The Last Days Are Upon Us!

Tomorrow is our last day in Abomosu :( We are going to miss this place and these wonderful people more than we can imagine. I just keep thinking about how incredibly blessed we have been in getting the opportunity to be here this summer. It isn't very often that a newly married couple like us find the means and ability to have such a wonderful adventure - especially together. I am so grateful that we had the means and opportunity to come here. I have little doubt that if it weren't for this, a journey of any sort on the African continent never would have happened. How wonderful it has been to be here and experience such a wonderful new culture and way of life. Life here has taken on new meaning and priorities and I am so grateful for the many lessons we have learned here.

I will never forget their generosity and kindness. Everyone here is so welcoming, kind and happy. Walking down the street you frequently are greeting people and meeting others who want to sincerely know how your day is going. They are so happy to see you and so excited that you would take the time to be in their village and learn even a few words of their language.

Another thing that is amazing about these people is their constant willingness to give of themselves, even though they don't have much to give. So many times we have witnessed someone's eager willingness to give of their means and food when they don't have anything. Even the children - when all they have is a 5 pesewa piece - are so excited to give us a bite of the buscuit they buy with it, or give you the water they waited so long to get. I find that I am still so much more stubborn and unwilling to give compared to them, and I know we have so much more ability to do so! It's been so eye-opening and humbling to see and learn how to be less selfish with the things that we have. They have such a firm grasp on the concept that God has willingly given them everything and that they should give of themselves just as willingly. I wish more than anything that I could have this wonderful trait as a constant part of me instead of needing to remind myself about it everyday - I feel like such an awful person and wish that I could be more like the Ghanaians we associate with here everyday. They are so Christlike and wonderful! I love them!

I have also come to love and appreciate children more than ever before. I have always enjoyed children in small doses and sometimes not been so patient with them. But being here has brought whole new light to the precious innocense of children and helped me to remember Christ's advise to "become as a little child" and to know why that is so important for us. I had my ups and downs with working in the schools, but I learned so much there and I know that from it, I will be so much better and patient with my own children (luckily for them). :) Working in the primary and having the opportunity to sing with them and teach them new songs has been one of the biggest highlights here. I honestly loved every second in those darling classes! Hearing the children sing of Christ's love for them and seeing their excitement each week as they learned new songs melts my heart and brings tears to my eyes. They are amazing! On Sunday we had a short program in sacrament meeting where the children sang "I Know My Savior Loves Me" (the main song we taught the kids in the last 5 weeks). They were so wonderful! They sang so beautifully and the adults absolutely LOVED it! I am so proud of them all and am SO grateful that we were allowed to be part of the primary here.

Here are some darling pictures of them singing! Love these kids!



Here are some other fun things that have happened lately.

Joey and Emily helped Gloria again on the bike and she's got it down!

Her next feat it to learn how to drive the Rhino... :)

On Saturday was a big practice for all the youth in the surrounding village branches in the district. It was so fun to see so many young church members in one place. They are practicing for a big program that is being put on in Accra at the end of August. It is a sort of song and dance festival and over the last few months they have had weekly song and dance practices. The songs they are singing are beautiful and it was so fun to see Sister Terry putting ALL of them together into the full dance they are doing. The weekly practices are with each branch separately, so they have never all done the dance together. They did so well though! It was so fun to watch!

Sister Terry's such a great teacher!


We love it here and I can hardly for the chance to come back someday when we're a little more established. It will be so great to bring our children here and introduce them to their Ghanaian grandparents and aunts and uncles. So many people have already taken us in as family and they have been an absolutely perfect substitute in the absence of our own immediate family. We love them all!