March 19, 2009 4:10
I have been working in the eye clinic. Its been amazing. I have figured out a lot of stuff about eyes. Its actually pretty fun when you get the hang of it. I got dehydrated today and i almost fainted. They made me drink like a thousand gallons of water. But im ok now. Sometime today im going to go pick out fabric for my African shirt : ) : ) with lots of bright colors!!
Were leaving Saturday morning @ 11:00 o'clock am to go to downtown Accra to shop and get something to eat. And then were leaving Ghana @ 8:00pm. To go to Rome, Italy
This has been the MOST LIFE CHANGING EXPERIANCE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been supercalafragilisticexpiealadotiously amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to come back every year!!!!!!!!! Thank GOD that i got to come, like i said in one of the devos "I never thought in a million years i would EVER BE IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY IN MY LIFE!!!!!!! : )"
Mom, Dad I love you see you soon hopefully i will get to talk to you from Rome! Love guys sooooo much ttyl!
Sincerly,
Austin Hall, G-Man
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Thursday 7:45pm
It just can't be Thursday already. Where has the time gone? Today after working with the Kindergarten teacher and watching her break into groups---finally---so I was so excitied. Unfortunately, she kept each group over 30 minutes and there were 4 groups. Okay, maybe we'll work on that tomorrow.
I went with a group to Senya. I went last year, but it was hard to see such poverty.. The teacher is 20 years old. She has a 9th grade education. As I walked in, she was smacking hands with a switch-lots of hands. They had to put their hand on her desk and just take it. She scared me! She told them to write the sentences she put on the board and not give two answers or "I will kill you!" Okay, not a phrase I would recommend for teaching children. She used it at least twice that I noticed. After a while she came to talk to me . I told her I was a teacher. She asked for my help. Well, ...who am I to say no when the holder of the switch asks for help?! By the time we left, I had sung several songs, danced with them, and yes, my fellow preschool teachers, we did Tooty Ta! Glynn, I did not promise to give her enough money to continue her education, so you can relax...(about that-heehee.) She was grateful for all the help and promised to toss the mean ole smacking sticks and to be a bit kinder and more gentle with the children. She is going to let them get up more and get more exercise. I also suggested she find a new phrase besides "I will kill you." She assured me she wouldn't kill them. How encouraging coming from the teacher!!!!!!!! She has NO supplies. The only thing they have are little booklets to write in and pencils and pens that needed to be replaced. We are going to try to send a care package to her and the preacher's wife. Michelle is getting their "lists" tomorrow.
I met a girl named Abigail. She wasn't in school today because her family ran out of money. Her sister was at school, but I guess sending both was too much right now. I finally found out it costs $7.00 a term. That's $21.00 a year! Hopefully, we'll have Abigail back in school tomorrow. She was missing her friends at school. She took me home with her and I got to see inside her home. There was a concrete block pen thing that was pretty big where they kill chickens and goats. Both were running around all over the house. Of course, the only way you knew you were inside was the walls. So the chickens really didn't look out of place. The baby goats were so cute. Poor baby goats have no idea what their future holds!
Shelves, shelves...wherefore art thou, shelves? One long shelf has been made tonight, and that's the first. It is looking pretty clear that we will not get to attain our goal for this year of getting all the shelves loaded in each room and the room cleaned up. We may get the staff room finished, so that is a great thing.
Vicki, Richard tried to go back in a field behind the well. The teens there were yelling at him to come back as that is a favorite place for spitting Cobras. They were afraid for him to try to come back, but Blake whipped out his video camera and said "Okay, Richard, come on back!" So, he cannot be kept in control. Even the people here are yelling at him in fear of what he is doing!!!! He also stole a pineapple and took another down into the life of crime with him. Oh, and Vicki, he said to tell you he's behaving. It's not true, but that's he said.
Everyone here gets along great and we are having a good time together although we are all exhausted by the end of the day. Good attitudes abound. It is amazing what being in these conditions can do for your perspective.
Glynn and crew- I love you ! Michael and Amanda, hug my babies for me. Christopher, it is disappointing to not get to see you this year, but I'll come soon! Timothy, take care of dad! Teachers, can't wait to share teaching stories with you. Farragut family, thank you again for your love and covering us in prayer!
Love, Jean
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Today has been a great day. I had been assigned to teach Grade 8 English whose reading assignment dealt with (you'll never guess) different types of satellites and how radios and cell phones work on Earth. Ok, those of you who know me well know that, even though I USE my cell phone quite well, I certainly know NOTHING about how they work!

Enter James East. I told him my problem and in ten minutes we had a lesson complete with two-way radios, a cell phone that could ring in class, and a complete explanation of four different types of satellites. We went armed with the equipment and a space book he had brought to the Village from the U.S., and VOILA! Gail and I had an instant guest speaker! There was even a point in the lesson where he used his Crocodile Dundee hat and spun it around at the same rate he spun himself; he even made me dizzy!

The children loved it, the teacher thought we were all geniuses, and the stage was perfectly set to continue on with a writing portion, which turned out to be our best session yet.

Question: Where else could an English teacher go find an engineer with snow pictures and a physicist with two-way radios in West Africa and have an instant fabulous lesson complete with props, computers, and guest speakers? Only at the Village of Hope!

I hope your day is great. I know mine was!

Love you,
Dianna

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Thursday, March 19, 2009 8:53 PM Accra time
Hey everyone,
Another day in Africa for us is almost over, but one never knows what is next...like eating ice cream which the orphanage kids and the team just did and then a kazoo chorus erupted after distribution of Mardi Gras-colored kazoos to all the children and adults! What a sound! Jesus Loves Me played on a kazoo, in two melodies! Joy in children faces, more from the kazoos than the ice cream even.
Another notable moment today was when I saw an elderly gentleman with about 1/3 of his lower foot missing from an old injury, just about as putrid a smell as I have ever smelled from a foot! Basically, a mass of irregularly surfaced raw meat and fat, but really not bad looking. There was little to do, but add some antibiotics and redress it with a wet to dry gauze dressing and supply the family with some dressing materials.
My day was punctuated by reminding my patients that "A joyful heart is good medicine..." from Proverbs 18:22; what can take away our joy? It only leaves when we give it up, so I challenged each of my patients to hold to their joy as a life preserver...I reminded my self of this all day today.
If you have not noticed, our family is having a wonderful time here; thanks to all of you that are praying for us all and for those of you that encouraged us and helped us to come.
Jon
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I have not done well with putting my thoughts onto the blog, but fear not, I have been thinking. J I have had a great week thus far, spending lots of time with my "special" children, with one very good assistant. It is awesome to see them experience new things, like bubbles and beach balls. Thank you for all your prayers, I know they are working.
For my family, I love you and am thinking of you much. (Mom I am doing ok J ) To David and Abigail I hope you are having fun with your dad and you are taking good care of him!
Michelle
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Thursday, March 19, 2009; 9:45p.m.
Today has been a great day. The whole crew is doing an awesome job in all their respective areas. Our education folks are relentlessly working on lesson plans and meetings with all the teacher. This is a real hands on part of our mission as they are working up lessons and classes and then demonstrating them(teaching strategies etc). Our preschool team is pulling some long day in the hot classroom and loving every minute of it. Armed with a lot of toys and educational manipulative they are making a difference. That also means they are cleaning and organizing as they go. This is the first year we have had a French teacher with us. This is a big deal as all the countries around Ghana are French speaking.
Our medical folks are excellent as well. They are working under stressful conditions and large numbers of patients. You won't believe some of the conditions when you see the pictures. On my morning adventure there was at least 60 people already at the clinic before 5:30. It was great to speak to the older Ghanaian women dressed in colorful garbs and many of them are in their 70's, and 80's. In the clinic yesterday we saw people ranging form a few weeks old to 96. Many of these walked to the clinic from their villages and we have seen a few chiefs at the clinic as well. Our special mission in Senya at the church there is going great as well. We are all rotating out there and doing our part to aid in the medical and rehabilitation of the kids. It sad to see these 5 kids who suffer from some form of cerebral palsy and mental retardation drag themselves over a rough and I mean rough, unfinished concrete floor. Two of them are dragging or walking on the tops of their disfigured feet and the bottom of their feet are turned up. On Tuesday as Michelle raised one up to help train and strengthen them to walk, their little shorts would fall off. The only thing keeping there underwear on was pins. Their bodies were extremely thin and frail. They have wore out the bottom of their pants literally on the floor and the hard wood bench that they sit on in front of the chalk board.
Blake and I conducted a Preacher seminar that started at 9 this morning. I was able to admonish our brothers with MANY words(that is Biblical you know) for about 31/2 hours. We had a great time, talking about spiritual maturity and an array of other things they ask about. I was admonished to get our Doctors to invent something to turn me black--and they laugh; to which one of the preachers pointed out that I was dressed in all black. We had lunch and we concluded our afternoon session with only a couple of hours before we were to be in Fettah. at the church to teach or may be preach a little. I believe we had about 20 preacher --one from a Liberian refugee camp. Many of them have 2-3 churches that they are preaching for. They alternate days and ride their motorcycles very fast between the church on Sunday morning.
Everything is going great--Thanks so much for all the prayers and love shown to us. Missing you all.
Love,
Paul
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------Thursday, March 19, 2009, 10:26
We "rolled" in the eye clinic today. Almost double the number of patients todayas yesterday. We continue to be the "last ones out" though to finish serving our people. Without power again for part of the day but THEY never complain about it so how can we--at least here. May God help us to carry that patience & acceptance of whatever state we are in back to the states. Last day of the clinic tomorrow. Thanks to the packing genius of Joyce Phillips &the estimating skill of Dorian, we have plenty of glasses left even though
we have given out record numbers. The mosquito nets to prevent malaria also began to be distributed today. The doctors are rotating going to Senya each morning. Shawn & Sheena went today. Got to listen to recordings of Fetteh church singing & the Village of Hope chorus (NEW this year). Wonderful! TO KAYE--All my love & admiration for the supportive & loving person that you are. I can feel y;our love & prayer from here. It sustains me. Shawn & Sheena are doing well. What a medical team along with Jon , Ruth, Fran, & Delores!! We have received the last two days of your blogs which help greatly. I met JJ Bekoe's friend today but not him. More on that when I get back. We miss you & look forward to seeing you Sunday night.
David
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