Wow! We made it! After plane rides from Atlanta, Georgia, to JFK in New York, JFK to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (where I got to take pictures in front of the tallest building in the world!), and then finally Dubai to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where we’ve been doing a little bit of everything since we arrived! My team, One Pulse, is partnered with another all girls team, Ethereal Flames, and we are doing ministry on a campus called Mission Ephrata.
Mission Ephrata is where 5 out of 8 of the teams of my squad are staying as well, but our two teams are specifically partnered with Pastor Zacharie Adetola, who started this ministry and quite literally built this compound from the ground up, complete with the hotel where we stay, a soccer field, basketball court, small rooms for youth and other groups, two schools, a library, a restaurant, and a large building for church services.
We are the first World Race team to come to the beautiful country of Côte d’Ivoire, so it has been a whirlwind as we’ve figured out how the pastor and staff best wants to use us. So far, we have witnessed a program for 270+ widows, where many were saved, healed, and sent home with food and supplies for their families, an all night prayer service from 9 P.M. to 6 A.M., at which we got to hear multiple speakers, singers, and worship, and we’ve had the privilege of attending many church services. It has been humbling and encouraging to see the way Mission Ephrata intentionally reaches the community through outreach and service. Some of our main ways of helping for this month consist of evangelization with the youth and the new project of organizing and taking inventory of over 25,000 books in a library and book store. We are also super excited for this upcoming Sunday, when we will present to the church who we are, and I will even be giving a short sermon about missions! The following Sundays we will get to visit other branches of the church that have been planted in the area, and we are so looking forward to that.
In our down time, we have really just been able to rest in hammocks, journal, and get to know the many, special individuals and families who work on the compound in lots of capacities. As some of us were hammocking a few days ago, one of the men who works in the restaurant brought his daughter, a precious little girl named Ebenezer, over and plopped her down in an empty hammock across from me. At first, she probably felt a little uneasy in the middle of some strange white girls, but as we laughed and tried to communicate past our French-English language barrier, she slowly but surely felt more and more comfortable with us. The next day, he brought her back to our little hammock village again, and this time she sat with me in mine. It just so happened to be right when I was processing through exactly what it means for God to be our Heavenly Father.
Just like this little girl trusted her daddy to leave her in safe hands, it made me think of a game I used to play with my dad when I was little, too. He would set me on the kitchen counter and then step away. As a little girl, I might as well have been standing on the edge of a cliff, it seemed. At first, I would reach for him to step closer, but over time I learned to jump into his arms without a second thought. I trusted him with every ounce of me, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he would catch me. I would land safely in his arms, we would laugh, and then we would do it all over again.
This experience and the experience for sweet Ebenezer really make me realize how the World Race is my big jump into the arms of my Heavenly Father. Even if the fear is still present sometimes, I can confidently say that our God is more than able to catch me. Even more than that, the Lord is able to provide in every way- as a father, a mother, a friend, a master, and our great beloved. Just like my earthly daddy loves quality time with me, I have found that so often that’s what my Abba wants, too. From me, from you, from every one of His children. Our Creator has been doing his job for a long time, so I believe with all of my heart that He knows what is best.
And right now, His best for me is to keep on jumping and trusting Him over and over again as He directs me in the ways of His goodness and love. I pray that even a little of that goodness and love might flow from me onto the people around me in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, so that they can experience the satisfaction of knowing this Father so well.
Once again, thanks a million to all those supporting me at home. If you’d like to know of some prayer requests, here they are:
-Pray for my team to continue bonding and growing together in unity with one mission and mindset
-Pray for Mission Ephrata and the success of their programs and growth of the church
-Pray for my own personal growth in what God has for me in this place and time as well as physical/emotional/spiritual strength
