1-29-11 ILC

We arrived in Richmond at the end of Jan. 

Wed. we registered Eliz. in school and had an afternoon parent/teacher meeting for all parents of kids in her group.  There are 3 boys, 3 girls, 4 families.  Today (Fri.) her teacher said he could tell she was a good student.

We had welcome to Field Personnel Orientation on Tues., introduction of administration folks who help lead and direct it, nurse updating us on shot clinics and staying healthy while here, session with computer geeks who will help us protect our computer from nasty viruses and co.  

We have devotion times each day led by Elbert Smith, who served primarily in S. America/Mexico.  I need to see if he knows Craig ___? What is his last name?

We met Wed. night in our small group of folks going to SubSaharan Africa to choose what time Sun. mornings we would like to worship together and who could help with music.  Bart and I will lead this 1st Sun., and then we will take turns leading. One family is ISC going to Bamako, Mali to serve as Logistics Coordinator (the old Business Facilitator).  The other family is going to Kenya, I believe, to also be Logistics Coordinator.  Then there are 6 journeygirls going to Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, and South Africa.

Thurs. we also had sessions on how many times each week we will have to be sharing the gospel, and met with the teams we signed up to help with. I am helping shelve books in the adult library as I will be spending time there studying homeschooling curriculum they have.  Bart is helping on the Evangelism team.

Today we had a spiritual retreat time where for 3 hours we were to read our Bibles and pray.  We were given box lunches for lunch.  I read my readings for Read the Bible through plus some more references we were given. I also prayed for different folks God will have us cross paths with in our time in Ghana.

This afternoon we met to share our experiences. Then I went to the library to work and read, and Bart and Eliz. came to to read. We had supper. Bart and I went to Wal-Mart as  I needed to pick up a few things. We check out a van and can go where we like.  Last night and tonight Eliz. has played indoor soccer with her schoolmates and really enjoyed it. She is ready to get to Ghana whenever the Lord sees fit.

This weekend will prepare for Sun. worship. We also have to walk/jog/run a mile. We will do it again at the end and are expected to have improved our time. No problem for me as I am starting my running program I found in Runner's World 11 years ago which takes you to run 30 min.s without stopping in a very slow progression. For instance, this week I run 5 times in a session for 2 minutes, followed by a 4 minute walk.  At that pace, it's not too hard to get back in shape.

We will have deadlines each week for readings and projects.  Will write more later. Ready for bed now.

1-15-10

Elizabeth at Opryland Hotel 12-2010

These past 17 days have been very full but enjoyable. Christmas was fun with Maria and Michael visiting. Great to spend a few hours with Matthew and Amanda too.  I began going thru the house, trying to sort what would go to Ghana and what would stay. I used my experience living in the bush in Burkina Faso as a guide. While I would have liked to have taken more food, this time we are setting up housekeeping all over again.  21 years ago when we crated we were crating from a church country pastorate at $150/week (but the benefits were outstanding with the church fellowship we had), so we didn't have to struggle getting what we owned in our crates.

While I enjoyed being back at school for a couple of days January 5 and 6 to give exams, I wish we could have finished them in December so that I could have more cleanly severed that leave taking. I am encouraged by the talent and passion for teaching my replacement has.  As I was leaving school Thursday, I asked myself if I wanted to turn and take one last look--but I didn't. I was so tired and ready to break free.  I reveled in the opportunity to read and learn how to teach English to adolescents, but the work load for teachers who want to be prepared to reach their students in the public school classroom is brutal.

As we return to the field, we have 21 more years of "stuff."  What we have goodwilled and been given to help set up housekeeping in the US in 2003 was augmented when our shipment of goods from Burkina Faso arrived in the spring of 2005.  We also are taking back larger refrigerator and freezer than what we shipped before because we will have electricity.  In addition to the sleeper sofa (like what we had before), we have a double bed for a 13-year-old instead of no bedding like what we had for a 1 and 3-year-old. And then there's the love seat, the tandem bike, the old rocker recliner for Bart. It adds up. Thankfully, God has provided jobs for both of us the last 7 years so we can buy what we consider necessary from the US to set up housekeeping.  I also know what's involved in cooking and cleaning in W. Africa vs. the US. It's a great help to have a well equipped kitchen overseas.

So the 4 crates are packed. We don't know when they will ship out. We will be living out of our suitcases for the next 6 months--Virginia, Ouagadougou, then Nalerigu until the crates arrive.  This is where the real challenge comes in--the household goods destined for Africa are packed, we unloaded a substantial amount of goods Friday and Sat. in a yard sale, so now we must clean out the rest of the house and decide what is essential to suitcase life.  We are trying to work in 3 pile: Virginia, US for a couple of weeks in March/April, then West Africa.

What impressed me the most during the garage sale is the tremendous amount of stuff I had accumulated.  My prayer for the new year is to go before God for help to live more simply. I don't know if I'm brave enough to live like my sis--"if I haven't used it in a year--out it goes." But it would help me to aim for that as my goal.

I also need to be a better housekeeper.  When I confessed that to Bart, he kindly reminded me that there had been little time for housekeeping as busy as I have been teaching school.  Still, if cleanliness is next to godliness, there are plenty of people sittin' closer to God than I have been the last few years.

Time to go sort piles for Maria and Matthew of  a few more things I found for them as I was packing up the house.

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.