Akwaaba! Welcome!
This month we are in Ghana and our ministry is CORM, City of Refuge Ministry. Website: cityofrefugeoutreach.org
Each month is a new place, new ministry, new feelings, new home, new people, new vision, new way of seeing our Father.
From day one of month two, in Ghana, I have felt peace. CORM is in the middle of the bush of Ghana. During the light of day you can see untouched land, mountains in all directions, in the distance there are electric lines running from one big city to another, storm clouds rolling by, children playing and laughing, roads with no end and clothes lines with backpacks hanging to dry. During the night you can see the moon and thousands of stars shining brightly and boldly. This place stole my heart right out of the gate.
From the contagious smiles and laughter of the children to the “to die for” food, this place knew the way to my heart. And to an even greater surprise, the passion and vision of CORM aligns very closely with what I hold near and dear to my heart.
CORM is an organization with vision and God’s fingerprints all over it. Johnbull and Stacy Omorefe are the founders and vision casters behind City Of Refuge Ministry. They felt it laid on their hearts to come to Ghana and that God would provide land. Specifically 20 acres of land. After a drive to who knew where, Johnbull came up on Doyrumu, and said it looks like there is land here. Little did he know to get land here you have to get the 8 chiefs to agree to give it to you. Not an easy task, since to this day they agree on nothing. However, God had a plan and the chiefs agreed and the land was his.
A very large injustice in Ghana is human trafficking. I know many of us instantly associate that with sex trafficking, and while sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking it isn’t the only one. Many boys in Ghana are sold to fishermen on Lake Volta. They are often sold to family members with bad intentions. The fishermen will come to the villages they grew up in and ask women if they would give them their sons. Promising to give the mother some of the fishing profit, teach their son a trade and return him in 5 or so years. Unfortunately, the women trust these fishermen, and they take advantage of the mothers who are unable to read what the contract they are signing really says- that they will receive little or no money and most likely never see their child again.
City of Refuge Ministry is many things. It is the home of Johnbull and Stacy and their 7 children, 4 adopted. It is the home to boys and girls rescued out of human trafficking with no other family to which they can go back. It is a place of career building and skills teaching for single mothers to provide for their families. It is the place of a private Christian school, many of the kids attending on sponsorship. This is a place of vision- with a medical center, a senior high school, new church and prayer and recording center being built as the Lord provides. This is a place of God.
This place holds a piece of my heart.
Ministry this month: Monday through Friday we are at the school. I assist the KG2, or kindergarten, teacher. Her name is Madame Jennifer and I aspire to be like her! She is amazing and loves her kiddos with the love of the Lord. In the evenings we help with homework, play with kiddos and just have time to be intentional with those around us. On Fridays we also evangelize in the surrounding communities/villages. This has been incredibly powerful so far, and the Holy Spirit definitely has a plan far greater than ours in it. Saturday is our off day, and we went to Accra and plan on going to Cape Coast for a weekend and also hiking a mountain another. Sunday is of course church. I have fallen in love with the church services here and cry every time (tears of sadness and joy). It is honestly such a powerful, moving experience for me, and I don’t mind the dancing with kids during worship either 🙂
Prayer Requests:
1. For the teacher (Madame Jennifer), teacher assistant (Madame Elizabeth) and children in the KG2 (kindergarten) classroom I have been helping in this month to feel the love of Christ, and be excited to learn and grow. And that I may be able to best serve my teacher.
2. Prayers for the children being trafficked and the rescue of those kids. Prayers for restoration and awareness here in Ghana.
3. For the hearts of the men of Ghana, that they would have kind and gentle hearts, hearts of the Lord. That they would lead their families well and not through violence and control.
4. For the young girls. Lord, I pray, and ask that you all join me in praying for the history around rituals of maturity. Lord, for that history can be changed and that the people of the villages would hear you say that to them. Lord, I pray that the young girls would not have to experience the maturity rituals of the past any longer, Father. Amen.
5. For Trey’s left eye to be healed and his vision restored
6. To continue to lean into the pain and brokenness with the Lord, trusting Him and letting go of my false identity.
7. For all of you to experience the goodness of the Lord in your daily lives and seek after Him.
Prayers that were ANSWERED:
1. The Lord is really helping me be emotionally vulnerable in my daily life, abandoning some of the strength I felt I needed. I am so thankful for this and your prayers.
2. To open my eyes to see what the Lord sees and to break my heart for what breaks His.
3. People everywhere are praying over Trey’s eye! This blows my mind and is incredible, keep up those prayers 🙂
4. I have had supernatural energy for the lack of sleep that I am getting, so I am very thankful for that. Keeping up with the kiddos is no easy task. Teachers out there, you AMAZE me!!!
5. I AM FULLY FUNDED! God is so good and I am so thankful for His provision through all of you.
