clair027

This post was written by our 15 year old.  It was unprompted by Mom and Dad.  In fact, Mason did not even want it read it until he posted it.  Friends, our entire family is wrestling through things we have never faced before as we experience the poverty here firsthand.  I find our oldest son does not mince words in his direct manner of communicating his passion.  Reid and I are amazed how the Lord is penetrating the hearts of our boys and using them to speak into our own lives. Guest Blogger: Mason Beebe   Age: 15       Warning: This will not be an easy to read blog post. The purpose of me writing this post is to call up Christian's to do their job for the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In doing this, I will write some things that may be offensive, but they are things that I feel need to be brought to light. If you have been upset over any other posts on this blog, it is quite possible that you will break your computer after reading...

Dear Friends, It seems recently we have started every post with reasons why you have not heard from our family.  We apologize.  The truth is that we are overwhelmed by the enormous need surrounding us. Over the past ten days these are some of the needs that have come to us: 1.)  A young boy with an unemployed father - no food in their one room home, and little of anything else.  The young boy is a step-child an unwanted by the step-mother.  The day we met him, he was out begging for fish so he would have something to eat. 2.)  A single mother who works to provide for her 8 month old son and herself.  Her monthly salary is 70 cedis ($35 mo.) to provide for both of them.  She only eats one small bowl of porridge per day because that is all she can afford.  Much of her income is spent on public transportation so she can go to work with her baby tied to her back.  Although she is nursing her son, she weighs no more than 95 pounds and her bod...

When we moved from Knoxville, we loaded a 20 foot trailer with supplies to live in Ghana for a minimum of two years.  Much of the space was filled with donations for the people here.  One of the donations we brought with us was a huge amount of baby formula that had been donated to Feeding the Orphans.  Case upon case was unloaded from our trailer then, later, into our vehicle to be donated to the West Africa AIDS Foundation. All of the formula was given to babies whose mother's have AIDS.  These women can not breastfeed their newborns.  We have learned that the donations of formula have saved the lives of two babies here in Ghana !  Isn't that amazing?  Two children are alive because of the donations of formula you sent.  Thank you!  Recently, we visited a new orphanage and met a little baby named Benedict.  He was eight months old and weighed only about 10 pounds.  I held him for a long time and the entire time I held him, he wa...

Five boys, one husband, and one wife with a sensitive nose make for one house rule for this family living less than 4 degrees North of the equator. We sweat.  A lot.  We smell.  A lot.  So the rule is this:  Everyone must bathe daily. Right now, there is an FTO volunteer living with us, so out of respect for her, this rule is non-negotiable.  At least once daily - everyone must bathe.  Showers are preferred but bucket baths are sometimes required.  Our water access is sometimes challenging, but even with trickling faucets dripping drop by drop - everyone must creatively figure out a way to clean themselves. Strangely, last night when our eight year old came out from the bathroom after his shower, I noticed a pungent odor.  Hmmm... Me:  Honey, did you shower? B:  Yes. Me:  Did you wash everything?  Your hair, your legs, your arms, etc...? B:  Yes. Me:  Come here.  Let me smell yo...

(Here's several weeks worth of posts all wrapped up into one...  Sorry for the longevity.  If you only have a minute, come back to read when you have time to soak all of this in...  It's worth it.) What is the American version of Disney?   Commercials flood television sets with this scene: children are screaming, "I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORD!" while the giddy parents look on as if they have made all their children's dreams come true because they will be making this memory-filled trip as a family.   Ahhh...what a dream.  It seems most Americans, whether they realize it or not, are holding lifetime passes to the Disney Dream...  (Ahem, the American Dream.) (Disclaimer:  Yes, our family has been to Disneyworld.  As always, not trying to impose guilt here, but needing to show the dichotomy of life here and life there.  If you've been to Disneyworld or Disneyland in America, you need to come with me to see Disney represented here in Ghana...) Win...