From the very beginning...

In order for you to understand the significance of my week in Africa, I need to start about 4 years ago.

So much has happened in such a short amount of time that I can hardly believe it myself.

**WARNING** This is a long post… and for that truly I apologize. But I am thankful for the opportunity to write it down even if it’s only for my own personal benefit.

I love to tell this story, face to face so that those listening can truly understand how humbled I am to be a part of it. There has never been a day, even a moment that I have said to myself, “Wow, I can’t believe I did that”, because I didn’t. Heavenly Father unveiled a path and I simply took a step forward, leading me to the next step. There were many unexpected turns in this windy path, but as I continued to move forward the next step was always opened up to me.

Here we go…

Four years ago I hit a major lull in my life. I was 30 years old, not married, had been teaching school for 6 years and (to be honest) felt like I had been forgotten by my Heavenly Father. I knew He loved me, I just felt like He got a little busy and kind of forgot about me.

It was the weekend of General Conference, April 2004, and I fasted and prayed that I could open my heart to hear a message from our leaders that I so desperately needed. All of the talks were wonderful, but something hit me when I watched the special on the Ghana Temple between sessions. My heart pounded and I could not hold back the tears. These people were so happy, so humble, so full of light.

I could not get Africa off my mind. The next day at school during lunch I sat at my computer and typed in a Google search “Africa+Volunteer”. There were over a million hits, but at the very top of the list was “Teach at a Deaf school in Ghana”. I almost fell out of my chair. Sign language is my passion and to be able to use it in Africa was something I had never considered. If the Lord was trying to get my attention… He succeeded! At that moment tears began to swell up in my eyes. HE KNOWS ME! He knows what is important to me. I looked up to the ceiling and said out loud, “OK, you have my attention, what do you want me to do?”

Being a high school teacher I had been able to travel every summer with a group of girlfriends. Why not Africa? I had always wanted to visit that vast continent.

I immediately called the organization from the Google search and was disappointed to find out how expensive the trip would be. I felt so strongly about it- so I knew there had to be a way to make it work.

The very next day, the Health Department was giving free hepatitis B shots to the community. “Well,” I thought, “Since I’m going to Africa I better start getting my shots.” I went to the Health Department and waited in line. When I reached the nurse, I told her I was going to Africa and asked her what other shots I would need. She gave me a website that would tell me all the information I would need to know. The girl behind me in line suddenly said, “I’m going to Africa too… what part are you going to? I’m going to Ghana.” “Me too.” I told her. “Wow, When are you going?” she asked me.

At this point I felt pretty stupid, claiming I was to go to Ghana when I didn’t even have a date set, a plane ticket bought, or a concrete plan of any sort. “Well, I don’t have a ticket yet, but I know I’m going this summer.” “You’re lucky”, She said. “I want to go this summer, but I have to wait till next summer… Did you see the special on Ghana between conference sessions?” She asked me. “Yes! And since that moment I cannot think of anything else.”

I told her that I was planning to go through an organization I found on the internet… but that it was very expensive. “You should meet the Porters… they are building an orphanage in Ghana. They have been there many times and have many connections.” We stood there and talked for more than an hour and she told me everything she knew about Ghana. She gave me the Porter’s phone number and told me she would tell them about me.

I contacted the Porters and (to my amazement) that exact weekend they happened to have a friend visiting them from Ghana. Her name is Lydia and she works for the LDS Church as the Human Resource director for West Africa. I met her and she told me that if I ever came to Ghana, she would pick me up from the airport and let me stay with her family until I found a deaf school where I could volunteer. Lydia’s generosity would save me thousands of dollars.

I couldn’t believe it. Everything was coming together so perfectly.

I had been so busy getting ready for my trip I didn’t really have the chance to think about what I was doing. I was traveling to a 3rd-world country... alone. I only knew Lydia and I had only met her one time-briefly.

What was I doing?

I didn’t understand why, but knew for some crazy reason I was supposed to go to Ghana. I knew that the Lord would be with me. I knew it!

Before I knew it I headed to the airport.

I arrived in Ghana on Monday night… 34 hours later. I was so tired! There were hundreds of people at the airport. I was not even sure I would recognize Lydia in the crowd of people. I was terrified, what if she forgot about me? Suddenly I saw her, jumping up and down waving her arms at me. What a relief! I met her family and we drove home.

On our way home we passed the Temple. It was lit up so majestically. It was the same Temple that inspired me to go to Ghana in the first place. Once again, tears swelled up in my eyes.

I was here… I was actually here.

Lydia helped me find a deaf school in Mampong, about 2 ½ hours from her house. She drove me up the mountain to the school and dropped me off. I felt very alone as I watched her car drive away.

I lived at the elementary school with no running water and occasional electricity. There were 265 children living in dorms at the elementary school. There was one pump or well that was used by all the children for every water need… to bathe, to go to the bathroom, to drink. This well was right next to my living quarters, so starting at 4:30 in the morning I would hear children fetching water. It was quite an experience!

There are two schools in the same area less than a mile apart from each other… the high school and the elementary school. I would work at the high school during the day teaching classes, and in the evening I would volunteer at the elementary school- tutoring, telling stories, playing, but mostly just loving the younger children. I worked so hard to memorize their names. I loved to watch their faces light up as I would sign their name to them. I wanted each child to feel special.

By the end of each day I was truly exhausted.

I quickly learned about life at the deaf school. The children were fascinated with my white skin, which they would often poke to see how it changed color. They would follow me around like I was a movie star. I learned that there are no formal sign language classes taught in Ghana, making it next to impossible for the teachers to learn how to sign. Most of the teachers just wrote everything on the board and used a stick or a cane to punish bad behavior. Sometimes it was too much to take and I would have to leave the room.

Ghana is about the size of Oregon. I learned there are 12 elementary/Junior high schools with 250 each (which is over 3,000 students) and only 1 high school that can accommodate only 150 students. Most of the deaf children would never have a chance to go to high school… and going to college is almost entirely out of the question. There are over 200,000 deaf people in Ghana. Many are deaf from sickness.

It was the most worthwhile, hard, amazing, sad, lonely, rewarding 6 weeks of my life. But now my time was up and it was time to come home. It was so hard for me to say goodbye. I made so many new friends. I promised them I would return.

I just knew I would be back!

Before I left I arranged with the headmasters at the 2 different schools to have Americans return next summer and teach at their schools. I found housing arrangements and everything. I had no doubt that others would want to be involved in this incredible experience.

I came home and within a month gave presentations of my experience at several of the local colleges, talking to current ASL students. I received over a hundred e-mails from students interested in coming the next summer.

One e-mail I received was from a guy named Curry Jones. He told me that I should consider setting up an official Non-Profit organization and that he would be willing to help me. “Think of a name you would like and I will help you with the paper work.” Was this really happening? I came up with Signs of Hope International… it was perfect!

The very next year, 2005, 15 volunteers came to work at the schools in Mampong- including a Deaf Doctor. It was a dream come true. It was exactly what I had envisioned just one year before. We have continued to have volunteer groups every summer. We currently have a group there… this is our 4th consecutive group. These volunteers are all fluent in sign language and have a specific subject they are proficient to teach.

The Lord loves his children. He hears our prayers and answers them. Our prayers may not be answered in the ways we expect. I needed to know that my Heavenly Father knew me… He does know me! He knows all of us. In a talk called Recognizing Answers to Prayers, Elder Scott said “Our Heavenly Father did not put us on the earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously.” He goes on to say, “Sometimes answers to prayer are not recognized because we are too intent on wanting confirmation of our own desires. We fail to see that the Lord would have us do something else. Be careful to seek His will.” “When we seek inspiration to make decisions, the Lord gives gentle promptings. These require work, to struggle at times, and to act. Seldom does the whole answer to a decisively important matter or complex problem come all at once. More often, it comes a piece at a time, without the end in sight.”

If you need to feel God’s love… ask for it. He loves you and He is there for you wanting you to succeed! We never know what He may have in mind for us… but He is perfect and His plan is perfect. Trust in Him. I love my Savior and am thankful for His patience with me. He lives! He loves us!

One day in 2004 I was having a conversation with some of the high school students at the deaf school. “I cannot believe I’m here in Africa” I mentioned to them. Without a pause or hesitation one student replied, “We knew you would come.” “What do you mean?” I asked completely confused. “We didn’t know it would be you, but we prayed God would send someone to help us, and here you are. We knew you would come.”

“By small and simple means shall great things come to pass…”

I am small and I am very simple, but with God nothing is impossible. I’m just grateful I got to come along for the ride.