Being all squad month and in Ghana was quite something. Never easy to be around 50+ people 24/7. Not having your personal space has become the norm. Everywhere you go or look there is someone. Not that I am saying it is a bad thing, but truth be told I need my space. Two months of being together was a bit difficult. I can say I have come out of my shell and stepped into boldness some, but there is still that introvert in me. Even through all these feelings, I tried to have the best attitude possible. I strongly believe that our attitude can affect others. Every day I choose joy and make the best of my day. Even through tough times God is good. Two months in Ghana became a bit overwhelming and I did not realize it until the end. Spiritual warfare is definitely real and was happening. The good thing about the situation was that God has given me the discernment to know when it is happening and not letting the enemy have power over me. We have been given the authority and through Jesus we can be set free. So ultimately Satan has not won. I am the daughter of the Most High and refuse to bow down to satan and let him take over me. Prayer is the answer even though sometimes we do not see results right of way. The key is to not give satan room to enter not even through a small crack.
Ministry in Ghana on the other hand was good. So many things, stories, and testimonies to tell. My ultimate favorite which I would like to share a little about is doing ministry in ATL (ask the Lord). Our squad was supposed to go to Burkina Faso, but for security and safety reasons we were kept in Ghana two more weeks. Oh boy I thought. Yes, I thought this because I did not just want it to be a routine which is what ministry felt like where we were in Sunyani. Do not get me wrong, people there who I build relationships with were wonderful and would like to stay in contact with. Everyone very helpful, the evangelizing and children programs were good and I know that God moved, but we also did quite the waiting around and just became a bit tiring. Nothing ever goes as expected. Learning to be flexible has been a thing. Plans change all the time and the quicker learned, the better. I am the kind of person who needs to move around and do something. Who likes to change routine and be spontaneous, so this became a challenge for me being in the same place for 7 weeks. You may think this is not a long time, but when you are away from all your comforts and your own space it can seem like a long time. I knew if I could be strong for two more weeks and not check out I would have the chance to see God work some more. ATL required trusting the Lord that he was going to provide and he would open doors for ministry. My team prayed as to where we were going. When discussed it was shut down quick because of money. Being on a budget is not easy, but it always works out. My team and I set out to go north of Sunyani to a city named Tamale (just a side note, no they did not have any). We headed there into the unknown. Not knowing anyone or the area. Homeless and no place to stay. This was really requiring faith and trust in God.
Matthew: 6. 25. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Jeremiah: 29. 11. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. –
On our way into Tamale, our bus had some mechanical issues, even electrical I would say because it smelled like smoke at one point. We stopped three times with it and at the third stop another bus came and we had to change. Let me just tell you how the Lord blessed us. Our first bus was just a get us to our destination kind of bus with sort of working ac and smelly. Not the best traveling conditions but that is reality these days. Well the bus which picked us up was an upgrade. It looked so much nicer, ac worked, better seats and did not smell like chicken. I mentioned this because yes people travel with such animals. I guess it could have been worse because sometimes people take goats. So definitely an upgrade. We were excited about change and thanked God for the blessing in itself. Once arriving to Tamale we had no clue as to where to go. Taxi driver took us to a hotel but was out of our price range considering we are on $5 day for lodging. Even in Ghana that was a lot. Especially when they only let you be 2 person to a room and when you have an uneven number of people to go in the rooms it became a bit difficult. We set out for a walk to find another place. Tired, not knowing where to go, bags very heavy and being so hot in this city was not a good combination. After about walking a mile or so in scorching heat and tired, the team made it to Moonlight Lodge. Let me tell you it was not the best looking place but if that is all we could afford, so be it.
During this entire time I just prayed the Lord would open doors and He be the one we trusted in and not our own selves. At this place we saw Caleb’s team. Here also was a bit over priced and also did not let us have three to a room. At this point we did not know what to do. I felt a little hopeless but still trusting God and did not want to let team down. I prayed silently that God would provide. At this time, Caleb let me know that one of the other teams had met a missionary there in Tamale and had a friend who owned a hotel but that this team was not staying in Tamale. I contacted leader from other team and got information for the Missionary. Story short, I contacted Gabriel the owner of the hotel and asked him how much he would charge us. He responded with “you are Missionaries right? Don’t worry about it” I was not too sure what it all meant but had an idea. He picked team up to take us to his hotel. Once there I told him we only needed 2 rooms where the guys and ladies could stay. He asked if it was about the money. I told him we were on a budget but did not matter to him as he told his manager to give us each our own room. The team was left speechless. God just kept providing. Not only that, but we had ac and a real toilet which is a big deal in Africa. We Also had a kitchen we could use to prepare our meals.Trusting in God and letting him be first in our life was paying off.
Now came time to do ministry and we really did not have a clear direction yet. The next day the team just took off walking and were stopped by this one lady who asked where we were from and what we were doing. We met the office staff and here was the first encounter with Pastor Andrew. A great man of God. We were invited in and were explained their ministry. As he talked I could feel how he is truly a man of God and could feel the Holy Spirit being present. From there on, the relationship between all of us grew. God started opening doors. One day we were allowed to stuff envelopes with bible stories that are passed out and mailed to people. One way of reaching out to Muslims. Pastor Andrew a 35 year old man full of joy invited us to his church and Liz got to share God’s word with the people. So many things happened. We were taken to a village where Pastor Isaac lives, another very young pastor we met. The team got to spend time in community, meet the chief, share the bible and even cook over the fire. Got to experience their culture for the day. The village people have community eating which is a bowl and everybody eats with their hands while sitting on the floor. We had a chance to eat like them as well. Yes everyone washed hands. It was a Great time. At least for me because I like to learn about the different cultures.
Another experience we had was going to a school and speaking in front of an assembly of children and some adults. THAT WAS AMAZING! Liz one the ladies in team shared a bible lesson and were able to sing songs together. We had met Stephen a man from the school a few days prior and invited us to go speak at his school. We had received 30 minutes but ended up staying 1 ½ hours at the school. We saw how God just kept opening doors. At Pastor Andrew’s church we met Sheri from Wisconsin and DeMary from India. They are the sweetest and are living in Ghana as missionaries. We got to spend time with them and even invited to their home. Guess what? They prepared this yummy meal for us which involved homemade CARAMEL BROWNIES. What a Blessing. God just kept surprising us and keeping us speechless. Besides all this, with North Ghana being 80% Muslims, we got to learn more about the muslim belief which is very interesting. Pastor Andrew had so much information that he spent a lot of time sharing with us. There is so much work in Tamale to do that I could see myself returning. Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana were completely different but alike and both showed me so much. I learned about endurance and prayer. These two have gone hand in hand. These two places and ministries have given me a complete perspective of Africa. As hard as it was, God was always there.
THANK YOU FOR READING SO FAR AND BEING PART OF MY JOURNEY…
So many stories and events I would love to share and how God continued showing up and blessing us but I will run out of space. Maybe one day I can share with you of how God provided a way for team in every circumstance, even in going to Mole National Park in which we met Pastor Amos in the process. Then also how God provided a place to sleep and stay for other teams through us meeting this pastor who we met on our adventure day. I have to say Tamale during ATL was my favorite part of Africa and I believe it was because it taught me more on how to depend on the Lord and not on people. Trusting Him and having faith that he will never abandon us. Our faith is not on men or women but on God.
In more times that I can count Africa has taught me to keep pressing on and not give up in hard times. Though the situation may seem hard and you do not see results, never give up because you just might miss the blessing. Yes Africa was hard for me, but I thank God for the opportunity he gave me to experience life in other ways. I have met wonderful people along the way who through the struggles know how to really love Jesus. They taught me a thing or two of how to be grateful and just trust and love God. Because of him I am where I am now and do not want it any other way. I still have so much to learn and waiting day by day to see what the Lord has.
James: 4. 13. Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16. As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
God is always full of surprises and lessons. With a YES and a positive attitude, I choose to continue this race regardless of what it may look like. Trusting and having faith that He is in control of everything. He is my life and I do not want to see myself without him.
1 John: 5. 11. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
DO NOT GIVE UP AND MISS OUT ON YOUR BLESSING
