Inaction and a Chicken Sandwich...

This has been brewing all day. I gotta vent somewhere. May as well be here. Today I witnessed the christian community be stirred into action. It was the biggest show of support I've seen from the American church body in a LONG time. Was it over the millions of people dying from hunger in our world? No. Orphaned children raising their younger siblings because they have no one? No. Children dying in other countries from totally preventable or treatable sickness? Nope.

It was over same sex marriage and a chicken sandwich.


I understand people's reasoning to show support today. I really do. (I don't, however, approve of 'christians' using the event as a platform to throw stones at people living in a way contrary to their own beliefs. My God says to love. And judge not, lest ye be judged.)


But I do admire people who stand for what they believe. If you cannot stand up for your beliefs, they're not worth having. That was not what angered me.


It was seeing what the church body is capable of. Massive support. Floods of people spending their time and money on something that they passionately believe in.


What if that massive push could've been for a bigger purpose. What if it could've been used to change lives instead of supporting an already-wealthy company?



I'm not saying people shouldn't have shown their support in that way. I'm saying harness that passion for a greater cause.


Didn't God call us to love? Isn't that the greatest commandment? What if that outpouring of support was used to change the lives of people who don't have the promise of a next meal? While you stood in line for 2 hours for your chicken sandwich, over 2,000 people in the world died from hunger. (*Based on a UN report.) I try to picture this many christians gathered in one big place. What could've resulted? Mountains could've been moved!


Did standing in that line make those people bad or wrong? No. Many of my friends were there. I'm guilty of wasting my time & money too. But it should make us think. What's worth our time, money and passion?


If Jesus were on earth today, I wonder where he would've been... In the ChicFilA drive through, or out in the world- healing people, feeding people, loving people. I think I know the answer. And I'd want to be with Him.



* I am not in any way bashing the Chic Fil A support. I'm simply passionate about 'the least of these', and wish the church could be moved with compassion on their behalf in the same capacity that they were moved today.

Nobody's Children and the Least Comfortable My Bed Has Ever Been...

Tonight I am lying here on my 2 ft thick mattress thinking of a conversation I had with my Ghanaian kids a few nights ago. I have to admit, it's making my nice fluffy bed feel very uncomfortable right about now.

As I was tucking the kids into bed the other night, they started talking about the orphanage in Ghana. We were just talking about why nobody sleeps on the top bunk, why the children sleep outside alot, and how they used to sleep. Serwaa and Konto both starting talking about how they used to sleep curled up into a tiny ball. Because they were both sleeping on a half of a mattress. The dogs had eaten the other halves.

The explaination was sad, but made sense. You see, the mattresses get soiled. During the night, the kids sweat. They get bit by 'small animals that live in mattress and drink your blood' (bedbugs?). They wet the bed sometimes. They slobber.... So, during the day, the mattresses are taken outside to air out until the next night.

I had seen those mattresses outside. I had seen the chickens walking on the mattresses, picking out whatever bugs they found. I had seen the dogs lick and eat the soiled parts of the mattresses. I had even seen the cats shred pieces off just to play with. I assumed they were trash- because all trash is just thrown outside in Ghana. Little did I know that those same mattresses were what my children were sleeping on at night.

I asked Serwaa & Konto why they didn't tell me they needed new beds. I would've gone to market that very day & bought new ones for them. I would've never knowingly let my children sleep like that. No child of mine....

Then it hit me. That sickening realization of how small and self-centered my little world still is.


No child of mine... What about the other orphans there? Who would say the same for them? They are nobody's children. Who will speak up for them? I have since spoken to the lady who runs the orphanage. She confirmed what I already knew. The kids are still sleeping on the same mattresses as they were in October when I was there. The ones that had already been half eaten by dogs.

I will go at the end of this week to send money for new mattresses. But I can't buy them all. The cost is $100 for 3 mattresses. (About $33 each.)  For anybody that would never let their children sleep in these conditions- please consider doing the same for nobody's children. If we don't, who will?

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9


(If you would like to help- please use the '100 Good Wishes' link on the right. Or paypal your donation to carrioke17@yahoo.com. I will include any donations in my Western Union this weekend so you don't have to pay the wiring fee. If you would like to send money directly to the orphanage- please email me. Thanks.)

Recipe: Rice and Beans Stew

I am going to (attempt to) start sharing some of Serwaa's recipes here. If you have questions, just ask. (FYI: there are no real measurements. I just guess as she throws things in the pot!) Good luck! If you try any recipe, and it works out- let me know! Hope your kids enjoy it!

-Most recipes require 'squashing'. We use this big rock thing:

Rice & Beans Stew

*Cook 2 cups of rice.

*Cut up 4 tomatoes & remove seeds. Squash it.
*Cut up 1 purple onion & squash it.
*Cut up, deseed & squash 3 habanero peppers.

*Put 2 lbs of black eye peas in large pot & cover with water. Salt heavily & boil, covered, for about an hour.
*When beans are done, pound them so that about half of the beans get squashed.

*Cover the bottom of a big pot with vegetable oil. Add the squashed onion, pepper & tomatoes.
*Cook 1-2 minutes.
*Add 1 can of tomato paste.
*Stir in beans.

Eat with the rice.

Serves about 10 people.

Shopping for African Produce in America...

I spent the first few months after Serwaa & Konto came home wishing I had some African produce to cook for them. They were disappointed to find that South Carolina stores didn't sell Yam, Cocoyam, or Garden Eggs. Only, they did. I just didn't know what I was looking for.

So, for anyone who is a clueless as me: I am making a very short list of things to buy, and where. (Disclaimer: It may not work if you are in another part of the country with different stores.)

Yam
A big brown root.
Also called: BayerE
This is used for: Ampesie
It is sold at Publix under the name of  'Name'. PLU# 3276
It is also sold in many Asian stores (which are much easier to find than African stores around here)!

Cocoyam:
A hairy-looking brown root.
Also called: Mankani
Used for: Ampesie
There are small cocoyams and bigger cocoyams. My kids prefer the bigger ones.
The bigger version is sold at Pulix as 'Malanga'. PLU# 4644
The smaller version is also at Publix as 'Taro Root'.

Cassava:
A waxy-looking brown root.
Also called Yuca, Manioc, Bankye
Used for: Ampesie, Fufuo
Sold at most grocery stores. Publix PLU# is: 4819

Garden Eggs:
Small, round yellowish-white eggplants.
Used for: soups and stews
I have only been able to find these in Asian stores so far.

Ripe Plantain:
Rotten banana-looking fruit.
Also called 'red plaintain'.
Used for: fried plantains
Sold at most grocery stores. They should be yellowish-black.

Green Plantain:
Looks like an overgrown green banana.
Used for: Ampesie
Sold at grocery stores, but harder to find. You pretty much have to find them the day the store puts them out, because they ripen pretty quick.

Habanero:
A small orange pepper
When my kids say they need 'pepper', this is what they are referring to. All other peppers we have found are too mild. These are very hot.
Sold at most grocery stores.

Cocoyam Leaves:
Also called Nkontomire
Used for soups
I haven't found these sold anywhere. But, they are super easy to grow. (If I haven't killed it, it can't be killed!) We bought cocoyams, let them sit in the closet for too long (until they started sprouting). We planted them with the sprout sticking out of the ground. They are almost the exact same as those elephant ear plants.

Hopefully this will help somebody be a little less ignorant when they go out grocery shopping for their Ghanaian kiddos! Good luck!!

....Stay tuned. I hope to start posting some of my kids' favorite recipes soon!

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

8am- I returned my rental car after two weeks. (Yes, it took Aamco 2 WEEKS to fix my transmission. Side note- it has only been 6 months since the last time they 'fixed' it.) I paid my $350 for the rental car, then went to Aamco to pick up my minivan. On the way home I noticed it was making the same noise as before they fixed it. Sounds like an airplane taking off. Then- I also notice an awful noise that it wasn't even making before they 'fixed' it. This one sounds like an old washing machine with bad berrings. Then the 'Drive' light starts blinking. (Which usually indicates the transmission is going out.)


9am- I go to Verizon to upgrade to a new phone. It's a touch screen. It's VERY hard to hit the right letters
when I type.


10-2pm: Homeschool


3pm- Go to pick up Malorie's friend from school. My car won't start back. I am blocking the whole school pickup line. Someone comes to jump me off, and informs me whoever put my battery in last (Aamco) didn't bother tightening the connections. They just laid the cables on top of the battery. They slightly tighten it so my car will start.


4pm- Park at home. The battery disconnects again, so the doors can't unlock. Me and 4 kids climb out the
window.


5pm- Fix the battery connections. Call Aamco to tell them I will take the car elsewhere & send them the repair bill. They are VERY rude & say the will refuse to pay it. Take Malorie & a friend to Tae Kwon Do. Come home to clean house.


6pm- Leave to pickup kids from Tae Kwon Do. A girl doesn't see me and runs into the side of my van. (At least she was very nice!) Call the police. He says he has about 10 minutes of paperwork to do. Then the monsoon starts. We wait in the car until almost 7pm for it to clear up enough for him to get back out of his car. (I don't blame him, it was POURING/hailing.)


7pm- Get home. Notice Konto's side has a big lump. Usually wouldn't be concerned, but his spleen kinda sticks out in that same spot. Nobody needs a squashed spleen. Take him to hospital to get looked at just in case.


8:30pm- Konto had to pee. I took him to the bathroom. The doctor came to our room. I told her that he'd be back in 30 seconds. She said she'd just come back in a minute.

10pm- Phone battery dies.

10:30pm- Another doctor FINALLY came into our room. They took x-rays. All looks fine.


11pm- Eat supper. Put kids to bed. Since my computer is dead, type this whole chain of events on facebook with my new (VERY sensitive) phone. With one finger.


12am- As I was trying to post on FB, accidentally deleted THE WHOLE THING. It had taken almost an hour to type.

= LONGEST DAY EVER

Post MiniVan Depression...

I have a confession to make. I have post-minivan depression. Don't get me wrong- I love the minivan, with it's heated seats, DVD player & seating for 7 people. In fact, usually I wish I had enough kids to drive one of those 15 passenger vans. In general, vans are great.


But.........


It all started on Cinco de Mayo. I was able to go out WITHOUT all of the kids. I didn't take the minivan. I rode with a friend. I gotta be honest, it felt pretty amazing pulling up to the restaurant in a real
car. In fact, the coolness was so overpowering that it had several side effects. There was a little more
swagger in my step. I spoke to the grownups in the restaurant instead of playing with their kids. I even lost
the scrunchie. It was a fine night indeed!


Then came Tuesday. Since my transimission has been acting up again, I indulged in the guilty pleasure of
looking up rental cars online. The thrill could only compare to being on one of those dating sites for the
first time- where you get to shallowly judge a person solely based on a single photo. I knew most of those cars weren't right for me (and my 5 person family), but they just looked so darn good! The longer I lusted over those sleek, sexy cars- the more distant I felt from the minivan. Eventually though, I just decided to go with whatever cheap car they put me in.


In the heat of my disdain for the minivan, I was all too happy to drop it off at the transmission shop. I didn't
even look back as I got in the car with the Hertz man. When we arrived at the car rental center, there was an air of excitement. Like a blind date!


Then it happened- my Jeep pulled up. It wasn't a van. It wasn't family friendly. It was breathtaking. The
seats were cloth, the radio was loud, and the windows rolled down all the way! As we pulled off the lot, it all came back to me. The way I used to be. Before I was a housewife. Before I was a homeschooling mother of 3. Even before I was the fat sister.... I felt so young! So alive!

To tell the truth- I had almost forgotten. There used to be more. I used to wear cute little sundresses (and
fit in them!), I used to hang out with friends at somewhere other than Cici's pizza. I used to buy panties with
ruffles...Yes, I love being the housewife/homeschooling mother of 3. (I'd adopt 10 more kids if I could.) But
is that all I am? I've struggled with it off & on. More off than on lately. I've come to accept that I am almost 30. I now quickly realize that when the church says 'teen/young adult activity' that I'm not invited. I don't even swoon over college football players anymore- because I realize that I'm WAY too old for them. But I still feel like I forfeited a small part of my youth and femininity when I committed to the minivan. A part of me that I was actually quite fond of. A part of me that I have started to remember piece by piece since sitting in the driver seat of my little silver Jeep. In fact, I've been to Goodwill twice- and bought 6 cute little dresses! (Not quite as cute as they'd have been 20 lbs ago- but the important part is that I feel cute.) I've worn makeup more often, scrunchie less, and have shaved consistently. I'm even planning on taking my little jeep on an adult only roadtrip for a day.


Seems strange to say that Cinco de Mayo and a Jeep could be so revitalizing. But it's true.


Life won't always be this thrilling. Soon I'll be back in the gold minivan. But look closely- the real me will
still be there somewhere. Behind the automatic sliding doors & the windows that pop out instead of roll down. Beyond the blaring Disney Channel CD and the laughing kids. Somewhere amidst the ample seating. I'll still be there.

Toothbrushes...

This post is long overdue. But, it's a fun story- so I will share it. (Momma always said, 'Better late than never'.)

Back in the summer of last year, I went to our (wonderful) dentist to get my daughter's teeth cleaned. Everyone there knew we were in the process of adopting our two children from Ghana, West Africa. They graciously OFFERED to give us enough toothbrushes so that all children in the orphanage could have one.

 *Brand new toothbrushes, provided for the orphanaage by Cedar Bluff Dentistry, Simpsonville SC*



In October 2011, I finally set out to Ghana to bring Serwaa & Konto home. We spent a few days at the orphanage. On one of those days, 'Grandmother' (the orphanage directress)  had all of the children line up to receive their new toothbrushes. (They have to be lined up, because there is usually a riot when things are being given away. The children are not bad children. Deprivation will cause anyone to act this way.)

One by one, the kids came up to proudly take their new toothbrush, say a very sincere thank you, then run off. (I wish I could've gotten pictures, but they ran off to hide their new toothbrushes as soon as they got them.)

It was so fun to watch them. Especially the teenagers. You see, most of the toothbrushes were children's
toothbrushes shaped like rocket ships. It was so sweet watch the teenage girls beaming from ear to ear as they accepted their rocket ship toothbrushes. There is a level of appreciation there that is rarely seen in America.

When the line finally ended, there were a few more toothbrushes left. They were given to random children we found in the street. (It's pretty easy to find kids wandering around by themselves. If they have parents, they are usually at work. The older kids care for the younger kids all day.)

Since my children have come home, I've heard lots of stories about their dental hygeine in Ghana:


- When they were very small, they lived in a small hut with their grandmother. At one point they had a
toothbrush. But the kids all had to share it. (Much of the family lived in a little village. Any cousins are considered brothers and sisters. So who knows how many kids were using The Toothbrush!)


- If you don't have a toothbrush, you burn a piece of old cloth until it is very black, then you chew on it. This is what Serwaa & Konto usually did when they didn't have a toothbrush.


- People very often chew sticks or roots, which helps to keep their teeth clean.


- Another way to clean teeth is to chew on burnt charcoal. My children used to do this, too.

- If you get a toothache, cavity, infection, etc.... you just live with it. That's not usually something you go to the hospital for. Even the children lucky enough to have access to medical care probably won't be seen by a doctor until the problem has become very bad.
And just because they are so adorable- here are some of the kids who received the toothbrushes from Cedar Bluff!




Afia Ketewa



Madwo, Ivy, Paul



Maame Kwadu, Ivy, Maame Faith, Emina

 

Owosua & Yaa Rose


 

Eugene

 

Oleman & Askia



Amankwa & Paul