Faithfulness is what we repeatedly do, whether we see results or not.
-Katie Davis Majors
Hello once again!
I cannot believe that another month has passed since my last update! As I reflect on all that has happened, my heart is full and thankful for God’s faithfulness. One major answered prayer request I would like to sing His praises about is the extension of my visa until December which buys me time to continue the process for registering an NGO and then apply for a residential permit. There have been several other moments of provision and joy that God has orchestrated. We were able to do a second annual harvest of corn from the land I am staying on. This was a group effort… teamwork makes the dream work! Like last year, the neighbor children came to help and whatever they collected they took home for their families. We then distributed the rest for other people in our community who may be struggling.
After traveling for serval days to Ho for the visa extension and then to Accra for NGO paperwork, I was able to settle back into life here in the village. A day-to-day schedule for consists of waking up to the sound of loudspeakers making announcements among the village, rooster crows outside my window, or if all these things fail, then my internal clock naturally wakes me up around 5-5:30 am. I have grown to crave these early morning moments before the sun is out. It gives me time to get myself ready for the day by spending some quiet time with Jesus alone, doing some exercise, and then house chores. By the time I finish up with breakfast, my roommates and other school children in the community are off to school. It has amazed me how time has been carved out for me to also work on my own class assignments during this time that everyone else is in school. Of course, there is always the unexpected visitor that may stop by to say hello or discuss an important matter. Once the schools let out every day, a routine has been established with the children who are my close neighbors. They will come to me, and we will work on their homework together and some other learning activities. This has proven to me that the after-school program will in fact be effective once it is able to officially begin. The children seem eager to have that extra care and attention after school. Normally they would just come home to no one in the house and run around aimlessly, getting into quarrels with one another, and put off working on their hw assignments, if at all, until late in the evening. My neighbors do not have electricity in their home, so they used to come use my outside light to do their hw under. The obvious answer to this solution was to have them come do the hw at a table I have right after school, and lord willing, other children in similar situations will have the same opportunity! Through all these things, God has revealed Himself and how He provides for His precious children. I have also been learning how to manage my time and remain flexible for God to do what He needs to do for these things to bring Glory to Him. I still have much to grow in this area!
The past few weekends have been filled with events such as weddings, funerals, and going to town for church service. I attended a wedding of a couple that live behind me, and it was a sweet expression of love and commitment in the Ghanaian culture. An actual marriage ceremony such as this is not commonly practiced here. There are different cultural and traditional practices where the man and woman who want to marry will need to perform certain tasks to prove to the family members that they are ready for such a commitment. This ends up being quite expensive, so most couples do not even go through these procedures and end up not ever actually marrying. They will continue to have children without the actual commitment to each other or before God to remain faithful to each other. I pray that, in time, there will be an understanding that the love and faithfulness of God for us as His children is something that is to be practiced within a marriage and all other areas of this life. Unfortunately, the funeral I attended recently was of the father of a close friend of mine. My heart ached the whole funeral as I knew this person was not a follower of Christ. It was obvious from the practices of the funeral. In this culture, the funeral of a Christian is a celebration with worship to God and dancing for Jesus! This funeral had different practices focused on traditional rituals performed by local idol worshipers. This was a reminder to my heart of the urgency to do all things necessary to point all around me to the eternal truth and light of Christ through His sustaining love.
This leads me into a specific prayer request for my sweet friend Irene. Last year she was able to receive some support to begin learning how to be a seamstress. This will help her have support in raising her small daughter, Enyonam. Her family house is the Fetish shrine for an idol, and her father is the Fetish Priest. By the grace of God, he allowed her to begin learning the trade of tailoring. Apart from going to learn her trade, she is on strict orders from her father. He has banned her from going to church and has threatened if she does go then she will no longer be able to live in their compound. This is a common scenario here. Because of this, I have invited Irene to come over weekly on Wednesdays during her lunch break. We spend that time reading God’s word together and praying. She wants to follow Christ fully but has the bondage from her family. I try to encourage her with stories such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We pray together and I am hoping that she will one day find the strength and courage, found only in The Lord, to do what it is He is calling her to do…which is to follow Him. From there, He will take care of the rest.
I could go on and on sharing stories such as this. In a small village setting such as Zuime, the mindset is primarily from the perspective of what has been practiced and passed down from generations within traditions and culture. When I discuss these matters, whether it is a spiritual conflict such as Irene’s case or child’s right case involving continued education or other child neglect issues, then I am told time and time again this statement: “Chelsi, this is Africa. This is our culture.” I do not wish to change a culture. That is not my job or calling. God has uniquely crafted different cultures from different people groups all around this beautiful world He has created. Still, I do not believe that He intends for children to be neglected, beaten, or sold into slavery, whether it is for work or child marriage. These are the cycles of issues I have witnessed in developing and impoverished communities, like the one I am currently living in. One of the contributing factors to this vicious cycle is the lack of education. When children are forced to leave school due to a variety of reasons, then they do not have the opportunity to fully develop their minds and gain practical literacy skills. Ultimately, when Christ is not the center, then there is no hope. I share all of this in hopes to communicate that without the Sustaining Love of Christ, these cycles will continue. Not just here, but all over the world. Cycles of hopelessness that lead to desperate lifestyles that are blinded to truth and light. For as long as I am here, my prayer is to live out the quote from Katie Davis Majors stated at the beginning of this newsletter: Faithfulness is what we repeatedly do, whether we see results or not…. Even if the results are not visible right now, still there must be a faith that seeds are being planted and God is the one who grows the fruit.
I would like to conclude by sharing that since I now have a visa extension, the timeline is not so pressured. This allows me to focus more on making sure all things are sorted out for the after-school program. Several doors have been opened and connections have been made concerning Sustaining Love KIDS program in the past few weeks. I have met with several teachers who are interested to join and help facilitate once it has officially started. Lord willing, we will have a training before the launch of the program to make sure all are on the same page for how to implement the learning activities as well as the Bible-themed activities. Another hopeful news is that I have met with a school called Start Right Academy here in the village of Zuime that just started functioning. The owner of the school is a man that has several schools with the same focus of providing affordable and Christ-centered education for developing communities. We had a meeting and discussed our hearts and visions for reaching children and families through education. I am very hopeful and excited that this will be a God-ordained partnership. For now, the plan is to use their compound they use during school for the after-school program. We are still brainstorming and planning towards this. The goal would be in October or November we can officially start something, IF all NGO documents are also finalized by then. In the meantime, we will organize a meeting for the community elders and parents to share with them the vision and plan for this program and partnership with the Start Right Academy. According to their response, then other necessary adjustments can be made.
I ask you to join me in prayer concerning all these things. Above all, my heart is for God to be at the center of every meeting, planning idea, and decision. Discipleship is the core reason for a program such as this. So, I am also asking you to pray that The Lord will draw the ones who have a sincere heart to be discipled and disciple others in the Sustaining Love of Christ. Also, for there to be a sincere interest to invest in the lives of these precious children in this community and beyond.
Thank you all for being faithful to read these updates, for sending encouragement and support, and for doing your part in the unique ways The Lord is using you in your various places. These updates help me to process through all that is happening, so I am thankful for an outlet such as this that I can also share with those who are interested to know what is happening here.
Please feel free to reach out to me personally through email, or check out more on my sustaining love website, or the equip international website:
www.sustaininglove.org and equipinternational.org
Thank you all! I leave you with this scripture that a sweet friend sent to me as an encouragement recently that I would like to also share with you:
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us- so that your ways be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; Lord, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Psalm 67
Chelsi
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