This has taken me 3+
weeks to write… Part of it has been forgetting, and part has been struggling to
find the words to capture the beauty of this day. I figure that at some point,
I have to get around to pressing “Publish”… So here goes nothing.
For the past two months, I have been bugging Robin Beebe
about letting Caty and I accompany her and her family to Chorkor for their
April visit. We were grateful that we were able to work out a time when all of
us could go, yet we didn’t even know what would be in store for us this day.
Once we had picked up everyone we needed for the day (and
Godwin had fallen asleep on Caty’s lap), Robin started talking about the
different jobs that needed to happen that day. First off, one of the single mothers
was being taught how to make bracelets out of beads in order to hopefully
provide a living for herself in the near future. She is currently traveling
about 3 out of 7 days a week, leaving her kids small amounts of food while she
is gone, along with a house that has no mother in it. Feeding the Orphans is
trying to teach her a trade that will keep her close to her family, but still
be able to sustain herself as she needs.
The next job that had to be delegated was collecting thank
you cards from 14 students at a community school who received education
sponsorships through Feeding the Orphans. These students were not going to
school before, as until recently, there were only (expensive) private schools
in the area. It is just recently that they have been able to get access to
education, which still would not be possible without the assistance of FTO and
their sponsorers.
Finally, there were still more deliveries to be made, so a
group of people would make the last round of food stops while the others stayed
behind to complete their tasks. As Reid decided that it was important for Caty
to get to see a local school, we were assigned to thank you card duty – fine by
me! Walking through the village to get there, I was able to get plenty of
laughs from the locals by throwing “Etesein!” (How are you?) their way… Always
brings about a giggle at my attempt to sound like I know what in the world I am
doing!
As we approached the school, I was thankful we had our
friend Richard with us… Richard is a FTO employee who has been working in
Chorkor for quite a while and has built some strong relationships with the
people there (the fact that he is Ghanaian instantly gives him an advantage
over any America trying to do the same job!). He knew what kids we needed,
where to find them, and who to talk to so that people were’t totally freaked out by the white people
in their school! We did get a LOT of attention, but at least they had some idea
of who we were!
While thank you cards themselves went pretty well (much
better than I expected!), and meeting those kids was so sweet, what I wasn’t
quite prepared for was the time we would have after we finished. The kids were
on their lunch break, but it kind of seemed as if they were done for the day…
There was zero structure, minus the teachers running dance practice for the
kids in the middle of the courtyard. Caty and I wandered in and out of
classrooms, peering into life at this place… Life which includes classrooms
that are small and dark, blank walls, and a chalkboard and chalk as supplies
for the day. Children bring their own “exercise books” to school, and all work
appears to be done in these small notebooks. After seeing the crazy excess that
accumulates in many American classrooms, it’s heartbreaking to walk into these
rooms and realize that this is all these are able to provide for.
At the end of the day, I stood in a circle with a few kids
trying to get them to sing me songs they knew from church… I only got songs out
of a few of them, but their words were beautiful. I just stood there feeling as
though my only purpose that day was to say three simple words… “Jesus loves
you.” There was a beautiful girl, probably 13 or 14, who just had the eyes of a
leader… I can’t even remember her name, but I remember her eyes and I know she
is going to be such a force for His kingdom… So I took her hand and told her
that. “God has big plans for you,” He told me to say… “Keep going to school and
getting an education, you are going to do such great things!” Her smile was
priceless… But that was God’s promise to her in that moment. I pray that she
continues to seek out her great future… I really believe it’s there waiting for
her.
As I start to look toward my return to the States, it’s days
like these that I hope I never forget. Days where the brokenness of our world
feels pressed into my heart… Days where I am reminded of how much help some
people in this world need… Days where God is so clearly working, even in the
depths and the pain and the struggle… Days where God so clearly spans this entire
world in such an intimate, beautiful way.
The classroom where we wrote their thank you letters...
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