a month

Today marks exactly one month since Teddy and I arrived in Ghana. Time is flying by!

If you subscribe to our newsletter then you hopefully received an update about the house and Landon and Kate's arrival. We traveled to Accra on Tuesday and stayed until Thursday afternoon. Jeremiah Banini graciously took time out of his busy schedule to spend an afternoon with us, and aside from showing us around the college campus, giving us a tour of the mall, and patiently answering about ten thousand questions, he introduced me to Alvaro, a sparkling soda that has become my new favorite beverage.

Accra is a fascinating city. It is growing incredibly fast which is especially interesting to my business-minded husband. I was amazed by the stark contrast of traditional and modern lifestyles, and hope that someday we will be able to explore it and its history a little more, as we were extremely busy for the few days we were there last week. We did however have the opportunity to visit a clothing manufacturer called Osei Duro: I was flipping though a magazine on our flight to Madrid and spotted an outfit that looked, well, Ghanaian. Sure enough, I checked the company information and they are based out of LA and Accra. On a whim, we emailed the founders and they very generously invited us to visit their home and headquarters. We were so impressed by the product and their business! THIS is their website if you're interested in poking around. Another company we were excited to learn about was Blue Skies. The pineapple ginger juice was some of the best I'd ever had!!

Landon and Kate arrived Wednesday afternoon. Teddy and I wanted to take them out to dinner so we carefully decided on a restaurant and thoroughly researched and memorized directions to get there. This resulted in an hour of walking around Accra hopelessly trying to decipher street signs, inflicting terrible blisters on Kate's foot, looking pathetically ridiculous to the locals, and finally admitting defeat and settling for the closest option: Thai Island. Luckily for us, the food was delicious.

Despite Accra's many attractions, we were relieved to return to the peaceful town of Akatsi--the traffic in the big cities can be a nightmare. Our little neighborhood was just getting accustomed to two Yavu's wandering around, but now that there's FOUR of us the excitement has built back up and we spend most of our time outside waving to people who are intent on warmly welcoming us and our friends to Ghana. My favorite is a toddler named Godwin, who despite seeing us on a daily basis (we are basically next-door-neighbors), screams with wide eyes and a huge smile "YAAAVVVVVUUUUUUU!" each and every time he sees us.

Having Landon and Kate on the ground makes everything feel much more "real" and we are so happy that they are finally able to experience and see this place with their own eyes. We continue to pray and hope that the renovations on the house will speedily progress and that we will be able to meet and bring our eight girls to their new home as soon as possible.

This is a Kigelia tree. They are massive. The fruits are about the size of a football, and apparently they are sometimes used in herbal remedies. 

Our neighbor has pigs. I am trying to persuade Landon and Kate to adopt one as a pet. No luck yet.

Peace made "palm-nut soup" last week and let me watch the process. She and Hanna are both amazing cooks: they alternate making dinner for their family each night. 

School started back up on Monday so we have seen a lot more kids wandering around. I love their open, spacious campuses!

It's a long drop down the well. Many discussions revolve around debating whether a person would die if they fell down it, and if not, how extensive their injuries would be.

A group of guys plays soccer every afternoon at 4:30 just a few steps from where we live. They are crazy good.

And most of the neighbor kids come out to watch. 

Although I hate doing this kind of stuff, I have to end this post with some "legalities." We strive to be very careful and intentional about the pictures we take and share in association with Eight Oaks, and seek the approval of every person and/or their guardians prior to posting any images of them. We hope that everyone understands that for whatever reason, if you'd like to share any content from this blog or our Facebook page you will need to email us at eightoaks.info@gmail.com and receive written permission. Thank you for being gracious with us as we navigate these new waters! We are learning as we go.

Okay, enough of that. Thank you for all of the prayers and love--we are loving and praying for all of you.