Ghana Trip- Day 2

This is the 'open air' church, to the right is the kids Sunday School building

Our 2nd day in Ghana was a Sunday. That means CHURCH!! The church the kiddos attend was directly across from Maa Guesthouse, where we stayed. We met them over there. All of the kids had obviously been dressed up and coifed to their very finest. They were all smiling and beautiful in their dresses and dressy shoes. Their Auntie came and dropped them off, then left. She said their teacher would be there soon. Okay. So now Steve and I have 35 kids ages 1-11, and we don't know their names, and can't even speak the language of all of them! Plus we weren't sure what was expected of us. Should we make them sit down? Are they allowed to go outside (which they were doing). Ultimately it turns out that children in Ghana are given MUCH more freedom than our American counterparts. When they need to go to the bathroom, they just go. No asking. They can go outside for a bit, then decide to come back when they want. It was truly freaking me out, though. Eventually the Sunday School teacher did arrive. She sang lots of African and American songs with the kids. They knew every one, even the new kids. Then another teacher arrived. She told Tater, Joby and Lulu that they needed to go to their class now, and Steve could go with them. They just hopped right up and followed. I was very proud of them. I stayed with the Eban House kids as we learned about "do not worry about your life". It seemed very fitting for children going through so much change and uncertainty right now. For the most part the children behaved very well. My Ishy fell asleep on my shoulder, as we sat by the open door (nice breeze). Sunday School was very pleasant. Afterwards the teacher came up and said "it is closed". I asked her what I should do, and she said "wait". Alrighty then. So now I alone had 35 kids that literally burst through the doors out into the courtyard. Right next to the open air church where service was going on. I'm thinking that any minute some angry Ghanaian man was gonna come out and yell at me to keep the kids quiet! Most of them ran around the corner, so I followed. There were Steve and the kids. Sitting in their class, an outside porch. The kids were laughing and carrying on, I was freakin out. Finally Sunday School was over and we all made our way back to Eban House. No one was mad, no one was in trouble. Ellen and I agreed, though, that the sun was "plenty" while we were waiting!

When we got back to Eban House, we brought Stella Beatrice, Elias and Ishmael back to our guesthouse to get ready, because we were going to the.... beach! The kids were excited to be going on an adventure. I was excited to have them out by ourselves... my family. We got the kids all dressed in their first swimsuits, thankfully I had bought the right sizes for everybody. Then our driver, Edward. came to pick us up and take us to the beach! The ride was hot and bumpy, but fun, to see the kids sitting in the van, smiling away. We got to the beach, found a secluded spot, and staked our claim. From what I could understand, the kids had never been to the beach before. That did not stop Stella Bella AT ALL. My girl ran right into the waves, got knocked down, came up laughing at went right back for more. It was hilarious, and heartwarming. Sweet Bea was a little more tentative, but would be slightly more daring if Joby and Lulu were there with her. Elias went out into the waves a little, but much preferred staying by the shore and getting tumbled a bit by the waves as they came in. Lil Ishy was not enjoying the water that much, but was liking watching all the fun in the comfort of Mommy or Daddy's arms. I was blessed beyond measure, watching 7 of my 9 kids getting along, helping each other, bonding and having a blast together in the Ocean... in Ghana. Whodathunkit?



A very, very good day!!!