Last weekend, July 9th & 10th we, and our friends “M” & “C”, hosted the Akwaaba Gathering. The Akwaaba Gathering was for families who had or were in the process of adopting from Ghana. 12 families attended; they came from Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois. There were over 40 children. It was so much fun!
above photo from http://www.robindoddphotography.com/
Friday night was at Little Cubs Field. We ate ballpark food and played a game of wiffle ball. It was so neat watching children who had been at the orphanage together reconnect and kids that had never met become fast friends. One thing a bunch of us noticed right away was how comfortable and familiar everyone seemed. It was like getting together with life long friends.
Saturday we spent the day at Krape Park. Our group was greatly blessed by some of our local friends who made desserts and helped make some of the main dishes for our yummy picnic. They were amazing and the group was very touched by their generosity toward strangers. After lunch we played Ghanaian games and sang Ghanaian songs. One of the adoptive mom’s is a professional photographer and she took family pictures and pictures through out the whole weekend. She did a great job of capturing the memories.
To wrap up our park time we planned a Drumming Circle, but we had to move it to our church because a surprise downpour struck. It was a blast anyway!
above photo from http://www.robindoddphotography.com/
Saturday night everyone came to our house for leftovers from lunch, swimming, soccer, and visiting. We had so much fun! (I know I keep saying that, but we did!) At one point I stood looking out at everyone and felt so blessed. I could never have imagined how my world would change. In my little backyard Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia, Vietnam, & HIV were represented, and I now have this new amazing family through adoption. I am so thankful! It totally brought tears to my eyes. The only thing that was missing was my Ghanaian children. Yes, I thought of them often throughout the weekend. I had hoped to at least have a picture to show off at the Gathering, but that was not meant to be. Hopefully, we will have them in time for the next Akwaaba Gathering.
No comments:
Post a Comment