Our time in Côte D’Ivoire is squarely behind us now, and if you are wondering where I’m at mentally now that it’s over let me try to explain here.
Côte d’Ivoire will go down as my hardest month on the race so far, but it will probably remain one of the most incredible months of my life. The reasons it was hard had nothing to do with my living situation or the food or the way we showered. By in large, physically we were very comfortable and very well taken care of—probably too well.
The challenges of the month we faced had to do with navigating translators who didn’t really translate, breeding misunderstanding and frustration. (Thankfully we were blessed with a new one who was a great deal better.)
They had to do with learning each other as a new team and navigating 5 strong personalities in a tiny space, with many eyes always watching us.
It had to do with battling sickness in an uncomfortable place, and learning how to fight for space and time alone.
It had to do with learning how to preach and share the gospel in a land that is wholly different than what we were used to.
And it had to do with fighting homesickness and a lack of connection to the people I’m used to leaning on at home.
It had to do with hurt pride, and unanswered emails that never received a response.
God taught me a lot in the midst of personal battles over the month, and it was an incredible month where I know he used me to reach and love the people we were called to serve. We saw people accept Christ or come to church for the first time. We prayed for the sick and saw healing. We danced and laughed with and washed the feet of the women who served us. We got to baptize 11 people in the river. It was a month full of joy and despite the personal battles, frustrations and heartaches among our team God still used us more than we could have imagined. I know when I look back on the month I won’t see what I did for the Lord but what he did through me despite my inadequacy.
So God left me with a lot of lessons for the month, as an individual, as a leader and as a Christian. I’m walking pretty firmly in them now as our time in Ghana has begun. The month already looks vastly different, from our living situation to the language we speak (nearly everyone speaks English in Ghana). But as I look back on my year and on my first half of the race and I think about how I want to shape 2018, the end of my race and ultimately my life, I’m praying mostly for remembrance.
As we left our last team in Nicaragua, our leaders asked us to metaphorically choose a word to act as a stone, an Ebenezer, a stone of remembrance and a reminder of God’s help, faithfulness and a reminder to myself—much like Samuel did in the Bible. (1 Samuel 7:13-14). Côte d’Ivoire will forever be that to me for, my Ebenezer stone for 2017, a reminder on this journey we call life.
