The time has come...

well, actually I have four more days. Monday is the day that three of us fly out for Ghana.

As this is my "moving date" I have packed up and picked up, ready to move my life to Ghana.
This evening my mom and dad and I finished packing ten footlockers (totaling over a quarter of a ton in weight) and loading them into my mom's minivan. (Minivans are so amazingly versatile in case you didn't know!)

The last two weeks have been filled with everything from goat trainings to cleaning to visiting people, meetings, phone calls, ordering insurance, closing bank accounts, doing fundraisers, planning, trying to make "last" phone calls and communications and choosing what is MOST important and necessary to take to Ghana.

And I am tired! I have been this way for two weeks, super tired. But I cannot sleep and when I do it's not for long! I am excited about what's in store for this ministry for sure but mostly for the hearts that are involved in leadership! In the next two weeks I will see the worlds of both Ghanaians and Americans who have a heart for the Ghanaians to know Jesus, collide!

When I think about what's in store I just see a blank document- an empty sheet of paper...and I'm waiting with eager anticipation for the Lord to fill it.

And when He does I'll make sure I get on here and describe to you guys what it looks like!

Sleep time...zzz

I like words. But I’m not good with them. Here lately I haven’t been able to express myself well. What I feel inside seems impossible to express in words. As I finished reading a book called Kisses from Katie, the author, Katie (a young American woman living in Uganda), had the words.

“Sometimes sadness seems almost unbearable, the problems unsolvable, the wounds un-healable. This has taught me one of the greatest lessons: the tension between inefficiency and faithfulness. The assurance that I must obey and be faithful only to what He has asked of me, even when tangible, earthly results or successes are not seen. I want to help them all, fix all their problems, and successfully find a solution to their horrendous living conditions. But often in an un-ideal situation, there is not an ideal solution this side of heaven. … God assures me this is okay. If I continue to preach the gospel, and more important, live the gospel here – even if outward conditions never change or change very slowly- and these people can live eternally with Jesus in heaven someday, a few years of suffering will pale in comparison.” (Emphasis mine.)

When I read this, my heart was affirmed in my feelings toward Ghana and my expectations beginning March 13^th, but also my feelings here as I say goodbye to friends and family who are hurting.

I’ve questioned God, “How do I say goodbye? (Likely final goodbyes to some of my dear friends in their 80’s and 90’s.) How do share the JOY in the call with family members, (who know I’ll miss the birth of their first child, and graduations, and weddings,) when my own heart experiences grief in knowing this? How can I ‘be there’ for people I love when I’m half a world away? How is it possible to be excited and ready to answer the call and GO and at the same time feel sadness of what I’m leaving behind? Why do I feel guilty when I experience one feeling more than the other?”

With these questions and emotions swirling around inside of me, I have felt like something is wrong. But this morning my Lord affirmed me, that nothing is wrong. This is normal. This is part of what it is to follow Christ.  It’s a bucket, full of roses and manure. It is joy and it is suffering. It is joy in suffering.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:17 & 18

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 1 Corinthians 1:5

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10

Also in her book, Katie writes:

“I have learned along my journey that if I really want to follow Jesus, I will go to the hard places. Being a Christ follower means being acquainted with sorrow. We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it. After all the murder had to take place before the resurrection.

Going into the hard places, entering into the sorrow because He entered for us first and because, by His grace, redemption and beauty are on the other side.”

Well said Katie, well said.

Suffering comes in many shapes and sizes, different intensities and frequencies, but it is never easy.  Even so, there is always a purpose in suffering. Lately I’ve struggled to believe this in faith, but today I see it. It’s true.  The ultimate purpose of suffering is just what Philippians 3:10 shows us. The depth of Philippians 3:10 is what shatters the arguments and persuasions of this world and it is what brings us back to the center of God’s design, His perfect plan. Philippians 3:10 negates the world’s projected value of comfort, inspires the heart to hope, exposes reality in Christ and awakens us to God’s power over illness, heartache, and even death.

This is joy—that I would be honored to share in the sufferings of Christ for His sake and for His glory. I need not compare. These are my sufferings for today. These are the things that are bringing me closer to my Lord and my Comforter. Today I am grateful.

My hope and prayer is that in sorrow, I will cling evermore to Jesus in hope rather than stew in bitterness, resentment, depression and/or anger. Because who can remain complacent in sorrow?

As more people become aware of the mission work in Ghana and throughout the world, discussions have come up with many people in my life as they voice the idea of traveling to Ghana or another third world country. And for many that's all it really is...an idea. 

But there are some in which the "idea" runs deeper, in fact, its the beginnings of a desire... So this post is for those of you who have the desire (or at least the start of it) to travel into a different culture/country.

A few tips:

1) Pray. If you want to go to share Jesus and to make an impact, it all starts and ends with prayer. It's all God's work, by His hand and it takes knowing Him and seeking Him. That's in life. That's in faith. And that's definitely in places that you've never been!

2) If you sense that you may at some point within the next decade go overseas, get a passport. To travel to many places you don't even need a visa. If you DO need a visa, you surely won't want to have to wait for your passport. Be prepared in advance. Get your passport.

3) Pray about your passions and dreams and seek what God wants to do with them. Then be willing to submit to the direction He leads.

4) Research. Where does you mind go when you think of truly serving? Are you drawn to a certain people? What are your passions? Do they involve building in the third world? Evangelize in Asian countries? Playing football in the jungle? Spending time in a post-Christian world, being Jesus?

Whatever your passions are... research them. We get these ideas in our heads of what we want to do and how. If just spend time dreaming, we may struggle more than necessary when faced with reality in that culture. One of my favorite “free-time fillers” is to get onto YouTube and search for videos with keywords relating to the people I work with in Ghana. I always learn something new and usually have a laugh or two, especially when it's white people trying to teach Ghanaian lessons!

Research not just for knowledge but for guidance too. As you learn more about people and their lives, you'll see more of where your heart truly lies. Let's be real. Most of us would love to go and serve in some village and come back and have people pat us on the back for our work. Through the process of getting informed, we learn about the culture at the same time our true motives are revealed to ourselves. And God may open our eyes and spark a new passion or give us clearer direction as we learn more.

5) Pray about the research. Pray over what still lies within your heart. Pray about your motives and ask God to continually teach and lead you.

6) Get involved where you are. You want to go somewhere else and tell them about Jesus? How often do you tell people in your little bubble about the incredible Savior we have that offers Hope to them?? No, I get it, really I do. It is harder to step up, be bold and reach out to those directly around us because ultimately there will be a response, negative or positive, there will be one. Think back to your choice to go somewhere and share Jesus. What drives you to do that? In essence, what is your motive? People need Jesus; Jesus told us to go, so that's why we go to places like West Africa right? What about here at home?

7) Pray that God would give you the same passion and heart of compassion for those around you that you have for people you have never even met in other countries. I didn't realize it until this moment but this is how I first became connected with Ghana. I listened to a youth pastor share about the people of Ghana. The pictures he showed burned in my mind and I began to pray with a passion that they would know Jesus. Sixteen months later I found myself IN Ghana, with these people. And upon my return, God grew my heart for the people of my community. Now, 5 years later, my heart is near exploding with excitement as I await the opportunity to share Jesus this Saturday!

8) Pray about opportunities to support God's work in the place/with the people you have on your heart. Maybe you can give financially. Maybe you can collect items. Definitely you can commit to faithful prayer each day on their behalf. Write encouraging notes. "Share" the cause on your favorite social networks and get the word out. Help others get informed and involved. Hey...why doesn't someone do a "flash-mob" in Ghana with me?!?!?!? Or I can meet you in Romania and we can do it with my friends there!

The recipe is different for everyone. God works in a ba-jillion different ways. These are just some thoughts that come to mind at the moment.

Also, some insights for Ghana are blogs from the past...linked below:

Tso, You must learn the Evegbe

No, You are Doing it Wrong

Made it to Tefle!

Random Facts few will actually appreciate!

More Randomness

Glorious Day

Not Yesterday

Society of "We"

Speaks VOLUMES!

The Kingdom of God belongs to such as These

Insight to Women

Snapshots from Ghana

Knowing

I have a friend who knows me. She can watch my face as I listen to others and she knows what I am thinking and how I'm feeling. She can share words of comfort that I need without me ever voicing the need. The crazy thing is that I've only known her for five years! That's a great friendship there!

Another super awesome friend I have is my sister. She knows me probably better than any other human being and is my best friend in the WHOLE WORLD! May not seem like much to anyone else but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her for the first time in over a month and she said, "Did you dye your hair?" almost immediately after she saw me. Now I posted on my blog about my hair color and although I did dye it, it's so close to my natural hair color that no one has noticed the difference. My sister did! AND I had my eyebrows done and the lady put some powder on them to darken them up. My sister asked if I dyed my eyebrows too. I'm pretty sure no one else would notice this except her! It made me feel good to notice this and see how close we still can be.


But there is One who knows me better. Now I've read in Genesis, the Psalms and other places about how God knows us. Sometimes I wonder what these passages mean but most of the time I chalk them up as one of those things I'll never understand. Only, God doesn't let me stay there. He does something. Something to show how much He knows me. Something that reaches so deep within me that I can do nothing but stand in awe of Him and who He is. Something that increases my awareness of Him, my longing to draw near to Him, and my desire to share Him.


Its a sweet thing to have people who know you...who really know you...and love you anyway! There is no greater love than this, that One lay His life down for His friends.


Jesus knows us. And He loves us anyway!