Shining Stars In Ghana

(This post was started a few weeks back...  Sorry for the delay in posting...)

When we lived in Knoxville, our family was blessed to serve at Water Angels Ministry.  We found out about it from the O'Leary family, who now runs Feeding the Orphans.  One of our favorite ways to serve was to help with their Saturday ministry to the homeless children in our community.  This special time with the kids is called Shining Stars.  Each week, the children come and participate in worship, a Bible lesson, a craft and some games.  The photo above was taken several years ago when the boys were leading worship at Water Angels.  Yes, that is Mason playing guitar.  Doesn't he look tiny?

As we were preparing to move to Ghana, we had a conversation with Righ and Kristie O'Leary.  We asked them how we could serve them best here in Ghana.  Righ quickly answered, "Do something like Shining Stars with the kids there.  You know, like we do at Water Angels.  Do something like that to show the kids the love of Jesus."

So now...we are taking Shining Stars to the children of Ghana.

Recently, we led a Shining Star day at one of the orphanages here.  On this day, Mason came with his guitar and led the kids through his strumming.  I sang along and even did the motions to "Every Move I Make."  Now that's a blast from the past!

The children clapped, sang along, and LOVED it!

After the music, we did a Bible lesson.  The older boys found the scriptures and we talked about how much God cares for them.  God knows their names.  God knows the number of hairs on their heads.  He knows their every thought.  And, He loves them.  Some of the children were wide-eyed as we shared Truth with them.

On this day, Reid held Godwin while we did the lesson.  Godwin was battling malaria, and running a fever.  Bless his heart, we were well over an hour drive from our home when we realized he had a fever.  Godwin stayed in Reid's lap the entire time.

This summer, an FTO volunteer lived at this home and shared a story with us.  The volunteer had brought his malaria medication in his prescription bottle to the home.  One of the boys saw the bottle and was literally amazed that his name was printed on the label.  In fact, the boy said he had never seen printed name.  For three nights, the boy could not sleep because this "printed name" intrigued him so much.

After I heard the story, I wondered if the children own anything with their name on it.   It seemed doubtful.

Several years ago, I was really into "stamping."  As we weeded through things to bring here to Ghana, one of the things that made it to the "take to Ghana" pile was some of my alphabet stamps.  I figured we would be able to do several things with them and they were non consumable.  This day showed me what a blessing these little wooden blocks would be.

The children received paper, scissors, etc... and were able to stamp their own name!  The kids were so excited!  After each child stamped their name, we found a special verse for each child.

As soon as the boys finished stamping their names, they wanted to hang their creations up in their rooms!  Oh, it was precious!  Even the older boys were thrilled with the project!

The children took such pride in their artwork.  Concentrated eyes focused on making their paper perfect.  Every child was so happy to have something beautiful with their name on it and a Bible verse to remind them of God's love for them!

Desmond is happy to show off his special creation hung on the wall beside his bed!

After the craft comes snack time!  The boys were thrilled with Beebe popcorn!

Abigail squared!  Love it!

Joseph came to join us at the end of our day.  It was such a gift to have him participate because it was the first time he has engaged with us.  Joseph was so intense stamping his name.  I loved seeing him make something for himself.

At the end of the day, we received a special sign for our wall as well.  Joson made us this hand-stamped message of love and it now hangs in our dining room.  I love it when God sends us special gifts like that!  What a wonderful day with the God's precious children!

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my past and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

YOu hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Psalm 139:1-5

You Know You're a Missionary When...

We thought we would share our recent dinner conversations with you.  [Reid- Reid, Robin- Robin, M- Mason (15), F-Franklin (14), W-Weston (12), B- Braden (8), G- Godwin (4)]

You know you are a missionary in Ghana when...

W - you eat off people's plates without asking.
F - you are grateful to have a fan blowing.
W - you have to run to turn on the water pump before washing all the dishes...by hand.
Robin - you wash a ziploc bag as if it is a piece of fine china.
M - you have to use an adaptor or transformer whenever you plug anything in.
Reid - people laugh at you when you talk.
Robin - taxis carry slaughtered animals after they have been skinned.
B - you think it is normal to buy something off someone's head.
F - you can buy Fan Ice, Alvaro, and plantain chips.
Reid - you think an ice cube is a luxury.
W - it is normal to go without electricity.
Robin - you begin to define a "pretty drive" as one without seeing someone urinating outside your window.
Reid - you realize the horn is the most important part of the car.
F - you read three books in three days.
Robin - as a family of seven, you are grateful to be sharing one car.
B - you can easily carry 16 people in your car which is made to seat 8 people.
Robin - you decide to count how many people you see before you see another white person, and you stop after you reach 600.  It's only morning, but you do not see another person who looks like you for the entire day.
W - lizards are allowed in the house because they kill mosquitoes.
M - you sweep up dead lizards when you clean the house.
Reid - having macaroni and cheese is cause for celebration.
G - one of your favorite books is the one with your Grandmama's voice recorded reading it.
Robin - you find yourself calling a plastic bag a "rubber."
F - you call a trashcan a dustbin and trash - rubbish.
Robin - your closet is not full, but you feel you have too many clothes.
Robin - you use your phone as a keyboard to type long emails because the Internet is not accessible.  You send emails to parents of adoptive kids telling them you are "counting" with their kids, but you forget the "o" in "counting."  You don't even proofread the email and send it anyway - then find yourself very embarrassed afterwards.  Geez.
W - you shower and can see the dirt come off.
Robin - you go to sleep by the lullaby of bullfrogs and awake to the prayer calls on the loudspeaker.
Reid - you are not a criminal but live in a house with barred windows.
W - you have 11 deadbolts on your front door.
M - 65 degrees feels very cold.
M - you listen to people speak different languages around you and begin to pick out a few words.
Reid - you attend a church service and understand less than 1/2 of what is said or sung.
Robin - you find yourself worshipping even when you don't understand the words to the songs.
Robin - you share the main highway with herds of cattle, chickens, goats, and dogs.
W - you hang your clothes on the line to dry.
Reid - your first housewarming gift is a "crushing pot," and your second housewarming gift is a bunch of bananas.
M - you buy toilet paper out the car window.
F - you have to keep gum in the freezer because of the humidity.
Robin - you begin to call flip-flops, "slippers."
Reid - the most common name you are called is "Obrunie."  (white man)
Robin - you go to sleep at night thankful for things you have never considered before and faces of people you have met who are in need fill your dreams after you go to sleep.

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

    

Let your good Spirit lead me    

on level ground!

Psalm 143:10

The Reward of His Suffering

Reid left a few hours ago headed to an outlying village near the Togo border.  He and the MLI Staff are leading an outreach tonight in this unreached village.  Two volunteers from California are with them as well.  Tonight, the Jesus Film will be shown in the native tongue to the people in this village.  Please pray for many to receive the hope of Jesus tonight.

These pictures are from last week.  A movie screen is set up beside mud huts.  Speakers share the story of Jesus with the people nearby.

Many will walk for miles to attend.  Some will ride bicycles.  Some will have never seen a movie.  Many have never heard of Jesus.  Most have no understanding of Him.  May God reveal Himself this evening because His servants are GOing to tell them about His love.

Tonight is the third outreach this month.  Last Friday night, over 100 people responded to the gospel!  We now have 100 people who will celebrate eternal life with us in heaven!  The pastor ministering to this village has discipleship plans in place for these new Christians.  People who have never heard the TRUTH are hearing it for the first time...in their own language...and their hearts are responding!  God is moving.

 Take time to watch this short video, and be reminded of God's call to tell others the Truth.  Be challenged by the vast number who do not know of Jesus.  Be reminded of our responsibility to pray for them.  Be moved to support missions around the world.  Be moved to GO.

Thank you for the prayers you lift up for the lost in the world.  Thank you for your prayers for our ministry here.  Thank you for your support of missions!

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.  

Under the Trees

We have spent several Sundays worshipping under the trees in an idol worshipping community near us.     Our friend, Kristin, who was with us last Sunday at the service found time to write a post about this worship experience.  I hope you are as blessed by her writing as we are.

Simple Love Today

On a side note, Reid met with the pastor this week, and we will again this weekend.  We will keep you posted on how things progress in this community.  We are hoping to help meet some of the needs here, but desire to do it through this church.  The men leading this church are truly missionaries within their own country.  Their sacrifice is great to willingly choose to minister here.  Please pray for this area,  There are festivals happening currently in honor of their idols - things that are celebrated would turn your stomach.  Your prayers are needed.

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Revelations 9:20-21

Learning the Life

This post was written a few weeks ago, but, due to some challenges, we are posting it now.  Sorry for the delay,

Guest Blogger: Franklin Beebe, age 14

     Earlier this week, I had the chance to go to an orphanage and spend two nights there with my friend, Michael. The home is located in the middle of a very poor community and it isn’t any better than its surroundings. This orphanage has running water outside only once a week on Wednesday, although sometimes the water never comes on Wednesdays.  If there is no water then it is hauled by wheelbarrow to the home by some of the boys living there.
 

 In the two days I was there, I got to experience an orphan’s normal daily life. 
 

     The kids have almost nothing to do throughout the day. While I was there, we played “football”(soccer) on a dirt area behind the orphanage. We used a deflated soccer ball that had numerous holes in it. It was sad for me to see that they used that for fun and that was all they had, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. They seemed happy.

     For dinner I was fed rice and chicken, the following night I was fed rice and chicken. That’s what we received for lunch both days as well.  It tasted good but it got old after a while.  I loved breakfast though. We got an egg and vegetable sandwich. It was delicious.

     At the home there is only one girl and the rest are boys. It was hard to see the conditions of living at the orphanage. And for them to have running water only one day a week was even harder. Everyone has to take a bucket shower outside in a little shack that looks like an outhouse. A bucket shower is using a bucket to wet yourself and then to rinse. I have had to take a bucket shower at home a couple of times when the power goes out.

     While I was at the home, one of the boys gave me a Twi lesson(Twi is one of the main languages the Ghanaians speak). He taught me a few words in twi like go, come, and close the door -  just easy words.

     I also had the chance to put some of the younger boys there down for bed. Michael was talking to Paul who is the “Daddy” of the home. I went in to the boys room and they got out chairs and made a circle and got a chair for me, they all said “Sit, and tell us a bible story before we go to bed.” I was trying to think of a short story I could tell them. I remembered earlier in the month someone doing a sermon on the good Samaritan. That’s what I talked to the boys about. They loved it. They very rarely get put to bed by a white person let alone get put to bed at all. I am glad God gave me that chance.

 

     Michael had been living at the home for a couple of months and saw the need for running water.  All summer he’s worked on installing pipes and drains so the home can have access to running water within the walls. He needed to buy a Polytank for the water to be gravity fed from the roof. A Polytank, by the way, is a big plastic water tank that holds water to run it to the house.

     On Wednesday morning, Michael and I walked down to a lot on the side of the road where Polytanks were sold. We found the right sized one and got the price. Later that week Michael was able to borrow a truck and haul it back to the orphanage to hook it up. I wish I could have been there to see it lifted up to the roof, but I had to leave the next day. Michael got the tank up successfully and now they will have running water all week long, as long as the tank fills up on the Wednesdays when the water is running.

     I am glad I was able to go and help out at the home and get to know some of the kids very well. I would go back any time if I got the chance again. The house needs some work and isn’t in great shape but the souls within it shine. 

Stop. Engage. Listen. Act.

Do you ever experience moments when time seems to stand still?  When what you are seeing is almost surreal?  When you know God is in the moment, and you are not?

This week when we delivered food to Chorkor, we had this experience.  Reid and I both felt the same things.  Even our boys, as we talked about it later, recognized God's hand in orchestrating all of this.  One of them admitted being frustrated because we had to turn the van around after we were on our way, but realized later that if we had not turned around then we would have missed our appointment with these children.  

God does that.  He messes up our plans so He can allow us to participate in His plan.

Every month, Feeding the Orphans provides food for two single mamas and their babies living in Chorkor.  Our job is to deliver the food each month and check on the families.  We praise God for the faithful people who support these families.  Without them, lives for these mothers and children would be extremely difficult.  For this month's delivery, we were blessed to have Phyllis, Connor and Lauren help us.  Because of the amount of food and the length of the walk, we were very grateful for their help!  

Chorkor is a salt mine community with narrow paths of land surrounded by the salt water mines.  To travel to the first house, we walk down a long, long path encompassed by water.  Usually, there are no vehicles on this path, but today was different.

As we walked, a large pack of children passed us.  The oldest girl looked to be about 13 and she had a young one tied to her back.  It seemed there were about seven children traveling alone.  They were walking with purpose, but without much speed.  Noticing the children, I sensed a heaviness around them.  They all seemed so sad.  We journeyed a little farther, then a trotro passed us.  (A trotro is public transportation.  A 12 passenger van that usually holds around 30 people.  Remember, this is Ghana!)  

 After the trotro passed, we met three crying children.  Young ones.  They were running after the trotro, I thought.  All three of them were yelping with fear.

My mother's heart leaped in my chest.  There is no adult near them.  These three are alone on the path. 

God quickens my heart, and says, "Stop.  Check on these children."

Reid and I turn and catch up with them while most of the rest of our team moves ahead.  We move close enough see these children are scared.  They are in filthy, torn clothes that don't fit.  Three tear stained faces notice us and look up with fearful eyes.  They are afraid of us because white people are not common here.  However, the sight of us is not what is causing the restless fear in all three of them.

 The pack of children that passed us on the beginning of our walk are approaching us.  All seven of them come toward us carefully.  Through observation, it's evident that the large group of children and the three little ones are connected.

With Esther's help, I begin talking with the oldest girl in the group after learning her name is Christiana.

Through conversation with Christiana, we learn that all of these children live together in one house.  The three young ones and the seven with her all live together.

(This is Africa.  That's not a big deal, right?)

Me:  Where are you going?

Christiana:  To the place where there is no food.

Me:  Do you have food?

Christiana, looking at the ground:  No

Me:  Who do you live with?

Christiana:  My mother, but we all live together.  She is mine and Thomas's mother, but she is their grandmother.  She cares for all of us.

Me:  How many of you live together?
Christiana, again looking down at the dirt:  Eleven.

Me:  Who is staying with the three young ones?

Christiana:  No one.  My mother must go and sell fish so she can buy food for them.

Me:  Why are you going somewhere else?

Christiana:  Because there is not enough food for all of us, and the little ones must eat.

(The pieces are coming together.  The older children are expected to sacrifice so the little ones can eat.  They go without food so the smallest ones can be fed.)

Me:  Do you have water?

Christiana:  No.

Me:  Do you have electricity?

Christiana:  No.

Me:  Do you have a phone?

Christiana:  No.

I notice the clothing is very worn on all of the children.  Holes.  Tears.  Stains.  

In my heart, I cry, "Oh, God, what do you want us to do?"

"Care for them."  He answers.

Heavy hearted, I ask the children to wait for us.  We needed to deliver the monthly food to Mary, and our hands were full.  I told them we would like to meet their grandmother and see where they live.  We promise to return and tell them again to wait for us.  

As we walked to Mary's house, Reid and I realized we could not leave them like this, but did not know what to do.

I asked Esther if she thought this was really true.  (I think I asked because I did not want to believe it.)  Esther laughed and told me that she would go without food for a week at a time when there was no money to buy it.  How have I lived so long without being aware of the dire need of people in the world?)

We finished the walk to Mary's and took her the monthly blessing from Feeding the Orphans.

 Mary was away caring for her sick mother, so her sister promised to deliver the food to her.  Her sister doesn't live in Chorkor, but she was nearby at a church service.  Again, God orchestrated everything.

 After we left Mary's, we met back up with the children on the path.  Somehow, they had found the grandmother and she was waiting there with them.

We asked if they would show us where they lived.  They led.  We followed.

The window in the center is the room they all live in.  As we walked through Chorkor, Weston, our 12 year old, noticed that all the homes are one room structures.

Once we arrived at their quarters, we talked with the grandmother, Agnes, and learned more about the family.

Christiana and Thomas belong to her.  None of the other children's parents are in their lives.  The fathers are not "responsible" and the mothers have abandoned them to the grandmother.  Agnes's husband works the salt mines, and he is away doing his job to support the family.

None of the children are in school.  They can not afford the school fees.  Because there is not a public school in this area, the only option is private school.  Transportation to the public school would be too expensive.  The fees of the private school are too expensive for Grandmother Agnes to provide.  Ninety cedis for each three month term.  (In American dollars, $20 per month school fees + uniforms and books per child.  Did you get that?  $20 per month for education is too expensive.)  

This family is struggling simply to survive.

I ask if we can go inside.  Agnes nods and jiggles a key to unlock the door.  The inside is practically bare.  The dark damp hovel is no more than 12' x 12'.  Eleven people live in this room hovering over the water out back, and I grieve internally as I take it all in.  Looking around, I notice a foam mattress on the bare floor, a few belongings shoved in one corner, and one metal bowl and spoon for cooking...  That's all I see.  There are no more clothes.  There is no food.

My mind spins toward thoughts of wealth in America and I force my critical thoughts to cease.

As I converse with the grandmother, Reid captures the scenery around us with the camera.  

One child with orange hair signifying he severely lacks protein in his diet.

 This child's dress is so ragged, her chest is not even covered.

 The dog needs attention too.

In my spirit, I am praying, "Lord, what do we do?  We had not planned on this.  We don't have money to buy a lot of food.  Lord God, what do we do?"

"Feed them," He answers.  "Care for them as I would."

Okay, time to dive in.

The children need to be cared for, and supervision of the little ones is a necessity, so I ask the grandmother, "Agnes, what is your greatest need?"

She answers, "Money.  So I can buy food."

"Agnes, if we bring you food, will you agree to stay with the children and care for them?  Do you promise you will not leave them to go sell fish?"

Relief comes over her, and she gives one slow nod of her head.

"Do you agree to care for them if we bring food?"  (I want to be sure.)

"Yes, I will care for the children," She promises.

 Christiana leads us back toward the road where we came in so we can buy food.  It's a long walk.  I begin to wonder, how will we pay for this?

God speaks again, "Don't worry.  Just act."

(Reid and I joke that women feel and don't think, but men think and don't feel.  This occasionally plays out in our marriage.  This time however, Reid and I both knew God was telling us to buy them a month supply of food.  We didn't over-think it...we didn't respond from feeling/emotion.  God was leading us both to do the same thing.  We were to open our hands and give.)

We arrive at the store and purchase rice, oil, tomato paste, Indomie, fish, tea, soap, canned milk, juice, etc...   After paying, everyone grabs the cases and we begin the long walk back to the room housing the children and grandmother.  (I don't know why I can't type "the room housing the family," but I can't.)

On the walk back, I learned that Christiana's dream is to become a hairdresser.  She loved school until she had to drop out.  Her favorite subject was English.  As we talked, she shared some about her faith in God.  Her family is Christian and attends a church nearby.  

I told Christiana that I think God brought us to her today.  She nodded, closing her eyes slowly.  I said, "Do you know none of the food is from us?  It's really from God.  Christiana, He promises to take care of you and He will always provide what you need."  Again, she nodded her scarf wrapped head.

When we arrived back at the room, we delivered the food and I think perhaps the children had never seen so much food.  They were very grateful.  Agnes kept saying, "Thank you.  Thank you.  May God bless you.  May God bless you."

I wanted to take a photo of us with everyone.  Reid insisted we not.  He was right.  We were not here for a photo opportunity, and this grandmother's dignity is worth our sensitivity.  I'm thankful my husband is a "thinker."

All of these children will need sponsorships as soon as possible - for food and schooling.  Feeding the Orphans wants to help them, but we need people to commit to provide for them.  Perhaps you could pray about helping Christiana, Mary, Agnes, Thomas, Alfred, Isaac, Ama, Mershack, Love, Godfred or Isaac.  Isaac is the little boy in the pink dress in the front.  All they have to dress this precious little boy is a pink dress!  Doesn't that break your heart!

This hurts.  And it is supposed to.  What breaks God's heart should break ours.

On my way home from Chorkor, I was overwhelmed.  Because I'd been having stomach issues all day, I was able to sit in the front seat of the van.  I allowed tears to stream silently down my face as I turned and faced the window so no one would see my emotion.  All of this hurt so much.  There were children being sent away without food...to a place with no food...so that their siblings could eat the tiny amount of food available.  It is all so overwhelming.

I looked out the window at the ocean waves crashing on the shore.  Enormous waves crashed and crashed pelting the rocky beach.  That's what I felt was happening to my heart.  Needs all around me - crashing into my compassionate heart.  Oh, this hurt.

"God, the need is so vast.  It's like the ocean out there.  We can't meet it all."

As soon as I prayed it, He answered, "I don't expect you to meet it all.  You are to respond to the needs I place in front of you.  That's all."

I watched the waves continue pouring on the shore knowing the needs will continue to come.  But His answer gave me some clarity of my responsibility in the vast ocean of needs here.  

I am responsible for the ones He places in front of me.

After this conversation with God, I pulled out my phone and typed this post on Facebook as a consolidation of this day in a few short words...

Sometimes God says, "Stop. Engage. Really listen. I'm presenting an unexpected need and asking you to meet it. Trust me. Be my hands and feet...care for the least of these and show them my love today. Don't worry. Just act." We heard His voice and we obeyed it. Now praying for a grandmother caring for nine children in a one room hovel with no water or electricity. Jesus loved them today. Thank you Lord.

God is not overwhelmed.  God is not deaf to the cries of the hungry.  God is not blind to His children.  Today, He invited us to participate in something He orchestrated and directed.  What an honor.  I pray I'm always aware of His voice, and walking out a life of faith and not worry.

Remember how worried I was about paying for the food?  God already worked that out as well!  HE is the Provider!

My parents called last night and told us that a the LLL Sunday School Class from Inskip Baptist Church was sending us a donation.  Guess what the amount was?  Almost the full amount of what we had spent on groceries!  Can you believe it?  God always provides.  He was moving on the hearts of the women in this Sunday School class to give this money.  This class is made up of grandmothers!  Elderly women with little to give were obedient to give to missions.  Their money gave Grandmother Agnes enough food to feed her babies for one month! These ladies have given to support a grandmother here without even knowing that is what their money would be used for!  Isn't that incredible?  Only God could weave grandmothers together like that!

I stand amazed by our God.  He is moving among His people.  We praise Him for providing for Grandmother Agnes, and all of the children in her care this month.  We thank Him in advance for providing for them in the future.  Only He knows how He will do it, but maybe He's asking you to participate in His plan. 

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in your power to do it.

Proverbs 3:27

P.S. If you are interested in helping to sponsor any of these children please contact Feeding the Orphans and ask for information about the Chorkor family.  Sponsorship is $30 per month for food.

Update:  Within 24 hours of this post, this entire family was sponsored for food to feed them!  Our God provides!  Thank you!  We praise Him for caring for this family through YOU, and trust Him to care for the many others who continue to cross our path.

Meet Esther

Over the past four days, our home (and our hearts) have been opened to a precious girl.  Her name is Esther and we met her at GMI, one of the homes we visit here in Ghana.  A few nights ago, Esther shared the story God has begun writing in her life.  My heart was deeply touched.  She’s endured much loss and grief, yet, she exudes an overwhelming joy when we talk.  I asked her today if she might like to share her story with you.  Humbly, she agreed.  

I asked Esther to do this because I’ve realized there is so much that Americans can’t seem to grasp, myself included.  She’s enlightened me to what life is like for many children here.  I’m thankful for what I’ve learned.  So, I sit here and type, while Esther sits right beside me here in our bedroom.  Engage your heart in this sweet 17 year old’s story.  These are her words...  (The words in parenthesis are my own side notes for you.)

I was born in the Asanti Region in a big village.  It was my mom’s village.  My father took me at the age of 6 months because my mother was not caring for me.  My mother was involved in religious activities that concerned my father.  My father was a Christian and this was not okay with him.  (The ways Esther describes the religious practices will be hard for you to understand, but the spiritual dimension here is REAL.  People experience and witness the spiritual battle in ways that are difficult for us Americans to grasp.  Suffice it to say, her father needed to protect Esther.)  

My father took me to begin living with him and my grandmother in the Eastern Region.  While there, I lived in a double room made of concrete...it was two small rooms.  There were 13 people in the house with us...about seven adults and six children.  My father and all of my uncles and aunties and their children lived with us.  For water, we would fetch it from the river.  We had no electricity.

Everyone in my father’s family was Christian, so we would praise God together in church.  We always trusted God would take care of us.

My grandmother loved me.  While I lived with my grandmother, I would go with her to the farm while she worked.  She grew cassava and yams.  (Cassava is a root that grows here in Ghana.  It is a staple food found in many forms here.)  After it grew, she would sell it and she would feed herself and me.  While she worked, I would be tied to her back.  We would go around 6:00 am and come back at 4:00 pm.  While we were farming, she would build a fire and put yam and cassava in it so we could eat something.    

We ate what she grew - cassava and yams.  She sold some too, so she could take care of her children and me.  Sometimes I would go to the market with her to sell the the cassava and yams.  I would sit with her at the table while we would sell.  I lived with her for six, almost seven, years and then she died.  My grandmother died of sickness.  She was 60 years old. I was with my father about 8 months before he also died.  My father died because some people were fighting and he went to separate them.  When he did this, they choked him and cut him with a knife.  I cried.  I was seven years. 

My Auntie came to take me to Accra because there was no one to take care of me.  She was going to try to take care of me there.  She had a small provision store.  (Something about the size of a small coat closet in America.)  I would go to the store with her while she sold.  Sometimes when a person would come to buy something, I would sell it for her.  I did the house chores for her too.  I would wash the bowl, sweep the house, and wash my own clothes.  (Esther was with her auntie from age 7 until age 12..)   When I stayed with my Auntie, we stayed in a concrete house - a hall and a room.  The bathroom and the kitchen were outside the house.  I slept with her in the room on the mattress.  There were three of us living in the room, my auntie, a girl who helped in the store, and me.  

In Accra, some white woman saw me and she offered to help take care of me.  Because my Auntie couldn’t care for me, she let me go stay with her.  I stayed with her about eight months.  She was very nice to me.  I was the only child she was caring for.  When she was leaving to go back to America, she called my Auntie to see what to do.  I told her I wanted to stay with the children we would sometimes visit at the orphanage.  My Auntie agreed to this because she could not take care of me.  The white woman took me to the man who had an orphanage.  I was 12 years old when I came.  After two years, the man taking care of us at the orphanage also left.  After he left, things were very difficult.  

Then Pastor John found us through Pastor Eben.  Pastor John came to us, but things were hard because Pastor John was not having money to take care of us.  So, he went around preaching in a car.  Some people would give him money so then he would go and get us food.  Until then, we would stay without food.  Sometimes for one week we would have no food.  Sometimes, Pastor John would travel to the Volta and bring back gari for us.  (Gari is grated and roasted cassava.)  

A man from Ghana heard about us because John would go and pray with him.  So, this man brought us rice, gari, and oil every month so we would have food.  Then he also stopped.  In the house where we were staying, the landlord wanted to sack us because we were having no money to pay.  He was telling us to leave the house because we were not having money to pay him.  At this time in this home, I was the only girl with seven boys and we all slept in one room with Pastor John and Pastor Eben.  They were all good to me because I was the only girl.  I would cook for them, clean for them, but they washed their own clothes.  I liked helping take care of them.  

Pastor John shared our troubles with a white lady named Anita.  So, I think Anita told him about a home in Teshie where we could come to stay.  That’s where we are now.  

Now, we have sponsors who can take care of us for food and schooling and everything.   So, I thank God that He has moved us from difficulty to a joyful place.  We always have enough food, and all the children are in school.  We have school inside and outside.  Pastor John and his wife, Irene, take good care of us.  Everyone in the house is covered because of sponsors for food and education.  

I just completed Junior High and I want to continue on to Senior High.  I’ll be going to boarding school in September for Senior High for four years.  I want to study cooking so I can open my own restaurant once I complete University studies.  Through that, I want to open an orphanage one day.  Because I have lived in an orphanage, this is what I want to do.  One day when I get money, I want to rescue children from the street and from villages where they have no food and no water to drink.  I plan to use the money from my restaurant to pay for this.  

(Esther is already blessing others with her love of cooking.  On weekends, she prepares the meals for the 56 people at the home where she lives - children and staff.  I’ve tasted her meals, and they are yummy.  Today she is teaching me to make ground nut soup.  Delicious.  Back to Esther...)

I want the orphanage to be like a foster home a little bit away from the city.  I want the children to feel happy that God loves them.  I want them to know there is a hope for them to get where they want to be.  

I thank God that He has rescued me from difficulty and I am now in a place where I am comfortable.  He has taken care of me.  I thank God for all that He did for me.

Esther’s favorite two verses are Matthew 5:14,  “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill can not be hidden.”  Amen.  Also, “Blessed are those are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”  Amen.

(I asked Esther if there is anything she would like to say to each of you...)

In closing, Esther would like to tell you all that you need to care for people and love people.  Share what you have with people who don’t have.  Share with people who are in need.  You should have caring hearts.  I was one of those people.