Birthday Celebrations!

As we wrote in our recent newsletter, Samuel and Micah celebrated their 3rd and 1st birthdays last month. So we thought it was time to update you a little bit on their daily activities:

Micah is a very active little boy, the more action there is, the more excited he gets. He is the best climber in the house and climbs anything he thinks is possible. He adores Samuel and copies everything his big brother does. If he sees a bicycle or even a motorbike he wants to sit on it and tries to ride it as well. He talks to us a lot and although we don’t understand his language yet, we do recognise some words, such as 'dag' (bye in Dutch) and 'naa' (a greeting in Dagbani).

Samuel is the big collector; sticks, stones, tins, leaves, etc, all of which he carries into the house and in his eyes they have great value. He loves fresh groundnuts (peanuts) and maize (corn). He loves playing outside with his Ghanaian friends but also enjoys playing alone with his train, building blocks or other toys. He loves colouring and painting as well.

'Micah with papa on the motorbike'

'Samuel and Micah riding on the bicycle together'

'having fun on the tricycle'

For Samuel and Micah’s birthdays we had a sandpit built. Not only do Samuel and Micah enjoy this but also our neighbour’s children enjoy it. Last week I counted 23 children playing in it!

'playing in the sandpit'

Last week Samuel began attending a new school, 'North Eastern Christian Academy' (NECA), which has been started by the Baptist Mission in Yendi. He is still adjusting to the new teachers, children and school environment. The school itself is very different when compared to many other schools in Ghana, especially in Yendi. A lot of schools in Ghana are teacher centred and often the numbers of children in the classes are high. This school tries to focus more on the children and the classes are much smaller so that there is more individual attention. As the school has only been open for one week there are still a lot of challenges to get things well organised but it promises to be a good learning environment. They even have toys for the younger children to play with, they read books with them and do crafts. This might not seem surprising to you as I think this is normal in all Western schools but in Ghana this is quite exceptional.

If you are a teacher and a Christian and would like a challenge you can come and work at the school as a volunteer for a while!

PRAYER POINTS:

Thank God for:

• The lives of Samuel and Micah and the blessing they are to us

• The new school in Yendi

• The many children they can play with and the people who take care of them when we are working
  

Pray for:

• The physical, emotional and spiritual development of Samuel and Micah

• Guidance in raising them in a cross-cultural environment

• The staff and children at Samuel’s new school; that they will all adjust well in the new environment