What a busy weekend it's been! Saturday, we went to a youth rally with all the churches of Christ in the area. There were probably over 250 people there, with many activities, including volleyball, football, "chair dancing"(musical chairs), and board games. I participated in the volleyball, which was a lot of fun, but unfortunately our team lost in the first round.. The church I was a part of, Bomso Church of Christ, won their first soccer game, which means they should have gone on to the next round... However, around 3 o'clock, it started raining very hard and it didn't let up until 4 or later.. So for that hour to an hour and a half, we just hung out under a pavilion, which actually wasn't too boring. I befriended a few young girls who were selling water and talked with them for awhile, while eating coconut and some traditional snacks that are sold on the streets here. It is amazing to see so many young children, ages 6 and up, spending their saturdays selling water or snacks on the streets. Most kids in the U.S. could never imagine doing anything like that, but this is just life for many of the kids here. As we we're leaving, when the rain finally let up a bit, I bought one more water "satchet" and told the girls to keep the change, all 15 cents of it. I was blown away by their excitement at getting what we would consider an insignificant amount of money and they kept saying "God bless you!" as I walked away. This very small act of kindness didn't even cause me any trouble, but these kids were so greatful for it, and it was awesome to see. All the churches left when the rain let up, and we just got a ride back to the school. At the school we ate dinner in the cafeteria, fried-rice and chicken, which I enjoy a lot, and then it was off to bed.
Sunday morning, 6:15- I wake up to a knocking on the door of my room. A whole hour before i needed to get up for church!! It was my little roomate, Gandhi who is 6 years old and insanely hyperactive and crazy! He is a really nice kid and pretty dang hilarious, but I don't think he has the slightest understanding of peace and quiet. I opened my door and he comes running in, going over to my clothes, my maleria medicine, my books. Gandhi had no hesitation when it came to examining my belongings and he would grab anything and everything he saw! I wasn't too tired, so I didn't mind getting up so early, I was mostly just amused by it all. Anyways, we went to church, and got to see all our friends, which was awesome. Then after church we just walked around town some, getting fried rice on the road side, a full meal for about $1.50! We headed up to the sports stadium here because there was some radio evangelist who was to be speaking out front of it for free. We hung out at the stadium for awhile waiting for the program to start, but when it finally did, we didn't hang around long. It was a pentacostal gathering, and it's not that there was anything wrong with the program, it was just my first experience with the pentacostal church and it was much more "energetic" than any church service I have attended before. I really wasn't prepared for all the shouting and speaking in tongues and whatnot, but all in all, it was really interesting and pretty cool to witness. We only stayed for maybe 20 minutes, but I'm thinking about visiting one of the pentacostal churches nearby, just to see what a sunday morning service is like. After leaving the shouting, dancing crowd, we went to the supermarket to get stuff for the apartments. I'm pretty bad about knowing what I need so I got soap to wash my clothes. And that was it. Jennifer was thinking about it a little more and she ended getting a bit more stuff for here room and bathroom and whatnot. I'll be needing to make another trip to the store, but for right now I've got what I need to survive. After the store we came back the school, where I ate, read, played some guitar for Ghandi and another boy, and then went to bed.
Once again, I was woken up at 6 this morning by a small boy knocking on the door of my room. I'm predicting a long year ahead of me... I think(or at least hope) Gandhi will eventually give up on being my wake up call. Especially after I just ignored him this morning... Ha, I told him I was still sleeping, and after knocking for another minute or so, he gave up and I went back to sleep. After waking up, I went to brush my teeth, and while in the bathroom, I heard the door to my room open.. I went back in to find Gandhi going through some of my clothes... It is pretty hilarious, the way he goes through my stuff as if it were his own, and I can honestly say I'm not annoyed with it. Yet... But I'm sure he will be a fine roomate, especially once he has finished examining all my belongings and has nothing left to keep his interest.
So today was the kids first day, and I was assigned to be an assistant for the elementary school art teacher. I'm pretty stoked about that! The past week or so, I've really been wondering what I'll be doing, and I was just hoping that I would have something to do, something to keep me busy. God definitely answered my prayers, because when the head of primary school told the art teacher I would be her assistant, she was sooo excited, saying "Praise the Lord!!!", commenting that she always had too much to do. The art teacher is a really nice Dutch lady who has lived here for something like 12 years now, married to a Ghanaian and with 4 children. Even after spending just one day with her, I feel confident that I will be able to help out a lot. I'm also really excited to help teach art because I think it will be a lot of fun. I feel like it is definitely going to be a blessing to both myself and the art teacher, Mrs. Nnurom. I think I will also be helping her husband out some as well. He teachers art to the high schoolers, so that should be really cool. I'll probably be learning more than teaching when I help him out, but that should be really fun. Mrs. Nnurom didn't have any art classes today, juts because it was the first day, so we spent the day organizing her classroom and getting it ready to start teaching. I think I might even teach a couple classes a day, because she has to leave around 1 or 2 because she has a 3 month old at home. I feel like this is going to be a great experience and the feelings off uncertainty I had just yesterday are now completely gone!
I hope everyone, everywhere is doing well, whether it be friends, family, and church members back in Littleton, Colorado, or those who are just starting college this week. Everything is going great over here and I am really appreciative of everyone who is thinking about me and praying for me! I am praying for you all as well! I will keep everyone updated on life over here, and I will start posting pictures soon. Maybe...
Once again, if anyone wants my new digits, email me, jsiebold1@hotmail.com
Peace and Love ;)
Kwaku(Kwey-ku) Jordan Siebold
P.s. for anyone wondering about the name Kwaku, over here everyone has a name for the day of the week on which they were born. I was born on Wednesday, and Kwaku is the male name for Wednesday-born.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
So far, so good.
Greetings friends and family! I hope everything is well in the States.
Already I have been here in Kumasi, Ghana for over a week. My apologies for taking this long to post an update. I could say I have been very busy since day one and I haven't had the time to write; however, that is not the case. It is mostly due to my own laziness that I have taken so long, so please forgive me. I did start writing something the other night and I thought I saved it as a draft but I guess I didn't, unfortunately.
Anyways, we(myself and Jennifer Johnson[friend from my church, for those who don't know..]) arrived in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, last Wednesday(August 11th) at around 10 in the morning. We were picked up by two men from the school where we will be working this year(International Community School, Kumasi, Ghana). That first night here in Ghana, we stayed at a very nice hotel in Accra, along with 50 or so students from the school who had just returned from a "field trip" to the USA. The next day, Thursday, we went to the embassy so the country would be notified of the students return. After the embassy, we all boarded the bus and headed for Kumasi, a very large city a few hours north of Accra. Now, I say a few hours from Accra, and normally it takes about 4 to 5 hours to make the trip. This time, however, the trip took over 8 hours, almost twice as long! I think this was mostly due to some road work that caused us to move very slowly for the first 4 or 5 hours. After that we started moving at a reasonable pace, although the roads here are very rough, so it wasn't reasonable in comparison to travel in the US. We were told we would be staying with a family for the first few nights while the apartments where we would stay were being cleaned. But when we got here, the father of the family we were supposed to stay with said he arranged for us to stay in a hotel instead, which was no problem at all. This hotel was also very nice and the man even insisted on paying for it! So that is how we came to be in Kumasi.
The next day(Friday), we had our friend Amos come to the hotel and he took us into town. While in town we bought some cheap cell phones and got accounts activated. If anyone wants my number email me and I will send it to you! So after town we came back to the hotel where we ate dinner and just hung out until we went to sleep. The next day we had some other friends come to meet us, Francis and Elizabeth(Dufie-Doo-Fee-Ay). We hung out with them for awhile and then decided we would go to the youth class that evening at the Bomso Church of Christ. It was so awesome going to the class because we were able to see a bunch of the friends we had made last year at the church! It was great to see them all again. The next day we went to church and got to see even more of our friends from last year. It was really cool to already know some of the people here and we were welcomed back by all of them. That afternoon we returned to the hotel with our friends and hung out there until they had to leave and we went to bed.
Monday was the first day we got to visit the school and we met with the doctor there. The campus is really incredible, much nicer than I had imagined. We were given a tour of the school and after that we went into town with our new friend Eric. Tuesday through today(Friday) we have been coming to the school for teacher's meetings and planning. I haven't had a whole lot to do, I've just been hanging out here, getting to know some of the teachers. This morning we brought all of our stuff here to finally move in! I found out yesterday that I will be staying with a teacher and his son, who looks about 7. I also found out they have a music club here where the kids learn to sing and play keyboards. I was very quick to join the club and I can't wait to play some keyboard and play music with the kids here! The kids are arriving here this weekend so I'm sure once they start coming I will be very busy. They have a very nice football(soccer) field here as well as a backetball court and a tennis court, so I'm sure I will being playing sports often. I can't wait for the kids to get here!
Wow.. I nearly wrote a novel just now... I will have to learn how to be a better blogger and I'm sure as I write more I'll get better at summerizing and leaving out the boring stuff. But that's all for now folks, I hope all is well back in the States. I will be sure to post updates more often from now on. Maybe...
Well, until next time! Much Love to you all!
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Our minds and our hearts are often filled with worries, and thoughts, and troubles. Our daily lives can easily become occupied by cares and concerns. Often we become so occupied by minor problems and concerns that we forget what really matters in life, we forget to really Live. Today, take time to clear your head and open your heart, and let Love come flowing in, refreshing and renewing you with strength to carry on.
Already I have been here in Kumasi, Ghana for over a week. My apologies for taking this long to post an update. I could say I have been very busy since day one and I haven't had the time to write; however, that is not the case. It is mostly due to my own laziness that I have taken so long, so please forgive me. I did start writing something the other night and I thought I saved it as a draft but I guess I didn't, unfortunately.
Anyways, we(myself and Jennifer Johnson[friend from my church, for those who don't know..]) arrived in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, last Wednesday(August 11th) at around 10 in the morning. We were picked up by two men from the school where we will be working this year(International Community School, Kumasi, Ghana). That first night here in Ghana, we stayed at a very nice hotel in Accra, along with 50 or so students from the school who had just returned from a "field trip" to the USA. The next day, Thursday, we went to the embassy so the country would be notified of the students return. After the embassy, we all boarded the bus and headed for Kumasi, a very large city a few hours north of Accra. Now, I say a few hours from Accra, and normally it takes about 4 to 5 hours to make the trip. This time, however, the trip took over 8 hours, almost twice as long! I think this was mostly due to some road work that caused us to move very slowly for the first 4 or 5 hours. After that we started moving at a reasonable pace, although the roads here are very rough, so it wasn't reasonable in comparison to travel in the US. We were told we would be staying with a family for the first few nights while the apartments where we would stay were being cleaned. But when we got here, the father of the family we were supposed to stay with said he arranged for us to stay in a hotel instead, which was no problem at all. This hotel was also very nice and the man even insisted on paying for it! So that is how we came to be in Kumasi.
The next day(Friday), we had our friend Amos come to the hotel and he took us into town. While in town we bought some cheap cell phones and got accounts activated. If anyone wants my number email me and I will send it to you! So after town we came back to the hotel where we ate dinner and just hung out until we went to sleep. The next day we had some other friends come to meet us, Francis and Elizabeth(Dufie-Doo-Fee-Ay). We hung out with them for awhile and then decided we would go to the youth class that evening at the Bomso Church of Christ. It was so awesome going to the class because we were able to see a bunch of the friends we had made last year at the church! It was great to see them all again. The next day we went to church and got to see even more of our friends from last year. It was really cool to already know some of the people here and we were welcomed back by all of them. That afternoon we returned to the hotel with our friends and hung out there until they had to leave and we went to bed.
Monday was the first day we got to visit the school and we met with the doctor there. The campus is really incredible, much nicer than I had imagined. We were given a tour of the school and after that we went into town with our new friend Eric. Tuesday through today(Friday) we have been coming to the school for teacher's meetings and planning. I haven't had a whole lot to do, I've just been hanging out here, getting to know some of the teachers. This morning we brought all of our stuff here to finally move in! I found out yesterday that I will be staying with a teacher and his son, who looks about 7. I also found out they have a music club here where the kids learn to sing and play keyboards. I was very quick to join the club and I can't wait to play some keyboard and play music with the kids here! The kids are arriving here this weekend so I'm sure once they start coming I will be very busy. They have a very nice football(soccer) field here as well as a backetball court and a tennis court, so I'm sure I will being playing sports often. I can't wait for the kids to get here!
Wow.. I nearly wrote a novel just now... I will have to learn how to be a better blogger and I'm sure as I write more I'll get better at summerizing and leaving out the boring stuff. But that's all for now folks, I hope all is well back in the States. I will be sure to post updates more often from now on. Maybe...
Well, until next time! Much Love to you all!
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Our minds and our hearts are often filled with worries, and thoughts, and troubles. Our daily lives can easily become occupied by cares and concerns. Often we become so occupied by minor problems and concerns that we forget what really matters in life, we forget to really Live. Today, take time to clear your head and open your heart, and let Love come flowing in, refreshing and renewing you with strength to carry on.
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