Every burden shall be lifted...

So I'm not sure how to communicate what God gave me by taking me to Ghana, at least not on a blog. But I can't imagine just skipping over that here, odd and inconsistent outlet for random thoughts though this has been... so I am just going to go ahead and post a copy of the letter I just wrote to thank the people who have blessed me with support and prayer to make the trip happen and flourish... it says what I want to say.

I am listening to the Innocence Mission album "Befriended." Do give it a listen. Especially the song "Look for Me As You Go By." All of it, though... this music speaks peace into a confused and tired mind tonight.

Anyway...Here's the letter. Some of you may get it in the mail, too. :-)

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28b-31)

Red dust coating my sandaled feet; the feel of a child’s hand in mine; bright-heat days and cool-breeze evenings. The musical sound of a laugh from the throat of an otherwise silent little girl. The whispers of fifty people praying at once merging into a wave of God-focused sound. The rustle of sleeves as a deaf woman leads a signed song of worship with graceful hands, her eyes closed, her smile radiant. . . These moments will never leave me. And as I thank God with all my heart for them, I also have you to thank, dear family in Christ.

Thank you for your financial and prayer support of my trip to Ghana with Handi*Vangelism Ministries International (HVMI). God has blessed me immeasurably by taking me to Ghana and letting me see Him in His people there. He multiplied the blessing by ten thousand by sending Melissa McDevitt with me; I wish you all knew her, and I hope you, too, have the blessing of such a steady, patient, inspiring, funny, wise and God-loving friend in your life!

Over the past four weeks, things have not always been easy—are they ever? J But through all the challenges of interacting cross-culturally, through our frequent confusion about what was going on and what our role should be, through every low and high moment, Melissa and I felt the love and presence of God. I know that your prayers were being constantly answered. He carried us through by infusing us with simple, inexpressible peace—and He gave us one another to lean on.

The first ten days of our time in Ghana were spent at Handi*Vangelism Ghana’s annual Deaf Camp Meeting, held this year in the rural Volta Region, at the Volta School for the Deaf. The camp included daily Bible studies, teaching and discussions, as well as local outings, sports and lots of dancing (the deaf campers and staff were amazing dancers! It was so beautiful to watch them express the rhythms and joys God has put within them, as they participated in Ghana’s very musical culture regardless of their “disability.”)!

After camp, we returned to the H*V Ghana ‘Rehabilitation Center’ in Accra. Over the next 11 days there, we were introduced to the various key areas of H*V Ghana’s ministry. We participated in services at Hope Community Chapel, the church H*V Ghana has established in the Center to serve as a beacon of Christ’s love in the community. We played with the children who are living at the Center (all children of parents who live on the street, usually children of people with disabilities) as they wait to be placed in foster families or reunited with estranged family members. We went to the streets and met some of their family members and many of the people who participate in H*V’s weekly street fellowship service. We saw H*V’s new land, where they plan to build a newer, larger ministry Center, with space for on-site vocational training and disability training for churches and individuals from all over West Africa.

At a gathering of H*V Ghana staff in Accra, I shared the verses that appear at the top of this letter. These words of Jesus are my favorite verses because of the hope they give me: hope about who God is—He is love. And hope about my life on this earth—when the busy, title-focused world overwhelms me with its to-do and should-be lists, I cling to the words and example of Jesus: to love is enough. These verses have come alive to me over the past year as God has proven to me His unconditional love for even me. As I began to believe in that love, He began to fill my life with opportunities to learn to love others as He does. This trip to Ghana has been for me a culmination of so many lessons and so many dreams. To love is the greatest thing. It is what Jesus did—and does. And it is how I will spend my life.

In the ministry of the men and women of H*V Ghana, and the staff (composed of both deaf and hearing people) of the Deaf Camp, I saw the same heart that God has given me. I saw people ministering with their whole lives, in the everyday, not just through official jobs and scheduled events. I saw a place that people are drawn to because there they find truth, acceptance and unconditional love.

How can I put in words for you how happy God has made me in and through this trip? I can tell you that I am praying to return to Ghana and the ministry of HVMI, if it is His plan for me. A big part of my heart is there; maybe it always has been there, waiting for me to come find it. There is such a clear need—children who have no one reaching lovingly into their crucial growing-up years; this is work for the Body of Christ. I don’t know what God has in mind for me; but as I’ve seen His plan so far, just a step’s worth at a time, He has proven over and over that He knows and loves me better than I ever could. So my eyes are on Him…not on me.

For now, as I go back to work and studying in the States, I want so much to thank you for your love, your support, your encouragement. God has used you to answer my prayers in ways better and deeper than had ever asked or imagined. I pray that each of you will experience the blessing of loving others more and more this year—and that you will know what a blessing you have been to me.

In Jesus,
Kate.