October...what a month!

These past 3 weeks have been crazy! 2 weeks with the short term team and a super busy week last week with Claire and Michael out of town! Here’s the update on ALL of it:

The two weeks that Margaret and I spent with the short term team were great. I really appreciate y’all’s prayers. I sure did need them! I can’t tell you how many times Margaret and I said, “it is so interesting being on this side of a short term team.” (Meaning the receiving end that is.) It was good and hard all at the same time. It was good because it is so neat to have people give up their time to come serve in Ghana. This team was a mix of people from 4 churches in Georgia…both white and black Americans. God is moving in America and bridging racial barriers…it was so neat to watch that in this team! And I loved hearing the black Americans’ perspectives on everything here. It’s much different to visit this country as a white man than as a man of African descent…their ancestors could have come from this very place! But it was also hard and challenging learning how to host a team.

(Preface: Margaret was our photographer and I haven't gotten the pictures from her yet so I only have a couple...I'll get some from her soon and put more pictures up soon as long as the internet cooperates.) :)

Our trip began in Kumasi. It was SO GOOD to see my sweet friends in Kumasi (friends from my time there in 2003). It was like I had never left—we picked up right where we left off. (Except a few of them are now married with babies and the “kids” that used to come to Bible Club are now young adults!) I’m so sad that I didn’t take any pictures with them. But I will next time I go up there. While we were there, I got a good taste of the life of Claire Mozley…there was a constant stream of problems to tackle and people to take care of. The Mozley family’s ministry has helped and encouraged so many people in Kumasi and all those people know they can count on Claire to help them when they need it. And I was Claire’s representative, so I did a lot of praying with kids, meeting with them, and figuring out how we could get them into school and how it could be paid for. The team led Bible Club (the ministry Claire started about 6 years ago for the kids in their neighborhood…it’s so neat to see how it has kept going even now that the Mozleys are in Accra), they helped build a house for an orphaned boy who has legally changed his name to Abraham Mozley, and they spoke at a local church. We also enjoyed a site-seeing day in the local market (the largest open air market in West Africa) and some souvenir shopping.

After Kumasi, we traveled up through Tamale where we spent one night (we had a nice dinner with the Bishop of Northern Ghana who is a fantastic man…he taught us about the struggles of northern pastors…bad education for their kids, rented housing, and unreliable pay). And then it was on to Navrongo to work with Pastor Lawrence Beka. He is a wonderful man of God who has poured his life into the unreached areas in the northern part of Ghana. This guy has so much on his plate…pastoring multiple churches, teaching at a local university, taking care of the children in his churches, and of course his own family. We helped do some work on his new house that is being built. (A few members of the team worked on it last year too and were amazed at the progress and were glad to renew relationships with the people there.) Our first night in Navrongo was a Saturday and we went to one of Lawrence’s church’s camp meeting. (And when they say camp meeting here, they aren’t kidding…the people really slept there at the church on the ground. And then woke up at 4:30 for morning devotions before church!) Saturday night, Lawrence showed them the Jesus film in their own language (it is one of the smaller tribal languages). And praise the Lord!! Many people came forward to accept Jesus’ invitation of salvation. It was so exciting! And we got to stand around them and pray together with Lawrence for them. How awesome is that? In a rural village just inside the 10/40 window, we were able to pray with and for people as they gave their lives to Jesus!

God was in the huge things there at the camp meeting, but He was also working in small ways. Almost as soon as we arrived, a little girl named Rhoda attached herself to me and of course I did not object! She was the cutest thing ever. Dancing and clapping with the worship music (which was unlike any I had ever heard before…it’s thrilling to hear other cultures praise the Lord in the way that He designed them to!) Rhoda spent all night holding my hand (even when I went up front to introduce the team) and on my lap during the Jesus film. She was so tired…kept nodding off. I wish you could have seen her sweet face in person. But pictures will have to do. God continued to bless me the next morning when we returned to the same church for Sunday morning service. It was so cute when I caught Rhoda’s eye. Her little face lit up. After the worship, I was able to help out with the Sunday school class and just sit back and watch their normal activities. Another team member and I taught them new songs, gave them little metal crosses, and prayed for them. (Of course my cute Rhoda was in Sunday school too.) That morning was special for that team member and for me…to be able to minister to those kids was incredible. And I got these great pictures of me and Rhoda. Oh, and did I mention that Rhoda and her family rode home on the bus with us? God just used this sweet little girl to bless me and to remind me of why I am here…and why I’m not in Marietta or Honolulu.

Those were the major highlights of the trip for me. There was TONS more traveling…we probably logged between 35 and 40 hours on the van/bus. We were tourists for a few days at the game park, the rainforest, and at the beach. And Margaret and I learned a ton about hosting a short term team and leadership in general. The team was so patient with us as we just felt our way through the issues that came up. And we learned a lot from them.

The hard part about hosting a team is the crash after they leave. We were physically and emotionally exhausted. And then the homesickness hit. We had been in “American” culture for 2 weeks with them…talking about SEC football, restaurants, highways, churches, and sharing American candy. And then all 10 of them got on a plane and went home. And we are still here. They’re back with their families in their beds eating at their favorite restaurants worshipping at their home churches. And we’re here. So it was a hard transition back into our lives here. This is my first real battle with homesickness, so I’m learning how to work through it. It ain’t fun. Margaret and I had a good cry together the other night talking about this. I’m so grateful for her! She spent all week with us last week because Claire and Michael were both out of town and Margaret and I were co-moms. It was fun to have her with us all week. We watched a lot of Gilmore Girls dvds. (Which you know I loved!) She even threw me a really fun birthday party the Sunday after we got home from the team trip. (Such a good friend!) It was really fun to have a bunch of people over for good food and fun games. We played an intense game of spoons.

This past weekend, Margaret and I and our friend Jimmy and Stephanie (a young married couple that teaches at AIS) went to the beach. A vacation!! It was fabulous. We had Monday off of school, so we went from Saturday to Monday. It was a MUCH needed rest…after traveling for 2 weeks with the team and then being teacher and co-mom. It was beautiful!! Practically perfect! Great weather, beautiful beach, good food, fun friends. And rest. Lots of rest. I didn’t take any work with me at all! Just a good book (Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell…read it!) and my Bible. God used this time to remind me of what He’s doing in my life right now…that He has a great purpose for me here. It was such a refreshing reminder and such perfect timing. Right now, when I’m homesick and I just want to get on a plane, God reminds me that He has a plan for me here. He is so good! I’m not saying that in one instant all my homesickness is cured. I still have to keep reminding myself that God has a purpose and plan here. I’ll let you know how this process goes. In the meantime you can pray!

So there is the update. I’m sorry it has taken so long. The internet has been irritable and unreliable lately. Know that I miss you all so much and I really appreciate your prayers and encouragement!! (I think I say that every time…but it’s so true!) I could not be here without you!!

And by the way, Maragaret has some other pictures on her flickr site (there is a link on her blog). She was in charge of pictures, so I didn't end up with many cause I just relied on her to take them. :)

And a quick shout out to my sweet Jenny Jenkins who will be WED THIS WEEKEND! Here comes Mrs. Cain! I love you and I wish I could be there!

Caroline, hope you're happy now. :)