Last sabbath day in Africa and it was a great one!

Sundays are always so great here in Africa. I took my friend Charley to church in hopes that he would find an interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was very excited to introduce him to something that brings such great joy to my life. Charley has continually said to me “ there is something that is just different about you that I really like.” I told him it was the church. After telling him that it was the church, he was ready to try it out. I hope that he had a positive experience today and wants to continue to go. He is an individual who is very deserving of this gospel. He deserves all of the happiness in the world.

Following church today I jumped in a taxi and headed to the orphanage which is about 30minutes away. It is so difficult going to the orphanage knowing that these children are parentless. There are the cutest brothers ages 3 and 5 that just had both parents pass away last week, can you even imagine? All of the children were so happy to receive what I brought them today. I took them some beautiful artwork donated by Mike and Susan Singleton, clothes that my little cousin Edie and her friends made, bandanas, as well as some water toys which were a hit. Everyone was soaked by the end of play date. We played with new kickball’s, basketballs, sidewalk chalk, and books. I wish I could take every one of these children home.

After the orphanage we went to dinner across the street for pizza and some traditional Ghanaian food. The Ghanaian food was very different but edible haha. On our walk home I stopped at my friend Ta’s shop. Ta’s shop is on the side of a busy street in Accra. In the back of his shop is his hut/house which is built over the sewer. I went to Ta’s to buy another pair of pants… I could not resist. I love the pants here and could not come home with one pair especially after what happened today. My pants ripped at the orphanage all the way to the bum, but not to worry Ta fixed them for me. It is so handy to have crafty people all over the city that are so willing to help you.

Tomorrow we are heading out of here at 5:00am to Mole National Park. The national park is a 10 hour drive to the very northern part of the country. We will all start out in one big van and then split into two vans around the 4 hour mark. The reason we have to do this is because the roads are so bad, and I guess it will make it easier in smaller cars. I am really excited to get to Mole to see some wildlife. Hopefully I will come back with some good pictures. I am also planning on taking the rest of my humanitarian stuff to hand out in a very poor village we will be visiting. I am super excited for this trip and know that it will be a good close to a wonderful African adventure.

Ps: I also have to give another shout out to Dawn Christian. All of the men at church today were so grateful for their ties. Thank you so much!!

Thank you Ta for stitching my pants back up!

The orphans

Thanks Singletons they loved their new artwork!

New shirt... thanks Edie!

Very Africanized wouldn't you say?

Ok is doesn't Christopher have the cutest most beautiful face?

Which one do you want?

Felix loves his new shirt!

This Nata the 5 year old

This is Nati the 3 year old. He loved these cars Janessa brought

Charley and I at church....

Boys loving their new ties!

The elders i think were the most excited!!!

It's a good night out on the town!

Last night we had a great night at the club here in Ghana. Some of the employees at our hostel thought it would be fun to take us out and it was! We were the only white people in the whole club and were the first to make it to the dance floor. As soon as we all started to dance we caught peoples attention and there were suddenly more people on the dance floor. This club was outside which was really hot, so to cool ourselves down we had some pineapple juice to refresh ourselves. We continued to dance the night away and eventually made it back to the hostel where the Pentecostal church behind us was worshiping till 4:30AM. The way this church worships is by screaming into a microphone, the kind of screaming that pierces the ear.

Today Ahslee and I woke up and headed to Olivia’s who is a seamstress. Olivia lives down the street from us and makes beautiful clothing. I want something that is made just for me to take home. After drawing what I wanted for Olivia it was time to hunt for fabric. We jumped in a taxi to Macola Market which is a little ways away and shopped for a while. I was not able to find fabric that I liked but did find other things including a bunch of new friends! As others were shopping I sat in some of my “friends “ shops played instruments and talked about HIV. After shopping for a while we headed back to our city and went to a high-end fabric shop called Woodin. I got some pretty fabric and took it to Olivia so she can make me a skirt. I hope the skirt turns out the way I have envisioned it.

Today I handed out some of the ties that were donated by Dwan Christensen. I gave them to the employees of the hostel, and will be talking more of them to church with me tomorrow. Thank you Dwan they are a hit over here! We leave for a three day trip to Mole which is at the very northern part of the Country. We are going to Mole National Park to see wild animals. I am very excited but am not looking forward to a 10 hr bus ride. I will blog when I get home on Wednesday.

Getting in front of the fan at the club.

Cute Olivia working so hard in her shop. My dress should be done on Thursday when we get back from our trip.

Charley and Evans

They love love love Obama over here!

Employees at The Pink Hostel. So grateful for their ties!

Learing how to drum with my friend at the market in his shop.

Chillin with my other friends in the back of their shop. We were talking about life and HIV. Man I am going to miss it here!

HIV/ AIDS... we need to educate!

Today was our very last day teaching our HIV/Aids awareness prevention program. We went to the Ga tribe taught the men and women separately, and then finished our research we had started last week with the women. Teaching both of these groups was very fun. They were all very lively and had a lot of great questions. HIV is a very difficult disease to talk about and is very sensitive subject to many. This is a disease that is 100% preventable so why is it so hard to stop? It is now a full -blown pandemic. In order to fight a disease like this we must come together globally and be willing to fight the disease together.

What are some realistic ways that one person can make a difference?

• Talking to children
• Educate friends and family
• Contribute money to HIV organizations
• Volunteer for a non profit organization

Little things like this make a difference and cause a ripple effect. I have already seen this ripple effect begin to take place here in Ghana with what we have been doing. Let me explain to you a little bit about what we do.We begin with a one on one HIV pre test trying to see if they can answer specific questions about the disease. Following the pre test we educate them and then conclude with a post test which is the exact same test as the pre test. Just by that short hour or so of education these individuals have learned enough to be able to prevent HIV completely. They now have the knowledge and can help put a stop to this disease by spreading the word to others. IT IS ALL ABOUT EDUCATION!

Here are some facts to help show you what a pandemic this disease truly is:

• Everyday 8 seconds a child, man, or women dies
• Everyday 10,000 people die.
• Everyday 1,500 people become infected.
• 95% of people with Aids live in developing countries.
• 99% of Africans don’t have access to treatment.
• Just in the past three years in the Soviet Union Aids has spread 15 fold.
• Aids has a 100% mortality rate. Meaning nobody will survive the disease if they contract it.

I can honestly say that I would never have even thought twice about this disease before dealing with it first handedly here in Africa. It is a problem not only here but everywhere in the world. I am very grateful to have an education and build a sure knowledge of disease like Aids. I hope that all of the individuals we have taught have been impacted and will help begin to help educate others. Remember it is all about the ripple effect…one person does make a difference! I am going to miss teaching everyday, it has taught me so much about myself as well as others.

On a different note we are going dancing tonight with one of our friends Charley who works at the hostel. I am super excited to get my dance moves on tonight, and celebrate all of the hard work we have done as a group! I will let you know tomorrow how it was….

Mom this is for you. This is what I do when I am in the market.... it smells so terrible!

In the Jungle, girls going to fetch water.

Man washing his clothes in the river as we were hiking through the jungle.

Can you find the Albrunie (white person)?

Mabel.... she calls me her sister. Can't you see the resemblance?

Ok I am fascinated with this! Throughout all of the villages there are coffin venders. Can you see the guy sitting there working on the coffins?

These are what the shops look like. The coffins are actually very beautiful here.

What are you grateful for?

Yep today was a really hard in Ghana. It was our last day at Gray Memorial. We created a field day with all of the children by playing a variety of games including: football, Frisbee, volleyball, parachute, three legged races….. I was in charge of football and took it very seriously consequently so did the other kids. It is now apparent to me that there skills are far greater than mine, for they did not come off of the field with battle wounds. I stood up continuing to play when one of the teachers grabbed my attention by pointing at my arm and leg. All of the children then gathered and thought this was rather exciting. I made all of them step back in fear of some type of parasite entering my body, if it had not already. Thank heavens for Hilary she is always so prepared and brought her first aid kit with her to the school. I sat there encircled by an audience of children while Hilary was cleaning me up. I got back up and was ready to play football again but then thought to be smart about the situation and sit out. Last time I played soccer I came out with bloody feet. One of my roommates just informed me that when Hilary said this morning she was going to be taking her first aid kit, she knew it would be used on me. I came home immediately jumped in the shower and scrubbed my wounds till they bled again. Now keep in mind the shower is not sanitary water either. Anyway, I am totally fine and loved every minute I spent on that dirt field today.

It was then time for us to leave the school and I could not do it. My students were clinging onto me and giving me big hugs. There are some children that I really have grown so close to. What do you say to them when you leaving them “ see you later” NO! because that is not the truth. You tell them good luck with life, reminding them of how smart they are and how if they put there mind to it they can do many great things. I would tell one of the kids goodbye give them a hug and find them by my side one minute later. I finally mustered up the courage to walk out of the school gate. Again I looked to my side and children had followed me out. I then started to walk down the street crying looking behind me to see them through the locked gate still waving. These children have taught me so many valuable life lessons that I will forever cherish. I really do hope to come back in a few years to Gray Memorial and see how these children have developed. Some of the students in my group have taught some very intelligent students at Gray Memorial and are going to try to get them to the U.S by sponsoring them. What is hard for these children is that they are surrounded by poverty, and that is all they see. Most of them don’t believe that they are capable of obtaining a higher education that will lead them to more of a successful life. They are not able to look outside of the box because it does not even seem like a reality to them. I wish you could change the world all at once but you just can’t, you have to do it little by little. So the question that goes through my head, how am I so lucky to have been blessed with such a wonderful life in the U.S? Sure we have our challenges and difficulties, but do they even compare to absolute poverty in Africa which is living on less than one dollar a day?

I am going to miss:

· The country

· People

· The love the people have to offer

· Their optimistic attitudes

· Their hard work ethic

· Feelings of accomplishment on a daily basis

· Witnessing how powerful their will to survive is.

· The love for God

· The level of respect the children have for adults

· Their list of priorities

· These are just a few things I will miss…. There are many more!!

Just a few of my favorite pictures that I wanted to share

Amazing isn't it?

Ok seriously!

Looking back at the gate where Gladis was standing to say her last goodbye. She was so happy when i gave her my head and wrist band i had bought at the school today to match many of the other girls. I noticed she was one who did not have anything, so before i left i tired as discreetly as i could to giver her mine. It is so amazing to see what makes them happy.

Irene the head mistress.

Lidia.... Ezekial's older sister.

you are only seeing 1/4 of the circle of kids around me while i was getting taken care of. A teacher had to stand there with her cane to help keep the children back.

Me just crying about my open wounds. Yes, I did pose for this picture! But i won't lie when Hilary was cleaning out the gravel that was imbedded in my cuts i did start to get teary eyed. We scrubbed and scrubbed and rinsed with a saline solution for fear of parasites. Don't worry mom I am getting a deworming medication from the pharmacy here before i come home.

My soccer team! They were so cute to me!

This is exact love i am talking about. This older brother held his little brother for longer than an hour as we were teaching an HIV lesson at the male college. He would stand up and walk around with him , but never set him down once.

I want to bring these kids home!

It was my last day teaching at Gray Memorial and it was defiantly sad. It hit me when three of the girls in my third grade class came up to me and asked me if I would take them back to the US. I said “ I wish I could so bad! Your moms would be so sad!” They said “ no, no we will go ask our mom!” I felt so terrible and just gave them all a big hug. Tomorrow we will be going to the school for a field day that we are putting on, and then they will be performing for us.

After teaching our third graders we went to our preschool and this was our last day teaching them. They will not be attending our field day so it was our last day seeing them. I was so sad when I left this class! I had to leave my little Ezekial who I have grown so close to. He came and found me after class and I just held him for a little bit. It brought tears to my eyes to know that I will not ever see him again!

Following teaching we came back to our hostel and had class for a couple of hours. I then crammed for my midterm and took it t so I could enjoy a nice Chinese dinner in town. This was by far the best Chinese food I have ever had, it was a four course meal. Our professor Lynley spoils us a lot on this trip!

My little Down- Syndrome friend at the Monkey Village!

I can not say goodbye to Ezekial!

My third graders!

My Ezekial!

My last day in preschool with the teachers!

Say Cheese!

I began my day by teaching at Gray Memorial. Today was our big lesson on oral care. We taught the children about the different types of teeth and their functions. We played that alligator game where you push down the alligators teeth until it closes on your hand,,,, they all loved it so much. We then gave each of the students a fluoride tablet and observed some of the scariest teeth I have ever seen haha. The fluoride tablet helps identify the plaque that is on your teeth. Following the tablet we gave them toothbrushes that already had toothpaste in the bristles and told them to brush. One of the little boys came up to me with blood coming out of his mouth. I looked closer and noticed he had lost his tooth while brushing his teeth. I guess when I said brush your teeth a little harder he took it seriously.

After teaching at Gray Memorial I went shopping for about an hour to try to find some fabric to get a skirt/ dress made. I was rushed shopping because I had to be back for class. School here is a little stressful. We have not even finished two of our lectures and we have a midterm on Thursday. So tomorrow we are going to finish those lectures and then we will have not even one day to study for the midterm. O, well you only live once right.

We finished class and then some of us headed to the Teshi orphanage about 25 minutes away. We brought bubbles, baseball equipment, books, games, and much more. We taught them all how to play baseball which was really fun! We will be going back to this orphanage on Sunday to play more with the kids. Many of the kids were not there today because they were in school. On our way home we got a taxi, but needed one more for the rest of the group. Our taxi driver got out of his car to help the others locate a taxi when all of the sudden we realized the taxi was rolling forward. I ran as fast as I could to the drivers side and slammed my foot on the break. The driver then started to raise his voice at me saying “ you want to drive my car, you want to drive my car???????”

Tomorrow will be my last day teaching at Gray Memorial which is very sad. We will be going back on Thursday to have a field day that we are putting together. We will be doing things like playing soccer, having water fights, three legged races and more….. I am looking forward to Thursday but am also sad to realize it is coming to an end.

Me in the action of stopping the car, and yes that is the taxi driver behind me!

Caught in the moment! My usual silly self at 3:00 in the morning eating my peanut butter and Nutella

One of the Orphans.... her name is Blessing.

Playing a baseball came with the orphans.

Scrub those teeth good!

Keep scrubin!

Show me those purple teeth ( fluoride tablets)

Smile big!