Well it’s high time that I sat down and let you guys have an update of what has been going on with me since you last heard from me. I apologize that it has been so overdue. You last heard from me in Peru. From Peru we headed to West Africa and we have now been here for about 9 weeks. We spent 4 weeks in Cote d’Ivoire also known as the Ivory Coast. We have now been in Ghana for about 5 weeks. We will be leaving here in about 10 days or so to head to Burkina Faso, where we will stay for around 2 weeks.
On the way to Africa:
We left Trujillo, Peru on a Wednesday and headed by van to Lima. After much speculation and many worries due to the recent flooding and all the subsequent damage, we left. We ended up arriving with no complications at all and way earlier than expected. We settled into our hostel and spent 2 days in Lima. We flew out of Lima and into Madrid, Spain. We ended up having a 30 hour layover in Madrid, so we were able to spend a day exploring Madrid. It was a wonderful and unexpected adventure. We flew out of Madrid and into Rome (we didn’t even get off the plane here, unfortunately). We then flew from Rome into Ethiopia (we didn’t leave the airport) and then from Ethiopia into Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. We stayed there in Abidjan for a few days as a squad and then we split into our teams and headed to our ministry locations. All in all, we were traveling for about 9 days.
Cote d’Ivoire:
Kindred Bow (my team) was sent about 7 hours away to a small town called Gagnoa. In Gagnoa, we partnered with a woman who works for YWAM Africa. She connected us to a team of pastors who all pastor churches around that area. I think in all there were about 13 pastors. Every day of the week we would visit these various churches and preach there. We split up into pairs and went to multiple churches each weekday evening. We were able to preach and pray and sing at so many churches that month. It was amazing and God definitely worked many miracles. Our team enjoyed time together during the days and then time spent at churches in the evenings. We spent a lot of time sitting under a mango tree, hanging out, eating lunch, and laughing hard. It was a great final month spent as a team.
Debrief:
We started out our time in Ghana at an all-squad debrief. During this debrief, our wonderful squad coaches, Ruth and Phil, and our wonderful squad mentor, Stacy, came out to spend time with us as a squad and to help facilitate team changes! We spend time having one-on-ones with them and our squad leaders, and in sessions learning some of the wisdom that God has given them in regards to our squad. It was a wonderful time and we switched teams! This means that all of teams basically get scrambled and team leaders change! So Kindred Bow said a bittersweet goodbye as a team. We reflected on all we did and how we grew as a team, and also as individuals. And then we switched teams. I am now a part of a team called Awaken. Our desire is to be used to awaken people to new life in Christ, for “dry bones to be awakened.” My team members are Shakila, Denae, Dara, Johnny, Josh, and Trevor. Denae is our team leader and Shakila is our treasurer. Another thing that happened at debrief is that we were told that this month in Ghana would be another all-squad month. You may remember that we had an all-squad month in Ecuador and typically a squad only gets one all-squad month together. But God ordained us to be together again and so we headed off to Sunyani, Ghana to spend a month together.
Ghana:
We have now been in Ghana for going on 5 weeks. We are partnered with a large church here called Elim City. They are a missions-based church and it has been amazing to hear all the ways that they have been reaching out to the world from right here in Africa. We have spent most of our time evangelizing to the people here in Sunyani. Not only does Elim City have a big heart for the world, but they believe that God can transform the entire city of Sunyani. So we spend our mornings and our late afternoons evangelizing around the city and inviting them to Elim City Church. We have witnessed so much and it has been amazing. People have been healed, muslims have converted, and non-believers have entered into new life here. God has been working. Unfortunately, the enemy has been working hard in Africa too and many of us have contracted malaria (myself included). I am planning on sharing some more of my personal malaria story with you soon. At the last count, 26 people have been diagnosed with malaria since we arrived in Africa and many have also/or have had typhoid, parasites, and infections. This month has been a huge blessing though, being able to spend it together and having such great accommodations have been wonderful for all of us who have been ill.
The end:
I apologize if this blog seemed scattered to you or too long. I wanted to share with you some ways that God has used us and just keep you informed after such a long absence. I have some more blogs planned soon, so it won’t take 6 weeks for another update, I promise! I am going to include some prayer requests, please, please, please join me in praying over these things. God is working and I want you to be a part of it! Thank you for reading this all. I am so thankful for your desire to be involved with my journey.
Prayer is powerful:
The malaria to be GONE and ALL sickness to leave.
For the remainder of my fundraising amount ($3,150) to be provided. (And for the entire squad to become fully-funded).
The time we will be spending in Burkina Faso. (from the 20th-4th)
The remainder of our time in Ghana to be fruitful.
Continued growth personally, as a squad, and as a team.
For our new raised-up squad leaders (Faith, Austin, Megan, and Luis) !!!
THANK YOU ALL! Please know I am praying over all of you as well.
p.s. If there are a ton of grammatical errors, please forgive me for that as well. I am doing this very quickly while I have internet available.
