3rd Time is a Charm?

Alright-

So I created this blog so that I wasn't pestering anyone with my constant e-mails and also it is easier for people to get to.

I have uploaded past e-mails on this blog so if you are confused about anything or just curious you can go back and read those, they are all organized in the archive.

So I am leaving tomorrow morning for my 3rd trip to Ghana and I am nervous. You would think that because I have been twice before my nerves wouldn't be acting up and it would be easy for me. But the truth is that even though I know what to expect there are the daily frustrations and challenges that I know are awaiting me.

It doesn't become easier to live in a 3rd world country just because I have done it twice before and it scares me that I have been healthy and safe up to this point in my travels to Ghana. I don't want to "push my luck", if you will.

So I feel like a robot. People continuously asking "Are you excited to go back?" and me nodding my head yes when I am secretly wishing they would ask me what I am nervous about. I know there is going to be a nostalgic feeling when I go back that will be sitting in the bottom of my stomach. My friends from 2 years ago are no longer there. Some of the older boys from the orphanage have gone off to Sr. High and are no longer around. The reality of Victor's death will be present again. And as for the toddlers, they come and go, some will have been adopted, and some will have died. And it all freaks me out.

For the most part I have avoided mentioning this to anyone but I felt like it needed to be said.

Having said all of this; I am so happy and thrilled to be going back. I am excited to commit 6 months to my foster home (Mawuli Apeme) and figure out what it means to be successful in that. For those of you who don't know what I am doing I will give you an overview: I am using my 6th month co-op through my University to go back to Ghana and work on the development of my foster home I created since returning from my original trip to Ghana. While at first this foster home was created because it seemed the 6 boys were going to be kicked out of Osu Children's Home the reasons for the creation have changed.

Legally the boys are still allowed to stay in the orphanage but the more I thought about the home and the opportunities they wouldn't receive living there the more I felt it necessary to remove them. So this foster home is acting more as a half way house between life in the orphanage and starting a life of their own. During the time the boys live in this home they will be learning how to cook, clean, and look after themselves with the safety net of me and another Ghanaian woman helping them out.

I will talk about this a little more later, but for right now I will tell you that I am going to be working in an "office" setting trying to create a business plan, finalize a budget, come up with a set of expectations for the boys living the home, look for land to possibly purchase, get a website up and running, think of ways to create this foundation into a sustainable project, etc.

So this is where I am: Prayers for change and protection are needed.

Northeastern University wrote an article about me earlier this year that will give you a good idea of what I am up to: Pursuing a Big Dream for Smaller Foster Homes