HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU DO KNOW….
It's been a little over a week since we returned from Ghana and I am still stuck in that place of trying to understand. What is it I am wrestling with to the point of brain exhaustion, you may ask? ...Well the list is long, varied,and a bit dis-jointed, but I can't quite surrender and put it to bed just yet. In my mind's eye I am still going to try to solve the unsolvable, and make sense of the senseless for just a while longer.
To give you a small idea of the ticker tape that's running inside my head, might you try answering, or understanding some of the following questions which plague my consciousness.
*Why does everything in Ghana have to be so hard?
*How can these sweet, disabled children there be so misunderstood, neglected and abandoned?
*How can anyone around them not see and understand what is so obvious to me?… that these children have hearts that feel and minds that think.
*Why doesn't the Ghanian government step up and help their own most vulnerable children?
*Why can't they fix the roads and keep the power on?(as if life there isn't hard enough)
*How do those awe-inspiring people we met there, who have commited their lives to helping the disabled and disadvantaged children (with little to no support) do it?...… day in and day out, and yet they stay the course and remain so positive and hopeful… how?
*Why am I so blessed?….. and the list goes on and on but I think you get the idea.
I will continue to grapple with the how's and the whys, but in time I know I will slowly acquiesce and make peace with the fact that for the most of them, I will have no answer. Even so, it will be ok because even though this latest trip to Ghana produced a flurry of seemingly endless questions and problems to be solved, it also provided a bevy of answers as well. Answers which allowed us to to feel much solace, joy and relief. Below are some of the things that we learned, realized and resolved during this trip.
* Our kids are thriving and so happy, (most important and yay!!!)
* YES, we are all making a difference there!
* LOVE really is the answer to the most important questions.
* There is so much good in the world and there are so many people with huge hearts.
* We now know where we will focus our efforts going forward and what we want for the future of Acacia Shade(and it's bright… stay tuned).
* We now know where and what we will do for the future of our Acacia Shade kids ( also bright).
*We learned that there are so many wonderful organizations in Ghana helping the disabled. We don't have to re-envent the wheel trying to decide how to help the most children. Instead, we can jump on board behind these organizations and offer our support.
We realized that there are so many ways we can support them as they reach out and help so many more children then we alone could do- strength in numbers… it's true…..
The list continues on and it is a truly wonderful list, which as I ponder it, I become more and more resolved to let go of my NEED to have all the answers. I'm going to focus my energy on feeling happy for what I do know, and as I look at these…. a few of my favorite pics from our trip, they alone relay the most important answers of all.
I know it's just a small victory over my thoughts, but I'll take it and smile all the while.
-Holly
Beautiful sweet Esi,so happy with her new baby doll.
A rare little smile from Annabel
Cute little Zuma trying on her new party dress.
Ayariga welcoming us back with signs and drawings
