Testing, Testing

Well...I wanted to make sure this was up and running before I actually left (and looking cute = )...and I have some time now...so I guess this is my first blog.  Hmmm...I wasn't gonna write anything of importance, but maybe this would be a good place for me to explain why I'm going to Ghana, Africa.
I did my student teaching in Washington, D.C. at a school whose population was 100% black.  Here, I fell in love with the people and the culture.  While in D.C., I attended a fireside.  President Hinckley's photographer and his wife were telling us about the prophet through pictures they had taken of him on his world travels, primarily 3 countries.  One of those countries was Ghana (and to be honest, I can't even remember what the other 2 were).  The entire 15 minutes or so that they showed pictures of the prophet in Ghana, I felt the Holy Ghost prompting me that I needed to go there.  It was so strange, unlike anything I had ever experienced before, and as soon as they started talking about the next place, the feeling was gone.
Well...soon after that I returned to Provo, graduated, went home to Hawaii, and busily began looking for a teaching job.  I had already looked into teaching internationally while I was in college, thinking that would be fun, and found that most schools required a master's degree, or at least a couple years of teaching experience.  So, I figured I'd put the Ghana idea on the back burner and get busy getting tenured, and maybe going to grad school.
Fast forward 2 or so years: I was tenured and happily teaching at an awesome school.  Over the course of the previous 2 years, I had periodically looked into "ways to get to Ghana" (i.e. Peace Corps, lots of different volunteer organizations, an International School), but had continually come to a dead end or road block each time.  I was frustrated with the whole process and had kind of put it out of my mind, thinking that maybe I was meant to go in my old age or something. 
Well...my dad, who I'm rarely in contact with when he's in Japan, sent me an email one day, and this is what it said -


Thanks Jac,

How are your students?  Are you enjoying teaching?  Are you thinking of
doing something new next year (not that you have to)?  I think it is
important to have realistic as well as unrealistic (fun) goals.  I would
love to participate in some of your goals.  I know you talked about going to
Africa to teach.  I'd love to assist you financially.  I also think that it
would be wonderful to be able to set up a new school in Hawaii for
underprivileged students.  You have such talent working with those kids and
it would be wonderful to be able to give them opportunities to shine.

I better go now but keep dreaming, too!

Dad

I hadn't given the idea any thought for awhile, and here this had come out of the blue, getting the wheels turning again.  That very Sunday in church, a couple, the Wilsons, was speaking about their missions to Jordan and Ghana.  Again, the whole time they spoke about Ghana, I felt the whisperings of the Spirit telling me I needed to go there.  Unfortunately, I had to hurry off after sacrament meeting so I couldn't talk to them.  But, lo and behold, I went with my mom to the Mother's of America dinner the following weekend and was in line right behind Sister Wilson.  Well, we got talking, I explained that I was interested in going to Ghana, and she so kindly said that she'd see what she could do (but it had been 10 years since they'd been there, so she didn't think it'd be much).

You can imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from her soon after saying that their friends from Ghana had unexpectedly called and said that they'd be visiting Hawaii the following week.  The Wilsons generously offered to take me up to where they were staying so that I could pick the visitors' brains.  They gave me so much useful information, but more than anything, they sparked a greater enthusiasm in me.  One of the women was brought to tears as she said that I would be able to make such a difference in a place where they often feel forgotten by the developed world.  She said that, even though English is the national language, few people speak it well, and those people are generally the upper class.  She said that if I could help teach proper English I would be giving the children a ticket out.  They also suggested that I look into contacting a school called the Golden Sunbeam Montessori School, owned by a Ghanaian man who had previously been in the Area Presidency.

Needless to say, I was stoked!  I quickly went home, googled the school, found their webpage, and emailed them.  And I waited...and waited.  Thinking that they must not have gotten my email, I emailed a second time...and a third...and a fourth and a fifth.  By this point I was getting discouraged again.  I remembered that the Wilsons had given me the email address of a young man they'd met there.  I didn't think there was much he could do, but I emailed him my dream...and he quickly responded!  We began a correspondence of Q & A, and long story short (well...it's still super long...but you get the drift = ) he said that he'd found a school for me to help at and a place for me to live (originally, when I told him I was looking to volunteer but I didn't think I'd be able to afford a place to rent, he thought it'd be a problem because "people tend to think that Westerners have endless money"...so that last part was so exciting!).  He also gave me the contact info for the secretary at the school so that she could answer my specific questions.  I was so shocked when I found out the name of the school - the Golden Sunbeam Montessori School!  It was clear that the way was being paved for me = )

So...I got busy preparing.  I took the next year off from work, I worked out my insurance, I got LOTS of shots and pills, I shopped, I sold my car, I got squared away medically, I got my hair cut - you know, all of the important things ; )  Oh yeah, and I applied for a visa, which, according to the website, was supposed to take 7 days.  Things were finally going smoothly.  There were hiccups, but everything was working out and I was going to leave on August 31st so that I could get there for the first day of school, September 6th.  

Well...I had not one but TWO goodbye parties...and still it didn't come.  I emailed, and still it didn't come.  I called, and still it didn't come.  I took a friend up on his kind offer to have his brother in D.C. drop by the embassy to check on the status, and still it didn't come.  The worst part was not knowing if I was gonna be waiting for a week, a month, or forever.  Every day I had at least one person saying something like, "You're still here?" or "Weren't you going to Africa?"  And I started to wonder if I was going.  Maybe the Lord just wanted me to prepare to go.  Maybe it was something that I needed to learn in the process.  Maybe I needed to learn humility - because I was so embarrassed to think that I wasn't gonna be going after all, that I had taken off work and made a big to-do over nothing.  Again, I'll spare you all the details, but eventually the Consular called = )! and after a bunch of back and forth with the paperwork, I GOT MY VISA!!!!  It had to have been one of the most exciting moments for me ever!  I quickly made sure the school still wanted me, booked my flight, and I'll be leaving for Accra on the 3rd of January = )

I'm still not totally sure why I needed to be here the extra time.  There wasn't one experience that was like, "Aha!"  But I am so grateful that I had these months to 

1) get closer to Jake and Chisa - they're so far from me in age so we were never in the same place growing up, but now that they're so mature and since I'm still so immature, we were able to become great friends!

2) get closer to my mom - I've always lived with at least one sister close in age to me, so they've been who I'm closest to, but since none of them live here now, mom's become my bestie = )

3) be here for more visits from Dad, and for Julia, Lyle, and Zeke's visit

4) go visit Mika and Justin, and Ayo and Daniel - and be there for the wedding! = )

5) spend more time with so many dear friends (which has been afforded by my not working)

6) visit the temple almost every week and gain the blessings and testimony that come from that

7) improve my soccer skills by watching, playing, and training more than at any other time in my life = )

8) learn how to live on next to no money

9) learn how to live without a car = /

10) and have some good lessons in love...haha = )

And that's just off the top of my head.

So, in conclusion to this novel, I know that the Lord has a plan for us, and when we go forward in faith doing our best to do his will, things will work out even better than we could have imagined! (that's not to say that it doesn't get super difficult along the way ; )