Hope-filled

I was talking to a new friend the other day about Mercy Project, telling her the nuts and bolts of what we're doing in Ghana and what this upcoming (umm... tomorrow!) trip will mean to us and so many people who have supported and carried us to this point. Her response was, "You really have a dream job." To be sure, I tend to agree. I can't imagine doing anything else and simply can't put into words how honored I am to be making this journey, and even more, to be making this trip.

We fly out tomorrow, headed for Ghana. Headed to a lake, home of 7,000 child slaves. Headed to a little village in the bush, not even a spot on the map. Headed to a group of 25-30 kids who are days away from new identities as FORMER child slaves. Headed to those empty, reserved faces that no doubt will produce beaming smiles by the end of the week. Headed to reclaim new life and play a very small role in this great big plan of redemption.

This trip is the culmination of over two years of work, and while I try to be mindful of and think logically that things will likely not go "according to plan", I cannot help but be downright giddy with excitement and anticipation of what the next 8 days will bring. I feel like in the midst of several challenges leading up to this (and those to still come, I am sure!), God has been filling me up with a deep love for these kids that is a reflection of the love that He feels for all of us. A love that says, "I got this, I'm bigger than this, and you're mine". I'm so in. And I absolutely cannot wait.

Two things that have spoken truth to me this week:

"Everyone I know, it seems, wants to go to Africa, wants to volunteer for a few days in an AIDS clinic or an orphanage. And that's good. It's a good impulse to want to see it with your own eyes and to want to be a part of the solution. I encourage them to go and recommend organizations and churches to connect with, but inside myself, I whisper to them, Be careful. You will be haunted by what you find there, and you won't be able to wash away what you've seen and heard. You will see things and hear things, and then you will be responsible for them, for telling the truth about who you are and who you discover you are not, and for finding a way to make it right... Because once you see it, you will never be able to un-see it, and once you see it, you will be responsible for it, and for the self it reveals back to you." – Shauna Niequist

This was me. I had "travel to Africa" on my brain and when the opportunity came for me to go to Ghana in the summer of 2010, I jumped at the chance, wanting to see and take it all in. But I don't recall the meals that we had, the dust and dirt, the songs we sang, the hours we traveled. I do however, very distinctly remember the return and the acknowledgement that I was completely captivated by the children on the lake – even more, that I was absolutely responsible for helping do something about the things I witnessed. And the "revealed self"? Oh, yes. Yes, yes, and yes.



"One thing that struck me is that these Ghanaian boys and girls may not be her children, or mine, but they are God's -- and all we have to do is look at the Cross to see what kind of an "all-encompassing, bloody, sweaty fight" He put up to set His children free." – Hannah Miller

When we launched our Mommy Blogger initiative, this is one of the comments I saw posted. I immediately saved it to share. Remembering that these are God's kids makes me feel as if they are my kids in a very small "I will fight tooth-and-nail for you" kind of way. There is a resounding call for us to defend the helpless, yes? One of the things that Chris often says, that helps keep me grounded and retaining perspective, is the fact that God has known these children way longer than we have. He has been in Ghana way before we got there and deeply desires these children to be free way more than we ever could. And that is all the confidence I need for this week. It may not go according to our scheduled itinerary or look anything like what we have pictured in our minds, but it will very much go as He intends, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will walk out of that village on Sunday holding the hands of a group of precious little ones that are all His. We are ready. We are so incredibly hopeful.

Would you pray for us this week? Pray for the relationships we've built with the fisherman, that the release of the children will go as smoothly as possible. Pray for the transition of the children, and our long trek from the lake to the rehab shelter. Pray that we would learn well from our mistakes. Pray that our actions and words would be full of grace and joy. Pray that we will all be able to be fully present in every moment of each day. Pray for our hearts and the ways in which they will never be the same (praise God!) after this journey.

Check in on FB: we will be updating as we are able to over the next 8 days. Game. Time!