Week Two

We have now been in Africa for a little over two weeks. Time moves quickly and slowly at the same time—in some ways it feels like we’ve been here for 2 days, and in other aspects it seems like 2 months.

Last week we were able to sit down with the owner of the property we are interested in. She graciously traveled quite a ways to meet with us face-to-face and we hit it off immediately. We were able to reach an agreement and our plan is to sign a contract tomorrow (Monday)...please be praying with us that we will be able to transfer the money for the deposit quickly and without complication. This caused some headaches last week, but we are optimistic that this time around things will go perfectly! We have to tip our hats to our accountants, Taylor Hoppock and Ryan Boss, who have been ENORMOUS assets and are making sure things run smoothly in the states. We are increasingly confident and happy about this house becoming our official Eight Oaks home: the renovations have already started and I am anxious to see the finished product. I will be sure to post pictures!

We are getting better and better acquainted with Akatsi every day: learning shortcuts, making friends, figuring out which stands sell the best bread, and memorizing the FanMilk cart schedule. The house where we are currently staying has a well in the courtyard, so many of the kids who live nearby come in the mornings and evenings to “fetch water." This has given us an excellent opportunity to get to know our neighbors! Most were a little apprehensive at first, but I’ve discovered that anyone will be my friend when they realize I have a camera and will take a picture of them if they ask:) My second greatest ally is my hair, which the little girls find fascinating. We are thrilled to be taking the very big step of being referred to as "Teddy" and "Ellie" versus "Yavu!"...however, the pronunciation can be challenging, so one group in particular will shout "Terry!! Ally!!" when they see us coming. 

We are getting more and more excited for Landon and Kate to join us here. We have had decent access to the Internet lately and we are so encouraged when we can talk to our family and friends, however briefly. As always, thank you for your prayers—they are working! We can see the results! 

Terry & Ally 

First Week

Hello again!

So much has happened since our last post! We are happy to report that (fingers crossed) we have found a house that will work perfectly as the home for our house parents and eight little girls! We are meeting with the owner on Monday and hope to sign a contract early next week.

We really feel like this house is a gift from God: it fell into our laps on our second day here and in many ways has exceeded our expectations. The only (minor) downside is that it requires some renovations, so please pray with us that these will be executed quickly and without complication! Ideally, we would like to be able to move in by the time Landon and Kate arrive…around September 4^th. Time is moving very quickly and I can’t believe that we have been in Akatsi for a week today.

Early this week we were able to visit Keta and stay with the Banini’s for a few days. They took such good care of us: I am learning lots of lessons in hospitality and service. Keta is beautiful and I was so happy to finally see the famous Father’s House with my own eyes. One night we went for a walk and Ted showed me the slave fort that sits on the coast: I cannot articulate how I felt standing beside it, but I posted a few pictures below.

We returned to Akatsi on Wednesday, which was also market day, and we were able to begin assembling a kitchen. Bernard’s wife Celestine and their son Victor took us around town and helped us buy everything we needed. The Attatsi’s have been so generous and patient with us: we have them to thank entirely for how smoothly our first week has gone.

I have received lots of questions about what we are eating. My favorites thus far are probably fried plantains and fried yams (old habits die hard). One of the pictures below shows a more traditional Ghanaian meal that Celestine has prepared for us several times: rice, cabbage, and a fish sauce made with tomatoes. Usually for dessert she slices up a watermelon that we eat with toothpicks. We have also had akple and okra soup twice—which Bernard tells us is the quintessential Ghanaian dish. The bread that is sold at the market and stands by the sides of the road is incredibly delicious and dense and we enjoy some with every meal we cook for ourselves…and of course, we are devouring as many fresh mangos and coconuts as we can get our hands on. Peanuts are also abundant here (though they are referred to as “ground nuts”) and we keep a bag of roasted ones around for snacking. The cuisine is obviously not American, but we are not going hungry by any means.

I am learning so much every day and feeling very blessed to have these experiences. Thank you for your prayers!

Ted and Ellie

The beginnings of a kitchen.

For Prinzenstein: Built by the Danes in 1784

This is written on a wall in one of the dungeons. 

"you are welcome!"

Greetings from Akatsi!

We arrived in Ghana on Friday night, after roughly 31 hours of travel. Phew! We had a very easy trip—none of our luggage was lost and we made all of our flights without any problems. Thanks to all of you who were praying for a safe journey! We were able to briefly see Matt and Tammy Garrett from the Father’s House on their way to the airport which was a huge blessing—they have provided solid guidance to Eight Oaks since the very beginning and this was the first time the four of us had met face-to-face.

Ghana is a beautiful place, and we are soaking up every minute that we spend here. Matt arranged a driver for us named Atsu. He is a wonderful man and has been so helpful! He knows everything about Ghana and has taken us around Accra and Akatsi to help us get better acquainted with the area: he is also very patient with us Americans who do not know anything and are constantly asking questions. Today alone he has taught me how to identify and differentiate between all types of trees: banana/plantain, coconut, mango, baobab, teak, and cashew.

The people here are so kind and have embraced us with open arms. Whenever we are walking, people will shout “Yavu!” (which means “white man”) and when we wave or say “hello,” they shout, “you are welcome!” This is a beautiful village with beautiful people and we feel so blessed to have this opportunity to fellowship with them! Church this morning was wonderful. We went to the English service, but are hoping to experience the local service in the coming weeks.

Hopefully we will be able to post more details in a few days, but for now our Internet is a little sporadic. We mainly wanted to let everyone know we had arrived here safe and sound!

We are probably becoming repetitive, but we have to say again how truly grateful we are for all of the prayers that are being said on our behalf. We feel them every second of every day—they give us peace and joy and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Blessings!

Ellie + Ted

we're leaving on a jet plane

Teddy and I are leaving for Ghana today! We are overwhelmed with thankfulness for the love and support that has come from our family and friends in preparation for this day. To each and every person that has contributed to Eight Oaks in any way, we say a huge THANK YOU.

We recognize that this is an incredible opportunity and our hearts are bursting with joy that God has allowed us to be a part of His story. Last July, four of us sat around our kitchen table and talked about eight girls across an ocean. I do believe that if you had told us that in a little over a year we would be on our way to Africa, we wouldn't have believed you. Our minds our small, and our dreams are puny when compared to the will of the Father.


I have so much more I would like to say, but we have a flight to catch! To our Eight Oaks family: We love you all dearly. We carry you in our hearts on this journey.

(and although texting/emailing/calling will be a bit tricky when we first land in Accra, we will try to let everyone know as soon as possible when we arrive safely).

Blessings!
Ted & Ellie

Location, Location, Location

As we get closer and closer to leaving for Ghana, we thought it would be helpful to publish a post detailing where exactly Landon and Kate will be living, as well as where their location will relate to the Father's House, the lake, Accra, etc.

Ghana is on the western half of Africa, barely above the Equator. It is relatively small.

 

Volta is the largest man-made lake in the world...needless to say, it's pretty easy to spot. We will be living in Akatsi, which is a village so small we had difficulty finding a map that could pinpoint it's location. If you search for it on Google Maps, though, it pops right up.

We marked an estimated guess at it's location with a star, as seen below. The Father's House is located in Tegbi (which is also too small to find on most maps). Tegbi sits right on the coast, near the village of Keta.

 

All international flights come through the city of Accra which is about 3 hours west of Keta and Akatsi on the Coast. It is the capitol and where all the teams that come to visit will be picked up, and also where we will do a lot of shopping to set up the house. 

Hopefully this helps everyone visualize the area Eight Oaks will call "home." As always, thanks for reading!