Update 10

Before our general activity report, I have some messages to relate to my parents.

Mom: Last night Grandma Judy and I made a list of the differences in our personalities. It has been pretty interesting to live with someone in a fairly enclosed space for two months—you get a great crash course in what they’re like. I thought you might like to see what we have come up with as we near the close of this short chapter together.

Grandma Judy: Constantly in motion. I couldn’t get her to sit down for 10 minutes to listen to something on my iPod with me. She MUST have an occupation. (However, I will admit that she does find a few hours to sleep every night).

Rachel: Yesterday I spent nearly the whole afternoon reading two books I found at a Jumble Sale, and I do not consider that time wasted, thank you very much. I’m not constantly lazing around, but I find it much easier to laze around.

Grandma Judy will spend an entire afternoon doing nothing when Arnold Schwarzenegger paints his toenails hot pink

Grandma Judy: Loves to solve practical problems and implement her plans.

Rachel: Loves to daydream about unrealities and prefers to follow someone else’s plan.

Grandma Judy: When she sets her mind on a thing as being useful/needful/desirable, she refuses to rest until: a) it happens, b) the last hope of making it happen is exhausted, or c) plausible reasons are found for it not being useful/needful/desirable. Some call it stubborn, we call it “persevering.”

Rachel: I go with the flow, don’t tend to exert much effort to make something happen when I encounter opposition. I don’t like to push my way into something. Some call it slothful, we call it “flexible.”

Grandma Judy: Prepares for every contingency, even if there is only the barest possibility of it ever occurring.

Rachel: I don’t dwell too much on “what-ifs,” but then find myself constantly making unnecessary snafus.

Grandma Judy: Speaks very deliberately and makes sure every thought is verbalized correctly so nothing she says will be misunderstood.

Rachel: I talk fast and think faster (as all of my friends can readily attest). About a third of what I’m thinking actually comes out in what I say, especially when I skip words and sentences assuming that the other person will be able to fill in what I meant.

Grandma Judy: Spends more of her time with the adults.

Rachel: Spends more of her time with the kids.

That’s about all we’ve thought up so far. Are we accurate in our perceptions, do you think?

Dad: You’ll be sad to hear that I bailed out of two awesome potential presents for you this past week. The first one was a T-shirt at Global Mamas that said “Welcome to Ghana: Please Do Not Urinate Here.” I didn’t buy it, but only after epic internal struggle. The other was at the bookshop in the Accra Mall. I’m not sure what exactly was in the book, but the title was “Salutations to the Gut.” The only thing that kept me from getting it was the fact that a tiny book about 3 inches square cost almost 20 Cedis. Sorry Dad! I do have a present for you, but you might not find it quite as entertaining as either of those would have been.

So anyway, on to the actual update.

On Friday the volunteers and I took six of the children to the pool for a swim. They had a great time, but the next day my arms and shoulders ached from carrying G. We played Marco Polo and had a water gun fight (did you know that shooting someone with a water gun can relieve stress?), and they got to have cookies for a snack. It was a fun treat.

We are hoping to get on a flight on the 21^st, this coming Friday. I would like to be spiritual enough to ask you to pray for us to get on the flight if God decides the time is right, but I’d much rather you pray that God decides the time is right now. I know it’s all in His hands, but I will feel so much better when the plane takes off from African soil! Not that I’m completely glad to be leaving—I feel like I’m just starting to get a handle on my teaching and forming relationships with the kids. If God sends me here again, I will definitely come for a longer stint, i.e. six months to a year. Two months just doesn’t feel like enough. But I am SO ready to come home. Get birthday cake out of the freezer and Margaret and Lydia out of my room, this girl is movin’ back in!

Other prayer requests: Baby M is back in the hospital. She had a fever last week and still looks pretty malnourished. And as usual keep praying for Grandma Judy and I to be healthy and able to accomplish the tasks of each day…without getting too caught up in the days ahead.

God bless!!!!

~Rachel~