Day 5 Posting from Colin

At the end of every day, I think to myself, how can we possibly top this experience. Yesterday (Amy's 37th birthday) was quite a day to remember. Today did not disappoint either. Thankfully, the goats have moved on and there has been no more early morning "fighting."

This morning, we drove to Accra to visit the "Global Mamas" fair trade store. Global Mamas is a nonprofit organization that assists small w0men-owned businesses in Ghana. The vast majority of women in Ghana earn about $2/day. All of the money earned at this store goes to support these women entrepreneurs. It is a very worthy cause and we took the opportunity to purchase a few things. Amy was also charged with purchasing "stuff" for Mama-Chelsea (that's what the kids have started calling the girls: Mama Chelsea, Mama Shannon, Mama Amy, etc.). Mark and Chelsea took the day to visit two of the children they have been sponsoring through Compassion International - please read their blog for an amazing story). Chelsea left Amy a list of things to buy; one thing on the list was "anything African." Let's just say that the Global Mamas had a good day today.

We then headed out to the streets of Accra to do some "real" shopping. Kofi told us, "On the streets, you bargain." Bargaining was the name of the game. In many ways, I negotiate for a living. But this is a whole different ball game. Amy got her groove on. She is very skilled in this art. The streets were lined with vendors selling everything from authentic African drums to Ghana Football jerseys. Due to their recent success in the World Cup, Ghana jerseys were everywhere. All the boys got a jersey. Amy found some very cool African items that she and Chelsea will use to decorate their room for Vacation Bible School in August.

We had lunch with George, Kofi and our team (minus Mark and Chelsea) at Frankie's in Accra. Enjoyed some good pizza and, of course, a coke. It goes without saying that this has been an amazing trip, but I have missed some certain food groups, like - chips and salsa. Yes, that is a food group in our house.

Walking through a typical day in Accra, I was struck by how many modern conveniences we take for granted. There are no street lights, no lane lines (for the most part), no stop signs, etc. Many, many other things that we never give a second thought (like well-paved roads), just are not here. And Accra is one of the most developed cities on the entire continent.

We headed back to the Village of Love to have a third day of VBS with the kids. We got there just after they got home from school. Each day we see them, they are literally waiting by the gate for us to arrive. They are always so excited and (I think I speak for all of us) we are all becoming attached to these children. I have never seen such pure joy. George has told us very specific stories about his rescue of some of these children. They are as bad as you can possibly imagine (what they were required to do each day, where they lived, what little they ate, etc.). Now, thanks to George and Mama Pam, these children have a new life. I truly have never seen happier children. And, you would be amazed at how well behaved they are. Very, very respectful. And, you hardly ever seen any bickering or fighting amongst them. God has blessed this home with incredible house parents named Matthias and Lilly.

Today, we started off with more singing. The kids have learned some new songs this week and it is great to hear them sing. Shannon gave another great lesson on hygiene - this time on brushing teeth. Then we had more arts and crafts time. Shannon is very talented at making jewelry and she brought along enough supplies for each child to make their own cross necklace. Then, the kids used finger paints to to make a very cool "painting." Each child had a different color on their finger (thanks to sir mix-a-lot...that's me) and put their finger prints inside the stencil of a dove and a moon. The end result was a collage of fingerprints with each child's individual prints just below. There will be pictures of this if it is hard to follow this writing at midnight local time. But, it was a fun project that the kids really enjoyed. It was also very meaningful to see the each of the fingerprints and the collage. This is something that we hope to bring back (or maybe get a copy).

This is a good time to say thank you. Thank you to the many, many families who donated supplies for this trip. The kids have absolutely loved using the crayons, markers, paints, paper, coloring books - and the list goes on. The supplies that we will not use will be donated to the Village of Love and the children will continue to enjoy your generous gifts for a long time to come. We were all blown away by the outpouring of support for this trip. Thank you so very much.

After the kids made their necklace and contributed to the finger painting project, they went to learn scripture. I was helping the kids with the fingerpainting, but could hear George talking to them about each of the scriptures. He was talking about their former lives as slaves and how they have been set free. Unbelievable. What a blessing it is to have George here and getting to see him interact with the children he rescued.

Click here for pictures.