Happy Thanksgiving
For all of you at home, you have been with us on this Thanksgiving Day in our hearts. As we arrived back at the hotel after a full day, Whitney commented about how she felt we are with our friends and extended family on this Thanksgiving Day each time we shared about how our family and friends were gathering at home. We have invited some friends to join us for dinner to celebrate with us. We are being treated by the manager of the hotel to our favorite Ghanaian meal - ground nut soup. We will likely top it off with a Fan Ice for dessert, another favorite, given the special occasion.
We are immensely grateful to be giving such joy to these Ghanaian children on Thanksgiving. We have been sharing about our holiday, and what our friends and family are presently doing in America with each interaction today. We literall are saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Each class began with an opening circle of sharing names and one thing they are grateful for. Their simple, yet profound, list includes: my life, peace in may family, my father being alive, strength, improved health, breakfast this morning, a good slumber last night and awakening another day, to come to school and learn, to be a teacher, for the children, being alive, to come to school tomorrow, to be in school and be brilliant, for health of both of my parents, food to eat. All of us with Children Inspiring Hope gave thanks for the blessing of our friends and family, here and abroad, and the blessing to be in Ghana and present with these children.
The day began with friendship bracelets being passed on from Riverside Middle School to R.C. Ho-Bankoe. The children love them!! The red, white and blue brilliantly glows on nearly 80 small arms now. One of the teachers put his on as a necklace. They instantly picked up on making them and enjoyed the process. Mrs. Martin, their teacher practiced several times to prounuciate your name just right. She succeeded!
We shared a couple of the Savannah Alphabet books made by St. Andrews School with the Primary 1 students at E.P Primary. The glow of their eyes and spirit as they said the ABC’s and received the colorful crayons was sweetness that will melt your heart when we share it with you when we return Mrs. Knight and all the students! Kate, your beautiful thank you letters and drawings from Oakland School were passed onto Lemgo. The kids excitedly put them in their bags to take home before enjoying their own groundnut soup with fufu. Comfort was so very excited to see us. I think I got five hugs from her.
I hope that each of you that has participated, or made it possible for us to be here, can feel in some way the power of how this Thanksgiving you are giving joy to so many… including us yavoos volunteering in West Africa on this special day!