First of all, I just have to say aaaaaahhhhhhhhh. It is our two month "anniversary" of being here in Ghana, and tonight and tomorrow, Mary Clare and I are at the Bishop of Yendi's residence receiving an orientation on Ghana's culture and history, and receiving a well deserved rest, if I do say so myself! It is our first break since coming to Sang Village, and I just had my first shower since November 10th!! (hence the aaahhhh) What a treat!!
So, for two months, Mary Clare and I have been first time missionaries in a world so different from our own, sometimes it seems fake! The past month has been one of ups and downs for sure. It was difficult not being with my family, and I think I can speak for Mary Clare as well here, for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. There are so many family parties and little traditions that have become mainstays in our celebrations that make it all so special and fun. But for me, it was the anticipation of the loss of those parties and traditions that was harder. I kept thinking of how hard Christmas would be, how hard my birthday would be without my family... but you know what... even though I missed being with them, I had a beautiful Christmas and a very happy birthday. I think I almost psyched myself out of opening myself to a new experience, and I am so very glad I didn't!! The holidays for me were different, to be sure, but no less joyful and fun.
It has been a sad and eye-opening month in our acceptance of new children and my revelation into the process that goes into it all. With the abandonment of Mary and her mother's haste to leave her child, and the soul crushing car ride I had with Ella and her mother to the hospital, instead of feeling overburdened by the thought of two more mouths to feed, two more to bathe, medicate, etc., my heart simply grew bigger to accept these two souls and love them more because of their situations. Mary is doing better. She spent some time at the Yendi Hospital under observation to see if they could put an end to her seizures. They couldn't, and will send us to a specialist in Kumasi for her to see. But she is growing well despite her seizures and is eating better. We continue to work with her in physical therapy to strengthen her neck, arms and legs. She is beginning to sleep through the night, which is more than I can say for Ella!!
Ella is growing! Her little belly is growing fast. She eats well during the day, and wakes 3 or 4 times during the night to eat as well. She has begun cooing and gurgling a little, and likes to follow me around the room with her eyes as I am working. She has begun crying when I am out of view and has a cute way of signaling when she is hungry. She makes a fist and brings it to her mouth like a bottle. Smarty!! Her head is the biggest part of her, and when I put her on her stomach to stretch and exercise a little, her head goes down to the mattress and her butt goes up in the air. She hates that! Is it bad that I feel proud that the other day someone was holding her and she was crying and crying so I took her and she stopped right away? We have a special bond, what can I say?
I have been sick a lot the past month, much to my dismay. Well, of course who likes being sick... but I feel so bad when I am sick here because it prevents me from doing what I came to do. So on top of feeling bad, I feel bad. And Sister Stan feels bad because I feel bad, it's not such a good situation. Thankfully, I seem to recover quickly, but usually Mary Clare then gets sick. We are on some kind of missionary wellness seesaw... she's down with something, then gets better, then I am the one down with something. Must be what the bible talks about being molded and tested by fire. I hope we're almost done!!
It is pretty easy to look at the past month with dismay over what has not been accomplished or over the hurdles we still have to face each day, but I think the better thing to do is look forward to the newness and brightness of a new month. Who knows what the next month will bring, what problems we will solve and what challenges we will overcome. And the best, best, best thing to come is an answer to a prayer... more missionaries are coming!! Mama Paula is returning to Ghana, this time with her superhero husband, Papa Tom. The children are so excited to see Mama Paula again!! And by the time we get to month number 3 for us, more missionaries will be coming, nurses to help with our medical crisis and teach Mary Clare and I how to really help these children instead of being a missionary version of Doc McStuffins.
Mostly, I look back on this past month and I feel grateful to have come through it in one piece. I think the greatest thing I learned is to recognize and appreciate the moments of peace and love. Today, Blessing, who is about 2 years old was walking up and down the hallway singing at the top of her lungs one of our Gloria songs, "Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to the Father." I never heard her sing before. It was so, so cute, something I will remember each time we sing that song. And when one of the girls hurt herself falling from a seizure, when I realized one of the kids pooped in their bedroom, when I scolded one of the boys for hitting someone and he turned around and hit someone else, I just closed my eyes and brought back the image of Blessing singing and felt a peace that helped me in each situation. Tested in fire... you bet, but even now, after just 2 months, I am anxious to see the me I will be after a year. xo
