Good News

(Christen) Good news to report- We got our exit interview for this Monday! The Embassy closes at noon on Friday's, and we were beginning to think we weren't going to hear from the them today. We were feeling a little disappointed, but did the best thing we knew to do - We prayed. We asked God to grant us an interview for Monday or more peace and patience. We then carried on with our day knowing it was in God's hands. You know the rest of the story!

We celebrated with haircuts for the boys. Originally, we just went to get Manny a haircut, but when the barber saw Brady's shaggy head he insisted upon cutting it as well! It was money and time well spent! Manny's cut makes him look younger, and I think Brady may weigh a pound or two less!

There was a buzz of excitement at the hotel today as another family arrived to meet there children. Manny said the boy they are adopting is his "best bud". Cute! They actually knew each other before they ended up at the home. We are looking forward to spending more time with them before we leave.

Pray that our interview goes well on Monday and that we are granted Manny's visa quickly.

More Stuff

(Christen) Yesterday, we were able to pick up our packet containing the necessary forms to file for Manny's visa. We will submit these forms when we go for our interview, which we hope will be this upcoming Monday or Tuesday. These are the only days interviews are given, so if we don't get one this week our next chance will be the following week.

Today, we visited another foster home 30 miles away in Tema. The home houses 14 children and is the start-up project of a South Dakota couple. They have a vision of building a 'live-in' community with an on-site school for the children. They wish to rescue a great deal of the children in the area who have been trafficked into child labor. Sadly, many children in that area are sold, or their parents are tricked into giving up their children; thinking their child would be attending school or getting a better life. Part of the vision is to become a sustainable organization and provide employment opportunities to impoverished women by selling water they purify with their own equipment. The hope is that these families won't have to resort to selling/loaning out their children into a forced labor situation. We also talked in great detail with them about the adoption process, as they are interested in becoming an adoptive home for those of their kids who are truly orphaned.

Playing the Waiting Game

(Christen) We are playing the waiting game again-which typically leaves not much to report. We continue to encounter other families in the process, which has further shown us how blessed we have truly been with the speed of our own process. Comparatively speaking- things are moving fast for us. Having said that, we are READY to come home!

There has been A LOT of negativeness about obtaining immigrant visas. Things are supposedly VERY backed up. Our facilitator has given us the impression that there is no need to worry though. We have just been trying to take everything with a grain of salt, and praying that God continues to give us patience and understanding of his perfect timing.

New Friends

(Brady) We went back to the orphanage today, and enjoyed some good playtime. Christen gained some respect amongst the boys, by showing off her soccer skills! Honestly, she's pretty good. At least someone in this family is athletic!

I continue to be amazed at the people God puts in our life as we venture down this path. We have been able to add a few friends by getting to know about six other adoptive families. It also turns out that Canadians are pretty cool people too! Who knew! We met a couple great Canadian families that we enjoyed dinner with, and continue to get to know.

All of these amazing people have touched my life! As far as the world is concerned, each of these families have made many "sacrifices" to change the life of someone they didn't know. I'm sure each of the families would agree that this isn't a "sacrifice". It's a blessing. It's a gift, that God has allowed each of these families to impact others for his kingdom. I am truly blessed to have come across so many amazing families and add them to the list of the other amazing people we love back home!

Not Much New

(Christen) Little has happened since our last post. We are waiting to receive more paperwork, which we will file when we go for our exit interview. We are hoping to get our interview no later than August 2, and then receive Manny's visa and return home August 6.

Keep the prayers coming for:
-Our interview to be scheduled quickly and to go well
-Manny's visa approval

APPROVED!

(Brady) We received word this morning that our I600 has been approved. I still don't know what an I600 is, but I know that it's really darn important! I don't even know what the next step is, but I know that the I600 was a big hurdle, and that we are getting closer to coming home. How close? I don't know - we should learn more about the process soon. God is pretty cool. Thanks for the prayers!!!

Bad Santa

(Christen) Manny enjoys reading the Bible to us. Not that he can actually read, but he will open his picture bible and recite all that he remembers. As he was doing this today he informed us of the Biblical character Santa. That’s right Santa.

Manny: “God made everything.”
Turn page
“God tell Adam and Eve not to eat the flute (fruit)…and they eat it.”
Turn page
“Santa is on fire”

Christen: “I don’t think that is Santa”

Manny: “Yes it is. Santa is bad. He lives in fire. The ground swallowed him.”

Brady: “Hmmmm, are you sure you don’t mean ‘Satan’?”

Manny: “Huh? Yes. Bad Santa.”

I’m sure God wouldn’t mind this terminology seeing as the big guy steals a lot of his thunder on a regular basis! You heard it here; In Ghana, Santa is not our jolly present bearing fictional friend…he is a bad man living in the ground.

Ghanaian Children’s Benefit Fund

(Brady) Luke 12:48 says “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” I want to say thanks to all of you who took this verse to heart.

For some reason, God chose to bless all of us with adequate material things, and enough money to support our needs and wants. I don’t care who you are, if you are reading this, you are so blessed! Not only are you blessed; you are generous! The donations we received will have a lasting impact in the lives of at least 30 children. Ultimately, your generosity will impact the lives of hundreds of children that come through the program.

I want to give you an update on the plan for all the money that has been donated. As you saw on yesterday’s post, we went ahead and bought food, household items and gas cookers for the orphanage. We are also planning to buy educational materials including a large chalk board, writing utensils, learning books, etc. for all the children. After all of this is said and done, we should still have well over $4000 left over.

Based on the larger than expected donations, we decided to establish the “Ghanaian Children’s Benefit Fund” through our adoption agency. This fund will be used to cover ongoing needs at the home including food, education, residential improvements, etc. This will allow the children’s needs to continue to be met long after we have left Ghana.

Let me give you some more insight into the working of the orphanage. The home is 100% funded by donations from the various adoptive families, and adoption agencies that get children from the orphanage. Most of the money comes from the families that pay $100-$200 a month once they begin the adoption process. They are able to feed, clothe and care for all 30+ children for about $1000 a month. That truly works out to be about a $1 a day per child! The workers at the orphanage are unpaid (although I imagine that the house parents are compensated somewhat), and truly view these children as their family!

The orphanage lacks basic necessities such as electricity and running water. We are looking into the possibility of using some of the money to provide electricity to the home. It would be a fairly costly venture, but it may be worth it to get them hot water and lights. However, the home is rented, not owned, so it may not be the most efficient use of funds if the orphanage moves. In addition, we want these children to be educated while they are in the orphanage. More than anything, we want to be sure that the children get adequate food and health care. Your donation will go a long way in assuring these kids are adequately cared for! I will continue to work with our agency to determine which needs to meet! Please pray that God will provide us the insight to use the money efficiently to glorify Him.

For those of you who like orphans and God /Jesus, you can still help out by contributing a one-time contribution or ongoing monthly contribution at this website: http://www.hopscotchadoptions.org/pages/donate.html please indicate the “Ghanaian Children’s Benefit Fund” in the donation designation blank.

Side note: You may be wondering we haven’t mentioned anything about Mom visiting us. She decided that it would be a better use of money to stay home and simply donate the cost of her trip to support the kids. How could I argue!!

Shopping Spree

(Christen) Today we did a little shopping for the home. We went to the downtown market with one of the ladies to purchase much needed gas cylinders for cooking, bowls, flatware, soap, and food supplies. When I say we went shopping, what I really mean is that we walked around with the lady from the home until she found what they needed. Then we had to walk away while she bargained because she would get a better price if the Americans weren't around!

When we arrived at the orphanage with the goodies the kids and all the workers were thrilled! The gas cylinders will make cooking much easier; before they cooked over coals in a bowl. Not the best method!

Speaking of buying things for the orphanage, thanks to everyone for the donations! The final tally isn't in yet, but currently we have raised $4400! This is amazing and has far exceeded our expectations! God is good! We will use a small amount to fund needs while we are here (like what we bought today), but the majority will be placed in a fund with our agency allocated to disperse for the needs of food/cooking supplies, medicine, educational materials, and residential improvements.

We had to catch a taxi back to the hotel from the orphanage. We got assistance hailing a taxi from one of the house workers. The roads to and from are in terrible condition. We had to wave away two taxis because they could not ensure us that their car could make it all the way to the hotel! Nevertheless the taxi we took did make it!





Setting up the Gas cooker












Bringing in supplies to the home

Back in Accra

Christen)
Hi all! Our vacation to the coast has ended and we are now back in Accra. We had a great time being tourist and visiting all the attractions. It was a nice break from the city.

Our facilitator checked with the Embassy today about our I-600 approval; they are still "working on it".



Some Pics from our Trip:

Unimportant Update

(Brady) Not much to report today. We visited a castle built by the British on the Cape Coast that housed slaves during the 18th and 19th century. The slaves would then be sent to the Americas or the Caribbean. It was a very interesting and touching tour.

We plan to head to Accra on Thursday, where we will continue to wait for the approval of our I600 from the US Embassy.

False Hope

(Christen) This process of adoption can be a real challenge at times. We have had very little control over what is happening and when it is going to happen. It is very easy to get distracted and begin focusing on what step is next and who is in charge of completing that task. In doing this, we begin to put our hope in the individual (judge, doctor, facilitator, Embassy) who holds the power.

This morning as we were laying out by the pool, listening to the sound of waves crash onto the rocky beach (By the way, we are really enjoying our trip to the coast), I re-read over some scripture I wrote in my notebook a while back and came upon this timely word.

Psalm 33:16-17, 20-22
“16The king is not saved by his great army: a warrior is not delivered by his strength. 17The war horse is false hope for salvation, and its great might it cannot rescue. “
“20Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21For our heart is glad in him, because we trust his holy name. 22Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”

We are not depending upon mere people to bring this adoption to fruition. Our hope is in the Lord and his will. Placing our hope in anything/anyone else would be a false hope. No judge, doctor, facilitator, or Embassy will keep the Lord from accomplishing his will. If it is his will that come home next week, then we will. If it is his will that we stay here another month, then we will. We just pray that the outcome of the upcoming would be whatever brings Him the most glory.

May we all place our hope in Him who is in control; continually praying to acknowledge our helplessness and His power.

Manny being Manny

Trip Update

We are having a great time here at the Cape Coast. We have some great pictures, but the internet connection too slow to upload pictures, so we will have to wait to post them. Manny totally impressed me today with his bravery. We went to a national park today, and did the "canopy walk" - walking across a small plank of wood 120 feet about the forest floor. Manny handled it awesome! You can Google: "Ghana canopy walk" and see pics. We also got to see some big crocodiles! Overall, it was a really good day.

Manny is really doing great. We are working hard to teach him to swim, and he is catching on (a little). Christen is much better at teaching him than I am! Overall, we are all building a lot of trust, and bonding on a very deep level. I am so excited for each of you to meet him and bond as well. He is such a fun guy!

We are still waiting to hear when our I-600 will be approved by the embassy. This is the next important step before Manny can get his visa to enter the US. So please continue to pray that this will be approved quickly.

A Little Ghanaian History Lesson

(Brady)Today is officially our one month anniversary of being in Ghana. In honor of our anniversary, I thought it would be nice to give you a little background on Ghana. Ghana is considered the gateway to Africa, and is currently one of the few democratic countries in Africa.

Ghana originally got its independence from Britain in 1957. At the time, Ghana was the world's leading producer of cocoa and their economy was relatively stable. However, the Ghanaian president decided to gamble and take the country in a different direction. Using cocoa revenues as collateral, the president took out massive amounts of loans to establish other industries that he hoped would boost the economy. Unfortunately, the price of cocoa collapsed in the mid-1960s, destroying the economy and leaving Ghana with massive debts they could not repay. Wide-scale corruption didn’t help either. The president was later overthrown, but the country was already basically bankrupt.

Since then, Ghana has been crippled with foreign debt. By the early 1980s, Ghana's economy was in an advanced state of collapse. Gross domestic product (GDP) showed negative growth throughout the entire decade of the 1960s and 1970s!! FYI – a recession is defined as 6 months of falling GDP. Can you image falling GDP for 20 years! That is far worse than the great depression that America experienced in the 1930's. In addition, the country production of precious minerals tanked and inflation averaged more than 50 percent a year between 1976 and 1981!!

Since then, things have gradually improved in the country, mostly due to aid from developed countries. The average income for a Ghanaian is still only about $500 a year! The majority of the country is very rural; as electricity and running water is rare. The education system is consider to be above average by African standards, and that says a lot about other parts of Africa.

Daily Update: We have arrived at the Cape Coast for our "vacation". We plan to stay for a few days and do some sight- seeing. We will try to post some good pics!

Daily Update

(Brady) Today was another productive day! We went to the Ghanaian Embassy and got our visa extension approved today. So we are good until August 10... but I believe we will be home before then... certainly hope so! Everything appears to be on track.

In light of our extension being granted, we are planning to go to the cape coast for a few nights. We are planning to leave tomorrow around 10am, it's about a 3 hour trip. I am looking forward to a change of scenery! We will be staying at the Coconut Grove Hotel; which is suppose to be quite nice. We aren't sure of the Internet connectivity there, so we may not be able to post for several days. We shall see!

On a different note, I blew up Christen's hair dryer the other day by accident. After a few 'rough' hair days, we made it to the mall and got a replacement. All is right in the world again!

We have received some donation money in, but I'm not sure of the final count. I will keep you posted.

“Peggy the Snake” and Other Odd Thoughts

Picture of the day:

Manny chases away this dangerous and vicious goat to protect the family.

(Brady) Manny has a vivid imagination. He has begun creating toys from everyday items. His favorite 'toy' to play with is just a neck pillow to me and you; but to Manny it's a vicious snake, aka “Peggy the Snake” (ferocious name!). The neck pillow attacks him regularly, and shockingly wins most of the time.

Although everyone here speaks English, the accents can be difficult to understand at times. For instance, we took a taxi home from a restaurant last night and the taxi driver was very soft spoken with a heavy accent. Before we got in the car, I asked “How much to take us to the Pentagon Inn?” The driver replied “3 Cedis (Approx $2)”. I couldn’t understand him and said “10 Cedis? (Approx $7)”. He repeated himself “3 Cedis”. Again, I misunderstood, and said “10 Cedis?” He paused, and said “yeah, sure”. I didn’t realize any of this until Christen told me later. Stupid Americans!

Christen was taking a shower yesterday and happily washing her hair with her eyes closed. When she opened them, the water was brown! It kind of looked like Ovaltine that wasn't properly mixed(I’ve never had Ovaline, but I picture it to look sometime like that). Christen was devastated at the thought of washing her hair in 'Ghanaian fecal looking water’. She cried (literally). Then she made me wash her hair with some bottled water. It was really gross! I couldn’t help but laugh a little (later).

I have decided to give my razor a break while on this trip. In fact, I am refusing to shave out of protest until the adoption is complete. My beard is coming in nicely. I like it, despite the fact that Christen tells me I look like a "Norwegian Terrorist"!

Top 8 Reasons Brady Thinks it is Awesome to have a 7 year Old Son from an African Orphanage:

8- He laughs at Daddy’s jokes
7- No breastfeeding needed (not that Brady would breastfeed anyway – but it’s one less thing for Mommy, which is good for Brady!)
6- Daddy can re-establish his coaching career immediately
5- Disney World trips will be awesome
4- Daddy gets to take him to Major League Baseball spring training next year in Florida (finally a reason to go!)
3- He was only living on $.50 a day before now – so he shouldn’t hurt the family budget
2- He poops without assistance (Thank God!)
1- My kid will dominate the Upward Soccer League at Temple... seriously.

Update: Nothing to report. We are still waiting for a final count on the fundraising effort back home. I will keep you posted.

Productivity

(Christen) Today was one of rare productivity. Our facilitator picked us up this morning to run a slew of errands. He was actually on time today; I think that had something to do with Brady making him reassure us he'd be here at 9 am like 5+ times. We went to the embassy to get a form notarized, which will put a rush on the results of Manny's medicals that he also had done this morning. We also met with the immigration officer who is handling our visa extension. We are told it will be ready on Friday; which is the very last day possible for it to get done. If the extension goes through, we are making plans to reconvene our postponed trip to the Cape Coast this weekend. We shall see.

God Bless America

(Brady) Today was suppose to be the day that Manny got his medical exam that is required by the US embassy in order to issue the visa. Our facilitator was suppose to pick him up in the morning, and take him to the embassy. I called him at 10:00am when he was "on the way". I called him at 11:30 when he assured us he would be here "before 12:00". I called him at 2:00pm, when he informed me that "oh, they are closed, we will go tomorrow at 9 am." I can't express adequate frustration in words suitable for this blog. So I will just say it wasn't a fun day.

This has been the norm from our facilitator. I think it's the norm for the whole culture! Nobody seems to do ANYTHING they say they will do, when they say they will do it. In addition, our Visa extension still has not been approved...that we began working on 7 days ago... and we now have 5 days until expiration. Sorry for the negative tone... just keeping it real (shout out to Josh Barham)!

God bless America!





Manny watching in amazement at his Father's athletic prowess!

Today was a Good Day

(Christen) In the words of rap superstar Ice Cube (Brady reference) , "Today was a good day". We braved the streets of Accra, and found our way to a local pizzeria. In a word it was DELICIOUS. We had peperioni pizza and chicken wings that rivaled any found in America.
Lunch at Mamma Mia's!

We also treated ourself to a movie at the local Cinema, and rounded out the afternoon by stocking up on groceries. Being out of the hotel felt good.

A few new revelations from Manny were made known today. First, Manny has a strange deep rooted hatred for goats. (See picture below).

When we asked Manny to pose with the goats today, this was the face he gave us.

Second, it appears Manny speaks at least three languages- English, Ga, and some form of clicking. We knew he spoke both English and Ga, but the clicking is a new developement. Still not certain if he is serious about the clicking, or if he is just trying to pull one over on us. Either way it was very interesting to hear him translate different phrases.

We spoke in great detail with Manny tonight about his upbringing. It sounds surprisingly normal. He spoke happily of his grandfather and aunties, as well as excitedly about traveling to America.

Still no other updates. Just keep praying!

Cabin Fever

(Brady) We officially been here 3 weeks now, and we are beginning to get a cabin fever. We have not left the hotel very much. It is generally hot and humid, or raining, and there isn't much to do outside anyway. I am sad. I tried to make homemade chocolate chip cookies and burned them to a crisp. They were like little black hockey pucks. I miss America. Specifically, I miss Spicy Pickle. They have the best chocolate chip cookies, and their Yardbird sandwich on white ciabatta bread... MMMMM! And Captain Al's in Gulfport... I miss them too! Their steak is delicious. Heck, I even miss Pizza Inn's desert pizza. We are homesick.... oh yeah, we miss our friends and family too. Especially those friends and family members that cook for us on occasion (Love you Mary Palmer!)

On a happier note, we got Manny's passport in, so that's good step. Also, we did our part to get the visa extension, but have yet to hear anything back. We are told that the process is still moving quickly. In the words of our facilitator "Oh, yes, all is fine. Is going fast. Yes. You know things sometime ... yes...fast and you now sometime, this time fast. You see?"... yeah, exactly! So based on that, it sounds like things are moving right along.

I can't thank you all enough for sharing in our journey, encouraging and praying for us along the way. I am reminded of Paul and the support he received (both spiritually and financially) from the Philippian church. Paul also teaches us a valuable lesson about being content in every situation- including when you are homesick and have cabin fever. I pray that I take this wise word to heart and that God may be glorified in this process.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need,for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11

Our Home away from Home

Opportunity for You to Make a Difference

(Brady) My mommy is coming to visit!! In light of the fact that we will be here at least another three weeks, my Mom, JoAnn, has aceepted our invitation to come visit us in Ghana. We are very excited for several reasons – not the least of which is the fact that she can bring us more Kraft Easy Mac and Axe Deodorant. We are dangerously low on supplies of both!

The fact that we will have a visitor from the states, also gives you an opportunity to get involved. Several people have emailed or sent messages asking how they can send supplies to the orphanage. This is that chance to assure it gets to the right place! Rather than give material things, I am asking that you consider giving money for us to buy things for the orphanage. The US dollar goes a long way in Ghana, and I would love to stock up on things like Bibles, toys, food, cooking equipment, games, etc for the kids. The orphanage has specifically requested some better cooking utensils… and rightfully so! Please email me at Raanesb@aol.com if you would specifically like your donation to go to one area in particular (i.e. soccer balls, picture Bibles, Jeep Wrangler for the orphanage – think big!, etc.). This is your chance to show the love of Jesus Christ to someone who desperately lacks love from others!

So here’s the plan. If you live in Waynesboro, please get your donation to Reggie or Denise Palmer. If you are in Hattiesburg, please get your donation to Duane and JoAnn Raanes, or Adam and Jill Hodge. If you live anywhere else, you can mail your check to JoAnn at 187 Canebrake Blvd, Hattiesburg, MS 39402. Between them, they will coordinate getting the money to JoAnn so she can bring it to Ghana. Once mom arrives we will go on a shopping spree and deliver the goodies to the kids. I can assure that every dollar will be spent wisely, and will go to address a specific need at the orphanage. We will take plenty of pictures and video to capture the reaction of the kids so that you can share in the joy as well!

JoAnn is planning to leave Thursday, July 8th, or the following Saturday, depending on her visa approval. If you need to write a check, please make it payable to JoAnn Raanes for ease.