My Ada boys....

Well during my first week in Ghana I did quite a bit of traveling. It went something like this… Ada, Sage, Pukase, Accra, Pukase, Accra, Pukase, Ada.. During that time I successfully got my Liberian visa! Hooray! Once I had that in hand, I then traveled back to Ada.

In Ada, I am staying with the Song family, who are missionaries that are working with CHE. The Song family consists of Daihwan, Kathy, and their three kids Samuel (8), David (6), and Angela (5months). I have been learning a lot not only about living in Africa, but also about raising a family here and blending cultures. Most of the stuff I am learning I could never learn in a classroom or from a book but only by seeing and doing. So over this past week I feel so blessed to have been able to get all these hidden jewels of wisdom.

Apart from learning certain skills or lessons, I also have had the joy of getting to know the Ada boys. Now the Ada boys consists of about 20 children who come over pretty much everyday to play. The Song’s house has access to the river so most of the time the boys will play football and then come and swim. It seriously is so much fun.. most of the time.

Picture 20 Energizer bunnies, fully charged, playing football for two hours, and then going swimming for as long as possible. Now for the majority of the boys that grew up near the river, this is no problem at all, but or those that haven’t grown up around water… eekk… Basically the rule at the Song house is that NO ONE can go in the water without an adult supervisor. But for those kids that don’t know how to swim even with an adult around they can’t go in AT ALL even if it is just up to their waste. I love this rule because it makes it so you don’t have to keep your eyes on every kid in the water, worrying about which one can actually swim and which one will be the next Evel Kenevel.

Most of the time this rule works but kids are kids and like to push the rules when they can. The other day there were about 6 boys that did just that. As soon as my back was turned, they would gently walk down the stairs and creep into the water. They would be splashing and playing around and then they would hear the “WRATH of BECCA”. They would quickly scamper out of the water. But then 10 minutes later it was like déjà vu and the process would continue over and over again. BECCA’s WRATH wasn’t as effective, and pretty soon it was more of a game to those six boys. But each time they would push the limits more and more. So after playing around in the water for a couple hours, it was time for everybody to get out. I was feeling tired physically but also my patience was getting thin.

Well this morning as I was doing my usual run and then walking back from dropping off a couple of the Ada boys to school I ran into two of those six mischievous boys. They waved frantically as they saw me, and had big grins from ear to ear. I walked over to them and started walking with them to school as well. One boy whispered something to the second boy and then ran off. The one boy and myself continued to walk. As we walked along the busy road, I saw that even though they had pushed my patience they really were good kids. I realized that they were probably so excited to have some attention they were willing to get it any way they could. Even though these boys could have easily been swept away by the current of the river, they felt safe knowing that I was looking out for them and that if they did slip I would be there to save them. As I thought about all these things I placed my hand on the little boys head. A couple minutes later the other little boy returned with a present in his hand. Guess what it was? Becca’s favorite candy, a lollipop… I thanked the little boy and gave them each a hug. As they walked into their school and I turned back towards the house my heart melted towards these little rug rats.

Today I leave Ada to go up to Dagbe village. I am not sure what this will be like but I feel so blessed by the time God has given me with my Song family and my Ada boys.
I know over the 4 months that remain there will be many other memories made with these friends. Yahoo!