Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  There is no Thanksgiving holiday in Ghana, of course.  So Jerry and I went out to a local hotel with a beautiful view for our own celebration.  No turkey though. So we had chicken and jollof rice and used our imagination!  We are so thankful to God for the opportunity to be here in this amazing place.  We are also thankful for all of you, for staying in touch with your emails, and for keeping us in your prayers.  We can hardly believe that Advent starts this Sunday and that we will leave for home 2 weeks from today.  Alison's baby is taking her time.  She will be induced next Thursday, December 1, unless something happens before then.  So please continue to keep them in your prayers.  We will let you all know whenever we hear something.

                                                                              
Worship in an African church is always a joyous occasion.  We attended worship today at the college church next door to the Institute.  The students are filled with energy and enthusiasm.  The highlight of an African service is not the sermon.  It is the offering!  Offering is truly understood to be an act of worship.  Everyone brings their offering forward with much singing and dancing.  The young men especially enjoy dancing and wearing traditional dress.

 These are two of the Master's degree students at the Institute who we have enjoyed getting to know.  Nii Okai is a music leader at a Methodist church in Accra and is a popular Christian recording artist in Ghana.  He was elected by his classmates as their class representative.  If you search for his name on the internet you will find several sites where you can learn more about him and hear his music.

Jane Quaye is an attorney.  She received her law degree from Georgetown University and is an outspoken advocate for women's issues.  While there are many men pastors in the class, Jane is not  intimidated in the least and challenges them in class discussions enthusiastically. When the members of the class introduce themselves, she has humorously started calling herself the "district minister."  One of the purposes of the Master's program in Theology and Mission here at ACI is to provide theological training, not only for pastors, but for lay people who are active in the public sphere.  Jane and Nii will make a huge impact in Ghana in the future.

These are three delightful young women from the ACI cafeteria and housekeeping staff.  Their friendly smiles and warm personalities make us feel very much at home.  Their names are Angela, Rhoda, and Muni.  They were all dressed up to attend a wedding on Saturday.

Ghana's favorite national pastime is football.  Like most of the world, however, in Ghana "football" is soccer.  You may remember that the Ghana national team (called the Black Stars) defeated the US in 2010 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.  We attended this football match this afternoon between two local amateur teams that was held at the Teacher's College field across the street.

There was a rainstorm in the afternoon before the game.  As you can see, the field leaves a little to be desired.  Most of our kids play soccer on better fields.  There were puddles in front of the goals and the net  is held down with rocks.  But the conditions didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm!