Christmas Gifts for children in Ghana

UPDATE:  Thank you to everyone who signed up to give gifts. There has been a slight change.   Gifts do NOT need to be placed in a shoebox.  To make it space and cost effective for travel, we have decided to lessen the packaging by forgoing the shoebox.  Also if there is a lot of packaging with a gift we ask that you take it out of its original packaging and wrap just the toy.  That should help us make each package a little smaller.  

Gifts are starting to come in now and it is such a joy for me to receive things for the children I can only imagine how happy they are going to be.  We will make sure our volunteer friends take lots of photos of the children opening their gifts.  Thank you again for your generosity everyone!    

NAME................                   SEX.................DATE OF BIRTH                GIFTor



 KRAMPAH DESMOND      M                   2010(3YEARS)                    Kimokeo Ohana         

 JACKSON KWESI              M                   23.05.2010(3YEARS)         Delycia Matagi

 AIDOO   GRACE                 F                   05.05.2001(12YEARS)         Alexia

 JACKSON LANDY              M                   16.09.2001(12YEARS)       Ka'iulani

 ADJEI   MICHAEL               M                   04.10.2003(10YEARS)       Makoa Ho

 EGYARE  ESTHER             F                   15.03.2009(4YEARS)           Okimoto Ohana

 GHAINNEY ISAAC              M                   04.05.2008(5YEARS)        Noelani Naluai

 HAMMOND JOSEPHINE   F                   04.05.2007(6YEARS)         Moffat Family 

 BONNEY  KWESI                M                   14.04.2010(3YEARS)      Fitzgerald Whanau

 ARHIN   EMMANUEL          M                   14.05.2004(9YEARS)      Cammie Downer

 BONNEY  CHRISTIANA      F                   14.05.2008(5YEARS)     Noelani Naluai 

 OTOO    STEPHEN             M                   13.06.2007(6YEARS)      Sherry Kahawaii

 OTOO    CHRISTOPHER   M                   14.05.2007(6YEARS)      Sherry Kahawaii

 HAMMOND JOSEPH         M                   24.05.2007(6YEARS)      Linda Todd

 ACQUAH  MARY                 F                   04.12.2004(9YEARS)       Makoa Ho           

 NYAMEKYE AMOS             M                   27.06.2005(8YEARS)      Cammie Downer

 DONKOH  ABIGAIL             F                   02.05.2001(12YEARS)     Lani Richards

 QUAIQOO  GODFRED       M                   26.06.2005(8YEARS)       Saffrey Ohana

QUAIQOO PRINCE             M                    2006 (7 Years)                  Saffrey Ohana

 AIDOO   BRIGHT                 M                   29.06.2005(8YEARS)        Alexia 

 FRIMPONG PROSPER      M                   28.11.2008(5YEARS)        Noelani Naluai 

 ASSIBU  EMILIA                  F                   04.06.2010(3YEARS)          Moffat Family

 LOGOSU  FAFALI               F                   17.07.2005(8YEARS)           Moffat Family

 QUAIQOO SABINA             F                   01.08.2009(4YEARS)           Saenz Family

 TEKYI   FELICIA                  F                   14.05.2004(9YEARS)          Noelani Naluai 

 HAMMOND JEFFREY       M                   17.01.2010(3YEARS)         Paulina Germain

 ARHIN   PATRICIA              F                   13.05.2004(9YEARS)         Noelani Naluai 

 OTOO    PERPETUA         F                   21.05.2001(12YEARS)         Mele

 OTOO    ACQUAH             M                   02.07.2009(4YEARS)         Bramwells

 OTOO    PROFESSOR     M                   26.07.2011(2YEARS)          Bramwells

 KWABENA ISAAC            M                   23.06.2001(12YEARS)      Okimoto Ohana

 TETTEH  ERNESTINA      F                   04.05.2001(12YEARS)        Jorgensen Ohana      

 ACQUAH  DANIEL            M                   2006(7YEARS)                    Saenz Family

 TETTEH  GLORIA              F                   2005(8YEARS)                      Kelly Bishop

 ANDOH   MARY                 F                   2009(4YEARS)                     Sadie Saffrey

 ACQUAH  JOSEPH          M                   2009(4YEARS)                    Saenz Family

 JESSAH  JUSTICE           M                   17.04.2009(4YEARS)         Mona Hannemann

 IBRAHIM RASHID             M                   06.03.2002(11YEARS)      Wheeler Family

Mensa Asiedu                    M                   5 or 6 years ?                       Pike Family

Obe Asiedu                         M                   3 years                                 Daley Family    

Eric Asiedu                         M                   7 or 8 years                          Saffrey Ohana

Samuel Asiedu                    M                   about 10                                Mele               

Thank you!!!!  

Next stop Amalfi Coast Italy

After Capri we caught a ferry to a place called Sorrento where we rented a cute apartment close to the bus and train station.  it was a great central spot for us to visit all the places we wanted to go and was about an hour train ride from Naples.  We caught a bus so we could see the coast.  It was a CRAZY ride because the road was narrow and big buses were passing each other on a road that looked like they couldnt fit.  We made it there and back safely but it was an exhausting day.  We rode from Sorrento to Amalfi and explored the town, had lunch and a yummy lemon slushy (lemons are the thing here and are so humungous) we also had gelato and checked out the beach before we got back on the bus and home in time to make dinner.  Our apartment was across the street from a tiny grocery store and a butcher so it was very convenient for us to eat.  

Sleeping on the bus

this church was very old and detailed.  Makana loved it!  

Drinking from the towns water fountain.  We were a little worried the water wasn't good but the locals were doing it

Our family portrait

Makana, Nikki, Amber, Yani and Anela.

It was a fun day.

YOU, ME, AND THE SEA ....

Heres some photos of our perfect day on the sea.  This will forever be one of my most favorite memories.  We packed a picnic in the cooler and explored Capri by Sea.  We couldnt have been happier.  

The best way to end the day is with a gelato and some donuts.  

                                  Yani wants to buy a little pink Modped when she gets home

     We still have to get all our laundry washed and dried but with the Italian scenery it isn't so bad.

VIA KRUPP

SHE IS SO CUTE!! 

These are photos from the day I was talking about in Lesson #4. Heres the entry:  

When we were in Capri we were looking for a beach to go to and we accidently came upon the path to Via Krupp.  As we looked down the path we would walk we took a vote as to whether or not we were going to walk down there.  At that time we thought naturally if we walk down we would have to walk back up.  Fortunately we decided, “Frick – might as well”.  

We had such a nice walk down and saw the most beautiful sights.  When we got there we discovered some really nice restaurants and we had a great lunch of pizza and pasta.  I have been eating a lot of eggplant because I love it with my pasta!  We also found a great beach and found a little spot amongst the others.  The hard part is there is no sand.  People lay out on giant sized pebbles and smoke way too much but all in all we had a really nice day down there, all because we decided to go for it.  The best part was we discovered there was a bus all the way back to the top.  Sometimes you can’t see what is around the corner but we have found it really pays to just get up, get out of the house and get walking.  Our best finds were accidental. 

CAPRI

We LOVED Capri.  It was relaxing.  The people were kind. It was small and cute and beautiful and the food was good.  I would definitely go back.  We stayed in someones home that they were renting out.

It was near the marina - about a 10 minute walk so we went there for food and to get the bus to other places.  This is what the walk looked like:

Heres an except from Anelas journal:

I love it here!  Its so gorgeous.  Yesterday (the first day we got here) we went to go eat and I got a panini.  It was okay.  Then we went to the beach.  I didn't go in because it was Sunday, so we tanned.  It was so uncomfortable because there is no sand, it's all rocks, both big and little rocks.  While me, mom, yani and Amber were tanning, kana walked home because he was tired.  So after kana left we stayed at the beach for a little while then got some dinner to take home.  But first we got some gelato, it was yummy.  The Italians are very nice so we had pasta for dinner.  Today we are going to Ana Capri.

ANA CAPRI

We went on a chair lift at Ana Capri.  Its the highest point on the island.  The chair life was so fun and we went really high and the breeze was freezing but still fun.  We saw the prettiest view ever it was all dark blue ocean and you could see the rocks in the water.  And on the other side, you could see basically see the whole island of Capri.  So we took  a million photos of course.  Then we went back down the chair lift and took a taxi home.

the view from the top

Heres an excerpt from Ambers blog that I thought was very special:

Traveling on this trip around the world with my family has been incredible. And at times I'd often feel sad for my dad that he isn’t here with us. Whenever I'd see a empty seat I felt like he should be sitting in it, next to us. Then I remembered he has a seat and we are all on this family trip together. He just has a better view.

Naples AND Lesson # 6

We flew into Naples.  It was a nice flight because we could see the countryside of France and the French Alps (or the tops of them).



When we got to Naples we took a bus down to the Port which is where our hotel was.  We decided not to rent a taxi since it was walking distance to the hotel but the bloody hotel was no where to be found.  We walked around in circles in the middle of the day, scorching heat, with what felt like 1,000 pounds on our backs.  The streets in Naples were not marked and people didn't really know where the building was although they would point somewhere pretending that they did.  Many hotels are on certain floors of old historic buildings and DO NOT look like hotels!

LESSON #6  LISTEN TO PROMPTINGS!  YOUR BRAIN DOES NOT KNOW BETTER!

So in the beginning of our search to find our building I spotted a cute yellow building and immediately thought "THATS IT!"  A second later, my brain kicked in and told me that I had no logical reason to believe that its the building.  I didn't even know if we were in the right area because we hadn't really started "searching" yet.  So, as a result of my dumbness we wandered around for about an hour until we came to the same spot, yes, the cute yellow building.  It had a sign for the hotel that was about 8 1/2 x 11 inches.  (wth#%$^#&&).  When I politely told them they might want to get a bigger size they said that the neighbors didn't like it so they took it down.

My brain is constantly spinning and daydreaming and it's sometimes so noisy that is is hard to be led by the spirit.  One major task in this life is to learn discern between your head and the Holy Ghost and to follow the Holy Ghost, he will never lead you astray.

We were only in Naples for two nights, one night on the way to Capri and another night before our flight to Santorini.  Heres a few pics:

we cook most of our own meals.  Chicken with Pasta and red peppers with a garden salad.  it was good.