Coming Home

It’s a little bit silly starting a Mission’s blog with the title of “Coming Home”, yet that is exactly what this is for Amy and me- a homecoming. This trip marks my 6th to Ghana and it is a place that is very near and dear to my heart. I find the noise, commotion, and heat comforting. In some ways it’s a lot like that comfortable pair of jeans which always seems to fit just right.

This year, when our wheels touched down in Accra my overwhelming emotion was relief. Despite Delta’s best efforts all of our team (and 95% of our bags) made it! I am now typing this bouncing down the “George W Bush Highway” on my way out of Accra into the next 8 hours of our travel marathon. Most people are either asleep, or mesmerized by the culture. Somehow, I think Eric Kramer is managing to be both.

I am also taking the time to reflect on just how much this is displaying my true belief in God. As we gathered at CVC before we left, I prayed that God would go before us and prepare this trip for his glory. The heart of this prayer comes from the scripture found in Deuteronomy 31:7-8 where Moses gives this blessing on Joshua: “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed”.

During our travels, we had passengers from our team end up on standby (delta may not call it standby, but when they don’t have a seat and they have to “move things around” it sure sounds a lot like standby) not once by twice. Here we are in the NY airport less than 60 minutes before our scheduled departure to Ghan and three people don’t have an assigned seat. For those of you that don’t know me- I have a tendency to be (how should I say it?)- a little aggressive when I get upset, and at that moment I was pretty upset at Delta. I am sure the team will have a nice laugh about how I handled the situation (sorry for putting you through that Holly!) but the end of the day we got everyone on board and even a couple of first class upgrades out of it. (For the record, Holly says the lay flat first class seats don’t lay flat enough for her…). All is well that ends well.

But do you see the problem? 10 hours earlier I was praying that God would go before us and prepare the way- yet when the going got rocky I chose to get angry. Did I believe that God was going to work everything for the good of those who love him, or did I need to take control to make sure everything worked out ok? Looking back, I didn’t at any point in the stress of today authentically pray.

As we travel this week. As our plans change. As things go “wrong”. Please join me in praying that my heart, and the heart of the team, would be a reflection of the trust we put in our Lord and Savior to go before us.

In Him,

Kyle