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Top Ten Positive Changes Since Moving to Ghana 10.)  I wear skirts almost every day and enjoy dressing with a feminine flair. 9.)  Our family entertainment is virtually always free = playing family games, going to the beach, hiking the nearby mountains, driving a few hours in the car together to run one errand...  We enjoy our family time together more than we ever have. 8.)  Upon meeting new people, I focus on the ways we are similar more than the ways we are different.  Before moving here, I easily became caught up in the differences between myself and others.  Now, my focus is on the similarities. 7.)  The daily pace of life is typically slower so there is more time for conversations, walking to the nearby stores when we need something, and watching sunsets.  No television access has been blissful.  The peace and quiet in our home was uncomfortable at first, but now is relaxing. 6.)  The food we eat is much fresher and healthier....

Tonight our family watched old home movies together.  After my surprise at what I was viewing on the screen, I posted a play-by-play on Facebook because I wanted to remember the experience. Dear Friends, this is life with five boys... Post #1 Watching old home movies tonight with the boys.These are movies they have taken on their own and ones I had no idea existed. One bonus from tonight was seeing our homecoming with Godwin from the passenger side of the gate. Very cool. AND I have heard Braden sing a song for a Snickers bar, viewed the outside of the car window over and over again on different trips, watched Franklin throw a pape r airplane off the deck, viewed the front and side view of about 400 lego creations, seen a florescent light bulb destroyed by a bb gun, watched the boys throw a rock into a lagoon, watched the boys drop a waterproof camera into the water just to see if it would work, I've witnessed what really goes on when the boys wash the car, enjoyed every angle of l...

Last Wednesday, one more item was crossed off my "bucket list." Mason, Franklin and I went "hawking."  What is "hawking" you ask?  It is the selling of wares on the streets.  In Ghana it is very common.  You can buy everything from the convenience of your car window - a cold Coke, toilet paper, batteries, watches, bread, apples, flags, maps, ironing boards, tables, etc...  Many items are toted from car-to-car on the heads of the sellers. The women in the photo below are selling (in the center) Bowlflute which is similar to a deep fried doughnut, (woman to the left in the off-white shirt) bags of water in which you tear off a corner of the bag with your teeth then suck the liquid out, and (the woman in the brown striped shirt) plantain chips which are delicious by the way. (This was a google image, we didn't take any photos of our selling.  Sorry.) Since coming to Ghana, I've joked about going "hawking."  However, the longer we have lived ...

Sometimes it is the simple things that make me smile.  Yesterday was a day full of simple things. The day after Katie left to return to the states, we moved a young single mother and her son in with us.  The mother's name is Etornam and she is a vibrant woman who yearns for nothing more than to care for her 11 month old son, Elyon.  Our family has quickly attached with them both and we love having a young chattering child crawling around the house.  After watching the David Platt / Francis Chan "Multiply " simulcast Friday night, I've been reminded to take discipleship seriously.   Since Etornam moved in, she and I have been doing a daily Bible Study on our identity in Christ. My time in God's Word with Etornam, and another orphaned young woman, Naomi, is a highlight of my day.  Right now, Etornam and Naomi are people God has placed in front of me to intentionally disciple.  In my weakness, I am trying. Our family is trying to help Eto...

Haircuts by Franklin...

Two nights ago, our Meaningful Life International team had the privilege to visit Aburi (a-bree) at the invitation of a pastor there who heard about one of our recent outreaches. He wanted our help to reach as many people as possible in his town. This pastor has been serving there for over 15 years and like so many places in Ghana, it is "hard ground," a spiritually dark place. This isn't always obvious because you will see lots of churches in Ghana and many of the businesses (roadside kiosks) have biblical references in their names and often refer to a Bible verse - even the bars or "spots" as they are called here. There is the appearance of a Christian presence but quite frequently the people who confess their devotion to Jesus mix their Christian worship with their traditional forms of idolatry. (This happens back home in the US but it is even more subtle there.) The drive into Aburi from Accra is beautiful. It reminds me of a drive into the Smoky Mountains....

Blog post started on October 5, 2012 Blog post completed and posted on November 8,2012 Sometimes we need to sing a song, even if we feel like we are in a desert.  A friend sent me this video today after I emailed her my heart's cry this morning. Yesterday was a wonderful day, and I rejoiced in my heart for so many things.  My sister, Wendy, and her husband, Adam, returned home with her son from Ethiopia yesterday.  This precious little boy that we have been praying home for 2 1/2 years is finally home.  My sister and her husband started their adoption few months after we began our adoption of Godwin.  She has watched so many children come home while she has continued to wait for God's perfect timing.  (My friend who sent me the video above is experiencing that now as well.  She started her process at the same time as my sister, but her child is still on the other side of the world.  My heart goes out to her as another child comes home while she st...