30-1-07 Sandy's Updates

January 22nd, Monday – HELP! HELP! HELP! I couldn’t remember what I had for breakfast today? My light bulb turns on in my head! Now, I remember for breakfast – Pastor Reinke and Karen cooked fried potatoes with onions, fresh pineapple, bread and cup of tea. It was really good and something different but thanks God for no EGGS! (smile!). Wow, I had 10 students came to Bible Study. Karen and I taught together about God’s Word all afternoon with our actions. I believe it was really great teaching them about God’s Love too! For dinner – GUESS WHAT! Yup, again for RICE but this time, it is mixed RICE with spaghetti sauce – GUESS WHAT!, the sauce is really good but still very spicy - not like ITALIAN sauce! After dinner, there was Blackout – no class this evening. So, Karen, students and I went out taught some God’s Word outside till gets dark. There is nothing we can do more this evening so I went to bed early around 8 PM. Good night and may God touch your hearts.

January 23rd, Tuesday – Wow!, Karen and I slept over 10 hours sleep but Pastor Reinke and I woke up with “fever”. We think it was from HARMATTON season (hot wind blowing down from North Sahara Desert to bring the dust) here in Kumasi town. Karen cooked French Toast with bacon, fresh pineapple and cup of tea. GUESS WHAT! Pastor Reinke taught me how to cut fresh pineapple and make pineapple juice. I ate 3 pieces of French Toast because it was really so good breakfast especially pineapple juice – good for both of us with fever! All afternoon and evening (1 PM – 8 PM), I had 12 students in my Bible Study with Questions and Answers. All the students is very much interested to learn from wrong to right answers but I still pray for them to understand for their future with great spirit in their hearts. For dinner, we ate boiled plantain with stew and of course RICE! But still very good and again for spicy taste! It is really long day of teaching with 12 students but it is really touching my heart with them. And now, it is time for me go to bed. Good night and remember to count the cows jumped over the fence. May God bless you all!

January 24th, Wednesday – Wow! Really God bless Pastor Reinke and Karen cooked for breakfast – EGGS turn over, fried toast, sausages and cup of tea. I never realized all deaf Ghanaians cames for breakfast to eat with their own hands even dinner, too! Very big different culture from American people! I thanks my Lord send 15 students to my Bible Class today from the morning to afternoon (9 AM – 4 PM). At evening, there was having a party for celebration dinner – Fufu with RICE balls in soup. I am not too crazy about Fufu but it was pretty good. One of Evangelist gave four of us a beautiful color African dress and African shirt for Pastor Reinke. It was really busy day and evening, I thanks to God for a wonderful celebration day! Good night and have a sweet dream! God be with you always!

January 25th, Thursday – Amadu, Enoch the driver, Karen and I went to North Tamale (over 6 hour’s drives) to picked up Betty Jo and Linda. The roads is horrible with so much bumpy and the drivers is impossible – worse than USA ! The weather is really horrible hot with very heavy humidity as both of us were sweating like a “pool” especially me with still fever to make a worse. Both girls were so glad to see all of us and visited their deaf school. I really felt so bad what I see and I don’t know if I could handle with this because it is really broken my heart what I see those all deaf children – it is very hard for me to explained about this and I still pray to Lord to help the deaf children to learn how to write and read for their better lives. Then I sat myself in the back of the truck because the weather was unbelievable and again, long ride – feels like another 4 hours to Mole National Park to stay overnight at the motel. Image that my hair becomes “red hair” from all the dust evens my clothes from longest ride – eeekkkk! The motel is really nice place but there is no water because of low water so we all use bucket water. Ate dinner there – all of us share the foods – RICE with beef, 2 RICE with chicken plates but the foods really very good. GUESS WHAT!, I saw mother boar pig with babies was eating the grass back of the motel. Took a shower to remove all the red dust from my hair and felts so good but not with fever! Really I have no idea what time I went to bed because my watch shows Arizona time! Sorry! Good night and pray for me to get my fever goes down!

January 26th, Friday – Woke up early morning and still have a fever – oh brother! All of us went to Safari trip by our truck with one guide. After about ½ hour later, we saw 2 huge elephants were walking across the road path – what a beautiful natural animal! Then, we saw more elephants walking through the field – beautiful watch those animal and I really wish I could touch the elephant. It was about 2 hours ride to see other animals – mostly elephants, antelopes and boar pigs – ooops!, saw different kinds of deer’s, too. When we got back to the motel, we saw 15 elephants cooling themselves in some water and one came, alone, near the motel building. (Pastor Reinke says it was “kicked out” of the herd). Very interested sight seeing and glad I went! Ate breakfast – of course again – EGGS with vegetable, bread and teas. It is very different taste of eggs but still delicious taste. Again, I sat in the back of the truck all myself – good enough – I almost slept all the way to Kumasi – (about 6 hours) and my “red hair” came back again! I still can’t believe what I see all Ghanaians driver is impossible with so many cars and trucks together – the road is good for one car on one side road but can you image 3 or 4 cars on both side of roads but thank God for Enoch is really terrific driver! I thank my Lord for all of us arrived home safe. Linda and Betty Jo ate Fufu with rice balls in soup. It was very sweet of Pastor Reinke bought us Vegetable Pizza. Mmmmmmm, it is so good. Took a shower again to take all the red dust off from my hair and my body. Went to bed but still don’t know the time again. Good night and have a sweet dream!

January 27th, Saturday – Woke up with little fever! Pastor Reinke cooked eggs, sausages, meat chopped, bread with jelly and tea. Karen and I sat in the back of the truck because I don’t like crowd especially the weather! Still very hot and high humidity especially my fever to make my face dripping like a “water”! The traffic still terrible and still unbelievable as I would NEVER be able to drive like that! Again, long ride takes about more than 7 hours from Kumasi to Accra to our Lutheran Retreat Motel. It was very sweet lady, Debra from England made a supper for us – GUESS WHAT! NOPE, NO RICE! It was Lasagna with salad and fruits. Ahhhhh!, it was so good supper. All of us prays with devotion prayers for our safe trip.Went to bed pretty late and took shower because it was too much sweating and stinking body! After shower, felts so good. Good night and thank you Lord for safe trip for all of us.

January 28th, Sunday – All of us ate breakfast – GUESS WHAT! Yup!, you are right! We all ate EGGS with bacon, bread and tea. Again, long ride to Mampong to drop Pastor Reinke for his preacher in Mampong Secondary School for the Deaf. Linda, Betty Jo, Karen and I went to Primary & Junior Secondary School for the Deaf. Both of them had a little story about God’s Word. The children are really so cute but still broken my heart when I see them. I met one girl who is hard of hearing and blind talked with me with sign languages on my hand and I think she is really smart kid with special blessing from God. Then, all of us went back to pick up Pastor Reinke go to Adamrobe Village with little long trip. This village for the deaf to live there but there some hearing people live there, too. Betty Jo and Linda tell the deaf adults and deaf children even hearing children, too to tell the story about “Moses”. After that, all of us danced together then we all played a game “Elephant”. Oh exciting game because all the deaf/hearing children enjoyed the games so much even deaf adults, too with lots of laughs.

Late afternoon, again long trip back home with full of dust/sweating to arrived our home around 6:30 PM. Again, so sweet for Pastor Reinke bought Southern Fried Chicken, RICE with chicken, RICE with beef and thin spaghetti – HURRAH for spaghetti! Still delicious supper. Karen read the Bible Prayer – Pastor Reinke asked us about Jonah’s questions and then all of us say each prays. It is really wonderful feeling to learn more about Jonah’s story. I was LAST person go to bed because I was busy writing a post cards. Good night and May God touch your heart to be safe!

January 29th, Monday – Wow!, I was LAST person to got up this morning. Pastor Reinke cooked EGGS, granola cereal, toasted bread with jelly and tea. It is really good breakfast, blessing Pastor Reinke serve a wonderful breakfast for us! All day, have been driving around to Deaf Association Office to get “Ghanaians Sign Languages” books, then went to Cultural Center to see if our purchase order is ready to pick up but the lady forgot to bring the record book. The weather still terrible hot and more sweating like a “water”. Then, drive all over the places to help Akorful about business. Then, we stopped at his house as his wife, Joyce, gave us a dinner – RICE with chicken and salad. We got home around after 9 PM. All of us were very tired due the weather knocks all of us. All of us pray from Karen’s Bible story with verse about Jonah then we pray each turns. Again, I am LAST person because I had to type to update my journal report. Have a sweet dream and may God Bless You Always! We ended our evening with Betty Jo and I playing toilet paper football. We scored!! when one of our “footballs” got stuck in the ceiling fan . . . funny sight to see toilet paper going round and round in the fan.

My story tells you the ways I feels about Pastor John Reinke! I am telling you my truth, he is really wonderful blessing Pastor Reinke to be with us for almost 3 weeks in Ghana , Africa . He is really very precious taking care of his children, Karen ( Illinois ), Betty Jo ( Illinois ), Linda ( Wisconsin ) and me ( Arizona ). I’ll never forget for one thing – he was really very much concerned and couldn’t leave without me to arrive; LAST person at London airport.

Ashanti School for the Deaf in Jumasi is about 45 minutes away from Lutheran Mission Home where I stayed for Bible Study with Pastor Reinke and Karen in Kumasi . Those deaf schools are really made me very sad because what I see all the deaf children for their life without learn how to write and read with no education for their own future. Even in Primary & Junior Secondary School for the Deaf in Mampong and also Adamrobe Village .

I can’t express HOW LUCKY I AM now because for all those 3 weeks what I have seen all the people and children (deaf or hearing) especially small children working with stuffs on their own head walking all over the street. I felt so sorry for all the women because they are NOT allowed to drive the car! Nothing like our USA ! I pray with my precious Lord to please help this kind of life in Ghana , Africa .