Many of us woke up at 3:30 a.m. to a loud and heavy rainstorm, and I began to come up with a Plan B for our Jubilee Dinner that was scheduled for noon. I couldn’t figure out any solution, so I prayed. This was backwards, I know. You would think I would learn by now. Don’t worry. Pray. Trust.
At 10 a.m. we worshipped with the people of Ankaase at the Methodist Church and by the time we were out at noon, the weather was clear - hot and humid - but no rain. And we gathered with our families on the lawn of the mission house for a delicious catered lunch (thank you FBC Tulsa for providing the funds for this!) We played the name game, fellowshipped with our students, apprentices, and families, and taught each other songs and dances. Just so you know, there is now a group of Ghanaians in Ankaase who know the Cupid Shuffle. The most important thing we wanted to communicate was that God loves each one of them and we love them. It’s so simple, but is it worth making a long hard trip across the world to share it? Yes, it is. And can you share it by dancing. Why, yes, you can!
From there, we made our way to see Philomena and Maxwell, two of our sponsored students. We learned today that Philomena delivered her baby - a boy - and we couldn’t wait to congratulate her. Here is what the situation with 17 year-old Philomena has taught us: we can’t always guarantee that everything is going to work out the way we envision it, or the way we think is best. God always knows best, and He can bring good things out of the situations we don’t understand. Philomena will still take her exams to enter senior high school, and we pray she will continue with her education. But whatever she decides, we want her to know that we love her and are here for her. Babies in Ghana are not named until they are at least ten days old, so her son does not have a name yet, so for now we’ll call him Baby Phil. He was tiny and beautiful and a gift from God. Welcome to the world Baby Phil! We are praying for Philomena as she prepares to take her exams to enter Senior High School on June 15. Please pray along with us.
Our lunch was so good and there was a lot of it, so this evening Elvis treated us to a fruit salad, popcorn, and ice cream. A light dinner. Yum!
Tomorrow our team splits up in the morning as half of us visit the seamstress apprentices and the other half Mpobi school. Thank you for your prayers and support as we continue with our time here in Ankaase.
It’s time for a shower and bed, so goodnight from Ghana!