Thoughts from Laura Carpenter...thanks to Nate VanderStelt

Last week, when I shared that Laura was going to be in Ghana, one of the regular readers of the blog asked if I could have Laura, as well as Fanny and Allen, share some responses to some specific questions.  

Below is the beginning of Laura's thoughts on these questions..

What are some of the things that give these brothers and sisters great joy when they experience other cultures?

I love the accent, the formal way of greeting and even engaging in conversation, I am Madame, younger women curtsy when they meet me, the homes that I have visited range from quaint to really nice.  I love the way I see extended family living together.  I love seeing mixed income neighborhoods (that’s good and bad).  Of course I have eaten really good Ghanaian food!!!  To see folks who represent my heritage; to some how in a strange way connect in a deeper way with my history.

What gives them concern, pain or brokenness?

It is becoming painfully clear to me in my travels that many Africans do not understand the African American struggle.  This makes me angry and want to teach African American History classes, because when I start to share some things they don’t know about our history, they are surprised, appalled, sad and feel misinformed or not informed at all. I don’t mean to sound angry, but I am!  I have not gone to Cape Coast yet (to the slave castles) but I am still feeling some pain.  Ghana is a pretty strong country compared to other African countries and Ghanaians seem to be independent, not desiring a “hand out”.  However, I still see the evidences of a struggling 3^rd World country – intermittent electricity and water supply, corrupt government, extremely poor people, sick people, mentally unattended, orphaned children, Chinese and Lebanese with the big contracts like road construction and building (I believe) . . .  It also makes me sad to see BET offered as one of the television stations, so Ghanaians can get a skewed image of African Americans, compounded with what they are told by some whites prior to coming America about lazy, violent, drug-abusing African Americans, and they should have no dealings with us, its true!  Many Africans I meet tell me that.

How do they see God’s people rising up (or not rising up?) in each context?   

I see a woman like Fanny Atta-Peters, she is the executive director for Hopeline Institute, the NGO that Renita works with to help develop, train, mentor African business owners.  I have met some ingenious, entrepreneurial folks like Gallant Kwame the Yummy Cashew Company owner, Rev. Theophilus Quartey who owns a mushroom farm and leads a growing group of mushroom farmers, who are making a mushroom juice (it’s actually pretty good and good for you), mushroom flakes, even mushroom powder; there is Alberta, who owns Albie’s Shoes (yes, I had to get a pair); the brother who is middle man for manufacturers and trains folks to sell all kinds of products from cutting boards to camping lanterns, and the list goes on . . . I am so proud to now know these determined folks.

My final thoughts . . . for now . . . for real this is just the beginning and patchworked thoughts

Some might say why focus on taking just an African American team to Africa?  I believe from past experience with teams and my own personal experience, if we don’t focus on and encourage African Americans to see the value that they/we bring to this work, we opt out, really without much thought.  Here are some of our thoughts: It sounds good, but I couldn’t do that, will they accept us, it’s do dangerous, I’ve never done anything like this before . . . and the list of negative thoughts continue.  I really truly believe this way of thinking is a result of being socialized in a racist society.  A socializing that tells me who I am, who I can be, and the worse thing is tells me that I have nothing to do with those people on the other side of the Atlantic......and that just is not true.  And it tells our African brothers and sisters they have nothing to do with us, until one of starts to talk to the other and we find that a bridge needs to be built between Christian Africans and African Americans especially.  I want to help build the bridge; I know by the power of the Holy Spirit it can be done.

View from Aburi, north of Accra overlooking a project of family housing that an orphanage is building to better serve the orphans in a more foster family setting.

As Laura was missing her grand-daughter, she had a hard time keeping her hands off the babies.  I have the same problem!

Mushrooms growing out of bags.  This mushroom farm can hold up to 6000 bags of these mushrooms and harvest mushrooms on a daily basis.

Rev. Theophilus, a former pastor now farmer who trains people in mushroom farming as part of his business as a mission.

Yummy Cashews - a picture that captures the spirit of the day, lots of learning and laughing.  On the left is Fanny Atta-Peters (Director of Hopeline), then Laura Carpenter, then Ebow Graham (program manager for Hopeline Institute), then the owner, Gallant Kwame,  He has 22 employees and processes 2.5 metric tons of cashews per month.

Alberta is a fiesty SME owner and a great participant in our SME class.  Here she is in her shop, and it was the only time during the day when we "lost" both Fanny and Laura as they got caught up in shopping instead of listening to this business owner's story.:-)

Sunday at Elim Family International Church, Laura led worship.  And we really worshiped.  It was beautiful and if you know Laura, you aren't surprised.  She received many invitations to move to Ghana and do this on a regular basis.  It was another Reed family thing as well - Hannah is in the back singing backup and also played the flute with me, I'm on the far left, and you can't see Noah, but he was doing the data projection.  What a blessing to do this together!

Seeing Through New Eyes

I returned on Friday from a ten day whirl-wind trip to the US where I spent countless hours in conference, meetings, conversations, and trainings surrounding the work of Partners Worldwide.  It was a very blessed time with opportunities to watch networks form before my eyes, lightbulbs go off with new ideas, and intense dialogue regarding the work that we are doing.  I was especially pleased to see how strong the West Africa team is and how they got to know each other and develop relationships with each other.  I am blessed to work with such gifted and committed people.

I had the opportunity to travel to the United States with both Fanny Atta-Peters from Ghana and Allen Gweh from Liberia.  For both of them, this was their first trip to the United States and it was good to see Grand Rapids through their eyes.  Places that are so familiar to me look somehow different when you imagine seeing them for the first time.  On my way back to Ghana, I traveled with Laura Carpenter, the Director of Diversity and Worship at Madison Square Church.  While Laura has been to Liberia and Senegal, this is her first trip to Ghana so I also have a chance to see Ghana through her eyes as well.  Pictures can't portray the experiences we shared together but they may be able to show you a little.  Enjoy!

Our venue for the conference.  Grand Rapids is beautiful, especially in the fall.

A trip to the US has to include trying out a Big Mac and fries from McDonalds.  Here we were able to enjoy this at John Ball Park Zoo before going to enjoy the animals.

On Friday night, Robert and Kathryn Shane (and baby Eli) had us over for a West African team dinner.  In the back row, from left to right, is Derek Hoogland (intern in Liberia), Saidou Ba (Senegal), Jeremiah Yongo (Nigeria), Rick Slager (working in Agriculture throughout West Africa), Allen Gweh (Liberia), Robert Shane (NA team leader for Liberia).  In the front row, Mrs. Yers Truly, Fanny Atta-Peters (Ghana), Bonita (friend of Saidou), Marietta Yongo (Nigeria).

Tina Oh (on the left) has agreed to be an intern in Ghana with Hopeline Institute!  We are so happy to have her join us in February 2011.  Welcome, Tina!

After both Allen and Fanny have so graciously welcomed me to their churches in their respective countries, I was very happy to take them to Madison Square Church and introduce them to my church family.

Brett Pfister (left) is a new intern for Liberia who will be moving there in January, 2011.  Derek Hoogland will be returning for an additional six months of internship in November.  We thank God for both of them and ask for your prayers.

Art Prize was in Grand Rapids, which was a pretty amazing collection of art from many places in the world.  It made for a great time to walk around Grand Rapids.  In this picture, Allen is listening to and "feeling" the music in this interesting piece.  Both Allen and Fanny thought this piece should win first place (it made the top 75:-).

This beautiful tree was in front of my sister Janette's house.  My kids have not seen a fall since 2004 and while I hesitated to take such a picture because it would make them miss it even more, this tree was too beautiful to pass up!

Laura Carpenter joins our family (and Jack sneaks in the picture) and will spend a couple weeks with us exploring Ghana before going to Liberia.  Her objective is to pave the way for groups coming from our church beginning next year who will learn about African culture and heritage focusing on African-Americans making the trip.

A Reed Update: October 2010 Edition

On October 7 and 8, Partners Worldwide will be holding their International Conference, called Marketplace Revolution, at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids.  This conference will have international attendance from over 20 countries and I am happy to say that West Africa will be represented as well.

Dea Lieu (left), Director of ACLCP from Danane, Cote d'Ivoire, left already two weeks ago and is spending some time traveling in the US visiting various supporting churches and friends.


Allen Gweh (right), National Director of LEAD, will leave Liberia today (Saturday, October 2), fly to Accra and join me on the flight to Grand Rapids tomorrow (Sunday).

And Fanny Atta-Peters (below),  Director of Hopeline Institute in Ghana, will also join Allen and I on that flight.  We are still hoping that another staff person from Hopeline, Ebow Graham, will be able to come.  He has been waiting approval for his visa for 12 days now, still without a definitive "yes" or "no". 

This will be a busy time, with many meetings before and after the conference, taking my West African friends around my home town after they have been such good hosts in their countries, and many other events.  If you are in Grand Rapids, please join us on Sunday evening at Madison Square Church where we will be showing the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell and having a dialogue with Allen and other Liberians in Grand Rapids.

While I am in the US for about ten days, Hannah and Noah's teacher and his wife, Ryan and Melissa Von Hoyningen Huene (yes, that is one last name - no, it's not a combination of two names) will be staying at our house with Hannah and Noah.  This is their second year teaching in Ghana and I am very thankful that they are willing to stay with the kids while I travel. While I am gone, Hannah will be taking her last SAT and Noah will take the PSAT.


In other news:
And then there were three.........
Back to three dogs.  Ah...suddenly three dogs (which felt like a lot before) seems like so few.  All seven puppies found homes, Hannah raised a little money for her senior trip, and we are not tripping over puppies when we walk outside, while trying to avoid little puddles and droppings.  Here is a picture of the first puppy who found a home, along with several of Noah's friends.  From left to right they are:  Noah, Ravindra, Armand, and Kojo.


A cultural event...
I was able to attend a play at the University of Ghana, entitled "Emancipated Captives".  It was very well done, in an outdoor theater [which was risky given that we are the end of the rainy season - and unfortunately during the last 20 minutes of the play it rained so we all huddled together while the players (who had a roof) finished their act.]  The play covered a good portion of Ghanaian history and was humorous as well.  I took a brief clip of some of the dancing for you to enjoy - this dancing was happening in the context of a lament over traditional dancing becoming a lost art as more Ghanaians begin turning to Latin American dances.

Mom Story #2: A Peculiar person, Rick Slager

One of the things that I enjoy about my job is the opportunity to meet people from so many different places and backgrounds.  I was telling my mom about one of these persons this summer and she encouraged me to write a blog about him as it may be inspirational to others.  So, here is Mom Story #2.

Rick Slager is a business man from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  He grew up on a dairy farm until his early teens and has lived in Wisconsin all his life.  He and his wife, Dawn, have been married for 20 years (they actually share the same anniversary as Bob and I - October 20, 1990:-).  Dawn is a teacher.  They have two beautiful daughters, Sadie and Ella.

When I met Rick, about a year ago, he owned three businesses, with sales of over $500,000 annually.  He describes himself as an entrepreneur at heart.  In 2001 Rick had the opportunity to travel on a short-term mission trip to Senegal with a group of strangers from North Carolina.  He has since been to Senegal ten times, to the DR Congo once, and has decided to sell all of his businesses and go into ministry full time.  That's right - you read it correctly - sell all his businesses and go into ministry full-time.  And yes, he and Dawn are still happily married. I'm excited to announce that he had decided to work with Partners Worldwide, specifically in West Africa, to do agriculture development, specifically as it relates to appropriate affordable technology for small scale farmers.  His program is called the Rural Empowerment Initiative and he will be first working with Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, and then hopes to add Ghana and Senegal.  You can read about Rick's work and story at www.ruralempowermentinitiative.org.

What makes people like Rick do radical things like this?  I think the only answer can be God.  But it also takes a courageous person to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  1 Peter 2: 9 says that we are a "peculiar people" (Ok, I know, some versions say "chosen people" but I kind of like "peculiar".  Pastor Dave often reminded us of how peculiar we are!)  Rick gave his life to Christ only fourteen years ago - his time before that was not easy but I'll let him tell that story.  Since he gave himself to Christ, it seems to me that his life has been an exciting roller coaster ride leading him places that he probably never imagined he would go. 

Here are two cartoons that Rick had up on his blog that seem to represent some of the call on his life.  I thought I'd share them with you:   

 Rick and his family have decided to leave the big picture results up to God and to step forward in faith to see what one person (family) can do and let God handle the rest.  Rick will be at the Partners Worldwide conference on October 7 & 8 (for more info on that, go to www.partnersworldwide.org) in Grand Rapids.  He hopes that his story will encourage other people to "get out of the boat."  I encourage you to get in touch with him if you are trying to figure out what the water is like.

Six months today since March 20, 2010

My Dear,

Today is the sixth month anniversary of your death. 

Man.  Six months...death.  Those words just don't seem right.  How can it be at the same time so unreal and yet so real?  How can it still feel like you are coming back and yet its been six months without hearing your voice or seeing your face?  And still it feels like these last six months have been an eternity.  Many people told me it would take three-six months before I felt somewhat normal.  And for the most part they are right.  Of course, they also add it won't ever really feel normal again, and that feels right as well.

When people ask how I'm doing, I'm not really sure what to say - especially because it ranges from day to day, sometimes hour to hour.  The range is from depression, to anger, to loneliness, to feeling overwhelmed, to feeling normal.  I have stopped trying to take care of you, which is good, and I now feel like I have to be in the business of surviving. That means putting some things away that are visual, painful reminders of your absence - like your toothbrush and your shoes.

I'm not having coffee outside as often as I did the first few months after your death.  I think I'm avoiding it.  I haven't really accepted "Jesus as my husband" yet.  I'm just not ready to, I guess.  It seems so serious - not playful or light at all.  When you and I had coffee every morning, the routine varied (one of the things I loved about you - you were anti-routine:-).  We would read the Bible, or pray, or talk about parenting, or debate poverty or other issues, or talk about the dogs, or talk about our days or whatever.  When I imagine having coffee with Jesus as my husband, I imagine the conversation to go like this:

 Renita:  So, Jesus, what does your day look like?

Jesus:  Well, today is like any other day:  millions or prayers to listen to, thousands of operations and accidents to attend, four births every second, two deaths every second......of the 146, 357 deaths today, only one-third will enter heaven.  Peter and John are covering a good portion of those but there are some I want to welcome personally.  

Suddenly my day looks pretty un-noteworthy.

I know - He would be focused on me and would care about my day and the issues...but I still miss you and want you as my husband.  I miss the dialogue, the banter, the audible responses, and the ability to process the oodles of issues that arise every day.

The kids and I miss you especially at night when we do our devotions and get into various debates.  Last night they were debating NeoMarxism versus Secular Humanism versus Cosmic Humanism and other 'isms' as well.  Noah was wishing that he was a Cosmic Humanist so that he wouldn't have to do homework as writing on paper would be injuring a god:-).  [That kid really has your mind and your sense of humor!]  You know me - by 10 pm I'm ready to sleep so getting into heavy debates at that time of evening is not my forte.  You loved those debates and the kids missing having those debates with you. 

Time moves on so slowly on a daily basis and so quickly when looking back.  Know that we miss you.  And we love you.

Eid ul-Fitr

Friday was a National Holiday in Ghana and in many countries around the world with a high Muslim population.  The Muslim population in Ghana is around 15%.  The name of the holiday is Eid ul-Fitr, which is Arabic for "festivity concluding the fast", and marks the end of Ramadan.  Ramadan is a thirty day fast from eating, drinking and sexual relations from dawn to sunset that Muslims partake in for the purpose of learning about patience, humility, and spirituality. During this time, Muslims ask for forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.  Charity and prayer are important parts of this time.

As Hannah and Noah did not have school on Friday, we decided to attend the Eid prayers at the Madina Central Mosque, not too far from our place.  [I use the term "we" loosely - if you remember in an earlier blog, I wanted this next year to be a year of learning more about Ghana.  The kids agreed, in theory.  Actually going out of our comfort zone is another issue.  But after some negotiation, they agreed to get up early on their day off from school to attend these prayers, and they were both good sports about it.]  We arrived at 8 am, when we were told the prayers were supposed to start, but only a handful of people were there.  We passed through a long line of people waiting to receive alms and then sat down to wait and do some people watching. After some time passed, people began to stream in - women were on the side of the building that we were on, while the men went to the other side.

Everyone was dressed in beautiful clothes and the women all wore a white head wrap.  The stream of people after a while was amazing and I was surprised how many Muslims were in this area of Greater Accra, especially when I found out that there was another Mosque, just down the road that was full also.  After a while it suddenly got very quiet and the prayers began.  The prayer time was actually quite short and immediately after that people began to break their fast.

It was a good experience, especially as we have been intentionally learning more about Islam over the last few weeks - a good number of students at Hannah and Noah's school are Muslim, as are business owners with whom I work.  I appreciate their discipline and desire to serve God.  There is very little I know about the Qur'an and I think it's important that we become knowledgeable about it.  John 10:16 says, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.  I must bring them also.  They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." 

Noah went on his own to the men's side, as he didn't want to stay with all the women - and then had to fight the flow of humans to make it back to us. 

Hannah and I both wore a head wrap (even though we didn't have white - thankfully there were some who also weren't wearing white) as a sign of respect for their beliefs.

 By the way, today is the 82nd birthday of Bob's mom, Lucille Mosher.  Happy Birthday!

The First Enterprise: The Garden of Eden

If I haven't told you before, I will tell you now: I have a great mom. I describe her as a saint but if I told you why, it would make her blush. She is one of the most gracious, loving, generous, and forgiving persons I know, who loves her Lord and Savior. My father has serious dementia now, with about a 30 second short-term memory and she is giving him full-time care, which is not an easy task.

Ever since I moved to Africa, our communication has actually improved. We talk every week for about an hour. When I'm in Michigan, we talk less. Weird. Anyway, she challenged me the other week to write more in the blog about the actual work that I do. She said that when we spent time at the cottage over the summer, I told her numerous stories that helped her learn more about the work and she thought it would be good for me to relate those stories in the blog. So, I'm being obedient to my wise mother and will tell some stories.

One of the things that I have done over the years is to teach and help create a curriculum for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs). This twelve week class is designed to help SMEs create their business plan, a road map for growth, with the end goal being job creation for poverty reduction. As we go through the class, we break their business down into four components as shown in this image:We spend a few weeks discussing the foundation of their business, which relates to sound foundational business decisions that must be made regarding business operations. This includes Business as Mission (BAM), Cultural Worldview versus Biblical Worldview, Business Ethics, and their Mission and Goals. The next few weeks discuss the walls of their business, which has to do with separating themselves from their business, establishing boundaries with family and friends, and handling personnel and management issues. The following few weeks are spent making sure that the business is welcoming to customers by making the windows and doors attractive, which involves customer service, marketing and pricing. And last but not least, we deal with the roof, which if not secure or leaking in any way, can spoil the whole business, dealing specifically with book-keeping, income statements, and balance sheets.

Liberia has taught this class several dozen times to thousands of business owners. Ghana is in the process right now of teaching their second class to about 40 SMEs. Last week, I taught the class on Business as Mission and today I will share with you a story that I usually give.

A little background first: We predominantly work with Christian businesses, although the class is open to all. (We let people know that we are unapologetically Christian, with Biblically based materials, and they can chose to come or not. There are several Muslims in this current class, but most are Christian.) Many Christian business people around the world do not feel affirmed by the church in their calling. They are often viewed as having the ability to give financially, but not a lot of other gifts that can contribute to Kingdom work. We try to turn that idea upside down in a number of ways, and one of the ways that I start the dialogue is by re-framing the story of the Garden of Eden. Pastor Sam Reeves always encouraged us to put on our "spiritual imagination" which I do for this story - hopefully no one will take issue with some creative license. [It's interactive when I am teaching, so I will modify it a little for this context.]

Once upon a time, a long time ago, God decided to establish an enterprise. He called it the Garden of Eden. This enterprise had three purposes according to Genesis 1: 28-30, 2:15: 1. agriculture, both crop production and animal husbandry ("be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth; I give you every seed-bearing plant"), 2. environmental stewardship ("work it and take care of it"), and 3. a management firm ("subdue the earth; rule over it"). He then appointed Adam to be the manager of this enterprise; God was (is) the owner. He recognized that Adam needed a helper and, not wanting to burn out His only employee, Eve was created. This business was declared "good" by the Creator, and remember, this was before the fall. (Implication is that work is good; business is good; the new earth will have similar work for us!) As a responsible owner, He checked in very closely with his managers every evening to see how things were going.

Unfortunately, corruption entered in. (Side note: Many West Africans believe that African leaders are the only ones who are corrupt. Corruption goes back to the very beginning and has infiltrated all people groups - some are just better at hiding it than others.) As managers, Adam and Eve were allowed to have access to the entire company, except for one area. Being the "responsible" managers that they were, they thought that maybe they could help the Owner run it better if they had access to everything. So they put their hand where they shouldn't. Thankfully, the Owner was attentive and immediately knew that His managers had failed Him. Being a God of Justice, He couldn't allow these managers to remain and they suffered the consequences. Even though the management has changed, as has the original location, the business is still operating, although the consequences of those first corrupt managers are still felt to this day.

The moral of the story? There are several:

• God created business. God believes work and creativity and productivity and management is good! There are numerous business persons in the Bible whom God used to do His Kingdom work - not in spite of their business but often because of their business!
• Running a business is difficult - especially when you have human beings working for you. Owners must be diligent in their duties, both in protecting their employees from being overworked and also in checking in regularly to encourage and to make sure things are handled correctly.
• God is the Owner of all business and all work; we are at best the managers. How would this world look if businesses actually operated that way? Or even just the Christian businesses?
  

We do a BAM devotion every week - there are some great Bible passages about business that really seem to turn our current perception of business on its head. I love seeing the light-bulbs go off with these entrepreneurs as suddenly they recognize that their business can be a mission, a calling, something of and from God.

And now for your "awwwwww" moment, a brief video that Hannah shot of the puppies. Note Jack, the father, getting to know his children and appearing somewhat nervous about it.

Inviting Jesus into a Memory

It's been a while since I wrote about how I'm really doing in terms of the grieving process. In light of some recent events, I thought I would share a little with you.

The time this summer was an especially important time for a few reasons and I am so thankful for my friends and family who really pushed me to come home for a few weeks (even though I insisted I didn't need it:-). The time at the cottage was an emotional break for me because Bob had not been to those places and so I was not faced with the visual reminder of his absence 24/7. Spending time with family and friends, playing games, reading, and catching up on much needed sleep, was very healing. During those two weeks, I felt the fog begin to lift.

A couple days before we returned to Ghana, a very important event happened that had God's hand all over it.

In the morning, I had coffee with a friend from the LEAD Grand Rapids group, David Graf, who together with Judy King, another member of my church, had been actively praying with me twice a week over the phone since Bob died. I was shared with him about how I had been reliving Bob's death every night since he died. Dave's ears perked up and he said, "You are reliving that every night? You need prayer for that! We need to pray for you this Sunday after church." Since I was having lunch with our pastor and his wife that same day, he encouraged me to talk with them about this. I shared this with them, and Melanie (Pastor Dave's wife) asked if I had prayed for that nightly memory to be taken away. I sheepishly acknowledged that I hadn't - I just assume that when you go through a traumatic event, that is what happens for a period of time...plus I was still trying to solve what really happened with Bob each night when I relived it, so ending it would feel like I was abandoning him in some way. Pastor Dave then asked if I had ever heard of praying Jesus into a memory, which I hadn't, and he informed me that Judy King does that sort of healing prayer. Well, I just "happened" to have meeting with her later that afternoon.

Judy and I met later that afternoon and since she was not going to be in church that Sunday, she offered to pray for me right then and there. She took my hands, asked me to close my eyes, invited the Holy Spirit into our time, and then had me "go back" to that hospital room, describe where I was standing, what Bob was doing, and who else was in the room. I ended up reliving that last hour of Bob's life, but with Judy inviting Jesus and the Holy Spirit into that memory. At one point, she asked me to place a cross between myself and Bob, and I told her I didn't want to. The cross could be there, but not in-between us. This was an important realization for me, as releasing Bob to Jesus was something that I had not yet done. And so, with many tears, I did that.

I can't describe everything that happened during that prayer time, but to say that it was significant would be an understatement. I realized that I was still trying to take care of Bob through the reliving of his death, trying to figure out what really happened (since we still don't know and never will on this earth), trying to determine what those last minutes were really like for him. And ultimately, reliving those things were my attempts to hold on to him and not let him go.

The results of this prayer time? Several. First, whenever I picture that room now, I picture Bob, lying on his back, with his eyes closed, and the room is peaceful with a sense of Christ's presence; even the lighting is softer. Prior to that, I always pictured him lying on his left side, agitated and the room chaotic, with bright lights. Jesus has become part of that memory. Second, I have stopped reliving his death every night. I have begun sleeping again. Third, I feel like I have accepted his death. I am very thankful to God for this and for the body of Christ in the form of my church family.

I always thought I was a quick study but it appears that when it comes to grieving, I am not. It appears, with the benefit of hindsight, that I spent the first four months following Bob's death in the first stage of grief, denial. I did not realize what a stupor I had been in for those four months. Every email, every phone call, every conversation that was not about Bob took great effort and energy. I had no interest in anything except lying in my bed. I'm amazed that any work actually got done during that time and appreciate the patience of Partners Worldwide and the teams with whom I work as they allowed me to grieve.

The grieving process is not over yet though. To use an analogy, I would say that prior to this vacation, it was like being in a hurricane. The time at home was like coming into the eye of the hurricane which was a beautiful thing, and for about two weeks, I felt great and remembered what it was like to feel normal. I now feel like I'm entering the back side of the hurricane in terms of some new stages of grief to deal with, but at least the shock and stupor seem to be behind me.

Thanks to so many of you for your prayers, your encouraging emails and comments to these blogs, your calls, visits, and hugs!

One Year in Ghana

Weather in Accra: This is the weather that Bob loved - a pretty constant breeze, temperature ranging from the high 70sF to the mid-80sF. Humidity is still around 70% but it doesn't feel like it because of the breeze. The rainy season here has nothing on Liberia - it rains a few times a week, but without a large accumulation.

August marks our one year anniversary in Ghana. To say this has been a stressful year would be a gross understatement. On stress scales, death of a spouse rates as number one. Add to that moving to a new country, learning about a new culture, both of us starting new work, the kids starting a new school, new church, and the list can go on. According to stress tests, I am at the highest risk for stress related illness. Yet I have been relatively healthy and I thank God for that.

Here are some reflections on living in Ghana for year one:

Electricity and water have been a blessing, in comparison to Liberia, but not entirely smooth. The water is typically off from about Thursday-Sunday, and we live off our storage tank during those days, with very slow streams. By Sunday we are seriously conserving and hoping that the water will come back on Monday. The best shower day in our house is Tuesday - great water pressure. Electricity comes and goes - for example, this past Thursday the power was off from about 10 am - 6:30 pm; Friday, off from 8 pm - 10 pm; Saturday, off from 9 am - 11:30 am. It can be frustrating because you don't know when it will go off or when it will come back on. It's really bad when your computer is downloading updates and the power shuts off.

Getting to know Ghana, her people, and her culture has been more difficult than expected due to the predominant use of Twi by most people, which is the local language, instead of English which is the official language. Additionally, the independence that we admire in the Ghanaian people also makes them a little more reserved or less welcoming. So at the end of our first year, we know we have a lot to learn about Ghana and hope that this next year will allow that to happen.

Here are some pictures from this past year that hadn't made it to the blog yet.

On my way home from teaching class on Wednesday, we paused to let the cows pass. One of the things I love about living in West Africa. Unfortunately, this wasn't too much of a problem in Liberia, but we pray that animal husbandry may continue to grow in that country, providing more meat and protein for Liberians.

Getting used to dust was a big factor in Ghana. In Liberia we lived by the ocean and there was always sand in the house, but not the same level of red dust that we have in Accra. Every day, things are covered with a fine layer of red dust (because the windows are open 24/7 and we live on a dirt road). Paper can't be left out overnight, printers and computers need to be bagged, and a daily chore is wiping down tables and desks so as not to turn everything red. The amazing thing is how clean most cars are - people here are fastidious about keeping their vehicles clean and taxi drivers, when they aren't driving, are always wiping down their cars.

Hannah and Noah had the opportunity to participate in the Model United Nations (MUN) this past year at the Kofi Annan United Nations Building. Hannah represented Brazil, Noah represented Argentina. They had to research various topics and then debate them with other representatives from various countries. It was great to see these high school students get dressed up for those days and debate real issues.One of the last pictures taken of Bob, with the group in Nigeria. In the past year, he was able to go to Mali as well. I was able to travel four times to Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia.

Writing on the back of vehicles is a very common thing and we often get a kick out of what is written. One day we saw this truck and had a good chuckle over it saying "highly inflammable" as it was filled with gas. We were still chuckling over it later in the day and mentioned it to someone else who looked at us like we were idiots and told us it was completely okay. Sure enough, flammable and inflammable both mean the same thing. Go figure. There's your English tip for the day.

As much as Accra looks like a well developed city, you don't have to drive far to see areas where poverty is prevalent. In the distance you can see many fishing boats, which are more like canoes.

Hannah had the opportunity to join the worship team at Elim International Family Church and either sings or plays the flute. The youth group is leading worship in this picture and Hannah is on the left, playing the flute.

I have met many great business people in the greater Accra area. This is a picture of a man making those little rubber feet that you find on the bottom of steel tables or chairs. He's making them out of scraps of rubber. One main difference between Ghana and Liberia is that there are many more real SMEs (small and medium size enterprises) here, which we define as having five+ employees. There is an actual middle class in Ghana.

A shot of a classic village, found in between Accra and Cape Coast.

We had a chance to visit Bob's tree in July. It has grown significantly and looks very healthy. Last Friday marked five months since his death.

A number of you have asked about the pups - all seven are doing well. Three males, four females. Dusty (the mom) has also stopped attacking our other two dogs every few minutes (especially our other female, Faith), so we are all getting sleep again. Aren't they cute?

And then there were 7 dogs...I mean 9...oops 8...um 11...ok 10.

Sunday morning was an exciting morning at the Reed household. After waiting for four years, we finally are happy to announce the birth of new Reed puppies.

If you remember in Liberia, Bob eagerly prepared several times for Nikki to give birth, but she fooled us at least twice with false pregnancies. (To see those posts go to http://reedsinliberia.blogspot.com.) Earlier this year, in the beginning of March, Faith miscarried. Then when we came back just a couple of weeks ago, both Faith and Dusty were pregnant. Sunday morning, for whatever reason, they both gave birth.

When I went out to feed the dogs, I found Dusty in the garden with four pups. I moved them into a more comfortable home ( an old suitcase), got my coffee and sat down to watch. Four puppies plus three dogs - suddenly we had seven dogs in the yard. I then noticed that Faith was looking a little different. After doing some exploration, I found two puppies that she had given birth to but unfortunately both were dead. I buried those, then came back to my coffee and to watch Dusty, who suddenly had five puppies. Hannah and Noah began to get up, and by the time they came out to see the puppies, we counted seven (plus our three, now ten dogs in the yard). Noah noticed that Dusty seemed to be contracting again. Thirty minutes later, we watched Dusty give birth to another pup - the only black puppy with white feet and white-tipped tail. [Picture shows this birth.] Unfortunately, it was not breathing and did not survive. But we were still glad that we were able to watch one birth - even though it was a little gross. I did videotape it but we all decided it was not the kind of thing to post on the blog. It's amazing how instinctual it is for a mother dog to care for a new born puppy.

Here is Dusty with her seven pups - all of whom seem healthy and all of whom seem to look like Jack. Dusty seems to be a good mom, thus far. If you remember, she was the dog that almost died. Bob worked extra hard to keep her alive and would not give up on her. He would have loved to see her as a proud momma.

Ten dogs might be a little much for us to handle...Anyone want a puppy?