Winding Down

Hello!! I am overwhelmed. Time has flown by! It is unreal that I only have a week and a half left. I have such mixed feelings. I am seriously so excited to see my family, but am so heartbroken to leave these wonderful kids. I am constantly thinking about it every day. Am I ready to leave them? How can I? Can I really adapt back into the real world? Ah. It is so hard.

Currently we have 11 volunteers in the house. One lovely girl from Ireland, three people from England, and the rest from the states. It is a little tricky because every two weeks we have new volunteers coming in and others leaving. So, while you have to worry about leaving children, you have to deal with volunteers saying goodbye as well!! Life is like that I guess, meeting amazing people and then saying goodbye. Each relationship we create is meant to happen. Ghana has changed my life. I will never be the same, and will never stop thinking about and missing these kids. They are beautiful. The experiences that I am having inspire me everyday and teach me something new.

Now, you may be wondering about my health. It is ok! I am alive and breathing. I have had some digestive problems do to all the carbs we eat here. I have had diarrhea once, and been pretty constipated the rest of the time. There were two days where I had major stomach issues and threw up twice. I am pretty sure it was because I ate my dinner after it had been sitting out for awhile. Other than that, I am healthy! The Lord has blessed me to be safe. Even though I have spent hours on the toilet, I smile because I do not have malaria, HIV, sores all over, chest infections, or eating diseases. The health here is horrendous.

I have formed a pretty good relationship with a lot of the children. Yes, I have my favorites, but I try really hard to be good friends with everyone. There are so many that I don't want to leave.

This is my baby girl Irene. Her smile is to die for. She is four years old and loves to snuggle.

Hannah and Godwin: so photogenic! Godwin loves to make faces in the camera. 

This is us eating mez. It is cooked corn that becomes hard and tastes like popcorn.

This is part of our fence that the boys built around our house. It is all made of bamboo, and they used their worn our shoes for the hinges. The people here know how to make everything! They are so domestic.

This is George. He is the oldest boy. He is 19 and now lives with Mama Jane, but he comes and visits. We love him.

This wonderful guy is Bismark. We call him Kofi. He is the sweetest guy. He is 19 as well. He takes care of Godwin and is going to be such a good father. He is one of my best brothers.

 The ladies here usually tie scarves on their heads, the girls tried to make me look the same, but as you can see, it just doesn't look as good.

 This is another wonderful boy, Courage. He makes me so happy. He has the biggest heart, and his laugh can make your heart sing. LOVE HIM!!

Here are the kids playing a game outside.

 This little angel is Beauty-ok not so much an angel...going through the terrible 2's. But when she is in a good mood, oh buddy, it is a joy.

 We recently have received about 15 new children bringing the number of kids to almost 100. I know its crazy. The space they live in is so small and does not provide well, but at least they have a place to stay. These two cuties are new. The little one on the left is Bebe (2 years), and the one on the right is Doe (4 years).

 Shadrack and Kwamana Asare: amazing people love them so much

 This is little baby Ema. He is the son of one of the house mothers. He is a little snot but his energy is incredible.

 Every night, either the older boys, or the older girls come to me and say, "you are invited," which means they want me to come eat with them. They are so good at sharing and always give their things to others. Here it is a custom to always share your food and have all sorts of people eat out of the same bowl. They erge me to try everything. On this particular night, they wanted me to try Gyre-aba. It is a dough mixture with some soup . I actually loved it. I am the only one who tries the food here and I think the kids really appreciate it, but the food is not always good...this is Hannah and on the right little baby Benedict. He can sit up now!

 This is Theo. They don't pronounce the "th" sound so it is pronounced like Tio. He is so cute.

 One morning while helping serve porridge, I burned my hand. They serve the porridge out of a plastic storage bin and it is bowling hot. They don't let the porridge cool before serving it and a lot of the time, the children get burned as well. I was burned and the whole side of my finger was a huge blister. It was very painful. Then, because of my stupidity, I hit my hand on a ceiling fan when I jumped off my bed and took off the blister and some extra skin, so it was a battle wound in the making.

 Mercy. One of my little children. If I could, I would take her home. Her laugh is by far the best. She is so happy and sweet all the time.

 This is Lucky. He is special needs and has the sweetest smile. I love him with all my heart. I can relate to him really well.

 Victoria, me, and Lucky.

 My best brother Shadrack and I. We are inseparable. I will miss his so much. I hope to see him again.

 The older girls called for me one day and we played dress up in their room. I tried on their dresses that they have received from donations and they told me they wanted me to print this picture out so they can keep it.

 Mawuli and Ishmael. AAH! the list of children that I love never ends. These boys are so good. They are so obedient and kind to others.

Here are more: Ishmael, Foster, Patrick and Mawuli. They stole my camera and took these pictures themselves. I love them so much.

I can't express how much I love all these kids. They are and will forever be a part of me. I think my biggest and most difficult trial about Ghana has yet to come. It will be leaving these angels. They are my heart. They are joy.