AFEHYIA PA

Afehyia pa (Merry Christmas) from The Pearl House! The past few days have been jammed packed with activities to keep the girls entertained. Whether you are in America or Ghana, if you have un-entertained children, people get feisty. Wednesday, the 23rd, was our beach day. We encouraged the girls to put their feet IN the water this time and they really took it to heart. They surprised us with their ability to swim-or not drown, how ever you want to look at it- and literally went in head first. We of course took loads of pictures, played with the local kids that live at the beach, and Laura and I introduced them to the wonderful world of hammocks. By the end of the day the girls were drenched and exhausted.

On Thursday, we turned the pearls into architects and constructed gingerbread houses. We paired them up and let the icing fly. We had walls as roofs, and windows as doors, but at the end of the day, it all tasted good. The gingerbread was perfect because it wasn’t too sweet for the girls. As far as the icing goes, they girls looked like white people because more of it ended up on their skin than on the house. The girls wrapped up their remaining “decorations and foundation” and I still see them munching on from time to time. I think our undeclared winners were Beauty and Eunice. It was truly a work of art. Thursday was of course Christmas Eve, meaning we went to church service. The service was nice and very centered around thanksgiving to God. Everyone that was there went up in front of the congregation and shared what they were thankful God had done in their life this year. Some of the girls brought tears to our eyes by sharing the work God has done in her life. As the night went on there was about 30 minutes that was all in twi and very loud. I found myself having to sit down and pray.

“God I know that this is worship to you and I know that you delight in this praise. And for that I am so thankful. But it to me this is noise. It sounds like yelling and not glorifying what so ever. Lord, please change my attitude and let me hear what you hear.”

I was able to finish out the night, singing praises to God, thanking Him for the birth of His son and all that He has done. HERE IS THE COOL PART. After the service, Laura and I were talking outside of the church and I was sharing my frustrations with her. I told her that I did not like feeling that way, especially on Christmas Eve. Laura then shared with me that she had the same thoughts! As I was praying my prayer, Laura was lifting up the same words to God. It was so cool to see God humble both of our hearts and remind us why we were there- to celebrate the birth of His son.

            Christmas day started off the way it should always start off, by praising our Lord and Savior. Devotion was about an hour and a half, as we sang, prayed and gave more thanks to God. The girls worked on Christmas lunch all morning and we all ate together. No, we didn’t have a big turkey or ham, or mashed potatoes, or stuffing, but it was just as special because the girls put in so much hard work preparing our meal and we got to enjoy it together. After lunch, we shared gifts with the girls. They each received a stocking with their name on it and watching them try to figure out why the Christmas tree had 20 boots under it was pretty entertaining. They wore their stockings as hats, gloves and shoes. Just like at home, it doesn’t matter what they present is… they want what it came in. We spent time reading their letters and sharing who gave them what. Courtney even surprised Laura and I with presents. After presents, we packed up snacks and drinks to take down to the new house. The workers had stayed at the site for Christmas to continue building and we wanted to thank them and celebrate with them. We delivered their snack with an American touch- CAROLING! The girls sang Christmas songs as they passed out food and shook the men’s hands, thanking them for their hard work. We ended Christmas day just as one should, with our church family, worshiping God.

            As you can see, our Christmas here was full of Thanksgiving. I am so glad that the staff here has instilled an attitude of gratefulness. I enjoyed learning new ways to celebrate and sharing some of my own this Christmas season. God has done so much for these girls this year and I love seeing them rejoice in Him for it.

A fin co beh to yeh (Happy New Year)       

After the Lights Went Out

Well, my welcome was everything that I imagined it would be. Our “chief driver,” as he calls himself, Kofi picked us up from the airport and we went straight to the house. We arrived around noon and waited for the girls to come home. In my Miss Pink way, ran into the house and immediately started bothering Rita and Tina. I yelled for Tina all around the house and eventually went to her room to wake her up, letting her know that I have arrived. She was not too mad. Courtney and Laura fell asleep every time their minds knew there was something there to catch them. I on the other hand was too excited. Seven of the girls returned from school around 2:30 and they others would come around 4:30 because they had training. Even though I surprised the girls in groups, the love was just the same. This is time though I just got three big group hugs. Of course, we could not make it through the day much longer and the three of us went to bed at 7 and did not wake up until noon the following day.

            As soon as I woke up, I went to the girls’ school. It was their last day, so it was my only opportunity to say hi to their teachers. I greeted the headmaster, the administrator, and the teacher Madam Clara. I loved hearing about all of the girls’ progress. This is their first term after all being double promoted. Just like in America, the last day before break comes with grades being posted. I brought those who were ready to leave back to the house with me and they went through their daily after school routine. My first full day back greeted me by being lights off. This means no lights and no air conditioning. That lasted from noon that day until the following morning. It is okay though, I am still pretty used to it. I am glad that the girls don’t think that I need to readjust after being gone. I can handle the food, the heat, the cold showers, and for the most part- the mosquitos. 

            On Friday, we decorated the whole house for Christmas and the girls did a wonderful job. It is now Saturday. The caretakers, Laura, Dana, and I spent the afternoon planning the schedule for the break. We came up with so many fun things to do. Thanks to out wonderful donors, we get to take a local excursion to the beach and another excursion to a Ghanaian tourist attraction. The girls also got their Christmas dresses yesterday and Laura and I were so jealous that we had to go into town and hunt down a seamstress that would make us dresses before Christmas. No worries readers, we found one. 

            The past two days have been so wonderful. I love spending my days with the girls and having it be like I never left. They still call my room “Auntie Clara’s Room” and remember all of my family and ask about them. It amazes me that so much joy can be found in cleaning the house, because I am doing it with my pearls. Today was also filled with Ghanaian dishes. Mercy made “rocks”- like creamed corn- for breakfast and I just finished a bowl of groundnut soup and rice ball, eaten with my hands of course. 

            I am looking forward to all of the fun things we have on our calendar for the next two weeks. I will keep you all updated on Clara’s Christmas Adventure featuring The Pearl House.            

            

Homeward Bound

I know that people have been on the edge of their seats for the past year waiting for me to write another blog post. So, here it is. And of course, with a blog post, comes a trip back to Ghana. It has been a year and a half since I have seen my girls. However, not seeing them has not stopped me from talking about them. This past year and a half I have gotten to share with so many people about my other life across the Atlantic. I have had so many opportunities to speak in different settings about my work with The Pearl House. From new friends on campus, to speaking in front of hundreds of people, God has made sure I get to talk about what He has made me passionate about.

Despite my love of talking about The Pearl House, I love even more when I have the opportunity to go! And so here I sit, at the beginning of my Christmas break, on a plane to Ghana, West Africa. I am jittery, tired, and hungry; but I know that as soon as that African air hits me in the face (quite literally) it will be like I never left. As I was planning this trip, I gave Courtney Garland full reign of when to tell the girls. She never did. SO… surprise it is! Which let’s be honest, it is more fun that way. Who doesn’t like being attacked with a giant group hug that knocks you off your feet? It really is the only way to be welcomed by someone these days. I know what most of you are thinking. It is the same question so many people have asked as I have prepared for my trip. SHE IS MISSING CHRISTMAS. Yes, yes I am. But, thank God that I have such a supportive family that truly understands that I have more family besides them now. They share me with my African family. Yes, my family will miss me and I will miss them, but as most of you can recall, I was gone for six months last time. These three weeks will be a breeze for them.

I am so excited to celebrate Christmas the Ghanaian way. Who needs a ham or a turkey for Christmas dinner when you can have a goat and some of Rita’s hand-pounded fufu? I think it will truly be an eye-opener to celebrate Christmas in a different culture. And by different, I mean NOT American. I am not saying that Americans celebrate wrong, I just think that sometimes we forget that Christmas is not just a holiday for those born in the States, but that there are so many ways to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. BUT, I of course had to bring a few of the fun traditions from the States. It would only be fitting that as the new Pearl House is being built, we build some ginger bread versions of the house!

I cannot believe that I am going to embrace the girls that have captured my heart in less than 12 hours. This gives me plenty of time to drive to Winneba and find a good hiding spot. I will be keeping you all updated on the Pearl House Christmas Extravaganza, featuring Auntie Clara and Auntie Laura, throughout these next few weeks, but for now, goodbye from row 30, seat D (middle seat).