A long time coming :o)

Alright- NOW that we’ve got this amazing website FINALLY up (credit Alex Chatfield)- I suppose your interested in a few updates for each of us- which I’m sure the guys will have underway as soon as possible!

1. Just in case you were totally out of the loop for the last couple of months- I married my soulmate Matthew Ondish (he’s a loyal volunteer and my partner in crime) October 23rd 2009!  What a journey it has been over the last few weeks…being a newlywed brings so much responsibility, time management, and teaches you so much about the one you love…  I’ll definitely make sure to keep you all up on how things are evolving and what God is teaching me!

2. We have had a ton of changes in the student ministry (not just a super-amazing website-but life changes as well) over the course of a few months. Coming back from Accra, Ghana rocked my world- it opened my eyes and transformed my way of seeing life.  I no longer see the things the same…and blogging was certainly one of those things I havent seen the same- I promise to be just as clear, descriptive, and passionate in the blogs to come as I was in those blogs about Ghana.  By the way, I believe God has opened the door for me to journey there again this February- watch out world!!!

3. God is moving- blatantly obvious- He’s at work in my life, the Detour Team, the student ministry…YOUR LIFE.  Today we finish up Re[Act]- and I have seen Him so alive and vibrant throughout these last few months that I dont want a series like this, a series that shakes you and prompts us to move, to be over…mostly because once our Re[Act] series is over, I know that Christmas break comes in a few weeks.  Someone might say, ”What’s your deal Emily?  Christmas break is great….family…gifts…a vacation.”  I don’t know…we get on a roll here in the student ministry and as soon as we think we’ve got it, we take off 2 or 3 weeks and it almost seems like we have to start all over again with you all…  So yeah, mostly its because breaks=distnce=space=time and we want to be so connected to all of you.

So, i guess ill end this in the most appropriate way…with a question!  Respond as you wish:

How have you seen God changing in you, your friends, your community over the last few months?  How has it inspired you to move??

 

a vibrant people

 

This is a blog I wrote while I was in Ghana….Im still trying to get my videos uploaded and on this blogsite….be patient…

“Don’t be mistaken, Accra is a vibrant city, full of motion and life.  With hundreds of thousands of people living within miles of each other, there is always something exciting happening. There are very few moments without something to do. I have never seen a city with so many choices of entertainment.  And not the kind of entertainment that you imagine when I say the word.  It is not entertainment through facebook, myspace, or the web.  It’s not entertainment through television or radio or even through video games.  It is entertainment through basic life.  Ghanains find joy in the items that we see as boring.  You know, I have mentioned all of the things that have panged my heart, but I have said so little about how magnificent and beautiful these people are.  These are people who take all that they have and make use of it to the fullest.  They are proud of their culture and do all that they can to express it! They make their own clothing with colors that seem brighter than anything that I have seen at home.  They grow their own gardens and raise their own livestock and feed mostly off of what they themselves can harvest.  The sounds of their music send their feet in rhythmic action and they dance in elation with every opportunity that they have.  They will even invite complete strangers to dance in their wedding reception- We definitely wouldn’t do that in America!  I love that the children here can stay occupied for hours by just pushing a wheel down the street. I love that you can get a taxi with 6 people for the price of 1 taxi ride in America!  I love that you can get any food you want from a street vendor.  I love that children will run to you with smiles when they see you pull out a book to read to them.  I love that you can wave at any person and they will surely wave back at you!  I love that in Africa, time is not an issue and you can show up as late as you want and it won’t bother anyone.  I love that waking up in the morning means your ears are met with the chirps of exotic birds. And I love that the men and women are so passionate about their city and so welcoming to us! We think that they are without, because they don’t have direct access to all the items that we see as pleasurable, but once you have had a glimpse of their world, you see that they live abundantly with what they have been given!  It makes them a delight to be around! ”

 

no oasis

If you were to pick up a postcard from Ghana, it would depict faces that were smiling, tall luscious trees, fruit aplenty.  If you were to simpl land and take a taxi ride to your hotel in downtown Accra, your eyes wouldn’t see what I have seen.  Ghana is no oasis.  It is no place of overflowing happiness or joy.  It is not a city where its people shout with jubilation, but instead it is where noise, confusion, and anger drive through the streets, mosques, and in the shanty homes.  In america, we take for granted that there is food in our cubbards, and a relatively clean place to lay one’s head.  In Ghana the children don’t count on a meal being prepared in the evenings by their mother or father, they are only interested in getting something to eat which will fill their bellies, no matter what it is or where it comes from.  In america we are frustrated when someone uses up all the hot water or when someone drinks your last favorite soda from the fridge.  In Ghana, you must go a get your water from a gutter that is overflowing with trash and bring it back to a public “shower” in which some may even use for a bathroom.  They have little chance of getting a colling refreshment without worrying of where it came from.   In america we get overwhelmed by too many expectations, too little time, and not enough people to do the work.  In Ghana there are little to no expectations for education or career, and there are too many people wanting for jobs.

We have so much, but give so little.  They have so little, but have given me so much.  There hasn’t been one visit or stop that a Ghanain has not offered me their seat…or bought me a drink with the bit of money they made that day, or even to give me food when it would mean that they would have to go without food themselves.  My heart is shattered seeing all that I have, and seeing all that they don’t have.  I cannot fathom that life will be the same when I get home….

 

a night with the bissa chief

I wanted to tell you all an amazing story that happened a few nights ago in Medina with a Bissa Chief.  We arrived in Medina after a very hectic time traveling there.  We had previously arranged to show the Jesus film at the Medina Bissa Chief’s house with those who we had been able to invite at 7pm that night.  It was already after 7pm but we were there and ready to start the film with many of the bissa elders as well as family members patiently waiting for the movie.  They had decided instead to watch “The Passion of Christ.”  Now if any of you have seen this movie, you know the graphic details that it shows of man’s suffering in the form of Jesus.  For anyone who has seen and heard the message of Christ, you know what is coming.   But for the bissa chief and his people it was quite a different occurence.  In the portion of the movie where Jesus begins receiving the 39 lashings from the cat of nine tails, I glanced over the room of bissa people.  Every one of them gripping their chairs, hanging on the edge of what would happen to this man called Jesus whom they had not known to have come to be their salvation.  Their eyes were intently engaged in every motion, their mouths wide open in fear and disbelief as they watch Christ become a pulp for sins he hadn’t committed.  Every time I watch those scenes I am reminded of how God allowed for Christ to take the place for the punishment of all of my sins.  But I knew that they had never seen this form of grace in action. I caught a glimpse of these people overwhlemed of what was happening.  One of the councilmen stood and said to me, “This punishment was too much to bare.” with which I responded, “But my friend, it WAS THE PRICE PAID.  Christ paid that price for you and I.”  This once strong, firm councilmen was heavy….his heart burdened for what he knew He had found as truth.  I noticed only a few moments later that the Bissa Chief himself was crying.  Tears were being shed because He was hearing a word of life, truth, and grace that he had never known before.  The movie ended at a point when it was not supposed to but somehow God had arranged for it to cut off just before the actual cruxifiction and Pastor Jimmie rose to share that THIS was the good news of JESUS CHRIST.  There were some questions and interest, but we felt the spirit of God moving in a way we hadn’t yet felt.  The hearts of the bissa elders and chief were being softened and although we left with no new profession of faith, we knew that God would not allow them to rest that night without wrestling with him.

I am reminded, through this story, of how God allowed me to see His glory and adoration for me, even in the awful state I was in when He found me.  If you are reading this I want to encourage you to refresh your mind of that same moment for yourself….and WHEN was the last time that we actually wept because of what Christ did for us as sinners?  When was the last time that we wept because of the state of our own hearts?  or for the hearts of those around us who have never heard this message?

I will continue to keep you all posted of all that is going on.  Things have been extremely busy…we are always up early and out late….sometimes until 11pm or so which makes it very difficult for me to write to all of you.  Please continue to pray for all that is being done in Ghana!

For those of you who are wondering, I will be coming in VERY LATE on Sunday evening or early monday morning!  I love you all and can’t wait to share all that I have seen with you!

 

tin roof city

  I have contemptlating on how I would write about all that I have seen and heard over the last few days, and the time has come when I have time to do so.  Today I awoke not feeling all that great and as the morning went on, I could feel myself getting worse, so just before everyone headed out I excused myself from going this morning and came in our room to rest.  I have probably been asleep for a few hours now, but the dreams of Chanian faces have been so vividly haunting me.  They have haunted me in a way that I feel burdened to pray for their hearts, their lake of guidance, and for the majority of them who still don’t know that God sent them the gift of life. 

  It really struck a cord in my heart when just a few days ago, we made it to the end of a very long day and were traveling on a hill to the north of Accra (the city).  I was looking into a vast view of what seemed like miles and miles of tin roofs.  There were no regular homes, no safe havens….there were no glamorous houses, or sounds of joy. There were no smells of the sweet cooking of dinner for the evening or mothers and fathers calling their small ones in from the night.  There was no settling, no relief in sight for them.  It hit me that for most of the people of Accra, there was no hope…no hope for joy or for comfort from God’s redeeming love.  No, for the people of Accra (with probably somewhere around 70 people groups represented) there was only the reminder of a call to worship one who offered nothing but a threat that said if they did not do enough good works to cancel their sin debt, they would never see heaven.  You see, islamic religion says that the only way to get to heaven is through Muhammed’s teachings and his teachings say that it is only by good works that they might obtain eternal life.  There is no room for grace or mercy.  As the night was approaching and I was overlooking a city drowning in fear, I was heavy in my heart for those people.  I can’t speak their language so it is difficult for me to ever really know all that they have gone through in their lifetime as a result of their religion.  For those who have accepted Christ, we can’t promise them safety, or promise them that they won’t face a life of persecution.  We can only tell them that God’s love for them is so mighty, that no matter what they go through in this life, with His son’s blood, they have a promised eternal life.

  I don’t know about you, but if I were a muslim, it would be so very difficult for me to put down a life that allowed me to be with my family but offered no grace, for a life that took away my rights and my family and all that I had ever known for eternal life that I have never seen or know what it would be like.  Do you get me? Please continue to pray- You prayers are strong and vital to the work that is being done in Ghana.  Each of you who is faithful to do so, is a partner to this mission!  We love you and miss you.

 

A quick post

Hi everyone!!  We are in the middle of a quick break from a long day that began at 9:45 and just ended about 10 minutes ago- We will be going to dinner and thank goodness for it, because we haven’t eaten since this morning at breakfast (it is too hot and we are always walking). Let me say that God has done AMAZING THINGS over the past few days- for now I will keep this message short- but i will be sure to write a longer blog this evening.  Just for a recap- Yesterday the 4 girls who were 16 that I was to meet- of them 3 made professions of faith and we are planning to have them baptized by this friday!  Lord willing, the arrangements will work out and we will be able to have video and pictures of the baptism!  Yesterday’s travels were very long- We started before 10am and ended after 10pm.  The weather has been relatively warm- I don’t know how hot only because I haven’t seen any thermometers but I am guessing that it has been near 95 degrees or hotter every day.  Today, I can GUARANTEE YOU that it was close to 100 degrees without the heat index.  I was melting- a girl who I met at church, her name is Loveswill, kept saying o me, “You look so tired- you look as though you are melting.”  HA HA!!  I probably did! 

Overall, things are going extremely well.  We are continuing to strive to meet new Bissa people every day.  It is quite difficult though (Bissa people are from North Ghana and because we are in the south there are not as many here) but we are pressing forward!  We hope that you each would continue to pray for our travels, for the softening of the hardened hearts of Bissa people, and for the opportunity to share with many (for most the first time) the message of Christ.  Thank you again for all of your love and support- I can’t wait to get home and share all that God has revealed to me!  I will do my very best to blog as often as I can.  We will be showing Jesus films late into many of the evenings that we have left while we are here, but again I will do my best!!

 

**Also, if my words seem short, it is only because I have been speaking in short-hand english for 5 days and the transition from speaking to blogging can sometimes be CRAZY!  wE LOVE YOU ALL!

 

Ghana day 1-2

Hi everyone!  It has been another long day here in Accra, Ghana!  We have been diligently working to disciple and share Christ!  First let me say that we so greatly appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement- we are hearing from many of you and we know that though you many not be here with us physically, you are with us spiritually!  Let me tell you how things are working here: We have split the team in three parts 1: Myself, Melissa Jones, and Daniel Wilson. 2. Shell Ann Ondish, Marc King, and Cynthia Caulkin, 3. Pastor Jimmie Suggs, BrendaBarker, and Jay shafto (an american missionary from our church). We are all over the city in these “pods” walking, saying hi, and sharing small bits of why we are here as well as (when the opportunity presents itself) stories of Christs life, love, and purpose on earth and through his powerful death. Mostly, the last two days have been primarily spent on making contact with those that we have met with in the past trips as well as letting everyone know that we are back in the area. This city is SOOOOO complex and has so many roads and alleyways, but we are doing our best to cover as much territory as we can without stopping the holy spirit from working in and through us.  Today, my team left the safehouse around 10:30 and we were out until 5pm or so….it was a very long and hot day!  We first met at a place called “Hot Coffee”- where men do not simply drink hot coffee, but they debate the messages of the Quran and so on. It is what we would call a “men’s club” in america- minus any women at all. These are very devout muslims and they invited us in this morning. We had a wonderful opportunity to share some good news with them- though they were tough in accepting any of it they still listened! It was very VERY exciting to just sit and listen and watch as Daniel so carefully shared what Christ meant for us as Christians and what He could mean for the people of Accra. We then traveled to meet up with a Bissa Chief who has been very open to us sharing the gospel with his people. We will be sharing a jesus movie later on this week for his people.  This is a very big deal because he states that the Bissa people who are predominantly muslim are very interested in hearing more about ”this story of Jesus.”  We left there and talked to some women and children in a few courtyards- but the most exciting part was that I met some girls who were only 16 and made an appointment for tomorrow with them to sit and talk about the message that Christ brings as well as tell them some stories.  It is quite incredible how God divinely appoints for us to meet certain individuals.  As soon as I saw them, they were smiling about and invited me over. I knew that they could only be about 14-18yrs which is just up my alley! When they expressed that they were all only 16yrs old I was so excited.  Many of my prayers have been that God would put me with just the right people to be able to encourage them.  Being that I have worked with student ministry for a few years and my passion is for young ladies to be equipped, this was perfect!  The work that I have been doing in America is definitley opening up doors while here in Ghana!  Because we were headed in many places for the day, I had to make this appointment for tomorrow at 2pm- they promised to bring friends and were very excited!  I am as well! 

Overall, it has been a very full day- we are beginning to wind things down here and start on getting some sleep.  Tomorrow I promise to have a video up for all of you to see- because of the internet here, again it is very slow in loading and can take up to hours!  love you all!

 

we’re here!

We made it…I thought we would never get here! Let me explain: We began traveling yesterday morning at 7am to RDU airport and from there we had a 1.5hr flight to JFK (New York).  We stayed in the JFK airport until 445 yesterday, boarded the final flight to Accra, Ghana….and then it sank in.  I would not only be on a plane for 10 HOURS STRAIGHT, but this was the longest flight I had ever taken AND it was entirely over water.  I slept VERY VERY little last night, if any, and we got off the plane this morning at 8am (we are 5 hours ahead of all of you). 

We have been going ever since! We walked for about 4 hours today in steaming weather, meeting new faces, letting old faces know that we are hear sharing the God news of Christ.  There have been plenty of fun videos captured (some different techniques to passing 10 hour flights, footage of a local playground, and a preschool of children singing songs to God).  I’ve been trying to make sure that you all will have plenty to see and learn from this trip. . .unfortunately, it will take a great deal of time for me to get to uploading videos, as the internet here is SLOW.  I will do my very best to get something up by tomorrow!!  As for what might be going through my head- I am already seeing how little I know and just how much I want to learn.  The ghanian culture is extremely fascinating!

One last note, tonight while a portion of our team was taking a cab back to our safehouse, Pastor Jimmie Suggs began talking with this cab driver about his faith.  This driver expressed that he was a muslim and Pastor Jimmie told him that we had comef rom America with a message from God for the people of Accra.  The man’s facial expressions and demeanor seemed to change a bit.  He asked Jimmie what good news he was talking about and there conversation began to turn so that Jimmie was able to share the gospel with this cab driver.  At the end of the conversation, the man said he had to go back to work and couldn’t stay to talk any longer, but that tomorrow he would meet us back at the safehouse, with his wife and children so that they as a family could hear the message of Christ!  How incredible was that opportunity!!!

Anyway, please keep this family in your prayers…and continue to pray four our team as we will continue combing the area, getting the word out, and presenting this message.  Please also be in prayer for a portion of our group which will be traveling to Komasi (sp?) tomorrow to make some contacts with new individuals who will be partnering with us in this church plant!  I love all of you! Thanks for your support!

Some of the preschool children who sang to us today!

 

Just before I go….

 

one week

If you’re keeping up….It’s one week before my team takes off for Ghana! I made a list of things that I have to pick up before I leave and hopefully Ill have video of getting those things!!!

Here’s the list: 2 mini toothpastes; 2 mini shampoos and conditioners; qtips; sani-wipes (to wash hands before and after certain visits); socks socks socks (we’ll be walking miles every day); peanut butter (you can’t ever go wrong with that!) bandaides; laundry detergent; bug repelent; sun screen; LOTS OF KLEENEX TISSUE (they have out houses for you to use the bathroom- but you have to pay a $.25 for toilet paper and usually thats in the form of newspaper, so we try to stay prepared for it all!)…………among many other things that will be packed away in a giant bag like long skirts, several pairs of closed-toed shoes, a hat, etc.  Packing for a trip 5000 miles away makes you consider all that you need for the journey and then some.

So, a question for those of you who are reading this: If you were going on a trip 5000 miles awway fom all that you know, what’s the ONE THING that you couldn’t leave without?