December/January
Hi there! I honestly forgot to update for December because the end of the month brought some exciting surprises! But I’ll start with a summary of December first…
At the beginning of December, I went on my final outing with Bailey & Sydney, the two American social work girls that had been working at CORM, and then said goodbye to them as they went back to the states! Other than that, most of December was pretty slow! We did a lot of baking and playing outside especially after the kids finished their school year! The rest of the senior high students came home and it was so wonderful to have everyone there again. It’s so different when everyone is away at school! Then the Christmas season was upon us! Christmas lights, trees, carols the whole deal. We played volleyball and basketball, and the boys played lots of football. It was wonderful! A new experience for me in December was killing a few chickens! I had done the dirty job of cleaning out a chicken that was already dead, but this was a whole different thing! Felt like something I had to do while I live in Ghana! Ended up being the little boys that taught me how to do it and it was quite an experience. The only tough thing about the Christmas season was that everyone was getting sick, myself included! It was so crazy!
Christmas Day was awesome! We had service in the morning which was mostly praises, and yes, I did get physically pulled to dance which I escaped from as soon as I could ha! After church, we had a HUGE water fight all over campus! Everyone brought out some form of container to carry water and dump it on someone. The hose was going and water guns were used. It was so fun! Sir Richard came out dressed in a Santa costume and really amped up the fun. Everyone ended up SOAKED. I knew there was going to be a water fight but I didn’t know it would be this WILD! Later in the day I played some board games with Autumn and Stacy, and then everyone got dressed in their Christmas clothes for the Christmas party which was so fun too!
After Christmas we approached New Years and here is where the surprise comes in! I flew home on the 30th and arrived in Texas on the 31st to surprise my family! Casey & Josh knew that I was coming (they convinced me) and so Josh picked me up from the airport and we arrived in time to celebrate our family Christmas all together! I am now in Texas until the 25th and then I head to Madrid to visit my friend Katie for a week before heading back to Ghana. Since being home I have gotten to spend lots of time with Murphy, who is now 1 year old, and see my best friends. Family time has been so so special and I am so grateful to have this opportunity to see them. It is such a blessing to get this extra rest before heading back to a new school year.
This upcoming season is going to be exciting and a big challenge! The school year has now begun at Faith Roots and I will be joining in a few weeks to start up my role as a math coach. I will get to work with teachers in preparing math lessons, being creative with strategies, and helping to manage the math reteach across the school. I am excited and we are so hopeful for this new year! Prayers for open minds and growth mindsets across the school would be amazing. The school is trying new things this year and if all goes well, students will find more success in their learning.
As I reflect on the 2022, I can only feel the most gratitude for my family, friends, and experiences. The beginning of 2022 looked vastly different from the end and it amazes me how God has moved through the ups and downs of all of it; welcoming Murphy to the world (thank you, Casey), graduating college, celebrating my brother’s marriage, saying goodbye to my family for awhile, jumping into a sweet life in Ghana, experiencing God’s presence in ways I would never expect, and reuniting with my family in a fun way. 2022 was one of the most life changing years so far and I truly cannot wait to see what 2023 holds. For 2023, I feel God pushing me into a season of welcoming the “new” wholeheartedly. Wonderful new things and difficult new things. God is faithful through all of it.
I would also SO appreciate prayers for safe travels and success going through customs everywhere. Please pray for safety in Madrid and for all the teachers starting up their new school year. Finally, prayers as my relationships with family and friends become long distance again in the upcoming weeks. Thank you all for your support, thoughts, and prayers. 2023 will be a great year!! I will plan to do another update at the end of February!
If you get a chance, please read through Psalm 8. I hope it touches and blesses you.
