Kucko Jul 2019

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart” (Psalm 73:26 NLT).

Dear friends and family and all who may read,

This is the beginning of the second full week that the children of Rafiki Ghana schools are on break, having completed term two. Term three will begin on July 15. During these three week break periods, when we have Short-term Missionaries to help, we have G.A.M.E.S. which cover lots of other learning activities that are not easily covered in the classroom. We are currently focusing on appropriate care and consideration for the place you call home and how that would be “fleshed-out” in a Ghanaian family. It has been brought to our attention by some of our national employees that a Ghanaian child would be expected to be doing much more around their home area than what they see the children doing here in the the Rafiki Village. Therefore, this break time is having two focuses. In the mornings after breakfast, besides their normal house and yard chores of sweeping, they will have an extra hour and a half to do other needed yard or house upkeep such as scrubbing, weeding, planting, or pruning at the mother’s discretion. After a two-hour rest and lunch period, they will then enjoy a sport activity with our Short-term Missionary who is also a football coach. The afternoon finishes with an hour of discipleship and an hour of work around the other areas of the compound besides the individual cottages. There are always cuttings and tree limbs down that need hauled to the fire pit, rotten fruit to pick up, hedges that need trimmed, slashing in the bush along the border fence areas, or walls to paint, etc., all of which are times of teaching how best to do the job.

The photos that follow include the girls raking up the tall grass that was cut in an overgrown field leaving a very think carpet of cut grass that was unsightly.

This was also a time in which about a third of the children left the Village to visit extended families for two weeks. Many would go by long-distant bus rides. There is quite a process that precedes these visits. Each home to be visited by a child must have had at least one visit by our acting social worker to ascertain safety and health conditions. The social worker must contact those family members prior to the visit to make sure that it is okay and convenient for them and that they are able to come and pick up and return the child. The child then learns through this process how to pack and what to pack and what life is like in a home rather than a setting such as Rafiki.

Thank you to all who lift these children up in prayer and send them encouraging notes and letters for you too are teaching them in many ways. I also thank you for the many ways of support given to me and others on the field in one of the ten Rafiki Villages. A particular prayer request for this Village would be for God to send mother, auntie, and teacher applicants of His choice to us.

May God’s Blessings be upon you,

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