It's christmas break! which means that almost all the kids at the school have left so its really quiet which is quite a change. I am excited for today though because one of the peace corp volunteers that I have met here is having a christmas party!which should be fun. I am not sure what I will do for the break but I think I will probably travel to the coast some. Who knows?

My newest goal is to get the kids really interested in reading. There is a library at the school that is rarely utilized. Also kids here have a really poor reading level and I feel like if they read more it would definitely help a lot. I have been borrowing a lot of books from it. Some for me but some for the kids. We have been having a lot of fun having reading parties in my room. I pretty much have one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish memorized. I also spent most of yesterday thinking in rhyme.. thanks a lot Dr. Seuss!  

After traveling around for the week of Thanksgiving I was really happy to be back at the school. When I arrived all the girls ran out to greet me they are all so cute. The weekend was a lot of fun and we played ALOT of go-fish and I finally bought a phone so they were really interested in that as well. I have been really enjoying working in the preschool class the teacher is a lot of fun and the kids are  both crazy and adorable. I did get sick though this week so I kinda just hung out in my room for a day or so. Prayer for good health would be greatly appreciated. The fact that I have been eating all sorts of food that I am not used to and the fact that I am surrounded by a bunch of kids all day leads to a lot of not feeling well. Also please take a look at this fundraiser that is going on for the school that I am helping at! A donation would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.indiegogo.com/ClassroomforAll?c=home

So I went to the coast this weekend it has been super fun. I love the ocean we spent two nights in cape coast which is a bigger coast town it was very nice and a definitely did more shopping then I had planned. We also went to Elmina Castle which was the first slave castle where they were kept before sent off. It was very interesting. There was two different rooms where they kept the men and the women. They also had a room they would put anyone who resisted and the room was small and all dark and they would leave them there to die of starvation. In the castle there is also the very first church of Ghana. It is really depressing that people could declare that they are Christians and yet enslave and kill so many people.
   On a happier note.. we also went to this little beach town which was gorgeous and I played tag with the little neighborhood boys when I was swimming and that was really fun they were really cute.

I have had a pretty great week. I taught the kids how to play spoons and war and they love it. Though it does get a little crazy at times. The girls are all very sweet the culture here is all about sharing an being helpful. The other day we had a dance party and we all shared cookies and danced like crazy. They are a lot better at dancing than I am. They actually look legit. We had a really good time. Now I am off to the coast! I am pretty excited.

Not a whole lot has happened since my last post. My days at the school have become a lot more productive. I now have 4 girls that I tutor in reading and I usually go in to a random class everyday and teach some sort of lesson. Yesterday I went into the first grade class and taught geography it was a lot of fun we were going over the continents and after we went over then all and I asked them what the names of the continents were they all kept yelling AFRICA!! It was pretty cute. On a different note my debit card finally started working! Yay! Praise God!

I had a really awesome weekend! I went to a monkey sanctuary it was so beautiful! The trees were tall, green and just looked really cool and the road is a very vibrant red. There is a group of Canadian researchers there and it was fun to hangout with them. The stars were also crazily amazing there because its out in the middle of no where and the power was out. The sky was really clear except one area where there was  lightning storm which I also love. When we were there I got to climb this awesome tree called a strangler fig. The tree grows around a tree and then cuts off the tree's light supplies so it dies making it so you can go inside the tree and climb it. You should look it up because it looks awesome.  After a day there we (Anna the other volunteer and I) went to a town that had an amazing waterfall . On our way there our chocho (van were they stuff a bunch of people in order to get to some place) broke down! which was really fine with me because I was very uncomfortable because they squeezed me into a little spot facing backwards with about five things digging into me. So we waited in the middle of no where for a while and I looked down and saw this fern that is super awesome if you touch it the plant shrinks away and closes up its super cool. So i entertained myself with that for a while then a huge truck came by and we all hopped on it. It was a lot of fun. When we went to the falls the first day there was a ton of people there so we didn't actually swim but then we came back the next day right when it opened and we got the whole waterfall to ourselves! I hope everyone   is doing well! On a side note about my last side note I was talking to the Canadians and discovered what all of the bites were on my stomach. The updated count of bits on my stomach is 43. They are chicken flea bites which are caused by my bed  being infested so all I have to do is stick my mattress out in the sun and washing all my bed stuff really well.

I am really liking it here! I have only been here a week but it feels like I have been here forever. The first few school days I felt very lost trying to find stuff to do but now my days are busy. I usually go to a class and help out in the morning and then teach a few kids to read in the afternoon. I have gotten to know the girls in the house really well and we hangout after school. I am really glad that I brought a coloring book because they are loving using it. One night we played hide-and-seek in the dark in my room and they made a complete mess. After we were done I went to take a shower and they cleaned my room really nicely and then yelled surprise! They are so cute.Since then every time they make a mess in my room they do the same thing. They are really sweet.  On a random side note I have 31 mosquito bites on my stomach and I have no idea how they got there! Either that or I have some weird disease that gives me a bunch or red bumps on your stomach. 

I finally arrived! It has been amazing so far. The people here are very nice and full of personality. When I arrived on wed I was greeted by a swarm of adorable children who all told me their names which of course I didn't remember. Then I was taken to the dinning room where I found another volunteer. Before I came I was worried about being all by myself but God has answered my prayer. I am certain that while I am here I will not have to worry about not having a good christian community. Even without Anna there are so many friendly interesting people who love to talk. Yesterday I got introduced to the school. All the children are very cute and all of them know my name already and are constantly yelling at me. They always run up to me and holding on to me or trying to touch my hair. They are fascinated by how pale and blonde I am. I hope that I can learn all of their names soon, they are already starting to quiz me.
       Last night was really fun the girls who live in the house came and hung out in my room.The power was out so we grabbed my flashlight and read the books that I brought. The girls are so fun they have lots of personality and love to sing for me and make me sing for them.
      Today was my first venture to the cities market. It is intense, there are people everywhere! Cars also don't stop so you have to be really careful of your surroundings. Not only do you have to watch your feet but you also have to watch your head since everyone carries stuff on their heads so you have to make sure you are not in the way. The culture here is really fun. Everything is bright, colorful and full of life.
       My friend Anna the other volunteer has started a fundraiser for the school here to get one of the buildings finished please look at the website and share it with others  www.AClassroomForAll.yola.com or fb www.facebook.com/aclassroomforall thanks!
     Please pray for my continued safety while I am here.  For the school and that God would continue to bless the family in charge Gladys and Peter and that he would supply the funds to finish building the class rooms.  Also pray for the children that go to the school that they would grow to have strong relationships with God. Thanks!

There is exactly three weeks left until I leave. I just got my travel details from when I arrive in Accra to how I get to Kumasi. It sounds like an adventure. I will meet someone right once I get off the plane and then stay the night somewhere in Accra and then hop on a bus to Kumasi in the morning.. by myself. Luckily I have had similar experiences when I was in Ecuador. At least I hope they are similar. The bus will be eleven hours long so I will get to see a lot of Ghana. After three days of traveling I am sure that when I finally arrive I will be ready to finally get there.
On a different note I was very productive today and got almost everything done that I need for the trip. Now I really just need to get some malaria medication and the rest will be easy peasy.

I am excited yet nervous to go. I only have a few months left who knows what I should expect. I have been e-mailing the coordinator of the program trying to get some helpful hints but I know about the same amount that I did when I first signed up to go. The good news is the official language of Ghana is English. This makes my life about a thousand times easier. As probably the only non African that will be around for miles it makes me happy that I will be able to communicate with the people around me. There is nothing worse then being by yourself and having no way to talk to anyone.

A few weeks ago I sent in all the paper work to get a visa for Ghana. Having my passport sent off in the mail with no idea where it could be was not a good feeling. Not knowing if my application was going to get accepted and constantly worrying that I did not even put the right documents in the application were also feelings I did not enjoy. Fortunately I do not have to worry anymore. My passport arrived in the mail yesterday with my Ghana visa stamped inside. My passport has never looked better! The visa was the biggest worry that I had besides the actual trip to Ghana. All the other things that I need to do should be easy -breezy in comparison. I am constantly thanking God for how smoothly the process for this trip is going! I know that I am on the right track for his calling on my life.

Good news! I bought a plane ticket and sent in my application for a visa for Ghana today! Please pray that my application will be accepted. It was hard to figure out exactly what needed to be sent in for the visa  so pray everything goes smoothly. My official leave date is October 22nd so i still have a lot of time for preparing, which is good because I have a lot to get done.

Ever since high school  I have wanted to help orphans. Now is my chance. I am going to Ghana, Africa this October to work at a Christian school/orphanage. I am excited yet nervous. It will be unlike anything I have ever experienced and most likely harder than anything  I have done as well. Right now I am busy with the process of applying for a visa as well as buying a plane ticket. As of right now I do not have enough money for this adventure but I have no doubt that God will provide all I need and more.