(Photo 1 - left: “Ashes”, taken when the girls first arrived - Summer, 2008). These amazing young women come from various walks of life. Yet, all have stories of instability and insecurity, being shifted from one family member to another (and even to strangers), from one village to another, from one region to the next. Ashes. Some have served as “house help”, cleaning homes, selling products by the roads, and doing whatever is required in order to receive what meager room, board and in some cases, pay, they could. There are stories of being beaten for “missing product” and short sales, being forced to eat leftover food that cats and dogs had eaten, and being abused by wives of fathers and uncles. Ashes. Several have experienced the death of parents, leaving the family in even more dire financial straits, sometimes thrusting them into the workforce as mere children.

In all of the stories of hardships, perhaps the more difficult ones to hear were those who had some connection to the Trokosi slave system. Run by fetish priests (similar to witch doctors), these girls were the “payments” required for some family member’s debt or crime or to superstitiously stop a series of unfortunate events (illnesses or deaths). So, they were sacrificed, one as young as 2 months old, to live a life of servitude to the priests. Ashes. One sweet young woman tells of her awkwardness in putting on shoes and clothes for the first time after being rescued from the shrine just a few years ago. Another tells the story of her escape and her mother’s deception in trying to convince her to return to the shrine “for the sake of the family.” Ashes.

And yet, I look at them now. God has done amazing things, not only in their lives, but in their hearts. They eat His Word, treating it as life-giving “honey” on their tongues, for some remember when they believed they would die by simply opening it. And it is beautiful. They sing praises and dance with freedom and reckless abandon, for they know what it is to be bound. And it is beautiful. They pray with fervor to a God who loves them, for they remember how it feels to be abandoned. And it is beautiful. They worship Him with gratefulness, for they know what it is to be sacrificed for something you have not done. And it is beautiful. (The photo below - Beauty - was taken in February of 2010. The girls have been living at Sweetwater House for 1 1/2 years. They look like normal teenagers … because they are!)

We recently spent 10 days in Ghana at Sweetwater House. On Wednesday a girl named Elizabeth shared her story. She was given as a virgin sacrifice to the fetish priest when she was an infant. She lived on the shrine and was forced to work and live naked all her life. When visitors came to the shrine, they would weep because of the condition she was in and the way all of them were being treated. She asked a woman why the people cry when they come and see them. She had no idea how terrible her circumstances were because it’s all she knew her entire life.

When she was 19 years old, someone came and negotiated with the priest and rescued her out of slavery. They gave her a dress and shoes for the first time. She had never seen clothes before so she didn’t know how to put them on. She couldn’t walk because she had never worn sandals before! Can you imagine having to learn to walk in shoes for the very first time at age 19!?!?!

When she was under the control of the fetish priest, she practiced idol worship. All of the girls at the shrine were taught that if they open the Bible they will die!

After being rescued, she was brought to the Sweetwater House. Of course, the Bible is taught here. When she was given a Bible she concluded “Okay, I will open the Bible and I will die” so she opened it. By the grace of God, she began to read it and the teachers at the House taught her God’s Word. She became a believer in Jesus Christ and the pastor at the local church baptized her! By the end of her testimony I was practically weeping! I feel like my telling of the story doesn’t even capture the depth of what its like to hear her tell it. I can’t imagine what she had to endure.

This is just a small glimpse of what these girls have faced. Some girls were abandoned at birth, some were beaten for the smallest things, some were attacked and almost killed, some have been raped and some have even bore children to that evil fetish priest. They cried as they revealed their stories and our team could not hold back our tears as we sat to listen.

After a time of worship and the Word the Holy Spirit moved and the girls began praying, confessing and singing out to God. By the end, we were able to pray over each individual girl, anoint them with oil and give them a special glass cross necklace to remind them of what God has done for them.

Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine) Castle, also known simply as Mina or Feitoriada Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast). It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637, and took over all the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642. The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1871 when the fort became a possession of the British Empire. Britain granted the Gold Coast its independence in 1957, and control of the castle was transferred to the nation formed out of the colony, present-day Ghana.

The Girls’ Visit

One of the visions of the co-executive directors at Sweetwater House and also of the English teacher was to expose the girls to some of their history and culture. This focus has been most recently expressed in the visit to Elmina Castle. As you can see in the photo the girls got a close up look at this part of their history. There is still today evidence of the horrors that took place here. May we never forget and never repeat!

Field trips are to become an integral part of the girls’ educational process.

Soon, I will report on the girls’ first music concert… thanks to Don Moen and Tom Allen…

From the Newsletter

The country of Ghana has hydro-powered electricity, and so when there is no rain, there is no electricity. This happens quite often, considering that Ghana is so near the equator, and there is only one rainy season a year. At Sweetwater House, we have been blessed with a generator so that when needed, there can be fuel-powered electricity. However, on some occasions, electricity still does not come on at Sweetwater House. One possible scenario is that there may be low amounts of fuel in the country for a short period of time, and it cannot be spared to power the generator. In these cases, the girls at Sweetwater House will use charcoal-fueled irons to press their Sunday dresses or their fabric before they cut it in sewing class. The hot irons also function as a health tool by killing the larvae that may be laid in their clothes as they hang outside to dry. It is one of the “traditional” means to an end in Ghana. What a fabulous resource to have and know how to use!!!

See more of life at Sweetwater House in Ghana, click on the link below and open the newsletter.

tcnews10-09-op

Thank you for praying for these sweet children of God.

Agnes, our Executive Director, sent me these photos showing the girls with some of the books. The shelves are “filling” up. They sent some very practical books (cooking, gardening, even Pre-Algebra, etc.). I have no doubt that all of these books will be a great tool at SWEETWATER HOUSE. I even noticed in the photos that there are some “cook books”, so for some of the girls who like cooking better than sewing…..they can get some new, tasty ideas.

As you can see in a few of the photos, the girls were AMAZED at the pop-up books. They may have never seen these before. We are so thankful that Tom Ledford and his friends wanted to bless our home in this tangible way and provide some resources that will equip our girls more and more to become leaders in their communities. I think the girls will get lots of new ideas! Our God is supplying all of our needs in Ghana….plus some of our “wants”. I will be going to Ghana in September and will get to see the books myself. THANK YOU, Tom and friends, SO MUCH.

Debbie (Co-founder of Sweetwater House)