A Gift from God

 When I retired, I wanted to sleep for six months. I was so tired and weary. Well, because of Covid, I slept for those six months and then more. As restrictions were lifted, I was looking for something to do, something outside of my house...yes, I wanted to see people and be among people. (I love being a part-time hermit, but the operative word here is PART-TIME.) So, I decided to volunteer at the Patrick County Visitor's Center. I had been in Patrick County for two years. I knew some stuff, and I could learn. 

So, I went to the Visitor's Center and gave them my information. A few weeks later, I received a phone call and was welcomed with open arms. The Visitor's Center is such a bright and cheerful place, packed with all kinds of information about Patrick County and surrounding areas. I learned "the ropes" and assisted people who came in to see what our beautiful county has to offer. Then...the question came...

"Sue, would you like to be paid for the time you spend here?" Would I want to be paid? Well, of course I would! There's a program through Goodwill that offers part-time training programs for seniors. So, I am now enrolled in a "Training Program." I wasn't looking for a job, but I am so grateful for this program. It gives me that little bit of a cushion each month. 

What do I do, you may wonder. I greet visitor's, helping them find information on places to see, to hike, to taste wine, to ride dirt bikes...you get the idea. I keep the brochure racks stocked and will be ordering more as needed. I drive all over the county, tidying up visitor information areas and restocking them. And, I will be learning some new computer skills! I check out places in the county that I haven't seen yet. I do a lot of odds and ends to prepare for special events. And, yes, I sweep the floors and take out garbage, too. 

This "job" or "training program" has been a blessing. I work with the best people of the county. So, when you are in the area, "Come. Get Lost. And Find Yourself...In Patrick County."

For Liz and Christopher

My dear friend, Lizzy, got married on Saturday. I was several thousands of miles away. But, in spirit, I was with her and Christopher. Here is my prayer for them:

Father in Heaven, thank you for this husband, Christopher, and wife, Elizabeth, and their commitment to Christian marriage. As I look ahead, I pray that their future will never lack the convictions that make a marriage strong.

Bless this husband, Christopher. Bless him as provider and protector. Sustain him in all the pressures that come with the task of stewarding a family. May his strength be his wife's boast and pride, and may he so live that his wife may find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

Bless this wife, Elizabeth. Give her a tenderness that makes her great, a deep sense of understanding, and a strong faith in You.Give her that inner beauty of a soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast to the things that never age. May she so live that her husband may be pleased to reverence her in the shrine of his heart.

Teach them that marriage is not living for each other. It is two people uniting and joining hands to serve You. Give them great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, knowing that You will sustain them through all of life's challenges.

May they minimize each other's weaknesses and be swift to praise and magnify each other's strengths so they might view each other through a lover's kind and patient eyes. Help them everyday to be kind and gentle, More like You. Give them a little something to forgive each day, that their love might learn to be long suffering.

Bless them and develop their characters as they walk together with You. Give them enough hurts to keep them humane, enough failures to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours, and enough of success to make them sure they walk with You throughout all of their life.

May they never take each other's love for granted but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, "Out of all this world, you have chosen me." Then, when life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now, still hand in hand, still very proud, still thanking You for each other.

May they travel together as friends and lovers, brother and sister, husband and wife, father and mother, and as servants of Christ until He shall return or until that day when one shall lay the other into the arms of God. This I ask, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Great Lover of our souls. Amen.

Adapted from Dr. Luis H. Evans' Marriage Prayer for Bride and Groom 

Going Home

Today I begin my journey home.I have been in the US for six months, two months longer than I had planned. I am anxious to go home, to sleep in my own bed. But, going home is costly, too. Costly not in monetary value, but in other ways. When I am home, it costs me the opportunity to be with family and those friends that I have know for so long. It costs me the opportunity to worship in my heart language. It costs me the "comforts" I have gotten used to...grocery stores, easy access to medical services, fast internet. It costs me family get-togethers for celebrations and grieving. I could go on, but I won't. I pay the cost joyfully.

In exchange, I live among the world's most amazing people! And, the most beautiful children! I have the privilege of learning a language that most people never heard of, and I am exposed to a whole new cuisine. I am given the opportunity to work with and love, the least, last and lost in the Upper West Region of Ghana. I work along side some very gifted people. And, I LOVE it! The cost isn't so much if I take time to count the blessings. 

Thank you, Lord, for this next chapter of my Great Adventure with You.

Together We Can

A friend of mine, the Very Rev. James Salia is retiring this year. He will have reached the mandatory age of 70 when Methodist Church Ghana posts pastors in October. Rev. Salia is from the Upper West and has served at the Lawra church for several years. He looked at the posting as an opportunity, not as a punishment because he knows the people of the Upper West. He know they need the LORD. After leaving Lawra, he could have been posted at a more "lucrative" church, a "better" assignment. Instead, he asked to be posted in a village, again, in the Upper West.

Now, this chapter of his life is closing. Rev. Salia has had to face the fact that he needs a house to live in when he retires. He has purchased land and has started to Build his cement block house. But, will it be finished when he needs to move in? I doubt it. He is doing what he can, as he can afford it, little by little.

While at Synod a week ago, I saw the body of Christ in action...I saw Synod members take care of one of their own. I saw a church take it upon themselves to help this brother in Christ as much as they could. 

A plea was made on Rev. Salia's behalf. People responded...with money, with promises of funds and supplies. People, a few at first, came forward, placing their gifts in the collection box. By the time Synod was officially over, half of the money of what Rev. Salia needed to complete his house was provided, along with seven doors, two bundles of roofing sheets and cloth. It is amazing what the family of God can do together! Thank You, LORD, for the out pouring of love on this dear brother!

One Step at a Time

This past week I received word that I have a house in Lawra, Ghana! The money for the rent has been wired and all should be well. (The house in the picture is not my house.) I have not seen it, but I do know that it has two bedrooms and a living room. I also know that it is unfurnished. So, what I'll do is travel to the Upper West Region. I'll see my house. I'll sleep on the floor. I'll cook on a wood fire. I'll find out where to buy a bed and a stove and a refrigerator and a water filter. That will be February.

In March, I'll work on finding a desk, a kitchen table & chairs and a lamp or two. Maybe even a bedside table. I'll have to do furnish the house one step at a time, very possibly one item at a time.

I know with patience, perseverance & the Grace of God, this empty house will become my home. It will be a place where I can be myself, a sanctuary from all that is going on around me. It will also be a place to study language, to entertain guests, to study God's Word with others and to fellowship with one another. I pray God's blessing on my house and on all who enter it.

Blessed to be a Blessing

Time is ticking away. My trip to Central Asia is only 3 1/2 weeks away I'm beginning to pack for my trip to Central Asia. Well, maybe "pack" isn't the right word, "pile up stuff" is a better way of putting it. I am beginning to get requests from people "over there." Requests for things they can't get, like an HP ink cartridge, Frisbees and Uno cards to use with one of the kid's ministries, stuff for guitars, and, sandalwood soap. I can't find sandalwood soap anyplace but on line. But, I'll keep looking.


When I first started going oversees on mission trips, I was trained to use my carry on and half of a larger suitcase for myself. The rest of the room goes for ministry supplies. So, I have yarn dolls, felt, dream catchers, patters, balloons, games and LOTS more to take to use with the kids and stuff to bless the missionaries, too. So, my suitcase is a little, no, is a lot like this one pictured here. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a blessing to be a blessing!