Friday, August 25, 2006
ORPHANAGE VISIT
I went to the orphanage for the first time last week. There is opportunity throughout the week on days off and on weekends to visit; it’s only about 15 minutes by taxi. It is run by the sisters of charity, one of the orphanages established in honor of Mother Theresa, run by the Catholic Church. It was very clean and seemed to be well run. It was an oasis of beauty in the middle of the chaotic, grungy looking port city of Tema. You walk through the front gate and are immediately met with the sight of beautiful flowers, bright flowering bushes, green grass, trees offering shade to little alcoves designed to provide a place of solitude and reflection. It was really incredible. The eagerness of these children to be held and the way their countenances’ lit up when we walked into the courtyard was a beautiful reminder of how eagerly we should desire the presence of our heavenly father. One of the little toddlers, Gabriel, ran at Caroline (my roommate) full speed, arms open, huge smile on his face racing to be held. There was such abandonment and such trust in his reckless assault. Do I run to the Lord with such abandonment and trust? It was also a reminder of the preciousness of the promise that we have been adopted as sons and daughters of God. Wow! "What love the father has lavished upon us that we might be called the sons and daughters of God" But who will love these children? Who will protect them? Who will tell them they are special and that God has a plan for their lives? I know the Lord sees and knows and loves them more than I could ever imagine loving them. The knowledge that many of them no longer have parents to nurture them and love them makes me want to hold each one of them...the visit confirmed in my heart my desire to adopt some day...I am unable to include a photo with this entry because we are not allowed to take pictures with the kids at the orphanage
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The Joy of our Salvation
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God…” 1 John 3:1a
Last night I worked night shift and had the joy and privilege of leading someone to the Lord! It’s amazing how the Lord uses us when we least expect it, it’s so humbling! Earlier that evening I told Awari I would come back to talk with him, when I sat down on his bed he wanted me to read the Lord’s Prayer from Matt chapter 6. After I finished reading through verse 13 he said, “Preach to me, I want you to explain what this means.” Wow! I was so surprised at first I didn’t know quite how to respond. How often does an opportunity like this come along? So I started to explain the Lord’s Prayer, the entire time I was praying furiously that the Lord would give me wisdom to know what to say. For the next 45 minutes we sat and discussed scripture. I read to him portions of Genesis and Romans. He had such excellent and insightful questions. “Does God continue to forgive us if we continue to sin? How do I pray, do I pray to God or Jesus? Why didn’t God crush the serpent in the Garden of Eden? What would things be like if Adam and Eve had never sinned? How does a person know when Jesus has come into their heart?” It was evident that his heart was tender towards the truths of the Word and that the Lord has been knocking on his heart. A friend had given him a Bible about a month and goes and since arriving to the ship he has been reading it. Towards the end of the conversation I asked Awari if he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart and he said yes. So there in the quiet of the night, with all the lights on the ward turned off, I knelt beside his bed and he knelt on top of his mattress and he repeated a prayer after me asking Jesus to be Lord of his life and confessing his need for forgiveness. When we said “amen”, he said, “I am a new creation.” Praise God!! This is something to celebrate!! One of the nurses on day shift gave him an illustrated children’s Bible to read and he read the entire Old Testament out loud to his neighbors this afternoon. Occasionally he would stop and they would discuss what they had read. How beautiful is that?? …And how sweet that God can use the very youngest of believers to proclaim His word. God is so amazing!
“To God be the glory great things he has done.”
Last night I worked night shift and had the joy and privilege of leading someone to the Lord! It’s amazing how the Lord uses us when we least expect it, it’s so humbling! Earlier that evening I told Awari I would come back to talk with him, when I sat down on his bed he wanted me to read the Lord’s Prayer from Matt chapter 6. After I finished reading through verse 13 he said, “Preach to me, I want you to explain what this means.” Wow! I was so surprised at first I didn’t know quite how to respond. How often does an opportunity like this come along? So I started to explain the Lord’s Prayer, the entire time I was praying furiously that the Lord would give me wisdom to know what to say. For the next 45 minutes we sat and discussed scripture. I read to him portions of Genesis and Romans. He had such excellent and insightful questions. “Does God continue to forgive us if we continue to sin? How do I pray, do I pray to God or Jesus? Why didn’t God crush the serpent in the Garden of Eden? What would things be like if Adam and Eve had never sinned? How does a person know when Jesus has come into their heart?” It was evident that his heart was tender towards the truths of the Word and that the Lord has been knocking on his heart. A friend had given him a Bible about a month and goes and since arriving to the ship he has been reading it. Towards the end of the conversation I asked Awari if he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart and he said yes. So there in the quiet of the night, with all the lights on the ward turned off, I knelt beside his bed and he knelt on top of his mattress and he repeated a prayer after me asking Jesus to be Lord of his life and confessing his need for forgiveness. When we said “amen”, he said, “I am a new creation.” Praise God!! This is something to celebrate!! One of the nurses on day shift gave him an illustrated children’s Bible to read and he read the entire Old Testament out loud to his neighbors this afternoon. Occasionally he would stop and they would discuss what they had read. How beautiful is that?? …And how sweet that God can use the very youngest of believers to proclaim His word. God is so amazing!
“To God be the glory great things he has done.”
Friday, August 18, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Living with a Longing
(Here's a picture of beautiful Selena!!)
It's hard to express in words the past two weeks--overwelming, lonely, wonderful, exciting, rich...unforgetable. More and more I am realizing what a privilage it is to be here, what a privilage it is to serve those who have become invisible in society. One of the translators on the ward made an interesting comment he said, "I saw the pictures of the type of surguries that Mercy Ships does and I thought 'we don't have anybody with conditions like that, Mercy Ships won't be able to do those surguries here in Ghana'. " He said, "I never realized people here in Ghana had such deformities." Yes, the conditions that come through our doors are appalling--large facial tumors, severe cleft lips/palates, debilitating burns and contractures. Many of the patients we see have spent years isolated from society because of their physical conditions. I can't help but think that these physical deformities are a reflection of the human soul. So much of humanity is crippled emotionally and spiritually by the effects of sin,we live with heartache, disappointment, hopelessness,lonliness ...we are a broken people. While I cannot fully understand the stigma and social alienation many of my patients have experienced; I do feel I can relate to the poverty of their spiritual condition. I too struggle...to maintain hope, to trust, to walk away from temptation,to make sense of life's disappointments.
Today I had the joy of sitting and reading aloud to one of the beautiful ladies on our ward, Selena. She suffered from an accident in which she was hit by a car while walking on the side of the road, both legs were broken. She spent 2.5 years living at the public hospital during which time she underwent several operations in an attempt to save her legs. Finally, the medical professionals told her her legs were "spoiled" and that they would have to amputate. She refused the aputation believing God would heal her. She ended up at Mercy Ships where we did have to amputate her left leg. She has not seen her children for years because she has been unable to care for them. We sat reading a book by Loren Cunningham about surrendering to God. Every so often she would stop me and we would discuss what we had just read.
"What does he mean when he says 'lay down our rights'?" she would softly interupt. And we would talk about what it means to give up our family up to God, our wills, our hearts, our hurts. "What does it mean put on the alter?", she asked.
"The Things we give up to God as a sacrifice, an expression of our love", I replied.
"Oh an offering", she said, the light of understanding evident in her eyes.
"Yeah an offering." I said
It was precious. I sat on the narrow iron bed next to her own and we shared our thoughts and experiences as sisters. She is a beautiful sister in Christ and I am inspired by her longing to know God more.
It's hard to express in words the past two weeks--overwelming, lonely, wonderful, exciting, rich...unforgetable. More and more I am realizing what a privilage it is to be here, what a privilage it is to serve those who have become invisible in society. One of the translators on the ward made an interesting comment he said, "I saw the pictures of the type of surguries that Mercy Ships does and I thought 'we don't have anybody with conditions like that, Mercy Ships won't be able to do those surguries here in Ghana'. " He said, "I never realized people here in Ghana had such deformities." Yes, the conditions that come through our doors are appalling--large facial tumors, severe cleft lips/palates, debilitating burns and contractures. Many of the patients we see have spent years isolated from society because of their physical conditions. I can't help but think that these physical deformities are a reflection of the human soul. So much of humanity is crippled emotionally and spiritually by the effects of sin,we live with heartache, disappointment, hopelessness,lonliness ...we are a broken people. While I cannot fully understand the stigma and social alienation many of my patients have experienced; I do feel I can relate to the poverty of their spiritual condition. I too struggle...to maintain hope, to trust, to walk away from temptation,to make sense of life's disappointments.
Today I had the joy of sitting and reading aloud to one of the beautiful ladies on our ward, Selena. She suffered from an accident in which she was hit by a car while walking on the side of the road, both legs were broken. She spent 2.5 years living at the public hospital during which time she underwent several operations in an attempt to save her legs. Finally, the medical professionals told her her legs were "spoiled" and that they would have to amputate. She refused the aputation believing God would heal her. She ended up at Mercy Ships where we did have to amputate her left leg. She has not seen her children for years because she has been unable to care for them. We sat reading a book by Loren Cunningham about surrendering to God. Every so often she would stop me and we would discuss what we had just read.
"What does he mean when he says 'lay down our rights'?" she would softly interupt. And we would talk about what it means to give up our family up to God, our wills, our hearts, our hurts. "What does it mean put on the alter?", she asked.
"The Things we give up to God as a sacrifice, an expression of our love", I replied.
"Oh an offering", she said, the light of understanding evident in her eyes.
"Yeah an offering." I said
It was precious. I sat on the narrow iron bed next to her own and we shared our thoughts and experiences as sisters. She is a beautiful sister in Christ and I am inspired by her longing to know God more.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Pictures from London!
Left: Westminster Abbbey from the front...pretty impressive. Above: The infamous Buckingham Palace (looks like something you'd see in Washington D.C. I think). Can I just say the Buckingham guards have the most boring ever!! They have to stand at complete attention for hours...not moving a muscle. What do they have an itch?
Picture of Big Ben in the early morning hours as London was starting to wake up. This was taken within walking distance of the Thames River.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Ghana at last!!! (July 29, 2006)
…50 hours since I left home on Thursday and I can really believe now that we actually will arrive in Ghana. There is just over an hour and a half remaining on our flight. There was a problem with my ticket when I went to check in for my flight and, a British Airway representative tried to tell me that the gate was going to close in 2 minutes and I was not going to make it on that fight because I didn’t have a ticket. My first thought, ”Oh no she didn’t!!”. I have spent the last 48 hours in airports, my original itinerary was changed, I have the spent the last two nights sleeping on the floor in two different airports, and I am tried to attend to all my hygiene needs in airport bathrooms with their stupid sensor faucets that cut off if your hands aren’t positioned the right way in front of the sensor. Thankfully I thought all this and did not verbalize my torrent of frustrated thoughts. As calmly as I could I retold her my story in detail starting with my canceled flight to Chicago and then told her if I wasn’t going to make it on that plane today either British Airways or American Airlines was going to put me in a hotel room for the night because it sounds like they’d had a communication problem. I was told I had a confirmed seat on this flight and she was saying I didn’t have a ticket. By the grace of God, and a few gracious people who let me cut ahead of them going through security I think I made it to the gate 5 minutes before it closed. Thank you Jesus!
All this to say the extra time I spent in London was enjoyable, I did have a few hours to see the city. I saw the Thames River, the London eye, Big Ben, the Parliament building, Westminster Abby, Buckingham palace and Hyde Park. It was still pretty early when I surfaced from the subway so the streets were quiet and the morning beautifully sunny with a slight breeze. It was refreshing to see something other than the inside of an airport. Hopefully getting through customs will be uneventful.
All this to say the extra time I spent in London was enjoyable, I did have a few hours to see the city. I saw the Thames River, the London eye, Big Ben, the Parliament building, Westminster Abby, Buckingham palace and Hyde Park. It was still pretty early when I surfaced from the subway so the streets were quiet and the morning beautifully sunny with a slight breeze. It was refreshing to see something other than the inside of an airport. Hopefully getting through customs will be uneventful.
Flexibility 101: Hometown Adventure (July 27, 2006)
Leaving Charlotte Airport
It’s amazing that I have been flying internationally for 5 years and never been stranded in an airport…until last night. Exasperating situations when approached as adventures are a little more bearable. After sitting in the plane on the runway for FOUR hours, American Airline finally canceled our flight rescheduling it for the next morning at 6AM. I’ll tell you though sitting on the runway in that cramped cabin renewed my good faith in the average American. People were patient beyond belief and the steward was excellent—very professional. They unloaded us, re-booked us and disgruntled but no worse for the wear each passenger wandered away from the terminal to get some sleep. I was thankful to be able reclaim all my luggage. Finding a nice quite spot against the wall of the baggage claim area I settled in for the night with my sleeping bag, pillow and ,oh yes, my sleep mask. I met some interesting folks over the past how ever many hours it’s been I’ve lost count. I met a long lost cousin tenth removed from Scotland. I was telling her that my family came from Scotland a long time back and it just so happens that her maiden name is Austin. She is in the process of studying her family history so she gave me her e-mail address and would like to get some information about our family. Maybe she’ll trace back how we are linked. Although a bit travel weary she and her husband were a cheery couple. There is camaraderie that is shared among waylaid travelers that is kind of fun. The kindness of strangers can be such an encouragement. The picture included in this entry was taken at the Charlotte airport.
It’s amazing that I have been flying internationally for 5 years and never been stranded in an airport…until last night. Exasperating situations when approached as adventures are a little more bearable. After sitting in the plane on the runway for FOUR hours, American Airline finally canceled our flight rescheduling it for the next morning at 6AM. I’ll tell you though sitting on the runway in that cramped cabin renewed my good faith in the average American. People were patient beyond belief and the steward was excellent—very professional. They unloaded us, re-booked us and disgruntled but no worse for the wear each passenger wandered away from the terminal to get some sleep. I was thankful to be able reclaim all my luggage. Finding a nice quite spot against the wall of the baggage claim area I settled in for the night with my sleeping bag, pillow and ,oh yes, my sleep mask. I met some interesting folks over the past how ever many hours it’s been I’ve lost count. I met a long lost cousin tenth removed from Scotland. I was telling her that my family came from Scotland a long time back and it just so happens that her maiden name is Austin. She is in the process of studying her family history so she gave me her e-mail address and would like to get some information about our family. Maybe she’ll trace back how we are linked. Although a bit travel weary she and her husband were a cheery couple. There is camaraderie that is shared among waylaid travelers that is kind of fun. The kindness of strangers can be such an encouragement. The picture included in this entry was taken at the Charlotte airport.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
