Real People

Before coming on this trip, I had heard a lot of stories of human suffering and seen a lot of pictures of children dying far to early. But it wasn’t until I saw it firsthand that it became real. The stories that you hear are real, the people in them are real. Real people with names and faces. People are dying everyday from preventable diseases. Children are suffering and dying because of their parent’s lack of simple education. They do not understand therefore, they do nothing.

 I have seen a baby born to a mom who didn’t care and then hours later die because of a lack of resources. I have seen a 8.3lb one month old literally starve to death because her mother didn’t understand how to properly breastfeed. I have seen a 1 and a 14 yr old die of malaria because their fevers got so high and their parents waited too long to take them to the hospital. I have seen a 12 yr old dying from HIV/AIDS, the same disease that killed his parents just months earlier. I have literally seen hundreds of people suffering from a disease that because of sanitation and prevention is virtually non-existent in America.

All of these things are too much for me to try to understand in a few weeks. I don’t know if I will ever understand the reasoning behind all of this seemingly unnecessary death; but, there is one thing I know for sure. I know that God is good. I know that He has a plan for all of this. I know that His will is being done here in Ghana. I know that He will get glory from everything I have witnessed here.

My prayer while being here has been simple: that God would break my heart for what breaks His. I can honestly say that He has. My eyes have been opened in ways that I never thought they would be. I have truly been broken and then built back up in God’s strength and for His glory.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 &4 says: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die….a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” I feel as though I have seen and experienced all of those in my time here.I have watched over 10 babies born and I have also seen children die. I have wept and mourned but I have also laughed and danced!! It has not been all sorrow, there is always hope when we are dealing with our Savior!

Since arriving, there have been over 20 people come to know the Lord and are being discipled. Countless others have experienced God’s love and heard about Jesus through our ministries to villages as well as our evangelism efforts. The children here have taught me so much about joy and laughter. They have essentially nothing according to American standards, but if you ask me, they have it all. They are always laughing, always joking, and always loving. I do not think I have laughed so much in my life. I am so thankful for their love on the days when life feels too hard.

Every day I am learning. Every day my heart grows more and more. Every day I rely on God’s strength to power me through. Every day He provides. I am so thankful for your continued prayers! I can feel their power in my time here. God is doing great things and I cannot wait to share them with you all soon.

Much love! Mary