Thoughts about Ghana, this world and the time of life I find myself in are constant. In the two weeks since coming home from Ghana not only do I find myself missing my life there, but I also find myself struggling to comprehend how to apply my time in Ghana to my every day life. What implications does my time there have on my thoughts, attitudes, actions and future? I have yet to fully answer that question for myself. There are, of course, practical implications that I have identified, especially in my actions and attitudes. I am so much more grateful for the hundreds of blessings I have. I have a job (babysitting the best children in the world), I have a home, food on the table, a car and the ability to take opportunities that come my way.
Honestly, life in America is dull in comparison to life in Accra. The color and vibrancy of life
is immense and never ending. While I was in Ghana I was often frustrated by nothing ever going as planned, but now I know I took that for granted. Driving down the street in Westfield there are rarely people walking on the street and there is never anyone selling things through open windows. I miss that about Accra, people are everywhere. There's a sense of life, like a house that is a home rather than a house that doesn't look lived in. But what I miss most is Haven of Hope and the children I bonded so closely with.
There's Gabriel, who has the most incredible dimples and a heart made of pure gold. He gave me a necklace the first day he met me and I can assure you that I will cherish that for the rest of my life!
There's Nii, who has the warmest smile and the curiosity of a cat. His questions never ended and that is such an
amazing quality; one that I don't have but wish I did.
Lastly, there's Kofi who has a smile that shines as bright as the sun and has boundless energy. He's a tough guy who is actually a teddy bear, but wishes he wasn't. Also, this happens to be one of my favorite pictures from the whole semester!
Being at a place like Haven of Hope brought a flood of Dominican memories back to my mind and a twinge of pain in my heart. In case you didn't know I was given an incredible opportunity to intern with VisionTrust Dominicana again for the whole summer, but due to financial problems I wasn't able to take the opportunity. This was by far the hardest decision I made in quite a long time. To feel a call to be in
DR during the summer, but not be able to because of money was disheartening to say the least. As my family at VT down in Dominican serves a total of sixteen teams this summer I am stuck on the sidelines as a ball of envy and heartache. It is hard to be stuck somewhere when your heart desires to be somewhere else.
I might have been out of the country from January until May 30th but I definitely caught all the political drama going on in America. Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton. Wow. What terrible odds for America. Neither is a good option and both are going to battle until the end. As a self professing conservative Republican who happens to be a minority I have found myself stressing over how I will cast my vote in November. I was reminded during worship at my church that God
is ultimately dictating the outcome of this election. We were singing "Fail Us Not" by 1000 Generations where the chorus and bridge follow
as:
"There is nothing above you. There is nothing beyond you. There is nothing that you can't do. Whatever will come, we'll rise above. You fail us not, You fail us not. No matter the war, our hope is secure. You fail us not, You fail us not. Whatever will come, we'll rise above. You fail us not, You fail us not. No, You fail us not. You fail us not.
...You are bigger than the battle
you are bigger than the battle you are bigger than the battle has ever been ever been..."
God is bigger than this election and His will will be done come November. This was the perfect reminder in the middle of my church service when I least expected it (when I didn't think I needed it). It's important to remember that just because someone's opinion doesn't match yours doesn't give you a reason to dislike or berate them.
This is just a collection of random thoughts I've had since coming back to America..
(I wonder if anyone actually read all the way to the end)
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