Before I decided to move to Ghana, I had prayed for missionaries, enjoyed hearing about their work and sometimes wondered how exciting it would be to be a missionary. I can tell you now that I had absolutely no idea what missionaries experience.
When I felt God wanted me to go to Ghana to be a medical missionary, I was excited. I mean I was "All in" so to speak. I went with the decision full throttle and never had second thoughts. Today, I have no doubts that what I did was the right thing. I have no doubt that I will continue to work in Africa. But I will tell you that I have gained a whole new perspective on mission work and will be praying more for those who work in missions.
Over the last 18 months of my life, I have left my home country, family, friends and work to begin a new life in a new country, a poor country, where I had no friends, no family, no home. Over 11 months in this country, I made friends, felt like family in some cases and started a new life to only have to say goodbye to it all in the past week.
I blogged about many of my experiences while I prepared for this journey and throughout my time in Ghana. I wanted to share my experiences with those who were interested. I wish I had done a better job of sharing those experiences.
But, as I look back over the writing I did, I find that I didn't always tell you when things weren't going well. I wonder why that was. I did share stories about the poverty and the kids...what work I was doing. But I didn't tell you when I was down or sad or feeling great frustration.
Now I am thinking back over the years when I saw the videos about the work of different missionaries and when those missionaries came to speak to us. They shared the "good" stories as well. I didn't share any of the "personal" stuff with you because the mission was NOT about me. It was about the people of Ghana, about God and His Word...about how we were working together to make some small difference. But I will tell you that in my short experience thus far, I have experienced many emotional ups and downs.
I am so thankful for all these experiences.
These "ups and downs" in a far away place helped me to learn to lean on God more fully. To remember that he was in control. They also taught me how much we need to support our missionaries. We need to send them encouraging letters while they are in the field, small surprise packages now and again, pray for their strength and well-being. I do not for one minute believe that I am the only one who just shared the stories about the work and did not share what was going on with me personally. There are so many things missionaries go through which we can not imagine and do not know about.
My re-entry to the states was very hard. First of all, I did not want the work in Ghana to end. I loved my work, the people, the country, everything....it was not easy living in Ghana, not at all. The adjustment was difficult, but so worth it. If I showed just one person how to love, taught just one person that they were important, helped just one person through a tough time or an illness...it was worth it. If God's love was seen in anyway by someone who had not experienced it before, it was a success. But the fact of the matter is...I left the states to do God's work in Africa. And now Africa is where I want to be.
As I said goodbye to my friends in Ghana this past week, it was so hard. I have missed their smiles, their love, their love for God. The students (young people) where I worked struggle from day to day. They are so hopeful for a better life. They have so little. Why was I blessed with so much? Why do they have to struggle so hard? God calls us, no...he commands us to help the poor and those in need. I cannot answer the "why" questions, but I can follow God's command.
Each of us can follow this command....I want to physically go, others can follow the command by giving of time, money or other items as needed. We are all missionaries. We just all have different roles to play. I am praying for the opportunity to return to Africa soon to continue medical missions.
