February 19, 2011 - update

Today we met with the women from Buduburam Camp.
This morning we spent a few hours with Jassie as she came to our guest house. She takes care of the sponsorship for us at the camp. We worked on paying the 2nd term fees for all the students today. All the high school students (gr. 10-12) are paid for the rest of the school year. We did not visit the camp this time due to some unsettling situation last week when 5 people were shot and killed during a dispute. Jassie took all the sponsorship donations back with her and will be distributing them to the children over the next few days. For Jassie's sake we decided to enroll the students into the 2nd term, even though this wasn't our initial plan. Jassie came with this letter from the school stating they are holding her accountable and will take legal action against her if she doesn't pay the 2nd term fees since the fees were overdue. Since there is little justice at the camp, this could mean jail time for Jassie. We took this very seriously and of course will do everything to protect Jassie as a single mother who has been faithful in her sponsorship work for us. TIA! (This Is Africa)

This is a picture of us (Marsha and Jackie) with Jassie:

This afternoon, Hannah (whom we had known since the first time we went to the camp 5 years ago) came to see us at our guest house. It was nice to spend the afternoon with her. We are looking at the possibility of relocating Jassie and Hannah to Liberia and setting up small businesses for them, but that is a pretty scary thing for them. Hannah has been at the camp for 20 years already! This is all she knows and this is comfortable for her, so the thought of moving away is intimidating, but there really is no future for her and her kids at the camp.

Here is a picture of Jackie and Ariel with Hannah:

It was a bit cooler today - mid 20s.

Thank you for your continued prayers! We pray God will break our hearts for what breaks His!!

a prayer ...

"God, what an amazing opportunity You have put before us, a chance to make a difference for You in a desperately hurting world. Help us to see the needs You want us to see, to react in a way that honours You and to bless others by serving them with practical expressions of Your love. Help us to be Jesus's hands and feet and through Your Spirit give us strength and wisdom. We need to fulfill Your plan for us in our own generation. In Jesus name, Amen!"
~ quoted from "Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado

Our first day in Ghana ...

Our first official day in Ghana is complete. It was just a day of exchanging money, doing errands, visiting the Liberian and Canadian embassys, spending some time at an orphanage (see pictures below). The single woman who runs this orphanage has adopted several children ... it's so amazing and inspiring!

Tomorrow we plan to visit with the people from the Buduburam Camp, help them set up small businesses and give them the donated items for distribution for sponsored children at the camp.

Things have really changed in Ghana. There are a lot of new buildings going up foreigners, and a lot more non-taxi vehicles on the roads. The city also looks so much cleaner - people are cleaning garbage and sweeping along the roundabouts. They have built a brand new mall (the first ever here!) and it is very expensive!! I guess you have the rich in every country!!

I think we are climitazing to the heat - it's in the high 30s and of course, very very humid!

Thank you for all you prayers ... we need daily grace and wisdom!

Love,

Marsha, Jackie, and Ariel

We've arrived!

We arrived at the guest house at around (10:30 AM PST) but it is night time here! Ah, the sights and smells of Africa! How I have missed Africa!! ALL of our luggage arrived as well at no extra charge!! The power was off when we got to our guest house, but they got the generator going and internet is a hit and miss. The flights went well. Had turbulence around Greenland and over the Sahara Desert, which was pretty rough! When we got here the guest house had dinner waiting for us, so that was good. We are looking forward to starting our work tomorrow. None of us slept too much so we are praying for a good sleep tonight and then off we go!
We will continue to keep you posted ...
Thanks for your prayers!!
Marsha and Jackie

At the airport

This afternoon, Jackie, Marsha and Ariel left for West Africa. They will fly to Frankfurt, Germany then get a connecting flight to Accra, Ghana. They will spend a few days there then travel to Monrovia, Liberia. At the airport today, they had been praying for God's favour as they had some extra luggage they needed to bring containing supplies for the people in Africa. When they got through the line, the lady let them put through two extra bags at no charge ... a $400 value!!! God is good ... all the time!

They are asking for you to continue to pray for their safety and also for direction when they land in Africa! Thank you!!

Missions Trip!!

The team (Marsha, Jackie, and Skye) will be travelling to Ghana and Liberia next month. They are hoping to leave on February 16, 2011 and return in two weeks.

While they are there, they plan to visit our workers there. Jassie is in Ghana overseeing the sponsorship program there and Chris is in Liberia, overseeing the sponsorship program as well as other various projects.

Please pray for this team as this will be there final trip to Africa and there will be many mixed emotions during this time!

Stay tuned for details ... We will post updates of their experiences on a daily basis once they arrive in Africa!

These Liberian children desperately need your help!!!

These 6 kids in Liberia are desperately needing to go to school but cannot afford to do so. Please consider helping out one of these precious children for just $30/month. This will give them a Christian education, a uniform and school supplies. You will be kept updated on their progress as Chris will monitor them on a regular basis.




This is Ruth Flomo. She will be 14 in February and would be going to Grade 3.



This is Abrahim Flomo. He is 23, but sadly has not yet completed his Grade 8 of schooling. He had to quit school to support himself by selling charcoal just to get enough food to live. His mother died in the war and he just found out that his father is alive but living in a refugee camp in another country.




This is Louise Flomo. She just turned 15 this past December and would be going to Grade 3. Her father left her mother with 7 children to raise on her own in 2003 at which time Louise was sent to the city area to go to school but sadly this did not happen as the family she lives with cannot afford to send her. Her mother and siblings still live up interior. Louise works all day, every day selling things just to earn enough money for the family she lives with to buy food.




This is Korpu Flomo. She is 14 and would go to Grade 3. She is a sister to Abrahim, but they have different mothers. Her father was killled in the war and Korpu was taken in by another family as her mother could not care for her.





This is Francis Nimely. She will be 14 this year and would go to Grade 3.

This is Hannah Kolubah. Sadly, she has never been to grade school in her life. She will be 12 this year but even at this age she will have to start at Grade 1. Her father left the family in 2004 and she lives with her mother and two siblings. Her mother grows and sells potatoes to earn money for food. At the time this blog is being posted, Hannah has now been sponsored and will hopefully attend the new term in Liberia this January.

For more detailed background information on each of these children, please check out our facebook page. Please consider what a difference you can make in someone else's life this year! Contact us if you are willing to help one of "the least of these". (Matthew 25:40)