Happy Birthday to Mark!

Thursday was Mark’s 35^th birthday! What a great way to celebrate a birthday--Ghana style! We spent the morning at the Village of Hope, meeting many more children and playing the morning away with them. Mark attracted quite a crowd right off the bat, showing off pictures of the girls on the computer. They were fascinated!

Mama Beth had visited Village of Hope twice before, so she introduced us to many of her sweet friends from there. It was neat to see her greet them all with tears in her eyes.

We also got to see some of the Prestoncrest team who had just arrived the night before! That was a real treat for me, and I was excited to see so many familiar faces, and get to talk a little about what all they planned to do on their visit. Some great stuff going on there for sure!

Village of Hope was an amazing place to tour. It is obvious that many, many people from all different places have given their time and talents to making this place a home for so many. We loved getting to see the amazing three story school, the library, the homes, and even the new Chisholm Chapel, with quiet prayer rooms and art murals of scripture on every wall. It was a wonderful campus that made me dream of the day when we are building Chase’s Place!! I can’t wait!

It was a real privilege to also get to meet some of the original rescued crew from Touch A Life too, including Mark, who Pam first saw on the cover of the New York Times. He started this whole thing, and it was great to hug him in person. (standing to the left of Mark when you are looking at this picture...)

Twenty-one of Pam’s kids live at VOH, and we spent hours talking with them and getting to know them, along with many, many others. What precious, gentle, joyful kids.

I especially enjoyed our time with Sarah and Hagar, two of the girls who Pam and George rescued from the lake.

They are beautiful and gentle spirits. They sat and sang to Amy and me for a while, and as we were walking to see their homes, I told them how beautiful they both sung. Hagar said “I am shy when I sing”. I told her she shouldn’t be, because God gave her this beautiful voice for a reason. She was able to share what He has done for her through her songs, and that others will be blessed when she sings. And, most importantly, I told her how much it must please God when He hears her sweet angelic voice. She was smiling so big and began to quietly sing as we walked.

At the exact same time, Sarah said “I love to sing, Ma Chelsea. If I could not sing, I would not be Sarah.” Oh, how precious these moments were. It brought out this emotion in me that I wasn’t expecting. I had been sitting there in awe listening to their stories of the lake and of their life now, rejoicing that they were rescued and living free and happy now. But, then as I was affirming their talents and gifts, my thought was “but they still need a mom to affirm and bless them”. It was just a moment—actually there have been quite a few--where the hole that still remains in these children’s lives was evident to me. It reminded me of what Pam said to me as I got on the plane for this trip. "You are about to become parents to Ghanaian treasures. Your life will never be the same." She talks all the time about how these children need more moms and dads, and I see exactly what she means.

Before I came on this trip, I had attended an orphan care conference in May. While we were there, we had the privilege of listening to an expert in the field of orphan care and adoption, Karyn Purvis. One thing she said has really stuck with me on this trip. She told us all that when we care for orphans or abandoned children, we are to give the verbal blessing that a mom or dad would give to these little ones. Every time we are with them, we should take the opportunity to affirm a quality we see in them, or a way that God loves them and has a purpose for them.

So, I committed before we came to try and bless the children with "mother's words" as much as possible while I was here, and to keep praying that others will also fill this gap in their lives over the years. It was a blessing for all of us on this trip to do that throughout the week, but in some ways it made my heart a little sad. At times they seemed desperate for this word of blessing in their lives. They were so proud to hear what they were good at, or how they are loved. I guess I just have to trust that God has truly redeemed them from pain, and is loving them through LOTS of moms and dads in their lives...and also through the wonderful families they have been placed with...brothers, sisters, and caring adults.

Okay. Sorry for the tangent. :)

Back to Thursday.

After Village of Hope, we headed to the Village of Love house to see our 26 sweeties. This day was a very important one, as the health screenings began for each child!

I cannot say enough about the incredible job that Brad Gautney, Nurse Shannon, and Nurse Megan did with these kids. And, from what I hear, their bedside manner is like none other! The kids love all three of them, so it was easy for them to trust them. That was such an important part of this too!

While they began the screenings and assessments for the kids, Amy, Beth, Mark, Colin, Brad, and I entertained the children in other ways. We did lots of painting about "what love is" to them (which are so cute...we're selling them back at home and you're all gonna love them!!). Amy and Beth handled the painting time better than I did, actually.

I began a little stomach "issue" this afternoon, and spent some of my time bent over trying to make the cramping stop! Eventually it did, and I seem to have no issues now, but believe me, I was praying against illness that day! Here's a sneak peek of the paintings in progress...they will each have a picture of the child holding their painting and a quote from the child about "What love is". We hope these raise good money for these kids!

The boys also pulled out the big parachute during playtime too! (Anna, I'm still so glad you suggested I bring this! It was such a hit!)

The kids had a blast playing with something they had never seen before and it was very fun to watch them giggle and run underneath.

George Sr. stood and watched with me and just kept talking about how great this was to see them playing like this. He said "things like this need to happen more with kids here (in Ghana)." And, I loved getting to hear his thoughts yet again on where these kids have come from. He loves them so deeply and it shows. He never stops thanking God for rescuing them. He gives glory to God in every conversation. What a great inspiration he is.

After parachutes, painting, and health screenings, it was time for dinner! Every night we sit in a separate part of the house for dinner, but tonight we were all combined for a celebration before our last day. I handed out birthday party hats for the whole group, to celebrate Colin, Amy, and Mark's birthdays from the week. And, they all sang once again for the birthday guys and girl.

As we ate, Kofi began playing African dance music, which the kids went crazy over. All of a sudden, we were watching as the kids gave up on eating for a while to dance all over the place.

It was one of the best nights ever (even with the stomach cramps!). We gave them glo stick bracelets and necklaces and silly bands, and had a dance party for over an hour. Let's just say there were some great moves and lots of laughter. :)

About halfway through the dance party, little Teiko came up and tugged on my dress and said "Ma Chelsea, I am tired. I want you to hold me." I completely melted. So, the rest of the time I danced while cradling Teiko like a baby. She loved it, but probably not nearly as much as I did. :) The picture is so blurry, but I don't want to forget my baby for the evening.

After dancing, we decided to surprise them with their new flip flops, so graciously donated by groups back in Dallas. We made a tunnel for them to run through and they found the flipflops lined up at the end. They all selected a pair (with no fighting, I might add!) and were so excited to have new shoes!

(It was funny the next day, though, to see that some were wearing a different pair than they originally chose, and some had on mismatched pairs. I guess anything goes when there are dozens of shoes laying around!)

After we said goodnight, and returned to our hotel, we skyped our girls, as we do every night. When they came on the screen, they had birthday hats, blowers, and balloons to celebrate with Daddy from afar. It was a fun ending to his great birthday. It will certainly be one he never forgets!

Later that evening as we were packing our bags and getting ready for the final day, we talked about how fun it will be to return to these kids on future trips. All the newness will be gone on our end, and the relationships will already be established. I can imagine that it will only get better and better from here.