December 27, 2008
Week(s) in Review
December 27, 2008
My sincerest apologies for failing to post an update last week. As I am sure you can understand it has been extremely hectic these past two weeks. I finally sat down for what felt like the first time in a long time on Christmas Eve.
Accra Trip
Pastor Mike set up a trip for the whole team to travel to Accra on December 14-16th. Accra is about 150 miles away. It usually takes about 5-6 hours to travel there from Kumasi. Unfortunately our bus broke down 4 times on the way down so it took 16 hours to finally arrive at our guest house. I was joking to Brett, “We should have just flown to America to go Christmas shopping for the time it took to get here.” It was about 90 degrees that day so when we were broken down we could not stay on the bus for long without sweating to death. As a result, the men started playing football on the 1 lane road. (they would take a pause as a car would fly by at about 50-60 miles an hour.) The ladies sat down on the side of the road and watched the kids while the men played. This picture was taken at our first brake down.
Accra is so much more developed than Kumasi. Brett said he felt like he was in another country while we were there. They have a mall and several grocery stores that carry American food. The prices are exorbitant but it is still nice to be able to shop for decent products. I bought Brett an electric razor, a soccer jersey, a hat and some other small things. Brett got me a crock pot =), a skillet, a jean skirt and a blouse. Our team had a great time. It was nice to “get away” for a little while. The trip back was shorter; we only broke down two times for a total travel time of 9 hours. On one of our brake downs we boarded another bus to take us a few miles down the road to a restaurant. This bus was on its way to Kumasi to get repaired. It had NO WINSHIELD. Ghana Ghana Ghana!!
Soulwinning
Brett and I have been visiting prospective married couples on different bus routes for our class. Last Saturday I witnessed to a lady for a solid half hour fervently trying to convince her it is only through Jesus Christ and not ourselves we can have remission of sins. Finally she bowed her head and accepted Christ as her personal Saviour and the only way to heaven. She came to church on Sunday and brought 7 of her children. Many of them also got saved and baptized. Amen and Amen.
Christmas Party
Michael and Brooke Williams hosted a Christmas party at their house on the 23rd. We all drew names at Thanksgiving so we can purchase a present for specific people for Christmas. We had a great time of fun and fellowship. Again, I am so thankful for our team and the strength and stability it brings to our family.
Christmas
We had some extra money this Christmas from support and savings through the year so we decided to help some of our people feel extra loved on Christmas.
On Sunday we gave all of our Sunday school attendees a gift. We gave perfume and a scarf to all of the women and a shoe shiner and coke to all of the men. We also gave a small gift to all of our children in primary church.
On Tuesday we joined the Osgood’s and the youth group on a caroling trip to a local orphanage. We went through all of Jackson and Judson’s old toys and ended up with a bundle of gifts to give to the children. They were all very appreciative.
On Christmas Eve we passed out gifts to six of our church families that we have personally invested in the most. These six families yielded 24 children to also provide for. Amen and Amen.
On Christmas Day Brett dressed up as Santa Clause (they call him Father Christmas here) and handed out gifts to all of the college students and their children!
We have always been taught “it is more blessed to give then to receive” but not until this year did we realize that absolute truth of these words. God is SO good to us. Next year Brett mentioned setting up a way for people from the states to donate so they can participate in making a huge difference for a Ghanaian family on Christmas. $20 can buy great gifts for a family of 7.
Our family had a big Christmas this year as well. Jackson and Judson may live in Africa but they are still spoiled to death by family back home. This makes me happy =)!
Brett of course is the best husband in the world. He surprised me and bought me an I-touch from America. It came in on Christmas Eve. He is so good to me – I am so unworthy of his gifts and love; and, so thankful for him at the same time.
BIG THANK YOU TO - Mom and Dad Beil, Mom and Dad Guarneri, Lisa, Lauren, Jessica, Daniel, BIL Ilir, Kari and Pat, Jon, Aunt Janeen, Grandma and Grandpa Campbell, Grandma and Grandpa Beil, and Brother Pardo and the Young at Heart Class – FOR ALL OF THE AWESOME GIFTS YOU SENT!!