Arlington at the Village of Hope

A Mission Trip about...

2007-06-09T22:20:00.001-04:00

As Mark has said, we are all home and recovering! I thought I would add some "final thoughts" to add to what has already been said, and to perhaps wrap up some of the feelings I have had. And to be honest, this blog has served and will serve as a vital part of my journaling for this trip, as will the hundreds of photos and hours of video that we have taken. You can all look forward to a LONG presentation! Ok, kidding....

A Mission Trip about...

I believe that Tom Drinnen would say that the book of Daniel is not a book about Daniel, but a book about God, and how He used Daniel. And the book of Esther is not about Esther, but a book about God, and how He used Esther. And the book of Noah is not a book about Noah. In fact, it is not a book in the Bible... (did I get you?!)

While we could list a number of things that "we" did, our mission trip was not a mission trip about us, but a trip about how God could use us to accomplish a number of things. Many of the team, as well as Tommy, have mentioned so many "God stories" in this trip, and with regard to the VOH. Tommy has made many contacts with people who have the means to make a substantial difference in the financial future of the VOH. We have seen many things being worked out, with the only real answer being divine intervention.

There are several ways just in the construction of the baptistry that I could elaborate on, but suffice it to say that God made sure it was positioned exactly parallel to the bath house, which was essential to conform to the future plans of the new church building, and that the drain was perfectly centered in the floor of the bathroom. And each of these happened in spite of three significant changes in the construction method and thus the dimensions of the baptistry. Especially with the placement of the drain, we could not have measured and gotten it any closer to center. The moral of the story for me, anyway, was that when we try to center our lives on our own, we will never be able to do it. However, when we allow God to take control, He will perfectly center it, just like our drain!

I believe that the focus of the trip was to honestly look for ways that God was working in what "we" were doing. And by finding Him so involved in every little aspect of what was being done, it was much easier to just sit back, do what we saw needed to be done, and let God go to work.

The VOH certainly planted seeds in us, and we hope to use the experience to change our personal lives and our family expectations as a result. And hopefully, we can be a better example of what a Christian family looks like.

And so... we thank God for allowing us to be a part of His plan, both at the VOH and at home. And I echo Mark's "thank you" to all of you who have supported us both financially and prayerfully. What "we" accomplished was not just accomplished by those of us blessed to be there, but also by all of you who were at home on your knees praying to our awesome God!

May God bless you all, and see fit to allow us all to return to the VOH someday, and to take some of you with us to share what we have experienced!

In Him,
Jeff

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Home

2007-06-09T15:32:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the Lord for his goodness. By God's grace we arrived back to Knoxville around 9:30 p.m. last night. Everyone is well and filled to overflowing with love and experiences God gave us. We look forward to sharing many of those with our Arlington family tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, thank you for going before our Father on our behalf. I could not be more pleased with our team and what God was able to accomplish through these willing servants.

One final experience I wanted to share which made us all laugh at how God works. We shared with you all an experience at the beginning of our trip with a man from Ghana who was working at a store we stopped at right before getting to the airport in Atlanta. Well, on our way out of the airport yesterday after we collected our luggage, we made our way to the shuttle pick up to take us to our van. We parked at a place called Walley Park. As we made our way onto the shuttle, the man driving the van saw my T-shirt. He asked where we just came from. I told him Ghana, West Africa. He broke out into a smile and said that is where he was from. He was so happy to hear of our trip and even visited Fetteh this past December when he returned home as he does each year to see family in Ghana.

This was a wonderful experience to complete our mission trip - yet truly our mission will not be complete until we our home in heaven. God will continue to give us opportunities to serve and will show himself to us if we will but look and listen.

Love, grace, and peace to all -
Mark and the Team

Heading home soon...

2007-06-06T12:58:00.001-04:00

Soon we will all be headed home. The men spent the day trying to help finish up the Baptistry while the women divided up bags of clothes and shoes that were left here to be given to the children and house parents. About the time we finished, the rains came. Good ole rainy season! The temp is quite bareable today. There is a scheduled power outage in about 5 mins, so this has to be brief. We have so many experiences to share with you when we return. Tomorrow we leave here early for a little shopping in Accra, lunch, then to the airport. Please pray that we will all return to you safely. I have heard many people say they are eager to see their families at home. Bud (and the family dog) have been missed, and I have heard Mark, Michelle, and Jeff say many times they are ready to hold their children. A small tidbit of good news that is circulating: Fred has been given 50 acres of land by a local village chief to expand the VOH in years to come. Praise God! This makes his dream of someday building Hope University that much closer! For now, he is hoping to maintain things the way they are and get "good" at it before expanding.

Well, we have our mixes feelings about leaving this place, but we miss you all and can't wait to see your smiling faces! Much love and see you soon. :)

April

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Home Soon

2007-06-05T16:31:00.001-04:00

Dear Family and Friends,
First, let me thank you all for your continual prayers. Our time at the VOH could not have gone any smoother. God has been so gracious to us and kept us feeling well and allowing us to get much done for his glory.

We finished the structural work on the baptistery today as we finished the steps going up into the baptistery and the steps going down into it. It is so rewarding knowing we got this done. Tomorrow we will watch as the mason puts plaster on the inside and another man puts on the tile for the exterior. It looks great. We decided to go down to the ocean late afternoon and rinse off the sweat. It was so wonderful jumping in the waves and finding shells. The whole team went down to celebrate God's beauty and faithfulness together.

We were reminded again this past Sunday about the need for the baptistery. Two people responded Sunday and we headed to the Atlantic Ocean to God's baptistery. Unfortunately only about thirty children could go do the limited space in vehicles. A boy at the VOH named David was baptized and another individual you know very well. After Bible class before I preached, Zack Pratt, one of our teammates, told me of his desire to be baptized into Christ. Zack was baptized as a young child at the church he grew up in, but as he has been studying he has grown in his understanding of baptism and desired to be baptized again. It was such a thrill as Jeff and myself lowered Zack down as the waves of the Atlantic washed over him as he was buried with Christ. We all praised God. Danny, as we were making our way down the winding path to the ocean, Zack commented on how much he would have liked for you to be there. I reassured him that he was in spirit.

As Danny reported to us, those who preach here have around a one hour sermon. I think I made it to 47 minutes according to Jeff Cutler so Danny your 50 minutes beat me. The team has told me they want me to start preaching for an hour now so everyone at Arlington needs to start preparing themselves for this change. (Just kidding). Although I must admit the lack of concern for time as we worship our Lord is very refreshing.

Yesterday we were able to have a down day as we traveled to the rainforest and the El Mina Castle. We witnessed God's majesty of the rainforest as we walked in the canopy of tress in the only suspension foot bridge over a rain forest in the world. We then witnessed at the castle a place where terrible atrocities were committed as men and women were tortured, killed, or sold as slaves all over the world by first the Portuguese and then the Dutch. By the time the British owned the castle slavery had been abolished. The country of Ghana is now in control of the world's largest and oldest slave trading castle in the world. Thank God that slavery has been abolished and may the castle serve as a memorial to those who died and keep us from ever participating in such an act of injustice against humanity. Thank you Lord for freeing us from a life of slavery to sin. We want you to be our Master.

The team is doing very well. We have so much to share with you. This coming Sunday morning, the Lord willing, the mission team will be sharing in a combined class. I have asked all the team members to share for a few minutes what God has taught them on this journey. I will then preach a sermon on some things the Lord has shown me and Sunday night we will show slides and videos of our journey with more sharing. We will also have a finger food fellowship.

We miss you all but know we will be home soon. Truly we will all be to our heavenly home soon. While we are on our way, let's enjoy the journey and take as many others with us as possible. Please continue to pray that God will be glorified through us. We love you all.

Mark for the Team

Ghana June 4

2007-06-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

Tom Drinnen!

I will try to be brief. Having a great time.

Greeting from BJ

2007-06-02T14:00:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Today was another wonderful day at the Village. The men worked hard on the baptistery and it is well under way to the completion. The women took care of the men by bringing them water and snacks.The women also worked on the resource center organizing materials. It has rained all afternoon and into this evening heavily. We are very thankful, this area was in great need of a good rain.Please pray for more rain.

Since it rained all afternoon many of us rested and caught up. Others of us went to play with the children in their homes. I am very excited that I had a chance to come here to the Village and see all of the work that is going on. Thank you for your prayers and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

P.S. Tonight we had a taste of home with hot dogs and french fries and cookies man it was good but I really like the food that has been prepared for us.

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Rewarding feelings

2007-06-01T18:31:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, we just spent 3 days in a nearby village called Kweikrum. Highly impoverished, yet the people eager to know about Christ. On the first day, it did not take long for many of us to notice a silent, timid girl in the crowd of children with a very swollen right eyelid. It was so large, she could not get it open and was tilting her head backward to see out of it. On day 2, the eye was about the same, maybe slightly smaller. I connected with the interpereter, who asked some questions for me. The girl, Lucy (age 7), said that her said her eye had not been in this condition very long and told us it was a boil. We noticed each day that Lucy was sweating profusely. Now, it is very hot here, but she was was the only child we observed sweating like this. She constantly used the hem of her skirt to wipe the sweat from her face. She did not talk much and appeared to use every ounce of enerty she had just to attend the VBS, which required standing patiently with the other children for about a 30 minute Bible lesson, songs, and prayers.

On the third day the interpereter helped us connect with her father. He confirmed that the eye had not been in that condition long, and stated he had been putting cream on it. It appeared to me that possibly it had been lanced and drained recently, as there was evidence of a healing wound. After discussion about the girl with Mark and the rest of the mission team, we thought it would be a good idea to see if we could purchase some medicine for her, as it was obvious her body was trying to fight infection and we feared the worst for her eye without treatment. Mark talked to Tommy, who also thought the idea to be favorable, and made arrangements for us to bring the girl to the clinic.

Thursday morning, Mark told me the driver was ready for us to go and get the girl and her father and bring them to the VOH medical clinic. I was elated, both in happiness for Lucy and excited to be able to help. Tommy offered us his pickup and supplied the gas money for the trip. Justice was the driver/translater and we set off to pick up Lucy and her father. They were waiting for us when we arrived. Justice talked to the man a bit, but I was unable due to the language barrier. Lucy appeared very tired. She could barely hold herself up and was always leaning on things, always sweating. I went in to see the nurse and the doctor with them, adding the observations of our group to give the doc additional information. She told me Lucy would be treated for the eye problem, and for Malaria. Despite the prevelence of malaria in this region, I was still a bit shocked. I had no idea how badly Lucy needed this medical attention, and I was relieved that we could be there for her. It was no wonder she was so weak...

While the pharmacy filled the prescription (also located inside the clinic), I ran back to our team's house to get money. Most of the ladies were at home by that time tidying up. They gave from their own pockets to see that this child received the care she needed. The bill was 87,000 Cedi. For those who don't know, that translates to less than $9 in America.

Lucy's father thanked me several times and wanted my address. I felt like he was possibly wanting to repay the debt. On the way to take them back to Kweikrum, I asked Alex (another driver - very nice man) to explain that the debt had been paid by our entire group because we saw that Lucy had a need. I asked Alex to tell him that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and that he sent our group to his village for many reasons, one being to help Lucy. We gave freely from our hearts and we hope that he will also help those in need in the future. I could tell he was moved by what we had done for his daughter, as he had shown obvious concern for her when we approached him before. It was such a wonderful thing to watch this unfold and a great opportunity to offer an example of our faith that God will provide for our needs - something that had actually been discussed with the adults of Kweikrum on our last day there.

We later reimbursed Tommy for the gas. He was very generous to offer his vehicle and help this happen. Words can not explain the giving nature that Tommy has. The Arlington Team is truly full of selfless people who have done spectacular work here in Ghana, both physically and spiritually. I feel blessed to be a part of this team, and completely enriched by this experience. When we first got here, were were overwelmed by the sad stories of the children at the VOH, who are so sweet and loving, God-centered, thankful and talented... yet motherless and fatherless. However, upon returning to the VOH from a place like Kweikrum, we all realized how very lucky these orphans are. Anyone who is able to give to this cause, please do. If you only have $10 and think its not enough - - you couldn't be more wrong. $10 may pay for an uninsured child to visit a clinic and receive life-sustaining medication. If you do not already have a favorite charity, or if you do.. I encourage you to consider what you can do for the children at the VOH. I hope you have been as moved by this as we were. Thanks, and God Bless.

Love,

April

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Our Return... and other things...

2007-06-01T17:56:00.001-04:00

OUR RETURN HOME...

I have been asked to let you know when we are returning. Our flight into Atlanta is scheduled to land at 2:40PM on Friday. Depending on how long it will take to get our luggage, get the van, and get out, we anticipate arriving at Arlington around 7:00PM, give or take an hour! We will all be calling as soon as we can!

AND OTHER THINGS...

Today was another very hot day. They seem to be getting hotter, and the sun seems to be getting brighter each day. But we are not complaining! I have been wearing sunscreen with an SPF of 50, which is "waterproof" and "sweatproof", but I have found out it is not Ghanaproof! I have been using it twice a day - once first thing in the morning, and then again after lunch. Fortunately, I am not burned YET, but am working on it. Billie Jean found some SPF 60, so I tried it today, so we will see!

I say all of that to praise the Ghanaian workers who have been helping us with the baptistry. Peter and his brother Christmas have been helping and working very hard. Peter worked alone, but tomorrow we will have Christmas (... in June... sorry, had to say it...). There have been many times when we have had to retreat to shade and drink water, but they refuse to stop. I suppose they are a bit more acclimated to their environment than we are!

Today we completed the walls of the baptistry, and thought we would stop there. However, Peter insisted that we pour the footer for the concrete pad for the stairs going up to the baptistry. That saved a day of construction, as it will cure enough tonight for us to pour the pad and then hopefully tomorrow build the stairs on the inside and outside. Daniel, the director in charge of construction, is very pleased, and asked me if we would be able to plaster it tomorrow. That is the last step before painting, which means that if he gets done what he wants, we will actually get to see it completed before we leave. Of course, it will not have water, but it will be finished!

While not all of the team has been working on the baptistry with shovels and trowels, ALL of the team has been supportive and encouraging. They have been bringing us snacks and water regularly, and have been very positive about what we are doing. Pete was apologizing for not being able to help, as he and Bill sat and watched this morning. But we reminded him that when they come to watch and talk, they are like the "great cloud of witnesses" we read about in Hebrews 12. And I think that really sums up what we have all been for each other on this trip as we encourage each other.

While the importance of the baptistry is obvious, it is rather special in this case. We have built it outside of the building in which they worship now. However, they are going to tear that building down and construct a new building AROUND the baptistry. The baptistry will literally be the cornerstone of the new building. For the Rider's, you may recall the bath house outside the building, and behind the playground. We built the baptistry in front of the bath house, and the new building will have the front toward the clinic, and the baptistry will be in the back.

Sunday we plan to go to the ocean and take a break. Monday we will go sightseeing. I wish I could tell you where, but I don't recall! Regardless, we are looking forward to a couple days of nothing but rest! Today David and I were talking about the fact that we still cannot believe we are in Africa, so perhaps that day will bring it home for us! Tuesday we hope to paint the baptistry and have it FINISHED!

Most of the team was able to rest today. Michelle and Billie Jean worked with the preschool today and taught them some new songs. They say that the kids can now do "Toe-knee chest-nut" faster than they can...

We were able to spend some quality time with Tommy tonight to talk about how things are going here, and some future plans for the VOH and the Hope Christian Academy. Tommy is very well settled here and is "at home" with God in control. We are very happy to be here to help him even for a little while. But for family back home, I think we would all like to stay a bit longer.

Thank you for the update on Francis Maples' sister. Please keep us posted as to how she is doing, and let her know that we are praying for her and her family. While we obviously cannot be there to lend a shoulder, we are there in spirit.

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our stay, but are looking forward to seeing our families and friends when we return. Thank you for your continuted prayers. Please know that they are being heard and answered. We love you all!

In His service,
Jeff

Ghana Funnies

2007-05-31T18:02:00.001-04:00

"Perfectionist Pete"

Did anyone know what a perfectionist Pete Sasser is? One evening, we all sat down to journal in the common room. Many of us had been so busy that we had catching up to do on journaling. After hearing several rips of paper in about 30 minutes time, we all began wondering what was going on over there! Looking over at Pete, he had lots of peices of paper ripped out of his journal. It turns out he just couldn't get things perfect -- wrong date, misspelled words, etc... He had to have it just right, so he was ripping the pages out and starting over and over and over!!! This was quite fun to tease him about!

"Tall Man"

Inside the Traverse City children's dorm, we have been doing quite a bit of painting with heavy oil based sticky blue paint that quickly brought memories of the Smufrs cartoon. Mark was talking to Godfrey, our "boss" about our work when a small 4 year old child came up to Mark and began tapping him. Mark was covered in paint and was holding his wet paintbrush. After several seconds of being unnoticed, the child yelled "AYE -- TALL MAHN!! GIVE ME YOH BRUSS!!" Grabbing the brush from Mark, the child ran off to paint window sills like the rest of us. Mark is now known as "Tall Man." When Michelle pointed out to our boss that the 4 year old had the brust, he went running after him...

"Fan Lady"

Its pretty hot here, after all this is Africa. Cathy Norris was smart and brought a misting fan with her.. you mist yourself while fanning. Its quite cool. On the walk to the baptism at the beach, we passed many locals. They seem to have adjusted to the temperature in a way we "oboroni's" (this is what African's call white people) will never know. I think they must think it is entertaining to see us with our fans and wet rags, and hugamungous waterbottles. One man passing Cathy along the way laughingly called out to her.... "Aaaaaaaaaay!!! Faaaaahn Lady!!" (hey, fan lady!). We call out to her this way also, it was just too funny!

"21"

What's the first thing adults do when they meet a child? They ask the child's name and say, how old are you, right? On our first day here, many conversations went like this: "Hi what's your name. (Steven.) Oh its so nice to meet you Steven... how old are you?" Well you should have seen the looks on the faces of some of these children when they heard Lori and Cathy give their age!!! The children cover their mouths, their eyes widen and they exclaim "OOoohh!!" They think this is hilarious! Cathy told one child she was just kidding, she's really only 21. Now when he sees her from afar, he doesn't even greet her normally, he just shouts, "twenty-one! twenty-one!!!" I think he actually understands why this is funny.

This is all the funnies for now... will send more later. I also have a neat message to share with you about an experience we had today that was very gratifying. Talk to you soon! Love to all.

April

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Greetings from VOH

2007-05-31T16:40:00.001-04:00

From Dorothy---This week has been just great. I think the highlight was the VBS at the Village Kweikrom. Even Bill said he missed not going today.
We cleaned the house this morning.After that I went to the Nursery and helped with the two year olds. What a joy. We sang songs and then I read them the story Go Dog Go. I plan to help in the morning from 9- 11.
We have been blessed with electricity today . Praise God.
The children are a delight.
Keep us in your prayers.

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Faye here

2007-05-31T16:25:00.000-04:00

Faye here
Did Bobbie Lynn think to tell you when she was here writting blogs that it is hot here - well in case she forgot to --- it is. But we have all started to figure out how to keep on keeping on any way. Dee left for hom today and she (and most of us - especially me and her DeDa) cried. She said that it has been a life changing experience and I know that we all agree with her.

Just a few of the things that have made an impression on me:

The joy that you see in the faces of the children

The sound of their singing as they do their chores early in the morning - (washing, spreading wash out on the grass to dry and cleaning up the grounds are some of them)

The fact that the children start their day every day with personal alone time for 15 minutes each day

The concern and care they show for us - trying to be helpful (ie any time they see you carrying something they take it away from you and carry it for you.)

How excited they get every time they see you and how many of them bring things that they have written or drawn during the day to give us.

The list goes on and on and when we get home everyone on the team will be glad to share with you their stories and the experiences that we share at night before we go to bed.

This morning Tommy let his bird BoBo out of the cage to fly around for awhile. We thought that he had gotten loose so some kept trying to catch him. Tommy told us later that BoBo flies around and then comes home early in the evening, but we had scared him so he just went back and got in his cage instead of enjoying his free time. (I think that David Tiller was the one with the glove that kept trying to get BoBo to stay on his hand long enough to get him to Tommy's house - once again an elder spoils the fun)

Today we declared it clean-up day and you will be pleased to know that Pete and Bill Langley were kind enough to sweep and scrub the floor. Of course Pete couldn't keep from making a "joke" sign that told everyone to take off their shoes before entering and a PS that said to not put water bottles on the wooden table. The joke worked but not on others but on Pete because everyone took it seriously and you have never seen so many shoes between you and the door when you come home.

Roger Weimers, Randolph and Kennedy came by and spent several hours with us and we really enjoyed visiting with them and finding out about the work that they will be doing for the next three weeks.
Please keep them and the whole team in your prayers. We are all doing good and know that you have us in your hearts and prayers.

Keep reading the blogs - there is no way to cover it all and we are all trying to just put in a bit when we have power at the end of the day. By the way don't forget to keep praying for rain - we have only had one fairly good one and a light one another day.

In Him,
Faye

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2007-05-31T15:51:00.001-04:00

The below blog was wriiten by Billie Jean

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Hello from Ghana

2007-05-31T15:49:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. We are so thankful for your prayers and concerns while we are away. Everything is going well here. The men have the baptistery well under way and hope to complete it before our departure. Michelle. Meredith and Cathy spent the day in the library organizing. Myself, Faye and Lori under the direction and supervison of Pete Sasser and Bill Langley cleaned our home. This trip has been a huge success.

I had a chance to go alone to one of the homes for a short devotional. It went well the children lead singing and when they sing the do it from the bottom of their hearts. Some songs I may never sing again without shedding a tear.

Our last VBS was yesterday.It went extremely well. But after traveling outside of the Village of Hope it made my view point on the Village here much more meaningful. The children here are happy for a reason. That reason is that they are taught the love of Jesus Christ.

Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. Please keep us in your prayers as we complete our last days and prepare to travel home in one week.

Thank you

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Quick Update

2007-05-31T03:11:00.001-04:00

The power has been off and just came back on so I wanted to send a quick update before we begin work this morning.

Everyone is doing well. We had several feel a bit sick yesterday due to the heat but Tommy is very pleased with how much we have accomplished already by God's grace. The VBS finished up in a powerful way yesterday. We had well over 300 in attendance. The children loved their crayons, Bible story and candy. The preacher in the village was very happy and believes many will come this Sunday for worship. Emmanuel, the preacher, taught a class for the teens and adults and there was standing room only and many questions. Please pray for the people in the Village of Kweikrom and that many souls will be added to the kingdom. The poverty is extreme but the love for God is immense.

We will finish moving the teacher's lounge this morning before school begins then we will grab breakfast and head off to our duties. The Traverse City house is looking good. There is still more painting and scraping but should be done soon. We hope to pour the footing for the baptistery this morning. The digging for the footing and the trench for the drainage line is done. All the supplies were purchased yesterday so we should be rolling today. We hope to have this done before we leave.

We love you all very much and miss you. Thank you again for your prayers for us and the people of Ghana. Our lives will never be the same and we hope as we return to help share what God has taught each of us.

Because of the mighty cross,
Mark and the team

Today at VOH

2007-05-29T16:52:00.001-04:00

Hello, all from Ghana.

This is Michelle. We are going to take turns writing so that you all can hear from each of us.
We are really enjoying our stay here at VOH. After Fred's comment on Sunday about the lack of rain, God has blessed us with rain showers for 2 straight days. We have learned here that rain means electricity. Electricity means email. Email means contact with home which all of us are missing terribly.

Today was a full day of work for all of us. Fortunately, the weather cooperated with us and stayed fairly cool for most of the morning. A group of us went to the school to clean 4 newly constructed rooms...Tommy's office, the principal's office, another office, and the teacher's lounge. Tonight we are moving Tommy's and the principal's stuff up to their offices. Another group of us worked on painting the Traverse City house where they finished painting all of the interior windows and bars. The professional painters are spraying the inside walls white and our crew will help tomorrow with the outside windows and bars. The third crew went to work on the baptistry. Jeff told me that yesterday Fred A asked to meet with all of our men regarding the building of the baptistry. Our guys thought that Fred was going to tell them what to do. Instead Fred basically told the guys that he had a dream so make it happen. Jeff and David Tiller got to work with the plans and within a couple of hours had a large baptistry planned complete with a drainage system. Fred was surprised that we got busy on it so fast this morning so he order the materials today. So far they have dug the footer for 3 sides which required about a 2 foot deep, 6 foot by 5 foot hole. Then "the rain came tumbling down". So work stopped everywhere for the day.

We went back to our room for lunch and most of us rested for the afternoon. We had all worked so hard in the cool air that it was nice to take a break to just talk and relax.

Around 3:30 we left for our 2nd day of VBS. It was very encouraging for us because we doubled our numbers from yesterday. I taught in the 2-5 year old class and we had 118 kids (with a few straggling in at the last minute). We taught the children about Jesus walking on the water and Doro had prepared a craft which was a big hit with everyone. In my class, we are trying to teach them "Jesus loves me". So far we have made it through just a couple of lines but the children want to learn more and more. I have learned a few Ghanaian words to tell the children to get them to sing for us. They were so polite...sharing their chairs and sitting so still until we told them it was time to leave. Once they left though, it was an interesting scene. All of us went to the bus and waited for Emmanuel and Mark to finish the adult class. While we were waiting the children kept beating on the windows and the side of the bus to get our attention. Once they had our attention they would try to do something to get a reaction. If we reacted they would continue. Some of it was funny. Most of it was not funny. So we have decided that tomorrow we will get on the bus and not react to their antics. The kids are treating us like celebrities and wanting to hold our hands and touch our skin. We all thought that the kids were saying "My buddy" but in reality Emmanuel told us that they were saying "obrooni" which means "white people". So we had been saying "buddy" back to them. They must have thought that we were pretty silly "obrooni". In total we had around 300 people in the VBS.

When we arrived back at the VOH, we met the new interns that have just arrived from ACU and LSU. They were very friendly and obviously very tired from their trip. We have invited them over tonight to play games with us.

Reuben and Leticia had prepared yet another delicious meal for us. After dinner, April and I sat down with Leticia and Reuben for them to share their recipes with us. We are going to put a cookbook together for the VOH to sell and for all of you to enjoy the delicious food that we have been eating.

Tonight, Tommy divided the kids up into different reading and homework groups led by the interns. We were asked to join whatever group that we would like for the remainder of our stay. After that we moved Tommy's stuff upstairs to his office. He seems pleased to have that accomplished.

Tomorrow we hope (if the weather permits) to complete the painting and work hard on the baptistry.

Well, that is about all of how our day went today. So I will give you a little bit of personal information on everyone here.....

Zack is now called the "Pied Piper" because everywhere he goes the children follow him in swarms.

Bill Langley and Pete Sasser are now called Mr. Waldorf (Pete) and Statler (Bill). These were the two puppets on the muppet show that sat in the balcony and heckled everyone. Today while they were painting the took a rest to "let their paint brushes cool off" as they told their Ghanaian "boss". So he went and got them some fresh paint brushes.

Dorothy was on a mission to complete the clean up of the newly constructed rooms and as everyone at Arlington knows when Dorothy wants to accomplish something nothing will stop her. Well, she was on her way to take brooms from Lori and me when Faye Sasser step in front of her and told her "No, Dorothy, they are doing just fine. Leave them alone. Now get back over here and let's finish washing this window". Perhaps they get along as well as Bill and Pete. Now we call Faye "Dorothy's mother".

Billie Jean has decided to take care of everyone in our house. She had a blister between her toes so we told her to stay home this morning to keep dirt from getting in her sore. By the time we got home, she had cleaned most of the laundry including our sheets, towels and personal laundry. The only thing that stopped her was the fact the the electricity went off. She also left sweet notes in all of our luggage.

April is trying is become fluent in "tree" - the native language of Ghana. She has written down some phrases and words to communicate God's love to others.

Meredith has finally figured out that we are not in Kentucky and we found out today at VBS that she does not like for people to put a live bird in her face.

Cathy is adjusting to the heat quite well while using her fan that Dee Randall gave to her. In fact the Ghanaians from Fettah call her "fan lady".

Dee (Sasser) Burleson says that she is sleeping alot better with earplugs now. April had to move out of the same room. She does not want to mention any names because she does not want to offend her mother or Dorothy. Faye says, "You don't have to tell everything you know."

Mark met the chief of the village where we had VBS today. We asked Mark what he said and his reply was "You must be Mark Brackney! and you know Tom Drinnen!"

Lori got a blister while sweeping out Tommy's office this morning. So she has volunteered to work on the baptistry tomorrow morning.

David and Jeff got alot accomplished this morning on the baptistry. Well, they guided Mark and Zack every step of the way. I don't know why Mark and Zack came back to the house so dirty while David and Jeff looked so clean.

Right now I am sitting in the computer lab typing to all of you, thinking of what to tell you about myself. So I guess that I will let you know that I have intimidated Pete when I painted his shirt with the blue paint from the house. When Pete went home to shower, he realized that he now has a blue belly and stays far away from me when I have a paint brush in my hand.

I say all of this in fun. We have really bonded during this trip and are enjoying each other's company.

We love y'all bunches and can't wait to show you the pictures.

Love,
Michelle

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It is Ahhhpriil again!

2007-05-29T16:34:00.001-04:00

Have you figured out that I like to write? It was good to hear from you, Becky. Thanks for writing back! I can not tell you all how much we look forward to hearing messages from home. No matter how small you think it may be, the messages are always uplifting.

Just some tid bits and side notes... I am composing a list of "funnies" for you all to read. Mostly, just cute and funny things that have happened among our group here that we found hilarious and thought you may think are at least somewhat funny - haha! I am still collecting the details on all the stories from those who were involved.. so far I have a few about Bill Langley and Pete Sasser, who tease us a lot about how hard they are working (from their break seats, water in hand)! I'll have to tell you about the skink lizard in the house I caught. Also have some funny things the kids have said about our ladies and in conversation. There is a little girl here who just loves Pete, and she has brought him poems and stories that she herself has WRITTEN! Its just great to me, thinking that these children know how to write and use these skills for fun! I love it! Anyway, these short stories will be coming soon so stay posted! :) Pray for electricity so I can bring them to you!

There are lots of cool critters here. Beautiful birds and neato lizards and frogs. I have always loved those types of things (right dad?!). Lets see what else is new... Tommy had our money exchanged today and gave it to us. I have been fitted for a dress, which will be made by the infamous VOH's Ma Margaret. She is a very sweet lady and loves to sew for people. Bill Langley wore the shirt he had made to dinner tonight. It was the brightest loudest orange colored print you have ever seen in your life. Dorothy entered the room, and scanned the place saying "where's Bill? Hey - where is Bill????" When she realized he was standing in the circle (before prayer) right across from her we all died laughing... We realized she was unable to recognize him due to his attire being so out of character!! This place has brought us many tears and many many laughs as well. Our group is growing quickly.

Well, I'll have more stories to share later. Just wanted to say a quick hello and keep you guys coming back for more! I can't believe we've been here nearly a week. Michelle and I collected recipes from our house cooks tonight, Ruben and La Tisha. We really hit them up for the details and we wrote them all down. Can't wait for 4th Sunday fellowship in June!! Wooo Hoooo! Well, I am off to brave the swarm of termites and walk back to our house. Literally -- we have had more rain and they are everywhere!!! I wonder if they would make good fishing bait? haha! until next time, much love~

April

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News from April in Ghana!

2007-05-28T17:15:00.001-04:00

Wow! Where to begin??! The first day we spent here taking in the sights and smells of this place and meeting all the children. I am sure you have heard from many of us how the children here are always smiling. This entire time thus far, we have pondered over how children with so little can be so rich in the Spirit. God does miraculous things here.

The electricity has been on and off quite a bit since we got here. At the church service on Sunday Fred Asare - director of the VOH teased that since the Americans from Tennessee have come here, there has been no electricity! During the church service a girl named Mavis went to be baptized at the ocean. We all walked down to the ocean, about 2 miles one way. Some of the children were driven in Tommy's truck and in the bus, but most of theArlington group walked. Anyway, as we were walking home, the bottom totally fell out! I mean it! It rained an poured! Ghana cooled off to about mid 70's I guess, and it was so comfortable. About the time we changed clothes, a bunch of us decided we should use God's gift of rain to its full potential and play volleyball in it! Mark decided to join in and we teased him about being too much of a lightning rod.. haha! We later had a church service with the children Sunday evening. It was pretty much led by the children. You should hear them sing.. Jeff Cutler videoed it and I can't wait for you all to hear it during the presentation when we are home. They have a version of Kumbaya that will bring goosebumps to your skin. Their voices are so precious and full of hope.

The electricity was on most of the night last night but off all day today. We have felt moved by the children at the VOH more each day - at how little they have and yet how willing they are to share. We had a movie night the other day and gave them all one marshmallow and one sucker. The children broke off peices of their marshmallows to share, and bit off peices of their different colored suckers to exchange among one another. Amazing. Can you imagine sharing something that small? To them it is just a normal part of their culture. Today, we went to another small village -about the size of my neighborhood at home (which is less than 1/4 mile). It was about 30 minutes up the road and much more destitute. The children there stay outside all day and roam around or play whie their parents are normally farming (sometimes a mile or more away) or working somplace. Some children wore only underwear, or a sheet, only a pair of shorts for the boys... some had shoes, others did not. The homes were made of canes and mud, others were made of concrete blocks. Clothes littered the yards being dried in the sun. Chickens and goats roamed around. I have no idea how anyone knows what animal belongs to whom. But the Ghanians are very peaceful and honest people. We all got off the bus and walked along the dirt roads in this town, while an interpereter played a recording over the bull horn in their native language (called "Tree"). The message was telling the children that we were there from the Church of Christ to give Vacation Bible School. Zack took some pictures of the children and they all flocked to him and followed him! It beats me how these children know that digital cameras are, but somehow they know to pose, smile, and come rushing to you to see themselves on the camera screen! They laugh hysterically and point at one another. It is the funniest thing you have ever ever seen!

Mark (through the interpereter) gave a good lesson about Jesus feeding the 5,000 in a way that the children could understand. Their eyeballs were so focused on him and every facial expression he made... then they would look over at the interpereter (Emmanuel) for the translation. As we prayed, they shouted "Amen" after nearly each phrase with mad enthusiasm! We split them into about 4 groups to do a craft and give a treat. Mark, Faye, Pete, Meridith and I were all in the room with the 6-9 year olds. They sat in the desks of the makeshift school house as we passed out crayons and paper plates to draw pictures of fish and bread on - keeping with the lesson. They did as we did and were very well behaved and respectful. They knew only a few words of English: "Give me one, thank you, and bye bye!" We explained that we would bring the crayons back "Ochena" (tomorrow) and that we would give them back to keep on the last day. Once we passed out the candy - tootsie rolls in a baggie - they just sat there and stared at them. I had sat down to color with a boy seated in the back of the room by himself and helped him open one. He ate it and smiled. I looked around and none of the children were eating theirs! I asked Emmanuel on the ride home why this was and he told me that the children were going to take them back home to share with their parents. I wrote my name on my paper plate and before I knew it the children wanted me to write on all of theirs too!! Not knowing what to write, I just wrote my name.... and if I had a quarter for each time I wrote my name, I could buy another round trip plane ticket over here!! The children came from the other rooms for my name on their plate!! Talk about feeling like a rock star! Now I know how Cammille was feeling while she was here! haha!! Anyway, we love it here, and are having a fabulous time, learning so much and growing as a group.

I'd like to take just a moment to thank everyone who helped me get here... All the people who came to the Arlington dinners, My grandparents Jack, Evelyn, and "Nanny", my parents and my Uncle Jeff, who all donated generously as well, all extended family members, friends at work, Roger, Linda, my love Jody. Thank you all!! This experience has been truly precious. My little cousin Rowan, I hope you are able to read up on this! Miss you and hope you are well!! Talk to you all again soon - be praying for us, that we do God's work here, are safe, healthy and return home safely. Love to you all!!! Especially to the Arlington Church which I miss, even though some of you are with me. :)

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RE-FOCUSED

2007-05-28T16:54:00.001-04:00

Greetings from Ghana!

We have been without power all day, but as we went to the group homes to share in devotionals, the power came on. Thankfully we are able to spend a few minutes to reconnect with home.

Yesterday was a wonderful day at the VOH. Fred Asare delivered a very powerful lesson entitled "The Heart of the Matter: FOCUS." The lesson got me to thinking about what our focus has been, and what it should be. While we have been planning and preparing for this trip for many months, our focus has been on what we can do for the VOH. We raised over $33,000, and filled 15 trunks with school supplies, medical supplies, painting supplies, and supplies for VBS. We also raised an additional few thousand dollars to build a baptistry.

Just prior to our departure we were blessed by Brian DeBusk's generosity of his home for a team-building dinner and devotional. Mark asked each of us to share what we wanted to give while we were here, and what we wanted to get. A break from the hustle of our busy lives was a common answer for those things we wanted to get. Also popular was the opportunity to reflect on our spiritual lives and our relationships with God. By far, the most popular response for what we wanted to give was a hug and a smile to a child. I would suppose that these seem to be reasonable and valiant responses.

HOWEVER....! As I sat in worship services yesterday morning, I realized that at least my focus was short-sighted. We are surrounded here by 120 or so children who have no family but each other. Their bedrooms are long rectangular rooms painted white, with 6 sets of bunkbeds. And then there are their belongings. Basically a pile of clothes in one corner, and eventually a trunk for each kid. But to hear them sing, and thinking in "American" terms, you would think that they were the wealthiest people in the world.

Well, as I continued to think, perhaps they ARE the wealthiest people in the world! But they have a wealth not measured in bank accounts or possessions, houses or cars. They have a wealth measured only in Kingdom terms. They understand Jesus, I think, more than we do. And so, I wonder if our focus should not have been how we can help the VOH, but how the VOH can help us. And perhaps the bigger change should not be here, but at home. Brothers and sisters, I have to admit that they "get it" here. Their living conditions may not hold a candle to ours, but they get it. We need to get it too!

Fred started by apologizing to "the Tennessee brothers and sisters" for not having rain or power at night since our arrival. A few days prior to our arrival, a few people came from Harding in Searcy, Arkansas, and they had had rain and power each night. But then he said perhaps we should be apologizing to them for sending the rain away! Well, apparently God is a Volunteer because that afternoon we had monsoons! Mark asked Fred if he was going to go forward next week for making such a statement!

Please lift up Mavis in your prayers, She is one of the older kids here, and she committed herself to Christ and put Him on in baptism on Sunday. We celebrated with her on the beach as Tommy baptized her in one of the largest baptistries in the world.. the Atlantic Ocean!

Several of us walked to the beach, and it was on our way back that the rains came. Tommy came back and picked us up just in time, but when he dropped us off, he asked me to check his windows in his house. By the time I got to his front door, I was drenched. So, I walked back while everyone was on the porch telling me to hurry. Long story short, about 15 minutes later Zach, Michelle, Billie Jean, Mark, April, David and myself, along with the two interns, were on the volleyball court playing. It only took a few minutes for a dozen or so kids to run from their shelter to join in the fun. We were finally thoroughly cooled off, while they were freezing! As soon as David Tiller showed up, the rain stopped and we all went in. Just like an elder to spoil the fun....

Today we travelled to Kwakrum for the first day of VBS. It was just like Danny's pictures! We had about 150 people, with the older teens and adults asking alot of questions, and looking forward to tomorrow. Michelle, Lori, Cathy, Zach, Dee and Billie Jean started teaching the 2-5 year old children "Jesus Loves Me." It was beautiful! Most of the kids wore only a portion of what we consider a full set of clothes. Some in only underwear, some in only a shirt. But they stood intently, and they all sang in beautiful chorus a Ghanaian song that includes the words "our God is good." It really puts things in perspective!

We hear that Danny did a fabulous job on Sunday and that there was a large attendance, in spite of so many being here. Praise God for how He has blessed and continues to bless us each day!

We love all, and miss you dearly! (Keep hugging our children!)

God bless!

Jeff

A Day of Painting

2007-05-26T12:46:00.001-04:00

Greetings for Ghana,
Power is on so we wanted to get out another update. Everyone is doing great. The team has bonded so well. How wonderful it is to work with a loving team who understand the importance of working together for a common good. We stayed up late last night playing a fun game Jeff and Michelle taught us and closed the evening in a devotional that brought tears. We have all been touched deeply by what we have experienced. In some ways it seems that we have already been here for weeks by what we have experienced.

Everyone has adjusted well to the heat. This is a real answer to prayer. We drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Today we did the scraping and indoor painting of one of the group homes. They were amazed by how much was accomplished. Besides Jeff and Zack getting into a paint fight (just kidding but they did leave a few marks on each other) we had a blast. We did quite a bit of singing while we worked and our paint foreman, Godfry, taught us a new Ghanaian song.

Tonight we will have a movie night with the children. We will show Cars compliments of Joseph Cutler, his favorite movie and he wanted to leave a copy with Tommy, and we will also hand out a special candy treat.

We look forward to worshipping with the church here at the Village of Hope in the morning. As we worship here, we will be united with you in Spirit.

We got word about the death of Katherine Austin. We are lifting up Ken and Becky and all the family in our prayers. We are thankful Katherine is released from her suffering and now home with her God. But we also hurt for Ken at this tremendous loss.

We serve such an awesome God and continue to praise Him for his love, faithfulness, mercy and grace. Please keep those prayers going.

We love you all,
Mark and the team

Our Arrival

2007-05-25T13:23:00.001-04:00

Greetings everyone,
Thank you all so much for your prayer coverage. Our travels could not have gone any smoother. All eighteen of our supply totes arrived safely along with our personal items. We spent time today unloading and organizing the medical and school supplies. Tommy is so grateful for everything you sent.

We had a wonderful experience on our way to the airport on Wednesday. Outside of Atlanta, we stopped for gas and lunch. Across the street from the Wendy's we ate at once a grocery store. Michelle Cutler went over to buy some M & M's for the children and at the check out there was only one lane open. When she got to the clerk, he noticed her Ghana team T-shirt. He is from Accra, Ghana and has been to the Village of Hope. How cool is our God. That gave us all a wonderful dose of encouragement at the beginning of our mission. Several of us went back to the store for a picture with Wisdom (his name). We have been asking God for wisdom so why shouldn't he show wisdom to us!!

We got to the Village of Hope around 9 p.m. last night. The power was off and came back on this early morning. It is intermittent at best so I'm not sure how many emails we will be able to get out. We will do our best. Continue to pray for rain. It is so badly needed.

Here is our schedule so far: Tomorrow we will begin work on the new concrete baptistery. The new church building will be built around it one day. That is a great cornerstone! We will also be painting one of the houses where children stay. It is the Traverse City house (built with funds from the Traverse City Church of Christ). Bob Chism, son of George from Traverse City and minister of the Prestoncrest Church of Christ) will be here next week to teach a seminar for the staff. We will be laying stone pavers around the school house and help move furniture and supplies into several new classrooms. The second level on the school house has been completed and they will begin work on the third story. Next Monday - Wed. will be our VBS at a village. We could have up to 500 people in attendance. We spent some time as a team after lunch putting our materials together for the craft projects. We have much to do and by God's grace we can get many projects accomplished. Tonight we have singing and tomorrow night we have a movie night with the children. I will get to preach this Sunday or the next here at the Village of Hope.

We got a tour today of the Village of Hope and it is amazing all that God is doing here. They will receive ten or more new children next week and they will be maxed out. The children are beautiful and full of life. You can see the love and confidence they have received by the staff. God is doing an amazing work here.

It has been great to be with Tommy and we continue to pray for him and his ministry here. He is so busy living for the King. I can picture the Rider family everywhere I go. We just shot some hoop with some of the boys across from the home where the Rider's stayed. I can almost see them in the front of their home in my thoughts. I do understand why they miss it here so much. Ma Victoria sends her love to you all Riders and Comfort sure does miss Camille. The children enjoyed the notes you sent to them and Reuben loves the chocolate chips. Danny and Bobbie Lynn, you were right about how good Reuben and Leticia can cook.

Bud, Cathy is staying hydrated and as cool as possible. Dorothy hasn't taken any hikes yet but we were taking bets to see if she could beat the metro train in Atlanta that took us to the correct terminal. Bill keeps us in stitches with his funny jokes. Zack and Ernst are enjoying basketball teamwork and Meredith is a natural with the children. April makes friends with everyone she meets and the Cutler's have many children to hold in their as they miss terribly Joseph and Danielle. Billie Jean is also doing wonderful and there is not a child far from her. The Tiller's have been such a blessing with their leadership and support. I am so thankful one of the elders is with us on our journey. The Sasser's and Dee have fit right in with our group and we are all working together wonderfully.

There is so much to tell but little time. Please know that we are doing great and we all know how important your prayers are.

We love you,
Mark and the team

2007-05-24T08:28:00.000-04:00

Arlington's Ghana Mission Team for the Village of Hope

(L to R) Jeff and Michelle Cutler, Zack Pratt,Meredith and Cathy Norris, Lori and David Tiller, Dorthy and Bill Langley, Billie Jean Coleman, April Wallis, Mark Brackney. (Not Pictured) Pete and Faye Sasser and their daughter Dee Burleson.

First Posting from Arlington Mission Team

2007-05-21T08:12:00.001-04:00

Greetings,
Yesterday we had a wonderful day at Arlington. We praised and thanked God for the five weeks of ministry the Rider's did at the Village of Hope. Danny showed us pictures and told many stories of their work during a combined Bible class. We did not want to stop. Danny will be preaching next Sunday morning and will tell the Arlington family more of their journey and what God taught them.

During my lesson, we had the elders come and surround the Rider's and the twelve others departing this Wednesday morning. Tom Drinnen led a beautiful prayer thanking God for his protection and guidance for the Rider family and asking God to bless the mission team about to depart. I then led a study through Numbers 13 and 14 the importance of having eyes of faith. This is the story of the sending of the spies into the land of Canaan. Ten spies gave a report of discouragement and despair while two spies (Joshua and Caleb) knew with God's help it was time to claim the land God had promised them 400 years earlier (Gen. 12). Do we have eyes of faith or unbelief? Do we have a grasshopper faith or a victorious one? You will have to read Numbers 13 to understand that grasshopper comment.

Pray that our mission team will have the faith of Joshua and Caleb as we encounter giants of various kinds. We know God is able to accomplish His will through us if we trust Him. Pray we will be a blessing to Tommy and the work at the Village of Hope and not a distraction. We do not want to be a high maintainance group but rather one that quickly adjusts to the new surroundings and will surround the children and staff at the Village of Hope with love.

We look forward to what God has in store for us. Thank you for your prayers.
We will depart for Atlanta on Wed. morning. Our flight leaves at 4:30 p.m. We will arrive about 24 hours later in Accra. We will post as we are able according to the power supply and keep you informed.

So you can pray for us by name, the mission team is made up of the following: Bill and Dorothy Langley, Meredith and Cathy Norris, Zack Pratt, April Wallis, David and Lori Tiller, Jeff and Michelle Cutler, Billie Jean Coleman, Pete and Faye Sasser and their daughter Dee Burleson, and Mark Brackney.

Blessings,
Mark

2007-05-14T01:26:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the Village of Hope from Bobbie Lynn!
We are all doing well and miss everyone. We just can't believe our 5 weeks are coming to an end! It has been an incredibly awesome experience and we thank all of you for your part in our being here.
I wanted to tell about a couple of experiences we've had recently. Last Friday nite we had our 1st "official" rain. I say official because it had rained a few times before, but nothing like this! Jim, you were right! All day Firday it was cloudy on and off and as the day went on the wind really picked up, always welcome. Right before supper it began to pour - people and kids scattered everywhere. The winds were incredible during the rain. Danny was out in it and he said it was pelting him pretty hard! It let up a little by the time we headed to the church building for singing at 6p. Everyone had rain gear on and some of the kids had thick sweaters and jackets on! It really cooled off and we actually slept under our sheets that nite! We had to hurry and close some of the windows so it wouldn't rain in on everything! Thursday nite we had no electricity from 6p - 6a and it had been sweltering hot and very hard to get comfortable and go to sleep. But, Friday nite is was much better! During the singing class - there must have been at least 150 people there - it began to pour again. Remember, this building is walled 1/2 way up with screen windows and a tin roof! No one got wet, but boy was it loud! Those leading the singing had to practicaly shout, but we managed to overpower the noise with our voices! Now I understand better what it means to make a joyful noise to the Lord! It was all really quite fun and thrilling to be there and hear us singing praises to God. Church at home will never be the same and will seem rather uneventful! Danny even commented the other day "I can't imaging having to drive to church anymore!" We have gotten quite use to services with no electricity, walking home from church by moonlight (you don't even need flashlights most of the time!), lizards crawling on the screens (on the outside!), having the preacher preach for an hour or more, the entire assembly kneeling in prayer at times, hearing close to 100 children singing at the top of their lungs, wearing flipflops to church with your nice dress and they don't even match the dress, always making sure you a water bottle with you, sweating profusely at times, the unrelenting heat under a tin roof all while sitting in plastic chairs! I mean, it just doesn't get any better than this! Although air conditioning would be a plus! Sometimes it seems unbearable and you want to get up and leave, but somehow you always make it through!
Now for reality after the rains! Saturday we kept noticing these bright red fuzzy bugs crawing all over the ground! I asked Charles - one of the kids (about 14 yrs old) about them. He promptly picked one up and it rolled into a ball. They don't bite or anything, he said they come when the rains come! All was well later that evening - power had been out all day today 6a - 6p, so when it finally came back on we turned the outside porch light on, just after dark all these bugs and crickets were in the house, apparently coming in under the door! They were all harmless, but ugh! Danny sprayed and we turned off the outside light. Welcome rains! We'll have to be much more diligent with the bug spray for us and for the house. All the houses here have screen doors except ours! It would help some, so we'll have to recommend this for sure. We have lots of ants here from time to time. The only difference is they are extremely tiny and they move like lightening!
The electricity has been much more erratic lately. You just never know about it. It was off all day Saturday, came back on around 7p, then I noticed several times during the night it went off and on and finally on by the morning!
Sunday morning Danny and Davis traveled to a village church outside of Accra to preach. Danny had a study with a student and he wanted to know about baptism, Danny explained as best he could and he decided to be baptized. They filled the baptistry during services and baptized him after! Sunday evening at church they had our family come up to the front and sit in chairs after services. The men surrounded us and prayed for our safe journey home. Very humbling and special!
God bless all of you and we should be seeing you all very soon!

2007-05-13T16:33:00.000-04:00

Happy Mothers Day!! & Happy Thanksgiving!!

Some of you may think the heat has finally gotten to Danny. No it is not the heat and of course I am thankful for my Mother and all she has done to encourage me along in life. The Happy Thanksgiving is related to my day on Friday. I had the priviledge to meet and worship with a group of Christians from Liberia at the Liberian refugee camp about 45 min from the VOH. I could not tell you how many reside in the camp but it was packed. They are living here as a result of Civil war which has ravaged Liberia over many years. We met in their church building and the Thanksgiving is in regards to the second anniversary of the Child Care Foundation. This is a foundation established within their community to take in and provide for orphaned children from the civil war. They are helping to educate and provide health care for the children. They are hoping and planning to create a village based upon the model of the VOH in Liberia in the town of Flayla (sp). Flayla is a place many of us from the Arlington Church are familiar with. As many of you know the Drinnens Tom and Anita and Tommy and Susan their children spent several years doing medical and evangelistic missions. There were probably 50 children present and 20 adults. The children are so very similar to the children at the VOH. Very loving with beautiful smiles because they have HOPE in their future.

Tommy asked me if I would go there and speak at their Thanksgiving celebration for what they have accomplished and for the plans they have to go back and rebuild. I told him it would be an honor. He said I needed to let them know of the Arlington ties to the region and the prayers and assistance offered over many years. I was totally honored to do this and as I thought of what to say, my mind went back to the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the Temple and Wall of Jerusalem that the exiled children of Israel were facing. I stressed the first steps that they took which was to rebuild the altar first and make right their relationship with God before they did anything else. Prayers to mend and make right after admitting the error of their ways. They endured much opposition from enemies and neighbors as they took on the Temple, but God showed up as he always wants to and proves he is behind them. How do we know? Their enemies and opposition wound up paying for the whole reconstruction. That is so much like God to put such an exclamation point on that story as well as Nehemiah's story in rebuilding the wall.

I encouraged them to place their petitions and plans before God and commit themselves to glorifying God in the process and He will make those plans become reality. I also mentioned to them about a little red headed white boy from Knoxville Tennessee who has been praying for the work in Liberia and two men Charlie Pagar and George Tokba(sp) since the 1970's. We had a wonderful day together and Fred Asare spoke to them also with his words of encouragement. I was honored to represent Arlington that day and I pray that God was glorified in the process.

Thanks for all of the continued support for our family.

We love you all and again Happy Mothers Day to all of our Moms.
Danny and Bobbie Lynn and the kids.

2007-05-12T14:57:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the Village of Hope from Bobbie Lynn!
I have been priviledged to witness and slowly begin to understand the power and importance of prayer. As I stated earlier in regards to the prayer sessions we've had and how the people here and especially missionaries we've come in contact with and their prayers, it is so incredibly necessary. My life in America is relatively easy and most of the day to day is mundane and I just sort of coast mostly there. It doesn't mean I need God any less - I just found I didn't realize how much I needed to communicate with Him there. Here, where life at least seems more complicated and not quite so normal, I find I can't get along without Him. When we were at the retreat, Camille acted like she was sick and didn't feel well. I had not taken many meds with me there and my stuff at the VOH was 2 hours away. I simply prayed to God and explained my predicament and asked for His mercy and healing. She settled right down and God took care of it. Now I also realize He could have let her be sick, but at least I chose to pray and try to trust that He knew best and would get me through no matter which way it went. When you are so hot and there is no breeze and you think you just can't take it anymore - you find yourself turning to God! There are so many needs and you just can't meet them all nor can you do much about them physically, but you can always pray! So, I remind myself and encourage you to turn everything and anything over to God in prayer.
We are nearing the end of our stay here. Please pray for us as we have to say good bye to so many precious people and transition back to home, as well as for our safe travel. Thursday will be a very long day. We leave the VOH around 4:30am and are "supposed" to arrive in Nashville around 8:30 or 9pm! Whew! We will try to give more specific details either in emails or on the blog later! Hopefully we will make our 10 hour flight from Accra to New York - yet another prayer request! We are very anzious to see everyone! We shold arrive in Knoxville Friday afternoon/evening. It will depend on how easily we can leave family in Nashville!!! We just want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts who contributed in some way to our being able to come here. We love and appreciate you all so very much. Please continue praying God's will and guidance as we make decisions.
God bless you and and Lord willing we will be seeing your smiling faces soon!

2007-05-11T02:36:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the VOH from Bobbie Lynn!
Sorry it has been so long since updating everything! We were gone over the first part of the week and 2 college groups are here, so it is hard to find time to get to a computer! It is now 6:30am on Friday and we saw Tommy heading to the computer lab, so we jumped up and literally ran here!
This past Sun - Mon our family went to Cape Coast, just west of Accra, to a missionary retreat at the Coconut Beach Resort Hotel. It is for missionaries all around West Africa, i.e. Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Burkim (sp?), etc. Thanks to our elders we were priveledged to attend! Tommy was supposed to go, but just couldn't leave and urged us to go. We stayed in an awesome place. The rooms were AIR CONDITIONED, and we had a 2 bedroom unit. There was a pool, ocean front and beach, all the meals were served buffet style under a grass roof pavilion overlooking the ocean! There were about 7 or 8 yound families with kids ranging from 12 to under 1. After counting at one point there were over 30 adults and over 20 kids! There were some singles and older couples as well. Most have been in the field from 5 - 20 years, one couple will be retiring this year with 40 years service! They were all just awesome people. They have all been gracious and kind to us. It was truly a welcome reprieve for us. Never, ever take electricity and air conditioning for granted - God gives and He takes away - as we have so learned. I understand they have a huge generator for when the power is out there - one of the gentleman said it ran full blast all day Sunday! However, just on the other side of the walls of this compound is the real world. Just getting here was an adventure! Cape Coast is a pretty large bustling town, but poverty reigns, just like everyhwhere in Ghana. The streets here are very narrow, people are walking everywhere as always carrying stuff on their heads. You see sheep, goats, chickens, cows - we even saw one very large pig out in the streets. This is also a fishing community as well. The road to this place was dirt and very bumpy with deep holes. But once you get past the compound walls - everything changes in an instant. It is just a reminder that people everywhere need God and they need Him desperately - we have to be shining lights no matter where we are.
We are truly thankful to our elders for the opportunity to go and be there! We are learning lots. At times it is just so overhwelming and it is hard to sort everything out. We just keep praying for clarity, God's will and direction. We plan on spending the 1st month back in prayer asking for God's clear direction. But for sure, this is not about us! I don't know how many times we have repeated that to each other. We feel very small here, there were many people at the retreat and even those at the VOH who have done so much. Our part seems very small and insignificant. And then there are times when you just hold one of the children's hands, or lean down to talk to them or give them a hug or encouraging word and they just light up! It is something very small and anyone of us would do it for them in a heartbeat - but it really means a lot to them! God does work in mysterious ways and the verses in the Bible about helping widows and orphans and all the ones about how God loves little children mean so much more now. Boy, it is really not about us! It is about God and his glory! He is good!
I wanted to include the words to a couple of songs we sang at the retreat, they say what I am feeling so much better:
Sweet Adoration
Sweet adoration,
Flows from your children.
Glory and honor and praise
Are a part of our constant devotion.
Love set in motion
For the Divine One
Who reigns in our hearts.

When I am troubled
By heartache and struggle
I come and adore you.
You take me away from
All worldly sensations
And endless temptations
All of my trials
Are lost in your love.

Knowing You

All I once held dear, built my life upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own.
All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
Spent and worthless now comparied to this

Chorus:
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You,
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love you, Lord.

Now my heart's desire is to know You more.
To be found in You, and known as Yours.
To posess by faith, what I could not earn,
All surpassing gift of righteousness.

Chorus

Oh, to know the pow'r of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings.
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with you to live, and never die.

Chorus

We love you all dearly, God bless!

2007-05-03T11:51:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the VOH from Bobbie Lynn!
Hello everyone! It is another hot and humid day here in Ghana! It is absolutely beautiful weather, just very, very hot! I wanted to describe a typical for us here at the VOH. As I mentioned earlier, we usually rise around 6am to birds singing and children singing and screen doors banging. We always have all the windows open, so you hear most everything, especially if the power is out. If the power is on the fans kind of drown out some of the outside noise. We have breakfast around 7:30 or 8, which ususally consists of cereal, johnny cakes, banana bread, french toast or eggs and biscuits (we are eating pretty well!) We boil water, clear the table, and wash dishes, put sunscreen and bug spray on, make sure we have water with us and head to the library. The library is up the hill from our house at the school. You can see it from our house, so it is not that far, but by the time you get there you are dripping with sweat and burning up hot! Some of the kids here usually notice and start following us as well. At least 2 or 3 girls surround Camille and they hold hands or have their arms around each other all the way there! It is really sweet. Some of the bigger girls usually end up carrying her, and Camille always says over and over, "Mommy, look!" We usually stay from 10 - 12 or so. Tommy asked if I would take over the reading program while here. He is trying to get the kids interested in reading. For every 10 book they read, they get a free book and for every 100 they go with him to Accra for lunch! About 15 have already made it to 100! One boy, Eric age 10 or 11, looked at me one day and said, "reading is just so interesting, you get started and you just can't stop!" I think he's hooked! Most of the time I am recording all the books they read, Tommy finally had to put a cap of putting down only 5 books a day! Those in grades 3 and up have to write a summary of the books they read! It has been a lot of fun getting to know their names and how they are reading. Lunch is pretty simple, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, a veggie and/or fruit, cookies, etc. Then boil water, wash dishes, and rest for a little while. We head back to the library around 2 until 4 or so. By this time the kids are out and playing games, football (soccer), basketball, or sitting under a tree and hanging out. Some have chores, etc. Our kids are always anxious to get out and play. Davis usually comes in for dinner covered head to toe with dirt and sand! We start supper and the usual routine of cleaning. Most evenings we have a devotional or Bible study or church related function. It is usually completely dark around 6:30, so whenever you leave after supper, you make sure you have a flashlight with you. We realized the other night that we were not using our flashlights nearly as much as in the beginning. The kids here rarely have flashlights, they just roam around in the dark. Most of the time the sky is clear and the moon very bright, we have found we don't really need our artificial light, plus we know our way around. You just have to be careful stepping, because the ground is not very even and there's lots of rocks around! Depending on the electricity situation, we may go on home and just go to bed, or sometimes we'll visit with the kids playing around outside on their porches. It is usually better to get a shower at night before bed, to cool you off more than anything. We are all really enjoying our time here and love getting to know the children!
Please continue to pray for rain, everyone says this has been a very odd year with no rain starting yet. It has been very hard with the electricity always going out on everyone!!!
We love you all and miss you terribly, please continue to email us, it is a real treat to come to the computer lab and check email! God bless you all!

2007-05-02T05:53:00.000-04:00

Father We Adore You....
Hi Ellen here!!! I was going to tell you about the most resent baptism of Benadicta.
She is very sweet and she was Baptized last Saturday. She is in High school and was here on a break when she committed life to Christ! On Saturday morning we all crowded in to the back of Tommy's truck to drive down to the beach because they don't have a baptistery(which is something that the group from Arlington might work on while they are here.) When we got there we all crowded around her and started singing this song Father we adore you, and we lay are lives before you, how we, how we love you"
Then "Spirit" and finally "Jesus." I had these huge goosebumps and tears in my eyes.
Then she and Obochy???? walked into the water but the waves were to high and so she ended up being baptized by Tommy and Obochy. Then after she walked back to us we again surrounded our new sister singing by her request Happy Day. I will never be able to describe the thrill it was to watch that! But that is the best I can do and I hope you at least have a glimpse of what it was like.
With Lots of Love
Ellen

2007-05-02T05:44:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the VOH, from Bobbie Lynn!
We love and appreciate you all even more while we are away. I hope everyone is well.
I have another very important prayer request. The rainy season is supposed to begin in Arpil and lasts til July/Aug. Immanuel Effeh (one of the house parents) stopped by our house yesterday morning to remind us to pray for rain. He explained everyone here has already planted for the season, but everything is dying because of the heat. He was very concerned for himself as well as all of Ghana. It has only rained here about 3 times since we arrived. When you don't live a farmer's life - as most of us in America do not - and you always go to the store for your needs you tend to not realize the significance of rain! Our lives as Americans here in Ghana is still radically different from theirs. I guess that may be stating the obvious. We are currently living in what will be the substitute house parents home and although we have all the basics we need there are a lot of things missing (at least to us Americans.) For example there is no mirror here! A few days after we arrived, Tommy let us borrow an armoire which has a small mirror attached. When I questioned Tommy about getting one for the house parents in the bathroom over the sink he said "oh, no, the Ghanaians don't have or use them! Now in reality, I have been glad we have not had much of a mirror because I feel like I look bad enough as it is with the heat and all!!! Ignorance can be bliss sometimes!!! In the kitchen there are no cabinets or shelving, just plastic tables, a fridge, a small propane stove and a double sink with a draining board attached to the wall. Pretty basic. I have been in one of the group homes and their kitchen was just like ours! Again, when I asked Tommy about getting some things for them to use to leave behind he said "oh, they won't even do their dishes at the sink, they'll wash them outside!" I have been relying on the grocery at least weekly to buy food - canned good, frozen foods, bread, eggs, fruits/veggies, etc to get all the basics and to feed us. Their diets are pretty standard and doesn't change much. Again, maybe I'm stating the obvious facts, but I never realized fully how different we are at times. In our homeschool studies we've learned a lot about other cultures and how others live - their daily lives, eating habits, and environments, but living in another culture has really opened our eyes. I do miss a lot of things at home and some of the conveniences, but we have realized that we can live on and with a lot less! According to Tommy the guest houses are basically set us for Americans and their preferences. Even the shower in our house is just a narrow room with a drain in the floor and a shower head and spigot! It is rather nice and easy to use, just a little different. The children here as I stated earlier bathe once a day. They have scheduled times either am or pm. They carry a bucket of water from their group home with a towel, soap and toothbrush usually and carry these on their heads down to the bathhouse! I have not been there, but they bathe with a bucket of water, change, wash their clothes out, then hang them up on the line on the way back to the houses. Sometimes they wash clothes at the spigot next to their house and lay them in the grass to dry. We get to use a washer at one of the guests houses and maybe a dryer (if it is not broken!) The dryers use a lot of electricity, so we tend to lay our clothes over plastic chairs at our house or on the clothesline behind Tommy's house, of course using any of these depends on whether the electricity is on or not! Even as I am writing this 2 little girls about 5 or 6 yrs old are hanging their clothes on the clothesline!
So, please pray for rain!!
We are all getting ready for the graduation this Saturday, it will be very exciting to be a part of this! Some of the high school students who reside here have gone back to their boarding schools this week. I told one of the girls that in America no one goes away from home until college, it would make me very sad to let any of my children go away after 9th grade! She said she did really miss her parents and the home cooked meals! But she goes to a Church of Christ high school somewhere in the mountains (yes, she said it was cooler there!)
Well, we all really miss everyone. We are all well, no major problems. It is hot as always, but you do the best you can. Take good care of each other, keep praying for all of us here, especially those who live at the VOH, and start praying fervently for rain! Tommy is taking really good care of us, pray for him also.
God bless!

2007-04-29T11:12:00.000-04:00

Counting Our Blessings !!

Good afternoon from the Village of Hope! From Danny

I told Bobbie Lynn I think she probably has a better way with words than I do when it comes to trying to capture our experience here and the things we are learning. Yesterday we were planning to have a very special evening for the kids. We had planned a movie night with ice cream and we were all very excited about the event. All of the preparations had been made and we were all anticipating that ice cream. Then just as we all came together and began taking our seats for the movie as it got dark, the power went out. Bummer. But this is the way things go in Africa. Anita Drinnen has a saying WA WA (West Africa Wins Again), I so totally understand that saying now. We debated on just having the ice cream by itself, but we wanted it to be a comprehensive fun time, so we postponed the event to Monday evening. Needless to say it was a sticky night.

Today we assembled to have our morning worship services. Once again the hearts of these children sing without boundaries. I was informed yesterday that I would be preaching today and so I was as prepared as you can be in half a day. It was a good morning and we talked about striving to keep ourselves from being modern day Pharisees who seek to exclude, isolate, restrict and confine. Instead we used Jesus as the standard in Luke 15 when he pointed out to the Pharisees the value of "tax collectors and sinners", the value of those who are lost. Just like the lost sheep which has value, just like the lost coin which has value and more importantly a wandering son who is lost has value. Our main emphasis was on that older brother whom Jesus is using to portray the Pharisee's attitude. That older brother really wanted to say, "Dad That's not Fair what you are doing for this son." We noticed that he won't even acknowledge that this is his own brother. It was the same with the Pharisees, they did not think it fair that Jesus should offer the Kingdom to "those sinners" that he should sit and eat with them as he did in Luke 5.

I wish that I were able to capture the hugs of these children and their smiles and bring them home to each of you. You would never be the same.

I want to relate one thing that happened to Davis and I this morning. We were going to run the trash to the outer limits of the VOH in which there is a garbage pit, in which they periodically burn all of the trash. As we approached the pit, there were children not from the VOH all over the trash that was in the pit. When they heard us come up they stepped back to the outer rim of the pit. When we threw our trash into the pit, they immediately ran for it and began to dig through it. Davis had a hard time believing that these children would want to do that. He asked why, and I was really at a loss for words. I don't really know if they were looking for food or if they might be looking for something else. I told him it is hard to believe that something we regard as trash can be treasure for others.

We need to thank God Daily for our Blessings and all that has been done for us.

We appreciate your prayers and continued support.

Love,
Danny, Bobbie Lynn, Ellen, Davis and Camille

2007-04-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

Greeting from Bobbie Lynn at the VOH!
Well, we are a little back to normal since we have our water supply restored! What a relief to be able to walk into the bathroom and water comes out of the faucet, you can flush the toilet without using a bucket of water to fill the tank, you can wash dishes, and your hands! We were just thankful the guest house was empty! What we take for granted is just incredible!
I wanted to apologize for not sending any more emails and blog updates than we have. The electricity doesn't always cooperate and when you get a chance, either the room is locked or you are just so busy!
The kids have really adjusted well. They will be very lonely when we get back home. There is always someone to play with here. In the afternoons they play basketball or soccer or just sit under a tree near our house! It is really neat seeing them play with the kids. I must mention that the VOH kids are on a holiday break for 3 weeks! When they start back to school it will be very different! The house parents are just great here! Ma Margaret made Ellen, Camille, and I Ghanaian dresses! We can't wait to wear them to church tomorrow! The house parents have so many children, but everyone seems to understand the rules and they all have jobs to do. Ma Lydia is the one who keeps everyone in line during church on Sundays especially! She gets up and moves children around or just makes them stand if they are going to sleep! We sit in church for 3 hours! She is really good at what she does. Class on Sundays is from 9-10, we sing, pray, read scripture from 10-11, and the sermon is from 11-12. Mark, we will be expecting more when we return! Ha! Ha! The building is walled half way up and the top is screened in. It has fans and lights, but if the electricity is off, you pray for a breeze!!!! At night if the power is out, we use flashlights and battery powered flourescent lights. The singing is phenominal, the voices are loud and strong with great harmony. We hope to teach you all some new songs! Usually one of the younger boys leads the singing.
Did I mention it was hot here?! I find myself at times just having to lay down and rest! It is really draining on you! Just walking up the hill from our house to the school or church makes you hot and sweaty! I never knew it was possible to sweat all day long! I'm just very thankful for good clean water which is readily available.
I have been struck by the Godly vision of these people. Fred Asare has done an incredible job of sharing his own Godly vision with not just the children, but staff and house parents as well. We participated in the Thanksgiving Prayer Service for the JSS3 students (9th graders) who finished their exams this week. What an awesome priviledge to be a part of this. God was our focus, we sang songs of praise and thanksgiving, several men prayed for specific things we had prayed about the week before thanking God for answering those prayers. The students came up and sat while all the men stood behind each one and prayed for each student specifically. We stood and prayed and we all - everyone from the children to adults - got on our knees and prayed! It was very meaningful and powerful. The electricity went out and we had only flashlights during the remainder, but it did not hinder the service at all. This kind of Godly vision reaches way beyond the here and now. It carries us far into the future, so that we live our lives now in a way where our children cannot help but catch the vision and want to pass it on to their children. Satan tries very hard to keep us from thinking this way. As long as he can keep us comsumed with today and today's business, we will not be able to do this. But, we need to be a people like those here at the VOH who have caught on to this. That the future is ever before us and we cannot help but praise and thank God and ask for His guidance in everything to help us. It reminds me of Judges chapter 2. After the incredible story of Joshua and the Israelites and all the ways God worked through them and with them they failed miserably! Judges 2:10 says "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel." Why?! Somehow they lost their vision and got busy and forgot to pass it on! The people here at the VOH have not forgotten what God has done for them and it is an incredible, awesome, experience to participate in their ongoing vision for these children. To God be the glory!
We really miss everyone and wish you all could be here with us, also! Thank you for your support, keep up the prayers and know we love you all dearly! God Bless!

2007-04-27T08:16:00.000-04:00

We Have a Full Tank of Water with NO LEAKS!!!

Thank you Lord! (And thank you to all the people behind the scenes at the VOH)

Nuff Said....

2007-04-26T05:28:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the Village of Hope from Bobbie Lynn!
I hope this finds everyone doing well.
We are all doing fine. It is very, very hot here as always, although we have found our house gets a good breeze because we have windows all around the house, unlike some of the others.
I wanted to share some more observations. We haven't really had too much trouble with bugs, yet. (It has rained twice since we arrived.) We have tiny ants and the flies are pretty relentless! I'm still looking for a fly swatter here! We just have to spray the house daily whenever we leave. We have had 4 small lizards in the house, Danny managed to get rid of 2 of them, I don't know where the other 2 went! Hopefully, we won't bring them home or find them dead in our stuff! I did see one snake the first week. I was walking down the sidewalk between the Asare's house and the guest house, it was right beside me slithering along and I about jumped out of my skin. I grabbed Camille behind me and stopped her. It went down Tommy's walkway and into one of his trees! I told Latisha at the guest house what I saw and asked who to tell. She said, "Don't tell me, I'm afraid of them!" I'm glad I'm not the only one! I have not seen any more, thank the Good Lord!!!!
Our days are pretty set for us with the rising and setting of the sun. You really don't need an alarm clock at all. It starts getting light around 5am and by 6 it is light. By this time you hear birds singing and children singing. It starts getting dark around 5:30pm and is completely dark by 6:30! If the electricity is out, it is very dark. You pretty much go on home and start getting ready for bed. We have all taken showers by flashlight, which can be quite interesting, you are never sure you get all the dirt off! We have breakfast around 7:30 or 8, lunch at noon, and supper around 5. The kids and I have been trying to go to the library twice a day to record all the books the kids are reading. For every 10 they read, they get a free book, and when they reach 100, Tommy will take them out to eat in Accra!
Please keep praying this week for the JSS3 students (meaning 9th graders). They are taking their exams this week to get into high school. It is very serious and competitive! We have had prayer services galore, which has been very meaningfull! One of the things we prayed for specifically was the environment of testing, meaning the room, furniture, conditions, etc. I must say I was very surprised. I went along Tuesday morning with Tommy to see where they test and to encourage them before we headed to town. It is taking place the the Fetteh public school nearby. The examiners had tables set up outside under some trees. They used rocks for paperweights. The test themselves were just like ours in the states with bubbles you have to fill in, etc. The classrooms are concrete floors and walls. Two sides of the walls have decorative type concrete block with openings in them for windows. No glass in the windows, no fans, no electricity, no lights. THe desks were very old and the examiners had written each student's number on it with chalk. There were also chickens walking around! It was all very organized, just really different. The VOH staff brought our kids chairs to sit on during breaks and food to each for lunch, plus cold water to drink. It was very obvious the VOH kids were blessed because all the other student (there were about 150 or so total from all the different schools around the area.) So, please pray that they all pass with flying colors!
Did I mention it was hot here?!
I have to tell one really funny story! Well, it was not funny at all at the time. Last week, the kids and I were in the house reading. I realized Camille was not in the room with us and sent Davis to see what she was up to. He came running back saying she had locked herself in the kitchen. Now, each door in the house has a lock with keys hanging in them. We removed the ones we needed, exterior doors, but the others we left. She wanted something cold to drink from the fridge and closed and door and partially turned the key. Now, there is a very small pass through about shoulder height on me from the dining/living room to the kitchen. It measures about 2 ft wide by 1 ft tall. But it has 2 sliding glass windows which leaves the opening about only 1 ft by 1 ft. We kept taking turns sticking our heads in and trying to explain to Camille to turn the key. She could't/wouldn't. Davis had his head through while standing on a crate. Ellen and I lifted him up and started pushing him through. Fortunately there was a plastic table underneath on the other side. We managed to shove him through and got Camille out. That was a close one! We kept wondering why that window was even there, you can't pass plates through it! Now we know why God had them put it there!!!!!
Camille has found lots of friends! She is always sought after and usually walking down the street holding hands with them and playing!
We still do not have water at our house. Please pray that it will come today! We are just using the guest house to get cleaned up and cook and eat.
We love you all very much and miss you terribly. We have all been fine, just very hot, did I mention it was hot here?!
God bless you all and thank you for your prayers!

2007-04-24T08:43:00.000-04:00

Preparing Well and God's provision

Greetings all this is from Danny,

I had an opportunity this weekend to see a different picture from what we have been experiencing here at the VOH the last week. I left for the Ashalay Botwe evangelistic workshop a day earlier on Friday. I was priveledged to stay at the guest house of Samual Tumasi (sp) the President of Heritage Christian College. He is also the preacher at the Nswam road CofC in Accra. He was away with a group from the college on a evangelistic outreach in the North. I had to catch taxis all over the place and arrange hookups for rides. It would have been difficult to accomplish with the whole famiy together.

We had a great evangelistic outreach day on Saturday. Paul Ntem the preacher and about 17 others from his church and other churches gathered for the day. We walked through some very impoverished areas and the smell was not something I will easily forget. Paul is very passionate about his work and passionate for reaching the lost. I was energized by his zeal. We worked together alternating between sharing the Gospel with different households and businesses. Yes businesses, we entered a hair styling shop which was no bigger than 6ft x 6ft and there were two ladies working on two other ladies sitting. We asked if we could talk about God's word with them and they graciously invited us IN. (try that in the U.S.) We had a wonderful 30 min talk and they asked many questions. We got their information and Paul will follow up with them. Every place we went for 4 hours was receptive about talking.

I had the priveledge to speak Sunday morning at the Ashalay Botwe Church along with Paul. It was in the form of a workshop so Paul spoke for 30min then I spoke for 30 min, while he translated for me. We each entertained questions for 10min after each talk, they ask good questions. It was a great weekend.

The 9th grade children all over Ghana began their testing on Monday and the children at the Village of Hope are very well prepared. They were also nervous because these exams determine whether they can continue on to high school. There are limited numbers of high schools so these exams can make or break one's future. We prayed over each child in their desks and collectively as the day began. Their tests consist 4 series each day. At 9:30am they start by answering a series of questions for an hour on the topic of the day. They have a break and then begin the essay portion of the exam for another hour. Lunch and then they do it all over again for 5 days. The VOH kids came out of the first day very positive because they have been prepared well.

Bobbie Lynn and the kids are doing very well. We have continued to work at being flexible. Our water tank that is our water supply to our house sprung a leak and it all leaked out. With no water it is hard to do regular things. It is not our drinking water, but it is what we use for everything else, so we have been going between the guest house (while empty) and our house to cook our meals. Bobbie Lynn and Ellen and Davis are doing a great job with the reading program for the children at the VOH. Davis told me today that the library was full of kids reading books. Tommy started the program that when they read 10 books they will receive a free book. When they reach 100 books read he will take them out to eat. Currently 5 or 6 have completed 100 and when the rest learnn of the prize there will be an explosion of reading.

Last evening we went to the nightly devotional at one of the group homes (Boyd house). We sang songs and then Mr Effah asked if I had advice for the children. I told them I learned a very important lesson that day, as I watched the 9th graders write their exams. I said they were prepared for their work. I stressed the importance of all of us needing to be prepared to live a life that glorifies God. I stressed the fruit of the Spirit as proof of our being prepared. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.. These are results of our being prepared to be God's people, to be light in dark places. We taught them a song called Covenant of Love and we hope to teach it to all of the children so we can sing it together.

We continue to try to stress the positive, but I will tell you this is a very difficult place to live. We are blessed to have water although it is held in large reservoir tanks which must be refilled. Electricity is sporatic and somewhat predictable, but when it is out things get more difficult. Finally it is very HOT, and without water you could get into trouble very quickly. I say these things so as not to complain or alarm anyone, but to stress the very hard work of many of the staff here at the VOH who are extremely dilligent and hard working to make things managable here. They will do anything for you, and much is done in the background that you don't see, but you thank God for the provisions that are being made on your behalf.

We are blessed and we continue to thank God for his faithfullness.

Seeking to Glorify Him,

The Riders

2007-04-19T05:45:00.000-04:00

Greetings from the Village of Hope in Ghana, West Africa! From Bobbie Lynn!
We hope everyone is doing well and know that we miss you all lots and lots!
I decided to give you all my perspective on our adventure here at the VOH!
From the first moment I stepped off the plane my first thoughts were how many things I should'nt have brought and all the things I should have brought! Mainly because the heat and humidity hit you like a ton of bricks! We were able to get here and get settled the first night, it was late and we were all exhausted. We have had electricity more that we have not had it, which has been a blessing!
Some of my observations have been things like we can all live on and with a lot less! Being here at the VOH is kind of like being at Hillbrook all the time! You simply cannot get away from the heat. (Although right now I am in the computer lab at the school in an air conditioned room! I will try to come here more often!) You always keep your windows open all the time and there is dust and dirt everywhere. The roads at the VOH are all dirt, so you naturally track stuff in. I try to keep Camille from dragging her feet in the dirt when she walks, but she really enjoys this! Living here is really neat. The children come morning and mealtimes right behind our house to bathe and cook. They bathe in an open concrete walled area, seperated for boys and girls. When they walk by the window you can usually speak a greeting almost constantly. I have noticed when I go outside with either Ellen or Davis, some child always greets them by name! There are no phones, TV, or anything like this (at least not at our house!) Tommy's phone rings constantly, and he has a TV though. We are just so busy, there is not much time for it! Our house is very simple, but clean and bright. All the walls are white! We do not have a water heater yet, so we boil water to wash dishes. I don't know if the substitute house parents (this will be their home after we leave) will have or need one or not. Because we do not have one our showers are not hot, but with the heat it is not a problem at all! I have to go to Tommy's or the guest house to do laundry, he doesn't have a dryer, but the guest house does! (Ghana team you can use those dryer sheets!) When I wash at Tommy's we have to hang laundry up outside behind his house. Davis helped me with this one time, then I discovered the dryer! Everyone here is very friendly, it is kind of like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood!
Camille and I went to Accra with Tommy on Monday shopping. We got hamburgers and fries for lunch and to Camille's great surprise a chocolate milkshake! The grocery stores are very similar to ours and you can really find most anything you need. The difference is you can not just run to the store and run back EVER! It took us 2 hours just to get to the first stop and more than 2 hours to get home. The traffic just sits and it is slow going!
I do have a prayer request, one of the little girls here is handicapped. She cannot do anything for herself and requires constant care. Her name is Christy and the house Mom is Victoria, a very special lady, indeed! Please pray that physical therapists, speech therapists or others in these related fields will come and help them out however they can!
We truly love you all and miss you terribly. We are making it fine and are slowly but surely settling in to some routines. My inspiration to keep me going has been Granny (Sue Rider) and Angie Langley. I have had to make do and figure out how do work things (the oven tempuratures were in Celsius degrees not Farenheit!) But, I think of these two ladies and make up my mind that I can do this, I say a prayer and off I start! Thanks!
I hope this has been helpful to share some of my experiences! Please keep praying for us and all of the people here at the VOH! God Bless!

2007-04-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

Good Afternoon,

It is 3:00pm on Wednesday. We have been very busy in the Dental Clinic this week. We have seen approxomately 70 patients with various treatments on each. This has been a great way to learn peoples names. The clinic has been open from 8:00am till 9:00pm with breaks for meals and various devotionals. The children really grow on you very fast. They are so sweet and good natured. Ellen and Davis have worked in the clinic, Ellen as the secretary and Davis as the entertainer and encourager and flossing instructor. They are both learning names so fast, and yet I struggle to remember who just shook my hand. I stood on the veranda at the clinic this morning with a view of the ocean, the hum of the generator in the background and music from one of our cd's playing. I thanked God for my blessings, for a chance to serve in his kingdom one child at a time in this clinic. Tommy during our devotional last night talked about Satans approach to picking off God's children one at a time. I realized that we have got to be more diligent, more aggressive and more motivated than ever to let people know what has been done for them. To let them know that God loves them and that he has saved us if we will just listen and obey. In our quest to Glorify God I pray that we will kick it up a few notches and turn up the heat to drive Satan out of the way.

We now have a fully functioning house (sort of no hot water). We have a stove and a refrigerator which is fantastic. We had our first official breakfast this am with scrambled eggs and biscuits and fruit. It was great to eat together as a family in our house. Bobbie Lynn is great, she will be picking up the reading program now that the house is mostly in order, working with the children who are needing help. Camille is charming everyone with her magic. We are healthy and are having no problems with the weather or anything else so we praise God for his faithfulness and we continue on.

We love you all and will write more later.

The Riders

2007-04-15T13:10:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Ghana,

We have made it to Ghana successfully! It is very HOT! We had a long trip to actually get here but God is good and we are here. We are staying in a brand new house and so with every new house you have some things that dont quite work yet or need to be hooked up. We have two bedrooms with 3 beds in each and a living room. We dont have a refrigerator yet and the stove has not been hooked up, but we will be patient and get there soon. We have enjoyed some wonderful meals from Rueben and the GMT will love his cooking. We enjoyed a tremendous worship service this morning, class at 9:00, worship 10-12. After the service was completed we got to participate in the praying over 15 new children that just arrived the same night we arrived. It was beautiful. They have the fifteen children sit in front of everyone, then they have 15 men come forward and have the new children rise from their seats and let the men sit down, then the men lay hands on the new children. The rest of the children extend their hands out to the new children and one person leads the prayer and we collectively pray over the children and their new lives. I cried like a baby! It was precious and very moving. It made me realize just how blessed we are and in our process of glorifying God we must be renewed just like these little children. We must be renewed daily. My time is limited as to how much I can write at the present time so I will just say we love and miss everyone. We are all doing fine. We have had electricity most of the time and we consider ourselves blessed for being here. The kids are doing well, really meeting and interacting with the children. Camille was like a rock star the first night we went out and met children. I have pictures. They crowded around and just stared at her and smiled when she said anything. They wanted to touch her hair and white skin. Well we will write more later.

Love to All and God bless.
The Riders

2007-03-23T11:17:00.001-04:00

To Glorify Him.....

This is the maiden post for a blog that will be used by our family to log our adventure to Ghana West Africa, to the Village of Hope (VOH). It will also be used later in May for our Ghana Mission Team from Arlington. We are extremely excited about making this trip to see the work first hand and see if we can in some way serve our brothers and sisters at the VOH and outside the VOH.

I have at times labored over how to start this blog, and come up the words that I should use to begin to describe what it is we are going to do and what it is we are hoping to accomplish. But today changed that, today I gained some perspective. Today I learned that a very dear friend of mine, my sister in Christ Mary Ann Beeman (Coleman) died in her sleep Wednesday evening April 4th after a very special night of outreach ministry at the Arlington Church of Christ in Knoxville. Mary Ann was very special to all of us and has been steadfast in her devotion to her God, her children, her husband and the rest of her family.

There is absolutely nothing that can prepare us for the unexpected news of the death of someone we love, especially when they are young. It pierces the heart and the ache makes it difficult to breath.

When I talked to my brother Mark Brackney Thursday, as he called to give me the news, he told me about Mary Ann being on his outreach team the night before. He said that he would never forget their last encounter together at a house that they visited and Mary Ann telling the person at this house to remember "God will always love you!" I told Mark she was doing what she was created to do, she was glorifying her God and that is all God asks us to do. John 17 is a good place to do some reading about Jesus' prayer to his Father, that he finished the work his Father sent him to do. Which was to Glorify Him. It is what we have all been created to do. Jerry Tallman has been telling me this all week! Thank you Jerry!

So this is what we are hoping to do on our trip to Ghana West Africa, this is what we are hoping to accomplish at the Village of Hope. To do what God has asked us to do.

To Glorify Him.....

Danny, Bobbie Lynn, Ellen, Davis and Camille (The Riders)

Remember: Christianity is not about what U do, but what's been DUN4U.