Reflections

Well, I wrote this on the airport coming to HK, so it's a bit old, but oh well...

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while as I left Ghana about 2 ½ weeks ago already, but being home the time just snuck away from me and I didn’t take the time to write. But New Year always brings reflections on the past year and projections for the future, so here goes…

First, a big thank you to all of you who’ve kept up with me throughout the last year and a half as I was in Ghana. Your prayers, support, notes, love, and financial gifts kept me going!

When I think about my time in Ghana, the one thing that sticks out the most is how little it matched my expectations. In fact, if I had to choose a theme verse, Proverbs 19:21 would be a good one: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

It seems from day one that anything I planned—whether it was an in-service for the teachers or an activity for the kids—crashed and burned in some way or another. At first it was extremely frustrating for plans to constantly change and for my plans, hopes, and ideas to not pan out. And honestly, there were times toward the end where it still was frustrating, but overall, I learned that it’s not at all about what I accomplished while I was there. In fact, it wasn’t about me saving the poor children of Africa. No, it was so much more than that.

It was about God showing me more clearly how He saved me and how He loves me unconditionally. I learned firsthand what it means to forgive and love even when it doesn’t seem to be reciprocated.

It was about God showing me that obedience is what counts. He doesn’t measure our success in the same way the world does. He wants us simply to obey. I was so blessed this year by so many of you who supported me.

I learned that it was more about the small moments. I cannot change the world, and that was frustrating. Many times the things I witnessed hurt. A lot. But the good news is that I could give hugs, bring smiles, encourage students, and hopefully instill hope in these kids… hope that there is a God who loves them and no matter what this life brings them, there is eternal hope in a life spent with him for those who believe.

In a VERY small nutshell, there are my thoughts!