Thursday, May 27, 2010

Just some random thoughts

Being here has already made me realize so much. Life here is so simple and seemingly "hard." Howevr, I am finding a simple life brings much joy. I love the life here in Ghana so much. From washing clothes and bathing in buckets to peeing and sleeping outside. Tonight we went visiting with some of the Christians in this Muslim nation to encourage them. They have many hardships and and rejection from their own family, but they all had one thing in common: joy. I have learned that that is one thing no one can take from you. Anther thing i have come to understand is when Paul said he became all things to all people. Now, i understand that may mean sleeping in a hut, washing clothes and bathing in buckets, peeing in the woods, and even roling in the dirt so you will be dirty like them. This is all worth it and i count it all joy...if only one person comes to know Christ. Life is so fragile and short. Im all in. I am betting EVERYTHING on the hope of eternity. I will spend my life for the cause of Christ. Some find it as pure foolishness, but i find it as totally surrendered. Something is wrong if our lives make sense to unbelievers. So, whatver i do may seem crazy, wreckless, and insecure but i am "just a pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the whole world." (Mother Teresa)

Second Week

Monday and Tuesday were days for the college team to get settled in our rooms and rest a little bit. Yesterday we went into the city to shop for food, which was crazy chaos!! lol and fun :) The people here are so friendly. The rest of the week we willl be doing church visitation and helping do the Sunday service because Mustafa is out of town at his brothers funeral. Monday is when we start traveling into the other villages for church planting and discipleship.....oh ad Mustafa and his family are amazing people of God. He is a great missionary who has a passion for seeing people come to Jesus. His wife is also taking great care of us. We are already apart of the family. He has 4 little girls who are full of life and energy! Well until next time, PEACE AND BLESSINGS!!

The first week

WOW! The first week was so amazing! The team from SABC was here. We made a team of 20. During the day we planted chuches, which was an amazing process, and during the evening we had VBS with about 1,000 village children. This was an exciting adventure. Many of the children have stolen my heart already. They are so grateful for just a yarn necklace. This is a Muslim nation so many of their families were of that religion. However, several gave their life over to Christ and decided to make Him Lord of their lives. Thursday we had the opportunity to have a huge baptism service in the river for the ones who decided for follow Christ in the villages. This touched me so much to see these villagers, terrified of the water, trust Jesus and a "white man" to baptize them. They were all lined up so excited. This day was not a day planned to plant any churches, only baptisms. However, God had other plans. Another tribe saw us from across the river so they canoed across the river to see what was going on. After the baptisms, John shared the gospel with these people. They were so excited and wanted to follow Jesus also. So, we had another baptism service after that!! I dont know the exact number of people who decided to follow Christ last week but God knows. It has truly been a humbling experience to be apart of God's great work being done here.

Getting here.

Well we have been here for 11 days now and so much has already happened. It all started with the plane coming over here. We had left New York for about 45 minutes when I saw something suspicious. There was jet fuel coming out of the wings! Then the announcement came on that said we were turning around because we were having a few complications, but not to worry we were safe lol. I just prayed the whole time. I knew our take-off and ride was a little more bumpy than the one to atlanta. So, when we landed, which was prolly the worst land ever, there were tons of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks lined up where we landed! I guess they were expecting us to crash, but God was looking out for us...so we got on another plane and finally made it about 16 hours later. I was thinking to myself that God had a plan for everything. When we arrived, we had to get on buses for another 14 hour ride up in the bush. We stopped at a gas station in the middle of the night and got to share Christ with some people there. God used our plane delays for 6 people to come to Him. The scare was well worth it. We arrived at our destination about 3am safe and blessed.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

4 DAYS!

Wow!! Only four days until we leave. I am getting very excited, I think. I have had only 7 finals, 4 left to go so I have not had much time to think. Brother and Lauren is coming tomorrow night and Mom and Daddy Ralph are coming Thursday morning. They are helping me take care of my "stuff." Thursday is mom's bday so I will be able to celebrate with her before I leave :) Friday we are spending time together, after BJ's graduation, at the beach. I am excited to have a day of relaxation before I leave. Muss, the African pastor we are staying with, set a goal of us planting 40 churches by the end of the summer! God is going to do great things while we are there, things I can not even imagine or comprehend! I am excited to experience God in a whole new, fresh way. I am so willing to do anything He asks me to do. I want to truly be the hands and feet of Christ to glorify the Father and make His name known. The Great Commission is not an option, its our priority! I have chosen to spend my life for the cause of Christ. He deserves nothing less than my lifetime of service for the sacrifice He made for me. I have grown so much this past year and God has taught me the importance of life. The only thing that is eternal here on earth are the souls of people...so why not invest in people, which will last through eternity! I long to see souls saved, lives redeemed, captives set free, and the enemy defeated! God is powerful and capable of anything, thats why I am expecting Him to do great, miraculous, super-natural works in Africa.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Almost there...

Well we have 13 days until we embark on the greatest adventure I have ever been on. God has done some crazy awesome things! He is so faithful and knows our every need. We only have a few things left to do and everything will be taken care of. I am so thankful for everyone who God used to make this trip possible. My prayer team is some wild Jesus lovin prayer warriors!! Thanks yall for your prayers! I will be able to send out updates via email maybe once a week. Well anyway...God has definitely prepared a wonderful team. He has been unifying us and building us as one body. He has great big plans for us!! Well 13 days and I will be serving on African soil...unbelievable