Santa's in town!

Not quite, but close enough... this morning, a huge truck arrived in Ho-Kpodzi filled with thousands of shoe boxes from Operation Christmas Child, through the organization Samaritan's Purse. It was an incredible morning as the schools were exploding with excitement and thousand's of children were filled with joy while they lined up to receive their gift. There were huge smiles across their faces as they carried their boxes with pride and eagerly looked through them with their friends. The shoe boxes were filled with various items, including, clothes, books, candy, and toys -- much more than they receive any other time during the year.

It was also an exciting morning for me, because throughout my life I have participated in Operation Christmas Child during the holiday season, walking through the aisles of Target and packing a shoe box for an unknown boy or girl in a foreign country. But this year I witnessed the other side, this morning I saw the faces of the children who receive the gifts. I found myself instantly connected to them, knowing that I have participated in this project, and I felt encouraged by the difference one simple act of kindness makes in a child's life.

After this morning I will continue to participate in Operation Christmas Child for the rest of my life, and I encourage you to do the same. For more information on Samaritan's Purse visit their website: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/.

A Map of the World

For the month of February, Becci (one of my housemates) and I and a class of kindergartners have taken on a "global" size task... we are painting a giant map of the world on a wall at the nearby Mawuli Primary School. The past week has been an incredible experience of sharing the joys of creating with eager children, and also giving them something to be excited about and proud of. It is also a great way for us to leave a little something of ourselves behind, with the children and the school. Check out Becci's blog, www.africameetsaustralia.blogspot.com. There are pictures of the map in progress and if you are willing to invest sometime, there are also other pictures of adventures we've had (she shares the blog with a girl in Australia, her pictures and posts can be found where English is used).

Since the beginning of the new year, I have moved from working at the publishing house to the NGO that is run by the church. There, I have learned a lot about the workings of micro-finance programs and their benefits for communities without banks. I have also been working with project proposals, where I basically analyze any and all of the problems in the villages that are affecting and hindering development, for example, health, education, sanitation... At times it can be frustrating, but I'm learning a lot about the things that are important and vital for a country to develop.

Finally, Gloria, a middle aged women who works alone in the bookshop where I help in the afternoons, has been really sick lately, she had malaria, and just found out she has a very big tumor in her uterus. It's really sad for me that she's sick, because medical situations are incredibly unpredictable and uncertain, so please pray for her.

As I paint the wall, think about and study development in Ghana, and pray for Gloria, I realize, that in our own way, we all paint a picture of the world through our limited knowledge, criticisms, and hopes. I only wish that my picture will be fair and honest and through it in my life I can make even a small difference.