I’m on the World Race….sometimes I forget that….Sitting here typing I hear the sound of goats, car horns, my teammates laughing, & chickens clucking. The sun is shining through the window & a cool breeze comes in through the screen.
I am now in Cape Coast, Ghana. I’ve been in Africa for more than a month & it’s amazing to me how this new way of life has become ‘normal’.
As I said in my last post, I love structure. Therefore, changing countries & ministries each month was something I wasn’t sure I would handle well.
After spending a month in a place you start to get comfortable.
Norms are established with the people you’re living with, there’s routine, you somewhat know what to expect, & you don’t feel as out of place. However, with this sense of ‘comfortability’ I caught myself depending on Tanna instead of the Lord. I know the Lord is going to use the transition process each month to remind me how much I need to depend on Him for everything, & I am thankful for this.
Often times I need to learn a lesson more than once 🙂
To update you all on what’s occurring in Ghana this month I thought it would be fun to list few differences between our month in Cote d’Ivoire & our first week & a half in Ghana.
- Our team is working alone this month with Hoops Care International. The remaining teams from our squad are in other cities in Ghana, & we will meet with them before traveling to Nepal.
- Last month we prepared our own breakfast & lunch utilizing a refrigerator & a kettle. This month we have someone preparing lunch & dinner for us.
- Our ministry host, Claudius, talked about a schedule with us the first night we arrived. You can imagine my surprise at the structure that was presented! Last month I worked on surrendering my expectations & desire for structure, & this month I was given a schedule on night one.
- While not every day looks the same we do have a fairly consistent routine. After breakfast we spend time discussing a chapter in the book of John. I have really enjoyed this time each morning because I love seeing how the Lord points out different verses to each of us. We are all reading the same Word, but the Lord is teaching each of us something different. The rest of our morning has been spent doing school visits, evangelism, & construction at a local school. We also spent one morning handing out & hanging up a few mosquito nets for families. Future tasks our mornings may hold include: hospital visits, community outreach events, & physical education programs in schools. We typically have a break in the afternoon before heading to the basketball court.
- English is the official language of Ghana so our communication & ability to share the Gospel without a translator is more possible than it was in Cote d’Ivoire.
- This is a silly difference, but the sun didn’t shine much in Cote d’Ivoire as the rainy season had just finished. Here in Ghana there have been many sunny days, & I seem to forget it’s the middle of September with 40 degree temperatures in my home state!
- I’m thankful for the chance to walk around Cape Coast as this is the way we get most places. Last month we typically took taxis, so I’ve enjoyed being able to walk around the city & start to become familiar with where everything is.
- One of my favorite parts of this month is the relationships we are building with the people in the community. Not only are we recognizing people when we are out walking, but we are able to build relationships with the kids that come to play basketball in the evenings. After warmups we typically have discipleship time. We break into small groups with the kids & discuss various topics. Even though this time only last 15-20 minutes, I’m confident the Lord is working through it!
It’s a privilege to be able to serve here, & I’m thankful for what we are seeing the Lord do in this place. I want to thank all of you again for your prayers. We serve a faithful God who is protecting us daily & providing for our every need!
