check out the new AIS promo video ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZuiJK4yP3g

This show where our school is and where it is headed. Pray for AIS

love letter

So this week was valentines day. Coming into this week I was really excited because I love Valentines Day. I don't know why I just think it is a really fun holiday that you get to show someone you care about them even more than usual. It was a lot of fun I gave one of my friends a valentine and it was his first one (of course it was a kiddy one) He loved it and was excited to get one.

Well an assignment we had from our care group members was to write a love note to God. We are so quick to write love notes to our significant others and whoever else but do we really stop and write a love note to the one who loves us more than anyone else. It took me a long time to do this because I didn't know what to write. How do you express all you have to say to someone who has greater love than you ever known. I finally wrote it.I have read it many times this week when I have felt overwhelmed and stressed or just plain down to remind me of who this God is I serve. I thought I would share it to encourage you to write one to God as am offering and an encouragement or reminder of who God is.

Dear God,

So I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be in love. The last couple of days I have come to find the funny thing about it is that it has nothing to do with me but has everything to do with you. Your love is undeserving especially to me a failure on so many levels. Your love is sacrificial. I mean you loved me so much you sent your son for me to take my place. This love I can never return. So many times I have stood you up, forgotten you, ran to someone else, and made you cry. I have disappointed you and yet you have never left my side, given up on me, or disowned me. You have stayed by my side, given me encouragement, you have seen all my tears and collected each one. I can never repay you for all you have done. You have brought people whom I have come to love into my life, you have taught me forgiveness. I can't put it all into words of how much I need you and depend on you even if I don't say it. God I am so grateful that you know me for me. God thanks for never changing. Thanks for loving me even though I have hurt you and you take all my pain. Truly bring me back to who you are and help me to continue to fall deeply in love with you.

Your princess,

Faith

Praise the Lord for all He has done in your life and all He is going to do. Thank Him for the special people in your life.

Love all of you.

Pray for my class this week as we talk about salvation and what it really means to be born again.

An Amazing week of Just what I needs...

This past week has been a blast here in Accra. It started on Sunday and has been going ever since. I have some pictures of some of things I did this week.

I love when I get opportunities just to make people feel loved. So my friend Nana has been really stressed on the past couple of weeks. So my college friends would appreciate this I decided that I was going to treat him to what I did with my friends Jo Lyn and Amie in college and bring him some junk food and then we could watch the game. So he agreed so on Sunday after church I set out on a baking spree of brownies and popcorn. Then I grabbed pizza on the way to his house. He had some friends over and so it was fun to not only show him some encouragement but also just to show his friends some encouragement also. It was a lot of fun.

Monday was my first day as a member at the gym and the gym has been great. I look forward to going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is a great way to just distress and meet people from outside the AIS family. I have found this more and more important to my ministry here. I love that I get the opportunity to share Christ with my students but also to the outside community that they are involved in also.

On Tuesday we had our staff meeting. Our principal (Mrs. Hailey) started this award this year called the bottle cap award. Each week this reward goes to someone who has worked hard, done something out of the ordinary, or has encouraged someone. This week I got it from my prayer partner. It was definitely a surprise. THen I get home Tuesday night and nothing seemed to be going right, the kitchen was a mess, i kept stepping in something, there were ants, the electricity went off it was just going rough so I was making dinner and I was texting my friend and its great when God just puts people in your life right at the right moment and He puts them to be open to when you are just fraustrated. W

ell Tuesday night was one of those nights and my friend just saw that I was not having a great night so He was in my area running errands and came and hung out for a while.

Wednesday we had chapel and my kids did amazing. God definitely used third grade to encourage the elementary staff and students. Throughout the rest of the week people came up to me and the class and told us how blessed they were.

Friday we had no school so I just got to go and do somethings that I needed to do and just be really independent. It was fun just getting to do things by myself. Knowing that I could do without help from anyone else. Then I went to the gym which was great. Then Friday night I went out with my friend Nana. We went to Chez Afrique which is an african restaurant that has live music. So it was fun going there and just ge

tting some alvario (a fruit like drink) and listen to the music. There were lots of people there dancing and having fun. It was nice to just chill and relax.

Please pray for opportunities to share Christ with people. Today I felt like I needed to invite my friend Nana to church with me because we had been talking about the church he went to in Canada and so I texted him to see if he wanted to go. Unfortunately he couldn't go this morning because he already had plans but he said maybe another time. Just pray that his heart would be opened to coming next week. Pray for more opportunities to share Christ with people outside of school. Pray that Christ continues to open up the hearts of the students in my class and the students at AIS.

My Students singing in Third Grade Chapel.

See their skit below-

"Don't Laugh at Me"

Nana and Me at a soccer game this is where he taught

me the term indirect free kick. (football language) I am really

trying to learn football since it is so influential here.

Nana and Me on Sunday night watching the Ghana football

match and eating lots of brownies and pizza.

Some of my third graders and me after

International Day.

Nichole and Me.

A Random story week...

Wow this week has been interesting not in a bad way. On Sunday I got back from church and I went to the store and on my way to the store my friend Nana called and he was in the area. I have not seen Nana since I had been back so I was very excited to see him. Well I ended up spending most of my Sunday afternoon just talking with Nana which was great.

Monday I got a new student and the class really took him in which I knew they would. This was great because we started putting our chapel together to and so he got dropped into that to. I am really excited about this chapel. I think because what we are doing effects everyone even at my age and especially here in Ghana. So the outline for our chapel this week is all about God's love. We are starting off with three songs that just each have a different aspect of who God is. Our first song is Hold me by Jamie Grace and Toby Mac. They absolutely love this song an it pretty much talks about how God can turn around a bad day and how much we love that He holds us in His arms. Then we are singing a song call A God Like You and it is by Kirk Franklin and it talks about all the awesome things God does and that so many times we try to take over and there is really no one like our God. Then we are singing about how being with God is a great adventure. Then we are doing our skit from the song Don't Laugh at Me by Mark Wills. We will end with Matthew 5:44. I know God will work through this chapel because it has already impacted my life.

Okay so my friend George told me that I can't just go home from school and watch a movie and go to sleep everyday because I get sad so he told me I needed to get a hobby so this week I have been working on going out and not just sitting at home. So on Monday I came home worked out and then really wanted a salad so I asked my friend Fran if she wanted to go to dinner so she came with me and we went to dinner. So I come home and I am sitting outside my gate playing with one of the little boys and I was sitting on the ground (first mistake). So then I was playing with the dogs and talking and all of a sudden this thing comes flying out from under the door at our gate runs into my leg and then the dog starts chasing it. I just sat there for a moment and then I asked Daniel (our guard) what that was and he said a mouse. I was kind of in shock until I realized that a rat just ran into me I kind of went into panic. That is what I get for going out.

Tuesday I went out after school with my friend Shari. I love how God just puts opportunities in our lives to be an encouragement to others. This is how this came about I saw earlier in the day that something happened because she didn't seem herself and God just laid it on my heart to write her a little note and just encourage her. It was nice to just go get cheesecake and talk.

Then on Wednesday my mentor here Nichole asked me to go to a cardio Kick boxing class at Pippas (a really nice gym here in East Legon). I got a free three day pass and so I went with her and loved it. So I found out about this special where if you get one membership a guest gets to go for free for three months. So one of the other teachers Fran went with me on a free pass on Friday so she said she would go in with me on this three months so I am really excited. Now I can go to Cardio Kickboxing every Monday Wednesday and Friday. Which is good.

I am so thankful that God is one who never fails or lets us down. I really saw that this week that when I was feeling really alone and really down God put people to give me a hug or a text that made me smile. Even just going out almost every night this week even if it is for a little bit made it fun.

Prayer Request:

- Building for new school still going through all the workings of that

- 3rd grade chapel this Wednesday

- teaching Sunday school tomorrow on the word to little preschoolers.

- opportunities to encourage others