51 hours. Three different flights. Around 25 hours in layovers. And many more waiting around for enough taxis to fit 50 people. This was just the beginning of the adventure that was before us all.
Landing in Cote d’Ivoire was like a dream. Each of us had been waiting for this moment for so long. We each applied at different times, but we all had an idea of what it would be like when our feet actually touched African soil. Some of us, like me, have had a taste for it before and had been itching to go back. What I didn’t realize before though was how crazy it actually was to transport 50+ people at a time across the country. Something no one was used to, but had to adjust to quickly. Another thing I needed to program my brain to do, which I still remind myself of daily, is African time. Africans are the most relaxed people I have ever met. Just yesterday, as a group of us were waiting for transportation and seeming in a rush he said, “We are prince and princesses, we will wait with grace.”
Our first night was filled with wonder and excitement about what we could possibly be doing for our ministry. It was also going to be a good month because we were blessed with rooms for each of our teams with beds! Its really the little things.
Our very first day of ministry started the day after we got there. Pastor Zacharie, the pastor of Mission Ephrata and who we will be working with all month along with another team, has a yearly tradition on his birthday. Each year he hosts an event to help the less fortunate. This year he invited widowed women to come, hear a message, be healed, and walk away with a bag of rice and some reading material. Around 270 women showed up and nearly all of them stood up wanting to give their lives to God. It was an extraordinary sight for our first day there. God truly did show up. After the event wasdone, some of the women stayed for a while and we decided to have an african dance party. Ive never smiled so big. I went to bed that night knowing God had big plans for not only our teams this month but for this church.
The next day was even more eye opening. We were invited to participate in an all night service from 9pm-5am full of worship, prayer, and multiple messages. We pushed through the exhaustion from not only staying up all night but also still trying to adjust to the time difference. Their native language is french and they had an english interpreter for us. Even though we didn’t understand half of what was spoke that night, it was hard to keep up with the interpreter, I feel like each of us walked away with something more than they walked in with. I was able to work on my prayer life and become comfortable with speaking out loud. It also opened our hearts up to the new ways of life we were going to be experiencing these next few weeks.
The next few days were just as full and exhausting as the first few but we were experiencing so much it almost didn’t matter. We were apart of a program that made us think about why we want to get married, why we should, and why God wants us too. My mom might luck out after all and I just may come home with a husband! (Just kidding!). We started attending the youth service as well as regular service and found out during we would be guests at a wedding! I had seen many weddings is Africa from afar, so it was great to actually be up close. We started doing weekly evangelisms with the youth. We split up and walked around the community asking people if they knew God and inviting them to church on Sundays. I got to pray for a young girl who had no idea who God was and struggled with her appearance. This was the first time many of us had done street evangelism and it took us completely out of our comfort zones, but also reminded us how amazing God is.
The rest of our month is pretty planned out. We started working on the library in the compound we live. We have sorted, inventoried, and logged over 24,000+ books so far. Each day we will be doing a few hours in there. Once we are done with inventory we will then organize the books by category. We will also continue to work with the youth and do street evangelism with them once each week. Lastly, we have divided into groups and two people will be preaching a message at our home church here, and four more in two churches Mission Ephrata supports. God had placed a calling on my heart to speak, and it looks like that may be happening by the end of this month.
My team, OnePulse, has been doing a lot of work on ourselves personally thus far as well. Each of us walked into this journey not knowing each other on a personal level and also not sure how we fit. Luckily, that all has changed. We made it a mission of ours to become a team. To fully say yes to each other and work on lasting relationships. We wanted to be a team that did life together not just right along side each other. I love each and every single one of these women. We break out in song almost daily and all seem to have a book recommendation for every situation. We have stayed up late sharing stories that made us cry for either sadness or tears of laughter, we are honest with each other even if it hurts, we give each other feedback daily, and we pass no judgement. We have become a safe place for each of us to come to in a time of need.
Morgan, our leader, shows us that even though she is the leader she is an equal to this team. She is full of grace and is beautiful on the inside and out. Teagan, is full of joy and makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. She is always down to try new things and gets addicted to card games fast. Amy, she can be quite sometimes but she has so much spunk. She is constantly smiling and always brings a positive attitude to any situation. Geneva, she has the smallest voice but man is she fierce. She has a passion for getting to know each of us and hates missing team time! Bri, miss bible gateway herself. Anytime one of us needs a bible verse and cant remember where it is, she has it. She gives the best prayers and has the kindest heart.
Its only been 13 days and I can already see God moving all around me. He is moving in the church we are serving and he is moving in each of us. These next 11 months are going to be hard and i’m going to be stretched beyond belief. Im excited and scared for this person God is molding me to be. Stay tuned for more adventures…
Prayer requests:
> Côte d’Ivoire as a whole.
> Mission Ephrata: Pastor Zacharie, the youth, and the growth of this church.
> Evangelism program
> Fatima, the girl I prayed for on the street. Pray for her salvation and for her to find the beauty in herself.
> Ministry work I’ll be doing the rest of the month
> My team and my squad
> Teagan’s brother Trey, he is blind in his left eye. He has been blind for many years now, but Teagan felt this overwhelming sense to pray for him since training camp. We have been praying every night for healing. ITS GOING TO HAPPEN!
My love for chocolate croissants is reallllll.
Adventure day with these ladies! God has placed us together once agin in Ghana as well!
This is Germoin. On August 20th, he gave his life to the Lord. I am so blessed to have been apart of this moment. Please keep him in your prayers.
