Up to the week of August 22

Well last week I didn't write because I had written A lot the week before and also because I have been so sick that I really didn't have a whole lot to report. However, because I was so sick, my sweet husband stayed home to take care of me which I'm sorry to say resulted in his getting "let go" from his new job. It was disappointing but really, he was going to have to work 12 hours a day for about the equivalent of 50 U.S. in a whole month so... it is what it is.
I finally felt good enough on Wednesday to be able to go to the orphanage and it was Great to be back there. Eugemot really is like a whole family to me there, and I love them so much. There was some tragedy however that happened. One of the men who works there, who is also a nephew to the woman who runs the orphanage died this last week. Apparently he was intoxicated and mistakenly drunk a weed killer. It's really sad not only because he did a lot for the orphanage, but also because he was one of the only male role models the kids had and they truly are sad about his passing. They however credit his passing to Black Magic and are sure that the witches want their down fall. Another hard thing, a little boy there whose name happens to be Paul has some sort of an infection where he gets wounds in his legs. When I came with CCS, I was able to clean and cover his wounds everyday to the point where they healed. Now however they are back and worse than ever. He was afraid to show Mama Eugenia (the woman who owns it) so she is very upset and they are now worse than ever. When I was there he was screaming and she was beating him with a metal rod while they were also pouring hydrogen peroxide on his tennis ball size wounds, it was unbearable. I went back yesterday though and he was smiling and playing cards. It just goes to show you the amount of bravery and long suffering that these children have and I am never endingly amazed by them.
Other than that, the jeweler said that he has 2/3 of the money for us for the ring and will "soon" get the rest so he better. A man came Friday saying he want sto buy the car so we will see how this next week pans out with that. We haven't heard from the embassy yet either but the wonderfully helpful woman we are working with in the government contacted them this week and we will hopefully be getting a response within the coming week as well. Really we are just in a waiting game right now and I'm really ready for it to end haha and we have faith that it will. All the prayers we can get are more than welcome :)

Week of August 8

       As of Tuesday August 9, we officially are filed with the USCIS office within the US Embassy, Accra :) Knowing how things go here, it is not surprising that it was a day later than planned. We left Hohoe at 3 am on Monday morning, giving us what we thought would be an ample amount of time to make the 4 hour drive to Accra, change money, pick up my passport with the Resident Permit inside, and then be at our appointment at 2 pm. When we got to the Ghanaian Immigration Service however, the officer who had been handling the issuing of the Resident Permit informed us that it was ready, as he'd promised BUT (of course there was a but) my passport was in a locked drawer and the key was with the director who was in a meeting which wouldn't end until 5.... No Joke. Like logically why the officer hadn't gotten the passport out of the drawer before the meeting started, knowing that we were coming? Or why they couldn't interrupt the meeting for a second to get the key after we'd waited 2 months? Anyways, long story short, we ended up sitting there until 1:45 waiting for the meeting to go on break or something finally rushing off to the embassy with nothing except a promise from the officer to try and bring a paper to us at the embassy saying that the resident permit was ready but that the passport couldn't be released until the following day which I told him would be Worthless because the whole point of getting the interview was Because we were "ready" with the resident permit. And as I predicted the woman at the office kindly informed us that there was nothing she could do until we had the passport in hand. I kept under control and then broke into tears as soon as we got out of the building. Paul thought fast and called the GIS officer who told him that he had somehow miraculously gotten the passport and was bringing it to us. We were thrilled because we thought we could still make it back into the Embassy to patch up our botched appointment. Of course though, the officer took over an hour to get to us and by the time we went back, it was too late. We did have the passport with the resident permit (which I couldn't believe is only just a tiny stamp on one of the pages after all we'd gone through for it) so we called the Embassy and luck was with it that they had another appointment open at 2 pm the following day. We went to Paul's brother Richard's house in Accra and crashed with fatigue/frustration until the next morning where we got up and were at the embassy by 10:30 am just to insure there would be No chance of any problems. Once we got in to the embassy, we showed my passport, paid the filing fee (thanks dad), submitted all the required forms including our wedding photos, were asked a couple questions, and then were informed that within 60 days we would be notified of the decision. Paul and I were both So relieved walking out of there it was like a huge weight was lifted and all we can do now is hope and pray that we will be approved :)
       Not to go on Forever but other good news from out here is that Paul also got a job the day after we got back from Accra. He woke up on Wednesday determined and came home singing and danced me all over the house, surprised me with a soymilk (my favorite) and told me that he was hired as a salesman at a store. I am really happy about it and proud of him, I feel like we are Finally seeing progress and I couldn't be more pleased. I have realized too this week that although I Love the orphanage with all my heart, that there are other kids even just around where Paul lives that are in a Worse condition than my orphans in many ways. There are these 3 little kids (siblings with 2 boys and one girl) who are always hanging around the neighborhood in rags who don't go to school, are obviously malnourished, and the oldest boy has huge boils all over his head. Well this past week, I was on the porch walking Planet Earth with my nieces and nephews and some kids that live around when these 3 siblings came over. All the other kids were laughing at the oldest boy because he had a huge hole in his pants all the way through to his underwear. I told all the kids to stop and had Confi and Felix give them each an article of clothing that my mom had sent them, the kids faces lit up and they have been wearing the clothes every day since.   I know that there is Definitely a purpose for the way things have worked out to keep us here so long and know that God has a plan for us, and just have to trust in that with all my heart. And after this last week haha I thought of a quote given to me by my dear little sister Sarah who said, "Popsicles my melt, the sun may go down, but that's when you look at the person next to you and smile." Haha and really it's true, I have Paul forever and together we can get through anything.

Week of August 1

The biggest news of the week, well even of the last seven months came finally came! J My resident permit is ready which means that we can finally apply to the U.S. Embassy and get this process actually going! The four months that were wasted thinking that “the Colonel” was handling everything are in the past. Once we got the news, I contacted the USCIS Office within the U.S. Embassy and we were then informed that we had an appointment Monday, August 8…. Tomorrow! We have been running around the last couple days in Hohoe getting all the requirements done for the petition that we are filing. It took 4 visits to 2 different internet cafes, a trip to the bank, and tonight we are meeting with the court magistrate to be their version of a notary to stamp a sworn affidavit that our marriage is real. Paul just keeps saying, “the U.S. does not mess around!” We are leaving at 2 A.M. tomorrow morning to take the four hour drive to Accra, going to the Ghana Immigration Services to pick up the Resident Permit, finding a forex bureau to change money and then heading to the Embassy for our interview at 2 p.m. and I just pray that all goes to plan (for once).

Other than that, this last week was sad because my friends Tina and Chelsea left back to California. It always makes me feel a stab of homesickness when people here pack up and head to the airport haha just because sometimes it feels like I’m never getting there. I really miss them though and I loved having them here. I am now friendless again which hasn’t happened for over 3 months now so it’s different. Paul and I have been watching the series Planet Earth though this last week which we are like addicted to. It’s been like “cold” here for Ghana this last week too, causing us to put our fan to the lowest setting (never happened before) and only really having it on to keep away the mosquitoes.

             I have mentioned this before as well but Black Magic is a huge belief here, and this week a pastor came with us to pray for the family and talked A Lot about Juju and the evils of the spiritual world. He told us that his dad had been a fetish priest and he’d witnessed his dad performing all the evils that could be practiced. On top of voodoo dolls being used, he said that people would come to his dad to have him call up their enemies’ reflection in a mirror, and then he would stab the mirror with a knife and blood would rush from it and the person, being miles away would feel the “spiritual stab” and would die. He did say though that if the person who he was trying to kill was strong in the Lord, then when he called them to the mirror, instead of their reflection showing, fire would appear and no harm could come to him.  Which he said, is the reason why Africans are so religious. He did a few other things that I had never witnessed before and it was one of those experiences that made me stop and think, “wow I really am living in Africa.” Hopefully next week, I will have good news to report on the visa proceedings, until then please keep us in your prayers J

Week of July 25

This week has been a real week of growth and reflecting. That’s the great thing about being on “Ghana” time is that there is like No Where that I Have to be, and although it’s different from the fast paced, productivity that I’ve lived with, it does have it’s advantages. I have realized that life truly is a never-ending journey to better myself, and that even if I am striving diligently to be what my Heavenly Father wants me to be, I may fall short but that’s when it’s time to re-evaluate, make a new game plan and move forward in faith. I am So lucky to have an eternal companion who is helping me to push myself to obtain a better grasp of patience, compassion, understanding and above all focusing on the positives that life has to offer.

My dear friend Beth left this week after being here for 3 months and I will really miss her. Hopefully one day, Paul and I will be able to visit her in England. Plus she is going to come back here in December haha and odds are we might still be here even though we are hoping for the best with this wondrous visa process. One of Tina’s interns Jenna left this week, and Tina and Chelsea leave Wednesday so pretty soon it’ll just be me again, the lone yevue.

Paul and I were able to go to church today, even though he has malaria and spent all yesterday chopping down “the bush” (as he called it) with his dad for farming in the village, he was a trooper and we made the journey to Ho. Today too, the missionaries were in charge of sacrament, and they brought such a great spirit into the meeting, it was wonderful. On the way home though, the tro tro in front of us hit a goat and I just have to say that I know Heavenly Father is watching over us as we drive, because honestly the roads here are like a death trap full of people, bikes, animals,  and potholes with No road signs, No speed limit, the occasional dotted line and endless amounts of people trying to pass eachother within inches of oncoming cars. We are safe though, relatively healthy and happy and for now, that is good enough J

Week Of July 18

   This week may qualify for the busiest week So far in Ghana maybe minus the time that my Mom and sister were in town. My friend Tina is in town doing business and she is definitely not on “Ghana Time.” I have been with her and her two friends Jenna and Chelsea everyday this week to help them along with everything that they’ve needed to do. Tina seriously amazes me with all she’s accomplished since I met her 2 years ago with CCS and her business really is amazing, especially really being able to understand how things work (really don’t work) here. When I have not been with her running around Hohoe finding fabric, meeting with seamstresses, or at Della headquarters watching her oversee everything, I have tried to spend time with the orphanage. I taught class 2 one day as well just because I’d wanted to and I truly loved it. They are now taking exams and will go on vacation until September, but when school resumes, I am Most definitely going to start teaching again.

      My dear friend Beth’s Mom came into Ghana this week and I loved being around a mom/daughter combo, even though I dearly love Paul’s mom, there is nothing like your own mother and I miss mine along with my entire family terribly but not wanting to delve into that, back to Beth and her mom. Beth’s mom came with us to the orphanage for a couple days and on her last night in Hohoe, they ate dinner at our house and Paul’s mom made some delicious groundnut soup and omutuo, which was really nice.

      Oh and rather frustrating news, but not totally surprising is that my ring truly was not restored to it’s original state when the jeweler “fixed” it. Tina has a jeweler friend in town and I decided to ask him if the other jeweler had ripped us off and after testing it, he said that the gold was real but that it wasn’t up to the carats that it should be and that the diamonds were cubic zirconiums. The thing is, is that honestly when the jeweler gave me my ring back, I had this feeling that it wasn’t right still and it was so light. Long story short, Paul was furious and reasoned (calmer than I would have) with the dishonest jeweler who has promised to give us the money it will cost for the new jeweler to remold a ring with real diamonds, and enough gold by the end of the month or else we will be reporting him to the police.

     Paul drove some German volunteers up to the north this week as well, which he felt great about doing some work to get paid and the car ran wonderfully, which is a small miracle haha. It is just left for us to get the door handle refixed on the side and then it will be parked and sold. They guy who broke the door handle paid for us to buy a new one, but after sending a mechanic to wade through the auto parts market in Accra twice, we still have not quite had success but hopefully this week.

     We made progress in the resident permit this week haha well Ghanaian progress in the fact that we obtained the GIS officer who has been working on our cases’s number and he said as of Friday, that our file had been moved from the head commander’s office to another office which means that it must have been signed and they are just waiting on one last thing, whatever that is.

     The kids at our house are getting to be pros at banana bread and today Confi and Felix made it all on their own with the mix. Paul’s mom loves it and continues to happily supply bananas haha. Paul’s dad this weekend brought home a bush animal that looks like a mix of armadillo/snake/rat that Paul roasted today to be eaten tonight…. It is Freaky looking and the kids played a prank on me with it and thought it was So funny. I really feel like I’m getting more and more adjusted to really wrapping my head around the fact that this really is my reality, and although TOTALLY different than anything I’ve ever known before, I’m Happy J

Week Of July 11

     I didn't write yesterday because we were on our way back from Cape Coast with my friend Tina and her friends Jenna, Chelsea, and of course Nii. I had spent the week with her sorting and organizing (my favorite thing) fabrics for her amazing business and so as a thank you, she took Paul and I along on their weekend trip. Although it was just a 2 day/one night trip, it was exactly what we needed. We stayed at One Africa, which was right on the beach and spent a morning of just relaxing in the hammocks, listening to the waves crashing. We went through Cape Coast Castle, which I have been through before but everytime I go, I am just horrified of the past and it really brings all the history of the slave trade literally to life, you can feel the awful things that were done there. We also went to Kakum National Park to the canopy walk but Paul and i had done it before and jsut relaxed at the bottom playing cards. It was So nice to travel with our friends and we are happy to be safely back in Hohoe after the 8 hour drive.
     Tina also brought a package from my mom from the states and we really enjoyed it this last week, watching the movies she sent, lighting off the sparklers with the kids (they were amazed) and I am So happy to have the tae-bo videos especially to have the added entertainment of watching Paul try to do them haha. She also sent some muffin mixes which the kids and I combined with our already great love for banana bread making and it was quite a masterpiece. We had ridiculous frustrations with the car, the bike and the resident permit but are hoping for the best in the coming week. I Truly love my husband though and am grateful to be learning so much on this journey through life.

Week Of July 4

            This week we obviously had no 4^th of July celebrations, their indepence day is March 6 but my sweet mom did send me a wonderful package including sparklers which we will be lighting off tonight with the kids. This week was great though, I had a lot of fun at the orphanage, I go everyday after they close from school with my really good friend Beth and I absolutely love it there. On Wednesday, we made banana bread and brought it to the orphanage for the kids to try (they had Never had anything like it) and they Loved it!! We left some of it in the office for some of the kids that hadn’t had any yet and the ants SWARMED it, haha however that didn’t stop the kids finishing the rest of it off. Also, the kids at Paul’s house were playing hopscotch (drawing it in the dirt and using rocks) and so I taught the kids at Eugemot it as well and they Really enjoy it!

            Poor Paul has had a hard week. He found a good spot to park the car, and left the man the keys. Well apparently some guy wanted to come look at it and got a little forceful and the door handle got ripped off. Luckily, we don’t have to pay for it, but here we are yet again, having to take it to the mechanic instead of having it parked for sale. As for the bike, after he paid the 30 cedi last week, one of the officers took it to his house (who knows why) so Paul went there everyday trying to get it but the officer said he wouldn’t bring it to the station so Paul would need to come to his house to get it. So Thursday, Paul went to his house and the officer refused to hand it over until Paul paid him some money (so typical) so when Paul refused to do so, the officer lost his temper and he and Paul got in a fight, which ended in the officer’s wife coming out and beating Paul with a banku stick haha I shouldn’t have laughed but when he told me that part I couldn’t help myself. I guess the neighbors came over though and so the officer stopped, not wanting to be reporting. Paul came home with a bloody knee, covered in dirt and was sore for a couple days. Oh Ghana, why is everything such a struggle?

            My friend Tina and 2 of her friends came in yesterday and will be staying for a month and I am So excited to have her. She is the one that has the really successful business out of Hohoe, and I hopefully will get to be helping her out with that, she’s Amazing at what she does. 

            It has now been exactly 6 months to the day since I have been here. I can’t believe how fast time has gone but then yet how long it seems I have been away from home. I definitely see things differently than I used to see them and I have been made overwhelmingly grateful for all the wonderful things that I have been blessed with in my life. People here literally have nothing but yet find joy in the simple things. Things that at first seemed so strange to me, are now coming to be second nature. Sometimes I feel Worlds away from home, and then other times, I feel the love and support literally around me and for that I am truly grateful.