Well, tonight is the night that I will sit in my room, look at all my pictures from the summer and make sure I have everything packed up. I cant believe it is Friday the 22nd. It really does feel like yesterday that we finally made it to the Ghana airport and saw the big AKWABA (welcome) sign above the door. This summer was a blast and I am so thankful I got to spend it here with these kids again in this beautiful country. This time around I got to see alot more than last year. I was able to visit lake volta and actually feel the water with my hand as we were rowed across. How many hands i've held that has grown up in that water made it so weird yet gratifying to be there. In my mind I've always had such a negative conotation with the words 'lake volta'. After being there, though it is a beautiful lake surrounded by lush moutains, the conotation was still there. Every child I saw on the shore line when we made it to the other side, which were many, just made me hope for them, that they weren't being treated as badly as some of the stories I have heard from the kids here.

Also another highlight from this summer was going back to Nkwatia. Yes I honestly was dreading going up there again but when we got there and the teachers remembered me by name as well as some of the kids really made it worth it. Many of the kids ran up to me and stared for a second and said, 'Ah! I remember your face, very familiar! Then they brought me into the computer room and pointed to a picture on the wall. A picture of Brittany, Laci, and myself as well as all the teachers. I don't want to say I made an impact on any one there or here for that matter, but just hearing them remember who I was even though I was there for only 2 weeks last year made it really special. I feel like all in all, this summer was a little bit better than last. The homecoming I recieved when I got here I will never forget. Kids stopping their football game to run and give me a hug will forever be one of my closest memories. True Happiness. You know I let the kids just use whatever I bring, i.e my iphone, camera, video camera, etc. The other night I was looking through all my videos and ended up watching one from the first week. A boy whom I got close with last year, had my video camera and was just filming random things. I didn't hear it the first time I watched it because the volume is not really loud on my camera, but when I put it on my computer I heard what Edmond was saying while filming. He was giving a 'tour' of a certain part of the village when he starts to tell his story. He said I thank the Lord for the Village of Hope, my mother died when I was 2...then towards the end he said I want to thank Shelby's mother and Shelby's father for letting her come here. God bless Shelby's family. So to my family, even though you are not here, you are making an impact on these kids. Hopefully someday soon you will finally be able to meet the kids I talk about all the time!

*Very little is needed to make a happy life. It is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.*

-Marcus Aurelius

That quote stuck out to me very much yesterday when we went to the Liberian Refugee Camp. It was like a whole other world from the Village of Hope. There are guards at the front that only let you in if they know you or you are with someone they know. You walk in and it's just like any other small town. Very runned down, houses made from scrap metal, kids running all over the place. We went and looked at the school those guys we met are helping start. In the front of the school there were alot of kids just hanging out doing nothing. Then they started a football game, and they used an empty bottle as the ball. They were still playing hard and having the time of their life from the expressions on their faces. They made something out of nothing...Little things bring them joy, if only more people thought that way. As we were walking through we found out that this place used to be the definition of a refugee camp. Everyone had tents as houses and now it looks like any other town. They made something out of nothing.

Last night I was in Joy Barnett House, suprise suprise, and I was watcing ma Victoria cook jolloff rice. I was talking to Vida about how its getting closer for me to go and I hope I don't cry like last year. She said I wouldn't, Lebene said I probably would haha. Anyways she said one is greater than zero. Lebene just looked real confused and told her to stop talking because she isnt making sense, and Vida snapped back with a 'yes it does you just don't understand!' She continued telling me that one is better than zero...and I said im not following you. She said what if you had never came here last year. You would have never met any of us...one is better than zero. You coming one time is better than never coming at all. I've always wondered how the kids respond to people only coming once and for just 2 weeks, that kind of answered my question. Everyday I am thankful for these kids and they are a living testimony to what God can do. They have gone through SLAVERY, through beatings, some have seen people not come up after diving down into the water, and yet they are here making an impact on me. Yesterday when we were driving to the refugee camp, someone asked Chelsea about her tattoo on her foot and what it ment. It was some tree, im not sure what kind but it is mentioned in the Bible in, I think, Isaiah. Anyways God had it as a symbol that he is there to help those in need. And she said she got it as a reminder to her to be a symbol of Gods love to the needy, the poor, and the depressed. I thought that was amazing. Tonight we are having her going away party. She knows there is something going on for her but doesnt know any details. It is going to be alot of fun, and really sad because she has been here for 2 years. She said this time saying goodbye is going to be the most difficult.

OH! the president deal...almost forgot to tell yall about it. Well he didnt come...so after the kids and pretty much everyone here at the village got EVERYTHING ready, signs got painted, flags got hung, he couldn't come and had all these other important people come in his place. LAME. I did get to see some cool tribal dances and what not but yeah. After the program I was hanging out with Raul and funniest thing ever. All the kids had to dress nice so he was wearing dress pants and a white shirt and the big ole dock martin type boots. I was chasing him around and the way he ran made it obvious those shoes were heavy. It was SO funny I wish I had gotten it on film. I finally caught him and he laughted and screamed so loud people turned around. haha I had to make him be quiet but at the same time I couldn't help but laugh. Oh im going to miss that kid.

But I think this is going to be my last post in Ghana! I hope for who ever has been reading this you have enjoyed it. Today's was pretty long but I just had so much to say :] haha. Anyways I am really excited to be home and see everyone. see you all in 2 days!

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another; for he who loves his fellow man has fullfilled the law... and whatever other comandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ''Love your neighbor as yourself" Love does no harm to it's neighbor. Therefore love is the fullfillment of the law.

-Romans 13:9-10

 

 

Shelby

All hands are on deck today getting everything in top shape for tomorrow. The president is in fact coming here because it is his birthday and he wants to spend it with children. Trying to get the votes up is what I see it as but whatever works for ya right? Tommy has been running around trying to make sure everything is ready. The 'secret service' came yesterday to check out everything. No one has any idea when he is going to arrive, I think it has to do with security and what not, which is understandable. Last I saw the kids were all out weeding and picking up trash and putting together some big tent thing and stage. Apparently when the president comes you go all out! haha

Tomorrow's post will inform you guys all about the events that occur. Hopefully it will be entertaining.

3 days until we leave. so crazy.

So this morning at breakfast Tommy, who is the american missionary here, comes in and tells us he needs a huge favor. Obviously we say yes absolutely what do you need. Well there is a seminar going on this week for the teachers, which means all teachers will be gone from the school. Who would schedule a seminar on the week their students have exams, Lord knows. So today I was assigned a classroom and was told to go review them for their english exam tomorrow. HA! Thankfully Tommy gave me their exam to look over and to get a feel for what they are learning in class. We didn't have to start teaching until after lunch so that gave us a few hours to get prepared. When I got to my room, grade 6B I walked in and found out that some of my favorite boys were in there- Mawuli, Edmond, Seth, Knowledge, Gladstone...so all my troubles were left at the door! I wrote stuff on the board and they answered pretty much everything right so I think they wont have any problem on their exams which is good. I wasn't in there 45min until Francis came and took them to go weed. So I spent the rest of the afternoon going from class to class seeing if anyone needed some help.

Tomorrow exams start so the kids will be kept busy so I wont have to do much except sit in there and make sure they do it. English is tomorrow, Math is Wednesday, Citizenship is Thursday, ICT is Friday and then there are some more subjects next week.

***HUGE NEWS! The President of Ghana is coming to the Village of Hope on this Thursday! The kids said its his birthday or something and he is celebrating it here. Not sure how accurate that is but he is most certainly coming here. So Thursday will be quite interesting with all the people coming. It's obviously a big deal for the Village because this will be getting their name out to people who have never heard of this place. The kids are all excited and were getting me to say his name over and over again so I would know what to say when he gets here. It is also been said that this is the first orphanage that has been visited by a Ghanaian president, I may have completely put that out of context so don't quote me on that one, but im sure most of this is for campaining. Still awesome that I will be in the presence of someone really important.

And besides that life is good. Its really quite hot today, it rained pretty hard this morning and then the sun came out and has been bearing down on us ever sence. All the kids are out weeding right this moment to get everything looking just right for Thursday.

I will be home leaving this beautiful country in 5 days. Holy Moses I will be home in 6...I know you are all excited to see me! haha just kidding. In all honesty, last year around this time I was not in any means looking forward to the day we left. This year however im getting excited to go back home. Who would of ever thought I would say that...not me. But I think after spending two full summers here, the next times I come I think I will be alright with only staying a few weeks. I know I've made relationships here that will last forever. And if the good Lord doesnt let us meet again on this earth these kids will be the first ones I look for when I reach those pearly gates!

African Saying:

If you think your too small to make a difference, try spending one night in a closed room with a misquito

Okay so these night continue to get better and better! Since we had the prayer night last night, it was pretty obvious today was going to be a lazy day for everyone. I spent the day uploading pictures and downloading music from David's computer to mine. I know have 8 new albums for free...awesome. Also when the group came a few days ago noticed one of the ladies brought a hair straightener and I have been itching to ask her if I could use it ever since I saw it and today I did. I feel as if my hair forgot how to be straight because it took me a good 35 min to straighten it all. Now the kids have never seen me with straight hair before because its naturally curly and Its Africa...so I really dont care that my hair is a mess most of the time. Anyways after I got it all straight, still a bit poofy from this humidity, I went outside to take some pictures of the kids. It was as if I made a DRASTIC change. Some didnt notice at first but when they did it was like AYE Shelby! Is that your real hair?! When did you do this? Its so nice. A boy named Daniel came up to me and was like Shelby you look beautiful! haha I really should straighten my hair here more often! Another boy Gideon ran up to me and was like oh shelby I just love it! The best responses were when kids came up to me from behind and tapped me on the shoulder as if I was someone new they hadnt met because when I turned around they were completely surprised it was me. Lebene's reaction was pretty awesome too. He walked up to me and I dont think he really noticed till he got close...he opened his mouth wide in awe and just gave me a big hug and twirled my hair. It's funny how amusing changing your hair can be to these kids.

So tonight there was supposed to be another prayer night. But someone, I think it may have been Fred Asare's father in law, anyways someone in relation to this place came here to celebrate his 60th birthday. We had chairs set up all in the courtyard and we had music blasting. I went up to the guys doing the music to find out that it was my iphone they were using to play! The older guys put alot of popular ghanian songs on it earlier this summer so that came in handy tonight. Anyways I went up there just to take some pictures because it was more a kind of party for the kids and parents, or so I thought. They gave me food and drinks, which I gave to the kids since we had already eaten and then we had a full on dance party. Now I was wearing a thin underarmour sweatshirt and shorts and I think I could ring it out I am so sweaty. I carried around this little girl elizabeth for awhile dancing with her so I know my arms are going to be super sore in the morning. But it was a blast...those kids could dance all night long if they were given the opportunity. I wish so bad I had rhythm to dance with them and not feel like a fool, but even though Im sure I looked like one I still danced the night away. It was alot of fun and some of the kids were really good and some of them were hilarious. I mean if you cant let loose and have fun with a bunch of little kids than come on....But tonight was most def a good ending to this week! Cant believe we leave in exactly a week. Goodness Gracious.

**Preach the gospel always; when necessary use words**

- Saint Francis of Assisi

So the past few days here have been quite entertaining...Thursday I spent all day out at the beach, which was awesome. It started out just me and David planning on going...than sarah,megan and zach came along so it ended up being a fun time. Got a little sun burnt but it's already going away.



Yesterday I went into Kasoa to go to the market. It was me, zach and ashton and one of the house moms- ma matilda. Well we went with her to just go get away for the day. She is one of those real girly ladies, always dressing up and always has her hair done. This is not a touristy kind of market that they take us before we leave to the airport, this is where all the ghanaians shop. These people sell some of the weirdest things. One lady had all these huge slugs, another was selling animal intestines...sick. Alot of dried fish and eel, thats what it looked like anyway. It was a whole different shopping experience. One of the main things we went there for was to get some fabric. They had tons and tons of beautiful fabric. Ashton got some for a lady to make her a dress, I hope it turns out good, we go back thursday to pick it up. Well a few weeks ago I took my earings out because one of them was hurting my ears and I just have never put them back in. Now this relates to my statement earlier about matilda being a big girly girl. Well we are walking and she sees that me and ashton both dont have earings in. So she just goes oh my goodness, buys us some and then the lady pulls me over and puts them in my ears as if I am fully incapable. haha. It felt like she pierced my ear again, oh it wasn't pleasent. Then she put the back on way too tight and it pinched real bad. But we just smiled and said ohhhh thank you and matilda was like and now you look girly. Oh you just look so good now. She is wonderful.


Also when we first got to the market, we were meeting a girl named Alayna up there. She is here at the VOH doing seminars for the teachers. She's 28 and comes to help the teachers with their lesson plans and things like that. So we are meeting her up there and when we find her she is with two white guys. They introduced themselves..Gary and Ben. Gary, who is getting his PhD in education is from California and knows Alayna because that is where she is from as well and apparently they work together. Ben actually goes to A&M and is a special ed major and met Alayna last year. Those two guys are in Ghana staying at a refugee camp. They came here in the hopes to start a school within the camp. Super cool! Alayna and Gary left for Accra and Ben decided to stick around with us so we talked for a good while about this place. He said the best way to describe the type of living it is is gypsy like. Some people are born and raised there, some come and go. He also said since none of them are ghanaian citizens, so they cant get jobs outside the camp so they have made up their own currency and stuff like that to get by. Insane...He also told us to come check it out some time next week before we leave, and i most def. want to go do that...go see a different way of living because we all know the VOH is like paradise compared to many places of refuge here.


That was my market experience. Twas alot of fun and im super glad I went.


Since I was gone all day, I didnt see any of the kids until dinner time. Michelle had stayed here and she came up to me once we got back and was like, if I could tell you the number of times Lebene has either asked where you were or what you are doing...I would be here all day. Haha so I went and found him, he flagged me down from across the lawn and ran and gave me a hug saying he was worried because he hadnt seen me all day. I dont know if he thought I would really of left without saying goodbye or what. Crazy boy. Last night we had a prayer night from 8 until 12am. It was a night of a few songs than an extremely long prayer. Almost every kid in there was doing the head nod falling asleep thing. It was pretty funny, Gameli was sitting next to me and kept dozing off then he'd get hit in the head to wake up--thats how kids get waken up at church or what not. But we made it through it and when you've been so used to going to bed around 10 everynight, 12 is late! at home I woulda thought that was a joke. I think they are continuing it again tonight so I may have to get a nap in sometime this afternoon.

7 days until we leave here && 8 until I arrive in American soil. Ohhhhh it makes me sad. But last night I had a dream that Gay Walters told me I was going on some medical mission trip with her on spring break....so Gay lets make that happen! haha

Missing everyone back home. Hope everyone is doing real good and are all staying healthy!

Sending LOVE from Africa.

"But you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8

I feel like being here is making my decision to get out of the education program at ACU the best idea ive made yet. I can only be in my classroom for so long until I want to pull my hair out. Granted I am in an African classroom and I am the 'sub'...we all know how we were when subs came to class, but goodness. Today I didnt even teach, I let Sarah do it and I graded homework. I could do that everyday and be just fine. Late last night a group from Oregan got here. One of the people with them was Chelsea. She has been teaching up here for the past 2 years. She left before the summer started because she has decided to start grad school and wanted to be home and get settled back into American living. Anyways she's here with her church visiting the kids and they were all super excited about her coming back. Tommy has been getting the kids to write appreciation letters to her and is going to make a big scrap book to give to her before she leaves. She leaves the day after we do, so on friday we are having a big going away party for her and im glad we will still be here for that.

10 days until we are TEXAS bound

  Even though Ive been counting down, it still blows my mind its coming so soon. It will be bitter sweet thats for sure. I told everyone just get ready for it. You think you'll be fine and wont get too upset than BAM it hits you!

  So exams are next week for the kids so this week up at school they have been preparing and reviewing so I feel like I am a burden when I go up to the classrooms. Alot of the teachers, Mr. Otu is the worst at this, will see you and come up with some excuse for you to have to teach his class, then will go hang out in the library. Im like any other day thats okay, but not when their supposed to be reviewing for exams! --which determines whether they pass to the next grade or not--Anyways in the evenings after dinner the kids have 'study time' in their houses and as always I go up to Joy Barnett and help out. Last night Peter had my ipod on some of these speakers he found and was singing along to Brad Paisley. I told him that made me oh so happy and he just got the biggest smile on his face, he's quite reserved and quiet most of the time. I helped the kids draw teeth for their notes and made little quizzes for Lebene. I drew out different things for Science(chemistry) and I made him label them. He did really good which made him feel better about it.

*Raul update. Today he came and found me at the school and we were walking around. Earlier before I went up to the school I found these fake raybans in the guest house so I've been wearing them around. Well Seth got them during break and he disapeared. Well Raul came up to me and wanted me to walk him to his class and I said I needed to get my glasses from Seth. He started yelling something up into the courtyard. At first, since he is very hard to understand, I had no idea what he was saying. Then I realized he was yelling Seth's name and telling him to bring me my glasses. Haha I had to get him to stop and tell him its okay I can get them later, but he continued to yell. He is precious. 

Well it looks like its about to start raining, kind of puts a damper on my spending the rest of the day at the beach plans. Oh well...Im sure I can go find something else to do to make my time go by.

PS family...everyone keeps asking why you did not come this year. So you may have to make an appearance next year...And Morgan, there is a boy named Francis here that just thinks you are wonderful and really really wants you to come next year! haha He apparently saw your picture on my phone and has been rantin and ravin.

Well still praying that everyone is happy and healthy back home. We will be seeing each other soon enough!

Sending my love from africa

Shelby

The weather here has been surprisingly cool these past few days. The rainy season this year started later than normal so I assume thats why. This weather is also leading to alot of the kids getting colds...which is quite humurous, not that they are getting sick, but that they are gettings colds in weather that is in the low 70s. Last night I went up to Joy Barnett to see Lebene because he wasn't feeling good and I found him outside next to the cooking fire wearing 3 shirts! I couldn't help but laugh and he just smiled and said 'I am feeling cold'. I think he may of been running a fever because his head was pretty hot.

 Besides this wonderful weather for us, not too much has been going on here at the village. I had to break up two fights the other day. One of the boys, Ebenezer is really a loose cannon and can just turn mean at a snap of a finger. Apparently he insulted one of the boarders mothers. Haha they are a mess, but after the first hit to the face I pulled them off and stood in between them while they yelled at each other in twi. Lord knows what they were saying. Also we have a wonderful cook here, his name is Reuben and he is just in charge of cleaning the guest houses for new people and cooking for the guests. Well after that huge group of 56, Tommy thought it would be best if he gave him a few days off. Tommy Drinnen is the american living here, has been for about 8 years now I think. Anyways it's actually worked to our favor because for dinner tommy is cooking for us and the first night we had fajitas and last night we had cheeseburgers...delicious! Reuben starts back up tomorrow because there is a group coming in tonight from Portland.

  Last night at dinner I asked Tommy about Raul. He said he needs every bit of help he can get. I knew he was behind but goodness. He's about 8 or 9 and doesnt know the alphabet, his colors, anything. I was in the library yesterday working with the reading program and he was in their with tommy and tommy had a little childrens book and would point to things like snakes and ask him what kind of animal is that and he had no idea. I wish I would of found him sooner because I would love to help him learn. There is a guy coming here from ACU that Tommy said is going to have to meet Raul and work with him because he needs the most help. Raul has been starting to yell my name when I walk by his house and wave with a huge smile on his face. Makes me happy!

Well 11 days until I leave here, and 12 days until I am back home. Unbelievable.

Thanks for the prayers not only for me but for this place and these kids.

God is good ALL the time.

Shelby

Well the huge group of 56 left yesterday morning around 10 and ever since than its been pretty quiet...and its also been really nice being the only people here. We got to move back into the guest house and now we can take a shower whenever we want and not have to worry about getting in the way of the people actually staying in here! Last night I spent my evening on the porch of Joy Barnett with the kids listening to music on my ipad and playing uno. It was alot of fun, mainly because that house has some of my favorite kids and their house parents are new as of 2 weeks ago and i really like them as well. Anyways the weather has been really cool here. Last night no one was outside around 8 on because the weather was too cold to them. I was LOVING it. it was in the mid 70s with a breeze, so i got to wear long sleeves and it was perfect. Last night the Lipscomb people -- Sarah, Megan and David got in. They were the ones with us in Nkwatia while we were there. They are here for a week than going back up to Nkwatia. I missed having them around so im glad there here for a bit.

   Okay so two posts ago I talked about a boy named Raul. Well Ive still made an effort to go talk to him everyday and today he came and grabbed my hand after church and had me walk him home. Michelle even mentioned that hes interacting with everyone more which is really making me happy. Not saying that im the reason he is but I like to think im helping. He's been teaching me that just because there is a language barrier doesnt mean thats an excuse not to reach out to him. He's been smiling more and i dont know, its just good to see. I wonder about his past and what hes been through but i know that he's where he needs to be now. He's in a reading program after school to help him with his english and pronunciation so im going to start helping with that as well.

13 days until we leave, pretty surreal! Though I am getting to the point where im getting excited to head home and see everyone. Hope everyone is still happy and healthy. OH i read that a man was at the Rangers game the other day and fell to his death, he was at the game with his 6 year old son. No idea who the man is or where he is from, but say a special prayer for that family, ecspecially the boy, you know that had to of been traumatic.

Ye Hirya Me

Short post but have been wanting to write about this since last night!

Last night I was over at the Touch a Life house and Pam Cope and her group was over there. Some of the people brought their guitars and what not and they had a mini concert. The kids were singing...screaming...along with the music. It was awesome.

**Now remember, all the kids in Touch a Life house have been rescued from Lake Volta**

Okay so one of the house parents brought out two big african drums and set them down in front of some of the kids and they just went to town on them. It was amazing. 10 others got in front of them and did this tribal dance. After that was over they did this dance and I had Hagar explain to me what they were doing. It was all about being out on the lake and mending the nets in the boat and selling the fish when they were done. I just kept thinking how some of these kids, not even a year ago, where doing exactly what they were acting out and now they are here singing and dancing and loving life.

But my all time favorite part of the night was a song they sang. Hagar is going to sing it to me tonight so i can write down the words but it goes along the lines of this::

We will never have to be on the Lake again

Now we are going to express our rights and be free

God bless mama pam

and thats all i can remember but i about cried. It was the SWEETEST thing i've ever heard, ecspecially coming from the kids it was coming from. Later tonight or tomorrow ill post the real words for the song!

&& im super excited, Im going to try and teach Hagar how to ride a bike this next week! haha should be really fun. Okay well the school day has begun and i am off to my football field!

With God ANYTHING is possible.

Shelby

Well the big group of 56 has arrived. They got here tuesday morning while we were gone. We went to the Kakuum Rain Forest and did the canopy walk as well as the slave castle tour in Elmina. It was alot of fun and I think everyone really enjoyed it. Well this big group, we found out, is really a few different groups that all came here at the same time. Some people are from Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas...just everywhere. Pam Cope is here with some of the people. They came to do a health fair for the kids so I kind of in a sense get the rest of the week off because I am usually up at the school helping but they arent really having school now. It's really cool what they are doing and I really hope its beneficial to the kids. They have turned many of the classrooms into stations. I went into one yesterday and it was the oral hygiene(sp?) station. They made the kids eat this purple tablet that turns their mouth purple then they were given their own new toothbrush and toothpaste to brush with. When they were done the purple that was still in their mouth showed them where they needed to work on brushing more. It was actually pretty cool haha and really funny to see their faces when they saw that their mouths were all purple. Some of the other stations at the school was yoga, first aid, malaria prevention...just things like that. While different classes were at different places, a class at a time would go to the clinic and get a checkup then to the dentist to check their teeth and so forth.

    While all that was happening...I was out on the football field helping this guy Andrew with his station...which was just playing soccer. There are like 5 guys here that are about 24 and went to peperdine, 2 of them actually go to ACU right now. I've hung out with them since they've gotten here because their doing the 'excersise' stations. Last night when we were sitting around this girl named Rachel came up to me and said she heard i had quite a power shot...I was really confused about what she was talking about and she said her brother was Andrew and had been telling her about me and apparently compared me to this girl she used to play soccer with. She said it was a pretty good compliment. heyyooo! haha.

So yesterday Karli left to go back home. Me, Michelle and Zach went with her to the airport and to the market because I didnt want her to have to go alone. It was a fun day. The market was as crazy as I remember, people swarm you pulling you into their shops. Its a bit overwhellming. I kept telling them im not here to buy anything because im coming back later so they kept saying well come and look so you can remember to come buy from me next time. I did meet this vendor named David. He was super nice and walked around with us, showed us his shop which had a ton of cool stuff in it, so i will be sure to go back and visit him! We also ate at Frankies before we dropped her off at the airport. It was soooo good. I actually ate a burger and fries. The first burger and fries in 5 weeks. It may have been really awful, but since i havent had one in so long it was extremely tasty!

**We have 16 days left here until we head back to the good ole USofA. Cant believe it, though these past few days have gone by extremely slow, not that im complaining, but i think its because I am awake for so long during the days. I wake up when the kids get up...because they are SO loud in the morning. So im up at around 4:45 and dont go to sleep until about 10. It's a bit rediculous. The other night I was hanging out in Joy Barnett helping (doing) Lebene's notes. He somehow got me to copy his notes into his notebook anyways Hagar told me she loved my smile. She's precious and not a lover of everyone so when she said that it made my day. ALSO fun little fact, at the market yesterday I got a Black Stars (Ghana's soccer team) jersey for Lebene with his favorite player on the back. Im going to give it to him when I leave. Im super excited about it, I just hope he likes it. Zach told me he's going to love it merely because im the one that got it for him, so i hope he's right. **

*So there is a boy here in the touch a life house that I really want to learn more about. I feel a weird pull to him. His name is Raul and he is really quiet. He's that kid that is off to the side watching all the other kids play. When you look at him he seems as if hes just in la la land and not with it mentally. He just stares.When ever im around him he'll come stand in front of my and put my arms criss-crossed around his chest and just hold my wrists. It's really hard to understand him because his english isn't well and he talks funny. I dont know what it is but I really want to learn more about him. I've made it an effort to go give him a hug and ask him how he is everytime I see him. Hopefully if that's all I can do it is making him feel loved.  

Today during breakfast I was sitting in the guest house and one of the ladies was talking to her group and said God put something on her heart to tell them so I listened...and she said that God is sculpting us to fill a certain nitch. Being here, we are filling the gaps in some of the kids hearts. She said some of the doctors here have worked years to finally fill their nitch here. I thought that was really cool and worth sharing.

::Leaving y'all with this::

You have the opportunity to be that one person to someone who needs what you have to offer. And what you have to offer is never small & insignificant. Again, the great picture of what God is doing in our world is incomplete without your unique puzzle piece -- the one that only you posses. But you must choose to place your piece in the puzzle. No one has ever lived the same life as you...and that is one of the things that makes your 'puzzle piece' extraordinary!

Missing everyone back home!

Love you all

Shelby

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Sadly I wont be getting to set off or see any fireworks again this year! Hopefully some of yall will save some and we can set em off when i get home! haha. Well I am feeling better today, I don't really have much of an appetite which scares me a bit because that is another symptom of malaria. Still banking on in just being something I ate is what made me sick. If I dont feel better ill just go get corrin to test my blood for the parasite. SICK who wants parasites in their blood...def not me. Oh another fun little fact. I said that the water in our bathroom in the kids house isnt working, well we were right but we found out how to flush the toilet. It's called a bucket flush. They have this huge trashcan full of water in there for us, we just assumed it was for showers and what not. Well what you do is you fill up a buckett of water and pour it real fast into the toilet and the pressure makes it flush. Crazy huh. wish we would of known that the first day instead of having to walk down to the guest house everytime one of us needed to use the restroom. && we found out that is why Rexford, the house dad, kept asking us if we still had water. all makes sense now

Today the group from Waco left so we are now the only visitors here. its actually quite nice. Tomorrow, however, there is 56 people coming!! Since the VOH cant sleep that many, 24 of them are having to stay at Tills, which is a pretty nice hotel, for here anyways, just down the road. Its right on the beach so thats where we go when we want to hang out at the beach. Anyways this group is a big medical group that is coming for 5 days to do checkups on everyone here. So that will be quite beneficial since quite a few of the kids have been sick lately. Tomorrow we are going into town to Cape Coast and Elmina. We are going to the rain forest to do the canopy walk and then to the Elmina Slave Castle. Both was really fun last year so im excited to go again! Tomorrow is Ashton's Birthday so i think tonight we are going to try and bake her a cake without her knowing. Hopefully we can be as sneaky as we presume we are.

haha last night i was hanging out in Joy Barnett house with Lebene, Seth and Asamuoh watching 'Who Wants to be Rich?' Sure is the african version of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' The questions were bogus. One was,' Which is a popular fruit? - Watermelon, whiskeymelon, beermelon, or vodkamelon. Seth said he was going to be on this show one day and he would call me for his lifeline. haha it was very entertaining.

Well I hope everyone has a very fun filled day and stays safe! I wish i was there to watch fireworks and eat good ole fourth of July food with all of yall!

Count your blessings :]

Shelby

Well God has quite the sense of humor....In my last post i ended with letting everyone know that i am the only one in my group that hasnt been sick with anything so far. Well this morning i woke up around 4 feeling like death. We are staying in the kids houses for awhile because there is a big group from Waco in the guest house. Well the water in our bathroom in the kids house isnt working, so we have to take showers and all that stuff in the guest house. Well this morning I woke up at 4 and was extremely nautious. It was still dark out so I knew no one was probably up in the guest house for me to go over there. I went back to sleep hoping I would wake up feeling better. Well when I woke up I only felt worse. Long story short I spent most of my morning throwing up what felt like half my weight. I absolutely hate being sick...and being sick here is just that much worse. Im not sure if I just ate something bad last night or what. Tommy had gone into Accra and brought everyone back some pizza, that may have made me sick but no one else seemed bothered by it. 

  Instead of going to class at 9 I hung out next to the fan and then decided to go to church at 10. When I got there Seth came up to me and said 'i heard you are sick...and that you have been vomiting' haha word travels very fast here. Soon enough the house parent in the house im staying in came up and asked if i was fine. Its 6:20 pm here and im feeling better but still not back to normal. Thankfully it poured today for a good 2 hours so I didn't feel bad going inside and taking a nap. Anyways thats what has been going on here for the most part. The group from Waco is leaving tomorrow so we sang to them tonight and i asked Lebene if he was sad they were leaving...he said nope, ill only be sad when you leave. Already NOT looking forward to July 23 but in a sense i am because ill get to come home.

Well hopefully tomorrow when i wake up i will feel normal again. I told zach im really bad at this whole being sick thing since it very rarely happens to me.

sending my love from Africa :]

Shelby

WE ARE BACK AT THE VILLAGE OF HOPE!!!!

Oh it is the best feeling ever being back here. We got back last night at around 7:00 and was welcomed the best way ever. First off, the drive here was absolutely awful. I think we went a different way or over the past 3 weeks more pot holes were made. I don't ever get car sick but I almost asked our driver to pull over 3 times. He would speed up by pass cars than slam on the breaks to try and avoid random pot holes. It was terrible...I guarantee at one point he was pushing 95 and then swerved to the right to not hit something. Needless to say when i saw the gate to the village I was more happy to be here than ever before!

   Before I get to our homecoming here, I just want to give y'all a little story about the driving here. When we were driving to lake Volta, we went in a big old greyhound type bus. Now were trekin along and then bam, or driver slams on the breaks but doesnt stop...just keeps going and we all hit the seat in front of us but eh its Ghana. I am sitting in the back of the bus next to a window and right after the break check, I see, and I am not exaggerating, a sheep flying through the air with its legs up facing me. He lands on his back and rolls down the hill...and thats when we found out why we break checked. haha Also almost saw someone run over a dog in that same outing. If your not watching where your going you WILL be hit or run over...whether you are human or animal.

OKAY so we have been here for 4 weeks so far, insane. The first day we got here was absolutely heart warming, but last night was almost better. We got in at night so it was getting dark and the kids were inside eating so no one saw us drive in. Well I started my walk up to the different houses and kids literally ran and jumped on me giving me hugs and yelling my name. I almost fell over twice. I think alot of them completely forgot we were coming back that how suprised/excited they were when they saw me. Lebene was the best one though...I was walking down the road toward his house and I could see him sitting on the steps but I didnt think he could see me cause it was dark and he was under a light. Somehow he did and he came running full speed, i had to move out of the way or i guarantee you id of been on the ground. But he gave me the best hug ever. Oh words really cant describe the love i have for some of these kids. They all expressed how much they missed us and some had said they'd been counting down the days till the 30th :]

  Leaving Nkwatia was bitter sweet, as much as i was ready to get back here, i held back some tears. I went and gave my favorite boy godfren a hug buy and then we were saying bye to the teachers and the ones that remembered me from last year held my hand a little longer and said some sweet things. And Richmond made it clear that if we dont see each other again on this earthly world, we will be seeing each other again in Heaven. That was super sweet.

3 weeks left in Ghana. It blows my mind but I wouldn't honestly want to be anywhere else than where i am right now. Ive already been asked what day im coming back next year and if it could be in January. Haha. They want me to come twice a year and stay long, so in other words I just need to make the VOH my current residence.

Well just wanted to let everyone know we are doing good and we are all healthy. Well I take that back, Michelle and Zach have a sore throat and hopefully it doesnt turn into anything. I am the only one who hasnt been any kinds of sick! Thank you Jesus.

Thanks for the prayers and thoughts...they are working :]

God is good, all the time

Lovetoall

Shelby

well yesterday was the day we made it to Lake Volta. It was a day full of craziness. We had to get up at 5am because our bus was coming to pick us up at 5:30, and there was a huge storm the night before so the thunder and lightning kept most of us up, so needless to say, 5 came real early yesterday. We drove into town to catch another big bus. While waiting we met 3 guys from Newcastle England - Josh, Ed, and Doug. They are spending 8 weeks here doing something with their university...it kind of sounded like study abroad but they are medical students and one of the classes they take is to go somewhere and work with a hospital in their host country. We spent pretty much all our traveling talking to them. 

 The bus to the lake took about an hour and a half from where we are staying. When we got off the bus we were all standing in around in a circle just talking to each other when i noticed the crazy lady. 

[[Okay now for those of your pirates of the Caribbean fans, think back to the second movie i think? well the part when they get in that tiny boat and go through a swamp type place and meet the crazy voodoo lady with dreads.]] OKAY she lives in Ghana. haha. While we were standing there talking i see her coming up to us, and no one else saw her because their backs were turned. She was giving me the death stare and moving her hands around in a weird way witch like way while talking to herself in twi so sadly i couldnt understand her. By the time she was a few feet behind us i told everyone to not freak out or turn around at the same time, but there is a crazy lady behind yall. Haha and of course they all turn around at the same time. She went a little nuts saying things and moving her hands around us like she was casting a spell upon us. We referred to her as calypso for the rest of the day. At one point, how she did this i have no idea. She ended up right behind me. It scared me so bad because i wasn't expecting her to be there. 

Anyways that was fun. We then got on a ferry to cross the Lake. For those of yall who havent heard of Lake Volta, it is the largest man made lake in the world as well as the home to many children who have been sold into modern day slavery and made to be fisherman. Many of the kids from the village of hope have been rescued off of this lake. We saw many fishing boats out on the water when we crossed. Kind of surreal. When we made it to the other side we drove a good 2 hours into town and walked around there for awhile. Went to the local hospital, radio station and school. When we were done we rode a tro tro (which is a taxi van that crams well over 25 people into it) back to the lake. Instead of waiting for the ferry to get back, we took an actual fishing boat to cross the lake. Being on an actual fishing boat on the Volta lake was crazy. I just thought of all the kids that have to be out there everyday. When we made it to the other side we were greeted by all these young boys helping us get out of the boat.When we got out we walked through mud houses and everyone said hello. This country may have the most hospitable people, i love it. 

We finally made it home at around 6 and we went to bed not too long after that haha. The experience was awesome and i am so grateful we had the opportunity to go see it first hand. If you have never heard of this place, go to touch a life foundation website and watch the video about lake volta in their videos. Def eye opening! 

We go back to the village of hope on thursday!!! I am SOOO excited to go back and be with those kids but i am going to miss the kids here as well. It will be bitter sweet for sure. 

I hope everyone back home is happy and healthy. Everyone here is doing just fine and enjoying Africa.

So around this time last year, we were here in nkwatia and Brittany got the news that one of her grandparents had passed away. I dont know what the deal is with being here, but today we got the news that one of the drivers at the Village of Hope passed away. His name was Michael and one of my favorite adults here. I really got to know him last year on our numerous trips here and there. The second Sunday we were in Ghana this summer, he came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and when i turned around he had the biggest smile on his face. I screamed and gave him a big hug and he said its so good to have you back here. Though I only knew him for a short time in my life, he is going to be missed. He leaves behind a wife and kids. He was up here last week dropping some things off and i was outside talking to him and he said he wasnt feeling good. Never in a million years thought that goodbye was going to be the last. 

I hope that his family and everyone at the village of hope knows hes with our father and is in no more pain. I pray that his family feels God's arms around them in this time of sorrow. Anytime id run into michael he'd always ask how i was doing and hoped i was well. 

Michael - 'Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people. 

 -Philemon 1:7

I just want everyone to cherish the life they have. Whether they are going through a tough time or are having the time of your life, you can never say i love you enough....to the ones who mean the most to you. 

So to my family and friends, i love you to the moon and back. You each have played a certain part in my life who have made me the way i am today. 

Shelby

sooo we get to school today, and after being here a good 15 minutes, they come and tell us school is over at 11 because the bus broke down. So the start to our 4 day weekend has started very early. Not too sad about that. But the little bus is going to have to make at least 7 trips to get all the kids home today, we may be taking a taxi on home. 
Oh fun news...yesterday we had a soccer game. It was the teachers against the school team. It was alot of fun, but we lost 2-1. I however was the one to make our goal! so that was exciting. We found out yesterday that we will be going to Lake Volta on Tuesday!! I cant wait. Besides that life is still about the same here in Africa. I finished a 400 page book in 2 days, and for those who know me, that doesnt happen. It's just gets quite boring here at night. We dont go outside at night because that is when the mosquitoes that carry malaria are out and biting. 

Love to all...please keep cheering on the Rangers for me!! :]

Shelby

well week 2 here in nkwatia has been good so far. Today I did nothing but sit in the computer room and try to beat david's high score in solitare. haha i beat it..then a few games later he beat me again. Tomorrow we are having a soccer game against the junior high kids...I guess it will be the teachers against the kids, its to get them ready for their match on thursday against some school down the road. 
  Last night we attempted to make fried okra with some okra we bought in town, and it was actually not half bad! Were going to get alot more next time, this was just a trial run. Today we found out that there is no school on friday or monday so we get a 4 day weekend...which really means 2 more days to try and find something to do haha. BUT the other night we were walking through town and this white guy drove by us like 5 times. Eventually we walked into a store and when i was by the door i guess he saw me because he pulled over and came and said hey. He and 4 other guys are living up here on some farm. He looked like he was in his late 20's and was from Georgia. When he left he told us hopefully he'd see us around this weekend, so were going to just go hang out in town for the majority of the weekend i guess and find some more obrunis! (whiteperson). That's really all that has been going on up here...weather is still cool at nice and warm during the days. Got online and saw that the Rangers are still ahead in the division, not by much though...so everyone cheer em on extra for me please :] 


Well hope everyone is healthy and happy. Also say a lil prayer for my nana norton, last i heard she was going to have to have surgery sometime soon! 




God is good all the time. 
Shelby

well when tomorrow gets here, we will have been here for a week. I am already ready to go back to the village of Hope. 2 more weeks! we can doooo it. the weekends are the worse. last weekend we spent a good hour playing with this weird plant outside that gets really tiny when you touch it. quite amusing when you have nothing else to do..haha. This weekend is hopefully when were going down to lake volta to see it and go to some place they told us about. me megan and david are about to leave school and walk into town because we have nothing else to do. So until next time.....


Hope everyone is happy and healthy. We have another sickling with us, sarah. shes another lipscomb girl. we took her to the clinic in town yesterday to get tested for malaria but it came back negative..hopefully it's just some kind of cold.

Missing everyone back home. but loving it here.

hey yall!

we made it safely to nkwatia! the weather is perfect here. nice and cool...complete opposite from home i hear! When we got here today some of the kids remembered me from last year! that was a nice surprise. They have a trip planned for us next weekend to go see lake volta, which is the lake many of the kids at the village of hope have been rescued off of. it will for sure be an eye opening experience that i am so excited to endure!

Love to all.

Shelby 

How many times in the bible has God made something out of nothing?
 Many of us have the idea that God uses our strengths to do his work. I absolutely believe that is true, but what about your weaknessess? God can use our strengths and abilities to glorify him but he also uses our nothingness. I think when you put your self completely out of your comfort zone and begin doing something your not comforable doing, God's power and light will be most evident. It will be more proof that it is indeed God's power being used instead of your own....God uses broken imperfect people to bring light to the darkest of dark. I just pray everyone remembers that though we are gifted with many strengths, our weaknesses are just as much an outlet to show God's people his unbelievable power.

Hope that makes sense! hah

Well the lipscomb girl i talked about in my last post was not let on the plane last night, so they actually took her to the hospital in Accra where she was admited. Shes been there all day and will spend the night again. But the doctor has given her permission to fly tomorrow. Thank goodness.

&& after a week of being here.....finally got bit by my first misquito. haha guess i jynxed it in my last post! let the iching begin!!!




OH so we leave for nkwatia tomorrow, not sure I will be able to update this as much as i have been. But please feel free to email me about anything and everything. I have no connection to the world outside of this village so even if its rangers updates...PLEASE SOMEONE SEND ME SOME RANGERS UPDATES!! haha or you just want to tell me about your day, PLEASE DO!!

my email is SAD07A@acu.edu


sending my love from Africa.
shelby

I feel like so much has happened in the last 24 hours.

So here it goes...

-Last night Shine came and sat in my lap, and after awhile i realized he was crying! when i asked him what was wrong he said someone threw away his dinner so he didnt get to eat. I tried to take him to ma but he didnt want to. He's so precious, people were around so he asked to go sit under this big tree on a bench. We sat there and he told me about his past, he's here becuase his parents wanted him to have a better life. I applaud them for that. Then he fell asleep in my lap and even though I was getting eaten by bugs, I didn't mind, I know my time here is valuable.

- I have not been bitten by a single misquito...this time last year i was covered. something must be up....i mean im not complaining one bit.

- Mustapha is coming to visit me tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! the older boys called him today when i was with them so i got to talk to him and he said hes coming to see me tomorrow. SO EXCITED. ((mustapha was here last year, and he graduated so he's back in Accra now.))

- One of the Lipscomb girls that is here, woke up feeling real bad two days ago. Well she went up to the clinic to get tested....and it came back positive for malaria! SUCKS. she's been absolutely miserable the last two days and to make matter worse, she leaves tonight, is at the airport right now and last we heard they told her she is too sick to fly. So Lord knows what is going to happen. Her flight leaves in a hour and a half so hopefully she'll get to feeling better.

- Last night I told Lebene that we were going to be gone for 3 weeks. His persona completely changed and he just stared into space when i would try and talk to him. I felt bad but what do you say... then today i asked him why he stopped talking to me and he said he was too sad to talk. BLAH i am sooo not looking forward to the last day we are here!

- Oh i went into town today to buy alot of food for our 3 week stay in nkwatia. I love driving around here, though it is a bit scary at times, I really enjoy seeing how people live and cherish their extremely simple life.

- && the power went out today for like 2 and a half hours. thats been the longest one so far. twas a hot day for sure!

sorry im rambling, but i just have so much to fill yall in on :]

Leaving you guys with this....

You have the opportunity to be that one person to someone who needs what you have to offer. And what you have to offer is never small & insignificant. Again, the great picture of what God is doing in our world is incomplete without your unique puzzle piece -- the one that only you posses. But you must choose to place your piece in the puzzle. No one has ever lived the same life as you...and that is one of the things that makes your 'puzzle piece' extraordinary!

I think that maybe I am a puzzle piece in one of these kids lives and i know they are one in mine...

GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME

Well i feel like i have been here for weeks. Whenever i walk into different classrooms the kids yell madame Shelby madame Shelby are you teaching us today?!? I love it. I learned some french the other day and today Lebene tried to get me to sit in on his Fante class, its an african language, but i knew i would not learn anything so i went and took some kids out to the field for pe. Today was a furnace outside. I think i burnt the back of my neck. The group that was here painting from Harding left this afternoon. So now its just us in our house and 3 lipscomb people in the other guest house. We all get along quite well which is nice. We went and had a meeting with Fred Asare not too long ago about our future plans. We are going up north to Nkwatia for 3 weeks and then coming back to the Village on June 30. He did have us there for a whole month but I said no no no! and he was nice enough to be completely flexible...thank the Lord. I had enough trouble spending two and a half weeks there last year, but a whole month oh heavens no.

  Last night I was out under the mango tree watching the kids pick them to prepare them for when they are ripe. I was talking to Zach, one of the guys from acu, and Shiabu. Shiabu told zach that i was one of his best friends. He said the reason why was from last year and he told our first meeting conversation pretty much word to word. I was really suprised, but it was sweet. He told me last night he really dreams of coming to school in bmerica. I told him anything is possible if you commit. I think once I get back home I am going to make a jar with his name on it and put all my extra change I get in it....it'll add up after awhile. All he needs is a plane ticket here and his visa. I just love each one of these kids in their own individual way. Shine and Lebene walked me home today, each telling me what they learned in school today, one being how to prepare yams. haha if only school back home were that easy!

  So when kids cut their grass here, they use machettes and they let me try today. Ultimate fail on my part haha but after many laughs and lessons, i got a good swing in. Well it's about dinner time, then off to devotion at the kids house thennnnnnn prestoncrest boys house have been begging me to bring my computer to them so they can watch a movie. So i promised them tonight was the night.

I still hope everything back home is doing good. Plenty of sunshine :]
Sending my love from Ghana

shelby

Today the weather was absolutely perfect! It was cloudy and there was a nice breeze, I would dare say it was in the high 70's. We started out the morning on a good note, got to sleep in. So around 9:30 we got up and went out to find where everyone was. The kids have to do chores on saturday mornings so many were just finishing up weeding the grass. I went out over to the Joy Barnett house and they were watching some movie so I watched some of it with them. It had arnold swarzaneger (sp) in it...not sure what it was though, they enjoyed it though.
  So many of the kids here are sponsered by different people in the US and apparently recently alot of them were given bicycles from them. So this afternoon I got to watch them ride. I dont think i've ever laughed so hard. Seth, one of the twins, has a very macho man, I can do everything attitude. Well he's so short that it was really hard for him to pedal and steer at the same time. So he collided with many other people...but it was always their fault! haha ohh I kept cheering him on, but it was too funny. After awhile he finally got the hang of it. Today has just been all around awesome....tonight we had FAJITAS! like straight up chicken and flour tortilla with the fixins fajitas. We all couldnt believe it. After dinner I went to one of the house devotions and then over to Lebenes house to see him. We talked for along while, like most nights. Then he showed me where he was from on the map and knowing he was from the Volta Region I asked if he was made to fish, and he said yes his dad was a fisherman and made him work sometimes. He said it was scary and that he was crazy and would beat him sometimes. He also said his parents split up and he likes his mom much better....i would too!
  OH! today I finally got up the courage to go out and play football(soccer) with the kids. Until you are here and see their talent, you wont understand the intimidation factor. But I finally went out and played, then we played a shooting game and I did pretty dang good. At the end one of the older boys came up to me saying I was a good footballer and he liked the way I played. haha boost to my confidence right there! still got it in me :]

** best surprise ever tonight, last year this guy a little older than me, Yussif, was here teaching and he was just doing it on his vacation. Anyways when I got here this year he was back in Accra working and going to school. Well tonight I was sitting in the courtyard not paying attention to anything in particular and someone came behind me and gave me a hug, when i turned around it was him! I screamed and gave him a huge hug. Oh it was awesome seeing him again! he's precious. He was here for the night and heard I was back and wanted to come say hi.

 Lebene brought up me leaving today. i've been here for what...3 full days and he's already saying he wants more time. We talked about how I cried last year when I left and he said a few days after I left he thought about me and thats when he cried..he's one precious boy. I promised myself I would be at his graduation...so in 4 years, I will be making a trip here if not sooner! Next year hopefully my family can come and meet the kids who have my heart. They really are some of the best things I have in my life. And when I am not here their memories keep me going. Tonight it came a downfall and the power went out. I was still over at Lebene's so we all hung out in the dark for about 10 minutes than it came back on. When it was about time I started home, Seth walked me all the way here with his umbrella. At first he was telling me how disapointed he was in me for not bringing my phone for him to play a game tonight..then once we got here he gave me a hug and with a smile said sleep good see you in the morning! Sometimes I think he just likes to get mad at me for the heck of it, cause he never stays mad. hes a mess. 


I hope everyone back home is doing well. I am doing wonderful as im sure you can tell. Always in my prayers that you are each happy and healthy :]
Love you all!

Shelby

Well day 2 back in this beautiful country was a success! It rained this morning and cooled everything down which was soo nice! But it is still beyond hot, if it werent for the bit of wind these fans give off, i'd be leaving pools of sweat everywhere I go. Today I was up at the school and learned some french! I learned how to introduce myself and different colors :] ALSO met this boy whos name, and i am completely serious, but his name is 'God Is King' and you can call him god for short. haha oh the names you'll come across here.

We found out that we are having to go back up north for awhile to the school. Fred told us he is very flexible, so if we talk about it and decide we dont want to go than we dont have to. I was all for that idea! But I think that we will end up going there for about 2 weeks or so. It would be nice to go and see the teachers and some of the kids I dealt with last time! The past two nights I have brought my computer up to Traverse City house to watch movies. Tonight's pick was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif. I think they were all a fan. For whoever read this last year, and remembers the post I wrote about me getting married, well today I was walking up to the school and a guy came behind me once I got up there gave me a hug and said my wife! haha didn't think he would still refer to me as that. So my african husband is Isaac, if anyone is ever to come visit, you will be sure to meet him. OH and to my family....everyone keeps asking why yall didnt come this year. I told them it's yalls fault and they go ah next year then!

 Well it's about that time to head to bed. The kids get to sleep in tomorrow...all the way till 5:30! On school days they wake up at 4. They think were crazy when we say 8 is when we get up. I miss everyone back home, but wouldnt trade being here for anything. Thanks for the continuous prayers and love.

'We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you'.

Psalms 33:20-22

Day one was an absolute success! when I was walking up to the school, I passed the soccer fields and kids stop playing...which is crazy...screamed my name and ran up to me with open arms...talk about an amazing homecoming. Im just beyond happy to be back here, words cant describe it. I spent all day up at the school saying hi to everyone and just helping out in different classrooms. I went and saw shine, and the smile on his face when he saw me just pretty much made my whole trip. He ran out of his class and just held on to me for a good 10min. Ohhhh Im quite positive trips to here are going to become a usual thing...so yall just get ready for me to be gone alot the next few years.
   Tonight I brought my computer over to one of the houses for a movie night, just like last year. They all remebered and were beyond excited, we watched Matilda. Alot of kids from other houses came over and we all cramed around the table to watch the small screen. Shine sat in my lap the whole time and fell asleep towards the end. OH and get this haha..so Lebene, my favorite, apparently wrote my name down in his phone as 'Shelby, my only love' and some of the kids saw it so they have been trying to embaress him when he's with me...which is all the time. haha oh well.

BED TIME! I would get more sentimental, but someone is waiting to use the computer, so until next time....


Love to all back home!
Shelby

okay guys....we made it!! we got into Ghana at about 8:20 and didnt get out of customs till a good hour and a half later. But we are safe, we made it to the village, and I cant wait till the morning comes! Well im going to bed, but I just wanted to let everyone know we made it :]

Alright, since I wont be able to upload pictures while there, I figured I would add some on here just to give you a face to the name! Obviously I wont be able to put up every kid I will be with this summer, cause thats alot, but I will put up the few that im quite certain I will be writing about :]

Thanks to everyone for following me on this amazing adventure. I hope you can experience some fun through this!!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

Philippians 4:6

Who wouldn't love these faces...

This handsome little boy is named Shine. And his name without a doubt fits him! When I am around, he is known as sunshine :] 

This is Barnabas. He wins the Perfect smile award. I mean seriously, not only are his teeth perfectly straight...but SO white. He's a sweetheart and can always be found behind a good prank

Stephen! He is a twin, and one of the cutest twins I know. Me and him got close over the summer, we would watch movies together almost every other night. 

&& this is Seth, Stephens Identical twin brother. He and me butted heads.....alot! He would always get mad at me, but would be the first to come see me in the morning. haha we had a love hate relationship.... 

This is Victoria. She is a sweet, sweet young girl. Been through more than any of us could imagine. Sold to fishermen by her stepmom, then spent her days as a slave before rescued and brought to the Village of Hope 

Well y'all, this boy stole my heart. His name is Lebene. He was the first kid I met and the last one I said goodbye to! I got a letter from him in the mail about 2 months after I got back home && this made me love him even more..in his letter he wrote

"I will never forget about you. When I see people with their friends, it makes me think of you and then I miss you. You will never know how much love I have for you" 

uhh yeah! he's a heartbreaker. Truly looking forward to giving him a HUGE hug when i get there

Okay, for those of you who have never been to Africa, Ghana in particular..here's some of the things I will be seeing daily! 

this is the coast, a mile walk from the village. we go down there at least once a week. 

this is their school the Tilton Education Building. I come up here and 'attempt' to teach haha

those are some of the houses on the property where people live -the preacher, some teachers, etc.

Where I spend pretty much every afternoon....the soccer field. 

this is where church is held. Rick....feel free to come be our guest speaker anytime! 

The clinic at the Village of Hope, thanks to everyone who gave me any type of medical supplies to bring!! they are in desperate need for anything and everything. 

Well, I hope this will help you get a feel for where I will be these next couple of weeks. I know that God is already there ready for me! Im certain the minute I left the amazing country of Ghana, he began preparing them for my return! I hope this is just the second trip of many to come. The next time I will update this is probably after I am back there! ohh goodness sakes I just can't wait! 

Thank you all for the prayers, they are truly appreciated. 

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity 

1 Timothy 4:12