Highs and Lows

Well everyone, we are home, and we are safe. It’s been a crazy couple of days, but other than a lot of coughing and stomach issues, we’re home in one piece. On the flight back, Katie and I decided to list our favorite and worst memories from the trip. So, here you go:

The good.

1. The dance competition between HCOH and Hardthaven Orphanage.
2. Going to the Wli Waterfalls with over 120 kids.
3. Abraham asking us, “Where do you keep your goats in America?”
4. Buying 10 live chickens to slaughter. I still can’t believe that happened.
5. Our visits with the bead ladies, and trying to get them to take our picture.
6. Katie beating me in Ampe and then celebrating with the kids by dancing Bobobo.
7. Giving Ronald his bike in the bush.
8. Our sleepovers with Charlotte, Mary and Lee.
9. Knowing that all 9 girls we took to the GYN are healthy and STD-free.
10. Being everyone’s sister, no matter where we went.
11. The health class. I think we all agreed this was the most productive part of the whole trip.
12. Going on long walks with the older girls, drinking Fanta and talking about what it’s like to grow up.
13. Being able to give hugs and kisses to the children who, in tears, said, “I miss my mother.”
14. Cuddles during movie night.
15. Being genuinely concerned about Mavis’s habit of eating dirt, and then learning that she just eats it “For fun.”
16. A very large, very cold Star beer at the end of a long, hot day.
17. Talking to the unbelievable amount of caring people who were trying to help us, and knowing that no matter how scary things were, we were loved.
18. Charlotte eating everything in sight, and then laughing at how big her belly got.
19. Hanging out in the girls’ dormitory–painting nails, doing hair, talking about anything and everything, and laughing and crying all the while.
20. Giving the older girls their first bras, and seeing the look on their faces when they put them on for the first time.
21. Playing Twister.
22. Katie teaching the kids ballet, and watching them fail miserably at learning it (even though they are all incredible dancers).
23. Talking with Mary and helping her through her pain and healing.
24. All the laughs and dinners with Abraham.
25. When Mary the seamstress grabbed our hands in the middle of her shop and said a fierce prayer for us, right before we said goodbye.

Thanks to everyone for helping and supporting us in the many ways you have. It’s good to be home!

Katie and I with Kafui, Ronald's mom, buying her oldest son Foster a bike to ride to school. We just happened to run into her while she was at the bike shop.

Irene and Cynthia, who say they are sisters (even though they aren't related).

Mary, Vida, Kafui and Mavis at the waterfalls.

Esenam...one of the sweetest souls I have ever known.

Charlotte and one of her many facial expressions. We told her she needed to be in the movies, with her sense of humor and animation!

Hanah, Kafui's younger sister, giving me one of her huge hugs to say thank you for the new panties. She is adorable.

Celebrating having a delicious snack!

Beautiful Portia.

Mary...Ghana's Next Top Model.

Kafui and I after she got to talk to her brothers and sister on the phone.

Katie and I with Ronald and his new bike.

One of the children from Andokope. She followed me around, staring at my camera, the whole time I was there.

This girl loved my beads, so she told me, "I need that one." I think that was the only English she knew.

Portia and Lee dressed up for their trip to Kpando.

The girls in the "waiting room" at the hospital, all nervous about having to give blood.

Mary, Katie and Charlotte in their matching dresses at the hospital.

Mary after her blood test. She's so strong.

Cupid Shuffle, Bobobo and Ampe

Today we hit the ground running. We were at the orphanage by 8:30 for the start of school. The kids did their assembly, and we hung out for about 30 minutes before meeting Jen in town.

We planned to visit the other villages in Hohoe proper (like the cities in a county) today. Orphans’ Heroes recently installed water pumps in Andokope and Segbedeme, two of the poorer villages, so we went to see the pumps working.

First, we visited Andokope. I went there last time I was here, as many of you probably remember. It was a very eye-opening experience for me. The people there walked over a mile to a river to get water that was dark green and cloudy, and that was their only option. As soon as we turned down the path to go to Andokope today, I told Jen, “There aren’t any women walking with water on their heads.” It was a striking realization that life is really different now for these people. They no longer have to walk to get water, and the water they get is actually clean. It was really cool to see such progress in such a short period of time.

The children of Andokope chilling, because they don't go to school

The children pumping water from their new pump.

Clean water for Andokope!

On the way back from Andokope, we wanted to stop by to see another orphanage we had heard about. After making several wrong turns, our driver finally found the right road…or so he thought. X-hibit (named after a rapper) actually drove us to Hohoe’s compost pile. And, on top of that, our car got stuck. Thankfully, we made it out fine, after some digging and pushing, but it was pretty crazy there for a minute.

The boys digging out our car...in the middle of nowhere.

We grabbed a quick lunch of (I’ll give you one guess) – rice and egg! Woo! Then, we went to the Town School. The Town School is a school that is right around the corner from where we are staying, and it is owned by the orphanage. So, the kids there are also really poor, but they are getting a great education. They were so cute and sweet and SO obedient. We gave them goody bags, and they sat there quietly until everyone got one. At the orphanage, when we give stuff out, people usually get hurt and tears are shed due to the chaos.

We had also brought them some crafts, so we decided to do the candy bracelets while we were there. All the kids at the Town School are younger, so they were all really small. They were so surprised to know they could eat the beads! All of them kept yelling, “Sister!! See!!”

Fati showing us her candy bracelet she made.

Katie and I with the children at the Town School

Some of the Town School kids with their goody bags.

Katie and I needed to check on our dresses before dinner, but we had to run by Segbedeme (one of the other villages first). It wasn’t as enjoyable an experience as Andokope. Two drunk men were following us around, they asked us to stop taking pictures, and the kids practically attacked me to get candy (and they were all lying). They were definitely using the pump, and the women were very grateful, but I was glad to leave.

After our dinner, we rushed back to the orphanage for the best night we’ve had yet. Something was in the air, because the kids were precious. We had a big dance party in the yard, and Katie and I taught them the Cupid Shuffle. Then they taught us how to do the bobobo, which is the Ghanaian dance to the drums they do in a line. You stick your butt out and shake it as fast as you can, simultaneously rolling your hands and doing a conga line step. It’s hilarious to watch. The girls then taught us–FINALLY–how to play Ampe, which Katie and I have decided is the Ghanaian version of RPS, with way more emotion and jumping and noises (like most things here). The kids were squealing and laughing at the fact that we learned Ampe and bobobo in one night. They had Katie and I challenge each other in Ampe (Katie won), and then everyone cheered that we could play by ourselves. They were so proud.

The kids have already started in on the “Don’t leave” and “Take me with you” stuff. It kills me. I hate this part. I wish I could take all of them home. Katie and I will ask each other all the time, “If you could take one home today, who would it be?” Every day it has changed for both of us. The truth is, they are all so beautiful and such amazing little people. I wish you could meet them for yourself.

Thanks for all your support. Tomorrow we are taking about 10 of the girls to their first GYN appointments, so it should make for an eventful day. Prayers are always appreciated!

Much love to everyone…

 

A bike for a boy in the bush.

This morning was pretty great. Katie and I had planned to go to church with Abraham, and we were meeting at 7:45. So, we walk out of our room at 7:50 to find Abraham in his pajamas, sweeping. He still needed to shower and get dressed. So typical.

Church was cool – we were VERY late, so we only caught the tail end of the service, but that was enough for me. We said the Lord’s Prayer and got to sing and do the offering with them, and we got a feel for the environment. It actually really wasn’t that different from church at home. Same basic concepts, just in a different language and with a lot more drumming…;)

Members of the church leaving after the service. Don't you just love their clothes?

After church, we decided to take Ronald the bike we got him yesterday. So, Abraham, Katie and I headed into the bush to give Ronald his gift. On the way, Abraham asked us, “Where do you keep your goats in America?” We could not stop giggling all day about that. How do you even begin to answer that question? I won’t say more about if Ronald liked his bike…see for yourself:

Look at that smile. Priceless.

Katie and I and the whole Mensah family.

After visiting Ronald, we headed to the orphanage. It ended up being kind of crazy, because one of the girls, Rita, had a really high fever. We were worried she may have Malaria, because she is so hot and her head was hurting her so badly that she was screaming and crying. But, the clinic wasn’t open since it was Sunday. We just had to give her some Malaria meds they had at the orphanage, and if her fever isn’t down by tomorrow, we’ll take her in. It’s a scary scary thing to be sick here.

At lunch today, we all had Red Red (beans). We found FOUR ROCKS in our food. Seriously! And the crazy part? We just spit them out and continued eating. It took over 2 hours to get our food, and we were so starving at that point it didn’t matter.

One of the rocks we found in our lunch. Look how big it is!!

After lunch, it was back to the orphanage. I promised Kafui we could call her brothers and sisters today (for those of you who don’t know, Kafui’s younger 2 brothers and sister are now living in Dallas with their new family — they were adopted in August), so it was CHAOS trying to get them quiet enough so she could hear them on the phone. She was so excited to talk to them, she kept saying for the rest of the day how relieved she felt to know they were happy. It was so sweet.

Kafui, me and Deborah in their dresses that Sister Tova gave them. They are so gorgeous.

We walked back into town for some bead shopping. This bead shop is hilarious. The women are all loud and fat and they can’t speak much English, so I bet watching us interact with each other is a show. We asked 2 different people to take our picture with her, and it took 4 shots to even get us in the shot. They were all hootin’ and hollerin’ and moving all around. It was so dang funny.

Katie and I with the bead woman.

We are on a brief break for dinner before heading back to the orphanage to say good night. It will probably be an early night, because they start school tomorrow!

Much love to everyone. We miss you guys!! (and good food)

You are welcome.

Today was pretty great. Jen headed out of town last night, so Katie and I were on our own today. We got to sleep in (read: lay in bed while a rooster is crowing starting at 5am), and then we got a quick breakfast and headed to the orphanage.

We named today, “media day,” because we came to the orphanage with a big project for the kids. I don’t want to reveal too much, because it will be a post-trip surprise, but I’ll give a sneak preview. We took portraits of every single one of the children — all 67 of them — and they are beautiful. Here are a few:

The boys playing with their new toys.

Queen

Prince T.

Godwin

Cynthia

After our project, we spent a few hours playing and doing hair and nails (we got them combs and fingernail polish and for the big girls, their first bras and razors. It’s been fun getting to teach them how to take care of themselves. They are really becoming very empowered and strong with their decisions. It’s cool.

Katie and I went to town for lunch and did some shopping for beads. It’s fun to wander around here and just look at the different artisan shops that are on the streets. That’s one thing that I love about this place. Everything is so personal.

We headed back to the orphanage around 2 for their snack of bananas and ground nuts (thanks again, friends!) Then, we gave the boys their gifts from Carter and George. Needless to say, they were a hit. The boys were all helping Prince put on his armor and showing him how to stand. It was hilarious!

After toys and snacks, it was like a photo shoot. I guess our media day idea caught on, because the kids were all yelling, “Seesta Heelary, Seestah Katie, shoot me! Shoot me!” We got some good ones, though

Katie and the kids.

Me and Lee.

Sassy Charlotte and Katie.

Me and the kids.

Kafui and Deborah took us to visit Ronald, a former day student at the orphanage, and one of the coolest kids ever. He is now going to a different private school, and I had something for him, so we went to his house, which was, “in the bush.” It was a beautiful walk, and when we got there, we were greeted by his whole family, including his younger sister Amuneveve, who is a current day student. They all brought out chairs for us and sat and welcomed us over and over. Everywhere you go, every time you take a bite of food, someone will say, “You are welcome.” This culture has hospitality nailed.

Ronald told us about his new school, and how he now has to walk over an hour to get there and leave at 6:30am to be on time. So, I made sure he knew how to ride a bike. Katie and I pretty much just made eye contact, and both of us agreed we should get him a bike. He doesn’t know it yet…:)

We headed into town for a quick dinner and to buy Ronald and Abraham a bike. Abraham acted as our translator for the health class, and he did an amazing job. So, as a thank you, we bought him a bike (which he really needs). Tomorrow will be fun, testing out their new rides.

Well, friends, church tomorrow, which means we need sleep! Heading to bed. Much love to all.

And on another note, many of you may find it funny that Deborah gave me the nickname, “Accident Queen” today, because she says I fall a lot. Guess some things don’t ever leave you, no matter where you go!

Hugs and kisses to everyone.

 

Little Rascals

So, we’ve just now returned from movie night with the kids, and we wanted to share a few pics…enjoy their sweet faces!

Lee and Katie at dinner.

Katie and I at dinner, of course enjoying our Stars

Kafui and I enjoying our fried rice and chicken!

Daniel and I playing the appropriateness game during the health class.

The children during health class on the second day at the Kiti Hotel.

One of the new boys and Frederick...I mean could they be any cuter??

Prince crossing the finish line in his race during PE this morning.

Kafui galloping and celebrating being in the lead of the race...such a mess.

Irene - such a sweet little face, but this girl is TROUBLE!

Thank you UPUMC Youth and Children for our special treats and new underwear!

One of the new boys - we loved his outfit!

We love bananas!! Thank you to our friends for buying them such a great snack!!

Mary and Katie in their new dresses...seestahs.

Me teaching Kafui how to knit. She and Anna-Prin are both so good at it! They picked it up right away. They both also make the same faces and noises when knitting...hilarious

I Wanna Be a Rockette

Sorry for the delay in posting, yesterday was insane. The day started with breakfast as usual, with the three girls who have been with us. Then, Jen and I had to visit a couple of schools, and Katie took the girls to run errands. They each got a little dress, and some cold Milo (like chocolate milk), which were both a special treat!

Jen and I got to see some of the area private schools. It was cool, because I got to see how things are different and better and worse elsewhere. For an orphanage operating with no school fees, the Hohoe Orphanage is really providing an excellent education for the kids. Their reading is especially impressive.

We met back in the house and headed to the orphanage for the afternoon. The kids are still not in school, so we get a lot of down time with them. It’s kind of nice that we get to spend so much time with them when they are relaxed, but Katie and I both agree that it’s time for some structure. 16 new kids came to the orphanage this week, so there are a TON of kids running around with nothing to do. I’ll let your imaginations paint the picture of what happens, but I’ll just say there’s a lot of tattling…

Last night we had dinner at Obama Gardens. Yes, Obama. As in Barack. Then I had a meeting after dinner, and Katie went to play with the kids. She taught them some of her Rockette moves and how to turn and do some basic ballet. Even the boys were into it! They wouldn’t show off in front of her, but as soon as she turned her back they were doing pirouettes.

This morning, it was bye bye to Ballet and Rockettes and hello to Ghanaian dancing. Some drumming troupe came to the orphanage and the kids danced and sang for about an hour straight. This is perhaps my favorite thing about the Ghanaian culture. Their dancing is amazing!

We also gave the kids their treats that the UPUMC Youth made them this morning: bags with coloring pages, crayons, tattoos, stickers and a new pair of colorful underwear. Brother Opy (the Peace Corps member who found Lee) stopped by, and he added some candy to the bags. It was a fun little surprise for the kids, and they were all giggling and beaming over all the toffee they got to eat — pictures to come.

We came into town for the afternoon to stop by the market, since it’s market day. We’re heading back in this evening for movie night. They are going to watch Little Rascals and Hairspray that we brought them. And of course, there will be lots of chewing gum

We’re having fun, and I’ll post pictures later today. Much love!

PS-To settle the debate, I did not actually slaughter the chicken. The madame, Florence, did. I just brought the chickens from the saleswoman to Florence. I was horrified enough.

A few pretty faces…

Vida, Katie and Angela right after we arrived at the orphanage.

Mary, representing the Hohoe Orphanage, in the dance competition.

The dance competition champion, Christopher from Heart Haven. Otherwise known as the Ghanain JT.

The boys celebrating another goal in their win over the Heart Haven Orphanage in the futbol match on New Year's Day.

Abigail and I collecting the live chickens for the meal at the waterfalls. AHH!!

Kafui, Deborah and I at the waterfalls.

Daniel inhaling his chicken and rice and spaghetti at the waterfalls. These kids can EAT!

Sweet Rose enjoying her coke at the waterfalls. Katie and I want her and Mary to be on ANTM.

The girls playing their first game of Twister!

The girls crammed in our room after dinner to watch the videos from Carter, Anna-Prin and George.

 

NEVER!

Well, the first round of the health class is complete. We had an awesome second day. The morning began with a very helpful video about how babies are made. It was an illustrated demonstration of everything, from beginning to end. The questions after were really smart, and I was so proud of the kids for thinking and trying to understand.

After the baby talk, we moved to STDs. We played a game to demonstrate how STDs are spread, and then we had a really great conversation about HIV/AIDS. They were so distraught at why HIV/AIDS is so bad in Africa and how they can fix it. I showed them how condoms protect you, and they seemed to be very empowered by the knowledge that they can choose to be safe.

We went to the Kiti Hotel, down the road from the orphanage, for class today. So we broke for lunch, and the kids went back to the compound to eat while we took a breather. I’m losing my voice!

After lunch, we spent most of the time talking about good v. bad sex. We played a game about boundaries, where the kids had to place cards will sexual activities written on them on the tiles with stages of a relationship written on them. They chose the one they thought that the action was appropriate. I loved seeing how passionately they shouted “NEVER!” when something was wrong, like rape, or molestation. The boys even defended the girls about being treated unfairly during menstruation. It was cool.

There was a final question and answer session, and one of my favorites was, “What is “F**k?” Uhhhhh, what?!

We had some certificates printed for them, and at the end we did a little graduation ceremony. They were so proud of themselves, they all clapped for each other and walked with a little swagger up to get their diploma. It was hilarious.

Tonight, we had dinner with a handful of children at the restaurant across from our house. We had fish “the American way” (no bones or scales or eyeballs), and a fair share of Star. I can’t believe how exhausted I am after teaching them.

We have some sweet girls in our room watching a movie, so I’m going to head back to put them to bed.

Sweet dreams, Amerrrrica!

Oh! That’s what the Ghanaians say when they are overwhelmed with emotion, in any situation. So I say, Oh!

Today we began the health class at the orphanage. It went surprisingly well. At the beginning of the class, many of the children new nothing about their bodies–they had never even heard some of the most basic words. Many of them had no idea what the word “sex” even meant, and most were 10-14 years old. At the end, they were speaking confidently about their bodies and the relationships you have with other people. The questions they asked were brilliant. Even Abraham was shocked by the questions they asked. I was so proud of them.

Today, we taught about the basic parts of the female and male reproductive organs, and then about the changes that your body goes through during adolescence. It was like a light bulb went off for some who learned why they have zits, why they are starting to smell, etc. It also created some great conversations one-on-one with the girls. I left the orphanage today feeling very proud and also completely drained.

I walked back to town with Kafui, Deborah and Abigail. Katie met us later with Charlotte, Mary and Lee to have dinner at Grand Hotel, which they all agreed was better than the restaurant we visited last night. For very hungry little children, they can be picky!

Tomorrow’s health class will be hopefully very powerful. We will be talking about appropriate sex and boundaries, STDs and HIV/AIDS, and how babies are born. They are all very interested in learning about these things, and so many of them have already asked good questions about each of them. We are going to teach them when it’s a good idea to have a child, have sex, etc. I’m anxious to see what the day brings, but also a little nervous. Today when I woke up, I had some serious butterflies about teaching…

Thanks so much to all of you who have made these opportunities possible for the kids. I can’t wait to show the pictures of their little faces when they are learning and seeing what we have created for them. It’s incredible.

Which, by the way, brings me to my technology update. I forgot my flash drive in America, so as of right now I have no way of getting pictures from my camera to the internet cafe computer. I’ll see what I can do. My Ghana cell phone also got stolen the first day, so I’m now without a phone. For those of you who weren’t around for the last trip, I also lost my Blackberry on the last day of my trip in May. Deborah told me, “I do not think that your phone want you to come to Ghana.”

We are having a good time, despite the fact we are dirty and exhausted. This season in Ghana is a time where the sand from the Sahara blows in, so it’s really dusty (think Juarez, for those of you who have been). Love to all of our families and our friends from the children and us!

Everybody Always Loves Texas

Well, friends, we are here. I apologize for the delay in a post. Apparently, one of the biggest celebrations in Ghana happens on January 2, and that means everything is closed for the days before and after. Why not New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day? I don’t know. It’s Ghana. Nothing ever makes sense.

We spent Saturday and Sunday with the children from the orphanage and from a visiting orphanage, Heart Haven in Kpando. Over 100 children with about 10 supervisors. Ridiculous. We had a dance competition, futbol tournament, volleyball tournament, and an Ampe competition. Ampe is a local clapping and jumping game, and it also makes no sense to me.

Sunday, we took all 100 children to the Wli Waterfalls. It was “freesing,” so only a few swam, but it was still absolutely gorgeous. All of our friends provided the funds for a very special dinner of rice, spaghetti, chicken, egg and Fanta, so the kiddos were all very sateesfied (and had to poo) on the way back. And when I say chicken, I mean a woman came to the orphanage holding 10 live chicken by the feet and handed them to me to slaughter. WHAT? Yes, that happened. Pictures to come.

Today, we went to the orphanage early for school, but then they canceled it. They said they were too tired from the holiday. Again, no sense. So, we gave the kids the games that we brought. We had about 15 sets of Old Maid, Uno and Go Fish! that we bought with the donations we received. They already new how to play Go Fish and Uno, but they thought Old Maid was hysterical. My favorite was watching their lanky bodies do Twister. The giggles were so great.

We left around lunch today to head into town and visit the seamstress and the market. I had a bunch of bags made for all you people in Texas. Side note: we have talked a lot about Anna-Prin, Carter and George. They want to know EVERYTHING about their lives. All of them say that if they could visit one place in the world, they would come to Texas, because–Kafui says–”Everybody always loves Texas.” Brainwashing.

Tonight, we took the girls out to dinner at a restaurant and had a blast with making book marks, stickers, and way too much Fanta. It was really fun. All of their personalities really come out when they are away from the orphanage. It’s cute.

This trip has been different, because the kids are on holiday until the 12th. So, they will only have school from 8:30-12 each day, and most of the town day students won’t even come. There are also a lot of new children, mostly from Lake Volta. Some children also have moved on. I learned today that Ronald, one of our favorites, now goes to a private school. I’ll go to his house to visit him.

I am exhausted. We start our two-day health seminar tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to. The sex and body education we will be giving the kids is something that they have never even heard of. It will hopefully provide a great foundation for them to be less confused.

Keep praying. Love to all of you from Katie and I!