Arriving in Ghana, we were greeted by lots of bustling hustlers but thankfully we were picked up by the driver of the church where we were ministering for our 10 day visit. Driving out and on to the streets, I was blessed with something I often long for - seeing something for the very first time. Seeing something, particularly a place, for the very first time. I often long for that experience and there I was, in the midst of an answered wonder - praise Yeshua.
During our stay at the church overseer's house, I met a little baby named Emmanuela. I am not particularly fond of babies, partly because I have not had any experience with them and partly because I dont have children of my own. One morning however, I walked in to the kitchen for breakfast and the daughter of the house Debbie was holding this 4 month old bundle in her arms. I looked over at this scene, smiled and said oh she is cute! Debbie immediately asked "do you want to hold her?" and without waiting for my reply, she thrust Emmanuela in to my arms and there I was. I must have looked really awkward because I felt awkward and strange, like I was Baby in dirty dancing carrying a watermelon. But Emmanuela was so calm and so happy, that she was like easing me in to this whole baby ordeal. The next day I was standing outside on the veranda when Debbie came again with Emmanuela. The local women in Ghana carry their babies on their backs and I asked "can I carry Em on my back?" Now this really enthralled the family and swiftly they were tying a scarf around my back and little Em was merrily enjoying her ride. What a joy!! Everyone came outside and was clicking away on their camera's, even the passers in the street downstairs were looking up at this crazy white lady trying to carry a baby on her back. Needless to say, I became quite attached to her, as she literally fell asleep on my back and over the 10 days stay I played with her and just watched her sleep away. She is such a good bambino and such a bundle of joy!
One of the other highlights on the trip for me, was preaching at the women's monthly meeting of local churches in the city. I was invited as the guest speaker and God gave me an amazing message to share. I just love our King. As I stood among the hundreds of ladies who had gathered together (they all wore white as a symbol of unity) I just stood up and cried. The Holy Spirit led me to speak about slavery and then to get in to the message of shame. The message of Hagar and how deeply God sees us. The evening was deep beyond words and at the altar call, women came forward for personal prayer and blessing. I am so humbled at what I learned from the women of Ghana. They are so strong and so beautiful. They are a people of honour and of worth. I must add that Ghana is making headways in the area of gender equality, I met some amazing female pastors who disciple men and who lead congregations. The new generation of women are getting education even university degrees, whereas in the years gone by, education was reserved for the very wealthy.
I met some really amazing people in Ghana, I love the young people I had the privilege of bonding with. The young people are hungry for God, they have a fire to change the nation and the world for Yeshua. They are unafraid and many of them are doing radical things for Messiah. God really blessed my husband and I because we lived for 10 days with the people of Ghana, we were accepted and we were gathered in, we became family and we became one in Messiah. We held hands to pray, we exchanged gifts and life stories. We exchanged blessings and words of encouragement and we exchanged the Love of God for one another.
This trip was ordained from the beginning of time and I am so thankful that Father took us to Ghana and changed us through our experience. It is a joy to be on the mission field, to be fulfilling the great commission, to be encouraging and loving and being loved and being changed by the Gracious King. These are just small highlights from a very big trip and I am including a picture of myself and a precious daughter of Ghana named Rejoice. On our last Sunday at the central church, I heard Father tell me to take along a purple scarf with me to church. As I sat in the chair I saw the worship group on the stage and my eye fell on a girl in purple. I waited till after the service until eventually I found the girl in purple. I cannot tell you what happened in those moments but I can tell you that Rejoice is one of the most beautiful young ladies I have ever met and I want to honour her in her calling and in her gifting, to be all she can be for the King by putting up a picture of us together after the service.
Nyame Shrow! May God bless you!
Our church makes frequent trips to Ghana to minister and help with building projects. I love Ghana and the beautiful people there! I'm next to you at SDG.
ReplyDeleteHa! I do love how much you enjoyed your unexpected time with Emmanuela! What a joy to have so much time to get to know her!
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