Hello everyone!!
First and foremost, I want to say that I am so thankful for each and everyone that has shown interest and love towards what The Lord has me doing here in Ghana in this season. No one could have predicted the situation we have all found ourselves in all over the world. With that, I am confident that the Lord has me here for a reason and purpose, if nothing else but to just show love to my brothers and sisters here. I am excited to share that with HUGE help from some friends in the States, there is now a website available for anyone that is interested to stay up to date with what is going on here! My hope is to continue sharing these blog posts from a more personal perspective and make them available on the website as well.
To officially have a website, there needed to be a name. This was difficult for me to narrow down because there are so many different things that speak volumes to what the Lord is doing here. The one word that kept entering my mind was SUSTAIN. This word is not a word that I normally use in my everyday vocabulary, so that is why I knew it must be from God Himself! One definition for the word sustain in the dictionary means to strengthen or support physically, mentally, or in this case, spiritually. It can also mean to undergo or suffer. When I think of Jesus and what He has done for the whole world, undergoing pain, and suffering so that we may be forgiven of our sins, then it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by such a love as His. Jesus sustained our sin for us at the cross and He now sustains us through this life if we allow Him to live inside of us. In this part of the world, there is so much pain and suffering. It is rare to walk even a few steps without seeing a hungry child, broken home, or family struggling to get by. There is abuse, corruption, and desperate need for education and medical care. All these things can lead to hopelessness and a life of doing anything out of desperation. The hope that I feel led to share with my dear brothers and sisters here is that the love of Christ endures, and He alone can be our Savior, sustainer, healer, and friend.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
I would like to share some photos of the past few months since I last shared an update. There have been times of laughter, sickness, challenges, frustrations, but I can honestly say I would not trade any of it because God has been faithful through it all! Each circumstance we pass through refines us into who He wants us to be.
I want to thank all of those who have sent financial support over the past few months. Because of those funds we were able to do a second food distribution among the community for the vulnerable families, and get medications for our sweet friends Prince, Rumana, and Lakpo. We were also able to help in unexpected ways like send others to the doctor for treatment, help a mother give birth to a baby girl, and on a personal note, I was able to travel about 2 hours away to apply for my visa extension, which was granted. Praise the Lord!!
LOCAL FOOD
Many people ask me what I eat while I am here, so I wanted to try and explain these photos of the food! We all know corn, which here is referred to as maize. Through generous giving from friends in the States, my roommates and I were able to plant some corn. The goal is that we can harvest it and share it out to our neighbors and those who need it. Corn is a huge staple food here. Next is a photo of a traditional meal called joloff rice. It is rice cooked together with a vegetable stew served with egg or fish. It is very good! We were able to prepare a large portion of joloff rice for the volunteers that helped distribute food to the community last month! The last photo is of fufu. It sounds funny but actually tastes pretty good! It is prepared by pounding boiled yam or cassava root and forming a rolled up ball. Then it is eaten with a light soup and fish. We had this meal one Sunday after our devotion together as roommates. I watched the whole process of how to prepare it, but honestly could not repeat it!
PRAISES
I am excited to share some praise reports of what The Lord is doing in the lives of some people here, and how He is providing opportunities for several people to know and live for Him! Prince has an older brother named Precious. He is 22 years old, and when I first met Precious about 2 years ago, I knew there was something special about him by the way he treated Prince with care and love. Unfortunately, because of lack of school funds, Precious fell into the vicious trap of drugs and alcohol in this area. He stopped going to school and started following gangs. I did not see Precious for almost a year. When I returned to Ghana in February and was visiting Prince, I saw Precious for the first time in a long time. He was very respectful and shared with me that he was now back home after leaving the family house on bad terms over a year ago. I was happy to see that he had made peace with his family, but I wasn’t sure if he had stopped hanging with the gangs. About two months ago, Precious approached me saying that he had something to discuss with me. He expressed that he was through with his old ways and ready to move forward. He wants to continue his education and finish high school. We had a serious discussion about how this needs to be a sincere commitment on his part. He assured me that he was now focused and ready to learn and work hard. We have faced some challenges enrolling him back into school since he dropped out. I have learned that the Ghana education system is not very forgiving or understanding of students who want a second chance. We were able to find a private Christian School willing to accept him if his junior high school grades are acceptable. So we are in the process of tracking those down now. Things are still uncertain right now with how school will start back with COVID19, but through this whole process I have seen Precious gradually open up and be more dependent on The Lord for his peace and assurance that he is now on the right path.
I also want to share an exciting opportunity to show love to a Muslim community. Rumana’s mom surprised me one day requesting that I teach her English. I was very excited because I had been praying for a way to better serve and show her the love of Christ. We have met a few times a week for about a month and it is so humbling to teach an adult who has never been to school before. Rumana’s family migrated to Ghana from Mali. Her mom never went to school a day in her life. She is so eager and determined to learn. We are taking it slow right now and covering the basics of the alphabet. It has drawn interest from the other women in her compound as well and since the children are not in school right now it is a good review for them too! I am hopeful that God will use this as an opportunity to…. in His timing…. be able to incorporate His word into our lessons. I look forward to seeing how God will continue to work in this!
UPCOMING EVENTS
We are now planning towards the third food distribution this week! The headmaster of the local school just informed me that they need this now more than ever. The President of Ghana has yet to open the borders, so this has left the majority of families without any way for income. Most people in Aflao do trade of goods across the border into Togo. Since the borders have been closed for going on 5 months, it has really hit the economy hard. Families were already struggling to get by, so now with a food distribution for the most vulnerable families in our community has been a huge boost both physically and spiritually! Each family receives a sack of food as well as prayer and a word of encouragement from scripture during this difficult times.
To end this update, I want to share a vision of a ministry project the Lord gave me recently. In this part of the world, there are still many people who do not know the full story of Christ. Ghana is even considered a Christian Nation, but there has been so much of the truth distorted and misunderstood from false teachings. Showing the Jesus film in the local language is a great way to show people a visual representation of the story of Jesus. I believe The Lord has placed on my heart to pursue a way to go into remote villages to show the Jesus Film among people to know the true story of Christ. A way this can be made possible is by riding a bicycle from village to village with a group of believers. This can serve as an evangelism and discipleship opportunity! I am still in the beginning stages of praying and planning what and how to do this. If it is God’s will, then so be it!
Please feel free to check out the website for more information on this cycling for Christ adventure, the testimonies of my sweet friends here, and other ways to stay up to date and how to help out if you feel led to do so! I pray that all of you are able to keep your eyes on Christ during these unprecedented times. Resist the enemy dear brothers and sisters and stand firm in Christ! God bless you all!
Chelsi
chelsi.matthews15@gmail.com
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