Courage

Today was our last day in Ghana, and the trip has flown by. As the trip comes to a close and we fly home tomorrow, I can’t help but reflect on how God has moved in my life and lives of the people of Ghana this week.

I’m a pharmacist and was fortunate enough to participate in multiple aspects of our medical clinics this week. Not only did I get to work in the pharmacy but I was also able to work in intake which included taking patient’s vitals, getting a brief medical history, and most importantly sharing the gospel. When I decided to come on this trip I thought it would be a great opportunity to help serve the people of Ghana and provide them with medical care. I was comfortable working in the pharmacy and gathering a patient’s medical information, and I thought other people sharing the gospel was an added bonus of the trip. I was wrong. What I quickly figured out was while we do provide medical care to these patients, often we see patients with medical conditions we unfortunately do not have the capacity to treat. At home in the United States we would be able to do something for the woman with cancer or the young boy with clubbed feet. While me heart was breaking that we can’t do more medically for these people, my team has graciously reminded me that more important than being healed physically is being healed spiritually. This means that sharing the gospel and telling the people of Ghana about Jesus is far more important than healing their physical ailments. I easily forget that our bodies on Earth are only temporary, and one day we will all be healed and in heaven with Christ if we know him as our Savior. How can we not share such wonderful news with these people!

God has challenged me to step out of my comfort zone several times on this trip including personally sharing the gospel with our patients in clinic. Like I said, coming on this trip I was expecting other team members to be the ones sharing the gospel. After listening to some of the amazing people on my team repeatedly share the gospel with our patients, the Holy Spirit gave me the courage and the words to pray and share the gospel with patients myself. While this was not my main job, it was definitely the most important.

Today started off with a sad goodbye to the Archer family in Half Assini. The Archer family and all the Ghanaian people have been so welcoming to our whole team this week. I’ve never felt so welcome in a foreign place, and it was hard to say goodbye. We then traveled to Accra and were blessed with a short (6.5 hours compared to the 13 when we arrived) bus trip. We were able to experience the local bazaar and had delicious pizza at a local restaurant. My favorite purchase at the bazaar is a lovely painting of a Ghanaian woman carrying a basket on her head. I plan to hang this painting in my home and I hope that when I look at it every day I am reminded of my trip to Ghana. I want to remember the amazing people of Ghana, and how in this wonderful country God has reminded me once again that knowing Jesus is far more important than anything this world has to offer.