...instead of the other way around.
So much of life is spent looking and searching... for someTHING, someONE, some PLACE... That sometimes we forget to stop and thank the Lord for those things that find US.
Those certain experiences, places, people, etc that find us and take us by surprise.
Like Mustard Seed Church.
I spent two long years in Ghana without a church home. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I even went to church in the months I spent in Ghana. (If not only one hand then less than two hands without a doubt.) I visited a few churches and didn't feel like I connected with any of them. Maybe I was unfairly judging them because I was looking for a transplant Dublin Baptist Church - my church in the States. Whatever the reason, real or imagined, I didn't go to church. I continued to read my Bible (almost) every day and downloaded sermons from the internet to listen to throughout the week and didn't feel like anything was missing from my walk with God. In fact, my relationship with the Lord was definitely strengthened in those two years where it was up to me to remember to read my Bible and study God's Word. Going to church in Ghana was a long, uncomfortable process for me and I made the decision to just not go.
Getting back to the US this summer after my contract in Ghana was finished, was like a breath of fresh air in terms of being able to go to church again. I missed that place and continue to miss that place. God has given Pastor Darrel such a gift and I love learning from him. So, when August came it scared me to again leave that place I felt so comfortable to come to Japan and potentially have the same problem I did in Ghana.
On my second Sunday in Nagoya, one of the other teachers took Amanda and I to Mustard Seed Church - about a 40-45 minute subway ride away. The minute I entered the building I was surrounded by smiling faces all welcoming me to the church. After learning and promptly forgetting about 10 names, the band started to play... and I knew this place was different.
Maybe the reason I felt I connected right away with this church is because music has and is such an important part of my relationship with God. The right song at the right time has always been able to make me cry or laugh or whatever. Music can be powerful and singing is a great way to connect with and worship God. At Mustard Seed, the band plays contemporary worship music - upbeat and loud so that I can sing as loud as I want!
In Ghana, one song in particular hit me hard and has stuck with me. Remember my post a few months back about the song, "God of This City?" For the rest of my life every time I hear this song I will think of Ghana. It's one of the last songs we sang all together as a group at the Wright's house for Care Group. (Oh, how I miss that!) It's a song that I still can't really listen to yet because it makes me so emotional thinking about Ghana and the awesome people there. Even now, I'm starting to tear up because this song just DOES something to me that I can't describe.
Why am I talking about this?
Well, because the very last song of the service the band played at Mustard Seed that first morning I was there was, "God of This City." They started to play the first few chords of the song and I was in shock. I could not believe that that... THAT was the song they chose to play that morning... my first morning there... my first church service in Japan... wow, God. When the song started to play, Amanda and I started laughing and crying and just couldn't believe what was happening.
God followed me to Japan. He was with me in Ghana and now He's here with me in Japan. Could there BE any clearer message? That's too great of a coincidence for it to be anything except God telling me, "This is your church. Stay here, learn about me, meet new people, this is where you belong. I'm here with you and I AM the God of THIS and EVERY city."
That was precisely the moment when Mustard Seed "found me." Loud and clear, I heard God's message and I knew that I didn't need to visit any other church in Japan because He gave me my home church. It's a gift for which I thank Him EVERY Sunday!
In a lot of ways... I feel more at home at Mustard Seed than at Dublin Baptist back in the States. That God found for me such an amazing church in a predominantly non-Christian country... is awesome. The 45 minute commute means very little to me and it's a small price to pay for what I receive in return - a chance to worship God with an amazing worship band, to learn more about God through great pastors, and enjoy friendships with all kinds of awesome people. I love the people I've met and have begun to get to know better and I hope that it all continues.
So, thank you Lord for what you've given me through Mustard Seed Church. Thank you for this place I get to go every Sunday and worship you. Thank you for all the people I get to meet and for the new friends I am making.
Love to everyone in the States :-)
24 October 2010
11 October 2010
What a difference a year makes...
At this time last year...
I was in Ghana.
I was teaching 8th Grade Science, Health, Chemistry, Physics, and Physical Science.
I was sweaty.
This is right around the time crap hit the fan with a situation at school.
I was praying for electricity and water.
I was counting the days until Christmas break.
I was ready to go home to America and never leave again.
I was in Africa.
NOW...
I'm in Japan.
I'm teaching Life Science, Pre-Algebra, Physical Science, Algebra I, Chemistry, and Geometry.
I'm not sweating.
I have a church I love.
I get to eat cheap sushi whenever I want.
I can have Starbucks and McDonald's.
I'm in Asia.
What a difference a year makes.
I keep reflecting on my time in Ghana, which I think is only natural since I'm somewhere new I NEVER thought I would be. Amanda and I talk about it a lot and she misses Ghana much more than I do right now... and she probably always will. She's able to look on the bright side and remember the good stuff easier than I can. Of course I miss the friends I made there EVERY single day - really, I do - but I don't miss Ghana yet. I hope that someday I do because I will never regret the time I spent there. God called me to spend those two years in Africa and I'm ridiculously grateful that He did because I learned things there I could have NEVER learned if I had stayed in America. Like...
1. how grateful I am for simply having an American passport
2. the knowledge that no matter how poor I think I am, I will always be rich
3. how small America is
4. how much I love my crazy family and depend on them
5. that some of the happiest people have no "stuff"
6. how to trust God and follow through even when I really don't want to
There are so many more things that I can't figure out how to put in to words - most of it having to do with how small my American mind was before Ghana (and really, still is). Living in a third world country really opens your eyes to how the other 90 or so % of the world lives.
I'm falling in to a rabbit hole...
After a tough two years in Ghana, I was ready to be back in America with my family. My to do list was: buy a car, get a job, make some money, get an apartment - LIVE IN AMERICA.
Mind you, I didn't really talk to God about all this - I just assumed that I knew best, that I had put in my time in Ghana, and it was time for life to be "easy" for a while. Oooooh, Elyse, will you never learn???
When I got home in June, things were pretty messy and I spent LOTS of time in the hospital with ailing family members. Looking back now, the reason I did not have a job right away when I got home like I wanted is obvious - to help take care of family so everyone else can work their own jobs! At the time, I remember thinking, "It's good that I don't have a job so that I can always be where people need me... but WHY DON'T I HAVE A JOB???" I wasn't willing to get outside of my own small, silly brain to see the bigger picture. Well, I saw it but I sure didn't pay enough attention. I was so focused on what I thought should be happening in my life that I wasn't paying attention to what actually was going on in my life. I wasn't willing to listen to those convictions from the Holy Spirit in my life because they weren't what I wanted to hear.
Thank you, Lord, that I was able to be with my family and help out so much this summer. Thank you, for not giving me a job right away even though that's what I wanted - your plan was so much better. Thank you for giving me an AMAZING summer with my family.
Some highlights...
So, the summer keeps going and I'm still job hunting and getting more and more frustrated. One day I was listening to the local Christian radio station in the car and the "positive thought" for the day was about seeing waiting as preparation. I thought about that for a while and realized that maybe all this waiting I was doing for a job was really God trying to prepare me for something else - all the while I'm still kicking and screaming about wanting a job. Hmmm. That thought didn't really sink in, I don't think, until Amanda started talking to me about the job opening here in Japan...
I think we all know by now how this story ends but *spoiler alert* I'm in Japan!
When Amanda first told me about the job opening, I totally shut down. "No, I'm in America. I want to be in America. I'm not leaving again. What if it's just like Ghana?" I e-mailed the director (after he e-mailed me, telling me about the job) and told him that I wasn't interested, end of story. Well, the idea of working in Japan kept nagging at me in my head and Amanda kept talking about it, haha. So, about a week after telling the director I wasn't interested, I e-mailed him again asking him for some more information. I don't remember exactly the order of events that happened next but I do know I talked to the director on the phone, I spent a weekend in South Bend, Indiana with several friends from Ghana who all enthusiastically encouraged me to accept the job in Japan, and then when I was officially offered the job in Japan (while still in South Bend) I was also offered a job in Columbus at COSI on the same day. WHAT are you trying to do to me God???
The job in Columbus was sort-of a dream job working for COSI - a place I love. It's a place all about science so what's NOT to love??? I wanted that job. Oh how I wanted that job! It would keep me in Columbus, near my family, and I would get to be with people who get nerdily excited about science like I do everyday. The downside: very little money, only part-time, no benefits.
To be offered two jobs ON THE SAME DAY... Geeze.
The job in Japan was something I had only begun to consider in the previous two weeks. Would my family be upset I was leaving again after telling them I was in America to stay? Would it be just like Ghana? Is this really where God wants me to be?
In the end it was an easy decision I was just too scared to make. Japan was absolutely too perfect of a fit for me for it not to have been designed for me. Plus, it came with more pay than the COSI job (not a lot more, but more nonetheless) and health insurance. PLUS - I would get to live with Amanda again! So, after lots of prayer and lots of talking to lots of people - I accepted the job in Japan and here I am :-)
I am LOVING living in Japan! I am LOVING teaching, which I honestly did not think was possible.
I go to an AWESOME church.
I have all the textbooks I need.
I have more science equipment than I know what to do with.
I get to have SEASONS again and watch the leaves change and maybe even SNOW.
I have always had electricity and water (and don't know why that wouldn't always be the case).
I can keep up with my favorite TV shows, find new TV shows, and can even watch FOOTBALL - all online, all free.
Packages come right to my apartment and if they're too big for the box, the post office will deliver them later the SAME day at the time you ask - they won't even open your package and rifle through your stuff nor will they charge you to receive your package!
I'm not afraid to be outside at night.
And even something that sounds like a bad thing but I'm actually enjoying... I'm up to my eyeballs everyday in planning for SIX preps - again, the work of at least 3 teachers.
I heart Japan.
There are only two things about which I can honestly complain about Japan.
1. MOSQUITOES. I thought I left those in Ghana... apparently not. Oh well, just another 100 or so scars to add to my already ridiculously scarred body.
2. The language. Now, I know perfectly well that this only has to do only with my own shortcomings as a single language speaking American... but it's still frustrating. Even as I'm doing my best to quickly learn the language, I know it's mostly a fruitless effort since learning Japanese doesn't involve learning one new language - but three. Three new sets of hundreds and thousands of new characters that are all used interchangeably and all three sets are used woven together. It's enough to make a foreigner crazy. Plus, in Japanese the words aren't separated by spaces like in English... they're all strung together. Also, English has 26 letters to learn, in contrast to one of the sets of Japanese characters, Hiragana, has at least 100 - and that's just one of the THREE sets. There are so many characters because instead of just stringing a few characters together to get a new sound (like in English, re versus ro for example) the Japanese just invented another character... bah. Another set of characters, Kanji, has thousands. Thousands. And those aren't "one character per sound" like Hiragana, one character will represent the word "tree," for example, while another will represent "forest." Admittedly, the two characters are similar for tree and forest but for me... they might as well be Egyptian hieroglyphics. Again, I know this is not a problem with the Japanese language or Japanese people because they understand it perfectly well - I'm the foreigner and it's my job to learn the language but that doesn't make it any less frustrating when all I want to do is order dinner somewhere and I can't.
SO. Some highlights :-)
In short: I miss my family and American but I LOVE Japan. Praise the Lord for bringing me here!
If you're interested in seeing TONS more pictures... visit these websites...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2420946&id=7703737&l=215188036b
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2432757&id=7703737&l=c07d949506
Please pray for:
1. my time here - that I would always keep God first and would always trust Him before trusting even myself
2. my students - that I would be able to always be a Christ-like example for them
3. my students - some hard stuff has been going on at school with them and they need prayer - prayer that they would lift each other up instead of tear each other down
Love to everyone in the States :-)
I was in Ghana.
I was teaching 8th Grade Science, Health, Chemistry, Physics, and Physical Science.
I was sweaty.
This is right around the time crap hit the fan with a situation at school.
I was praying for electricity and water.
I was counting the days until Christmas break.
I was ready to go home to America and never leave again.
I was in Africa.
NOW...
I'm in Japan.
I'm teaching Life Science, Pre-Algebra, Physical Science, Algebra I, Chemistry, and Geometry.
I'm not sweating.
I have a church I love.
I get to eat cheap sushi whenever I want.
I can have Starbucks and McDonald's.
I'm in Asia.
What a difference a year makes.
I keep reflecting on my time in Ghana, which I think is only natural since I'm somewhere new I NEVER thought I would be. Amanda and I talk about it a lot and she misses Ghana much more than I do right now... and she probably always will. She's able to look on the bright side and remember the good stuff easier than I can. Of course I miss the friends I made there EVERY single day - really, I do - but I don't miss Ghana yet. I hope that someday I do because I will never regret the time I spent there. God called me to spend those two years in Africa and I'm ridiculously grateful that He did because I learned things there I could have NEVER learned if I had stayed in America. Like...
1. how grateful I am for simply having an American passport
2. the knowledge that no matter how poor I think I am, I will always be rich
3. how small America is
4. how much I love my crazy family and depend on them
5. that some of the happiest people have no "stuff"
6. how to trust God and follow through even when I really don't want to
There are so many more things that I can't figure out how to put in to words - most of it having to do with how small my American mind was before Ghana (and really, still is). Living in a third world country really opens your eyes to how the other 90 or so % of the world lives.
I'm falling in to a rabbit hole...
After a tough two years in Ghana, I was ready to be back in America with my family. My to do list was: buy a car, get a job, make some money, get an apartment - LIVE IN AMERICA.
Mind you, I didn't really talk to God about all this - I just assumed that I knew best, that I had put in my time in Ghana, and it was time for life to be "easy" for a while. Oooooh, Elyse, will you never learn???
When I got home in June, things were pretty messy and I spent LOTS of time in the hospital with ailing family members. Looking back now, the reason I did not have a job right away when I got home like I wanted is obvious - to help take care of family so everyone else can work their own jobs! At the time, I remember thinking, "It's good that I don't have a job so that I can always be where people need me... but WHY DON'T I HAVE A JOB???" I wasn't willing to get outside of my own small, silly brain to see the bigger picture. Well, I saw it but I sure didn't pay enough attention. I was so focused on what I thought should be happening in my life that I wasn't paying attention to what actually was going on in my life. I wasn't willing to listen to those convictions from the Holy Spirit in my life because they weren't what I wanted to hear.
Thank you, Lord, that I was able to be with my family and help out so much this summer. Thank you, for not giving me a job right away even though that's what I wanted - your plan was so much better. Thank you for giving me an AMAZING summer with my family.
Some highlights...
A day at the lake... SO MUCH FUN! Can't wait to do it again next summer!
In Chicago with some amazing friends :-)
With Mom waiting for the Goo Goo Dolls concert to start. Mom and I had a BLAST this summer - it was so great to get to spend so much time with her :-) Love you, Mom
Family :-) I miss you all so, so, so much!
At Eileen and Nate's wedding... Heidi and Christi, I miss you both!
I got to spend lots of time with my brothers! On this day, I took them to the water park - hahaha, funny day.
So, the summer keeps going and I'm still job hunting and getting more and more frustrated. One day I was listening to the local Christian radio station in the car and the "positive thought" for the day was about seeing waiting as preparation. I thought about that for a while and realized that maybe all this waiting I was doing for a job was really God trying to prepare me for something else - all the while I'm still kicking and screaming about wanting a job. Hmmm. That thought didn't really sink in, I don't think, until Amanda started talking to me about the job opening here in Japan...
I think we all know by now how this story ends but *spoiler alert* I'm in Japan!
When Amanda first told me about the job opening, I totally shut down. "No, I'm in America. I want to be in America. I'm not leaving again. What if it's just like Ghana?" I e-mailed the director (after he e-mailed me, telling me about the job) and told him that I wasn't interested, end of story. Well, the idea of working in Japan kept nagging at me in my head and Amanda kept talking about it, haha. So, about a week after telling the director I wasn't interested, I e-mailed him again asking him for some more information. I don't remember exactly the order of events that happened next but I do know I talked to the director on the phone, I spent a weekend in South Bend, Indiana with several friends from Ghana who all enthusiastically encouraged me to accept the job in Japan, and then when I was officially offered the job in Japan (while still in South Bend) I was also offered a job in Columbus at COSI on the same day. WHAT are you trying to do to me God???
The job in Columbus was sort-of a dream job working for COSI - a place I love. It's a place all about science so what's NOT to love??? I wanted that job. Oh how I wanted that job! It would keep me in Columbus, near my family, and I would get to be with people who get nerdily excited about science like I do everyday. The downside: very little money, only part-time, no benefits.
To be offered two jobs ON THE SAME DAY... Geeze.
The job in Japan was something I had only begun to consider in the previous two weeks. Would my family be upset I was leaving again after telling them I was in America to stay? Would it be just like Ghana? Is this really where God wants me to be?
In the end it was an easy decision I was just too scared to make. Japan was absolutely too perfect of a fit for me for it not to have been designed for me. Plus, it came with more pay than the COSI job (not a lot more, but more nonetheless) and health insurance. PLUS - I would get to live with Amanda again! So, after lots of prayer and lots of talking to lots of people - I accepted the job in Japan and here I am :-)
I am LOVING living in Japan! I am LOVING teaching, which I honestly did not think was possible.
I go to an AWESOME church.
I have all the textbooks I need.
I have more science equipment than I know what to do with.
I get to have SEASONS again and watch the leaves change and maybe even SNOW.
I have always had electricity and water (and don't know why that wouldn't always be the case).
I can keep up with my favorite TV shows, find new TV shows, and can even watch FOOTBALL - all online, all free.
Packages come right to my apartment and if they're too big for the box, the post office will deliver them later the SAME day at the time you ask - they won't even open your package and rifle through your stuff nor will they charge you to receive your package!
I'm not afraid to be outside at night.
And even something that sounds like a bad thing but I'm actually enjoying... I'm up to my eyeballs everyday in planning for SIX preps - again, the work of at least 3 teachers.
I heart Japan.
There are only two things about which I can honestly complain about Japan.
1. MOSQUITOES. I thought I left those in Ghana... apparently not. Oh well, just another 100 or so scars to add to my already ridiculously scarred body.
2. The language. Now, I know perfectly well that this only has to do only with my own shortcomings as a single language speaking American... but it's still frustrating. Even as I'm doing my best to quickly learn the language, I know it's mostly a fruitless effort since learning Japanese doesn't involve learning one new language - but three. Three new sets of hundreds and thousands of new characters that are all used interchangeably and all three sets are used woven together. It's enough to make a foreigner crazy. Plus, in Japanese the words aren't separated by spaces like in English... they're all strung together. Also, English has 26 letters to learn, in contrast to one of the sets of Japanese characters, Hiragana, has at least 100 - and that's just one of the THREE sets. There are so many characters because instead of just stringing a few characters together to get a new sound (like in English, re versus ro for example) the Japanese just invented another character... bah. Another set of characters, Kanji, has thousands. Thousands. And those aren't "one character per sound" like Hiragana, one character will represent the word "tree," for example, while another will represent "forest." Admittedly, the two characters are similar for tree and forest but for me... they might as well be Egyptian hieroglyphics. Again, I know this is not a problem with the Japanese language or Japanese people because they understand it perfectly well - I'm the foreigner and it's my job to learn the language but that doesn't make it any less frustrating when all I want to do is order dinner somewhere and I can't.
SO. Some highlights :-)
My first sushi in Japan!!! I got to Japan one day before my birthday so Amanda and I had sushi on my birthday :-)
My little bedroom!
Everyone at Amanda's birthday dinner!
My classroom! See the PROJECTORS???
Amanda and I doing some exploring!
Japan has some of the greatest signs. This is one of my favorites because of the expressions on the mother and baby's faces.
The whole secondary went on a retreat = a lot of fun!!! Unfortunately, I missed this picture... oops.
In short: I miss my family and American but I LOVE Japan. Praise the Lord for bringing me here!
If you're interested in seeing TONS more pictures... visit these websites...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2420946&id=7703737&l=215188036b
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2432757&id=7703737&l=c07d949506
Please pray for:
1. my time here - that I would always keep God first and would always trust Him before trusting even myself
2. my students - that I would be able to always be a Christ-like example for them
3. my students - some hard stuff has been going on at school with them and they need prayer - prayer that they would lift each other up instead of tear each other down
Love to everyone in the States :-)
01 June 2010
God of This City
A song I have NOT been able to get out of my head for about a week now is this song by Chris Tomlin called "God of This City." Download it, buy it, get it - now. Seriously. It's such a very simple song and if you only read over the lyrics... you might not be impressed because it is so straightforward and nothing fancy - you still have to listen to this song.
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are
There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here
No specific city is named. No specific people-group is mentioned. God is the King of THESE people, THIS city - all people, all cities. Sing this song all over the world, in every city of the world and every word will still be true.
We sang this song this past Sunday night at the Wright's house during care group. It was the last care group and after the sundae's were eaten, lessons learned in Ghana were shared, and advice was given to those staying for next year, it quickly became obvious that no one was in any hurry to leave that place. The Wright's house is somewhere we all go for encouragement, a time of refreshing worship, and good food - a perfect trifecta! It's a home away from home for us. As we all sat after prayer, not leaving because we didn't want it to be over yet, Ben started playing worship songs on his guitar and for the next hour or so we all sat and requested songs to sing and worship God. It will go down in my memory as one of the most powerful worship experiences of which I've ever been a part. It was truly awesome to be a part of this amazing group of people, amazing group of friends, that LOVE the Lord. A few times I stopped singing and just listened to everyone around me because I couldn't believe that I've been blessed with such awesome people around me. These people that love Jesus and show me that love every single day. I will forever be grateful to this awesome group of people for teaching me what Christ's love in friendship looks like. Thank you.
After singing this song, "God of This City," Ben started talking about how sometimes it can feel like we're abandoning these students after being part of their life for such a short time. I've definitely felt like this on numerous occasions. After teaching some of these students for two years and some for only one... I'm leaving. After becoming attached to some of these students... I'm leaving. Ben's reminder was that God is the God of THIS city right here and He's not going to leave it. We may be leaving this place and we may never see some of these people again, but God will never leave this place and he will never leave these people. I can go with peace in my heart from this place because I know that God is finished with me here - I've finished my work. But someone else will come and take my place behind me and continue the work that He has already started. Greater things have yet to come and they will come because there is no one like our God.
As I write this it is now almost 12:30am on Wednesday... this means that I leave Ghana tomorrow. Tomorrow as in Thursday. Thursday night I leave Ghana.
.
.
.
.
.
There are so many thoughts and emotions running through me right now that I'll be lucky if I'm ever able to make sense of them myself let alone make them coherent enough to explain to someone else. I just can't believe it's over.
Here is a list that has been started by the fantastic Jonathan to which much has been added by a lot of us. Some of it won't make sense to you but I want this list here to be sure that I have it always...
Happiness in Ghana
Happiness is Simple Brothers chicken and rice
Happiness is when the electricity comes back on
Happiness is Amanda and Elyse's ice cream birthday cakes
Happiness is going out to eat in Osu on the weekend with friends
Happiness is getting 5 Ghana cedi notes from the ATM instead of 10s
Happiness is watching movies/The Office/Big Bang with friends
Happiness is killing a cockroach with Raid and watching it slowly die
Happiness is playing ping-pong at my house with friends
Happiness is getting a fanchoco on a hot sweaty day
Happiness is eating humongous sausage kebab hotdogs on Mondaays and Fridays
Happiness is mango season
Happiness is jollof, red-red, and yam balls
Happiness is turning in my final grades for the quarter
Happiness is Friday nights hanging out with friends
Happiness is finally slapping that mosquito to death
Happiness is Thanksgiving in Ghana
Happiness is going home for break
Happiness is hanging out with the kids at Mama Latti's in Bolgatanga
Happiness is an ice cold Sprite while riding in the back of a truck in the sweltering heat
Happiness is a half-frozen Tampico after school
Happiness is talking and eating at lunch break in the teacher's lounge hoping the bell will never ring
Happiness is karaoke and bowling with friends
Happiness is macaroni and cheese every Saturday afternoon
Happiness is meat pies from church every Sunday afternoon
Happiness is traveling to exotic places with good friends for Spring break
Happiness is my parents come to visit me in Ghana
Happiness is getting cookies/sticky buns/nacho dip during school from Laurie Korum (and eating it in front of my students)
Happiness is playing disc golf at school with my friends
Happiness is riding my bike everywhere in East Legon
Happiness is eating a real dinner with a real family
Happiness is the International Day lunch
Happiness is when someone shares their food from America
Happiness is eating at the Lebenese families' house
Happiness is Sport's Day pillow fighting
Happiness is a good conversation with a good friend at "snack time"
Happiness is a homemade meal at a friend's house
Happiness is playing volleyball with the teachers during planning period
Happiness is scoring my first and only soccer goal in my life on the sand field with the students
Happiness is getting a package from the States
Happiness is getting to know my students
Happiness is friends I will never forget
Happiness is awkwardly choosing between your friends who will get married first!
Happiness is NOT painting your face and dressing in all black to play a prank on a friend only to realize he lives in an impenetrable fortress
Happiness is getting to watch my students - the boys - fight over who will get the next sparkly happy face sticker.
Happiness is getting to debate and have spiritual conversations with my students about whatever the controversial topic is that day.
Happiness is an air conditioned mall when the power's out
Happiness is about-to-expire-so-it's-on-sale cheese.
Happiness is sitting on the porch watching the lighting storm.
Happiness is rescuing kittens from DEATH!
Happiness is having runny tummy and being able to tell other people all about it.
Happiness is learning new words in the local language.
Happiness is getting a taxi driver who asks for the honest amount for a ride.
Happiness is getting a ride from a students family as you are walking home.
Happiness is AWWWKKWARD moments.
Happiness is talking about Jesus!
Happiness is getting surprise messages/notes/cards from students saying they love you and can't believe you're leaving.
Happiness is Sunday night at the Wright's.
Happiness is a cold shower after soccer practice when you've been doing push ups in the sand
Happiness is realizing that if home is where the heart is, a big part of my home is still in Ghana
Happiness is eating a whole loaf of banana bread not caring that it was full of bugs.
Happiness is watching tv shows while eating a whole loaf of bread with jam or nutella or BOTH.
Happiness is a good run and blarin head phones to block out the world
Happiness is buying anything you want from the window of your car.
Happiness is PLANTAIN CHIPS!
Happiness is a surprise list of happy things in your inbox when you should be doing work, but ALLLLLL you wanna do is procrastinate
Melissa: Happiness is Coco-cola in a glass bottle.
Happiness is KARAOKE!
Meg: Happiness is cheating on your no-coffee rule...even if it is just for FOLDERS
Melissa: Totally spelled that wrong but yeah... Coke in a glass bottle! YUM!
Happiness is ground nut soup with rice balls!
Happiness is being okay with being sweaty because everyone else around you is a sweaty beast too!
Meg: HAPPINESS IS WHEN ELYSE CORRECTS YOUR GRAMMAR BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU... foldGERS
Me: Happiness is when people don't yell at me when I correct their grammar or spelling... it's a reflex I CAN'T control!
Happiness is quoting movies you've watched with friends
Meg: Happiness is a bag that ways 49.9 lbs
Me: WEIGHS
Meg: CRAP!!!!! i didn't do that on purpose!!!!
Happiness is painful because I never knew it was until it was over
Happiness is an awesome, awesome worship song that you can scream at the top of your lungs because everyone else around u is super loud too!!!! PRAISE JESUS. :)
Love, love, love it!
See everyone in America so soon... Lord willing! Please be praying for my flights home... there are FOUR of them :-/ Safe trip, safe plane, baggage makes it...
We sang this song this past Sunday night at the Wright's house during care group. It was the last care group and after the sundae's were eaten, lessons learned in Ghana were shared, and advice was given to those staying for next year, it quickly became obvious that no one was in any hurry to leave that place. The Wright's house is somewhere we all go for encouragement, a time of refreshing worship, and good food - a perfect trifecta! It's a home away from home for us. As we all sat after prayer, not leaving because we didn't want it to be over yet, Ben started playing worship songs on his guitar and for the next hour or so we all sat and requested songs to sing and worship God. It will go down in my memory as one of the most powerful worship experiences of which I've ever been a part. It was truly awesome to be a part of this amazing group of people, amazing group of friends, that LOVE the Lord. A few times I stopped singing and just listened to everyone around me because I couldn't believe that I've been blessed with such awesome people around me. These people that love Jesus and show me that love every single day. I will forever be grateful to this awesome group of people for teaching me what Christ's love in friendship looks like. Thank you.
After singing this song, "God of This City," Ben started talking about how sometimes it can feel like we're abandoning these students after being part of their life for such a short time. I've definitely felt like this on numerous occasions. After teaching some of these students for two years and some for only one... I'm leaving. After becoming attached to some of these students... I'm leaving. Ben's reminder was that God is the God of THIS city right here and He's not going to leave it. We may be leaving this place and we may never see some of these people again, but God will never leave this place and he will never leave these people. I can go with peace in my heart from this place because I know that God is finished with me here - I've finished my work. But someone else will come and take my place behind me and continue the work that He has already started. Greater things have yet to come and they will come because there is no one like our God.
As I write this it is now almost 12:30am on Wednesday... this means that I leave Ghana tomorrow. Tomorrow as in Thursday. Thursday night I leave Ghana.
.
.
.
.
.
There are so many thoughts and emotions running through me right now that I'll be lucky if I'm ever able to make sense of them myself let alone make them coherent enough to explain to someone else. I just can't believe it's over.
Here is a list that has been started by the fantastic Jonathan to which much has been added by a lot of us. Some of it won't make sense to you but I want this list here to be sure that I have it always...
Happiness in Ghana
Happiness is Simple Brothers chicken and rice
Happiness is when the electricity comes back on
Happiness is Amanda and Elyse's ice cream birthday cakes
Happiness is going out to eat in Osu on the weekend with friends
Happiness is getting 5 Ghana cedi notes from the ATM instead of 10s
Happiness is watching movies/The Office/Big Bang with friends
Happiness is killing a cockroach with Raid and watching it slowly die
Happiness is playing ping-pong at my house with friends
Happiness is getting a fanchoco on a hot sweaty day
Happiness is eating humongous sausage kebab hotdogs on Mondaays and Fridays
Happiness is mango season
Happiness is jollof, red-red, and yam balls
Happiness is turning in my final grades for the quarter
Happiness is Friday nights hanging out with friends
Happiness is finally slapping that mosquito to death
Happiness is Thanksgiving in Ghana
Happiness is going home for break
Happiness is hanging out with the kids at Mama Latti's in Bolgatanga
Happiness is an ice cold Sprite while riding in the back of a truck in the sweltering heat
Happiness is a half-frozen Tampico after school
Happiness is talking and eating at lunch break in the teacher's lounge hoping the bell will never ring
Happiness is karaoke and bowling with friends
Happiness is macaroni and cheese every Saturday afternoon
Happiness is meat pies from church every Sunday afternoon
Happiness is traveling to exotic places with good friends for Spring break
Happiness is my parents come to visit me in Ghana
Happiness is getting cookies/sticky buns/nacho dip during school from Laurie Korum (and eating it in front of my students)
Happiness is playing disc golf at school with my friends
Happiness is riding my bike everywhere in East Legon
Happiness is eating a real dinner with a real family
Happiness is the International Day lunch
Happiness is when someone shares their food from America
Happiness is eating at the Lebenese families' house
Happiness is Sport's Day pillow fighting
Happiness is a good conversation with a good friend at "snack time"
Happiness is a homemade meal at a friend's house
Happiness is playing volleyball with the teachers during planning period
Happiness is scoring my first and only soccer goal in my life on the sand field with the students
Happiness is getting a package from the States
Happiness is getting to know my students
Happiness is friends I will never forget
Happiness is awkwardly choosing between your friends who will get married first!
Happiness is NOT painting your face and dressing in all black to play a prank on a friend only to realize he lives in an impenetrable fortress
Happiness is getting to watch my students - the boys - fight over who will get the next sparkly happy face sticker.
Happiness is getting to debate and have spiritual conversations with my students about whatever the controversial topic is that day.
Happiness is an air conditioned mall when the power's out
Happiness is about-to-expire-so-it's-on-sale cheese.
Happiness is sitting on the porch watching the lighting storm.
Happiness is rescuing kittens from DEATH!
Happiness is having runny tummy and being able to tell other people all about it.
Happiness is learning new words in the local language.
Happiness is getting a taxi driver who asks for the honest amount for a ride.
Happiness is getting a ride from a students family as you are walking home.
Happiness is AWWWKKWARD moments.
Happiness is talking about Jesus!
Happiness is getting surprise messages/notes/cards from students saying they love you and can't believe you're leaving.
Happiness is Sunday night at the Wright's.
Happiness is a cold shower after soccer practice when you've been doing push ups in the sand
Happiness is realizing that if home is where the heart is, a big part of my home is still in Ghana
Happiness is eating a whole loaf of banana bread not caring that it was full of bugs.
Happiness is watching tv shows while eating a whole loaf of bread with jam or nutella or BOTH.
Happiness is a good run and blarin head phones to block out the world
Happiness is buying anything you want from the window of your car.
Happiness is PLANTAIN CHIPS!
Happiness is a surprise list of happy things in your inbox when you should be doing work, but ALLLLLL you wanna do is procrastinate
Melissa: Happiness is Coco-cola in a glass bottle.
Happiness is KARAOKE!
Meg: Happiness is cheating on your no-coffee rule...even if it is just for FOLDERS
Melissa: Totally spelled that wrong but yeah... Coke in a glass bottle! YUM!
Happiness is ground nut soup with rice balls!
Happiness is being okay with being sweaty because everyone else around you is a sweaty beast too!
Meg: HAPPINESS IS WHEN ELYSE CORRECTS YOUR GRAMMAR BECAUSE SHE LOVES YOU... foldGERS
Me: Happiness is when people don't yell at me when I correct their grammar or spelling... it's a reflex I CAN'T control!
Happiness is quoting movies you've watched with friends
Meg: Happiness is a bag that ways 49.9 lbs
Me: WEIGHS
Meg: CRAP!!!!! i didn't do that on purpose!!!!
Happiness is painful because I never knew it was until it was over
Happiness is an awesome, awesome worship song that you can scream at the top of your lungs because everyone else around u is super loud too!!!! PRAISE JESUS. :)
Love, love, love it!
See everyone in America so soon... Lord willing! Please be praying for my flights home... there are FOUR of them :-/ Safe trip, safe plane, baggage makes it...
24 May 2010
Home
Home.
I never thought the idea of home could be such a fluid concept. Where is my home? To tell you the truth... I'm not so sure anymore.
If home is where I grew up and where my family is - well, then home is in America, in Ohio.
If home is where I started my first big girl job and first lived on my own and first started paying bills and building a life outside of the people I've known my whole life - well, then home is in Accra. Here - in Ghana. In this land that's not so foreign anymore. In this place I've spent the last two years of my life. With these people I can't imagine living without.
For those of you who have never been to Ghana, there is nothing I could possibly say to you to help you understand life here - nothing. There is no number of words that could be spoken to even give you a hint of what it's like here. Sure you see the pictures and you hear the stories... but LIFE could never be boiled down to a few pictures or a few stories.
It's sad that none of you at home will ever really get it. That no one will ever really understand these last two years of my life. Two years that have shaped me and my relationship with God more than ten years would have back in America.
You'll never understand just how hot it gets out in that African sun - or in the house when the electricity is off. You'll never understand what it's like when all you want is a cold shower but there is no running water. You'll never understand what it's like to sleep on a tile floor when the electricity is off. You'll never understand what it's like to just want to walk somewhere peacefully but never getting the chance because there is always someone yelling, "Obruni." You'll never understand what it's like to feel like all you are is an ATM machine - being chased by kids on the street yelling, "Obruni, give me money!" You'll never understand what it's like to be hungry because you can't open the refrigerator or cook anything because the electricity is off.
And on the other hand...
You'll never understand how hilarious and amazing my students are and how much I love being part of their wacky lives. You'll never understand the peace and gratitude when you realize God is bigger than this whole world and He really is everywhere - with you - always. You'll never understand how great it is to be able to buy pretty much anything you need from the window of your car. You'll never understand how good the food is that you buy off the street - Simple Brothers! You'll never understand the pure joy of real nacho chips. You'll never understand how great it is to buy three movies that have just come out in the theater for about $8. You'll never understand what it's like to accidentally kill a baby chicken on your way to work. You'll never understand what it's like to keep your eye on that goat because just maybe today is the day Obadiah decides to leap over and attack you.
Saddest of all is you'll never understand what it's like to make friends here.
Friends that I can't even begin to explain. I've been trying for the better part of 30 minutes to just write something, anything that would do justice to the people I've met here and can't imagine living without. Maybe when I'm back in America and can look back on these two years will the words finally form. The words to say how I'll carry each of them with me wherever I go. The words to say how each of them has touched my life and encouraged me. The words to say thank you.
Today was brunch at the Golden Tulip - an annual "goodbye" brunch for those of us who have finished our contracts and are off to something else. None of it feels real yet. "You mean I'm leaving Ghana NEXT Friday???" That can't be possible! But here it is... the necklace I received as my going away gift. The necklace we've been waiting for, for an entire year. Is it really mine? Am I really leaving this place? America has never felt so far away.
We've even begun to say goodbye to some of our favorite places...
It's hard to believe that we'll never eat at Tip Top or Monsoon again. It's hard to believe that we'll never get ice cream from Frankie's again. It's hard to believe that I'll never shop at Global Mama's again.
Never, never, never...
I can't believe that I've lived in Africa for the past two years. Really? AFRICA?
Apparently, so.
I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter in life but it's hard to imagine that this chapter is ending. It's hard to not keep looking back to where I've been and it's equally hard to not keep looking forward to where I'm going. I hope to find a balance this last week and a half in Ghana that keeps me remembering and loving where I've been, paying attention to where God is taking me in the future, and enjoying where God has me right at this moment. I'm still in Ghana because my life isn't finished here yet - God isn't quite done with me.
I can only pray that when I get on that plane next Friday, God is smiling and saying, "You fought the good fight, you finished the race, and you kept the faith. Well done good and faithful servant."
I haven't always been the light God wants me to be... I know that. I haven't even always given it my best shot - I'll be honest. There have been days when all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, watch a movie, and not talk to anyone - and I've given in. But God is bigger than my bad days and my bad moods. God can do anything with someone who is willing to take a leap of faith, to make sacrifices, to suffer.
God has held me through these two years in Ghana and I know He'll take me through the end. Through leaving this place and these people. Through transition back to America. Through it all.
I never thought the idea of home could be such a fluid concept. Where is my home? To tell you the truth... I'm not so sure anymore.
If home is where I grew up and where my family is - well, then home is in America, in Ohio.
If home is where I started my first big girl job and first lived on my own and first started paying bills and building a life outside of the people I've known my whole life - well, then home is in Accra. Here - in Ghana. In this land that's not so foreign anymore. In this place I've spent the last two years of my life. With these people I can't imagine living without.
For those of you who have never been to Ghana, there is nothing I could possibly say to you to help you understand life here - nothing. There is no number of words that could be spoken to even give you a hint of what it's like here. Sure you see the pictures and you hear the stories... but LIFE could never be boiled down to a few pictures or a few stories.
It's sad that none of you at home will ever really get it. That no one will ever really understand these last two years of my life. Two years that have shaped me and my relationship with God more than ten years would have back in America.
You'll never understand just how hot it gets out in that African sun - or in the house when the electricity is off. You'll never understand what it's like when all you want is a cold shower but there is no running water. You'll never understand what it's like to sleep on a tile floor when the electricity is off. You'll never understand what it's like to just want to walk somewhere peacefully but never getting the chance because there is always someone yelling, "Obruni." You'll never understand what it's like to feel like all you are is an ATM machine - being chased by kids on the street yelling, "Obruni, give me money!" You'll never understand what it's like to be hungry because you can't open the refrigerator or cook anything because the electricity is off.
And on the other hand...
You'll never understand how hilarious and amazing my students are and how much I love being part of their wacky lives. You'll never understand the peace and gratitude when you realize God is bigger than this whole world and He really is everywhere - with you - always. You'll never understand how great it is to be able to buy pretty much anything you need from the window of your car. You'll never understand how good the food is that you buy off the street - Simple Brothers! You'll never understand the pure joy of real nacho chips. You'll never understand how great it is to buy three movies that have just come out in the theater for about $8. You'll never understand what it's like to accidentally kill a baby chicken on your way to work. You'll never understand what it's like to keep your eye on that goat because just maybe today is the day Obadiah decides to leap over and attack you.
Saddest of all is you'll never understand what it's like to make friends here.
Friends that I can't even begin to explain. I've been trying for the better part of 30 minutes to just write something, anything that would do justice to the people I've met here and can't imagine living without. Maybe when I'm back in America and can look back on these two years will the words finally form. The words to say how I'll carry each of them with me wherever I go. The words to say how each of them has touched my life and encouraged me. The words to say thank you.
Today was brunch at the Golden Tulip - an annual "goodbye" brunch for those of us who have finished our contracts and are off to something else. None of it feels real yet. "You mean I'm leaving Ghana NEXT Friday???" That can't be possible! But here it is... the necklace I received as my going away gift. The necklace we've been waiting for, for an entire year. Is it really mine? Am I really leaving this place? America has never felt so far away.
We've even begun to say goodbye to some of our favorite places...
It's hard to believe that we'll never eat at Tip Top or Monsoon again. It's hard to believe that we'll never get ice cream from Frankie's again. It's hard to believe that I'll never shop at Global Mama's again.
Never, never, never...
I can't believe that I've lived in Africa for the past two years. Really? AFRICA?
Apparently, so.
I'm looking forward to starting a new chapter in life but it's hard to imagine that this chapter is ending. It's hard to not keep looking back to where I've been and it's equally hard to not keep looking forward to where I'm going. I hope to find a balance this last week and a half in Ghana that keeps me remembering and loving where I've been, paying attention to where God is taking me in the future, and enjoying where God has me right at this moment. I'm still in Ghana because my life isn't finished here yet - God isn't quite done with me.
I can only pray that when I get on that plane next Friday, God is smiling and saying, "You fought the good fight, you finished the race, and you kept the faith. Well done good and faithful servant."
I haven't always been the light God wants me to be... I know that. I haven't even always given it my best shot - I'll be honest. There have been days when all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, watch a movie, and not talk to anyone - and I've given in. But God is bigger than my bad days and my bad moods. God can do anything with someone who is willing to take a leap of faith, to make sacrifices, to suffer.
God has held me through these two years in Ghana and I know He'll take me through the end. Through leaving this place and these people. Through transition back to America. Through it all.
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