Dec. 29, 2010, Entertaining

Christmas was lovely with an extraordinary snowfall for Nashville. What made it even better was having Maria and Michael for 10 days and Matthew and Amanda for less than 24 hrs., but very thankful they could come (and return safely to Knoxville).  The snowfall jeopardized our last Sunday at Hobson, but most folks made it to church, and we were blessed by the church members' prayer of dedication and laying on of hands, along with breaking bread together after service.

Mon. and Wed. I am cleaning out my space at school.  I have been in 6 different rooms at Whites Creek in my 7 years here. That was God's way of keeping me from pack-ratting what I could have, yet there's still plenty to go through. I should get most moved out today.

Tuesday I enjoyed another training session at the Apple Store in Green Hills, this time on I-Life. It's amazing what one can do with media on a computer. I hope I am able to take advantage of what our Macbook Pro offers.  Just need the time--as usual. Friday I have a session on Getting Started; the 5th I have a 7 a.m. session on OS-X.  The computer is at the Apple store now for file transfer from our old Dell.

I know I entitled this blog about entertaining, so what I wanted to say is how much I have missed entertaining in our home the last 6 years. Circumstances have conspired against me, and I have not had the energy and heart, I suppose, to combat them. We have used our dining room as a study/computer center. The long, folding table we use when we have guests was converted to my desk for my school planning room when Maria moved out.  To use it in the living room requires moving a mountain of school stuff. Then, we did not live close to our parishoners, so it wasn't easy to just say, "Drop by tonight after church." My school schedule left me drained at the end of the week. Bart's bicycle job had him working late on Fridays and then needing Sat. night to prepare for Sunday.  As for Sunday lunch entertaining, I usually needed to get back to the school work to be ready for the next week. Reluctant to invite folks and then ask them to leave so I could get back to school work and Bart could finish Sun. night preparations.  But I have truly missed having friends and acquaintances eat with us. That was a regular event at Sanwabo and in Ouagadougou.  So when we return to West Africa, I look forward to getting back to entertaining.  There will be fellow missionary friends, medical personnel and volunteers passing through, church leaders and members, and hopefully some friends/acquaintances in our little town. I'm feeling pretty socialization starved.

Details and Particulars

As I am playing with my new computer, (a Mac after 5 failed PC's) I am adding links about the Baptist Medical Center where I will live summer 2011.  

About the Baptist Medical Centre (BMC)

blog about BMC

official website of BMC

History, video, photos of BMC thru Faile Foundation

For an eagle's eye view of the BMC, go to Google Earth and type in "Nalerigo, Ghana."  Google Earth has misspelled the name of Nalerigu as Nalerigo.   You can also try copying and pasting the link below.  There is another fantastic link to the BMC with tags on what buildings serve specific functions at Phillip Haun's website: HaunsinAfrica.com

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=10.519652,-0.36426025&z=16&t=h&hl=en

Counting the months to when I will dress for cold weather no more

12-15-10 Telling Students Good-bye

It was finally time today for me to announce to the first group of students that I was leaving. I had intended for this word to roll out Monday, but we have had 2 unusual days of inclement weather for December in Nashville.  Now I will have to return in Jan. to help the new teacher review, administer, and grade sophomore exams.  I'm happy someone will be helping me because that is where the numbers are--a class of 31 and a class of 22.  I got butterflies in my stomach as I anticipated telling the first class--AP Literature and Composition--and plunged in by stating how we adults are always encouraging them to pursue their dreams.  Then I shared how my dream had to been to be a missionary with my church ever since I was in junior high.  This was from what I believed as a Christian, and now the opportunity had arisen for my family to return to missionary service after an absence of 7 years.  The reaction was mixed--a couple of boys who were passing by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins raised their faces heavenward for an answered prayer, several of the girls bemoaned losing one of the teachers who had tried to teach them in their high school career.  I told the boys they could not drop the class now since I would not be there 2nd semester to make them suffer so.  I have appreciated the adults' responses to my news--that they will miss me.  And I will miss much about my job--splendid young people, preparing lessons and units which helped me learn as much or more than the students, reading literature, professional development as a teacher, camaraderie with admirable fellow teachers and administrators.  What I won't miss--disrespectful young people whose parents have no control over them or who continue with heads buried in sand about their children's responsibility to behave appropriately, nights of 4--5 hour sleep for days of teaching, grading papers, readying lessons, and caring for my own family.  He who is called to teach in US public schools is called to a ministry.  Beware if he does not treasure his own soul or respect himself.  Our young people need teachers of character as well as knowledge and love.

Commencement

This has been quite a journey if you consider it began in middle school with my commitment to going wherever God would lead me. Eight years after returning from Burkina Faso to take care of family health concerns, we now have the opportunity to return to West Africa to serve as missionaries with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in church planting and evangelism at the Baptist Medical Center in Nalerigu, Ghana. 

To reopen this book, I must close another one--teaching high school English at Whites Creek in Nashville, Tennessee.  The only thing saves me from wrenching heartache is the promise of joy in Ghana and, I must confess, the release from a grueling work schedule. Teaching high school English, however, must rannk near the top for exercising one's creative abilities and challenging one's sanity.