You are NOT ALONE...

I would be lying to say this journey hasn't felt lonely at times.  Even with the support from our friends and family at home, we have spent a lot of time "in the trenches" on our own.  This has been difficult at times.  We've had days where we wrestled to pull ourselves out of the mires of discouragement.  But its also been a sweet time where we have pulled together as a family, encouraged each other in truth, and rallied together to overcome obstacles.  Our family is closer and more unified walking this journey together.

It has also been a sweet time of walking in total dependence on our Savior.  Each day we are learning to rely on Him in new ways.  We are learning to give Him our insecurities, fear, and frustrations.  We are learning to focus on what He has directly in front of us and trust Him with the millions of things in the future that we will face.  We are learning to surrender more and more of ourselves to Him.  Multiple times a day, I find myself in His presence trying to "breathe deep"...trying to ground myself in His truth...trying to bask in His affection for me...just being KNOWN by Him.  In those moments, I have heard the gentle voice of my Savior saying over and over, "I LOVE you...I am IN this with you...You are NOT ALONE."  His presence has been my peace...

The last few weeks, God has voiced His "You are NOT ALONE" message even louder.  We have FRIENDS!!!  We met an American family, the Beebes, from Knoxville who have 5 boys.  This family is amazing!  They are here working with a couple non-profits but ultimately they are living, loving, and serving the Ghanaian people in Jesus's name.  I found them by googling "Ghana missionary blogs."  :)  At some point after getting here, I found their blog and would read it sometimes in an attempt to learn how other Americans were "living life" in Ghana.  (yes, this is my confession to blog stalking!  :)  )  For some reason, I thought they lived a couple hours north of us.  Then in February, I realized that it seemed they may be much closer than I realized.  I contacted them and we had them over for dinner a couple days later.  And get this...their front door to our front door is about 7 MINUTES!  If I could explain to you how crazy travel and traffic is here in Ghana, you would understand what a MIRACLE it is that they live so close to us.

Meeting the Beebe family has opened the door into a whole community of people.  There is a family/group of people that run an organization just minutes from us that rescue children trafficked into the fishing industry on the Volta river.  Those children that they can't reconcile into safe environments with their families are brought to their children's home (City of Refuge) where they are cared for and can attend the school right there.  There are several Americans (& Ghanaians) who run, work, and  volunteer at this organization.  We've attended a couple worship services there and have been incredibly blessed.  There are also a number of other Americans who are living here for various reasons that we've met.  I've been able to attend a weekly woman's Bible Study that has been so refreshing.  The Beebe's have invited us to their son's birthday and even took our kids for an evening and sent Don and I out on a date in their car!  It has been such a gift to have friendships here and to experience community with other families desiring to follow Jesus and impact Ghana for Him.  

During a recent worship time with our new friends and a visiting YWAM team, I heard God's message to me again -- "You are NOT ALONE!"  My heart rejoiced over His provision for us and the new meaning that message now has...