Hey, everyone! Jenn has been asking me to write an update for awhile now. She’s finally getting her wish!

As I am writing this we are sitting on a bus with the entire team. We are traveling to the capital city, Accra, to do some Christmas shopping. The bus ride is a six hour trip and right now we are on about a three hour bumpy stretch where the road is basically non-existent. So, if anything is misspelled I will blame it on the rough ride!

Going to Accra is like going to another country. The roads are much better, there are some nice restaurants, and they have a mall! Last time we were in Accra Jackson looked out the window of the car and asked, “Mommy, are we in America?” (To view pictures of our Accra trip please press here.)

Yesterday we had Harvest Day at church. This is a time at the end of the year that Ghanaians traditionally bring a large offering to thank God for another year of protection and provision. Some people gave a month’s salary! It was amazing to see Ghanaians sacrifice and give. I was most impressed with Grace Serwaah. Grace is a lady from our Sunday school class and is over 60 years old. She has been very sick and in the hospital this past year. She struggles day by day just to get food to eat. On Sunday she brought an offering of four oranges! Oranges are about five cents each. It reminded me of the widow and her two mites. It was a great sacrifice by someone with very little and convicted me to always be willing to give even when I think I don’t have anything to give. (To view pictures of our harvest day please press here.)

Fundamental Baptist Academy has occupied a lot of my time the last few months! Running a school is not easy. Dad made it look easy! The Ghanaian children have caught on to the ACE curriculum really fast and have exceeded my expectations. I was worried how the Ghanaian and American children would interact with each other, but they have gotten along very well and are making new friends. It is amazing how thirsty the Ghanaian children are to learn. I have to force some of the older students to take a break. Otherwise, they would work all day! I’m sure my teachers wished I was like that. (Pictures coming soon.)

On thanksgiving morning I told the boys how we came to have a thanksgiving holiday. I used one of their toy boats as the Mayflower. (To view our family thanksgiving, please press here.) After this we went to a team thanksgiving feast. This is my favorite get-together because the food is always so good. I definitely ate too much. (To view our team thanksgiving, please press here.) On Friday several of the American men got together with some Ghanaian church members to play flag football. (To view pictures please press here.)

The Decembers ladies meeting was held at the 6-flat. They had a progressive dinner in 4 of the ladies homes; including our own. To see pictures of this event please press here.

Jennifer got a nasty nose infection this month. We went to the doctor and he gave us some anti-viral cream and a antibiotic to get rid of it. 

For Jennifer’s birthday she wanted to get her hair done. I had 4 hair dressing girls come to the house to do her hair. To view pictures press here.

Another gift I gave Jennifer for her birthday was an 3D ultrasound. (Costs about 20 USD) To view pictures of our third boy please press here.

For pictures of us decorating for Christmas please press here.

For pictures of our family Christmas photo shoot please press here.

For pictures of our adventure to the zoo please press here.

Please enjoy the pictures. Jenn does a great job of making sure we always have the camera ready so those of you who are interested are able to see a little bit of our lives in Africa. It has been a busy couple of months, but we count it a privilege that God has allowed us to serve in Ghana. God has been so good to us. I am daily reminded of his love for me and my family. Many of you are an instrument God uses to pour out His love on us. Thank you, words cannot express how much that means to us.  

Brett Beil