My last day of ministry in Ghana was one of the best days on my race so far. Not because I ate pizza at the pool, or sat with my phone connected to WiFi (although those were some bonuses of this month), but because of a 13 year old girl I encountered.
My team and I were out evangelizing in the same village we had been going out to all month, and I had met some women a few days prior to this day that I had sat and helped cook their dinner with. I told them about guacamole and they had never made it before, so I told them that I would come back on out last ministry day and we would make it together. I was so thrilled but honestly my gut feeling was that they weren’t going to be there. Sure enough, I went to their house and they weren’t there. I was a bit discouraged honestly, but I didn’t want that to negatively impact my last day of ministry in Ghana. I asked the Lord to lead me to someone that needed to know Him.
This is when I met Miriam, a beautiful and kind-hearted 13 year old girl. I was admiring a clay bowl and wooden cooking utensil that many of the people in Ghana use to cook with, when Miriam came and approached me. I asked her what she was doing today, and turns out she was working her mother’s stand and then pointed over towards soapy water buckets full of her clothes that she had to do as well. I felt so much power and independence coming from this beautiful young girl, and I wanted to help her. Not because she asked for it, but because I wanted to hear her story. I knew that this was who the Lord highlighted and wanted me to talk to. It was why the other women weren’t there to make guacamole with me. He had this planned all along and He is so incredible. He shows up. Every time.
Knowing this, I asked Miriam if she wanted some help with her laundry. And so there we were, sitting across from one another with a bucket of clothes and stories to hear and share. She told me about how her dad has been working in Norway for 2 years now, supporting their family back here in Ghana. We told each other our favorite foods, things we don’t like, just sat and talked over that bucket of laundry. I can’t tell you how many amazing things the Lord has done for me while doing my laundry by hand. I haven’t paid to get it washed even when I have the opportunity because I am confident that the Lord will continue to be faithful and provide these random & amazing occurrences.
As our ministry had come to an end that day, I left Miriam feeling both sad & full of joy. Sad to leave her because I just met her on my last day of ministry in Ghana, but so joyful because I got the opportunity to do so. After saying goodbye and praying for her, she walked me over to her mother’s stand and picked up a clay bowl and wooden cooking utensil and handed it to me. Tears instantly filled my eyes and I wrapped my arms around her and just embraced her. She’d noticed me admiring the bowls at her mother’s stand the moment I got there, before I’d even met her, and here she is blessing me with them. I didn’t feel deserving of them, but she did. God did. He used this young girl to show me how loved I am, and I won’t forget sitting in that moment just feeling so worthy & seen.
I noticed a bracelet she had on and told her I really liked it, and she offered to give it to me. I had a bracelet on as well and so I took mine off to trade with her. She said, “now we have something to remember one another by.” A simple reminder when I look down at my wrist to be thankful that the Lord brought Miriam and I together and that He will only continue to do that throughout my journey with Him. This year and the years after that. He continues to be so faithful and I am forever thankful for that.
Thank you Lord,
Adriana
