Good evening,
Today was another busy one. That is the way we like it around here. The morning started off with the child center. I know we have been talking a lot about Skeeter and other things we have been doing but we have been working and having fun simultaneously.
We had some left-over bracelets we brought over for our VBS kids. This morning I handed them out to some of the workers. Goosie warned me that they wouldn’t want some just for their children but also for any of their rivals’ children or other kids in their compound. Mary won for the most needed. She has 18 kids in her compound 7 of which are hers. The other bracelets we handed out to the bigger kids. I always feel sorry for the young girls that carry the babies on their backs. It made me happy to be able to give them something. We have been seeing lots of babies every day. Around 100 most days. We have been giving out baby clothes all week and a lot of babies and kids have been blessed by everyone that donates these to mom and dad. For that we thank you!
Parker had some school work to do around lunch time. His teachers have all been really good about him missing these 5 days of school. The first week we were gone was fall break. So, he technically is only missing 5 days and we had to get that preapproved. Today, we learned about covalent and ionic bonds.
After the babies, school work, and lunch, mom, the boys, me, and Timothy loaded up in the old van to go to Kpamang for a short bible class. We did not count the children but there were at least 80 kids and only 3 or 4 adults. Parker presented his old faithful lesson on the prodigal son. After it was over Taylor presented them with a new soccer ball. The bigger boys were mighty happy! We were about to load back up in the van when we were informed there was a young woman that came to class that wanted us to give her baby a name. I have been thinking about this a lot, just in case we were called to name a baby. I had already decided ahead of time I really like the name Samuel for a boy. Guess what? It was a girl. It took me about 2 seconds to say I wanted to name the baby Charity. I mean it was the first name that came to my mind! After all, it is a Bible name. So that is what we named her. I told them that the name means love. Then they began laughing saying it was Charity 1 and Charity 2. We gave them some money as a gift and Timothy said a prayer for the baby. It was a quick but sweet visit.
Goosie let both Parker and Taylor drive some to practice their stick shift abilities. The van has no power steering. The clutch is difficult and it wants to pop out of 2nd most of the time. Not to mention finding 3rd is hit or miss. But never fear because 1st, 4th and 5th are good. That means riding the clutch a lot but it is doable. It is 30 years old and was the van we had when I was here in 2001. This van also wants to fishtail. I was scared we were going to fishtail into a bystander but we did not. They did good.
We were heading back into Yendi because it was market day. This only comes around once a week. We didn’t need anything at the market; we just wanted the boys to experience the fun at least 1 time. In the middle of trying to fight our way through the crowd, Parker, who was walking directly behind me, said this was the kind of place that makes you scared to breathe because you don’t know what bad smell will be next. Fish….so much fish. The meat stall is always a treat too. We walked by a pile of trash and I pointed out to Parker it was all the flesh and jaw bones from the animals they had killed. By the time we were finished Parker was ready to get in the van. In fact, as we stopped to look at a stall, he let me know he would be in the van waiting for us. It definitely is sensory overload. Between the people touching you, hollering out your name, and asking you to marry them, it can be a bit much. LOL. One of the ladies, who was not young, wanted Parker to marry her. He is a big boy. He is about 6ft 3 inches tall with red hair. Since we are white, we already stick out but people have seemed to really notice him. Lucky Parker 😊
Mom and dad were able to get the tax clearance they have been working so hard to get! We leave for Tamale tomorrow to start our journey and sightseeing back down to Accra. On our way, we will leave in time to drop the tax papers off so they can be processed. I can tell that the burden has been lifted from their shoulders. If they had not been able to get the papers, they would have worried and it would have put a damper on our fun for the next few days. It is nice to see them relieved.
Mom made tuna salad for lunch. Prior to making it she asked me if my boys like it. I said yes. They eat it at home and I am sure they will like it here. I was very surprised when I came into the kitchen and mom had already opened and emptied 10 cans of tuna into a bowl! I was like, “Wow that’s a lot of tuna you got their mom”. She wanted to make sure we had plenty. She did do that! In fact, we were trying to pawn it off tonight for our “clean out the fridge” meal. I finally said everyone has to have 1 more spoonful of this tuna salad before you get up from the table. Taylor just pushed his around on his plate. Don’t worry. Mom tries not to waste anything so she had me freeze it. Who knows what in the world that will be like when she defrosts it! Oh…did I mention, she doesn’t have dill pickles here so she asked me if I thought Kimchi would be good in it since it is sour and crunchy. I said I thought it would be fine. So, she now has kimchi tuna salad in the freezer for later enjoyment. LOL!!
While packing mom and dad came in and mom was holding a baby hedgehog. He was adorable! I text Faith (my daughter) a picture and she asked me to bring it home. Lol! When my kids were small, we had a hedgehog for a pet but it was not as small as this one. The night watchman brought it to mom to see. She asked him if he was afraid of them. He said no! They eat them. Well…mom let him know he was not to eat this one!
We are mostly packed and will be leaving at 7am. We brought Bagels over for mom since she enjoys them. She has been offering them to us and I keep turning her down. I told her those were her bagels and we would not be eating them. Tomorrow morning, we are all going to eat a bagel in the car on the way to Tamale. Luckily, we brought 2 packs so she will still have one to enjoy after we leave. Dad found a tub of cream cheese for her and he paid $23 for it. That is love!
In His Service,
Charity, Taylor, Parker Holladay
Steve and Kandie Taylor
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