher would do when they felt totally unprepared, inadequate, and unmotivated. I pouted.

Then I wrote a poem.

I've since lost said poem or I would write it here. Like most of my poems, it turned into a prayer. God and I have had several chats in the library. We chatted during my first weeks of teaching when I asked "Why am I here?" and He told me I was here to learn how to live. And then we chatted again when I walked in and there was water everywhere from the previous night's storm and I yelled at him for destroying books, but then He hold me that I was really upset that the water had altered my plans for the day.   But yesterday when I asked him again why I felt totally inadequate and why in the world would He put me here when I cannot possibly do a good enough job He replied, "Because you need to learn to need me. You kind of depend on yourself a lot, and you just aren't that cool."

Okay.

Instead of grading the ever increasing mountain of paragraphs, poems and paintings my students have created for me, I sat with our plan book and completely rewrote my lesson plans. I was determined and set and ready to go for my crazy Thursday of teaching ICT.  But then the power went off today and that plan, of course, was thrown out the window so instead we wrote a poem about fish.

The moral of this story? When in doubt, write a poem.


It's Thursday and Jamie is asking me about yarrow which reminded me of my first pet rabbits: Yarrow and Dandelion.  It made me nostalgic for the days when I would pluck their wool so my neighbor friend could spin it.  Jamie is sitting on her cute twin bed, identical to mine but still has its sheet on it, shopping for fun stuff and singing the camp version of the song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

The students march to the actual song on their way to class somedays. But I don't know the actual words, so I just sing this instead:

"Oh I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when its hot
And I wear my flannel nighty in the winter when its not
And sometimes in the springtime and sometimes in the fall
I jump between the sheets with nothin' on at all.

Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
Glory, Glory what's it to ya?!
Balmy Breezes blowin' through ya,
with nothing on at all! "



I like this poem the best.

Contentment

Today I contemplated....

      getting a PhD in theology

                                          teaching piano lessons out of my home
 

               buying a goat instead of a puppy when I return to the states

 
     painting my nails 3 different colors

                                          that I may be a heathen for living      where I am, but  not attending church



But instead I decided that I am going to start observing the sabbath. 


            

Long Overdue and Waiting!

Well we are getting close to the 3 week mark and still no blog! AAAAHH!!!! :O

We just finished our mid-term break and today classes began once more. Technically we have been on break since last Friday. We didn’t have classes on Wednesday because of some major flooding; on Thursday only two thirds of the students for every class could make it to school. So I guess I have had some time to write, but somehow I haven’t gotten around to it… Also, even though there wasn’t school we still had A LOT of work to do. Namely grading, which in it of itself isn’t very bad, but still quite time consuming (as I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts). So thank you for being so patient with us!

Th break has been really good! Somehow Lizziey and I managed to make it to Accra on Sunday morning. We stayed at her cousin’s house, which was fully equipped with internet, air conditioning and a 11 to 12 ft. deep swimming pool. Let me just say that the pool is a VERY big deal for me. I love to swim, and I especially love the feeling of being underwater! This pool is perfect for both. It is long enough for me to just barely make it from one side to the other in just one breath, and it is deep enough to require depressurizing your ears. Yeap, I was in pool heaven! I swam until my fingers got all prunny and wrinkled, and then I lounged by the pool to dry off. While I was drying, and let’s face it partially tanning, I listened to some Latin pop favorites. That’s when IT happened… for the briefest moment, I felt like I was back home (in Puerto Rico)! Even with my eyes opened, everything around me was familiar looking. Then a salsa song started to play, and I was overcome with the urge to dance. I dance a few steps and pretty soon I’ve managed to get Lizziey to join in. We danced until the end of the song and then made our way back inside the apartment.By this time it was around 1:30 (9:30 a.m. back home) and I managed to video Skype with my mom. I was also able to watch the live stream of church service, which was super nice. I really miss my church family and can’t wait to be back home with them!

On Monday we took an array of taxis and tro-tro’s to get back to Kasoa. A tro-tro, by the way, works something like a bus. In reality, it’s a van that crams in 20-25 people, not unlike the public “guaguas” in Puerto Rico. You pay considerably less than a taxi (1 GH cedis vs 20 GH cedis), and can hop on or off at different unmarked places. I think we will try to find out if there is a tro-tro that goes from “Circle” (it’s a huge round-about in Accra, with shops and other stuff near it) to the Accra Mall, since its 6 cedis for a taxi to the mall and another 6 cedis to Lizziey’s cousin’s house. Yes, there is a mall… sort of. It reminds me of the Montehiedras Mall back home, although it is much smaller. Everything is super expensive… at least for us it is. I guess in actuality it is not much different from back home, but we don’t have a lot of money to spend on frivolous whims. Most of our money is spent on transportation and phone credits. Were trying to see if we could take a tro-tro from circle to the Accra mall, which would save us lots of money. We figure that the Accra mall is probably central enough to have a tro-tro stop. Then again, we could be completely wrong about that assumption…

Anyways, we made it back to Kasoa in good time, managing to avoid the 4-hour long evening traffic. We were happy to be back home. J On Tuesday the candidates and sisters went to a nearby beach. Lizziey and I decided it would be better for us to stay home and rest. I feel a little bad because I’m not very big on the whole going out thing, I like to just stay home. Should I be making a more conscious effort to go out and explore?... However, we used the time to be productive. We hand-washed our laundry, graded mid-term exams, cleaned our room, and worked on lesson plans, all things that we needed to get done before Wednesday.

Classes were back in session on Wednesday, and we pretty much had a regular rest of the week. The kids were a little harder to work with than usual because they had just been on break. Each day brought it’s own challenges and rewards. Often, the same kids that exasperate me inside the classroom are the ones who make me smile the most outside it. Every morning I am greeted by an array of “Madam Jamie!” shouts, waves and hugs. As soon as I walk into a classroom, whether I am teaching or not, kids get up and greet me with “Good morning/afternoon Madame Jamie!”. There is also the period right after snack, when I am usually in the B3 classroom waiting for them to arrive. The B1 and B2 kids pass by, on their way to their own classrooms, and as soon as they spot me they excitedly wave and call me “Madam Jamie, Madam Jamie, good morning!”. I look up from my notes to smile and wave, then I urge them to keep walking to their classrooms. I love my crazy kids. They are squirmy, loud, impatient and full of boundless energy. It would be so much easier and fun to just play with them all day, to skip the learning and the discipline. I love them too much to do that though, because I know that they need to learn what I am trying to teach them. So I use everything I have in trying to get them to learn, even when I know they won’t like it, even when I think they might like me less for it.

Maybe that is how God feels about us. He takes us through the hard path, so that we may learn, because He loves us so much. He is asking us to be still, pay attention and wait for His help. When I go around the classroom helping kids on things, they all want me to help them at the same time. I am just one, so I often say they need to be patient, that I am coming around to help everyone but I need them to be still. Granted, God does not need us to wait because He is too busy somewhere else, but He does want us to learn to listen so we can follow instructions and pay attention to Him. He wants us to learn to be patient, to trust that He will come around to explain at the right time. Sometimes we go through rough situations because of our own foolishness; we did not follow instructions or pay attention. Other times it is because it is the only way that He can teach us what we need to learn. The only way He can shape us into who He has planned for us to become.

I know I am here for a reason. I have always known He sent me here with a purpose. I do not know the full purpose, but I can trust that He will reveal it to me in due time. In the meantime I will continue to learn and to teach. Just knowing that I am here for that (leaning and teaching) is more than enough for me. I have already learned so much more than I could’ve imagined, and I know that there is still a lot more to come.

God bless,

~Jamie

A Rocky Road: Lizziey's Long Trip Down Memory Lane

         Most are aware that the tree is my life symbol, serving as a constant reminder that I am to stay "rooted and established" in God's love because of the love He has for me.  I milked my tree symbolism for all that it was worth one summer when I found myself serving as a camp counselor.  

      After two years working in high adventure I found myself uprooted from my comfortable job and placed as a one-on-one counselor for a high school student named B.

      

       You couldn't tell B was in need of a special need counselor when I walked into the scene. She was sitting in the middle of the dining room floor playing cards with fellow campers. Within the first 5 minutes she got up, gave me a hug, and everyone began clearing the tables and cleaning up after dinner. We spent our days serving the other campers; working in the dining hall, picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms.  We sang Taylor Swift songs while the other campers played their guitars.  But in between those times, B suffered greatly. The girl struggled with hearing voices: voices telling her that she didn't deserve to live, voices telling her to hurt herself.
           So I did my best to distract B that summer. We found a Bible verse from Galatians 5:13: " You, my brothers, were called to be free. But, do not use your freedom to indulge in the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love."  We used that verse to find ways to serve others whenever she felt the urge to harm herself. We wrote notes to the staff, we picked up trash, we did whatever we could.

    One particular rough day, B and I took a walk down to a nearby creek with a couple other campers. The creek was icy cold, but we splashed and played in anyway.  This creek was especially beautiful, because it was surrounded by geodes.  I asked all of the girls to pick up a geode. Later that night, we debriefed our creek experience.  

The geode, at first look, is strange looking. 

                             It is wrinkled, orange, ugly. 

                                       Not smooth like the other river rocks.

Yet, when we crack the geodes, their insides are exposed. 

                              And what is there? 

                           Crystals, beautiful, sparkling, gorgeous.

    And together we broke open our ugly rocks. We sat there and realized that when we allow God to use us, it hurts.  We are shattered. When we allow God to break us, it hurts. We are shattered. But only when we allow God to use us as he wants can we see the beauty that is within.

When B left camp, she handed me a large geode she had found. 

B and I bonded even after camp.  We talked on the phone at least once a week.  One chilly November day, I sat in my car outside of Starbucks drinking a warm latte. The rain pounded on my roof as I stared out at US 933 and made plans to meet up with B in Chicago as she walked to her grandparents' house.  We said goodbye when she told me she had arrived safely. 

----------------------------------------------

There is something about taking the South Shore into Chicago that invigorates my soul. It always leaves me in a contemplative mode. Somewhere around Roosevelt, I picked up my cell phone to call B.

She didn’t answer.

            I went to my friend’s dorm early, anticipating B’s return call.

It never came.

Nor did she answer when I called the next day.

I didn't hear from her for a month. I would call off and on but never a response.

Finally, during the first chill blast of December one of my other campers sent me an email saying how sorry she was. "Sorry for what?"

My camper told me to go check B's Facebook.

I read pages of tributes to her life. But B’s own presence was distinctly absent. I finally found a post that said: "B took her own life on November 17th at her grandparents house."

I picked up B's geode: the first time I'd held it since move-in day.

It cracked into two distinct halves without my prompting.

Like a fault line erupts from the unseen depths of the earth, so stood my geode. Fault lines produce such simple, clean breaks, but manage to wreck havoc on our man-made and God-given world in such a way that it alters the way we view our lives from this day forward.

Closely, I examine my geode. I feel the two heavy pieces in my hands as the crumbs tumble to my dorm room floor. My roommates watch (listen) in bafflement. I barely take notice.

For the new crack has revealed the crystals produced from within, from the very depths of the being that created the fault line to begin with. My geode knew that it was time to shine.

 ----------------------------------------

So you see, if a tree is my constant reminder to be rooted and established in God's love, then a geode is my reminder that God uses us even when it hurts. God thinks we are worthy and beautiful, even when we view ourselves as ugly.  The geode is my reminder that "God's grace is sufficient for me."  
It really shouldn't surprise me then, that the paths in Ghana are covered in geodes. I step on so many geodes every day that my footprints make a "crunch" "crunch" noise as I walk to and from.  
Serving in Ghana is rough.  Actually, it's just different. I struggle with things I did not expect, and things I expected to be difficult are strangely easy. 
My greatest difficulty is with myself. I never feel worthy, feel capable, feel like I am doing the best I can.  But then a geode gets caught in my Chaco, and I realize that God has placed me in a land with the constant reminder, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power made perfect in weakness." 
So I'm still here, letting the roughness of my exterior show, and slowly trusting God to break me so that the love and grace he has poured into me can shine through.

And all that being said, November 17th is quickly approaching. And so, I dedicate this blog post to my friend, B, who I knew for such a short time, but whose life continues to impact me on a daily basis.  My prayer is that I may trust God to use me despite my flaws, just as you always trusted Him.

 

One Day at a Time

First I would like to thank all of you who commented on my last post. It means a lot to me (I will explain just how much below)! J Don’t forget to give Lizziey some love as well please…

I am aware of the fact that I begged everyone who reads this blog to post a comment. Are you asking yourself why? Why would a silly comment be so important? Well I will tell you, but not quite just yet….

Last week was pretty rough for me. I dealt with a variety of problems and situations from different areas; from classrooms to the entire school, and even to our home, the core of the issues revolved around two things (or rather the lack thereof): organization and communication. No matter how well I started my day, I seemed to always end up feeling frustrated and stressed out by the end of the day. 

As proof here are my Facebook statuses for that week:

• Oct. 10th: Every morning I wake up and DECIDE that it will be a good day. I ERASE all the problems of yesterday and START ANEW. I continually PRAY for patience, understanding, compassion and wisdom during my day. "WWJD? I say!" But at the END of the day, I am left feeling pretty much the same way as YESTERDAY. So I will WAIT for tomorrow to start again; knowing that I at least can make it through the end of ONE DAY.

• Oct. 11th : ‎"The tiniest fragment of obedience, and the profound Truths of God are yours straight away" Oswald Chambers. Then later on: Had a pretty good day! Thank you God! :D

• Oct.12th: ...

• Oct. 13th: IDK what to do anymore!

 One day I even dared to think about what it would be like to just go back home, something I couldn’t fathom up to that point. I am still here, so I obviously made it through that day! I had placed each situation in the hands of God. Continuous reading of the Bible and devotionals, reminded me that this was all part of the process and that God had an ultimate plan and purpose for it all. I know that God is molding and shaping His character in me, but did I mention how much it hurts? Let me tell you, it’s not easy! I don’t think any amount of warning can truly prepare you for it, but knowing what is “really” going on helps… if only a little at least.

Anyways, after making it through all the frustrations of that week, I made it to the weekend. We went to Cape Coast and celebrated the “year of the Holy Cross Brothers” (still not sure what it means…) on Saturday, and on Sunday the lights were out most of the day so I just “chillaxed”. Today, Monday, I had a pretty good day. We celebrated my birthday with the sisters at lunch, and I even got some cake and ice cream!

Lizziey made my birthday month, pre-week and day pretty special! She got me some really cool oil pastels, which I’ve already started using. :P As I’ve mentioned a gazillion times before, I can not (yes! it can be two separate words) imagine being here without her. Lizziey has a way of pushing me to be better every day, in more than just one way. She comes up with all the good ideas and plans, and I am just happy to follow her lead. Usually I am the person who widens other people’s horizons, but she is the one who constantly widens mine. Her support helps to keep me motivated and focused on the task in front of me. Your support, reader, also helps me immensely. It reminds me that someone from far way is still reading these words and waiting to hear more...

Nyame Irshiwau,

~Jamie

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

Today we celebrated the birth of the lovely Jamie Anne Thordsen.

While I don't want to overlook one of my best friend's most special days, this day of celebration leads me to blog about another "Jamie" as well.

Jamilatu is my little friend at the convent. She is the cook's daughter and will turn 6 on November 2nd. Today Jamila wanted to hang out with us to celebrate while her mom went into town. 


Oh the fun we had!

We started out on a walk to the school. My little friend dressed in a pink dress skips merilly along holding my hand while telling me (for the hundreth time) that she wants to be my flower girl.  Jamila doesn't really even associate flower girl with wedding, it's just her dream of wearing a princess dress.  As we walked along the crunchy clay path this evening she told me:

"Oh, Madam Lizziey, it would be nice to walk on rose petals!" 

We walk for a while, discussing serious 6-year-old topics like ice cream, water bottles, and what it would be like to be a sheep. As we wander back to the house, Jamila asks if we can do pilates.

She really is a girl after my own heart.

In the middle of the stretching and twisting of our bodies, I am aware of my feet. They are dust covered, calloused, dirty. The only thing that covers them is an inch-piece of webbing from my Chacos. There are little shells sticking to them from the rooftop terrace.

I think about walking on rose petals, and I come up with only this thought: I'd rather be barefoot, exposed, completely feeling what is under my feet than have pedicured toes stuffed inside a shoe.

Madam Jamie joined us after the sun set and together the three of us colored and created a book entitled, "Fox." The book is actually my KG 2 project for Friday, but Jamila didn't realize she was my guinea pig and I didn't tell her. :) 

After a nice dinner and some more reading of books and tired giggles, Jamila left Jamie and I to our routine of getting ready for the next day of school and getting ready for bed. 

Twenty-two years ago a beautiful person was brought into this world. Today, just as important, that young woman  is building foundations despite the challenges of living and working thousands of miles from the comforts of home. Like most foundations, it's not always noticeable until there's a crack.  When you are dealing with Jamie Anne, there will be no cracks.  The point is, her birthday was shared with our young friend.  It's the every day conversations over coloring, reading, and the patience that comes with working with kids that makes my friend amazing.  It's that investment that makes life not just worth living, but worth celebrating.

Her life is a journey, a twisting path of perseverance, change and strength. I pray she walks her path -from rose petals to rocky geodes- never forgetting every trail is Holy Ground and chooses not only the road less traveled, but does it barefoot: willing to feel all of the nuances life brings her way.  

Giving up Control

Yet another week has flown by… Okay, okay, two weeks to be exact! In my defense, it is incredibly hard to write a blog post during the week. *Sigh* I now have a deeper appreciation of what it takes to grade homework and class work assignments. I was never one of those kids who needed to have their work back and graded right away, but now I understand why sometimes teachers do take forever to grade assignments. For a class of 40, it takes about 1 ½ hours to grade the simplest of assignments. Yeah I am sticking to that excuse, I can’t blog because I have too much grading to do! However, I will work on my blogging so that all subsequent blogs will hopefully be written on weekends. Yayy! :D In the meantime, be patient with me please… 0:-)

A quick update:

Lizziey and I made it into Accra the Thursday before last. We thought we were doing passport/visa things, but instead we ended up having a walk-about “tour” of Accra while on the hunt for a cell phone and some money. Seeing as it was a school day, and we still had class on Friday, we decided to head back as soon as we were done eating. At 4pm we managed to get a cab that would dare take us back to Kasoa for 20 cedis (about $15)! Although it is technically a 90min. drive to Kasoa, the traffic is so bad that it took us 4 hours to get back. Needless to say it was a very long and exhausting day!

On Sunday Lizziey and I accompanied Mimi (B3 homeroom teacher) to her church “Assemblies of God”. I loved the English part of the worship, and enjoyed the rest of the Fante one, but the preaching was difficult to follow for 2 reasons: 1) The pastor insisted on screaming his sermon in his heavily accented English, 2) A translator repeated everything the pastor said in Fante, also very loudly. The combination of all this and the heat was perfect to create a headache. But we will continue to search for more churches.

Last week was pretty “normal”, each day with its own ups and downs.

On Friday we had or first spelling bee. The top 5 students of each class, picked during the week, competed for 1^st  place overall. Amazingly the B1 students beat all the older kids!  Saturday, Lizziey and I cleaned our room and did our laundry… or tried to since we were out of clothes pins and  it had started to rain… Sunday we were supposed to go to Takoradi with the sisters but decided to stay and have a spa day. We did pedicures with our buckets, tanned on the roof, and even managed to make our own pizza (thanks to the pizza kit Lizziey’s mom had sent). All in all, a pretty perfect weekend! J

Back to the present…

As Lizziey mentioned in her blog, every single day here is different. Each day presents its own new challenges and rewards, as well as new learning experiences. So far I’ve learned: how to make the perfect spaghetti sauce out of tomato paste, the 101 uses for cardboard, how to procrastinate while still actually getting things done and how to properly treat a spider bite. Ok, I am still working on that last one but with Lizziey’s help and her well-stocked “pink bag” (a.k.a. emergency kit), I think I will make it.

 Anyways, the constant ups and downs of my days let me focus on the most important thing in my life: God. I am learning to rely on God fully, even for the day-to-day things. It's easy to turn to God when we realize we can no longer do things on our own. However, it is because we believe that we can do certain things without His help that we get into trouble in the first place. Depending on God for the little things is harder than for the big things. So I will continue to lay everything that I am and have before Him. I will continually give my life to Him, so that He may use it however He sees fit. I will trust that He has the best intentions for me, and He knows what is best for me. It may be easier said than done, but I fully intend to see it through.

Nyame Inshirawu (God Bless You)

~Jamie

P.S. Some things we love about our days: starry night sky, when kids “get it” (our lessons), eating fried plantains (yumm), getting caught in the pouring rain (except on laundry days), getting packages (or letters), and last but not least blog comments. So please comment! Madasi! :p 

A Day in the Life Of: (A Medley of Days, Rather.)

How much more I appreciate teachers since I've been one.

My day really begins the night before when Jamie asks, "Lizziey, what time do you want up in the morning?"

"5 am"

"Lizziey, what time do you actually want me to wake you up."

"6:50 am"

True to the conversation, my first alarms rings at 5 am.  I get up at some point and turn the water heater on. Jamie eventually finds some way to drag me out of bed by 7. Yesterday she did it by starting a pilates work out. Yes, the idea of working out in the morning makes me excited to get out of bed. I don't really understand it either.

I then take a warm bucket shower and get dressed for my day. Getting dressed is way easier here than at home because I really only have 5 outfits to choose from. By Friday, getting dressed takes no time at all.

I grab some hot water and mix in my Starbucks' Via packet. I thought I could wean myself off of coffee here in Ghana. Instead I find myself coveting my mom's weekly packages of caffeinated goodness. My body officially thinks caffeine is a food group.

I glug down my coffee. This saddens me frequently as I feel like this is a drink that should be savored...but there is no time for savoring coffee. I rush up to the computer room, print out whatever I need for the day, and hurry off to school.

What goes on at school?

Well today I went to morning assembly. This is the time when our students say their prayers and sing the national anthem amongst other tunes.  My kids actually march back to their classes. It's pretty cool. After assembly I graded some papers, fixed the jam in the copier, and headed to the dining hall.

When I was little (this may sound weird, but I was a weird kid. Let's face it. ) I used to put on my sister's cool roller skates, and skate around the kitchen cooking "strongonof" or rice and cream of mushroom soup. I used to pretend  that I lived in an orphanage and that my mixture of soup and rice was all I would have to eat for the day. Now I have absolutely no idea why I used to play out this scenerio in my head because I was a very fat child with lots of American food to eat.  Nevertheless, I had some notion about how great it must be to live in an orphanage and eat only rice and soup while riding around on roller skates.

So today while I was scooping (sans roller skates) 40 cups of goopy, sticky, somewhat chocolaty porridge, I was taken back to my childhood memory. I smiled as I realized that being in Africa really has been a lifelong dream. It was a reassuring thought that even hot porridge could remind me that this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Then I spilled some on my hand and it burnt me. Oops.

After breakfast, I went to teach 2nd grade. 2nd grade frustrates me a lot because they are never ever on time. That's not true. They are rarely on time. But today they were definitely NOT on time.  Long story short, I ended up taking just a few of my 2nd graders into the computer lab while the others finished up their math homework.

Teaching 2nd graders to double click is harder than it sounds.  Teaching 2nd graders who do not have computers at home how to double click is harder than it sounds.  Teaching special needs students who do not have computers at home how to double click is harder than it sounds. Doing it all at once is.....totally achievable.

R is my favorite kid. I shouldn't have favorites but I do. He is slower than the rest.  Today it took him longer than anyone to finally master double clicking.  I had helped R several times and then went on my "rounds" helping another student.  Almost as soon as I had turned away to move on, R finally figured out how to double click an icon and open it on the computer screen. He jumped up and yelled, "HURRAY! MADAM LIZZIEY I DID IT! I DID IT! I DOUBLE CLICKED!"

I have never been more proud of someone in my life.  All of the other students came over and gave him high 5's. In the middle of a very hectic, frustrating, culturally different day, I was so excited to see R achieve this skill. I was even more excited to see him so ecstatic.

I'm not sure where God is taking me down the special needs path, but I have the feeling that the work I am doing here not just with R, but with others, is leading me somewhere. We shall see.

After R's cheer of excitement it was time to teach English to 4th grade.  My 4th graders cannot keep their mouths closed and stay in their seats. I love them, but my punishment currently is giving them tons of homework and making them do jumping jacks. The jumping jacks I can handle. While I am excited that my 4th graders now know how to use a comma, I am sad that I will be grading papers all night tomorrow. So goes life.

I ate lunch, organized some books in the library, and taught a final period to 4th grade. Then Jamie and I stayed after school to help a few students with their homework. This is so my favorite time of the day. Sure, I can kick out any kid who isn't serious about his or her homework, but I feel that this is my time of building relationships with the kids. It's fun figuring out our homework TOGETHER (because let's face it I had no idea what a pepper is called in Twi [mako] and I didn't really remember how to write the year 1978 in French [mille neuf cent soixante dix huit]) So together we learn. I like this.


After library Jamie and I come back to the house and eat dinner. Lately we've taken up running and pilates followed by a shower, lesson plans, and talking about all sorts of things. I really couldn't handle being here without her. :)

So that's a peek into our life. Every day is so completely different mind you.  It's so exciting to know that today will be an entirely new set of experiences. And if today doesn't suit you, it will change tomorrow. My Ghanaian adventure is teaching me to hang in, hold on, and enjoy the ride.

Week One: Getting to Know the Basics!

So it's been a whole week since school started, and what a week it has been!

I am the Creative Arts, Music, and ICT teacher for Basic 1 (B1) and Basic 3 (B3). Plus I am to help out wherever I can in the Nursery classes. It's alot to cover so I will break it down for you guys.

• Nursery-There are two roughly 30 student classes. I go in on my free time to help out wherever I can. I also help them with motorskill activities, so basically I get to play a variety of games with them! :) So far we sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" then a quick ound of "Simon Says" (most just follow what I do), ans then some "Red light, Green Light" (Modified to dancing on green, and slow-motion dancing on yellow). I make sure to throw in lots of silly faces for them, and pretty much try to get them to have fun while developing those motor skills. One of the nursery classes needs more help on thinking up activities for the kids, and I am more than willing to be able to help out with that! :)
• B1-Made up of 38 5-6 year olds. On the first couple of days they were ROWDY! I'm sad to say that I even yelled at them on the 2nd day! My patience had been worn thin, and I even noticed that it also affected how I treated my B3 class. So after that "fail" Lizziey and I both decided "No more yelling, no matter what". This meant that we had to find different, more creative ways of getting their attention. So I got to work and found some cool tips that have been working so far. I say "Give me 5 (loudly, and showing 5 fingers)" and then we all start counting down to a quiet "One". Another trick I learned was to start clapping some random beat, and soon everyone has stoppe what they are doing and are trying to copy me. I also do "Signals on" (a trick form the B3 teacher Mimi) which I raise one hand above my head and the other hand making the quiet signal (index finger to my mouth). If they are being loud, I speak louder in a monotonous/robotic voice, so that they can hear me over the noise without my yelling. :) 
• B3-Made up of 36 7-8 year olds. They are by far my favorite class! I do have time when they are too loud or do ot pay attention, but they are the best behaved kids I have. All I need to do to get their attention is to sit in a chair in front of the class that faces them with my "signals on". I quietly and patiently wait for them to settle down. If that doesn't work within a couple of minutes, I just start giving out worksheets to those who do have their "signals on". Then they all quiet down so that they can get a worksheet. Easy as pie!Again they do have their ROWDY moments, but what class doesn't?

I am not expecting any of my classes to be quiet on every period. In fact I allow them to talk amongts themelves, as long as it doesnt get too loud, on certain subjects or activities. I am trying to stress the importance of "there is a time for everything". So they can be loud outside, but quieter inside; they can be be a little louder for music time, but need to be quieter for creativity. Yesterday was a success for B1, because I got them to be mostly quiet for library time, in which they read books individually in their classrooms while "pretending" to be in the library. 

One thing I will say about all of these kids: They absolutely LOVE to read! Which makes me super duper happy! :D I am still working with Lizziey to get the library finished. It is A LOT of work, and it's usually the last thing on our long list of things to do, so it gets cancelled often. We will not give up! We will keep working on making a good library for these kids, but in the mean time they are still learning about libraries and books in general. 

I've learned a lot in this first week, and I know that I still have a lot more to learn. God has been there with us every single step of the way. Every day I do my morning devotional, and every evening I manage to fit in some bible study time. I'm so glad Lizziey showed me Osward Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest", it has quickly become one of my favorite devotional. :D There have been more than one occasions where God sends us "little gifts" that brighten up our days. Both Lizziey and I feel a special connection to God through nature (especially with the stars), and on that day when we got to see them (stars) I remember that Lizziey was having a pretty bad day. After the stars came out, our of al worries just melted away and we remembered that God was in control of our lives and that He has the best of intentions for all of us. I loved something Lizziey said that night, and it's that "God can see our entire life, like we see the stars in the sky".  Meaning that our past, present, and future are just one to Him and He sees it all at once (and everyone's life) , maybe similar to how we see the stars. That though just amazes and humbles me! It lets me know that even though I am small and insignificant to the world, I am unique and significant to Him. How amazing that of all He created, He chose to love US, despite all of our flaws!  :)

Well, today we finally get to go to Accra. Wonder what adventures we will have there...

Madasi for reading. God Bless,
Jamie