Big Push!

There is definitely a sense of urgency to get Stephen here...this year.  He is 15, and things get WAY MORE difficult once he turns 16.

So here is our plan.  We have hired Steffas Law to help us get Stephen here.  Well...let me rephrase that...we are in the process of hiring them because we have to put out the initial $2500 to get things moving.  We are looking at upwards of $25000 of NEW costs in this process that we started almost 3 years ago.  As I have said before... we are looking at starting completely over.

Friends, we need help.  We are going to make a BIG push to get Stephen here...this year...before he turns 16.  I am hoping to do some fundraisers...but honestly, we don't have a lot of time to do that.  I have started our t-shirt campaign..which!!! We have had great success so far with and I'm greatly encouraged by everyone who has pre-purchased a shirt!!  I hope to have a booth at Band Day here in Williston to make some money....We're thinking of having a cupcake bar!!!  The kids would like to donate their Lemonade Day booth proceeds towards the adoption..I'm so proud of them and their thoughts and efforts to do what they can... AND we would like to maybe also have flock of flamingos so people can "flock" their friends in efforts to raise money for legal fees, travel costs, etc.

So.......Here is our current plan.  We are going to get a loan so that we can have all the necessary money up front so that we can get things moving AND keep them moving.  A BIG push is going to require that funds are readily available as soon as they are needed.  We have gone about this whole adoption thing backwards and it seems that we are going to continue on that path. It is likely that our fundraising efforts will happen after the fact.  What that will mean is that a lot of our time, effort, and money this year will be used to build some crazy momentum to get Stephen here.  Do we like the idea of getting a loan? Not really, but we don't have time on our side to adopt debt free. Again, that urgency to get him here THIS YEAR is VERY great!

Do we have any friends that could loan us the money interest free?  OR... Maybe you know someone/a business that could do this?  We would be VERY interested in talking with you/them.  An interest free loan is appealing for obvious reasons.

Would you like to give money towards our efforts?  SUPER!  You can get a hold of Steve or Jenn (she's more likely to get back with you quicker ;-) ) I have a specific account set up for this... You can either PayPal money to my email address or you can give money through Square Cash (please personally message me to get the details for either one) ....AND.... I will likely will be setting something up online to do crowdfunding (something new to me).

Do you have ideas about how we can raise money?  TERRIFIC!!  Please let Jenn know and she'll see if it's a good fit and something she can do.  She's always open to ideas and help.

Let's Bring Stephen Home!!! This year!!

Awake in the wee smas

Not real sure where i got that title...I'm thinking it was an Anne of Green Gables book or the like...but having had a couple of cups of coffee AFTER 7pm makes for an awake Jenn at 12AM!!


So what to do at such a time when the rest of the family is asleep?!!! Well....write in my blog of course! Hahahaha!


So what to write....a reflection of 2016?  Nah...I'm such a forward ever kind of person that it just about kills me to even have backtrack when i drive...like this past week i have been acutely aware of ALL the backtracking I've had to do by keeping on the main roads just so that i wouldn't get stuck in the snow!  And which by the way...we are getting serious amount of snow here...with more to come...so if any of you saw that giraffes in the snow picture i posted ....that may not be far off!


So...how about a look forward?!  Here are some of my recent thoughts that I will hopefully be able to tie together.  I've actually been rather pensive these last few weeks...here is one of the recurrent themes that keeps popping up... Change... and what it means to BE a Christian.... having been out in the workforce these past two years has "opened" my eyes to what other people may think /perceive Christianity is about...and ...how lonely, how empty, how incomplete, how hurting, how angry, how hopeless people really are without Christ and His Bride (the Church).

But first...back to change.  It has been interesting to me over the years to see how resistant people are to change. An object at rest tends to stay at rest comes to mind.... Let me give you a couple of examples that may or may not have anything to do with Christianity... money and diet.  Both are touchy subjects. We could start talking about budgets and where and how we should spend our money and people can start to get uncomfortable, what with getting out of debt, paying bills, savings, charitable giving....and then percentages to go along for such things...and people could start putting up defenses and getting defensive....I've seen it....experienced it.  I remember a brother in Christ talking about how oftentimes when people go to get immersed into Christ that they either physically (well that might be a good idea on one hand) but rather mentally keep their wallet (money matters) out of their conversion(immersion in water IS where conversion happens) because after all that's their money...they earned it ..they worked for it, and who is anyone to tell them how to spend it?!  Now diet...this is one that totally caught me off guard...truly...and to this day i still wonder at how deeply food is a part of us....when you start talking about what is good/bad to eat many people have MANY different ideas... and especially if you start talking about... oh... say...being gluten free....or that grains are bad....Now WAIT! hold up...I'm not here to discuss whether i think grains or gluten are good or bad...but what i do want to point out is that people have some VERY strong opinions either way...and it is surprising to me that people do not want to change the way they eat for any reason... and not just that... but it is HARD to change what we eat...we may have all the good intentions in the world to eat well and healthy...but... we get busy...are tired... AND hungry and very likely will throw out good eating for the sake of just eating.

Change is a Huge part of Christianity.  HUGE. God has not called us to be the same old people, living the same old lives, living in the same old sins.  He called us FROM those things.  He called us to be holy JUST AS He is holy.  He has called us to be righteous JUST AS He is righteous.  He tells us that IF we sin, we have an advocate(i like to think of that as a lawyer) Jesus Christ.  He doesn't tell us that WHEN we sin but IF.  God's expectation is that we get to a point where we do not sin.  Let that sink in.  God wants us to get to the point where what we practice is holy and righteous.  Of course, we're not going to be perfect in practice right out of the waters of our immersion/conversion, but God wants us to have the picture that we CAN be righteous and holy just like He is.  God goes to great lengths in the New Testament to give us this picture...so many verses....one of them, my favorite is Galatians 2:20, another 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:5-13, Romans 8:12-14....just to name a few...and truly there are so many more....He wants us to have that picture right now. He wants us to see ourselves as already having obtained it(righteousness and holiness) so that our brain will process that and our sub conscience will accept that so that we will in turn live that out.  Because who we think we are IS who we are.

Which brings me back to the sad state of people who are outside Christ.  Always looking for something to fill the void that lies within them...a void that God put there that can only be filled by Him....it can not be filled with material possessions, money, another person, oneself, alcohol, drugs, addictions, drama, or whatever else you can think of...God put that void there on purpose because He wants to be with those who truly want/desire to be with Him. He wants to have fellowship (enjoy the company of) with those who love Him not because they have to but because the WANT to.  God gives hope. He heals. He completes. He offers companionship.  He loves. He fills. BUT...in order for that happen...there must be change.  One must be willing to lay down his own will and desires and tendencies to do God's. What that means ... is submitting to God. And yet we have another area that is not easy for people to do... and that basically comes down to this...are we going to do what we want to do... or what God wants us to do? Are we going to wholly obey Him...or just the parts we want/like? Obeying God, doing His will, submitting to God is going to REQUIRE change on our part...let's not kid ourselves...are we willing to change?  I am.... YES!!

Something newsy

Man...i don't even know where to start.  It has been  a tough few months.  Working.  Dealing with grief over the denial letter.  A huge sense of loss. Coming to grips with where things are and finding our way again.  Working out homeschool bugs.  A trip out east to Ohio/Indiana.  Birthdays.  Family camp.  Quitting my Fedex job. Fall sports season starting and the accompanying travels. Sometimes I wonder how i can keep my head from spinning all around trying to make sense of it all and still move forward.

We had a great summer with visitors...First it was the Hostetters from Cameroon that came to see us.  That was SUCH an awesome time of fellowship. Then Steve's mom came to visit while Steve was doing training in Georgia for his new TSA job. Then Jonny and Jenni Reijgers came over the 4th of July and we loved having little ones in the house, and the time we got with Jon and Jen. Then my mom came and spent some time with us just before the girls and I went out to Indiana.   I really think that having everyone visit us like they did...helped us/or at least helped me.  Take my mind off what would have seemed like failure with our denial letter, and focus on what it is truly important, the Kingdom of God and people.  

Today, well, by the time I publish this....a week ago... we had a meeting with our Lawyer.  And during that discussion...there were many ups!! but also downs.   We are definitely going to be handing the dealing of our case over to her....in hopes that we can truly get Stephen here....i don't know how long that will be or how long it will take or what it will end up costing....but i think there is a really good possibility that something good can come from all of it.  We are looking at refiling our paperwork with her or filing a different form altogether....we will know more and hopefully come to a solid decision by next week.  But it kinda looks like we are starting over.  Which may sound discouraging, but i'm actually taking MUCH hope in it.  The lawyer said something today that just made sense...she said that the USCIS has a LOT of really great resources on line and they make it seem so simple...like fill out this paperwork...file these documents....follow the protocol and BOOM! everything will come through....but it isn't that easy...she then likened it to doing a root canal on yourself...sure you could probably get it done...but the pain, and likely infection that would ensue after such a venture will not be pleasant in the least.  This time around...i really got that she understood our predicament, and really thinks she can help...and that she agreed that the sooner we got him the better.  

So... here we go! Ding! Ding!! round 2....or whatever round this is. LOL!  Please keep praying that God would make a way.  Please pray for strength for us...ok, really just for me.  I can't even begin to explain how emotionally taxing this has been/ is for me. Even just the 1 hour appointment on the phone today...WORE ME OUT!  Pretty much all i've wanted to do for the rest of the day is sleep.  

Thank you for everyone who has been and will continue to pray for this situation.  It has been a HUGE blessing and help.  Just knowing that you guys care for us and love us and want Stephen to be with us as soon as possible is SO encouraging.  We love you all!

My letter to the President of the United States

This is the letter that i sent via email to the President as it says that was the fastest way for him to receive it.  I was only allowed 2500 characters....which on my Mac computer really only ended up being slightly more than 2000 characters.  I had to really pare down what i wanted to say, but i hope! and think that i was able to communicate the jist of the situation.  I know that some of you were probably curious as to what I wrote...i am still looking into what other things can be done.  There isn't much right now...but i do have one other lead/contact to follow up on.  

My mental state...hmmm....it has been hard.  Part of me just really feels defeated, and discouraged hardly touches the emotional turmoil i've been through.  We are still fighting.  Steve has called the USCIS every day for the past 5 days only to get voicemails...but he isn't giving up.  There is still hope...and who knows...maybe I'll get to meet the President out of this. :-) He needs that more than he knows! And just so you all know...I have sent copies to the Senators of North Dakota as well. :-)

I so appreciate ALL of the prayers you all have offered up on our behalf and I humbly ask that you keep doing so.  We love you all!

What follows is my letter.....

Dear Mr. President,

Never in a million years did I think that I would need to write the President of the United States to help me, and yet here I am.  I will do my very best to keep the letter as brief as possible, but please understand that there is a full story behind all of this and real people with real struggles and emotions.

Mr. President, while we were living overseas and were residents of Ghana, we adopted a 12 year old boy, Stephen (all above board we have every document to show that it was legal according to Ghana law).  Due to circumstances (residents permits expiring, moving back to the U.S., and also needing to complete the necessary paperwork for our own government) we had to leave Ghana without our new son, this was heartbreaking to us.

The government of Ghana deemed the adoption to be in the best interest of the child according to their 1998 Children’s Act. We adopted Stephen because his bio mother could not take care of him with the situation with the step father. The bio father has never wanted anything to do with him, has never been in his life, is jobless and never contributed anything for Stephen's care. We have known Stephen since the day he was born. He has lived with us 4.5 years.  

I know that we have gone about things rather backwards…adopting a child abroad before getting permission from the U.S. government. But honestly, we didn’t know. This was not something that was long planned out. Stephen had been living with us and we were looking at having to leave Ghana and we didn’t want to leave without him. We didn’t want him moved around from relative to relative that didn’t want him. And really the sticking point with the USCIS is that when his bio parents relinquished their rights of Stephen, they relinquished their rights to us, Steve and Jennifer Icenogle.  They did this because he was living with us. This was done under the auspices of the Social Welfare of Ghana. the problem really is that we have a son that is legally ours in one country, Ghana, but we are not be able to bring him into our country, the U.S.

Mr. President, according to Ghana law he is my son. I desperately want to bring him home to us.  But our case SIM .......... has been denied. Mr. President, is there anything you can do to help us? Please…I am begging you to help us. Is there something more we can do?  Is there something different we can try? We’ve followed the rules and regulations, but to no avail. Please, sir, do what you can to help us. 

Waiting

I've been thinking some... i think this adoption will have more effort, more solid labor, more emotional distress than any of my other labors for my naturally born children.  That is crazy to me.

On May 2, we submitted our second round of paperwork to the U.S. government.  More background checks. More legal documentation (that we already had and even one paper that we had already submitted, but apparently had either not been seen or misplaced).  More legal opinions from lawyers. More financial statements and assessments.  I wonder if i could ever precisely explain what it is like to have your entire life laid out as an open book with the government going over it as with a fine tooth comb to see where we fall short.

Have you heard any of Lauren Daigle's songs?  There is one... I wonder if i could link it on this page. I'll try here. Hey! i think i just did it!! HAHAHAHA!! YAY ME!!  Here is what it comes down to...From the very beginning ....  we have put Stephen's needs and wants first.  In the Children's Act of 1998 (Ghana law) it states very imperatively that the best interest of the child is paramount.  And that is entirely what we have been going on.  I just thought that because this was going to be a huge undertaking...that God would bless our efforts...I thought this was a good thing, God would see us through and open the doors.  And yet....when He doesn't move the mountains I needed Him to move,  when He doesn't part the waters that I wish I could walk through, when He doesn't give the answers when I cry out to Him...I WILL TRUST IN HIM.  Why? Because He knows what tomorrow is...there isn't any place that He hasn't already been.  He knows.  He knows my heartache. He knows the tears that I have shed and has counted them all.  He knows.

I think sometimes people think of God has some huge blessing giver in the sky.  He gives what we ask when we have met the qualifications of "good". But really this is a misconception.  Who defines what good is, and who/what defines who God is? Why is it that when bad things happen, or things happen in ways that we don't understand that we find fault with God rather trusting in Him?  God is the same yesterday, today, yes, and forever.  He doesn't change.  You see God wants a people who will love Him with their whole heart, not because they have to, but because they want to....even when they (ok, me) don't understand His workings.  I'm not going to pretend I understand why we are going through all that we are just to get Stephen here....but I do trust God. I trust that He knows ultimately what is best for everyone, and i trust that His timing, His answers are what is best.

And so....we wait.  We wait to hear what our government has to say.  Which, just as aside, where is the freedom in that? We make a choice to do something good, and we wait for the government's permission....sigh....hopefully soon we'll hear something back.  Please pray that it is either a letter of acceptance, or a letter of request for more evidence....but not a letter of denial.  Thank you.

84 days...

Oh my... where do i begin...my heart is heavy and I cannot sleep. I feel like I MUST write or I will not sleep. So... here goes....

I had a great day with my kids today...a much needed day of distraction, because it is hard for me to think that i can go on living each day as i would normally.  I'll explain, but let me continue for a moment...I have four kids here with me now, and one that lives in Ghana. One that I have labored, very literally for over the last year, to bring here.  We have been in proactive mode.  Basically, over the last year, we have been in "what do we need to do to get Stephen here" mode.  And we have worked. hard.  Steve has pulled 12 hour and a few times 15 hour shifts. Back in September when i hurt my shoulder so badly, he picked up my work at Fedex and hasn't quit. So, Steve is working a full time job, continuing the part time job with Fedex, and considering finding a part time job on the weekends.  I work several part time jobs. One at Fedex, one at Cooks on Main, a weekly paper delivery with my boys, and a cleaning job with Montana.  The reason I'm sharing that with you is to let you know that we have "labored" for the cause and sole purpose of bringing Stephen home to us....Most days I feel very much like either sleeping or crying.  I'm tired.  Literally. Figuratively. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Tired.

We got a letter from the USCIS. It wasn't pretty.  Let me just say that I don't like getting mail that is on pink paper.  Let alone 5 pages of it.  Basically, they listed all the shortcomings of our submission of our I-600 ( you remember from my last post that the I-600 is the document we file with the US government to obtain permission to get Stephen), and which we kinda expected...since we haven't gone about things in the usual way or through an adoption agency, but what we got was not what we expected....

 One of the things has to do with our home study done here in the U.S. which I will be calling about on this Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday).  That one, I'm pretty sure can be rectified pretty quickly.  The next thing though...was tough to take.  It was titled, Evaluation of Adequate Finances Missing.  Here let me share one sentence with you...."Your current income does not appear to meet the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) minimum poverty guidelines for the requested number of children." I'm not sure I can adequately put into words what that did to the inside of me.  Part of that is due to the fact that we had been in the U.S. just over a year and were not able to submit any tax returns for the work that had been done here in Williston, and part of that has to do with our debt... and part of that...is... well...true.  I felt like my soul got either sucker-punched or the breath knocked out of me, or just taken and me trying to grasp anything that was left.  The reality of us living below the minimum poverty line was stark and harsh. I'm not sure even where to go with that....What if we can't get Stephen because we don't make enough? And WHY IN THE WORLD DOES THAT EVEN MATTER?!!! If we can provide food in some one's belly, clothing on their back, and shelter over their head...isn't that enough??!!  I felt like we were not enough...that's what I felt....The reason we came back to the States is because we couldn't keep making it. Steve was unable to find work in Ghana and things needed to change for us.  We came back so that we could support ourselves independently and get in a better position financially, so that we could live responsibly and take care of matters that we had gotten ourselves into.  And we have, but apparently one year of that...or rather less than a year of that..doesn't look so hot on paper.  I'll get to the solution at the end...but for now...I'm going to continue with problems/challenges we now face.  The next has to do the definition of an orphan...because our paperwork says that Stephen's mother Linda was willing to relinquish all rights towards Stephen so that Steve and I could adopt him does not qualify him as an orphan.  There is so much in this part....it is hard for me to go into...what it comes down to is that USCIS does not know our story. They're just looking at the facts.  Those are what the facts say.  We need to submit more facts for them to get the whole picture.  Hiring an attorney to help us navigate through all the legalities should be a big help as well.

I got that letter Friday night after coming home from work.  I began to read it and i just wanted to cry or throw up or both.  I think it was the closest I've ever felt despair.  How could i keep living each day as i normally would when it seems like my world is crashing in?  How would i keep going on when it seems like everything we have worked for has been for nothing?  

And then I texted Steve...it was close to time for him to get off work anyways...this was just something that I couldn't bear alone.  Do you know what he said when I was all a mess??...and couldn't even speak coherently??...He told me we would fight this.  That we would get an adoption lawyer...and that we would do everything we could.  He is my rock in this raging sea.  He has a steady course and can see the way that we will go...when I can't see past the tears.   HE. HAS. ALWAYS. BEEN. LIKE. THIS.  It is who he is.  Sometimes I get frustrated with him about his seemingly having "one speed" as i call it....but the man stays the course, he is faithful, and he is determined.  Now, let me make this clear...he is not THE rock, but he is a rock to me. and... if Jesus is THE rock, and we're supposed to be like Him...then Steve is doing a pretty good job in that department.

So....our solution.  Fight.  We are no longer in plan mode. We are no longer in "just do what we got to do" mode.  We are in full battle array.  People, we are going to pray...we are going to work, and be ready for battle...we are going to stand and stand up for ourselves....

We are going to fight in prayer and we are going to work to get what we need done.  We have 84 days to make that happen. That's the time line we were given.  Please, I beg you, pray for us.  Pray for health and stamina for Steve and I.  Pray for us to get just the right adoption lawyer.  Pray for Stephen that he can understand and be patient yet a while longer.  Pray for my kids here, that they would understand and forgive their mother for her shortcomings and emotionalness (is that even a word?!) during this trying time as I'm afraid they often get the short end of the deal.  Pray that we WILL see a happy end to all of this.  And pray that the Lord would return, for THAT would be very much better!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!

Yesterday, was as many of you may already know, Stephen's birthday.  He turned 14. This was very bittersweet for me, in fact more bitter than sweet because last year I had told him that he would be with us for this year's :-( I truly thought he would be. But buying and setting up house and running through all the prerequirements (the home study mainly, but that would include background checks, personality studies, doctors examinations, getting of birth certificates for Steve and I, and of course the means to take care of all those things) well took WAY LONGER than I had any idea of...I have regressed...well.... We'll have a SMASHING big party when he does get here!!   Which I am really hoping will be sooner than later.

So here is where things are at...we were finally able to submit EVERYTHING to the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services). AND we got a letter just two days ago that said they had received it. YAY!!!!  Now we are waiting to hear from them about our FBI background check appointment which we believe will require a trip to Rapid City, South Dakota.  After we do that...I'm not quite sure what....more waiting....I think ....until we get the go ahead. All of this has been HUGE.  I can't even begin to tell you  how this has affected me.  I've broken down more than a few times.  It just seems to be taking so long...and I know that what we're doing is nothing compared to what others have gone through.  So...I have started to buy some things for Stephen...I have his airplane outfit :-). When I've needed to get things for the kids for school....we get it for Stephen. I've been scouring eBay for some shoes for him...something comfortable, easy to take on and off for the plane...etc...It has helped.  I think I've put most of my emotions in some box in my brain so that I don't have to think about it, and on occasion something happens and they all come pouring out.  Like my brother being happy to see Stephen wear the Olsen racing shirt yesterday on his birthday...a flood of tears.  And right now...just remembering that...

Moving on....so what will happen when we go to Ghana?  I'm not completely sure...BUT I know a visit to the U.S. Consulate/Embassy will be in order.  There will be an interview for us to get an immigrant visa for Stephen. There may need to be a doctors examination done at a hospital in Accra to see if Stephen is healthy.  There will be excitement as we go to get a plane ticket for him at the airport. And there will likely be more waiting...as we seem to be doing a lot of that....there will be happiness for me to see everyone again in Ghana, there will be some shopping for me to get some things that I can only get in Ghana, there will be some eating of some VERY delicious foods that I can only have in Ghana, and there will be tears, lots of tears, as we leave. Definitely from me and likely from Stephen too...and that will be ok.  We will get to share that together.  I really can HARDLY wait to go on his first plane ride with him.  Or watch his amazement as we go through one of the international airports either in London or more likely Amsterdam.   I can HARDLY wait till I get to bring him through immigration in Minneapolis and when they stamp his passport knowing that will be the end of this huge long process.  I can HARDLY wait to board that last plane from Minneapolis to Minot knowing that our crew is already on their way there. I can HARDLY wait to get off the plane with him and see the looks on Steve's and the kids' faces as they spy us coming towards them.
I CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!

But....there is waiting...and in the meantime what will be doing?  Praying and pressing on to make this all possible.  I just had a thought...shouldn't we be waiting for the King of Glory like this?  I think I will save those thoughts for another blog post... :-). Please keep praying for us, for Stephen, for the Boatengs who have been caring for him in our absence, and for the waiting to not take so long.  

A little help from my friends

I am not sure why a night of of insomnia inspires me to write but it does....If I could make a guess, I would say that AT LEAST half of my blog posts were/are written between the hours of 3am and 5am.    It's not like my mind is racing...actually it usually is because of a migraine....Hmmm....I've digressed. LOL!

So let me tell you about my last two weeks....Almost two weeks ago, i woke up with SEVERE tendinitis in my right shoulder. I did not know that at the time.  I mean I seriously thought my shoulder was broke AND dislocated. I've had both happen in that shoulder, so trust me, I KNOW what that feels like!! I didn't go to sleep like that and had NO IDEA what I did to make it feel that way.  I got through the morning assembly with the church on 6 Advil.  The evening assembly i took 3 Aleve and brought a heating pad with me. ( i know, i know....should've gone for ice....but i couldn't stand the thought of shivering and heat sounded SO much nicer, more comfortable....and it was) I took a prescribed narcotic (did you hear that??? did you get that??? a PRESCRIBED NARCOTIC!!!! that's just crazy stuff right there!)  to just get to sleep for three nights in a row!!! The point here is that I was in so much pain i could think of nothing else.  All I wanted was to make it go away.  Have you been like that?  It's awful!! Truly!!   (Amy, if you every wonder if you have had an influence on me...just take note of ALL the capitalized words! ;-) Love ya!)

Now, anyone who knows me pretty well, will know that I way prefer to treat myself and my family with alternative and holistic ways.  So, taking that much medication....even breaking to the point of taking a narcotic was HUGE!!!!!!  The Dr put me on a strong anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxant.   I was such in a fog for three days, all I did was camp out on the couch and be a grouch (also thanks to the meds... and well, likely the pain too).  Did anyone notice that i went to the Dr??

Then on Tuesday, a friend asked me if i had been to the chiropractor.  She said she did something to her shoulder and had gone to a chiropractor and got instant relief.  OH YEAH!!! I love chirorpractors!!  Unfortunately, she was unable to do anything for me.  Wouldn't even touch it due to the extreme restricted mobility of my arm, but was still able to adjust the rest of me, Whew! Then Steve and I got to talking and he started asking what Shaklee supplements i could take, and what oils could i use???  OH YEAH!!! I love Shaklee!!!  And I'm really beginning to like DoTerra essential oils!!

I was in SO MUCH PAIN that i could not think about what i could do or what I should do to help myself.  Again, all i wanted was the pain gone!!  I didn't care how.  And here, this is the impetus of this blog post....I couldn't think for myself what i would like to do or how i would like things dealt with.  I needed outside input from my friends! And in case you didn't put it together, Steve is my best friend :-)  I needed someone, or a couple someones in my case, to remind me what I wanted.

And then i got to thinking...there is a spiritual lesson here...Sometimes we can get ourselves into painful situations, or maybe those painful situations come to us....whatever the case, maybe we need someone from outside to remind us of who we are, or how we want to deal with things.  Or maybe...this is a greater possibility...we need to be that friend.  That friend to remind someone of who they are when everything is crashing down.  That friend who reminds them that they are loved by us and loved even more by the Creator and Savior of the Universe. Or rather, maybe we need to be the one who enters into someones life when they are in pain from the sin in their life and give them hope and way out.

I needed to hear about that chiropractor. I needed to think about what Shaklee and oils could do for me. I needed the options that i wanted anyway, but couldn't think of them for myself. Let's do that. Let's do that for others.  Let's give the options to help others out of their sin, out of their pain.  Let's be true friends.  Let's pray that the response is much like mine.... OH YEAH!!!

*And my story ends well, too...Tuesday night i started taking my Shaklee stuff again (i had just forgotten in my pain) and Wednesday things started getting better. I made special orders for more things to take... both oils and supplements.. and they are working! My mobility is increasing every day, and the pain is gone. ...and I'm really hoping by Monday(two weeks after it all first started) to be back at work!

An Adoption Update

Hey all!

So, this is the first time i've written anything for way too long!! I thought that since this was going to be longer i should just write a blog post...nothing more annoying than an crazy long Facebook post! At least when you clicked on the link you were committing to reading it. ;-)

Let me get you all up to speed...Last summer when faced with having to leave Ghana. We, as a family, decided that we would try and adopt Stephen Karikari.  We didn't even know if we could...Every step along the way in Ghana was quite a resounding, YES!!  It really was AMAZING to see God's hand guiding that whole thing and the SPEED at which things moved. If any of you have ever been to Ghana you would understand that the quickness with which the Social Welfare (a government office) was really more than Extraordinary!!!   A God thing, really! When we contacted the USCIS (United States department of Citizenship and Immigration Services) in Ghana they basically told us we would have to follow protocol and nothing could be expedited.  With our visas expiring the end of August 2014, we made the tough decision of leaving Stephen with the Boatengs, heading back to America to finish the U.S. paper work side of things. That would mean finding jobs, finding a place to live, setting up house (we came and had only the suitcases we brought with us from Ghana), and beginning the adoption process here.  That is what we have done.

Now some of you may be wondering what it takes to get the adoption process going or what we have done.  Let me fill you in. :-)  First you have to fill out an application...this is no one or two page application...pretty sure the application itself (that we filed with the agency we are working through) was about 10-12 pages long that needed extensive information about our families (close and extended), our references, ourselves, our financial matters, our work history, our personal info, etc....with that application we also filed autobiographies...that was also another 12-15 pages of questions, a LOT of questions that required much more than just one or two word answers....i worked on that part every day for a week...took a break...and then worked on then really had to write an autobiography of my life to date....i don't know how long that took....longer than i wanted.  then we had to wait for the references that we listed to be mailed a questionnaire, respond to that, and mail it back. We also had to have medical check-ups...for the entire family.  Then we had to do FBI background checks...did you all know that they do digital fingerprinting now???  It makes sense with all the technology we have. Then we had to do a personality test. Then we were finally able to start the home study part ( a process made up of 3 interviews).  Pretty much every step we've done has had a cost, the application, the background checks, the doctor's visits, the personality tests, the home study interviews...we've put out a chunk so far and we're not done...

So where does that leave us now...here is what we have left to do to complete the adoption agency we are working through requirements. These must be completed BEFORE we can file with the USCIS. We must take online adoptive parenting classes. There are five of them.  We must get a few paperwork items to the agency, and we must finish paying for the home study part. Our last interview is the middle of September.  Then when we get the home study report from the agency...THEN we can finally file with the USCIS. What does that mean?  That means another application, another FBI background check,  submitting the home study report, and any and all accompanying paperwork.  I honestly haven't looked at everything for the USCIS for about 6 months, it just seemed like such a huge task, that i've had to break it down basically to what do i need to do this week...or more often...what do i need to do today?

After we submit things to the USCIS, and everything is approved...then we can go get Stephen!!!  But what does that mean??  That will mean plane tickets and planning...that will mean a visit to the capital Accra to visit the embassy to get a visa for Stephen so that he can travel.  Then when he has a visa....THEN WE CAN COME HOME!!!!  I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO TAKE STEPHEN ON HIS FIRST FLIGHT!!!!!!!   I can hardly wait for all the firsts that will come on that trip!  For all the firsts that will happen when he gets here! For the JOY that our family will have being all together again!!!  It is hard for me to think about that as it brings up so much emotion...

What you can pray for... Pray that things will continue to progress as they have the last month so that we can get Stephen by the end of the year...SOONER if possible!!!  Pray that Stephen has his passport....pray that we will be able to keep up with the financial needs as they come up.....Pray for Stephen that he feels like he is not forgotten (he isn't, but it has been TOO LONG)....pray for his transition to life here....

So i think this is about as condensed as it gets writing out the adoption process and what we've done, been through, continue to go through, and what we have to look forward to doing. Our love to all!!

  

It's time

So, i was thinking that i should write another blogpost over the holiday weekend....but here it is Monday...and well...i almost made it. LOL!!

So much to catch up on, I'm not sure where to start.  I'll start with my job. Yep. I joined the ranks of those paying taxes from the labor of their hands.  (Which I do need to change my deductions for that because as it is setup now...i have NONE.  I have no desire to give uncle Sam anymore than i have to.)   I started working at Fedex a week and half before Thanksgiving....which also coincided with Fedex's busiest time of the year.  Sore....sore....SORE!!! I was so sore, i have been so sore that i seriously could hardly move! The guy who trained me told me that i was going to be sore for the first week or so....THAT was an understatement!  Let me tell you though...that i really enjoy my job.  i like that it starts way early and that I am done by the time my kids are up, eating breakfast, and starting school.  It means that I can listen to Indie read her Science and Social Studies....it means that i can help Corban out with his English...Montana with her Math (yep! Math!!!!) and Jachin with his English and math flash cards.  Now, granted we are still in the process of working out a good routine...but I'm thankful, truly thankful that my job at Fedex still allows me that precious time with my kids.

About Stephen....i bet you are all wondering where that is at. I had sincerely hoped that he would be with us by this time.  He's not and won't be for a while longer....we have had to find housing first.  we have been homeless since we left Ghana...now, that does not mean that we haven't had a place to stay. Many loving friends and family in the church have taken us in at various times in the past 3 months for which we are truly grateful.  I'm especially thankful for the Parsleys in Connersville, the Harbours in Wauseon, the Nichols in Oklahoma City, and the Fergusons here in Williston, and for all those that I have missed.  Finding a place of our own is what has caused the delay and we hope to have that rectified within the next month or so.  Moving is just so hard...whether it be picking up and moving across town, the country, or the globe...and trying to manage an adoption in the mix of that....well....it gets a little hairy. We need an address, and then we can begin all of the paperwork on this side of the ocean. I'm very thankful that he is with a good family in Ghana while he waits for us to get everything together.  Please pray for him and the family he's staying with...the Boatengs.  Stephen turns 13 on January 6!

Time is quickly slipping away again since we started school back up.  The days just seem to run together. I'm glad for it...glad as i hope that it will help the winter to pass all the quicker.  Time just seems to be such a precious commodity....I look at Montana and think i only have a few more years with her....then i look at Indie and am glad i have a bit more time with her yet. My boys talk about what they can do to make money....and i just wish we could slow down a bit.  the days slip easily enough away...and i grow more sensitive about making sure i make the most of my time.  I know i have room for improvement in this...i just pray, Lord, help me to count my days that I may build wisely.  May I be the kind of woman that is faithful with her time.

Crossroads

When i was a kid, we used to eat at this cafe a lot. It was called Crossroads Cafe. It was at a Flying J truckstop years ago; I don't think it exists any longer. It's that kind of place now that i search out to eat at when we're travelling. It's a cafe :-) you have daily special and all the watiresses know your name, and even likely what you'll order. I always liked when we ended up there...it meant a grilled cheese or cheese burger with french fries and ranch dressing.  I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Crossroads.

Here we are at life at another kind of crossroads. It seems I've had a few of those in my life.  Haven't we all?!  While I don't know if i enjoy them as much as the cafe by the same name...I think I should.  At a crossroads, you get to reflect on your journey so far, assess where things are currently at, and then move on in one of many directions.  We are moving on...literally.  Hopefully, Lord-willing, we will all be back in the States.   

A few of you may have known that I was planning on coming back to the U.S. for my brother's wedding in September.  I was then going to work for two months to save up some money to help Steve get going with a business.  You can read about that in my previous post (no, I didn't post that one on Facebook as it was written more for the ones who knew and wanted to know why). You see, when we came back to Ghana almost 2 years ago...we had a plan. Steve would find work here to be  able to support our family. We would work with the church and school.  His work would provide the way for us to stay here (residence permits). It was going to be great! But then we found out that the existing government really discourages foreign workers (some for good reasons, and some for not so good reasons).  Steve explored the mining field, the development sector, and the non-profit sector. All of which came to nothing.  It was discouraging. His fluent Twi abilities really meant nothing without a Master's degree or a Ghanaian wife (i offered to become one).  Enter the first crossroads.  Steve really had to sit down and think what could he do? What would he like/enjoy doing?  The crazy man likes math. So he considered what he could do in that field.  It came down to trading.  He's checked it out. He's done his homework, he's been researching and paper trading, some, since last November.  This is what he'd like to do, and why I was going to work and save for a couple of months so that he would have a small lump sum to begin.  That was the plan.  Up until a week and half ago.  

Steve went to the immigration office to find out what we needed to do to renew our residence permits prior to my departure since they expire the end of August.  We wanted to have that taken care of before I travelled.  What he found is that the costs had increased and that we would also have to get alien registration cards (something that we haven't had before).  The total cost was going to be very close to $1500.  We did not have this kind of money.  In fact, we have been juggling our budget every month to try and make ends meet, only to keep cutting back on our food budget more and more.  Steve looked at what we had (nothing) and what it would take over the course of the next three months to cover the expenses (a year's worth of rent coming due in October) and we "could" do it if we cut our food back to $100/month.  $100 is not reasonable or doable.  What we saw is just that we couldn't continue on the path we were on.  

Enter crossroads number two.  So simply...we are moving back to the States.  We are going to find jobs, and we are going to work.  Work to be free from debt. Work to be free to do what we love, travel and encourage the saints.  We are going to go where the job market is good and kind find work that will suit our skill sets.  We have decided to join the Nichols family in Oklahoma City.  Now, I will be the first to tell that never, EVER, in my life have I EVER wanted to live in "tornado alley".  This is going to take a lot of prayer and trust, at least on my part, and it's going to be an adjustment for all of us.  We are going to live and work close to the Nichols to find those who are looking for the hope and salvation that can only be found in the Gospel of Christ. Our focus will not merely to build up our financial house...but it will, even more importantly, be to build up the spiritual house of The Lord.   

Of course there are other reasons and things that had to be considered as well.  If you would like to know more, Steve or I would be happy to discuss them with you, once we get back to the U.S....or before if you live in Ghana.  The next 30 days look to be filled with a lot of craziness.  We have to sell most all of our possessions, and trim things down into suitcases to move across the Atlantic, yet again.  We have the concern of housing when we get to OKC, and needing a vehicle to get to and from the job site(s).  Trying to figure out how to get our dog to come with us...and seeing if we can adopt Stephen Karikari who has become as much a member of our family as any other.  The latter is one that needs serious prayer.  Stephen's mother is willing to give him up so that we can adopt him, but there is extended family and his biological father (that has had so very little to do with him), and those things carry more weight here than they would in the U.S. 

So please, pray for us.  Pray for wisdom for us as we move forward.  Pray that we will have clarity of mind and thought to make the many, many decisions that need to be made in the next month before we leave.  

You know...looking back on the last almost two years here.  We have no regrets.  We are SO VERY GLAD that we got to be reunited with those whom our souls love.  So glad that we've had the opportunity to get closer as a family...to remember what the really important things in life are...to remember that the fast pace lifestyle isn't all what it's cracked up to be....to enjoy family nights again (we won't be giving that one up again!)...to grow up and learn and get a fresh perspective.  Very thankful we are.  

Just like I enjoyed eating at Crossroads as kid...I'm enjoying the crossroads in life, too.  Something new, something challenging, something altogether different.  With Christ in me, a spiritually minded man to lead me, super kids to love on and train, and amazing friends to work with...everything is AWESOME!!   

Why work?

Ok, so...this post is to help others who wonder why I'm going to work while back in the U.S.

First, we would have loved to come back as a family.  We all really enjoy traveling together.  It is always such an adventure for us!  However, we couldn't.  My brother got engaged last year and we knew the wedding was going to happen this year, and we just couldn't make a trip happen.  In stepped my brother's fiancee. She offered, as a surprise gift to my brother for the wedding(which by the way, is no longer a surprise, it was a bit TOO BIG of surprise to keep secret), to pay for me to fly back for the wedding!!! I was beyond excited!!  And how more perfect could it get that their wedding was going to be in Montana (they both live in Illinois) and just one week after MT family camp!! The timing is perfect!

Initially, i was just going to go back for three weeks.  Just enough time to get adjusted to the time difference, enjoy family camp, and be able to be a help with all the preparations that needed to happen for the wedding. Then head back to Ghana.

But then...Steve and I got to talking.  It has been rather difficult for Steve to find a job here. The current government does not look favorably on foreign workers and there are a lot of hoops one would have to jump through to get work here, and the companies hiring are not all that willing to go through the red tape in order to hire a foreign employee. He's looked into the mining field, the non-profit field, the development field...and nothing. He would have to do one of a couple of things. Go back to school and get a masters for the particular field he'd like to enter, or be willing to do volunteer work for a couple of years and then gradually move his way up the development ladder.  Either of these would take a lot of money and relocating.  Yet, his desire is to provide for us.  So he started looking into stock market trading.  He loves numbers. He gets all excited at these charts that he shows me. Trading like this does not take into consideration his age or past schooling, and he could get started in it right away.  He's been looking into things since last November.  Studying, researching, listening to podcasts and online videos have filled his free time. But now...he is looking at doing some actual trading, and well, honestly, that means some up front money that we don't have.  This is where my working comes into play.

Would Steve prefer to go back to the U.S. and work an extra job to get the money? Yes.  Is he at all delighted with the prospect of his wife working so that he can have the upfront lump sum that he'll need?  No, he isn't.  Let's look at things though.  We won't have to come up with the funds for a ticket. That's been very generously being taken care of by my soon-to-be sister-in-law.  I'm already going to be back there, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity.  Here is how I look at it.  I have an opportunity to show honor and respect to my husband by willingly working and making it possible for him to do the work that he desires to do so that he can provide for us, his family.  He can't just go pick up a side job here. We don't have the funds to send him back and honestly if we all go back to the U.S. the living expenses would eat into the money we'd like to save and it would take longer.

In a nutshell, my working while being back this time is what needs to happen to move our family forward.  This is about teamwork, and what each individual part can do for the advancement of the team.  My individual part will, Lord-willing, be working this fall. So that Steve's individual part can be trading with it this winter.  Both parts working for the team for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do us part.  I love and respect my husband for who he is and for what he desires to do.  I'm willing to help him in whatever way I can.  To God be all the glory!

The robbery

Ok, so i want to write this and have it be the first blog post since all our stuff was stolen.  i want to write about it and move on.  Which we have already, but this will make it final and complete.

On April 9, Steve, Indie and I came home together. We walked home from school. We came and unlocked our gate, made our way up to the house.  We unlocked the gate to our porch, and then unlocked our front door.  I was the first in the house and noticed immediately that light was pouring in from our hallway.  I thought that was ood. I thought that maybe the door to Nancy's room had swung open (which it never does).  As i got closer, i realized that the light was coming from a side door in the hallway that we never use...and at this instant, i knew.  I knew that we had been robbed.  I turned and in one motion saw that our device area in our livingroom had been wiped clean. I moved toward our bedroom fearing that our documents and bank cards had been stolen.  As i entered the room, I saw that it had been ransacked.  Everything taken out and gone through.  Immediately, i fell to the business of looking for passports and vital documents, bank cards etc.  Quickly, and VERY thankfully, i found all of our passports, cards, anything tied to our identity.  Whew! Praise God!  Then  began the task of finding out what was taken.  I was in a state of shock, I'm sure.  I remember not knowing what to feel.  People had gone through our things, our personal belongings, had handled them. It was strange.  and yet....life went one.  When we were on our way back to the house...it was lunch time, and we were hungry.   Steve left to go to the police station and file a report.  i stayed home with Indie and fried up some yam.  We had the rest of our kids stay at the Boatengs until the police could come, but nothing comes quickly here.

We had all of our devices for communicating with loved ones, family, friends, Christian brothers and sisters, stolen.  All we had left was Steve's blackberry.  One phone. And we were thankful.  Thankful, that of everything most important to us none of that was taken.  Our kids were safe.  Our eternities unchanged.  What did the robbers get?  A macbook, a samsung tablet, a camera, 4 phones, all chargers an accessories, 2 modems (one fixed, one wireless), power bars, all the money we had in the house. This is what i can remember.  You know what else they took?  All my pictures from the last 8 years.  All my files and documents.  I suppose i am partly to blame for that....should've had them backed up somewhere.  I will from now on.

So what have we done since the robbery?  We have made our house more secure.  We've added 8 more locks on 3 doors.  We replaced the door that had been destroyed and broken into with a pick axe. We were thankful that we could still communicate through Steve's phone. And we rested in the fact that the things that were/are truly important to us were unharmed.  We had no plan to replace things.  We simply couldn't.

What happened next was God's doing.  There were really only a few people who offered to help us, but help us they did!!  Within a day we had the money that was stolen replaced. Within a week, we had enough money to replace almost all of the above items. Within a month, we had enough money to completely replace all items and make the trip to Accra to pick them up at the airport.  God is good! He totally replaced and provided for us through His people. We are so thankful!! So thankful!!

Our hope is not in this life.  It could all be taken again.  I pray not.  Ultimately, though, our hope is for heaven where neither moth, nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  Our hope is one that is both sure and stedfast and which goes beyond the grave.  What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who is against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of  God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

An attempt at pictures

Jachin and Corban next to a fishing boat. Corban is holding a coconut.

Jachin, Indie, Steve, and Corban on the boat

So....I have been wanting to do a blog post with pictures for a while, but i'll be honest, i haven't been brave enough....me and pictures on or from the computer have not been friends for about 2.5 years...now that 's a long story, but it left me an emotional wreck and i haven't yet quite gotten over it...if only i could figure out how to combine pictures from my camera, and on my tablet...and have it all work there...but for some reason it isn't happening....which then forces me to use the computer...ugh...if only i could get the picture to do little thumbnails so that i could see the pictures before choosing them...and if i didn't have to download all the pictures on my sd card every time...so if someone out there could lend me a helping hand i would greatly appreciate it!  So, i am hoping with this post i'll be on the road to recovery and bring some life to my blogposts with some more pictures...

 Steve and the kids building a sand castle at Axim beach

These pictures are from a year ago....they're the only ones i have the computer right now...when i figure out how to get the ones off the tablet i can do more...or i will just take more pictures with my camera...but maybe i won't until it can get easier...it really should be easier...shouldn't it?!  So, please enjoy the pics i've chosen. :-)

Corban, Nancy, Montana on the boat headed out to the lighthouse island last year on Montana's birthday.

All the kids on some really cool rocks 

We were able to spend about 5 days at the beach last year. it was so relaxing and lovely.  Really hoping to be able to take my mom to the beach when she comes at the end of May.  And hoping that i get this picture thing figured out...i need help....anyone? 

This time of year

It seems that I find myself saying this a lot...this time of year.  I thought I'd share this with you.

This time of year the water doesn't come on as long or as often.  I'm not sure I'll ever be "caught up" on laundry until May/June when the rainy season is in full swing again.  When the water is one for only 12 hours at a time every other day, you can only get so much laundry done.  Especially when my little front loader takes two hours a load and most of the time that the water is on is in the middle of the night.      This time of year, i must remember doesn't last forever and there will come a day when i won't have to think about losing sleep for the sake of clean clothes.  

This time of year is when a "cold" bucket bath isn't really that cold and you actually look forward to it. Most of the time I heat water to take my bucket bath.  Hmmmm....wondering what a bucket bath is?  A bucket bath is, yep, you guessed it, filling a bucket to take a bath...I'm sitting here trying to think how many gallons is in our bucket.  3? 4?  This time of year...if i do want a warm (never hot, no, never hot) bucket bath i heat my trusty electric kettle that will hold 2 quarts of water to boiling. I dump that in a bucket and then fill the bucket to almost full, this time of year. :-)  Now if it is during the rainy season, i only fill the bucket half full as the water coming out of the pipe is much cooler than it this time of year.  

This time of year is when the kitchen is an easily 15-20 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.  You  know that feeling you get in the summer when you walk into a greenhouse...yeah, like that!  This is the time of year when you get sweat mustaches. Ever had one of those?  :-)  This is the time of year when I go change my clothes between making supper and eating supper because I simply cannot sit at the table  that way.  It would be akin, I imagine, to trying to sit down at the table immediately after working out or going for a run...you simply want to take a shower and then enjoy your meal.  

This is the time of year when the heat literally zaps you of most of your energy stores...and you're left wondering am I really that tired? To get anything done, you really have to set your mind to do it otherwise, it isn't getting done.

This is the time of year when the coconuts will crack of their own accord because the weather is so dry. 

This is the time of year when after it rains (which it rarely does) that the termites come out (I'd say out of the woodwork, but it really is just out of the ground) and you know what that means?  Hundreds of tiny (for right now, the bigger ones will come as we get closer to the rainy season) termite wings all around our outside lights and sometimes our inside lights for the termites that have found their way into my house.  

This is the time of year when i can get the really nice roma-like tomatoes in the market and food prices will gradually increase until the new harvests of food come into the market another 5 months away.  

This is the time of year when walking anywhere will get you super dusty, orange feet.  I have my walking Birks and my school Birks.  When I needed to walk to school instead of ride my bike, i had my Birks that I walked to school in and then changed in to my school Birks upon arrival.  So they were kinda like my snow boots.  :-)  Except maybe I should call them dusty sandals. hahaha!

This is the time of year when power rationing begins.  It's the time of year when the lights go off right on the hour  you know that it's going to be off most of the day/night.  So far, for us here in Sunyani, that means that if the power goes off at 8am it will likely not come on again until 5pm.  Of course, that's not entirely consistent...but that is the general rule.  I prefer it that way.  Power off during the day on and on at night  at least this time of year.  

This time of year is tough on so many different levels...and not just limited to the ones I listed here.  But you know what?  My God knows this.  My God knows all about this time of year and I'm thankful.  I'm thankful that He cares and He knows.  I'm thankful that He has given me His Spirit to help me overwhelming conquer through this time of year.  

A eulogy for Grandma

A LOT has been happening and I really want to get you all up to speed, but my grandmother's passing has been on my mind.  I wanted to share what I wrote for her funeral service...which is happening right as I post this.  

A eulogy for my grandmother, Catherine J. Edmonds

Written by Jennifer Icenogle

I suppose that as her granddaughter my view of her will be biased.  I suppose that though I wasn’t around that much that my perceptions of my grandmother will and can be very different from those who saw her every day.  What I hope to share is what was best in her. Please bear with me as I share my thoughts and remembrances of my grandmother, my grandma.

I remember so many things and much of my early life was spent with my grandmother, at least that is how I remember it.  I realize now that having my own children and listening to how they recount certain events of their lives is quite a bit different to how I recount the same happening.  That doesn’t make one account wrong and one right, or either account false, just different accounts of the same thing.  So, what I remember is spending a lot of time with my Grandpa and Grandma Edmonds while I was young.  It is because of my Grandma that I LOVE chocolate chip cookies. NO ONE made cookies like my grandma.  I mean really, the only cookie worth making is a chocolate chip one. I remember the hours that she spent playing cards with Joe and me.  Go fish, war, old maid…She always had breakfast ready for us when we woke up…a bowl of cereal and juice waiting for us on the small table in her kitchen on Marcy Street.  I remember one time sitting down at the table and telling her that she had put Joe’s spoon on the wrong side of the bowl (I was facing his place setting and didn’t realize that it was correct) she tried to tell me it was on the right side, but I didn’t believe her.  She had me get up and go over to his setting and see that the spoon was indeed on the right side. I also remember sitting on her bed with her and going over the math flash cards that I needed.  I guess what I remember most, was her just taking time with me…time to play and time to teach.  

My grandmother was an amazing housekeeper! She took a lot of pride in her house and her possessions. Everything it seemed was spic and span and perfectly in its place.  I know that it would have been this way right up to when she left it for the last time. When I think of how my house should look or be, the standard I have in my mind is her house.  That’s a mighty tall standard and, honestly, I fall short of it, most times. My grandma would rise early and get her work for the day done before Joe or I would even get up. I remember her letting me help with dishes and using the hand crank egg-beater to make bubbles in the sink.  I wonder now how much “help” I truly was. 

Funny, how I think most of my memories of my grandma revolve around that tiny kitchen on Marcy Street.  From her I got the idea that a woman provided good food for her family, and took care of the house.  Those ideas and ideals seem now to us maybe old fashioned, but that does not make them wrong.  If only more women focused on providing good food for their families and taking care of their homes how much better society would be.  But I’ve digressed.  Memories of roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans…grandma putting milk in the ketchup bottle to get out that last little bit. J Memories of her making Crazy cake for my grandpa and sometimes she could get the brown sugar frosting on it before he ate it … and sometimes not.

She was my grandma, but growing up in Ottawa and going to McKinley school, I learned that she was “Grandma” to hundreds of others as well.  You see she worked in the kitchen at McKinley elementary school, and everyone called her grandma.  I remember being in Kmart with her and having other kids that we would see call her Grandma.  I shared her with so many others.

When I began to understand the power and importance of our thoughts and that we could change the way we think from being negative to positive I used the memory of my grandma’s kitchen to bring me peace and calm.  It was the memory of a pleasant spring morning. I could see the trees budding out the window over her sink. There was a copper clock to the left of the sink on the cupboard. The kitchen itself would be immaculate. The kitchen would be warm but not overly so, and of course there was the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.  When I get scared (and yes, we do still get that way don’t we? ... even as we grow older) this is the memory I choose to go back to in my mind to calm myself and evoke peaceful emotions.

And though all of these memories are pleasant and lovely, I think the best thing my grandma was able to do for me was imprint the truth that there is a God, and that there is such a thing as good and bad, right and wrong. Many a night I remember saying the simple prayer…”Now I lay me down to sleep” and then as I grew, the Lord’s Prayer. I remember her showing me a snake that was on the porch and telling me of the Devil.  These things that I am sure seemed like little things then have had a HUGE impact on what I do this very day and where I am now.   Maybe you don’t know that I am a missionary; that I live in Ghana, West Africa; and that I serve the only living and true God.  Her gentle guidance is what led me on my path to seek truth and mainly to seek the truth found in God’s Holy Word. 

I am very thankful that Grandma asked me to do her eulogy.  I am thankful that I got to share much of these things with her quite a few years ago.  I am thankful for the truth found in God’s word. Here is some of that truth that I have been thinking about  “… the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth. It is better to got to a house of mourning that to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.”  (Ecclesiastes 7:1-4) What wise King Solomon is trying to communicate to us in this passage is that mourning is good because it is then that we contemplate our eternities.  You see, when someone dies we are forced to think of these things and we, the living, take it to heart.  Most of the time we can distract ourselves with the busyness of our lives and not think about death.  It is why we are often in the house of pleasure as those verses speak of, so we don’t have to think about death and the judgment and consequences of the choices we make. Later in the same book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, “Remember Him [God] before the silver cord is broken”, that silver cord is your life.  God wants you to remember Him before you die.  And a few verses after this the Bible tells us why He wants us to remember Him… “He [God] will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”  He wants us to remember that He is who He is… and not who we may think Him to be… He wants us to love and obey Him.  Please… please take this time to consider your eternity, because I know that my Grandma would want you to consider it now, as she herself sees things now, from the other side of death’s face.  Nothing is more important than what takes place when we die - when we enter eternity. 

Thank you.

Now, if you have stuck with me to the end...way to go!!  There is really only one more thing i'd like to add, and that is if you have any questions about your eternity...i'd love to discuss that with you.  Please contact me.   My love to all!

One Year!

Hello Everyone!!

Ok, so i looked when the last time i had posted was...which was way too long ago! We started getting ready for school, and well here we are now.  :-) So, this is hopefully going to get you all caught up.

WE HAVE BEEN BACK FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!! Praise be to our God!  We are SO thankful to be here and SO blessed by the saints here in Sunyani.  It is kinda hard to believe that it has been a whole year.  Is it me or do the years get shorter as you get older?!  Now that we are back in school, it seems the time is just flying, yet once again. It is finally seeming like we are settled in and things are feeling like "home" again.

Ok, so to get everyone back up to speed...let's see. Back in August...Montana and Corban were able to participate in a kids' camp in Kumasi.  They came back with lots of stories of all the fun times they had.    Very glad and thankful they could be a part of it.  They loved it!

We also got a puppy the end of July. We don't really know what we are doing with a dog....we bought a book online...watched some dog whisperer episodes on youtube.  Hahahaha!! We should be good to go, right??  The reality of it is we are learning as we go...going back and reading the book some...and just trying to use good ol' plain common sense.

We added another member to our family the beginning of September. His name is Stephen Karikari.  His mother used to live with us and was a student in the Christian school here until she became pregnant with him. At which time, she came to live with us on a more permanent basis. We have know him since he was born, literally.  Stephen was born in our van and "caught" by me on the way to the hospital.  :-)  He was able to attend our  mini-camp that we had with Jonny and Jenny Reijgers and Tyson Jacobs back at the beginning of July.  Since then he has wanted to come and stay with us.  His mother agreed, and now he is living with us and attending the Christian school once again.

Much of August was spent getting ready for school to start.  We placed a pace order to South Africa, and were really contemplating how to pick up the thing as they used to send it airfreight and we would have to go to the airport and pick it up in Accra.  Things have changed, and pleasantly so!  We were a little shocked at how much shipping was, but then we found out that they would airmail it directly to Sunyani!  WOO HOO!! All we had to do was go pick it up at the post office.  Praise God!  The extra cost for shipping totally made up for the trip that was going to have to be made if shipped the way it used to be done before.  Now, you may be wondering, or not, about the pace order...since we use the same paces over and over.  There were missing paces/scorekeys...or pages from paces missing that needed replaced. Also, Steve had been doing Saxon math here before we left in 2006...the decision was made to move to Math paces...we needed all the paces that Montana was going to be in for this year. And, of course, all the learning to read paces that i would need for this year.   All that said...it has been a GREAT start to the school year!! Overall, the kids' spoken English has greatly improved as well as reading and comprehension.  We also went to an "official" school uniform this year.  There had kind of been an "unofficial" uniform of white shirts/tops with black pants/skirts.  This simple act of getting a uniform has really brought some cohesion to the school among the students and i think they feel like this is a "real" school.  You must try and understand, the Sunyani school is very small (we have 14 students) and it is VERY different than all the other schools.  So, I think, in the students minds, getting uniforms made it more like a "real" school.  :-) Hey! Whatever works! :-) Also, i think getting things like real star charts (instead of photocopies) to record their progress on tests...real goal cards (again instead of photocopies) are all making things more official in their eyes. And guess what?!  They are performing WAY better!!  They are really working at understanding what they are doing instead of just memorizing answers to pass tests.

We are now in our 8th week of the first quarter.  We will be taking a week break at the end of the quarter. This is something that Mr. Boateng and Mr. Anthony started in our absence, and everyone seems to like it.  Hey! I'm not going to complain! :-)  I mean, really, twist my arm to take a break?!  If you must...but make sure it's my left arm. LOL!!  I would really like to fill some of that time with video chatting...i already have a time or two set up... please let us know if you would like to "see" us, any of us. :-)

So, yeah, it's taken about a year to get back in the swing of things. A lot of that has just been my getting organized so that there can be less stress about things at home and can focus more on the outward things, school, studies, etc...I made a month long menu for our main meal of the day, supper (right now it has a two week cycle in it...but that still counts!).  I also have a week long schedule for breakfasts and lunches.  This alone has been HUGE in reducing stress! I mean coming home from school, i am usually pretty tired, but then to have to think about cooking lunch...and then supper was tough.  I also have been working on a chore chart(we like to call them social responsibilities).  It seems working WITH the kids instead of just having them do their stuff has been way more productive...whodathunkit?!  :-) and that time does lend itself to more opportunities to share and talk with them.  All of these together are really helping.  I know, i know...if only i had done that sooner.  It's done now, and I'm lovin' it!

One last amazing thing over the last year...we haven't gotten malaria. Not one of us.  People around us are getting it, Stephen Karikari who is now living with us, had it when he first came to live with us because he had been out in a village for a month prior.  How can this be? Very simply, we have been taking Shaklee supplements. Mainly just Nutriferon and Vitalea (multivitamin).   Now this doesn't mean that we don't get sick with a cold or something, but we rarely do, and it is very shortlived.  Imagine what Shaklee could do for you.  If you would like to try Shaklee, please email or facebook message me.  I'd love to get you started on a journey of health.  If it's working for us here where disease is rampant, it can work for you too.

Forgiveness

I know, I know random right?  It is something that i have been thinking about for a good long while, like a year or more, now.  i have been contemplating sharing my thoughts about forgiveness for  a while now, too, and have just decided to do it.  :-)

Well, how important is forgiveness. It's way more important than i first thought.  I mean of course i knew it was important.  But i didn't realize it was also conditional.  Let that sink in, i had to. Yep, conditional.  In both written accounts of the Lord's prayer (Jesus' reply to the disciples wanting to be taught how to pray) Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:1-4  as we ask for forgiveness from God, we are also supposed to forgive others.  Now, maybe you already know this, as sometimes i am a little slow to catch on to some things.  I have been using the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) method of prayer for a loooong time. It hasn't, until the last year, occurred to me that i should also be praying about forgiving others.  I found this fascinating.  I started looking for more verses on forgiveness.  You know what i found?  More of the same!  But before i get ahead of myself.  Let's look at Mark 11:25,26 "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]   These verses hit me hard right between the eyes... and like i said, maybe you already know and understand these principles, but i am SO AMAZED at God's word and it's ability to be new and enlightening no matter how many times I may go through it.  Did you see the power in those verses in Mark?!  Our forgiveness is conditional.  If we want forgiveness from the Sovereign of the Universe, we(as mere men, i mean, really, who are we?) must forgive our fellow man.  That seems like it should be a no brainer, but it can also be a tough order.  What about those ones who haven't asked for forgiveness, what about those who don't know they need forgiveness, or those who know and don't want our forgiveness?  Well... we are responsible to forgive or we will not be forgiven.

Let's look at some more verses that have really driven it home for me.  Hopefully, I can lay this out in at least an understandable manner.  First, let me lay this down. We receive forgiveness of our own sins when we repent and are immersed into Christ (Acts 2:38).  That is really the starting point for all forgiveness.  You will not be able to forgive another until you understand how Christ has forgiven you.  Colossians 3:13 "bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." Ephesians 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."  See we forgive others because God has forgiven us.  I've given this some serious thought.  What is it that anyone could do to me to hurt me in whatever fashion that would be worse than what my sins did to the Saviour of all mankind?  Again, who am I that I can hold a grudge and/or withhold forgiveness toward any man? You see God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We didn't ask Him first for forgiveness, He first laid down His life so that we could have forgiveness.  What a great example!  In the gospel of Luke, when Jesus is hanging on the cross, He says, "Father, forgive them {he was talking about the soldiers} for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34  Like woah!  Jesus is in extreme pain and agony and His thoughts are for forgiveness for these men who are casting lots for His clothes, who crucified Him, who scorned and mocked Him.

How do we forgive?  Let's look... Matthew 18:21-35.  The apostle Peter asks the Lord how often shall he forgive his brother if he (the brother) sins against him?  And Peter, I'm sure, thinks he's being quite generous and says "seven times?" Jesus' reply was no, not seven times but seventy times seven!  And then Jesus gives a parable to drive the point home.  The first slave that owed ten thousand talents (some crazy amount in the tens of millions), that's us.  That is what we "owe" God for  the sin we committed against Him.  That second slave, the one that owed a hundred denarii (a denarii was a day's wage) that's the person who has done anything against us.  What is that which the second slave owed in comparison to the first slave?  A drop in the bucket really.  But the story gets better...the master finds out what the first slave did to the second slave (threw him in prison because he couldn't pay) and his master is ANGRY! Oh, I forgot to mention that the master of both slaves is God.  And then we get the crowning jewel, the moral to the story in verse 35, "so shall my heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart" How important is that we forgive each other? Pretty important, i think. And He puts another qualifier on it...it must be from our heart. It must be genuine. It must be sincere.

Two more passages that don't talk about forgiveness directly, but have impacted my thinking on forgiveness are 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins." Seems like it's covered because there is some forgiveness going on.  And Romans 12:19-21.  God doesn't want us to be like Jonah, and desire the downfall of our enemies, instead we are to feed them when they're hungry and give them drink. We are not to overcome good with evil (unforgiveness), but evil with good(forgiveness).  What has any person done to us that we should withhold forgiveness?  There are many more verses and places that either directly or indirectly talk about forgiveness.  How about the self righteous Pharisee and the lowly tax-gather? The stories of Jonah, King David, and all those that Jesus forgave and healed, give us more insight into what forgiveness is and what it means.  I don't know about you, but this has had a profound impact on my prayer life.  Now, not only do i ask forgiveness for myself, but i also pray and forgive others.  Why? Because that's how God wants me to pray.  I love that He keeps bringing things to me to think and meditate over.  My prayer is that this has at least done that for you. Let's excel still more!