The GRE and Spiders and Snappy Margaritas

So we took the GRE on Wednesday and good news: Derek and I are of equal intelligence. Derek told me I needed to stop telling everyone we are of equal superior intelligence. Yes, our scores were above average (slightly) but we haven't gotten the scores back for the two essays we had to write. We were very excited and really relieved. We feel more confident that we should be accepted into DU - not certain yet, but....

Now all we need to worry about it finding a place to live in CO and a way to pay for school which is rather intimidating and slightly scary!!!!!

On another scary note there is a HUGE spider at Brooke (my sister in law) and Jason's house in Lebanon hanging right over the door from their back porch into the house. I say "is" because they have made it into a pet - they have named it (you guessed it: Charlotte) and Jason feeds it moths as if the giant beast isn't big enough to fend for itself. I must admit it was interesting watching it spin it's web around the moths (safely behind closed doors of course). At first I thought it was a Halloween decoration - that is how big and scary it is - but then when I realized it was real I had to jump the fence and come in the front door to get back in the house.

I mean it is just hanging there at eye level with the taller people. My back is cramping up just writing about it. It has yellow marks on it's back so although they tell me it is a harmless garden spider I do not believe them since I was taught that bugs and creatures with bright markings are marked that way by God so we know to leave them alone. I am really afraid that one day Jason is going to brush it's web and it is going to bite him and then they will see that my fear was valid. I won't say "I told you so" until after he gets out of the hospital.

And for the Snappy Margaritas? We celebrated Pam's birthday at a Texana Grill Yesterday. She is a former Snappy member but left us 5 months ago to work for Fast Signs. Mark, another former employee joined us too so that was great because they are both wonderful.

That's a Big Spoon

Jimmy, Mom and Me in front of the Big Spoon in the sculpture garden at the Saint Paul Art Museum.

Minnesota

Three weeks ago Derek, Jimmy and I went to Minn. to visit with my grandparents, mom and the rest of the family. We had originally planned this trip because we were suppose to go to Africa a few weeks later but... we all know how that turned out. My pa is not doing very well though so it was very good that we were able to take the time to go up there for another visit.

I mean doesn't may hair look orange? It is dark brown again now though - thank the lord!

The week we left they made the decision to put him on hospice which was a very hard decision for someone who has been fighting cancer for so many years to make, but we are confident it was the best move considering all the circumstances. My mom had been living there for the past couple months, but last Friday Trey flew up there to drive back to Arizona with her. She is now safe and sound back in the desert.

While we were up at the cabin we celebrated Derek and my first year anniversary with Inny and Mike - on the way home from the restaurant we got a flat tire. Let me tell you, it was hysterical. We put out flares and everything and of course being with Aunt Inny and Mike makes everything FUNNY! It took us (them - I was busy photo journaling) a half an hour just to get the spare tire out of the holder. That doesn't mean they aren't real men! They ARE!

We also celebrated my mom's birthday while up at the cabin. The water in the lake was so low. I wish I had taken pictures to show those of you who would remember the lake from years past. It was sad looking. But, despite the fact that we had to walk way, way out to reach deep enough water we took our baths in the lake as usual. Derek almost chickened out (again!) because it was rather cold, but he did it. You know I have never taken a shower in the bathroom at the cabin? Never - my whole life!

Almost all better.

The weekend after we found out we were not able to go to Ghana we went to my good friend Cortney (and Jason)'s wedding. It was a total blast and really helped us to put things into perspective. Even though the plans we had laid out were not going to work out - this year has been wonderful, filled with new-good friends and lots of fun adventures in a great city.

The wedding was beautiful and the band was amazing. They had the house band from B.B. Kings!



This past Saturday marked the day Derek and I were suppose to leave for Ghana. It was a sad weekend, but we survived and are looking forward that adventures that lay ahead. We are scheduled to take the GRE next Wednesday on the 26th and will be leaving for Denver on October 21st.

Last night while running with my friend Shannon we were talking about Derek and my up coming plans. She asked me what I had learned from the disappointment.

My answer, what did I learn?

What I AM learning is to live more in the moment - I have realized I place too much of my self-worth in what my plans are. My new plan: to just be happy where I am at. It has become painfully clear to me that no matter how well I plan nothing is set in stone.

From Thursday, August 9

Something Bad Happened.....

It has been only a week since we shared with you our excitement about going to Ghana. So sad to now have to share with you some not so good news: we will no longer be leaving in September for Africa. How can this be? Believe us when we say that we have asked that question more times then can be counted this past week. We have cried, yelled and finally laughed about the craziness of this sudden change of plans. We had root canals for crying out loud!

In short, the program Derek was going to work with in Ghana fell through. Since it is so difficult for the Peace Corps to find placement for married couples and the September deadline for departure is soon approaching, we will not be able to go this time around. We have been in the application process for the Peace Corps for over a year now, and since the beginning we had heard stories from other volunteers of departure dates and destinations being changed and set back numerous times. We were just hoping it wouldn’t happen to us. It makes it especially painful since we had already received an assignment and departure date. As you could tell from our first blog we were extremely excited about the upcoming adventure. We found out the same day of our last posting that everything had gone terribly wrong; however, we are able to say that today we have almost completely bounced back – ALMOST. It was a long hard weekend though.

The Peace Corps said if we wanted to wait there would be a chance to leave in May. Since there would be no guarantee that we would leave in May we have instead decided, after much thought and discussion, to pursue graduate school and then plan to work with Peace Corps again afterwards. The tentative plan is to move to Denver around October and begin attending the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver University in January or April. While we are still disappointed about not going to Africa right now, we are trying to look on the bright side of the situation. We were already planning to attend this program to get our Masters Degrees once we got back from Africa. Now, we are just doing things in reverse order, and hopefully it will work out for the better.

We are trying to trust His timing. There is a reason things have happened this way, even though we don’t understand it right now (it is a wise move to go to school first so that once we get back from working in the Peace Corps we are able to take full advantage of career opportunities, blah, blah, blah – but we want to go to Africa right now). As the saying goes, “We make plans. God laughs.” He doesn’t laugh in a malicious way, but in a way that says “if you just trust me I know what is best for you.” Or perhaps he said, once again, “Silly Missy/Derek, oh silly, silly you. I am smarter then you are.” One day we will probably look back and laugh too. In the mean time we are scrambling to get everything together for school and our move and hoping everything works out.

Our plan is to still work with the Peace Corps once we are done with school as crazy as that may sound. It is in our hearts and plans, so....

We appreciate all the love and prayers from all you. Please continue to remember us in your prayers as we move on to this next challenge in our lives (and move past our disappointment). We are excited about our move to Denver and starting school again. If any of you ever feel like strapping on some snow skis or hiking boots, please come visit us! We will keep this blog (maybe change the name) but won't write too often since, well, Denver is neat, but not Ghana.

We love you all. Thank you for your good thoughts, prayers and support.

From Thursday, August 2

The First Major Fiasco....

So... I know no one thought it was going to go perfectly smoothly, but we have officially run into a bump. Nothing that can't be handled, but I can not find my Passport. The last time I saw it was when we got back from Mexico for our honeymoon. We searched high and low for it two nights in a row - even looked in every book we own. Derek tried to make it fun by making it into a scavenger hunt, but it was NOT fun and we did NOT find it. My dad has also turned his house upside down with no luck. We both have to get new ones anyways because the Peace Corps wants us to have one with some super special mark on it but it would have been a lot easier (and free) to get a new one if I had not misplaced mine. We also need to get 15 passport photos for our visas and we were unpleasantly surprised at the exorbitant price for those little 2x2 pictures! Besides that we are very excited.

Also, please note that I said, "if 'I' had not misplaced 'mine'." I think that shows tremendous maturity especially because I am pretty sure Derek hid it from me one night a long time ago thinking he would remember where it was and act like he saved the day.

Bye for now, Missy

From Sunday, July 29

Africa Awaits

Two root canals, 10 doctor visits, eight vaccinations, and months of eager waiting have finally paid off! To those who haven’t heard yet, we received an official invitation from the Peace Corps last Thursday. We are leaving for the African country of Ghana on September 15th! We are extremely excited and at the same time a little nervous and overwhelmed as the departure date is not far away. For 27 months we will be living in a city or small village of Ghana. In case you don’t know much about Ghana, here are a few quick facts:

- Ghana is located in the Northwest area of the African Continent.
- In 1961 it was the first country to receive Peace Corps volunteers.
- We will be part of 130 current volunteers in the country.
- It is one of the safest and most friendly countries in Africa (So moms, you can breathe a deep sigh of relief).
- Many Ghanaians in the bigger cities speak English, but there are also many other languages spoken throughout in smaller villages. We will have to learn at least one of these, probably the language of Twi since it is the most widely spoken.
- Ghanaians are very spiritual people. The country is roughly 60% Christian, 15% Muslim, and the remainder practice Animism (the worship of local spirits) or a mixture of the above.
- The southern half of the country is tropical, with rainforest and beaches. The northern part is more arid and less developed and modern.
- It is hot in Ghana! In the north it can reach 120 degrees in the hot season. Rarely does the temperature drop below the mid 60’s anywhere in the country.
- Ghana is about the size of Oregon.
- People in Ghana love music and dancing!
- While Ghana is better off than many countries in Africa, it is still a very poor and developing country. It falls within the poorest 25% of the countries in the world.
- If you want to know more about the country and the people of Ghana you can visit these websites: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gh.html,
www.worldinformation.com , http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/gh.htm .

We both received specific projects we will be working on while living there. Melissa will be a “Small Enterprise Development Volunteer”. She will be working as a business advisor providing advice and assistance to a diverse group of rural communities and urban small-scale entrepreneurs to promote the export of non-traditional products and community-based eco-tourism development. That was a mouth full! She will most likely be working with women who already have established businesses. Derek will be an “Agroforestry and Alternative Livelihood Facilitator”. Typical tasks for him may be to facilitate the development of tree nurseries, design and lead environmental education for women and children, or help local people with projects relating to farming, live-stock, and/or beekeeping. We are both very excited about the projects assigned to us and feel they fit our personalities and strengths. Although we have been given a rough outline of our jobs, we won’t know exactly what we will be doing until we get over there. In speaking with out placement officer we have learned that although we will be working on different projects, it is expected of us to work together as a couple and assist each other in meeting our goals. These projects are our “primary jobs”, but we will also be required to initiate “secondary” projects that could include a number of things. More to come on all of this in the future.

Once we arrive in the country we will go through approximately three months of training. We have been warned these months will be intense and challenging, with language classes, technical training related to our projects, and cultural immersion. We don’t know where in the country we will be living in yet. We should find this out after the second week of training. We could have electricity and water or we may not. Of course we are hoping for the former rather than the latter. Our house/hut/mud-dwelling will definitely have two rooms, a bedroom and living room, and maybe even a second bedroom for when all of you come to visit! We are hoping for a toilet and shower, but a latrine and bucket bath are definitely possibilities. Melissa is dreading the moment when Gandalf (our cat) is torn from her arms; however, she has found significant comfort in the recent discovery that most Peace Corps volunteers are encouraged to adopt a cat or a dog (both?) to keep their abode rodent free and secure. We are excited to see our new home and we will be sure to tell you all about it once we are settled in.

We have really enjoyed spending our first year of marriage in Nashville. For all of you who have come to visit us – thank you for helping to make the past year so memorable. In the next month and a half we have a ton of stuff to do! We will be spending quality time with Derek’s family, we have a trip planned for Minnesota to see Melissa’s extended family, packing everything up, buying supplies for the trip, and tying up loose ends. Leaving most of our possessions behind and packing everything we will need for the next two years in three bags that can not weigh over 50 lbs each is not easy. Some of the more interesting and unexpected things on our “to-get” list are a short-wave radio, bike helmets, as our main transportation will be mountain bikes, bug-spray and other little odds and ends. It is going to be an adventure in itself just getting everything ready to go. After all the waiting, praying and dreaming it is hard to believe we only have 6 more weeks in the States!

We hate the thought of being away from our friends and family for over two years. We will be using this blog to update you on our adventures. Letters and pictures from all of you will be GREATLY appreciated while we are away. It will likely take 2-3 weeks to receive letters (maybe longer). If you want to write us you can begin sending your letters the first week of September, so we will start receiving them shortly after we arrive, making the transition to living in a new country that much easier. Here is the address we will be at for the first 10-11 weeks:

Melissa and Derek Eli, PCT
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
Accra-North, Ghana
West Africa

Hopefully we will have internet access occasionally so we can also keep in touch via email also. Telephone calls may be more difficult and expensive, but we will let you know more on this in the future. In the meantime, if you have any questions or just want to say hello please email us at: Missylou3322@msn.com or Dce3322@msn.com. We love you all and will be thinking of you often. We are lucky to have friends and family like you. Please remember us in your prayers as we move into this next exciting and challenging phase of our lives.