Some of the ladies on the team bought fabric, but the most special thing found at the market was another special story...a lady, Veronica, approached Jacqueline excitedly thinking that Jacqueline she was Susan from the medical team. She was excited to share that she was doing well after her hernia operation last year :). It was also special for us teachers to see some our students there to and some introduced some of us to their families.
David did not join us in Tinga today as he was called to the Peace Centre at New Longoro to be the mediator and final decision maker for some chiefs. He has been instrumental in resolving large conflicts in the past, but he admitted tonight that he was nervous about this meeting. For the first time ever, he brought in his Bible and quoted scripture...'Blessed are the peacemakers...' and a Proverb as well. Part way through the meeting, one of the men stood and apologized for he felt he was the main reason they were all there. Other men opened up too as David invited them all to share their part so that he could make a wise decision. Many years of hurt, anger and frustration were released and as David said, 'They were cleansed of it all', and they hugged each other and when the meeting was over, it was like a celebration or party! Amazing!
David also shared how many of the churches here have started by drunken men who are looking for a way to overcome their drinking. As a drunk, these men beat their wives and children, and do not work as they should on their farms to provide for their family. Out of their desperate need, they come to Jesus and He does. They are new men...whole families and communities are affected and others want the same transformation and the churches grow. Brenda said that the pastors are tracking the new churches and their number of members to determine where the next build project is needed first.
David also spoke about how God uses all of our abilities...we are all extremely important to the work happening here. There is no favoritism for any of the teams that come out. The medical team is no more important than the build team or the teaching team, or vice versa, etc...God uses all of our talents and abilities and our availability is a blessing to many.
The bond beam on the south side of church was framed and poured on Friday and all the painting and creasoting is complete. Saturday the north side bond beam was completed. Things continue to go very well.
Friday was craft day in the school...for some of us it was a great day, but as Jack said tonight after dinner 'There are days that the teachers win, and days that the children win...today the children won'. The funniest story and craziest part of their day was when a lizard (gecko) came into their class and 50 grade 1 kids were moving desks to kill it, stepping on it, and finally went outside to get rocks to stone it. Those children beat not only the teachers today, but the lizard too. Hearing Jack tell the story is extremely funny!!!
Kindness and manners..our lesson in class Friday. I started by praising them for the great respect they show to their elders and they appreciated that with big smiles. Then I added a big 'but' and spoke about how they treated each other. We wrote on the board words that describe kindness and they then drew pictures showing acts of kindness. When it was time to do their craft, the usual grabbing and mobbing for materials happened once again (manners and kindness forgotten), so we waited until they settled into their desks again before we continued to let them move on in their craft and as the class watched me, I took up one of the boys crafts...instead of 3 stickers like he should have had, he had seven...I just looked at him and said 'why?'. He was not the only one who had taken more than they should...you could see the shame coming over their faces. Our disappointment and discussion about not being able to trust them humbled them and the rest of the class time went much better. The actual student I challenged later came to me to say 'sorry', and I was so glad that we could show them discipline without the traditional caning or hitting they are used to. A great lesson learned...we'll see how they are on Monday once again.
Saturday must have been he hottest day here yet...not sure of the exact temperature, but the sun was very intense midday. Being Saturday, the teachers were not in class, but joined with the construction team and some of them worked on the building site, while others returned to the school to repair desks at the primary school. A few of the students were there to watch, and one was even sitting at his desk reading...many of them really want to learn...if they make it to higher levels of education as they come through the education system here in northern Ghana, they have really done well!
Glenn, Pat, Bev and I stayed on Carpenter to sort through the school supplies we brought along with the supplies we brought last May and things Brenda had from previous teams. It was a full day, but work that we 'Beavers' really enjoyed doing...not much brings us more pleasure than organizing things :)
Dinner was special as we celebrated Sam & Pete's birthdays with streamers, balloons, party poppers and chocolate cakes Brenda lovingly baked for them today along with banana muffins for the Ghanaians who do not like chocolate!!!
The dinner hall emptied quickly because the 2nd game for Ghana was playing in the African Cup. First half 0-0, and second half ended 2-0 for Ghana. I enjoy their reactions when Ghana scores ;). I hang around trying to get a great picture of their reactions, but it happens so quickly that I haven't really caught it yet.
Tomorrow we get to sleep in with breakfast at 8 instead of 6:30, and we will be heading to Subinso for thier commissioning service, and possibly another baptism. It will be so great to worship in the building we built last May, and I'm sure we will see some familiar faces that we haven't seen yet. I also have a special delivery from Cassie and Elizabeth to give to a family that they got to know last year :)
Everyone is ready for a day of rest, and thankfully everyone is doing very well :)
Walking to dinner Saturday night, there was an amazing African sunset!
Thank you again for all your thoughts, support and prayers,
Kim
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