a tribute to the ponytail

if you know me, you know the girls. oski and kai. you know they rock my world. i love love love love them. they have been with me since i was 22. wow, they are the sweetest girls ever. they love me unconditionally. even when i keep moving to africa. my parents are amazing parents and keep them for me. they take care of them and love them while im gone. what a big blessing this is for me, to know that they are well cared for and loved. my dad even takes them with him while he works out of town. and i hear they are becoming qiute popular out in west texas :)

okay, so the point here is we must talk about the attrocity that has taken place. they have had these sweet ponytails since ive had them, right. they are cute little girls, bows and pink pearls suit them quite well. they are fiesty little things and so the cute pony only lasts awhile, but you gotta love the messy look right? so i was skyping with mom the other day and she had kai in her lap and thats when i saw it. they had their ponytails SHAVED OFF. for real, i bout fell out of my chair. and i have to admit, i shed a tear. wow, poor things. i understand why they did it, but i was shocked. oh my poor poopsies.

this is oski. everything gets stuck in her hair. i have to admit, her hair is a hott mess

and this is what kai looks like most of the time "who me?"

mom and dad, thank you a million times for taking care of the girls. i totally understand and i still love yall xx however, ill try as hard as i can when im home in a few weeks to make a ponytail....haaahaha see yall soon!!! xx

no words

have you ever had a day that your heart was just really burdened with something that you didn't know how to pray or even what to say? im usually not at a loss for words...but this morning i cant find my words. i am so desperate for jesus to make me more like him. i long for him and for his will in my life. i love him with all that i have.

there is something im specifically praying for. my heart is heavy with wanting the answer to be revealed. two times this morning i was shown the verse in john 10 that talks about the shepherd and his flock. how the sheep know him and they follow him because they recognize his voice. obviously the lord was pointing that specific scripture to me this morning in my quiet time. it comforts me in my time of waiting. i desire to hear his voice today. i am expectantly praying for him to answer my prayer. and whatever that answer looks like, it will be an answer, for the answers are not what we may want but its gods best. and im waiting for gods best in my life.

i am listening to his voice today, and i will follow whatever he says. do you recognize the voice of the holy spirit? i pray you do. for there is no other way.

father, make me more like you.

feathers and fur

a funny story....

yesterday when i was at home i heard a chicken squawking. this happens all the time here, but i could tell it was in the yard. so i went outside and sure enough there was out guard daniel chasing a chicken. the dog next door had chased it into our yard. i ran downstairs to join in the action. and here is the result....

this is the neighbors dog, the one that chased in the chicken.

and here is the chicken. clearly its my first time to hold one. ive tried to catch one before, but its really hard to catch a chicken. i was super excited.

when i got to school i was telling some of my kids what happened and showing them the pictures. griselda, one of my students asked me if we "banged" it. meaning did we kill it. she was telling me about when her and her aunty go to the market to buy a chicken and how when they get home they "bang" it. and she showed me how by banging a pencil hard on the table. hahahah i love it. i told her it wasn't ours, so we couldn't "bang" it, we had to let it go.

meet griselda and her little sister clarise. beautiful

friends

god is so god. he gives you want you need exactly when you need it. its hard moving to another country. hard leaving family and friends home. i love when god provides heart friends. friends who love jesus and and are actively serving him. i feel so blessed by my new friends here. every time i start a new journey in africa i am nervous about new friends. relationships are what keep me going, they are so important to me and i am always worried i wont find meaningful ones.

i met some of the most amazing girls on the mercy ship. girls that i adore. they are all over the world.....australia, europe, north america, south america, africa....but when god brings you these people, you know you will always have them. some i havent seen in over a year, but its as if nothing has changed. god has the ability to fill the space between us as if there is no space at all. so why did i doubt that would happen here? when we seek him in everything god always gives us his best. always.

here are some of my new friends in ghana. what a blessing they are to my life.

shari and i and our "signature pose. no idea where it came from, but it makes for funny pictures!

shari, email and i

me, meghann and shari

i know i say this a lot but i LOVE this place.

where am i?

please, have you ever had a moment where you stop and think....where am i? like, your brain is telling you one thing but your senses or environment are saying something else. my cousin kasey and i call it an "out of body experience"

so this has happened to me a lot since living overseas. once in liberia i did a double take because i thought i saw someone from tyler walking in the market. REALLY!?!? its like, you know there is no way that person is in liberia, but your brain still does something so weird.

so the other day i was grocery shopping at the max mart. its a lebanese owned place with 24 dollar M&M's. (anything not local is wicked expensive) not the point. so im strolling along with my buggy (like im at the wal-mart) when overhead they start playing islands in the stream. WHAT?! (dad, old time rock and roll is forever number one) so anyways, here i am in ghana, west africa at a grocery store pushing a shopping buggy when kenny and dolly start singing. wow, talk about out of body. its such a strange feeling. i know im not at home, but everything around me tells me different.

a few weeks ago i was walking to school when i heard a whistle, i knew i was in ghana on my way to school, but i KNOW i heard my daddy whistle. i straight turned around and looked to see what he wanted. HAHAHA it was so funny, yet so sad. you know that whistle that you've know all your life. ill never forget that whistle. my heart did a little sad sigh when i realized again, where i was. man, i could really use a dad hug today.

next, while at the beach last weekend this mans phone rang and the ring tone was "bust the windows out your car" mama, did you get that!!!! can you believe it. i just stopped what i was doing to laugh. it was amazing. mama, you would have loved it!!

okay, that's all the "out of body" stories i have for now. i know i will have more. i hope you all are fabulous and delighting in all the blessings you have!

beach weekend

we didnt have school friday so my friend emily and i went to Takrobite for some much needed relaxation. we started our journey friday morning at nine. 4 trotros and a couple hours later we were standing on bojo beach. trotros are ghanas public transportation. vans crammed with people going all over the place for super cheap. we only paid about 2 USD. its lovely.

we layed in the sun, listened to the waves and read our books for about 6 hours. its funny, i had to remind myself where i was. i praise god for the amazing continent of africa. i am so thankful to be in this place for such a time as this...

we had lunch on the beach. i had a salad and yam chips, SO good!

we left the beach and taxied to big millys. its a backpackers paradise. its all rasta-farian, super chill and laid back. we had our own little bungalow complete with a mosquito net. no running water so we bucket showered under the sun. there is definitely something to say for simple living

this is a fishing boat that was on the beach. very appropriate words etched in the side eh?

the next day we slept in, had breakfast and did a little shopping (okay, i did the shopping). on the way home from our outing, i was getting into the trotro when i realized that my skirt was stuck in the door. i sure did show all of ghana something that didnt need to be shown. hahahah it was really embarassing but really funny too. i suppose when those things happen, the only thing you can do is laugh. a funny way to end a wonderful relaxing weekend.

the beautiful west african coast. its so beautiful here. i am truly thankful.

give me eyes to see

today first grade lead chapel and we sang a song about the fruits of the spirit. my kids are so cute. how can you not smile when you see this picture. they are wonderful. one sweet child came into the room today and it was obvious she was upset so i kissed her forehead. she got the biggest smile on her face and said, "thanks miss neill, that was all i needed". my heart melted. then she said she loved me gave me a hug and walked away. its moments like these that make teaching the best job ever. i have such freedom here to love these children. its such a blessing. they teach me so much everyday about the love of christ. wow, i have an amazing job.

today was just an amazing day! i skyped with dad last night, got the sweetest email from my sister this morning, and got my first package from mama after lunch. what a day! i tell you, the lord knows just what i need right when i need it! my family is amazing, supportive and such a blessing. they really believe in me. this quote is on my bathroom door so i can see it all the time. i love it, its so true. when we believe and put out hope in christ, allow the him to work in our lives and our hearts, anything is possible. i surrendered to him and i believe "he can" through me. i trust him, follow him and therefore "i do". everything is all about him, it has to be, there is no other way. when you start believing and thinking this way, you see him all around you. its as if you have new eyes.

okay, friends thanks for reading. love to you all and i hope you are delighting in jesus today! he loves you and if you allow him, he can give you new eyes too!