Wednesday, June 23, 2010

BITTERSWEET!

As we come very near the end of our time here in Ghana, both Katie and I are realizing all the things we're going to be missing. Ghana has made a nice little home for itself in our hearts and it's not going to be easy come the afternoon of July 1st when we drive for the last time down our muddy, lake filled, pot-hole infested road and on to the airport. And even harder than that will be Wednesday afternoon when we have closing assembly, dismiss from school, and put our kids on the bus for the last time.

Tomorrow marks one week. Never in all my time here since last August, did I imagine the difficulty I would have with saying goodbye. Maybe it's a mixture of 1. Me being terrible at goodbyes to begin with, and 2. The fact that I fell in love with the kids.... or maybe, it just stinks because I really am going to miss this place. Whatever it is, it's a heart rendering feeling that no words can describe. This year has been a lived experience, and both Katie and I will struggle the rest of our lives trying to bring our experiences home to all of you; the people we love and care about. I don’t know if we will ever be able paint a picture well enough for ya’ll to understand, but we sure will try.

In light of looking at life with the "glass half full" mentality... the growth and improvement that we have had the joy of watching in our kids has been incredible. We now understand what teachers mean when they talk about the rewards of teaching. They aren't materialistic, or obvious, but in the end, after spending a whole year with the same kids, you stand back and look at them and realize, “Hey… it really works. Teaching really works!” And, this goes without saying, we are the luckiest two teachers EVER… they always say teachers never forget their first class of students, never has this rung truer! – Katie and I are so proud of our kids. All 26 of them are amazing and full of so much potential. We can only hope they will continue to be pushed and their knowledge expanded over the years to come. We now put them in the hands of two fantastic young women, Becky and Lauren: Recent graduates of Saint Mary’s College, who will be continuing the program in Ghana this coming August. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for the journey of a life-time.

As a goodbye hurrah for Katie and I, Sr. Esther treated the whole entire school to a day at Till’s Beach. Mr. Danso, our bus driver drove two trips of students to the beach last week, even the little nursery ones. It was a truly beautiful site. A great memory to carry with us.

On another note… can you say USA? Anyone watching the 2010 World Cup?? If not, the USA just advanced to the next round. Football/Soccer is a huge deal over here in Ghana and Katie and I have caught the bug.

See everyone very soon. Katie will be arriving in Dulles airport around 1pm on July 2nd. I will fly on to Cincy and then arrive in Fort Wayne around 9pm. Molly, will you still have my subway sandwich? Laura… DeBrands? Andrea… rootbeer? Mom… chocolate chip cookies and a HUGE glass of 2% milk?? Okay, just checking!

Love to all! See you State-Side in 9 days!