Today was major preparation for Christmas at The Nazareth Home for God's Children. Here at the house, the boys received their Christmas haircuts (buzz cuts) and the girls are in the midst of doing their Christmas do's... it is a several day process. Today some of the decorations went up, the chapel in the home and the church were both cleaned, and I got to go to Tamale on a Christmas buying expedition!! (Finally, something I know how to do!!)
Mary Clare and I decided to buy Sister Stan a coffee pot. She loves coffee, but only has instant coffee here (I can almost hear the shocked exclamations from all of the addicted Starbucks and Tim Horton's coffee drinkers in the States from here!!) So, today Flora took me into one of Tamale's two "super markets," not quite super, though. They did sell coffee pots, so I picked one up, then went on a search for ground coffee and filters. And I searched, and I searched, and low and behold... although they sell coffee pots, they do not sell coffee or filters. Ummmm. Something is not quite right here...
So Flora tells me there is a better super market and we will look there. However, although slightly better, they still did not sell coffee or filters. So, Merry Christmas, Sister Stan... here is your new heated fish tank? Uh... heated water maker... or your new instant coffee keeper warmer... yeah, good old Tamale, comes through again.
Then we went to the market and bought food for Christmas, fruits and vegetables mostly. There are girls who wait with huge bowls to be hired by someone to carry their purchases, kind of like a shopping cart, if you carried it on your head. So, by the time we finished shopping, this girl, who had to have been no older than 16, carried 4 cabbages, 15 peppers, 15 onions, 3 pineapples, 4 watermelons, 4 papayas and 6 cucumbers in a HUGE bowl on her head!!!!! And she did it flawlessly with really, really bad paths to walk on, across busy streets and right to our car. Flora told me that the girls mostly get 1 or 2 dollars for doing this (!) Flora gave her $5.00, but I gave her 5 more. She almost didn't take it, but I said she may need it for her next chiropractor's visit. (I got nothing...
just crickets chirping, guess there are no chiropractors in Ghana!!)
The rest of the day was spent buying small gifts for the kids, waiting 3 hours while Flora and one of the girls, God Knows, got their hair done at a roadside beauty parlor (nothing like having your hair done on the side of the road with all the dust and people and commotion going on), and on and on our errands went until finally, at 9pm, we pulled in back home. It says something about my growth here, I think, that I think of this place as "home" and that I am so glad to return to it. All the kids come running for hugs and welcome, and the staff is full of hugs and welcome too... it is really nice!
Tomorrow, Gmarlia is coming home from the hospital. I am going to Yendi to pick her up and bring her home. Today I bought some tiny diapers for her and some formula, she was never far from my mind. And guess what?? I finally got Mary sleeping through the night (well, she wakes up at 4,but it takes her an hour to drink her bottle, and by that time I have to begin getting ready for morning prayer and mass, so it works out) and now she is moving out! Fickle roommate!! Actually, Sister asked if Mary could move in with the other toddlers (although not toddling, Mary is the same age as 3 of our other kids, Blessing, Thomas and Rejoice) and Gmarlia will be moving in with me. So, now it will be back to sleepless nights!! And something tells me that it will take a little longer for Gmarlia to sleep through the night than it took Mary. By the way, the "G" is silent in her name, and Sister will be giving her a new name when Father blesses her.
We are also getting another child tomorrow. I do not know much about her, just that she is 6 years old and was brought to the Bishop of Yendi, who called Sister and asked her to take the girl in. I will relate more details as I learn them. Sister once told me this house could hold between 75 and 100 children, we may get half way there before the end of the year at this rate!! But we are so understaffed. Please pray for workers... good, dedicated, caring workers to come and care for these kids. And, by the way, if anyone out there feels the call to come to Ghana and work as a missionary, let me tell you, the door is wide open! The welcome mat is set! I will iron the red carpet tonight! Check out the website, www.sisterstanschildren.org and let us know you're interested!!! I never thought in my wildest dreams that all of my life experiences and journeys would culminate in missionary service in Ghana, Africa... but it has happened!! As we have been hearing about Mary's "yes" to God the past few weeks, just take a moment and think about if God may be calling you to a few weeks or months or even a year as a "worker in the field" in Ghana. I was not as good as Mary. My first response to God's call was no. My second was "why would you ask me to do something so outside of myself?? Outside of what I have become believing in You?" My third response was "ok... You win." I am beginning to think that I won. ( Isn't it just a tiny bit frustrating that He is always right??)
By the way, since writing the word Starbucks above, I realized I missed out on my annual peppermint mocha. And it's all I can think about right now!!! :(
xo
