Therefore, since we are surrounded by such great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3
Hello everyone from Ghana once again!!
I am so thankful to give the praise report that I landed in Ghana on Aug 11th! It was a long journey, but by the Grace of God, no major issues or setbacks during the travel. However, I there was a bit of a surprise at immigration once I successfully made it through all the other preliminary processes. I mistakenly came with an expired visa! I had to do a visa upon arrival, which only gives me one month to get my ducks in a row. Through all of this, the above scripture (Hebrews 12:1-3) has been the rock I’ve held onto as I have hit the ground running to sort out a way to secure an extension. I knew before I boarded the plane that there would be challenges waiting for me when I landed, I just did not know exactly what all they may be. The Lord has taught me so much about flexibility, patience, and relying on His Ways and not my own over the years. This is just another faith-stretching experience I must endure with eyes on Him. As I experience this small challenge, I am also reminded about all the other challenges that are happening worldwide. The above scripture is a reminder that Christ endured the cross for our sake so that we will not grow weary or lose heart. We are to persevere as others are watching how we respond. That is my main prayer and focus right now. Thank you all for the continued prayer and support as I enter back into the ministry The Lord has led me to do here. I have appreciated all the messages and encouragement. We are all in this together, both here and there!
The above pictures also represent moments of joy and examples of those who are enduring hardships of their own, but it is humbling to witness how some of these who live in difficult environments still have such joy! I cannot express how amazing it was to see Prince (the one I am hugging) and witness the miracle of him moving around as he is on his own! To God be the Glory! Rumana is also doing fine despite the harsh atmosphere she lives in. She always greets me with her beautiful smile, and it melts my heart. I am praying once I get more settled in that I can go back to spending more time there with her and the women in her compound and surrounding area. Another picture is of Wisdom who unfortunately is being neglected once again by his grandmother. He has no one to supervise him or provide for him when she leaves him, and the social welfare has yet to build an actual case for him. He is just one example of the many children in the area in need of advocacy for their well-being. Lord willing, I will soon be able to begin the groundwork of establishing the program for children after school. First, I need to sort out my visa and hopeful residential permit. In the meantime, I have connected with a group called: Literacy Evangelism Ghana that I believe will be a great resource once we begin the program. I was able to meet with them during my time in Accra and share the vision for the Sustaining Love KIDS program. They are interested and willing to come to our area and do some trainings for illiterate children and adults to learn to read and write first in their local language and then in English!
I know that all things will work together for His good. Please join me in prayer for the ones I have mentioned along with Precious, who is the young man that returned to school at the beginning of the year after dropping out a few years ago due his rough lifestyle. He is still battling his dark past that is trying to seep back into his life as he is now on a break from school between terms. I can see he has sincerely been trying to change, but he still has one foot in and one foot out. Pray that he will throw off everything that is hindering him and the vicious cycle he is entangled in that is so toxic to the youth in villages like Zuime here in Ghana.
I will soon begin my own course work online through Colorado Christian University to earn a TESOL certificate. I aim to use this educational opportunity to learn more about how to teach English to language learners, and if one day I need a certificate like this to stay in the country then that will be helpful.
As I end this update, I want to share again how thankful I am for each one of you who take the time to read these newsletters. Please feel free to reach out anytime! I hope to post as often as I can on fb on the sustaining love page as well as keep the website up to date.
I am also praying for all of you who may be facing challenges concerning COVID or any other obstacles that are presently happening. Let us press on towards the heavenly goal!
God Bless,
Chelsi
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