Abby Buahin

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

I think I mentioned earlier that Lydia and I are currently staying at Acacia Shade- an orphanage for children with disablities. It is a new establishment so, so far there are only 4 kids here but they are amazing and have had so much progression since first getting here in the fall.

Esi- is darling and so happy. She currently can't walk but gets around by crawling on here knees. She is so bright, we are working on streches and other excrisizes to hopefully get her walking some day. My favorite thing is when she prays over all our meals :)

Ayariaga- sweet little boy who loves to dance and be held. His energy to great to be around. He understands what you say but we are working on his ablitiy to respond.

Annabelle- she is beautiful. She can now crawl a bit and turn over but we are also working on getting her more mobile.

Zumah- loves dancing and giggles all day long! She can also crawl and scoot to get around, hopefully one day that can improve as well. She will always make you feel good about yourself because she laughs at all our jokes.

It is fun and challenging to live with these kids! I love them and I am so grateful for Julie Renneer for establishing this home and allowing us to have a place to stay here.

In other news, Lydia and I have sufficiently found all the ice cream and wifi shops in town. We've also taken hour long taxi rides to try to find a swimming pool. Turns out it was national "clean your pool day" in Ghana that day.

Last night as we were walking down the red dirt road to our home-carrying all our clean water for the week- it began pouring rain. Trying to dodge all the mud puddles, it took us a few minutes to get home- and by that time we were soaked. So you know what that means, shower in the rain time! The caregivers at the home thought we were crazy but it gave them a good laugh and made me happier than ever. I always write about showering in the rain because I really think it is in my top ten favorite things to do. It's just one of those things that make you feel alive, and beautiful, and connected, and litterally leaves you breathless.

Look up http://acaciashade.org it's awesome

Yes I left India, and yes, now I am in Ghana

Sorry I don't keep up with this enough, but yes, Lydia and I have now traveled around the world and are back in home sweet home Africa!!

I finished India off with more Proud to be a Girl asemblies at a school for girls taken out of child labor. It was a good way to end because I love those girls so much and nothing makes me happier than to see them glowing.

Now, Ghana has been great to us so far! We went back to Koforidua to see our kids and are now staying at Acacia Shade (an orphanage for children with disabilities). It is absolutely amazing to be living with such good people and bright spirits. You can just feel the love at home.

So happy to be here. And so grateful for these experiences!

On the edge of the world

Darjeeling is the most beautiful place I have ever been. I think that's saying a lot.

It was absolutely amazing for me to think- that I had gone 22 years of my life- with out really considering the fact that:

people are living on the edge of the world.

(Or I guess just amongst the Himalaya mountains)

It was a fun little vacation. We we're stopped by a witch who told us not to go with Sherpas because they would murrder us... We saw temples, and prayer flags, and loads of monkeys.

Even watched the sunrise over Mt. Everest.

Oh and we went to Nepal- for a solid 7 minutes

Adding up the smiles

If I calculate correctly, so far I've been able to speak to over 2,000 girls- across 3 different countries- about their abundant potential and about topics that others might be afraid to discuss with them- but need to be heard.

At least 2,000 girls have been told, at least once, that they are smart enough, pretty enough, and good enough to achieve any dream they have.

I don't know how many girls have actually taken this message personally but I know I've had an amazing opportunity to hear many stories and goals and dreams and share some tears but mostly I've seen a lot of smiles- and those are contagious.

India is very different from Africa. The issues are different here but the message reads the same.

"Protect yourself. Health and happiness are in your hands"

Love these girls.

Been teaching these young girls during the day and older women, who are homeless, at night.

Still accessing a lot of the culture and making changes to the circulum but I think things are going well.

I'm happy to be doing what I love to do. Hope these girls know how special they are to me.

Lydia came today too!!!! So excited for her to be helping out with this project too

Hampi- elephants need baths too

Took a little vacation over the weekend. My insomnia made it so I was the only one awake on the 8 hour, night, bus ride to and from- but I guess it was worth it when we got to bathe and be bathed by an elephant! In an Indian river! (Not to mention it was a "holy" elephant)

(Yes my eyes are closed in this picture.)

Hampi is an amazing city. It is right in the middle of ancient ruins and monkeys roam the streets... Charming really.

Now time to get back to work.

Have an elephant squirt me in the face. Check.

Here's what we are up to:

Still working on getting our big projects together and I'm researching women's issues here in India so I can bring "Proud to be a Girl" here too.

We are in the research phase for a lot go things but are already doing some cool things like:

-almost getting hit by cars everytime we cross the street

-seeing Bollywood movies

-teaching summer classes to children

-Lydia and I are painting a mural at a school

-getting randomly invited to people's weddings

-and sweating a lot!!!!

That's not even the half of it and there's more craziness to come :)

CONTRAST

The fist word that came to my mind about India is "contrast". Every corner you turn there is something new and different. From camels walking through a busy, crazy, city to vast dry lands in the slums... People, houses, cars, everything is so colorful here. It's fascinating and magical. Everything looks like a perfect picture- problem is I haven't really taken many photos yet, but they are soon to come!

Just wanted you all to know that we are alive and well in India and found wifi!

Ps we probably had our most succesfull 36 hour journey to a foreign country yet! It was a long but flawless entry, pretty proud of myself ;)

Piecing it all Together

I get this question a lot: "Oh wow! You do so much work in Africa, is this going to be your profession? How does it relate to what you're studying in school?"

SO... The other day I wrote a paper for a class, and thought I'd share how it has all come together for me.

Enjoy! P.S you can look up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWiwFRVsqU to see Jeffery A. Thompson's talk on callings in life

My Calling in Life

My calling in life has been made pretty clear to me over the years, it seems as though every opportunity has lead me to it. I’m lucky that I haven’t found much anxiety while looking for my calling in life like Jeffery A. Thompson suggested might happen. Still, as most people are, I was lost as a teenager. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be. Then one day I came upon the opportunity to go to Ethiopia and Kenya in Africa. I knew nothing about these countries but wanted to go because I thought it would help me find myself, while losing myself in the service others. I couldn’t have been more right.

While I was in Africa, my first time, I realized how much joy I found in people and getting to know and love them. I found a great happiness from traveling and seeing new places and cultures and loved my experience teaching them. When I got home I started to think more about how this joy could be a part of my life forever and even make it into a career path. I began applying for BYU, a school I had never thought I’d want to go to, and researching the field of psychology and counseling.

In college I started majoring in Psychology and continued traveling to different parts of Africa. While there I developed and worked with many women groups and loved every minute of it. I began to realize how much I love being of comfort to people and giving them anything I could- even if it was just a word of encouragement. I learned about how much passion I have for helping people to see their true potential and worth. I realized that overall, I believe in self-confidence and how much it can change a person and their life- and most important, how everyone is worthy of that love for themselves.

Many times since then I have been given opportunities to counsel with my friends here as well. My passion for wanting people to believe in their self worth has given me drive to peruse a goal in counseling. This goal has developed as I’ve found new ways to be a therapist. For example, my path unfolded I was talking to one of my best friends, one day, about how I love therapy but wish I could do it in a more fun and adventurous way- something to keep me moving. She told me about the major of recreational therapy and it sounded like a perfect fit! It combined everything I wanted: working with people seeking help and helping them to find their confidence through counseling and learning a new recreational skill.

Over the years I have not only found that teaching, listening, and motivating people is a passion of mine, but also a gift God has given me to do it well. It doesn’t take much effort for me to take the time to understand other people or to want to do it. At times I have met complete strangers who have began talking to me and I’ve just sat down with them and actively listened. At the end of our conversation they have thanked me and have felt so much better- and all I had really done was listen to them.

I ‘m continuing my pursuit of being a recreational therapist and using the skills I learn to help me in my endeavors aboard as well. I feel like everything said in Thompson’s “What is Your Calling in Life?” talk, has helped me see that, indeed, my calling in life has been made clear to me through various events that have led me to where I am today. I have a clear understanding of what I love and am good at doing, and an even clearer passion for it. I’m still not sure what comes next and what opportunities will continue to mold my goals, but I am confident that they will lead me to where I want to be- as I am living righteously and trying to use the gifts God has given me.

My calling in life is to listen, help, and be a motivator to others.

A Twist in the Plot!

I'm adding a new twist to this years adventure- It's called India... I know you've all gotten sick of my African stories so I need to add a little spice, and I thought India would do just the trick. But never fear, we are also stopping in Ghana on the way home! (and by "we" I mean Lydia and I! and by "stopping" I mean a month stay)

I am so excited for the new people I will get to meet this year and new places I will get to see. I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel and do development work in this countries. I hope I can make someone smile along the way, and maybe help out a little too.

I love all of you who support me and make these journeys possible, particularly my Dad. Thank you for changing my life as I see the world. I love you! And I can NOT wait!