Sunday, June 9, 2013

Rock, paper, scissors and George Strait


I am still getting used to certain things here, like the fact that I have been asleep by 9 PM every Friday night so far this summer or that my new workout buddy, or buddies to be more exact, are a bunch of guys that work at the hospital who blow whistles, play finger castanets, and sing songs while they go for a run at 5:30 am on Saturday mornings. I still miss my running buddies back home very much but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world but here right now. Although we have already been here for over three weeks now this week has definitely held a lot of firsts, not just for me though but also for some of the friends I have made, like when I tried to teach the kids the game rock, paper, scissors (much more difficult than I anticipated but it kept us entertained for quite awhile at least), or when some of my friends listened to country music for the first time while I kept them company working at the hospital on Saturday night. As for me I can now say that I know how to gut a fish, not sure if I want to ever put that skill to use again, and that I have participated in my first communion here.  Sunday during the communion service I couldn’t help but feel blessed by such a clear picture of the unity of the body of Christ right in front of me. All the way over here in Ghana, where many things are so different and so new to me this was still the same, we are all saved by the same sacrifice and I felt so much joy surrounded by so many new friends lifting up praises to Him, as I thought of so many friends and family back home doing the same this morning. As I get to know more and more people here, hospital workers, teachers, and many others, and hear more about their lives, the difficult paths they have taken to get where they are and their struggle to continue on or even to return to school I see just how very different most of their lives have been from my own. We were talking about school and jobs one day and I asked one of my friends what they would choose to do someday if they could, he stared at me confused and said he had never thought about that before. I hadn’t realized before now how truly blessed I am to be able to dream about what I want to do someday, and what I want to be. I am so fortunate for all of the education I have received so far and for all of the opportunities I have for the future, to pursue the things I desire to learn and do the things that I am passionate about. More now than ever before I have seen that I have been given so much but at the same time I am also reminded that I am not my own and that this world is not our final home. I hope that I can learn from the things I have been able to see and experience here and that I will trust God’s plan for my life and allow Him to use me wherever He may lead, seeking His will not my own. Romans 12:1-8, 15:5,6 Luke 12:22-48 John 14, 15 Matthew 6:19-34 Mark 8:34-38

No comments:

Post a Comment