Thursday, February 2, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe took the kids to school.  Then, he took the vehicle to the painter.  They started getting the different rust spots that the welder had repaired ready to be painted.

Yesterday, a man from Immigrations called and said that he needed evidence that we had turned paperwork in at the Interior office in Accra.  Mack Siekbert picked Joe up and took him to the Immigration office.  Joe showed him the receipt.  First, the guy asked why we were requesting a visa extension instead of filing for a residents' visa.  Joe explained that we were wanting to get the residents' visa, but we were awaiting the approval of the paperwork in Accra.  Then, the man said that to apply for quota approval, we were not supposed to be in the country.  Then, he started asking questions about the quota that we are trying to get on.  He wanted to know why the person in charge of the quota had not come and introduced himself.  Joe explained that he and Charlie had both come to the office and talked to someone together, but the boss man was upset that they had not talked to him.  Charlie went down with a letter of introduction this afternoon.  Joe will go back to the office tomorrow to find out what the man decided.  It is all up to him.  He can decide to give us the ninety day extension, or he can deny the extension and make us leave the country.  If we have to leave the country, we will have thirty days to leave.  Pray that he will grant us the extension and that we will not have to leave.

Mack took Joe back to the painter.  Joe was there until 7:00 this evening, but they finished the job.

Dan brought the kids home in a taxi.  The kids changed clothes and went up to the Luthers.

Bonnie informed me that she had to go see the principal today.  She said, "It wasn't just me, Mom; it was everybody.  We didn't do our seatwork correctly."  I said, "Your whole class had to go to the office?"  She said, "Well, I guess it was just several of us, four, no five of us."  She said that the principal talked to them and looked at their papers.  Gilbert was happy because he finished his seatwork.  

I got supper ready.  Joe's phone battery had died.  We didn't know when he was coming.  So, we went ahead and ate supper without him.  He ate when he got home.

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe took the kids to school.  Then, he headed to the welder to have the rust spots repaired.  He then went to the painter to schedule the painting for tomorrow.  He got home at lunch time.

I did some cleaning, laundry, and worked on my book a little.

We got a brownie mix in a package the other day.  So, I made those brownies and then worked on supper.  

After supper, we headed to church.  Ghana was playing Guinea tonight in the Africa Cup of Nations; so, there were eight in attendance tonight.  We saw people gathered around TV screens and radios on our way to church.  Joe preached a good sermon.

Bonnie said that her teacher told her that her hands were dirty today.  I looked at her hands, and she had dirt under her fingernails.  I asked her how her fingers got so dirty.  She said, "Well, I was just playing with a black girl at school; she's my friend."  She must think that the black comes off!  : )

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe took the kids to school.  Then, he checked at several different places to get the best price for repairing some rust spots on the car.  He found a welder and a painter.  The welder will start the work tomorrow.  

I got the laundry started.  Then, I worked on my book for a while.  I think I am on page six now; what progress!  

Joe picked the kids up from school.  The kids all had a good day at school.  The kids played outside for a while.  

Bonnie was showing me a paper that she did today.  Their letter today was "L."  She was looking at the clue word pictures and telling me the words that she had learned that started with L - "letooce (lettuce), leezard (lizard), bumble bee (otherwise known as a lady bug), and a goat (lamb).  That girl is a mess!

We went into town for supper.  We ate at a Chinese restaurant; it was very good.

As we got closer to home, the power was off.  It was off for a couple hours and just came back on in time for bed time.  Hooray!

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Monday, January 30, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe took the kids to school.  Around 9:30, he went to the Immigration office with Charlie.  They had us call the Interior office to see when the committee would meet to consider our quota request.  They said that they only meet once every three months, and they had already had a meeting in January.  So, we have to fill out the paperwork for a ninety-day extension on our visa while we wait for the quota approval.

I got some things done around the house.  I sorted paperwork and got things put away.  I also did laundry, the never-ending cycle.  

After school, the kids played outside with the Luther kids.  After they left, Joe played soccer with the boys for a few minutes.  Gilbert got hit right in the face with the ball.  It knocked him off of his feet, but he was okay, although a bit offended.  

At bath time, Gilbert threw a plastic turtle at Danny.  It hit him right by the eye.  When Joe first saw it, he thought we would have to go for stitches.  But, after he got it cleaned up, it wasn't too bad.  

Bonnie had a group of girls lined up outside this afternoon and was teaching them a song.  Tonight, she was talking to the letter magnets on the fridge; they were her students.  She must have teaching in the blood.  

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Bonjour,

We had a good day at church.  The attendance was low today.  Last night, Ghana played in the Africa Cup of Nations Tournament.  Everyone was up late watching that.  But, we had good services with those who did come.

I had fourteen in my class today.  I did not have a helper.  Gilbert and Danny helped me out.  

After church, we had lunch and took naps.  Then, we got ready to go back to church.

On the way to church tonight, a truck that was a few vehicles in front of us lost control when his brakes went out.  First, he swerved way over on the left shoulder and almost took out an electric pole.  Then, he crossed both lanes of traffic to run into a dirt embankment.  The Siekberts were headed the opposite direction on their way to their church, and that truck crossed both lanes of traffic right in front of them.  Praise the Lord for His protection!  We had a good service this evening as well with thirteen in attendance.  

Gilbert was talking about a movie that he just watched.  He said, "The man was driving, and he stopped breathing.  He probably had Typhoid."  I told him that he probably had a heart attack.  He said, "Well, you stopped breathing when you had Typhoid."

Tonight, during testimony time at church, Danny said, "I praise the Lord for Fante songs."  We have been learning "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in Fante in the evening services.  Danny is starting to catch on.  

Bonnie was singing "Happy Birthday" like they sing it at school.  At the end, she said, "Peep, peep, hooray!"  They say, "Hip, hip, hooray!," but Bonnie thinks it is "Peep, peep" because of their accent.

Joe has to go to the Immigration's office in the morning to see if they will extend our visas since we are working on the quota paperwork.  Pray that it will all work out and that we won't have to pay for the ninety-day extensions.

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe left the house about 4:45 this morning to go get Mack Siekbert.  They came back to the house and got the other vehicle.  Then, they were off to the border.  They got to the border town a couple hours before the guy who was meeting them did.  Dao came and took our old vehicle back to Ivory Coast.  Then, Joe, Mack, and Martin headed back to Takoradi.  They stopped and had lunch at a place by the ocean.  

It rained here this morning.  I wasn't sure if anyone would come for Bible Club.  We had nineteen in spite of the rain.  We had the Bible Club on the porch.

Dan started four other Bible Clubs today.  There weren't many out at the soccer fields today because of the rain, but he did have a few at each place.  

Joe got back around 3:30.  Charlie brought his kids down to the field to play.  It stopped raining just after Bible Club this morning and was quite humid this afternoon.

I attempted to make some corn chips for nachos for supper, but they did not turn out very well. I won't use that recipe again!

The boys have been busy working on some Hidden Picture Puzzle books that we got in a package yesterday.  Gilbert found everything on one page, and he was so proud of himself.  Danny and I did another 100 piece puzzle tonight.  Gilbert helped us for a minute; then, he went back to his hidden pictures.

Joe is very tired after driving from one end of the country to the other in the past three days.  Pray that he will get some good rest tonight and will be ready to go again in the morning.

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie

Friday, January 27, 2012

Bonjour,

Joe took the kids to school.  He came home and helped Charlie put a part on their vehicle.  I hemmed several pairs of Joe's pants.

Then, Joe and I went into town.  He took me to lunch.  Then, we did a little grocery shopping.  We headed in the direction of the school in plenty of time to get there before school got out, but we got stuck in a major traffic jam.  One of the traffic circles was blocked due to an accident.  People were going through the gas station parking lot to try to get around the accident.  Then, there was a traffic jam in the gas station parking lot.  There was a tanker truck stretched across one side of the gas station with a taxi blocking the only exit to go in the opposite direction of the traffic jam.  The taxi had room to back up, but it was just sitting there.  So, Joe got out and kindly asked the man if he would back up so that cars could get out that way.  The man decided to get upset that a white man knew how to ask the way a Ghanaian would ask, and he refused to move his taxi.  There was another taxi a little ways behind his taxi.  That driver got out to try to reason with the man as well.  He had a small child in the front seat of his taxi.  Most of the vehicles here are not automatics, but that one was.  The little girl knocked the vehicle into drive, and the vehicle shot forward running into the taxi which had refused to move.  The driver was wishing he would have moved his taxi!  We were finally able to get out and go the way we wanted to go.  We got to the school a few minutes late.

When we got home, Charlie had brought his kids down to our yard to play.  Our kids got their clothes changed and went outside to play.

I read a couple days ago that today would be National Chocolate Cake Day in the States.  We couldn't pass up that opportunity!  I told Joe about it yesterday when he was on his way home from Accra.  Martin was with him, and he said that he wanted to celebrate with us.  So, we invited Martin for supper.  I made pizza, and we had chocolate cake for dessert.  This morning, Bonnie told Joe at the breakfast table, "Dad, we saved some national cake for you!"  (We made the cake yesterday and had to sample it.)

L.F.'s dad died a couple weeks ago.  This weekend is the funeral.  The funerals last for three days here.  On Friday night, they have a wake; the family stays up all night.  Then, on Saturday, they have the burial.  On Sunday, they have a Thanksgiving service.  It is mainly just a reason to "party."  Most of the time, there is music blaring over loud speakers for the entire three days.  L.F. works for us and attends our church.  Joe and some of the men from the church went to the wake for a little while tonight.  They won't stay the whole night though.

Pray for Joe as he travels to the border in the morning.  Mack Siekbert is going to follow Joe to the border.  Our mechanic from Ivory Coast is going to take our old vehicle back to Ivory Coast, get it pass the inspection, and then sell it.  Mack will drive our other vehicle so that Joe will have a way home and won't have to wait for a bus to fill up at the border before he can come home.

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie