A New Family for Alice

This is my buddy, Alice. She lived at the orphanage in Lawra, Ghana. Her parents died of HIV/AIDS. I say lived, because she was adopted! Adoption in this area of Ghana is unusual. I am so happy for her and her new American family. I pray that she will grow up to be a young woman of faith, knowing how much Jesus loves her. I pray that she would know Him as her Lord and Savior. I pray that He will be the most important person in her life and that she would give Him all the honor and glory due Him. And, I pray, that when she grows up, she, too, will return to Ghana for a time, to help her people.

Alice, I love you and I'll miss. As the Sankofa reminds us, remember from where you came. God bless you!

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. It's the day when we Americans honor our fathers, for who they are, their impact on our lives and the love they have for their children.

During our prayer time in Sunday School, I couldn't help but pray for those children who don't have fathers. I prayed for those whose fathers are dead or have chosen not to be a part of their child's life. And, I prayed for those who take the time to be a father figure or a Godly male influence to the countless orphans throughout the world. It isn't an easy job.

I pray that God would give wisdom, patience and unconditional love to all fathers. And, I pray that God would send men out into the world to "step up" to fill in the gaps where fathers should be. Every child needs to know the love of a father.

It's That 5 Letter "T" Word Again

It's that 5 letter "T" word again - TRUST. I have tickets to go to Brazil on July 2nd, but my visa has not arrived yet. And, I am getting a little concerned. I am so used to sending my passport overnight to a consulate for a visa on Monday and having it in my hand by Thursday. But, that's not how it is working this time. First of all, the Consulate of Brazil does not accept requests for visas by mail. So, I had to use a travel document agency. It's been over two weeks now. And, I won't be home most of the week (again) to sign for it. Ugh! So, what can I do? TRUST God that all will happen in His perfect timing. Until then, I'll stay home as much as I can (two days), hoping that it will come and I will be here to sign for it.

God Knows

Today is the day before the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church begins. It was a day of prayer and healing. Tonight there was a healing service in the chapel. And, as I was sitting there praying and thinking, God knew...He just knew. He knew what I needed! I never voiced it, but He knew. A friend came up to me and said, "Sue, I'd like to pray for you. I'd like to pray something specific that the Lord has put on my heart. As this friend spoke to me and prayed, we both were crying. I was crying because every word of that prayer was what I needed, was what I was thinking, was where in my spirit I needed to be touched. And, I praise God that He knew and He took care of everything even beter than I could have imagined. Thank You, Jesus!

What is It Really About?

Kolongo Church (Under the Tree,) Ghana

My Church, Concord UMC

Today I attended a meeting at my church. One of the things we talked about was how we do church & how should we be doing church Our speaker was very serious when she said there was a group of 20 somethings in her church that were very pregnant and were trying to impress on the decision making body of the church that they needed lounge chairs in the back of the sanctuary for the pregnant women and even little refrigerator/freezers between them equipped with ice cream.

I had a really hard time with this. I guess I'm becoming more and more Ghanain. My favorite church is the Kolongo church in the upper west region of Ghana. It meets under a tree in the midst of a cornfield, but during the dry season there is no cornfield. There are no creature comforts - no bathrooms, no cold water, no padded pews or air conditioning, no hymnals and no Bible in their own heart language. Mothers come to worship, pregnant or not, some nursing babies during the service. People bring benches, stools or whatever they have at home on which to sit. They don't argue that there is no building to worship in during the rainy season. They come to worship, not to be entertained. It's about God, not about me.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for going to where the people are and meeting them on their ground. We need to put aside our comfort zone to reach out to others at the point of their need. But, I have to admit, I had a rough time with this one!