This trip was my sixth mission trip and my second time to Ghana. I went last year and cried like a baby when I had to leave. Last year was interesting, though. I had done mission trips several different times, but none had affected me like last year's. God moved in my heart like no other time before. Last year, I made a lot of changes in my life and in my heart as a result of the trip.
This year, I went in to this trip the most unprepared I had ever been. I am an organizer, a type A, list kind of person. You would have never known that on this trip. I left so many important things at home, I didn't even finish packing until just before leaving for the airport, I was more concerned about my snacks (which is REALLY important, okay?), I didn't plan my devotional or my Bible story lessons until the trip was several days in, etc. You get the point.
And here's the thing. This trip was awesomely amazing, maybe even more so than last year. But not really because of the schools or the kids. They were so sweet and amazing, but my team is what made this trip amazing. Eleven of us went on this trip. Three of us had gone to Ghana last year, but half the team had never been on a mission trip before, much less out of the country.
But it didn't matter. Because my team got along famously, they were all such troopers, we all bonded and shared our hearts (and other things ;) ), and just served each other and the Lord.
My aunt led this trip and she did something new- we each had to share our story, in addition to our devotional. We could be as specific or as vague as we wanted, but I quickly saw how real and how honest we all got. I was so moved to see teenagers pouring into and encouraging other teenagers and grown men being 100% raw and vulnerable.
While we were traveling one day, I was listening to a Matt Chandler podcast. He said a few things that just spoke to me. It summed up our team and what I was learning from this trip.
The entire Christian life from beginning to end is marked by confession and repentance and if you get away from an open, honest, this is where I am type of relationship with other believers and instead find yourself pretending or wearing the clothes of someone who has it all together you rob yourself of the ability for the body of Christ to be what he is meant to be and that is, at times, the tangible experience of God's grace and mercy for you.
What we must learn to exercise week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out, whether obedience feels like breathing air or obedience feels like a full out assault on our hopes and dreams, is an openness and authenticity to say I'm in trouble, I'm jammed up, I'm frustrated, I'm angry, I'm lonely, I've been reading my Bible, I can't remember the last time the Lord spoke to me through Hid word, I'm praying and I don't feel like anyone's listening to me but the cat. And I need to repent for owning a cat.
Y'all, this is the truth. Minus the cat thing, because you should never repent for owning a cat! But for real. It took me forever, yeaaaaars, to learn to open up and be real and show that I don't have it all under control. And I still have a hard time with sharing some things- I don't mean surface things, I mean matters of the heart.
Seeing these people, most of whom I had just met a month prior, be this real and authentic, well, that's what just amazed me. That's where I saw God, that's what God was showing me while I was in Ghana this past year.
So now get ready for a photo dump!
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| A little side note about this picture- women are supposed to wear hair coverings in the churches in Ghana. So my friend Raeshelle and I completely covered our hair with scarves because we forgot bandanas. My aunt busted out laughing at us and told us we looked gypsy bikers. Not really the look we were going for, you know? |
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| Our van overheated in the middle of traffic (BTW- Accra traffic is no joke. What a mess). We got to hop out and push the van- what a memory! |
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| This girl has one of the best hearts I've ever seen in a college student. |
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| Our team with the village chiefs |
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| We also got to see some African elephants, which was really neat to see. |
I do not know if I'll ever be back in Ghana, but it certainly has a place in my heart.
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