clair027

Sometimes God confirms His will by speaking to others.  Sometimes God speaks through means that we do not expect.  Sometimes God allows others to “see” things through dreams and visions. The book of Joel speaks of this: “It will come about after this That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.” Joel 2:28 Reid and I desire to see God’s manifested power displayed on earth.  Reid has been fervently praying for God to pour out his Spirit by giving dreams and visions to His people.  We believe God speaks through means just as this.  Sadly though, we do not hear of it often. When we returned home from Ghana last year, the faces of the children would not escape our minds.  Reid and I would go to bed at night and the faces of the children would haunt us as we drifted off into restless sleep.  Face after face blended one into another as we remembered o...

Blogger:  Franklin, age 14 (Barely!)  I had my 14th birthday in Ghana a few days ago. It was a very special and memorable birthday. We mainly celebrated it teh day before my actual birthday because my Dad had to go to the office on my real birthday . I didn’t mind at all.  I had a great time while we celebrated. My friend, Michael, came over.  We opened our first present from home - an envelope filled with hilarious jokes from Jacob Stock at Castle Ministries.  (Thanks for the laughs, Mr. Stock!)    We went to a pool several hours away and had lunch there, then we went out to eat for dinner.  It was our first meal eating out since arriving.  I had fried rice which has probably been my favorite food so far. I also love Fan-Ice. It is Ghanaian ice cream (Vanilla) that comes in a plastic pouch, you bite a hole in the corner and eat the deliciousness inside. I had quite a few of those on...

Blogger: Mason Beebe, age 15      As you can probably imagine, the weeks leading up to our departure were extremely hard. We had to leave everything we knew to come serve the Lord and experience his greatness, here in Ghana. Now that we are in Ghana, this feels like home to me. Of course, there are things that I miss - white people, warm showers, a food disposal, paved roads, friends, family, and even things such as Wal-Mart (you never know what you have until it’s gone), but there are so many things that I get to experience here that most Americans never will experience in their lifetime.      When we were here last March to bring Godwin home, the predicament of orphans did not really hit me. Now in all seriousness, can you imagine life without your parents?  Really think about this. There would be no one to tuck you in at night, no one to read you a good night story, nobody that you could talk to when you are struggling with something. This is l...

Friends, it is with great thankfulness that we can now say God has provided for our needs.  We are now at 100% of our anticipated monthly needed support!  WOW!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?  Thank you for being vessels of His work by sending us.  Your generosity amazes us!  Thank you! The Lord's timing is perfect.  We are grateful to see Him provide through YOU!   Thank you for partnering for HIS work here on earth! "I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received...what you sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:18-19

We have some friends who have sponsored children for a long time.  In fact, they sponsor one child for each of their four biological children.  That’s a ratio of 1:1.  A photograph of each child they sponsor hangs in each bedroom.  I love the idea! Joson is one of the children we have sponsored through Feeding the Orphans .  We have kept his picture on our fridge since the beginning of our sponsorship.  We were drawn to him because he is an older boy and we know older boys are usually the last to be chosen.  With five boys of our own, our heart was drawn to his warm smile immediately. Feeding the Orphans offers several opportunities to write the children letters throughout the year.  Volunteers bring the letters and deliver them to the orphans being sponsored in country.  Our family has written to Joson.  Imagine our surprise when we received a neatly handwritten letter back to us!  We couldn’t believe he would take the time to...

A tiny daughter totters in the dirt Attempting the mastery of walking Dust fills the air Mixed with diesel smoke As massive trucks creep along the road But the girl is oblivious Her red dress tickles her legs As she dances in the sun Such a tiny girl Probably under the age of two Brother is close by Hunched over a wash basin Scrubbing yesterday's clothing He bends his forehead into his shoulder Wiping away the sweat, dust, and grime His own shirt stained brown Does he notice? With rhythm, his hands return to harsh scrubbing More trucks spit dust upon the children Mother looks on With desperate, tired brown eyes She is preparing her mangoes to sell Hopeful for customers To buy her soft fruit Because as pieces disappear from her bowl Delicately balanced atop her head There is money to care for her son and daughter Will enough people buy today?  Tomorrow? Mother looks on Staring into a bleak future As her tiny daughter Captures beauty in her uncertain steps As she dances in the sun Da...

Today I spent the afternoon learning more places in Ghana.  Thankfully, there is a meat store an hour away where I feel somewhat comfortable purchasing meat.  After buying some beef in the open market yesterday, this store seemed very clean.  While we were there, our son Godwin had to use their restroom so Weston took him in the back room to do what he needed to do.  Godwin came out and said, "Mommy, they are cutting up a dead animal!" I thought, "That is more than I need to know." Lenusia showed me a few more places she shops.  One a few miles down the road from us has rice, water, and tomato paste.  Headed west there is an open air produce market that is not as crowded as Cassino, the open air market where I shopped yesterday.  A young girl, Abigail, spent the day with us as well.  She is staying with Godwin and Lenusia for six weeks to shadow a dentist here.  I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.  Our day was full and aft...

This morning I received the following e-mail from a young lady in Knoxville.  I had tears streaming down my face as I read it - Hello! This is Molly Armstrong's big sister Chloe. I had heard you all were going to Ghana, and I've been praying for your family ever since. My Granny gave me one of your family's postcards with the blog address on it, and for a few weeks I meant to but it always slipped my mind. Well, the other night I was at my Granny and Poppop's house (Billy&Myrna King), and my Granny was telling me stories from your blog and when I got home I decided to read some stories for myself. I have to say I was moved inside. I've been doing some Knoxville mission trips with my church (ChurchStreet UMC) for a few years, and I've really enjoyed them. Every year, however, the high schoolers in youth get the opportunity to travel to Eleuthera, Bahamas, and build homes. At first, I decided since it was only my freshman year I shouldn't go because it cos...

Being without a vehicle, we have been reliant upon others for transportation.  Therefore, we have not been able to venture out much.  However, God has allowed us to use the additonal time to prepare our home so we can move in. A few days ago, we were able to finally travel to a local orphanage that we have been anxious to visit.  We arrived around 1:30 pm.  As we pulled up there were several boys with basins under a tree washing dishes.  There was a time this might have bothered me, but they were having so much fun giggling and splashing in the water I was thankful to see them washing dishes in the middle of the day!  When I saw the boys washing dishes, my first thought was, "OH THANK YOU THAT THESE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN GIVEN LUNCH TODAY!"  Many in Ghana do not, but Feeding the Orphans is providing food in this home and the children are eating three meals a day.   What a gift!  Coming to Ghana, there were a few people we were anxious to see. ...

TOP TEN FOOD ADJUSTMENTS IN GHANA 10.)  When I make coffee in the morning, it is made with Taster’s Choice Crystals.  There are no flavored creamers here.  In fact, I have not found a place to buy fresh milk.  The creamer comes from a can of evaporated milk and has a golden-tan color.  After a week here, this is the taste that now begins my day.  And I am thankful . 9.)  Rice, rice, and more rice.  Every day we have enjoyed rice as part of our evening meal.  We have had jollof rice, rice balls, rice with meat sauce, rice with red red, rice with spinach sauce, rice with chicken, and the boys greatly enjoy rice with Adobo seasoning on top. The second main starch here is cassava – a root that is served numerous ways.   With two gluten allergies in the family, rice and cassava are a blessing.  We are thankful for these new starches in our diet. 8.)  While there are no berries here in country, but the fruit available for purc...

Written by Reid on our flight from the US to Ghana: Leaving the United States on a flight to Ghana is not unusual. This is my sixth such flight. I know what to expect in the airports and on the plane. I know how my body will react to the hours in the same seat and how much I will probably sleep (or not). When I wake up from a short nap with a headache I know that deep breathing and short walk clear it right up. But this flight is very different. At the moment we are between homes - we currently have no home - a house yes, but a home, no. We have left everything we know and life as we have known it provided lots of comfort - it was normal. Now there is no sense of normalcy. I looked up "normal" and found:  usual, typical, or expected. The flight may be typical and the journey through the airport and immigration will be normal, but that's the end of what I know about this trip. We don't know what to expect. We have no reference point for "normal" life in Ghana...