This Picture. Oh boy, this picture.

This picture. This is the picture that floats around in my head at night. Not one of the adorable ones of the eight precious little boys we rescued, but a picture of two boys we couldn't rescue. I don't know their names, and I can only guess their ages. I don't know if they have ever been hugged, or cared for. To make this even more sad, these are just two. There are thousands more. 

These boys and the boys like them, they are sold, they are beaten, they are not given the option for an education, they are forced to work far beyond what they should, they are property. 

I'm not trying to make this a sob story, or guilt anyone into attending Ghana Rock or supporting The Fathers House. I just want you to know where my heart is, and why we are doing Ghana Rock. This is it. That picture sums it up, perfectly. The Fathers House is about those boys, and the eight boys we have already rescued. The Fathers House is giving eight boys, who were in that situation just a couple of weeks ago, a big huge chance.

I believe, we are the representation of Jesus Christ. We are here to make Him famous. So let's do it. Let's get together on May 13th and make some noise. Let's be the voice for these kids who have nothing. Let's be so loud that anyone and everyone will see Jesus fill up that space. Let's rescue these boys. Let's make Jesus famous. 

I know Jesus is gonna show up. I know Jesus is gonna be glorified. So, come! Let's praise the MOST HIGH together! :) 

-Madi

Tickets are 'Ghana' go on sale soon! So keep checking Ghanarock.com :) 

Day Eight: God's Way

      Meet God’s Way, he was the last boy we rescued. When we found him, he was working on a boat... with a big huge smile on his face. Weird? I thought so too, until I got to know God’s Way. This kid has the most contagious smile you will ever see, and he almost never stops smiling. On the ride home from the lake, he fell asleep... smiling. I can’t even think of a moment when he wasn’t.

God’s Way doesn’t want to miss out on anything. Ever. It would take him hours to take a shower at night. He couldn’t just take a shower. He would go get his towel, then come outside and make sure he didn’t miss anything. Then he would go get his bucket with his soap in it, and come back outside to make sure he didn’t miss anything. One day he even came out with a soapy body and a towel tied around his waist because he heard everyone laughing in the court yard. He had to come check it out and see what was happening.  When all the boys would be taking showers, or inside just hanging out after a long day of playing, God’s Way would be outside in the court yard playing football (soccer) by himself... then he started recruiting me. This poor kid probably spent a good hour trying to teach me how to play. I think about once or twice I actually stole the ball away from him, he just stopped and said, “WOW!” and grinned at me with that gorgeous smile. At least he was impressed with my soccer skills unlike some of the other boys (cough, cough, Francis). God’s Way can make any situation fun, he is what the bible talks about when its days to have faith like a child. He believes in God, and he believes God is going to take care of him. Before bed one night, God’s Ways prayer was “And Jesus, if there are any demons... just whoop ‘em!” So perfect, and simply put. To have faith like a child, right? 

-Madi 

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I introduced our eight boys in the order we rescued them. We started with a God’s Way and ended with a God’s Way. Coincidence? I think not.

Day Seven: Ame

      Meet Ame. When we found Ame, he was working on a boat untangling fishing nets. We took him off his boat and brought him to ours. Yet there was no sense of excitement on him face. Instead, he was just worried. Ame is the one kid we saw the most change in. He went from worried, to giddy and happy. On the long drive home from Lake Volta back to The Fathers House, Ame didn’t say a word. Seriously. We gave him yummy snacks and water, sang songs and tried our bests to get some sort of emotion out of him. We got nothing. As we pulled into Keta, and saw the fishing boats in the lagoon, Ame asked if this is where he was going to be working. We quickly explained no, that we were going to his new home. Makes me wonder if Ame was sold and moved to different islands before. 

When, we got to The Fathers House the very first thing I saw when the boys were running in their room was this BIG HUGE SMILE on Ame’s face. He laid in his bed, and just smiled. Somehow the 15 hour car ride to Lake Volta, and the 15 hour car ride back didn’t seem so long anymore. The heat of Ghana, and the dirt in my hair didn’t even bother me. All I could think about at that moment, was that smile. The smile that nothing but a bunk bed, in a safe house could bring. I still have to pinch myself that I got to witness that. So crazy. I hope to go back, and I hope to see Ame as the most talkative, animated, and happy boy of the bunch.  

-Madi

Day Six: Francis

Meet the oldest, and wisest of the group. Francis. He is thirteen years old. When Francis talks, you know to listen. He just kind of commands your attention. He is almost regal, just by the way he carries himself. He is definitely a lot different than any thirteen year old boy I've ever met. The last night we were with the boys, they were rambling on in ewe. I was getting frustrated because I wanted to know what they were talking about. I looked over at Francis and said, “What are you guys saying?!” ... and he said, “we were talking about how bad you are at football.” I feel like that conversation sums up Francis. All I could do was laugh at how true it was, and how sad it was that I actually thought I was going to beat them all before I left. Guess I was wrong. Francis is going to do big things in life, I just can't wait to see it. 

-Madi

Day Five: Julius

What’s a word for cute, adorable, precious, and unbelievably hilarious? I’m pretty sure there isn’t one, if there was it’d be used to describe Julius. This kid took forever to come around and actually want to play with me. I tried so hard to make him laugh, and he just wouldn’t have it. Then, one day it just switched. We were all sitting on the ground, coloring when Julius came up to me. He sat down and pointed to his toe, Julius doesn’t speak much english so I found Dotsey to talk to him and figure out what was wrong. Turns out that Julius had a shard of glass in his big toe. It had been in his foot for so long that several layers of skin had grown over it. This kid had worked 15 hour days on Lake Volta for his master with a piece of glass in his foot. I honestly have no idea how. After we had gotten him all fixed up, him and I were best friends. When Julius laughs, is just about the funniest thing you’ll ever hear in your life. I would chase him all around The Fathers House and make him laugh just so I could hear it. This kid was precious. 

-Madi

Day Four: Clement

Meet Clement. Clement is probably the sweetest boy you’ll ever meet. He has this way, you just feel at ease around him. Like there is nothing wrong in the world. It’s kind of amazing, because this kid was rescued from SLAVERY. Regardless, Clement is calm, collected, and pretty beastly at soccer. Seriously, he could take a whole village of Black Stars. Even though he could beat any of the other boys in soccer, Clement doesn’t brag or anything. He is more of a quiet conquerer. Clement has this super expressive face. You can tell what he is thinking just by his eyes. When he smiles, he is pretty much the cutest kid in the world with his one dimple on his right cheek. I would just try to make him laugh so I could see his dimple. It is so cute, the picture doesn’t even serve it justice. Everyone will just have to go to Ghana and see it in person. 

-Madi 

Day Three: Evans

The day we made the rescues, the first boy I saw on the island was this beautiful, friendly kid. His name ended up being Evans, and we got to take him home with us! Evans is going to be the next Kristian Stanfill (the resemblance is scary, huh?). He absolutely LOVES singing, and he loves singing to Jesus even more. On the long ride home from Lake Volta, Evans entertained us in the van with all the praise songs he knew. I wish Ghana wasn’t so far away, I have a feeling he would love Ghana Rock. The last day we were there, Evans had put together a little show for us. He sang a song, and I’m pretty sure every single person there was crying by the end. This kid had been put through so much, yet he could still sit there, with that smile on his face and sing praises to our God. Pretty amazing, huh? 

Here are the lyrics to his favorite song: 

Heaven I receive view, 

Heaven I receive view, 

I am a child of the King, 

and a millionaire too. 

When I look above, and the message come true. 

Heaven I receive view, my love. 

Heaven I receive v-i-e-w, 

Heaven I receive v-i-e-w, 

I am a child of the K-i-n-g, 

and a millionaire too. (oh ohhhh) 

When I look a-b-o-v-e, and the message come t-r-u-e. 

Heaven I receive view, my loveeeee.

Watch for his record to come out in about 10 years... you’ll want to buy it :) 

-Madi 

Day Two: Gideon

Today you’re meeting Gideon. Gideon is the older brother of Little God’s Way. While he tries his best to put on a tough guy exterior, I know he is just a big bowl of lovin’ on the inside. Gideon had been rescued from Lake Volta once before, only to be sold again  by his mother. It’s actually a more common thing then you would think, it’s a vicious cycle that needs to be ended by homes like The Fathers House. Gideon wants to grow up to be a football player (for us Americans, a soccer player) but I have this strange feeling that God has a much bigger plan for him. I just know it. Along with being super sensitive, and caring he is also completely stubborn. If you say up, he says down. If you say stop, he says go. Just when you think that you can’t handle it, he’ll look up with you with his big brown eyes and ask for a hug.You can do nothing but wrap your arms around him and just give him the love he can’t get enough of and you can't give enough of. 

-Madi

Someones Shannon...

I'm not sure if it's against blogging rules to post more than once in one day... but God just completely laid something on my heart tonight and I felt like I should share... 

I babysat Shannon for the first time since mid December tonight. I had missed her SO much because usually I'm with her at least twice a week. For those of you who don't know, I nanny for Shannon and her little sister Cailin. Shannon is four years old, but she isn't just any kid, I like to refer to her as my four year old (and pretend I have any claim to her at all). This kid can make me laugh more than any other person I know, sometimes I think she is way to smart for her own good. I have high hopes for her to become president someday. When I got to her house tonight, she just jumped on me to give me the biggest bear hug imaginable. I had brought her a kente cloth from Ghana, so I sat down and explained to her how a kente cloth is made and why it is so special. After that, she looked at me with her big blue eyes and said, "I love you... and tonight is going to be the best night ever." During dinner she squealed about how great the squash was because there was honey and cinnamon on it, and how glad she was that I was home from "AF-RICAAAAAAA" to give her some. After dinner, it was a quick shower and off to bed. When I was leaving her room, she asked if I could lay down with her because she had missed me so much. While I sat down on her bed, I had a slight panic attack. Shannon is four, some of the kids who work on lake volta are that age or younger. Those kids are forced into life threatening situations and hard labor daily. They are beaten, yelled at and never given a chance to just be a kid. I used to be naive and think, well surely the four year olds aren't doing that kind of work. Then I saw it with my own eyes. I saw those babies working harder than I ever have, and I'm sixteen! So, I'm asking everyone to think... maybe you have a Shannon in your life. Would you just sit back and not do anything if it was your baby out there? I know I wouldn't. If Shannon was being treated that way, you would see my ugly side and I would be after them with fire steaming from my ears. So, my question is- why is it so easy to forget about the other kids half way around the world? Those kids deserve to be someones Shannon, they deserve to be loved on and taken care of and given disgusting squash with cinnamon and honey on it if thats what they want. Instead, they are left in a hopeless situation.

Josh Wilson sings a song called I refuse. He sings, "I can't do everything, but I refuse to do nothing". I'm asking everyone who is reading this to think about it, to think about refusing to do nothing and jumping in to save these kids, and give them a chance to be someones Shannon.   

-Madi 

Day One: Little God's Way

Meet Little God’s Way. Little God’s Way was rescued from Lake Volta a couple of months before we went to pick him up. Both him and his older brother, Gideon, were sold into the slavery on the lake by their mother. God’s Way is the youngest boy living at The Fathers House, however that doesn’t stop him from being the loudest and most energetic of the bunch! In the picture, along with that precious little smile of his, he is wearing a girls flannel pajama shirt, though that might seem a little peculiar for little boy to be wearing girls winter pajamas in Ghana where it is always hot. When God’s Way came out with that on, no one even thought twice about it because thats who he is- a little nutty and peculiar. I think I carried him around like a baby doll half the time, and the other half he was trying to make me or someone else crack up-- usually he was successful. The first night the boys stayed at The Fathers House, I helped him put his sheets on his bed. After we cuddle up together in his bed and just smacked our hands together playing a game, which he told me he won. I think it was then I realized I was a goner. Him and seven other little boys had completely stolen my heart, and there was no way I was going to be able to go back home, and not leave my heart in Ghana. 

-Madi 

...about my trip...

Everyone has been asking me when I am going to write about my trip to Ghana. Then I think, how do I put ten days worth of stories, life changing stories, into a tiny little blog post? The answer I’ve come up with, I can’t. How do I explain the story of redemption I got to be part of? I got to see EIGHT lives changed dramatically. I have been working so hard to help The Father’s House rescue these boys by planning Ghana Rock. I have done hours of research and looked at hundreds of pictures of the child slaves on Lake Volta. I’ve read statistics and prayed for these boys for months, just to see and try and understand what I was supporting. But, I was missing it. THESE KIDS ARE SLAVES. I didn’t understand completely until I was sitting in a village talking to the chief watching him pull out a notebook with names in it. Then I realized, that was inventory. These boys were property. No different than a dog or a goat. How do you even wrap your head around that?! How can I explain the pain and fear on these kids faces? or the joy they had when we tucked them into bed the very first night at The Fathers House? 

I. Can’t. 

I can say, that I am forever changed. 

Starting tomorrow is the eight days of Ghana. It’s kind of like the twelve days of Christmas, but better. I’m going to introduce the boys we rescued one-by-one. For now, here is a picture of the boys :) 

Starting at the left: Gideon, Evans, Ame', Julius, Little God's Way, Francis, God's Way, Clement. and they are perfect. 

Have You Heard?

Have you heard?  Amazing things are happening at things at the Father’s House.  They have now rescued six boys from child slavery on Lake Volta.  There were already two in temporary placement.  I’m going to tell you just a little about those two boys…  They are brothers named Gideon and God’s Way.  Gideon is eleven and God’s Way is six.  Those names are very special, because you may know that the group of us that is planning and praying for Ghana Rock is called Gideon’s Soldiers.  Also, the name God’s Way is amazing because this whole time, we have been praying that this concert will go “God’s Way”. All of these little boys will now call The Father’s House home.  As you read this, eight little boys are being given God’s love and care.  Thanks for all of your prayers!  Keep them coming! 

-Sarah Garrett

January Updates!

Hey everyone! This is a quick blog to just give you guys a few updates on some stuff thats going on.

First off, as you are all aware, a team of 8 left for Ghana on the 5th and its amazing to see everything that God has done in the past 5 days that they've been there. Please keep them in your prayers! Pray for safety and that God would continue to use them in the remaining 5 days of their trip. Make sure you keep checking the Father's House Ghana Facebook page for updates and photos from the their time in Ghana!

Secondly, we have a promo video! In an attempt to try to spread the word about Ghana Rock, we figured we needed to get a little bit of something out there to start everything off. Props to Sam Lopane and Reagan Barrington who spent lots of time putting this thing together! It's out on YouTube as well as on the Ghana Rock Facebook page, so be sure to share it with all your friends. It is simple, but powerful and I think you guys are going to love it!

Last but not least, is a reminder to keep checking the blog and the Facebook page for new and exciting updates that will be coming within the next week! Some really exciting things are happening and we can't wait to share them with you so stay tuned!

off to Ghana!

Kayla, the keeper of all things electronic for Ghana Rock, has been bugging me for weeks to write something about my up and coming trip to Ghana. And by up coming-- I mean, tomorrow. Due to my tardiness of writing, while you are reading this I am probably on a plane to Ghana! I’ve been counting down since day fifty-four, and now it’s down to a few hours. A few hours until I get to be part of something bigger than myself, and experience God in such a big way my heart is probably going to explode from so much love, or something weird like that. I don’t really know what to expect when I’m there (I know, such a wealth of information here), but I am expecting to be surprised, a little excited, and probably a lot overwhelmed. I want to be a light, and I want to make Jesus famous. Whether thats a four year old little boy in Ghana I get to love on, or an airport security guy-- I don’t know. I do know whatever it is, it’s gonna be awesome and Jesus is going to be seen, heard, and glorified.

So, let's go!! :)

-Madi Vincent

UPDATE FROM KAYLA: And they're off! Their flight took off about an hour ago, and from the looks of it, they're having fun already! Please commit to keeping this team of 8 in your prayers over the next 10 days as they serve God in Ghana!