Disappointment vs Discouragement

Hello friends and family!
Wow, it has truly been an amazing DAY!
Let me back up by saying that yesterday we were able to go to the Embassy and after many weeks, President Bush coming to visit, a holiday (for the staff to thank them for all the hard work they did for his visit) we got the news that our I 600 and I 600 A were merged together!! HIP HIP HOORAY!
It was a smooth day, got to see the DHS and the Consular section with no problem and off we went with HIGH hopes of getting a phone call maybe even this week saying we got our approval.
Today....after a series of events we came to realize that the head Director, who is the only one who can "sign off" on I 600 approvals..(which is what we need to get our Visa) will be out of the office until the 7th....possibly returning to work on the 10th.
From day one in Ghana...Dave and I have rested in "God's timing is not ours..we will go and do what He asks"
A bit of air got sucked out of us with the news. (human emotions of "missing our kids desperatly...it has been over 4 weeks here in Ghana for me, knowing there is HUGE sacrifice being given by MANY family and friends on our behalf...etc)

Dave and I went on with the tasks of the day after the news...I made "Banku and Chicken" for our kids and for my brave husband who had not had it yet. It was fun to watch it all play out, as we sat around the table eating with your fingers...getting our kids to teach us how to make that great little spoon with the Banku. Vicoria had a good laugh...! Dave ended up washing his hands "after the meal" instead of before....some how the kids hands, even though they are using them...end up being clean.
As we get to "blend" our cultures, it is so fun to learn from the kids and watch them laugh at us as we try to understand some of their ways.
In the middle of clean up from that I said, "I need a Coke or a Fanta!" So off we walked across the street for a bit of a break.
Questions went through our minds...."has our view of God's timing changed? No. Have our hearts become bitter or frustrated, no.
Are we considerinig trials PURE JOY? this is a hard one...but really as we talked it became clear that we DO NOT want to miss ANYTHING God has for us or our kids while we are here....
Is it HARD!!! YES AND YES AND YES....but today this verse came to mind over and over.

Hebrews 12: 3 "For consider Him (Jesus) who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and DISCOURAGED in your souls.
vs 5a..My son (carrie and dave) do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be DISCOURAGED when you are rebuked by Him, For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives"

I think back to my 4 weeks here and see the very HAND of God on divine realtionships, blessings of prayer and healing, and chances to SEE with my heart and not my eyes. Would I trade it...NO and NO!
Physically it is hard, emotionally...well God has put a supernatural strength in me.
(for situations like today, when I got to go again to the orpphanage where our precious boys spent 4 of his 5 years, and take Dave to see it with his "eyes")
Left to my own and all the emotions that could RUN like wild fire...I would be a MESS. There are things daily that break your heart here.
This is the tough stuff..but it is the stuff that the Holy Spirit is using to give us opportunity.
Some of what we see in our selves is ugly. But God is the polisher and maker of new things.
We are dissappointed, yet not discouraged...we serve a God who is in control, and we will continue to REST in knowing that what He has planned is far ABOVE anything we could desire.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU who are praying and supporting us as we continue to love HIM with all our hearts!
We are packed and off to the Cape Coast for a few days of "play at the Beach...to PRAISE the Lord, renew our hearts and enjoy this great time of getting to know our new kids"
Here is an example of God's timing and amazing FAVOR we have been seeing this whole trip.
I was researching hotels at the coast today, and was able to call a friend of Romana's who lives there. I called to ask her what she would reccommend as far as places to stay and things to see while we were ther...because she lives there.
She said" oh, please come to my house and stay...I would love to have you"
OKAY!!!! Praises to you LORD! Things like this are a BONUS...but really we are seeing that each time we "lay it all down...and believe me, sometimes it is 10 times a day...and with some struggle..He meets us with PEACE, PROTECTION, and today it was PROVISION!
Carrie and Dave...count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience...but let patience have it's ,perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:1-3

It appears that patience is not something you ask for ...it is MADE in you!
We want to lack NOTHING...not even our I 600 approval so we PRESS on....thanks for Pressing with us.

Fun and Random!

Well the last couple days have been one of settling in at the guest house in our room that is at a constant 31 degrees celsius or perhaps that is only as high as the thermometer goes!!!

The kids are enjoying seeing the D's kids and playing with them. The girls Rachel and Victoria are little singers. When they are with each other coloring or even just standing at the market waiting for us they start singing all the songs they know..Away in the Manger, So High you can't get over it, so lower you can't get under it, Father Abraham, Im trading my sorrows, Open the eyes of my heart....so neat.

Small Town:
The first 3 days of being here Jacob D and John B wore the same shirts...no planning just happened....hmm you think there was a sale on these back home in Lynden :-)


Bath Time (sorry G rated no pictures)
Okay then so bath time with John is very energetic. Carrie thinks the water tickles him. He is a wiggle worm and squirms around on the floor of the shower laughing and giggling...after he is done he stands up, soaps up and is finished...last night I just stood there and laughed at him and he looked at me and laughed back...funny kid. Of course the bath time is not very efficient (but the floor gets clean too)!

Craft Market:
Yesterday we went with the D's to the craft market. My main objective was to get an African Djembe (drum) Mission accomplished. I get to pick it up on Friday. While looking thru the shops the kids got some drum lessons and we found many other fun memory items to bring back to America with us. Very cool! If I could figure out how to get the hand carved furniture back to America I would buy a bed, coffee tables etc...they are amayzing and the men are very talented who build these.


Cool Cats:
Just some pictures of the Blaske Kids looking cool in one of the D kids sunglasses!




Friends and Family at Home:
Just another note of thanks to all of the friends and family back home who are serviing us so Incredibly! As you all are aware life hasn't stopped just because we came to Africa. We could not be doing this and walking this amayzing journey without your support and prayers!!! Thank you, thank you, Thank you for the peace you give Carrie and I that our kids at home are being loved and covered.
Blessings
Dave

Mommy

Wow, can you believe my blogging awesome husband!!!!
I thought I better get some of my thoughts OUT before to many days go by and I lose the thoughts I have!
I will break it up in a few posts, I think! (I went down stairs this a.m. to start our wash, went over to talk to Jim and Laurel for a few mins....the girls..Victoria, Rachel and Sarah were washing the clothes....OKAY so now I have a few mins to blog before we all head off to the craft market!)
NORTH!
How do you gear up for a 15 hour bus ride with two kids?
OUR KIDS DID AMAZING! Dave did a great blog about this, but I thought I would add a few "Carrie-ism's" for all my friends and family at home to let you all LAUGH at the sheer AMOUNT of STRETCHING I did.

4 back packs, stuffed with gifts, food and TOILET paper, two kids all in "air plane" type seats...no leg room etc. Every time we needed something out of the bag it was a shuffle of GREAT measure. You all know how I am an organizer....after a few hours, I started to go into "whatever mode." It did not matter that thinigs were ALL undone, just happy if we could shove things into the bags.. The kids never complained. The most asked question was, "Water, mum, water"
How do you keep giving kids water (which they needed ) when you do not know when or if the driver is going to stop....hummm!

BUS
We asked ALOT of questions as to how to travel to Bolga...Air conditioned bus, or Non-AC, a bus that has random stops or scheduled stops, a newer bus or an older one.
(we had 3 choices of company's, one being government)
On the way up...AC bus at Night with hopes the kids would SLEEP!
Sleep....well, the AC was soooooo loud and freezing it was hard to rest.
Rest was not an option mostly because the bus had a small TV in the front (close to where our seats were) and all along the bus ceiling were speakers.
The conductor put in "VHS" tapes ALL night, with the sound BLARRING...bad sound, static etc.
I maybe could of taken the sound, but the CONTENT was HORRID!
The first few were soap opera type...with affairs, prostitution...YEAH, not even kidding. This was bad, but it got worse. The next few were all about a village and the people in the village..relationships and daily life. It started out with a 10 min witchcraft ritual of cursing certain people in the village....complete with chanting and sacrifices and wailing...HORRID! Then it finished with the scenes of the people they just cursed walking down the road and being attacked by the curse....BLOOD spurting out of their mouths, stomaches coming out ...can not even tell you!
We turned on the DVD player Phil and Amanda let us borrow and shoved the kids cose to the window so they could not see. (Phil and Amanda...I bet you did not know that your DVD player was going to protect our kids spiritual hearts huh! How do we thank you?)

Our Escort Bernard (amazing Christian man) and Dave and i closed our eyes and sang worship songs OUT LOUD and got MAD at the Enemy!!!
So the bus on the wy home...you got it...Non-Ac government bus! yeah, windows DOWN, NO videos and a much better trip!

RESTROOM
I know some of you are wondering how this all works here...there is to much to say, and alot you do not want to read about...but for the sake of getting to LAUGH at me..I will add a few things.
On our trip back...we stopped late at night in a town to go to the bathroom. It had been about 6 hours and we had NOT stopped! OKAY time to go!
I was told to wear a skirt because you never know when you are going to get a chance to go, and when you get the chance...squat and take it!
Everyone got up on the bus to depart, it was a bit CRAZY and noisy. I said to Bernard "Please, Victoria has to use the restroom and me too"
We weaved through vendor after vendor shouting "bread...Eggs, plantians" Bernard walked us through an alley packed with people, into a building...and pulled out chairs for us to sit down.
I looked around, confused and said "do we need to buy something to use the restroom"
Bernard looked blankly at me....I realized he had taked us to a "resteraunt"...Oh my good gravy...I looked at him and said "SORRY...Toilet!" Victoria at this time is DANCING and starting to cry.."it is coming, it is coming!"
We walked around again in the dirt and vendors and came to a cement building with no roof. (the walls were about 6 feet high, with a womens side and mans side. There was a table outside with a man collecting money...you pay to go.
I braced my self, took Victoria in and held my breath...(gagging) telling myself "You are FINIE..go and get out!'
The floor was cement, about 6 feet by 6 feet with a small ditch along the back wall.
Victoria walked right in, squatted and did her thing.
I had my shoulder bag around my neck, tiolet paper in my hand, had to balance with out falling over all while holding EVERYTHING. I had visions ov plopping over backwards onto the ground. Ohhhhh, what I failed to mention...the floor was 1/4 inch of wet liquid.....you know what I mean.
Just when I thought I was going to make it with out losing my sanity...a lady came in and squatted...PROBLEM...she was on the floor about 2 feet above me...so as she did her thing...it all ran towards the drain past my sandals! (anyone laughing yet?)
I went out side to the table and saw that they had small buckets of water (which were to used for other things) and I did not even ask...I just filled one and went back to the entrance and DUMPED it over my feet!
OKAY-YA!
We walked back to the bus in the dirt (wet feet) bought GREAT bananas, settled in and drove off!
I almost used a whole BOTTLE of our hand sanitizer on all of us!
Can any one say stretch?
So....this post is to long. So I will try another one later. I will let you all go now and ponder the gross story I just put out there for you!
*no spell check...and no time to proof read...so just laugh at this "homeschool mom" and enjoy!

The Trip Up North

The trip North to visit the village where Victoria lived prior to coming to Beacon House we knew would be a lot of things. Difficult, emotional, joyful, memorable, pick an adjective it was all that and more.

We started by arriving at the bus station in time for a NOON departure. We boarded the bus at 2 and left at 3pm. The trip was full of adventure, awful movies blaring in your ears, a fan belt that needed to be replaced and lots and lots of bumps and dirt. We arrived in Bolga at 5am (14hrs later). Along the way we stopped several times, nearly each time there were vendors selling many many things, most not recognizable to me. One treat was the bananas. They were small but very flavorful, different than the ones in Washington (better in my opinion). We caught a bit of sleep (2hrs) and had breakfast at the lodge and were off to the village.

As we traveled we again saw many vendors, children selling many items. Children and adults walking with anything and everything you can imagine on their heads or walking with carts, many had donkeys pulling carts into town from their villages.

As we drove Victoria was getting more and more excited. We kept driving further and further....everywhere you look there was dirt, every once in a while you would then come up on a group of mud huts with thatched roofs and some with no roofs. These were the beginning of the villages. There were school buildings and people walking to the fields.

Victoria kept saying look for the BIG WATER. Soon we came to the BIG WATER. It was like an ocean. Its a man made watering hole that she remembers getting water from. We drove for another 10-15 minutes and we came to Vea. Victoria was so excited and looking for people she knew....the night before and all morning she talked about seeing baby Helen, Olivia, Martha, Timothy, Joe, Esther, Mary, Jennifer, Uncle John and Patricia (Johns wife). We initially went to the wrong families area, right village, wrong group of mud huts, this was okay though because we got to see Victoria's friend Philip's family. Philip is also at Beacon House. We met Philip's brother and father and some other relatives while there.

Finally we arrived. We parked and began the walk into Victoria's family grouping. It was hot, smoggy and dirty but all we could notice was little Victoria's joy as she ran ahead and met her friends on the trail who knew she was coming, we couldn't keep up or video except from way behind. It was a moment that will be etched forever in our minds.

We arrived at the village and were greeted by Uncle John (Pastor John). He is the man that against strong cultural guidelines/traditions took Victoria in and did his best to raise her until he just couldn't any longer. Words can't explain how our hearts are bound to Uncle John's. He is an amayzing man that loves the Lord Jesus Christ.

After greeting Uncle John we proceeded into the center of the group of huts where the women had gathered (lots of them of all ages) and were already dancing traditional dances to the Lord and in honor of us coming. Very humbling as we didn't expect this and just wanted to meet them and see where Victoria had spent most of her life. Dancing went on and on, lots of stomping, clapping.


They would all clap a rhythmic beat and sing and then one by one they would come to the center and stomp and dance their hearts out. From an older lady to teenagers to Victoria and even a young 5 or 6 year old. Very neat. In case you were wondering yes they did call Carrie and I out at different times to dance as well....yes we have video but these portions of the white people dancing will likely never be seen by anyone but us... as lets just say our dancing was not the same!!!

We handed out toy cars made by several gentlemen in our church, a few beanies and of course toffee (candy). One of the funny moments was watching the older grandmothers in the village look at and play with Victoria's (cabbage patch) doll she had brought. The kids played and played with the cars and some raced the beanies around on the cars.


After awhile Victoria took us to see the large Mango Tree. While there Victoria impromptu style began to lead the children in worship songs. Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord, Father Abraham and Jesus Loves the Little children...all of them with motions. Reminded me of her Big Sister Ashlie!!

As it became time to leave we were able to pray and receive a blessing from Uncle John and Patricia...what was even more unexpected was the gifts Victorias family gave to us. A live guinea fowl and some ground nuts. This was a HUGE sacrifice for them to do (They don't have much and this is not the time of year where they are harvesting and making more! Very moving!


As we began to leave I could not believe what we had just been thru. It was all very surreal. On the drive out of the village Carrie and I talked about the definition of happiness. In the western world we would look at these people and see sadness and even say we couldn't imagine living like that. I can say that these people were happy, do they live a hard life by our definition of hard...I suppose but the point is they live a happy life the one that God has given them.

To be honest I am still overwhelmed by it all as it was ALOT to take in.
Pictures, stories, can never compare to what is etched in my mind. I will forever remember this experience God knitted together so perfectly for many many reasons. I know He will continue to teach me and remind of his faithfulness and provision thru the images I witnessed this day.

As we drive out the joy on Victoria's face was one to be cherished forever. Victoria God has a perfect plan for you and it is going to be one of amayzing proportions.

Was it worth two 14hr bus rides each way, complete with potholes, dust, the backaches, lack of sleep etc?

ABSOLUTELY!

ARRIVING!!!

Okay (wide awake, makes no sense but still the truth). Remember read the previous blog posts from today before this one so it all makes chronological sense:-)

So it is Tuesday the 19th of Feb and I land in Ghana amidst much fan fare....military troops lining the runway and a limosine waiting at the base of the stairs for me?

Well I soon remembered the troops were there in preparation for President Bush arrival and the limo must have been some US dignitary that took my business class seat(not really those seats are expensive)!

Okay so on to customs...where the officer took my passport and said I had to provide an address for my stay in Ghana....fortunately I had a phone number and was able to get out of line call and get the address, get back in line and successfully get thru customs.

I then proceeded to baggage claim and out the door to navigate the next series of check points before I would get to see my wife and the new blaske kids. I proceeded to the first check point and the officer said did I know that Pres Bush was coming today..I said no I thought it was tomorrow. He shook my hand and said enjoy your stay in our country sir and sent me on my way...no further delay!

So as I walked thru the final door way and exit passages I began peering thru the glass looking for my babe and kiddos. I saw them before they saw me...I waved and nothing waved back...then I looked again and confirmed yep it was them I waved and maybe even jumped a bit then I saw Victoria in her pink outfit jumping and pointing along with John jumping....In my mind I ran like the movie scene but it was truly a brisk walk with my 150lbs of luggage in tow.

I reached them and they jumped for joy, we all three hugged and kissed and the kids said we go to America now!!! It was short, very surreal and very very good!



We then climbed into Bernards car and made our way to Beacon House for a short stay ,first bucket shower..cold and refreshing and then off to the bus stop to head up north.

The kids are amayzing and Ghana is as well.

The trip up North was Amayzing in so many ways and I am now getting tired so I will save that one for tomorrow.
Dave

Thoughts On The Way

It's Feb 18th I sit on an Airplane headed to Ghana; On the first leg from SEA to NY it hit me…you are adopting TWO MORE KIDS!!! WOW, I have been taking lots of steps and even sending money but I had a good laugh because DUH you would think I would have realized this fact already. My point is we talked about it, we prayed about it, we pursued it, we sent money, Carrie has been their for 3 weeks already …but now that I am on my way I told my daughter Ashlie it is like WHOA/SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD…this is big stuff, GOOD STUFF but WHOA I am going to Africa and I am coming home with 2 kids that I will have the pleasure and responsibility to raise and train up in the way they should go! It is a line that is being crossed, decisions were made leading up to this,... but today a line is being crossed. Lots of emotion, lots of thoughts. It is all good!!

So, how did this happen? It has been a process for sure! As I sat (and I have been and will be doing a lot more of that in the next few days), I couldn’t help but reflect. I had numerous emotions. Excitement, joy, anxiousness and yes even a touch of fear (short lived but several variable angles at which fear tried to come in). Everything from what am I doing (just being honest), two more kids to raise! will they like me, how hard will it be for them coming home, leaving all that they know to be good, how will we help them navigate it all?

When I look back I am confident that I am suppose to be here right now for such a time as this. It is a bit of a whirlwind for sure, but how else would I imagine a leap of faith and following God’s call to be? From the start of Carrie’s and my feeling that we should look into adopting, all I knew was two, ..... boys, girls, one of each, not so clear but two was what I was hearing. God then took us thru one step at a time to this point where I am now on the airplane and headed to Ghana to meet them in person!!

Thoughts (Random and Funny (atleast to me)...its a long plane ride)
I found myself traveling alone and thus lots of time to think. As I am observing the others on the plane I found myself thinking what will J & V look like when they are in there teens and older, how will they dress? Like that guy or that gal on the plane....hey it was funny to me....so remember if you ride a plane with me I am watching! :-)

Most of you have probably flown and seen the flight map that shows you where you are at on your route.. I checked it toward the end and was caught by surprise when I saw the map on the video screen and in seeing Africa for the first time had to change the channel so as to not give some other people watchers on the plane something to write/talk about (yes I was tearing and emotional...weird but good)

First Sighting?
Of course I also thought ALOT about what the first meeting would be like...would they run to me like a scene in a movie...will I be an emotional wreck or ??? Read the next blog to see how it actually turned out.

What will I see and how will it impact me?
Having not been to a very poor place like I was going to be going I wondered what our trip up North would be like...how hard will the bus rides be, how will it look and how will I feel? How will it be for Victoria returning to a place she remembers very well? How will it be for John?

What's ahead?
I was also reminded that we still have significant milestones to overcome on our way to finishing this leg of the race. I was reminded to finish this phase strong and then begin the next phase…..(when we get home).

So for this leg I am heading into it with hindsight of what He has already done to get us to this point (if you don't know read from the 1st blog entry to now to get a snapshot...of course God has been preparing us since before we started this process a short 10 months ago just as He prepares all of us thru our life experiences for what he has in store for us around the next corner (whether we know it or acknowledge it or not He is doing it).

More Future thoughts…
Will J n V be musical, athletic, literary, theatrical, strong, compassionate, leaders, hard workers, the list goes on. One thing I know, we will do our best to raise them with the knowledge of where they have come from and with a knowledge that God has a unique plan for them and we get to have the priviledge of walking thru life with them. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can about there life before God brought them to us and interweaving our lives with theirs.

The ones still in Lynden:
Thoughts of kids at home…in the end …like most of our walk with God…the best stuff happens when it doesn’t look like most everybody else. In other words even though we have 4 kids spread out and it is hard, I am at peace that God is in control and will meet everyones needs thru the entire time we are apart.

Closing Thoughts:
Traveling and seeing the depth of the number of people in the world is HUGE (really analyze and think about how many people there are in the world). I look at all of these people and I wonder wow millions and millions of kids is A LOT. Pretty profound I know.

Some of you might be thinking...the problem is so huge what can I do to possibly make a difference..... I heard a saying the other day that has stuck with me and solidified our vision.

"to the world they are one…but to the one you are the world." We are grateful that we have the opportunity to be the world to two special ones…someday there may be more…who knows…. This is not to say we are rescuing them but rather to say we are being brought together to be a part of God's plan for their little lives.

I am also very grateful for the many many many people who have already adopted and are the grizzled veterans of this process that have helped us along the way and of course thru His Kids Our Homes we are excited to be a part of helping as many other people as we can navigate the process of helping kids…whether it be thru intl adoption, domestic or foster adoption, foster care, sponsoring kids oversees, organizing and participating in missions and support to orphanages…it is all exciting and I am blessed to be a part of it…WOW that was a mouhfull of LIFE yet to be lived for sure….

Well thats it. I wrote this on the plane and then copied it and spell checked/word smithed so it will be interesting to see how it all actually plays out.
Blessings,
Dave

A note from the OTHER Half..

Okay all you blaske bunch addicts. You are now in for a couple of treats! It is time for Dave to get in a couple of blogs. He recognizes it is likely not probable he will live up to the amayzing previous entries but he is game if you are. :-) Note currently the other Blaskes in Ghana are ALL three sacked out asleep after a long couple of days!

So here they come:
Thoughts on the Way!
Arriving
The Trip up North

Baseball!

All right, I admit, I got this off another families blog, but I couldn't help putting it out there for you all to see!
Beacon House kids are in green.

As for a report, things are looking pretty good here in Lynden, boys in a million different directions and two big
kids livin' at home. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us so far! We appreciate it
lots and lots and lots!

Blessings from Lynden!
Ashlie B

Getting Ready

We are getting ready for DADDY to come. It takes a few days for clothes to dry, and I realized today that I better wash what I need for when Dave gets here.
We are picking him up at the air port, he will met the kids, (yeah) kiss his wife, (maybe not in that order :O) then off to Beacon House for a few hours then onto a bus for a 12 hour drive up North....Yes....my husband is SUPERMAN! When Romana talks about this day...she smiles and says "poor Dave"
Why are we doing this to my BEST FRIEND? President Bush is flying into Ghana this week. 20th-22nd. They have arranged for a group of children to play a t-ball game for him...it is a BIG deal...and the cool part is that the Beacon House kids will be playing! Yeah! *NBC will be covering it...so watch for it*
All that to say, we were planning on going North the 25th-27th...but realized that Monday is a holiday, Wed Bush is here and Friday are 1/2 days at the Embassy...so we are going to travel while the Embassy is busy...return to do business with them the folowing week.
So we are getting ready.


Boy can this girl WASH! We filled up 2 buckets, some soap in one and clean water in the other, and off to scrubbing we went. I was swishing stuff around...and Victoria was giggling at me. "what? what are you laughing at?" I would ask. We went round and round with funny comments on how I looked silly because I did not know what I was doing. She had a steady hand and a very precise way of holding the clothes. (not my swishy way :O)
We went through the process of the 2nd bucket, rung everything out and put all the clothes into a 3rd bucket of clean water. (you should of seen the water we dumped out...so dusty/dirty)
Then we HUNG things on the clothes line. I went to shake out a pair of pants before I hung them, and it hit the line and pulled two of my pieces of clothing off and onto the ground. Before I could pick them up, Victoria was there..."oh no, mum, I will wash it again for you"
I told her that it was okay, I would just re-hang it...oh no, that was not an option.
She was back in a flash with the clothes and we were done!
2 more sleeps at Beacon House for my kiddos! I can not believe that we are
GETTING READY!

Hair

For a few days now I have been asking ALOT of questions about HAIR...Victoria has GREAT hair...but a mommy that is NOT so great at making it pretty! Victoria is very patient. This is a Picture of Shelter (boys house Mom) and Victoria...preparing her hair to be "Planted" (the word for when they braid or DO their hair"
I say "preparing"..because Victoria has such strong thick hair, that you have to wash in one day, let it dry for a day, the next day you can seperate it and put it in LOOSE braids or Plants (away from the scalp...so the scalp gets AIR) THEN on the 3rd day you can PLANT it with all kinds of braids, bobbles and elastics (or as they call them...rubbers Hee hee)It will last for about 1 1/2 weeks...if it is done tight and good.
I am trying to be a good student. I am very thankful for the staff and being so willing to teach me, sometimes over and over again. I do not think it is because I am slow...it is just that it is new. (well that is what I tell myself anyway

Okay....so what do you do with a busy fun extrovert son and a beautiful quiet introvert daughter to get to know them?
You play hard with BOTH of them, read books to them, tickle John A LOT! and sit with Victoria and let her "Plant" your hair!
Yes...the nice hair style you see above is done by my beautiful daughter!
I have found that she has great stories to tell if she can stand behind me and "plant" I think it helps her not feel "one the spot" like it would if we were at the table or sitting on the bed.
Tonight, she was creating this great hair style, Phillip was in front of me, asking me "have you seen this movie, how about that movie?" We got to the "Robin Hood" movie and he asked if I remembered the part with the snake....well, this started a WHOLE snake conversation.
My quiet daughter was planting away and proceeded to tell me (along with Phillip, because they lived in the same Village) how the python was in the village and bit a man, the man had to find a frog that had poison skin, lick the frog, then pull out the snakes teeth from the man's hand and kill the snake.
Phillip, Victoria and I talked and talked while she braided and braided.

At first she said things like "no, there was not a snake, and no I have not eaten it" (I asked if they ate it after they killed it) After she saw that I was intersted and not grossed out, she talked about it more. The oil was used for medicine with cooked grass that was squeezed out, the meat was cooked and someone sold the skin.
AMAZING! I am looking forward to a life time of these kinds of conversations...some may be fun, like this one, some may be sad, or angry (pray for a hard scalp for me :O) but what ever the conversation is... I will treasure it!
So, when I get home to Lynden...if you see me with the above hair style...just look and know that I have most likely had a GREAT conversation with my daughter!

Art and Culture in Ghana

Tonight I was invited to attend a concert in Accra...called " I See a Rainbow Over Ghana" Classical meets hiplife (hip hop)
Over 200 musicians at the National Theater.
The tickets say "7:00 p.m." so we ate an early dinner and were off to the theater.
We arrived at 10 mins to 7:00 and they were still doing a sound check. As we visited with incoming guests over in a lounge type area, time ticked by. 8:00 we were let into the beautiful theater. At 8:30 the concert started.
Welcome to Ghana!
Romana, leaned over to me at one point...as we sat waiting for things to start...and said " are you just here for the AC" we laughed!
The night was to put focus on celebrating Ghana and It's musicians. There were lots of songs about Ghana, aids, malaria, and National Anthem songs too.


Each song had a classical version, and then an R & B or Hip Hop version of the same song to follow. Some were beautiful, some were strange messages, and some were lipsync...but all in all it was intertaining.

Out in the lobby they have these HUGE drums that have been carved, adorned and named...male or female with specific names. There is alot of spirit worship in Africa...so take a look, these drums are awesome and a bit beyond my comfort zone in their history.
At one point in the concert they had an Arch Bishop come and give a short address to the crowd. He talked about the "rainbow" and how in the Bible, God had to flood the earth because fallen angels had come and slept with men and women and made "giant" not fully human beings, like spirit beings and God was not pleased with it...so He had to destroy it. The little girl in front of us leaned over to the person sitting next to her and said "what Bible is he reading out of?"
GOOD for you little one!
We all were wishing we could have a word with this man when it was over.
Other than that...(blending of Biblical things with man made things...which is False Teaching using the name of the Lord) the night was fun! Interesting dance and music and lovely people to be with...a good night!

All in all, I am getting agood look at culture in Accra...bits and peices here and there. I am thankful for being invited, for the laughs and again for experiencing the "Relax and Wait" mentality here. (7:00 concert starting at 8:30...hummm)
Third world country...yes, friendly people...yes....easy and take your time mentality...yes....THANKFUL for the chance of a life time to see as much about my kids Homeland YES and YES!!!

Bath Time!

Bath time at Beacon House is a good thing! The kids work hard and play hard, things are dusty so you end with with sweaty, dirty, happy kiddos!
Today while I was in the office, I looked out the window and saw the baby taking her bath.
The House Mom's were there washing their clothes as the baby was playing in the bucket! So cute, so much fun I could not resist the pics!
Pretty smart to pop her into this bucket...she could play with out worry of her going under....She is the happiest little thing!


For the first few weeks I would walk by and Snatch her up off the floor and walk around with her where ever I went....then last week,(now that I am closer to the staff) the cook and girls house mom caught me in the kitchen and said "Mum, please do not pick up the baby...you pick her up and you hold her, put her down and you walk away...she cries and we have to KEEP working...but then we have a crying baby"
Ohhhhhh! Boy did I say sorry.... all I was thinking about was how much I loved holding her...when I was done and had to go somewhere else I left them MORE work to do to get her settled.
We stood in the kitchen and talked for a long time about how they have a schedule of tasks everyday (These women work hard) and they hold her and bath her, feed her and nap her, play with her etc....but i was upsetting the routine.
The last thing I wanted to do was be "the American White Mom" that comes in and does not SEE really SEE what it takes to be here...really be here, not just as a guest, but as a HELP!
So....look at this little button of a baby and tell me that it is not hard to scoop her up...huh...hard!
BUT I can tell you that as the weeks go by and the stories are shared from staff to me and me to staff, God is connecting our hearts and I think I am starting to "SEE" with my heart and look at things differently day by day! I really respect the staff here and am loving that God is opening conversations and relationships!
Now....if everyone is sitting and I know I can sit (game time, play time or movie time) I will hold the babies...


but during the hustle of cooking, washing and schooling...I have to walk by the baby QUICKLY...because she will grab onto my skirt and she will be CONNECTED with a GRIP hard to release.... I love her with my words only...knowing I can pick her up later.
Lesson Learned!

Process

Hello All! We are counting down days to when Daddy gets here.
"Four sleeps" Victoria said to me today.
We had an interesting conversation today.
She said, " mum, when Dad comes will we go to a hotel?"
I said, "Not at first...Daddy comes in on Tuesday and on Tuesday night we get to go on a bus to travel up North" (12 hours...pray for Dave...15 hours of travel by air...9 hours at Beacon House to meet his kids, see me, meet staff...then onto a night bus to Bolga....MY MAN IS THE BEST!)
*you will be able to see "the process of what is happening for the Blaske Family as you listen to the conversation, between the two of us*
I told her that we will spend "Wed-Thursday In Bolga visiting her family, then back to Accra on Friday"
She said "then where...guest house?"
I said , "yes"
She looked at me and said " I only have four more sleeps at Beacon House."
she is a smart little girl!



We sat for a long time and talked about how she felt about that...it was conversation with long pauses and lots of thinking.
Her family here at Beacon House is just that, "family"
Her family up North is a well.
We are coming into some great times of learning, talking, seeing and remembering as we travel and start to seperate from Beacon House. (of course we will come back here a few times before we leave....to say good byes and to be prayed over...(can not wait for that)
John....well John is so busy singing "George, George, George of the jungle" that we do not have many long conversations...however we do have LOTS of funny tickle times and so many LONG hugs I have to put him down.
LOVE his way of bringing life into any situation!
Today we were able to pick up our visa medical reports we need for our visa appointment, (YEAH)
I was also able to go to Delta and get my ticket changed and add the kids on as well!
(well...not pay for them yet...but got all the details added to our itineray)
Very helpful Delta agent and the most AMAZING water cooler and AC....Evelyn and I took our time.
So 3 taxi's later we were back....ready to rest!
I had Banku and cabbage stew....cold water and a rest. GOOD DAY!
So, we continue to count "sleeps" and know that God is wrapping things up and we are covered and BLESSED!

Valentines Day

Boy oh Boy...Valentines Day at Beacon House! What fun!
While I miss my kids and my hubby beyond words...it was a delight to have Valentines Day at Beacon House.
Early in the morning I told the kids that when I got back from the Embassy I would have a Valentines Day Party.
At 3:00 I got the classroom ready with the Valentine card I had bought for the kids to prepare. Amanda had sent along a nice supply of bags and candy for them as well.
(it was a hit...thanks Amanda)
The question remains...how do you teach children about Valentines Day when they have not celebrated it before?
I started by gathering them in the class room and we talked through the song
"The More We Get Together, the Happier We'll be, because your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends"
Friendship is how I went about it.
Each child signed the "to" with "to my friend" and the "from" with their name.
Then we put them into a large bowl and each one got to pick one out and receive a packet of conversational hearts and some red, pink and white Jelly beans!
One of the Valentine Cards was a card with an empty face on one side and the stickers of a "nose, eyes, sungalsses, ears etc" to build a face.


They laughted, ate candy, sang the song with the hand motions and it was good.
At one point in the party...they were all a bit confused...I found myself with 14 kids at my feet, pulling on my dress...."mum, please mum, mum can you help me"
what seemed like 5 mins of craziness calmed down and I was able to get them to all sit down and we started over...slower this time.
They laughed at me because I showed them what it sounds like to me when all 27 of them are saying "mum, mum, help please mum" Yeee Haw!
After filling them with sugar, seeing smiles on their faces, and wiping sweat off of EVERY inch of me...the party was done!
One Happy Valentine's Day on the books for Beacon House!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

LOVE, HUGS, KISSES, and MORE LOVE to my awesome family at HOME!
You FILLED my heart up more than words can say! I do miss the goofy fun of the Blaske house! Thank you for thinking of me and praying or all of us while we are apart!
Please watch for a post later.. I am going to "do" Valentine's with the Beacon House kids today and teach them some songs with hand motions.....HOPE it FILLS your heart!
Until then... I wanted to let you know and the BLOG world that my FAMILY is the BEST!
Dave, walking life with you as my partner and covering is a GIFT of untold value!
Love Mom... in Ghana!

Pictures and Silliness from Washington!

Hello from Lovely Washington!The Blaske kids and Daddy in Washington wanted to send some LOVE to GHANA! We can't wait to be all together SOON!I (Dad) am sooo excited for Tuesday when I will arrive in GHANA. I am excited to meet John and Victoria and of course see my best friend in the whole wide world!!
I can't even imagine what it will be like to meet you and the rest of the kids at Beacon House.

Enjoy the pictures of the goofy Blaskes still in Washington!!

Now for some mushy Mom to Dad stuff! To the love of my life, my most precious gift from God above, my completer and partner in everything! You are loved! This time has been amayzing to hear how God has been pouring in to you and how you have been (like always) pouring what God has given you right back out. I am eager, but in a patient way, to join you and write the next chapter alongside you!

The FAVOR and POSITION God has shown us is truly a miracle. Gods hand is over every aspect, you, me, the kids, our friends who are amayzing and a HUGE blessing from GOD, to all of the steps and bumps along the way.

So my love on this Valentines Day I send my love for all the blog readers to see! You are mine and I am yours forever!
LOVE GOOSE! :-)

PLAY

Play time at Beacon House is really amazing to watch, and be in volved in!
These kids have many dimensions of great relationships that come with joy and trial. (like any big family)
THe kids PLAY out side A LOT! Trampoline...4 kids at a time, Soccer...mini games happen all the time...using the gate as a "goal" area, bike riding, big wheels and skate boards all used with great joy. The kids play macala (oware) DAILY....they are good at it. The house mom's play as well and have many laughs. Jump ropes....bubbles....and cars get zoomed around all the time.
The kids do amazingly well playing together, and know how to make groups and move when things get frustrating....all the kids look out for the babies, (ie....soccer running, slides, and general play)


I am enjoying the great conversations with the house mom's about how they are instilling character and vlaues into the kids...man do they do a great job! THe conversations with Shelter and her GOd given heart to love and train John and all the kids....inspires me! GOd calls people to task and she is in her task with well epuipped gifts to accompany them.
Enjoy the PLAY pics!

Pictures are HERE

Well.... I took a risk and TRIED to do "uploads" with out my computer expert ASHLIE.
(smoocha....miss you sissy)
Romana convinced me to give it a try...thanks Romana! She knew how to upload and not the blog part...I knew the blog part not the upload part.
So, look below to the Volta and you will see a few I added.
FUN FUN FUN...each day the kids and I have from 1-3:00 to PLAY and get to know eachother. The mornings are filled with school, chores, meal prep (table setting etc) then lunch...and SLEEP...( I put the SLEEP pictures in the blog below as well)
A few days ago we played "UNO" and had a lot of LAUGHS!
I think we will be playing UNO for alot of days to come. Beacon House has great games and puzzles that the kids play in the afternoon, this makes our play time a bit easier.

I hope you all enjoy seeing a "bit more" of Beacon House and Ghana!
We are counting "sleeps" (number of times the kids have to sleep before Daddy gets here.) Looking forward to that DAY!

Volta

About two hours East of Accra is a region called Volta. This morning we left to travel there. Our mission was to pick up two beautiful children that have been at an orphange for the last 3 years.
*remember the blog a bit ago...where we tried to travel and our car broke down...not today* Before we left instead of just praying over the trip, we also added specifics about the car :O) All went fine.
As we left Accra, we began to get into an area that appeared a bit more green. I realized as we traveled that the houses were starting to look differently as well. Instead of being cinder block with cement, they were red mud huts with thatched roofs. The vendors along the road has some of the things I have seen in Accra, but also some new fruit looking things and beautiful ceramic jars of every size.
The land in this region produces different things...very interesting.
The reason for the green was the "Volta River"

We crossed over it...on a huge bridge...it is a bit like the Columbia in WA. They have a dam up the river and use it to produce hydro power for electricity.
Very interesting.
One of the funny things was a large herd of long horn type cattle crossing the two lane highway...we were driving about 70 mph...and had to some to a stop to let them pass.




Other things that were unbelievable were the termite mounds...more like mountains. They were all over the place. Huge sand castle like structures out of red clay dirt that were any where from 8-10 feet tall...not kidding!

As we entered the region, it looked like a bustle of small shops with hard working people. We drove a long while on a very bumpy dirt road. We had a few cars in front of us and had to hold back at times to be able to see where we were driving.
The road was paved in the middle of this 10 mile stretch...funny huh...it is like they started in the middle and are working there way on each end..
We arrived at the orphanage. When we got out at the two story house ON THE RIVER...beautiful...the rooms on the first floor were open air. There were about 6 people walking and praying and singing and playing hand instruments.
We were greeted by the director...a very amazing Canadian woman who has been in Ghana for 18 years (it would take DAYS to tell of her wonderful POWERFUL story and how she CHANGED the history and culture of demonic activity and injustice in the VOlta region)
She said she would like us to go visit the social welfare officer so the officer could meet us before we took the kids back with us to Beacon House. She also said that the 6 people and herself have been fasting and praying for 3 days and from 8 a.m. to 12:00 every day they pray together and wait unpon the Lord.
I am thinking...let me in!!! I want to pray as well...but that was not what the Lord had for me...one, I was a guest and two I wanted to see how it all worked out at the social welfare office.
Once again during this day I was placed back to words that have been spoken over me that I will "sit with officals in foreign lands and in my own land"
There I was humbly as an observer...able to watch Romana do what God has called her to do...in this government office.
I was addressed and asked about my adoption of children from Ghana and was able to speak to the questions of "will the adoptive family come and let the remaining family meet them before they take kids away for adoption"
I could say yes...because when Dave gets here we will be going up North to meet family...see where Victoria lived and meet those who love her and saved her life.
I think God used this American white woman today for this offical to see that we will come and do what is good for the kids.

When we returned to the orphange the director had prepared a meal for us. We sat down at a full place setting, with cold water, tea, bread, crackers and homemade chicken noodle soup. YUM! I could see the river from where I was sitting, watched a lizard run across the outside patio wall, feel the inside fan on my face in the 90 degree heat...and sat AMAZED!
How did I get here? I am so thankful for this opportunity. Romana's staff Bernard was with us..to help with the culture and conversation at social welfare and also to prepare the paper file for each child so they can be received leagally by Beacon House. I looked at him during lunch and asked "Have you ever had this soup?" he said no... and we laughed. I said "is it NICE?" He said yes....but I think he was strethced a bit.
We were just a small ways away from the village he himself was raised in. SO he had alot of good stories and history about the place.
We then sat by the peaceful river, exchanging stories, resting from the blazing sun and getting eachothers contact information.
His Kids Our Homes is getting QUITE alot of information to bring back home to help give people options on how they can help the orphans in Ghana! THANKS GOD for the amazing connections! You have created Romana for such a time as this, and have given her FAVOR in relationships and postion with authorities...because she works for the kids and with integrity! I am getting to benefit from all of this hard work.


It came time to go get the two children. We walked to the building where the kids live and they were there on the porch with their bags and nice clothes on, ready to go. Kids faces were peeking out from all over the place.
Loves, hugs, and good bye's were spoken...then the director handed the hand of the kids over to Romana's hand...the small boy was a bit timid and Bernard spoke to him in the language of that area and he responded by saying "yes he was ready to go to Accra"
The emotion of the moment over took me a bit....this senario played out at some point in each of my children's lives...where they had to leave what they KNEW to go to a new place. That new place for them was Beacon House. I watched these precious kids wave at the friends and staff they have lived with for 3 years, bravely get into the back of the car and off we drove.
Thoughts whirrled through my head...what was it like for Victoria and John to be in the back of this same car...driving away from all they know, to a place they do not know to a people they have not met?
The work, sweat and more work it takes for Romana to build realationships with people to be able to go out and connect with kids, the PAPER work on the government side that has to be done....the people who do not do adoptions correctly..making Romana's call to do her job more difficult...my oh my....I learned ALOT today about how Thankful I am for the work being done here.
I went into my bag and gave the kids a bag of fruit snacks I had tucked in just for them....the quickly ate them up. THey comforted eachother with a gentle touch on the hand or arm during our 2 hour drive. BUt for the most part they were silent.
When we arrived in Accra...they STARRED out the window at all the hustle and bustle of traffic and things I am sure they have never seen.
We honked at the Beacon House gate and were greeted by all the kids and staff.
We unloaded and stood around the car. One by one the kids introduced themselves, some of the girls were hopping up and down when I told them this new little girl was going to stay here.
The staff was introduced and then the House Mom's appointed a child to take the hand of the new children and show them around and not to leave them today.
This was done with great joy. As the two children walked into the house it was like a line of the pied piper...everyone following along.
What a loving way to be greeted!
So as I write the kids are preparing a place at the table for them, getting them a tub to put their things in and getting them ready for the night time routine of dinner, clearning the plates and washing them, bathing and movie time.
My heart and my emotions are FULL so much so that I will be processing this day for a long time to come.
I know it will be a day that I refer back to often as God will call my mind to the land and people of my childrens roots!
Ghana...I could be here for months and still not be able to grasp the culture my kids have experienced here in their life time.
I am praying that the eyes of my heart will be WIDE open so that deep things can go in...so when we are home in a different culture and the kids want to talk about Ghana...GOd will bring it all back to mind.
Volta...a trip that the Lord had for me to take for a day which left an imprint for hopefully a lifetime.

Process

It is the end of a "Monday"
For some Mondays are hard because they are the start of a whole new work week.
Sunday night I prepared the paperwork I needed to take the kids to get the Medical they need for their visa's.
Everything here needs an original and a photo copy....so a bit of work before hand is good thinking.
I went to bed with the fan whirling the hot air around...(like Phil says...it is like a convection oven :O) and my mind going over and over the steps I needed to do for our "Monday"
For the medical you have to go three places..but I made it four because I needed to exchange money.
Romana warned me that this could take all day..you sit and wait alot, and on Monday's the clinics will be busy.
Romana's very kind and helpful staff Evelyn walked with the kids and I to catch a taxi to go to the first place.
PHOTOS: We need 3 passport size photos for each child. We pull into a small alley like dirt street and get out at a small hut type building. (Photos it says out side)
The waiting area is about 2 feet by 5 feet with narrow benches along one wall. A man comes out from behind a curtain, takes the kids one at a time, Evelyn pays 10 Ghana cedis and in 15 mins he comes out with his scissors cutting the small pictures of the kids and hands them to us. We are done.
(John was being totally silly but still at this place...Victoria did not talk unless I talked to her)
AKAI HOUSE: the building where the Visa medicals are done. This was a 4 story building that had AC (yeah) We waited the longest here. We put the kids passports and paperwork onto the desk with about 8 people in front of us. The waiting room was SILENT. No one talked or even moved. THe kids were still and silent.
REALITY check here for the American mommy...before I had left I filled my bag with coloring books, crayons, stickers and fruities...thinking it would help the kids stay busy....If I were to have taken those things out... you might as well put a LOUD speaker on my head that said "look at me.... I do not understand Ghana culture" so the things stayed in the bag all day!
My kids were absolutley AMAZING! They answered when spoken to, they sat still, were happy and did not complain.
THe kids and I and Evelyn went up and down to the different desks several times signing papers, verifying passport stuff and then off to the room where we waited for the exam. The Doctor was very nice and spoke kindly to the kids and was excited that I was adopting. All done there, and off we went to
MED LAB...this is the funny part. For the Visa Medical the kids have to do a "poo" sample. Ohhhh the stories of the kids Romana has already taken for their medicals....you have to stay until the produce (sorry if this is gross...)
Sometimes the kids are there for hours....prunes are given in the a.m. in hopes to help the situation, but sometimes it does not work.
Ohhhhh I prayed about this all night...how was I going to get my kids to do this.
Well, within 5 mins of getting into the building, getting our papers signed and our payment paid, BOTH kids did their thing!!! Oh, boy did we celebrate!
I remeber celebrating during potty training days...but this was a bit bigger of a deal!
When we got into the taxi...we washed our hands and I passed out (guess what?) Candy! Evelyn got a treat, the kids and even the Taxi driver (who thought we were having a party of some sort..but did not know why)
We drove up to Beacon House at 1:00!
Which was excellent because I had a 2:00 Embassy appointment!
I set the kids up with a DVD as a reward and kissed them and got back into another taxi and off to the

EMBASSY...On the way to the Embassy my heart was light, I felt like PEACE was pourijng over me (maybe it was SWEAT...kidding) I knew people at home were praying.. I could FEEL it. THe taxi driver had his radio on...like they all do, but this young man had a "praise station" on. It was like 80's vineyard or Brooklyn Tab...but it was AWESOME! It was loud and he was drumming on his steering wheel and raising his hand out the window and I did the same...singing loud and Praising with all I had. Wow...it was like God gave me an opportunity to speak OUT the praises for what I was feeling inside! Man, God meets my every need!

Now this seems to be the piece everyone keeps asking about, "what is happening and where are you in the process"
I was able to see the DHS officer AND someone in the Consular section (which is hard because over 100 people are there waiting to get their paper work appoved or seen)
You can wait at DHS for a while, but today it was 5 mins util the lady was there, and another 5 joining up the kids birth certs to my paperwork...then off she sent me to the Immigaration Visa window. (thanks GOD )
We had a very good discussion and I was able to gather alot of informaion for our next step.
DATES: Dave is arriving in Ghana the a.m. of the 19th...(yeah...need a HUG and KISS from my best friend and honey)
We will be staying at the Gilbert house (where our friends Jim and Laurel are right now) until our paperwork is approved.
We only have two things left for the Embassy.....( and one Trip up North to Visit Victoria's family...but that does not envolve the Embassy)
I thought I would never get to the statement of "two things left!" WOW
1-we wait for our I600 apporval (could be one week, two or three...depending on how long it takes to investigate or if they investigate)
2-we have to go pick up our "visa application packet" which we fill out and return. Then we get an open appointment letter that says we can go back and get the visa's.
They only do Visa's on Fridays...so it depends on what day of the week we get the approval and our open appointment to see which Friday it will be. We are shooting for 1st, or 8th of MArch.
But who knows....oh yeah GOD DOES and I am so glad about that!
Thank you to all of you who are on your face in the THRONE ROOM on our behalf! It is showing in everything we are seeing!
I prayed Psalm 26 before I left this a.m. and it is still planted in my heart...I hope it gives your heart support for what ever you are trusting God for!
Vs. 8 Lord, I have loved the habitaion of Your House, and the place where your Glory dwells! (oh how this is true of my heart)
vs 12 My foot stands in an even place! In the congregations I will Bless the Lord!
BLessings ALL!
We will soon be home...but we will not so yearn for home that we miss what HE is doing HERE!

Live voice

Have your ever heard the good marriage advice "try not to make decisions late at night or when you are tired?"
Dave and I try to operate with this in mind...but being half way around the world makes this almost impossible.
Tonight we worked it out that we could "talk" on the phone. Ghana's cell company and coverage is what I call "Rolling" one minute you are talking the next min the phone conection is GONE.
Knowing this....when my beloved called (From Phil and Amanda's house...who were having my family over to make sure everyone was getting some Veggies hee heee)
I told him about the phone dropping so hit the important stuff first....
Quick " I love you's " then off to the Embassy talks and the Flight talks and the money talks...hummm, do not make big decisions when you are tired or at night...we hit both...but the good news is that even though the phone dropped twice...and in the end he ended up saying " I can not hear you ...I love you good bye" we still got to TALK and hear eachother.
Did we end up making decisions? I do not know...but we shared alot of "government language" as we tried to accomplish something...
My heart is a bit sad as I could hear my kids and Amananda's kids chatting as they ate...laughing and having some food and fun...the time will come soon when Dave gets here and then we return...until then I am RESTING in the Lord and LOVING reading His WORD more than I even have been able to before.
I have SUCH peace in my heart that my time here is for an Eternal purpose.. so I carry on!
Come soon Honey.....We can talk and make decisions face to face in the morning on the porch at the guest house!

Chicken and Chips

Today we all got to go to church again. It was a good service about "when Jesus says something he will follow through with it" My heart was uplifted!
After church we went to Frankies, the place where we ate Pizza last week with Stacey and Ash...had ice cream down stairs for Romana's son's birthday. Good western food.
I ordered the kids "chicken and Chips"
Fried drum stick chicken with french fries and a spirte. They loved it!

Romana's friend said to me, "make sure you let your kids eat the bones, it is a treat and they will want to even when they get home to your house"
She said sometimes when she travels up North to the villages she will eat chicken and leave the bones on a small plate out side and watch the children come out from huts carefully and then get the bones to eat.

Sure enough, as we finished up our meal... I looked over at my kiddos and they had eaten the ends of the bones and were getting the marrow out and eating it. I could hear them crunching.
So, our experience with Chicken and chips in the AC in a western restaurant was really and experience for ME!

Hair Dryer

Yesterday in the morning John and Victoria had come into the room early...having finished their work. I had just "bucket showered" and was getting ready in my room.
For a few weeks this has looked like, bucket shower, wash face, brush teeth, clean clothes, lip gloss and some SPF cream on my face....mascara if I am brave...and then the "onion head" ponytail or hair all clipped up. I just sweep it up wet and bobbi pin the stuff that will FLY away in the Taxi and car rides.
Really it is like having a head shaped like an onion I can hear Stacey laughing at me even now.
Anyway....yesterday I could not stand it anymore and I decided to "blow dry my hair"
Why you might ask...good question, but I guess it gave me a few seconds of thinking that I may be able to have a different hair style...Wrong.
THe kids were under the bunk bed (you know the kind that the bed is on top and you have a desk below...except in this case there is no desk...so they sit on big floor pillows and watch movies.)watching a movie and I reached under by them and plugged in my hair dryer...no words or questions, so I bent over and flipped by head upside down and TURNED on the dryer....
SQUEALS and HUGE LAUGHTER errupted! They laughed the whole time I dried my hair...poking at eachother and mimicking the motions I was doing!
I turned it off and Victoria said "Mum...what is that thing do?"
I turned it back on and blew air in their face....another good 20 seconds of HuGE laughter! Oh my,now we were ALL laughing so hard I had to sit down!
Well, now I know that they have never seen a hair dryer.
Looking forward to many more LAUGHING moments!
Daddy will be here in 10 days...they already Laugh at the hair on his chin...wait unitl they FEEL it tickle their faces when he goes in for a snuggle or kiss.

FOOD

Banku....casava root made into a ground powder....cooked it is like a whole box of instant mashed potatos with only 1/4 of the amount of water you would need to make it the right texture. Very dense and has a potato taste with a little bit of a bitter end. THe kids eat it pretty much every day...they get a grapefruit size protion with some kind of stew or soup around it.
So far my favorite way to eat it is with "ground nut stew" poured over it.
The kids eat it with their fingers carefully pulling off a piece, pressing it between their two fingers and thumb to make a small instant spoon, then they drag it across the stew or soup and scoop it up.
FuFu...this is AMAZING stuff...it is the most LABOR intensive stuff I have seen. This week the gardener and one of the house mom's sat outside on the steps and POUNDED the "Root and Fruit"... I think it is again the casava...but it could be yam as well...I will have to ask, plus plaintain. One of them pounds with a wooden mallet like stick while the other takes their hand and scoops and moves the mixture around so that all of it gets pounded and ground up. It is very precise...think getting your hand hit with a hammer while you hammer something hurts....you should see how in sync these two have to be.
I do not think you can get any nutritional value out of FuFu because it takes sooooo much to make it....I guess it is great for the kids because all they have to do is eat it. They do not make it for them very often....there are to many kids for this kids of labor.
This is also served with some kind of stew or soup over it. I think the only thing that is hard for me is when they use the "fish" in things...it does not taste bad...but I CAN NOT get the picture of the buckets and buckets of smoked fish out in the sun at the market...hummm
Rice ballsThink about rice at home and add lots more water and cook the rice until it is mushy and can be formed into a ball...this is a rice ball.
The kids eat this with stew or soup over it as well.
They also have fried rice with pieces of fish and or chicken in it.
Today a local store donated some food items to the Beacon House...one of the items was about 25 cans of cranberry sauce.
It is hard to get fruit for the kids, so I told the cook that this is fruit in a can and we should put one scoop next to the rice and let the kids try it. It took some convincing...but we did it and they loved it. Only 23 cans to go.
Each day the kids get a bowl of "ground nuts" that have been roasted and coated lightly with sugar (like the peanuts we buy in the can at the store) they also have popcorn in the afternoon. Today there were some raisins thrown in. I have been known for unwrapping a few "smartie" candies and putting them into the popcorn bowls for a treat!.
While I have been here I showed the cook how to use the bread maker they have in the kitchen... I printed out the step by step instuctions and off we went. She was amazed that she could dump the ingred. in and shut the lid and walk away. EVERYTHING she does is hard work..hot and hard work! Think of a 90 degree day, two burners on and your oven...every day to feed all the kids and staff. WOW!
When it is all done...she said to me "it is NICE" her way of saying "I like it, it is good"
Today the bread was made and ready..so I cut a slice..turned to see the basket behind me FULL of avacados. Beacon House has an avacado tree in their yard and it is full of avacados....WOW...like we have apples they have avacados! I ate one and it was soooooo good!
Ghana, food equals work, food equals FILLING dense food that lasts in you for a long time. I am so glad I get to try new things.
Each day when I hear "Madame, you are invited" whether it is with the kids or on a stool in the kitchen... I come and sit and try!
Confession: When I was at the Shop Rite Grocery store in the AC today with Romana... I did buy a "Twix" candy bar...boy was it "NICE"

SLEEP

After lunch at Beacon House you can hear all the house mom's saying "you go and sleep" "you go and sleep"
Today was no different...except that today I was in a meeting with a visitor Romana had in the office when John peeked his head in.
He came and sat on my lap and put both of his hands on my cheeks, turned my head towards his and said "I go sleep in your room"
He never has, but today he wanted to. So I politley excused myself and carried a very giggly boy to the house.
It was 85-90 degrees and John wanted my sheet to cover up with...so I tucked him in and smooched his cheeck (did a few tickles as well) and tried to get him to sleep.
"Mum....ohhhh mum, Mum...ya mum" over and over...finally I told him that I was going to sleep and he needed to stop talking....this worked as long as I did not move.
He was so excited to be in the room...he just kept tossing and turning and laughing. It is hard to keep a staight face.

He fell asleep...yeah! I just was ready to get up and Victoria came in and saw me and said "mum I want to sleep"
Okay... I guess I will rest for a while longer. She climbed onto my bed...being very careful to not put her feet on the bed (trained) and she rolled over on her side, her face facing mine...we just lay there looking at each other "silence"
There were no need for words...just looking into each others eyes. She dozed off and I lay there and PRAYED!


Can this really be...these two amazing children being added to my life..my mommy heart was beating with THANKSGIVING.
Today as Victoria went to cross of a day on her count down chart I made for her, I was able to tell her..."Mommy does not have to leave and come back....she jumped and jumped and jumped...Daddy is coming Daddy is coming!
We are BUILDING realtionships day by day! We are living by FAITH and are excited to see what God has in store for the WRAP up part of the adopiton process.
Home stretch....our I 600A has been sent to Ghana, our I600 is filed and now we wait.
Medical on Monday, Embassy appointment on Monday to add a birth cert that was with the passports...(which came in TODAY!!!!) Everything is HERE...now we let the US process do It's process.
Thanks for all your prayers!!!

Worship

HAve you ever seen kids worship.....full on hands in the air, dancing, twirling and singing...IT FILLS YOUR HEART!
Today the teacher is out, so the kids did basic studies and then a volunteer came in
to teach them dance steps... for the first 10 mins she wanted to see what each childs style was so she set them up to worship. WOW, I took my video camera in and took some shots, but had to turn it off and WORSHIP with them. IT was soooooo moving and filled with the Holy Spirit.
We sang the song "Lord you are good and your mercies endure forever, from every nation and language and tongue, from generation to generation...We worship you!"
It was a moment etched into my heart!
If you are having a tough day, wherever you are...may I suggest an all out worship session with your Maker! Wonderful.
I just heard the kids pray at lunch and at the end they are saying "mum, you are invited" meaning they want me to come eat with them.
So I will go...today it is fried yams (taste like french fries...good) fried plantain and bean stew. GOOD stuff! This is one of my favorites that they make.
Worship the Lord with all your heart soul and mind and strength...it is GOOD!
Or like they say here, "it is NICE"