God will bring another tomorrow, full of His Grace. May I always remember that.
Wow I have so much I want to tell you. This blog post may be pretty long.
So much has happened this past month I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole thing.
Lets begin with how things went with the team that came to Ghana for a week, Kyle and Tamara Maycroft. What a blast we had and what a joy it was to have some people in the house with me that week...it was very much needed and very encouraging. With visiting schools, going to the Baby HOMe, teaching children about "David and Goliath" and going to the slums of Accra,the week was very busy. It was a good busy though, and very thankful for the time with the Maycrofts.
There is so much need all around in Ghana, and some days it can overwhelming. God has opened my eyes to see things I will never forget. They are burnt in my memory and I am no longer ignorant to the extreme needs there. So the question is, how am I going to allow God to use this for his Glory? Every time I visit the slums of Accra, my heart breaks in two. I hurt inside seeing children living in these conditions and the houses and clothes they have. They have so little, but yet they are living day to day. Some don't know any different. With the the slums population of over 50,000, there is a steady rise in prostitution, child trafficing,and high crime. One thing I would see and would blow my mind every time is that you still see children running around happy and laughing, knowing no different. Children playing with what they have and making the best of it. I would cringe when I would see beautiful little girls there, and my heart would sink and then I would pray "Please God don't let her fall into prostitution, she doesn't deserve this"
The slums are overwhelming, and when looking at it as a whole... it seems almost impossible to change it. What would happen if you focused on one person at a time? Then maybe two? Starting on that small level. We can't be afraid of the giant task in front of us, but focus on pursuing the betterment of humanity one step at a time, one person at a time. Let us not diminish the importance of one human being and the opportunity to help. This is where change happens on the larger scale.
We also got to teach small lessons at a couple of schools in Accra. This was fun and all three of us had a blast singing songs and telling them the encouraging story of David and Goliath. It was a blessing to tell them that God can use the weak and small, it doesn't matter who or where you are from, having faith in God and what He is capable to do though you if you trust Him.
As I am getting older I am realizing that life is full of ups and downs and sometimes they seem to never stop. How do we keep that persistent faith when times get hard? We know the truths, Christ is our strength, our everything. He is our joy, our reason for living, our identity. In Him we are strong. Well lets be honest, some days I don't always feel that way, but I always know God will bring another tomorrow. A fresh new day...and day to start new...to feel Gods joy. To praise Him, to focus on who He is and what you are thankful for. I find the more I take the focus off myself and my needs, the less stressed and hurt I feel. God is God, God is good and is a faithful God. He is all powerful, all knowing, forever loving and is our comfort and our unending joy. Let us be thankful for that today and every morning we wake up. Let us get on our knees before the maker of the universe and praise His name, and be humbled that he chose to send His son to take our place. The foundations of our faith and the core truths we know about our faith, this is what we need to cling onto in times of trouble.
As many of you already know, my back has not been healing like I hoped and prayed for and had to make an emergency trip home. I was and have been in a lot of pain. God knew and knows what was and is going to happen and I have been learning to trust Him though hard times like this. This trip has been challenging for me, but I know God is preparing me for something in the future. After the team left, my back only got worse to the point that I needed to come home as soon as possible.
There are times when the stress seems to never stop and as human beings, we tend to fall short in trusting the Lord. Let us be reminded that He is there walking with us every step of the way. God didn't promise this life to be easy, but He did promise to be there with us with every step we take. I need to constantly remind myself of this.
I am home back in the USA, after many sad and emotional goodbyes. Saying goodbye to the babies at the baby HOMe and Sandra, broke my heart. I still cry when I think back to the look on Sandra's face when I told her I had to go home. She is so much on my heart and it killed me to say goodbye to her. I pray so much for her. I love her so much and I wanted to take her home with me. She needs Jesus and to feel His love around her. All the babies are so sweet and my heart may have broken when I had to leave them. I have a very hard time thinking about the abrupt goodbyes, without tearing up.
God has used this ministry to teach me so much, I am still trying to process all that has happened while I was there. I need to patiently wait for Gods leading in the future and how soon I will be back on the field in West, Africa. My heart is still on fire to go back and help and I pray that the Lord guides me as I pursue that goal.
Thank you for all your prayers and financial support as I stayed in Ghana to work at the Baby HOMe and also Beacon House.
I can't wait to return and serve the Lord in Ghana, Africa if that is His will.
Thank you all again!
Because of your mercy,
Selina
God will bring another tomorrow, full of His Grace. May I always remember that.
Wow I have so much I want to tell you. This blog post may be pretty long.
So much has happened this past month I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the whole thing.
Lets begin with how things went with the team that came to Ghana for a week, Kyle and Tamara Maycroft. What a blast we had and what a joy it was to have some people in the house with me that week...it was very much needed and very encouraging. With visiting schools, going to the Baby HOMe, teaching children about "David and Goliath" and going to the slums of Accra,the week was very busy. It was a good busy though, and very thankful for the time with the Maycrofts.
There is so much need all around in Ghana, and some days it can overwhelming. God has opened my eyes to see things I will never forget. They are burnt in my memory and I am no longer ignorant to the extreme needs there. So the question is, how am I going to allow God to use this for his Glory? Every time I visit the slums of Accra, my heart breaks in two. I hurt inside seeing children living in these conditions and the houses and clothes they have. They have so little, but yet they are living day to day. Some don't know any different. With the the slums population of over 50,000, there is a steady rise in prostitution, child trafficing,and high crime. One thing I would see and would blow my mind every time is that you still see children running around happy and laughing, knowing no different. Children playing with what they have and making the best of it. I would cringe when I would see beautiful little girls there, and my heart would sink and then I would pray "Please God don't let her fall into prostitution, she doesn't deserve this"
The slums are overwhelming, and when looking at it as a whole... it seems almost impossible to change it. What would happen if you focused on one person at a time? Then maybe two? Starting on that small level. We can't be afraid of the giant task in front of us, but focus on pursuing the betterment of humanity one step at a time, one person at a time. Let us not diminish the importance of one human being and the opportunity to help. This is where change happens on the larger scale.
We also got to teach small lessons at a couple of schools in Accra. This was fun and all three of us had a blast singing songs and telling them the encouraging story of David and Goliath. It was a blessing to tell them that God can use the weak and small, it doesn't matter who or where you are from, having faith in God and what He is capable to do though you if you trust Him.
As I am getting older I am realizing that life is full of ups and downs and sometimes they seem to never stop. How do we keep that persistent faith when times get hard? We know the truths, Christ is our strength, our everything. He is our joy, our reason for living, our identity. In Him we are strong. Well lets be honest, some days I don't always feel that way, but I always know God will bring another tomorrow. A fresh new day...and day to start new...to feel Gods joy. To praise Him, to focus on who He is and what you are thankful for. I find the more I take the focus off myself and my needs, the less stressed and hurt I feel. God is God, God is good and is a faithful God. He is all powerful, all knowing, forever loving and is our comfort and our unending joy. Let us be thankful for that today and every morning we wake up. Let us get on our knees before the maker of the universe and praise His name, and be humbled that he chose to send His son to take our place. The foundations of our faith and the core truths we know about our faith, this is what we need to cling onto in times of trouble.
As many of you already know, my back has not been healing like I hoped and prayed for and had to make an emergency trip home. I was and have been in a lot of pain. God knew and knows what was and is going to happen and I have been learning to trust Him though hard times like this. This trip has been challenging for me, but I know God is preparing me for something in the future. After the team left, my back only got worse to the point that I needed to come home as soon as possible.
There are times when the stress seems to never stop and as human beings, we tend to fall short in trusting the Lord. Let us be reminded that He is there walking with us every step of the way. God didn't promise this life to be easy, but He did promise to be there with us with every step we take. I need to constantly remind myself of this.
I am home back in the USA, after many sad and emotional goodbyes. Saying goodbye to the babies at the baby HOMe and Sandra, broke my heart. I still cry when I think back to the look on Sandra's face when I told her I had to go home. She is so much on my heart and it killed me to say goodbye to her. I pray so much for her. I love her so much and I wanted to take her home with me. She needs Jesus and to feel His love around her. All the babies are so sweet and my heart may have broken when I had to leave them. I have a very hard time thinking about the abrupt goodbyes, without tearing up.
God has used this ministry to teach me so much, I am still trying to process all that has happened while I was there. I need to patiently wait for Gods leading in the future and how soon I will be back on the field in West, Africa. My heart is still on fire to go back and help and I pray that the Lord guides me as I pursue that goal.
Thank you for all your prayers and financial support as I stayed in Ghana to work at the Baby HOMe and also Beacon House.
I can't wait to return and serve the Lord in Ghana, Africa if that is His will.
Thank you all again!
Because of your mercy,
Selina
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