It shouldn’t be so difficult to take “our family” on a trip. As I type Kirk and I are emotionally in “Neutral”. Praise had his American Visa interview at 7:30 this morning. To not bore you with all of the questions, details and reasons I will simply repeat what the officer said. “He is temporarily denied. This is a special case as you have no legal custody of him outside of Ghana. I will keep all of this paper work and we will call you with a final decision.” Exactly when they will call he did not say - one day - one week - one month ??? Due to the increase in “World Wide Child Trafficking” this decision could easily go either way. The American Embassy is not trying to be difficult rather they are ... read more

Ah we've been enjoying our time together. Kwabena loves baking and Praise loves his bike! This next week the students will be “spacing out”. We have a team of (2) teachers to help launch us into space! Last month, under some very comical circumstances, I met Jessica (Utah) and Matild (France) here in Dunkwa. Both are volunteers in Ghana for 3 months, love kids and the sciences. They spent a few days in Apebouso teaching and being taught (culture). Despite Apebousos very hungry cocoa bugs, the girls enjoyed the visit and have asked to come back this week. We have some fun ideas we hope will help students begin to grasp the mind stretching concept of space. It is possible for this to be the final week in processing the schools official registration. Yep, one day ... read more

Some readers wonder; why of late, Kojo Konni is mentioned so much in the blog and why Kirk is rarely mentioned? In addition, several of you wonder what my daily/weekly schedule is like. Let me try to explain … I like to think of this blog site as a school blog not a personal life blog. Anything involved and/or connected to the school gets “space”. The sole reason I am in the village Apebouso is because of the school. As this particular village is very small (consisting of aprox 50 adults) life there is kind of like one big family. A major event and/or personal illness affects everyone. In addition to Kojo Konni’s serious wound, he happens to be the husband of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is not “mother of the chief” as you ... read more

Farewell 2008 - you have left me with fond memories and you have left me thankful. Thankful for; First of all a God who is faithful to His promises Faithful friends and family (the precious new found or re-established and the cherished old) Those who came from afar And Those who encouraged from afar Another year of life. The birds that sing and the blue sky that shines. Seeing eyes and hearing ears. Healthy legs and feet strong enough to carry me. Arms and hands long enough to serve me. For people who work hours and hours then so liberally and unselfishly give their pay away. For those who remember us faithfully in prayer day by day. The happy little family we have around us this year. For a healthy and thriving “Praise” who recently ... read more

A hick-up in the system. I was just checking thru the blog and noticed that these two entries somehow did not get "published" on the web. Sorry to fill your box and now take extra time to read all of this. While I'm here with you I may as well add in that I visited Kojo at the hospital this evening. They have taken tests and he has begun his medications for Buruli Ulcer. He doesn't have much of an apetite now. That's a bit concerning as he's already so thin. I pray his system will soon adjust. This next week is the final week for Alesha and Akos to be with us. I haven't specifically mentioned it to the students yet. I figure there's no need to add more days of sorrow to their calendars. ... read more

A Hero’s Welcome Saturday evening, Kojo and his wife received a Hero’s Welcome. They were welcomed with shouts of joy as they arrived home to the village of Apebouso. For the past two months Kojo Konni has been seeking treatment for his infected foot. Now they sat under their own shade tree, surrounded by their children, family and friends. They talked, laughed, thanked God, shared current event stories and ate home cooked food! The welcome crowd (consisting of everyone present in the village at that moment) finally diminished after a few hours. I wanted to tell them (the crowd), “It’s not over yet. This is merely a rest bit.” But really there’s no need. They already see the blood oozing from the heavily bandaged foot. They already know it’s not over yet … let them all ... read more

It’s been quite a week. Too much happened to give a report on all so I’ll give you the two most intense stories. The week began with our regular trip to Apebouso (village where the school is located) Sunday evening. Along the way I picked up a man who then informed me that Praises Mother and Grandmother (and several others from Oseakrom and Kwami Tanokrom) had been in an accident on Saturday. It had been a serious accident and the two along with others were now admitted to the hospital in the near by town of Obuasi. Needless to say Monday morning Kirk, I and Praise set off to search the hospitals. After some time of searching we did in fact find them. Praise’s little friend Godlove (7yrs) and his mother were also in the accident. ... read more

November 9, 2008 You know the saying “When it rains it pours”. Another volunteer, Hannah Finnegan, arrived in Dunkwa last Monday. Without delay, I whisked her off to the village of Apebouso, where the school is. She and I were teaching and getting acquainted for a few days. Wednesday Alesha returned from her brave, Ghanaian adventure in the city of Kumasi. I had a few days of “double takes” as I stepped into my humble, little, village home and saw not one but TWO white girls sitting in my chairs! Mind you my normal sight is Praise’s little black face. Often times there 2-3 other little black faces tossed in, but not often faces of white, female, adults. This past week we’ve been trying to adjust ourselves to one another, adjust school schedules, cooking menus and ... read more

A week of “Welcome”. Our friend Dara has returned to Ghana for a 10 day visit and we are enjoying ourselves!!! Also in the coming weeks you will be hearing about Ghanaian Life from a new perspective. We have a brave, young volunteer with us until mid December. As I’ve been here so many years African life is just “normal” for me. I’d like her to attempt to paint the mental pictures for you of our life here. My name is Alesha. I’m from Lisbon, North Dakota. I am 17 years old and a senior at Lisbon Public High School. I like school and sports, and I am very passionate with my music. I first felt called to Africa in the summer of 2006. Because I have enough credits to graduate early, I decided to come ... read more