Here is a post from Carrie.  More family updates and pictures of the kids are at our scrapple the lab blog.

 

“We are starting our second full week in our little house in Kumasi.  A sort of routine has established itself, one which involves waking up much earlier than I would like.  Typically the kids are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 6:00 am.  So that means Ash and I are stumbling out of bed around that time as well.  Then it is a mashed up malaria pill in a spoonful of peanut butter for the kids and some eggs or toast and jelly with our Milo around 7:00.  It is actually quite nice to start and end the day eating family meals.  Unlike in the states, we manage to eat together three times a day most days.  And we can take our time over the meals.  It is a wonderful feeling to not be rushed. 

 

Some time between 8:00 and 9:00 Evelyn and Paulina come over.  Evelyn cooks some rice and meat for the dogs while Paulina works on whatever needs to be done for the house that day.  Today it was explaining to me how to get the power card refilled.  Ghana uses a prepaid power card system.  It makes sense, no late fees, no delinquent bills.  The only problem was yesterday when the card ran out.  It was a Sunday so the Electric Company was not open.  We were without power for several hours until Paulina fortunately found a card with a few kilowatts left on it.  Paulina also takes care of sweeping and washing the floors and the outside patios while Evelyn and I talk food.  We make a menu plan and a shopping list.  Around 10:00 Churcher arrives to maneuver us through the crowded streets of Kumasi on our shopping errands.  Ash usually takes this time to meet with Albert Jatoe, the Head Coach for YLI, or work on business details at the internet café.  The kids don’t complain at all about our little outings, mostly because Churcher has gotten into the habit of buying them a chocolate bar from a woman selling them on the street. 

 

Today was no different.  The kids are in the back of the car covered in chocolate as we drive home from Opoku Trading, the grocery store.  Katie is talking about finishing her chocolate bar after lunch, as I had declared both children “chocolated-out” for the time being.  Then Katie stops in her dramatic way, “Mama, no, wait.  I am not going to eat my chocolate after lunch.  No.  I am going to save it and share it with the little girl when she comes later.” The little girl Katie refers to is someone Evelyn has rounded up to come and meet Katie.  After her third game of “doctor kit” I think Evelyn realized that Katie is missing playmates.   “I will ask her if she likes chocolate and we will share it.” Katie is beaming.  And then, “Mama, I love to share good things.”

 

And there it is.  The whole reason we are here – because we love to share good things; because the sweetness that has been given to us is too good to keep to ourselves.”

We have gotten this question from a bunch of people after we wrote that a wild bush cat was living in the spare bedroom in our house.  Its actually called a genet cat and has been raised from a kitten by the missionaries that own our house. 

Here is a picture of one I found on the web.  I’d take a picture of the one in our house…but I’m afraid of it.   Maybe later.

Yesterday, Jatoe, Churcher and I drove to a town called Essam to meet with Alfred, a teacher who Jatoe ran into in Sunyani in 2006.  Since that short conversation Alfred has been calling Jatoe periodically to ask if YLI could come and train some young people in Essam.   We are going to hold that conference July 23rd – 25th. 

If you find Essam on a map of Ghana you will see that there are no roads that go there…which usually means get ready for a drive that would make a chiropractor lie awake in anticipation!  We spent 10 hours in the car yesterday (much of that on dirt roads designed to knock tooth fillings loose) and only 2.5 hours with Alfred, but I was really impressed.  He is a clearly a leader in his community judging by how people in Essam talk of him, and he is already mentoring younger guys.

We got back to Kumasi at 10PM last night – tired, sore and hungry (despite the boiled ears of corn we bought at a security check point), but feeling good.  There is a hunger here; young people want to impact their communities and are grateful any help they can get.  It is great to have this opportunity to simply show them how Jesus led and loved people, and that they can do the same.

YLI Head Coach Albert Jatoe and I walked this morning to the internet cafe and Jatoe wanted to share a few words with all of you.

Here we are, day four in Ghana, and I think we are beginning to get settled in here in Kumasi.  Our house for the month of July is a small two bedroom bungalow, and is also home to two guard dogs, countless geckos (a few chickens are also running around but I am not sure they “live” here or just commute through our yard), and apparently there is a wild bush cat living in the spare room attached to the back porch.  It’s nocturnal, but I did startle it (and it me!) while I was looking for a ladder to fix a gushing leak in the pipe that feeds the water heater. 

 

Katie and John Mark have quickly bonded with the YLI coaches they have met and love the attention they are getting!  Sleep schedules are completely askew, and it is hard for them to sleep with all of the African nighttime noises; but sleep is a moving target for toddlers anywhere!  On Saturday, Carrie took the kids for a short walk to a corner market, and tomorrow we plan to go to the Kumasi Central Market which is the largest open air market in West Africa.

 

Albert Jatoe and I have spent a lot of time talking and planning the next four months, and also discussing the needs of the coaches here.  Yesterday we received Roland Martin’s itinerary for his 30 day visit from Liberia and internship with us in Ghana.  Please also be praying for the Coaches Conference in Kumasi (July 17th-20th).  Coaches have been facing some religious opposition to they way they freely reach out relationally to non Christians.  Pray that we will encourage them, and that they will know that there are many people behind them praying and supporting them. 

Thank you everyone for showing so much love and support for us as we leave for Ghana.  God has confirmed this call to us in many ways, not the least of which is how so many people have come around us and are praying for us.  It is wonderful to know that we are not just going; we are being sent.  There is indeed a difference.

Also, for any coaches that are reading this, know that you are also being prayed for from the US.  Many pictures were presented of you at the send off party.  We know that just as we are being sent to Ghana, you are being sent throughout Ghana and beyond!  You are the ones taking the Gospel to the unreached – loving and serving through the life of Christ.  Here is a short humorous video greeting from Hollywood specifically to you (he wishes he was coming too).

Listen to Jim’s voice and call to young people in Africa. YLI Podcast Bumper