We also enjoyed time with Hagar and Sarah, some of the original rescued children. Another group from Texas was there, working and doing some educational training. Hagar was a doll, and we loved talking with her about her favorite books, one of which is The Secret Garden. Claire, wouldn't you would love reading with her?
We left the village of hope and came home to the light of our Ghana lives, the 25 children waiting for us in Tema. Chelsea, Beth and I spent some time helping the children make acrylic paintings to bring back and sell to raise money. You are gonna love them. Each child
will have their picture taken with the artwork, and we will frame them and you can all fight over them!
While we were painting it up, Brad Gautney and the rest of the team, along with nurse Shannon and nurse Megan were doing medical assessments on the children. This is a pretty remarkable venture, and touch a life, along with His Chase has made Brad's visit here possible. You have this amazing man, who someone described as Indiana Jones and Jesus rolled into one! The fact that a guy with his credentials and experience is here with us is amazing.
Then came the most fun dance party ever. Throughout this trip, our meals have been prepared by Ericka. This most generous and hospitable woman works all day long, over a hoot fire to prepare meals for our group and the 25 children. I have never seen anyone like her. So selfless. The Americans eat in one patio room and the Ghanaians eat in another area. It is just a custom. But tonight we had a treat--the tables were all set together in one big area, and we all ate together. About 5 minutes after we sat down Kofi started playing music and the kids started jumping up and dancing. We listened to a lot of Ghanaian songs, and then Rachel hooked up her ipod and we had a little Michael Jackson medley along with others. I hope the photo of Colin doing the thriller dance shows up. And yes, Summer and Tika, I actually did dance. One of the few, if only times in my life I let loose in a public place. You can't be with children in Africa and be a wall flower.
This was the perfect time to pass out the silly bandz. Each child got their own package, and they loved them. When the trend of silly bandz spreads throughout Africa, we can credit Alison and Tammy in Castle Hills. Thanks girls, it was a big hit.
While the kids were finishing dancing, we snuck around the back wall and lined up all of the flip flops that were donated by my very generous bunko group. We made a tunnel (like the ones after little kids soccer games) and each child came through the tunnel and chose their shoes. They were very excited. Funny thing, the boys chose all kinds of colors- pink, purple... They don't have the stereotypes we do. There was not one incident of arguing or fighting or not sharing. It was perfection.
Yesterday was fantastic. Today has been great so far. We were able to go with the Jacobs to visit one of the children they sponsor through Compassion International. It was delightful. The kids at the school were so happy to see us. We passed out dum dums to the whole class (thanks to someone at Walnut, sorry, I can't remember who).
We returned to the village of love on friday, after the compassion visit. we spent the next 5 hours playing with the kids, finishing the painitngs, and reading lots and lots of books. It is so much fun to have children, hanging all over you, crowding behind you listening to you read. i don't think I will ever tire of hearing "mama amy, you read a book to me." You finish a chapter of a book aand they say "let's do more!" I still can't figure out how a child, just 12 to 18 months ago, was a slave, never attended school, and can sit and read and write at such a developed level. I am even more impressed with their writing skills. We came home with stacks of handwritten letters, in beautiful English. Very impressive. Blake, Emily and Ellie better get ready for some serious training for the rest of thre summer.
While we read and played, the medical assessments were completed. A remarkable feat for Brad g, Shannon and Megan. We said our tearful goodbyes and headed to the airport. We are currently in atlanta and will be home in three hours.
I plan on editing and sorting through photos of the last few days when i get home. I think this blog has been a great journal of facts for us. i hope we can assimilate the facts and document them for our memory and share with you as well. I also hope we can convey some of the emotions and reflections we experienced in addition to the facts. it is hard to put them into words for me without sounding cheesy. I will try tomorrow, before the hustle and bustle of life in the US returns. I definately have not missed that busy life we all lead. I know you will all be happy to know that i ate a personal pan dominoes pizza while walking to our connecting gate. delicious. Also, can you imagine the joy when I located the chick fil a? A drink with a straw for the first time in 10 days! Styrafoam cup, too.
Pictures to come later.
No comments:
Post a Comment