Raphael Addi

      Raphael Addi is 11 years old, and was rescued in June of 2012. Raphael had been living as a "street kid", finding food and a place to sleep wherever he could. His father died when he was young, leaving his mother to care for him. She did well until she became ill and died also, leaving Raphael to live with his great grandparents. They were very elderly, and were both blind, and could do little more than just sit in chairs all day, so there was virtually no care for him. Some of the people of the village had told Johnbull about him and how he was living. When he was rescued, he had been roaming the streets and had been sneaking food from the crew of a film making team that had been doing filming on the coast near the village. The day he was rescued, Autumn said he turned to her in the car and gave her his big wide grin and two thumbs up! The next day at breakfast, he asked Johnbull if he should save some of his food, and Johnbull said eat what you want, there will be more for lunch and dinner. Raphael responded," I'm going to live here the rest of my life!"

Raphael did have some school before his mother died, so he has done well here. He is a very funny kid with a great sense of humor and a huge smile. He is also a very good soccer player, who takes the game very seriously. You can tell by his smile that he is loved and happy to be here.

In Other Words...

One of the things we learned in our training with Autumn was about the different phrases or term that Ghanaians use. Almost 3 months here and we still hear new ones occasionally.

Last Tuesday the P4 (4th grade) and P6 (6th grade) classes were loading the bus for our excursion (field trip) and one of the teachers leaned into the window and said, "Remember, we carry each other here!" I was puzzled by this until I realized that he was telling them that they needed to sit on each other's laps. There were 47 people on a bus that was designed to hold 25-30! We passed two police points and they never looked twice at it. Some things that would never be allowed in the states are no big deal here. 

Here are a few of the other terms/phrases we hear:

You're invited - When you pass someone who is eating they will say this to you, but it doesn't mean they necessarily want you to come share their meal. They are just being polite and we just say, "Thank you!" and go on. 

It is paining me - It's hurting me

It is my own - It's mine

Spoiled - ruined/broken

So sorry - This is said all the time. If someone gets hurt or really any situation where someone is sad...even losing a game of Uno! 

I am going and coming - This means I'm leaving and will be back at some point (not necessarily soon!)

Mad - If you say mad in this culture, they think you mean crazy. The CORM kids are pretty used to Americans though, so they usually understand that you mean "angry". 

Am I among? - This means "Am I included?" 

Goggles - Glasses

Ghana was a British colony, so many of their terms and phrases have a British influence. They also tend to misuse their pronouns. Many will use "she" and "his" in the same sentence, in reference to the same person. They also don't use contractions so instead of saying "it's", they will always use "it is". Understanding their speaking and accent has become much easier, but there are still many times when we have to ask someone to repeat something. We have learned a few things in Twi (pronounced chwee), but would like to learn more. Most of the kids and adults speak other local dialects in addition to Twi so we have a lot to learn!

Dawn

Lessons from art class

Wow how time flies! We are in the last week of the semester for school already. We will have a break for about 6 weeks, and boy do I need it! I feel like my creative thinking is about all used up for the time being, and thats not a good thing when you're teaching creative arts! The struggle that I face here is not so much with art itself. I have always had artistic ability, and even went to college to study art after high school. That taught me lots of techniques and sharpened my ability as an artist. It helped me develop my own style and creativity, but I never had ANY aspirations to use those things in a classroom setting!  So here I am, teaching (or at least doing my best impersonation of a teacher) art classes for kids from pre-k age up to high school age. 

Here are a few of the challenges I face. The kids here culturally are so stunted when it comes to artistic creativity. Out of the 180 odd kids at the school, there might be a dozen or so that actually demonstrate any real artistic ability. I think there are many kids who have the ability to be really good artists here, but they don't get encouraged to use much creativity, so they have not learned how to use their potential. Most of the kids don't understand concept, so when you ask them to draw a picture and use the whole page, they have trouble. I usually end up with a bunch of random objects drawn in the center of the page.

Another challenge is that being a support based ministry in a country where certain supplies and materials are either unavailable or very expensive, I am very limited in what projects I can do, which challenges my own creativity! I can't do watercolor painting in all the classes because the paints get obliterated after just a couple classes. We have to draw and paint on copy paper because good paper is not available. Projects that involve materials that are commonly available to us in the states become impossible here. And trying to get the kids to understand how to use materials responsibly and to share them results in frustration on my part and the sound of arguing kids.

The whole experience has been pretty stressful for me, and at one point, I didn't think I would be able to continue. I just didn't know what to do next, and often felt like I was far to inadequate to be teaching, and I wanted to give up. 

But through this experience, I've learned something. When we are called to serve, and we answer that call, MANY times the things God requires of us will draw out our own weaknesses and inabilities. Its in those times that we truly learn how to be submissive, and to trust in His strength, and not our own. Man that can be hard. I know I still have a lot to learn about trusting God completely, but I am also finding along the journey how he meets each need and supplies us with just enough to go on. Like having a handful of 8 year olds run up after school and ask with genuine excitement when I'm coming to their class next, after feeling like the last project I did with them was lame! 

Its in moments like those that God reminds me that trusting Him is worth it, and knowing that maybe a seed has been planted, and that maybe, just maybe, a kids life might be changed. And I am strengthened, and encouraged. Thank you Lord.

Cayle

I like David

I like David. Yeah, you know...King David... in the Bible. I think its because I feel like I can relate to him. No, I've never been a king, and I'm quite sure I never will be. I couldn't come close to handling the kind of leadership power that David had as king.

No, I've never slung a stone at a giant and killed him, and hopefully I'll never be put in a situation where I would even have to try. 

Never killed a wild animal with my bare hands... at least not one that was capable of eating me, although I do like to hunt, so I suppose we have that in common.  

And praise God, I've always been faithful to my wife, and always plan to be, so I'm not like David in that respect either. 

So why would I relate to him, when it seems like we would have nothing in common. 

Well, Its mainly because of scriptures like Psalm 13:1-2, where he says:

  "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

        I love that David can be so strong and confident in who God is, praising him, marveling at his power and creation in one moment, and then suddenly seem so weak and weary, wondering where God even is.  

Yeah, I can relate to David. I have those days... sometimes weeks, where I wonder where God is. So I read Davids words in Psalm 13, where he is filled with sorrow, doubt, stress, sin...all those things I sometimes feel, and think "yeah...I can relate to that." And then I read something like Psalm 18:1-6:

"I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears."

I read those words and I am refreshed and encouraged. Somehow, its like a warm blanket for my soul. It just helps me feel more secure. 

I wonder... do you ever feel like David? Ever wonder when things are finally going to work out? Ever feel like God has abandoned you? Ever felt like you were all alone? Sometimes I do... 

But I'm also comforted by the fact that David and I definitely have one thing in common. We love the same God. And the same God that delivered and saved David, is the same God who delivers and strengthens me. 

I like David. He's my kind of guy... How about you?

Cayle