Christmas is coming...

I'm writing to you from the living room couch as I listen to Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" album. If you don't have it - BUY IT!!! It's on my list of "Best Use of $9.99 Ever." His version of "Angels We Have Heard on High" is completely amazing and I love how in some of the songs he uses half Italian and half English. So beautiful. Before I came to Ghana I never really enjoyed Christmas music and I think it's because in America Christmas practically starts as soon as Halloween is over. It's become just another Hallmark, nothing, commercial holiday. Yes, it's still like that a bit in Ghana, too but I'm definitely not out as much in it as I am in America. I miss all the Christmas music and decorations and everything! I so much more appreciate it now especially since it gets hotter here as it's getting cold in America. It's harder to mark the passage of time here since it's pretty much always hot and sunny. I'm excited to come back to America in December and just be completely thrown into the cold and Christmas season :-) I am still counting the days until Christmas break (2 weeks and 6 days until I set foot on American soil) but I'm so enjoying Ghana and life here!

I've been having a lot of fun with my students lately. On Thursday, the hot lunches were late and so the elementary school was still out in the pavilion eating lunch when the high school was supposed to go outside for their lunch. Anyway, the point is that we had to all stay in the high school building and delay going over to lunch for a little while. Everyone was antsy because of course we were hungry and didn't have anything to do to pass the time. I decided to pull out my few remaining Jolly Ranchers and see what funny things the kids would do for them. The best one: I gave three Jolly Ranchers to a 9th grade boy in my health class for getting up on a chair, dancing, and singing "Barbie Girl" to all the 8th graders. It was amazing and hilarious! And the song was even his idea! I was thinking I'm a Little Tea Pot or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star but because he's European he doesn't know those songs. So, I asked him what songs he does know and he said, "Barbie Girl?" Done, deal. So fun!

Friday was Field Day at school, which ended up being an amazing day. Ryan did such a GREAT job planning everything and I think all the kids had alot of fun. Oh and! We played games throughout the day for points and MY TEAM WON! We beat everyone! So that was fun :-) Team picture below...
My shirt doesn't match because at this point it had been misplaced. I got it later, though! It's so great to have days with the students where we can just play and have fun instead of sitting in a classroom and being teacher and student. Lunch was really fun because the high school boys played in a soccer game against the Ghanaian workers at school. The student team won... even though I was rooting for the workers... haha
So going back in time a little bit to Thursday night... Christmas is coming up, obviously, and like I mentioned before it just never really feels like Christmas here to me. I say never and I've only experienced it one other time but really - I'm so conditioned to the changing of seasons that two years out of America is not long enough to be unconditioned - if that's a word. It's a little surreal to be in Ghana because it feels like time doesn't pass. We keep marking off days on the calendar but the weather never changes, life keeps going on as usual. So anyway, all of us young teachers were invited over to the Wright's house Thursday night for dessert and coffee - yes, please! Nichole made Reese's chocolate cake and mocha cake - they were so delicious I won't even begin to try to describe them because I won't do them justice. As amazing as the cakes and coffee were, though they don't even compare to the ambiance of their house as soon as we walked in. All the lights were off and the only light was coming from all the lit candles and the small lit up Christmas tree. It was almost like walking into the family room at my Mom's house on Christmas morning - that's how amazing it was. Especially being in Ghana we appreciated it even more - we finally felt like Christmas is coming! After sitting around and talking, eating cake, and drinking coffee for a while, Ben busted out the guitar and we sang a few worship songs. It was one of the best times of worship I've ever experienced! With just the small group of us softly singing to God... oh, wow, it was so great. Then, Chris shared a little bit about what God's been teaching him lately about giving. The Bible pretty bluntly says that we're supposed to give to all who ask, which is a huge challenge especially here in Africa when people ask constantly. It was a challenging mini-message that I'm praying about because I'm not sure how God would have me live that out in my life. After amazing worship, a great mini-message and a really cool time of sharing we did what anyone does when they're feeling the Christmas spirit... we watched Christmas Vacation! hahaha. Well, we started to watch it anyway until the DVD stopped working. Oh well, it had been a perfect evening and I was ready to sleep anyway :-)

Okay, well that's pretty much what's been going on with me! Life is good in Ghana and God is even better :-) See you all soon!!!