Frequently Asked Questions

Today I will attempt to answer the most frequently asked questions I've been getting about this adventure.

1. When are you going?

I'll be gone most of August, September, and October. My friend Cheryl is going with me to Tanzania where we'll do some touristy things for a week before I fly up to Ghana and she flies back to the U.S. My official stint at the orphanage will be August 15-October 31.

2. How did you find this orphanage? Is it through the Lutheran church?

Nope. I looked into both the ELCA & the LCMS short-term missions info, but there weren't any placements working with orphans, which is what I really wanted to do. So I did an internet search for "orphanage africa." The first thing to pop up was Orphanage Africa (original name, I know!). As I read about Ghana, I found that it was a British colony until the late 50's, so most people speak English. I thought that was a plus, since I'm only going to be there for a short time and have never been great at picking up languages. Plus, it's predominantly Christian and there are no civil wars going on, so I felt it would be pretty safe.

3. What will you do there?

They pretty much leave it open, so once I get there, I'll see what they need and just do it. My guess would be that based on my background experience, I'll be helping teachers at the school and playing lots of games and singing lots of songs.

I'll add more as I think of other questions lots of people have asked!