Africa--the journey begins

Hey! So my first blog entry from Africa…we have been in Africa one week today and God has basically been blowing me away the entire time. I just want to share a few of the highlights to give you a glimpse of what he has been teaching me. Last Friday after our first day observing at school, we went to Mankoadze beach, a beach next to a poor fishing village with many children. I immediately connected with Richmond, who was 18 years old but attending JHS—our middle school. He runs the 2500 and some events like that so we went for a short 10-12 minute jog on the beach where he runs and then we went to play football (soccer) with some of the other kids. His junior (younger) brother, Mandra, held my camera, sandals, and shirt and held Richmond’s vest and sandals while we played. Richmond and the others basically took me to school but it was still a lot of fun. Haha As we were walking back, Mandra returned my sandals and camera and went to hand me back my shirt, which was just a sleeveless shirt but I could tell he liked it…so I asked him if he wanted it and he said yes, so that was the first time I gave my shirt off my back in Africa. The rest of our time I just didn’t have a shirt which was fine because God allowed me to show Mandra and Richmond His love…I plan to return to Mankoadze at some point to connect with them again so please pray for that opportunity.
The thing that has impacted me the most so far was a trip to the Cape Coast Castle that was formerly a slave castle but is now a memorial to the slaves. The slaves exited the castle through a door called the Door of No Return…when the slaves went through that door, all hope of escape or freedom was lost as their bondage was finalized and they immediately were loaded onto ships for the trans-Atlantic voyage. Thus the door symbolized hopelessness, chains, despair, and bondage. BUT after the slave trade ended and they remade the castle into a memorial to the slaves, they hung a new sign on the outside of the Door of No Return…For those now walking back into the castle from the outside they entered through The Door of Return!!! Where the world said there was no return, God used men to create a door of return which represents hope and restoration!!! I was so moved by this that it brought me to tears and I had a great heart to heart with God as I realized that He has called me to spend my life constructing and opening doors of return where satan and the world says there is no return because that aligns with God’s agenda of restoration. Some of you may know I have had some different ideas for a while about a possible orphanage or whatever God may lead me to, but I know my dreams involves creating doors of return!!! Then on Sunday we sang some songs at church, and the last one was Chris Tomlin’s “my chains are gone.” There was no plan for me to say anything but God laid something on my heart so I after we sang the last verse that starts with “The Lord has promised good to me” and the chorus I spoke about the Cape Coast Slave Castle and the Door of No Return and its hopelessness…but then I told them of the restoration and hope of the Door of Return and they were fired up!!! Several came up after the service and told me I had a gift to speak, and the Pastor, Pastor Lablah, is going to talk to me more later about speaking more while I’m here. It’s so exciting for me to see that my gift of speaking transcends culture and extends beyond the United States. For a while now, I have desired to do more overseas work after Ghana, and to see my connection with Richmond and how Ghana feels so natural and I’ve picked up on many cultural things and even the native fante language faster than most on the trip, and also to have God inspire me through the door of return, and have God open doors for me to speak over there just confirms that my dreams and whatever God calls me to extends beyond the United States in some way…and that fires me up!!!
One last thing, while I’m here I’m reading Erwin McManus’ Wide Awake about letting God reveal His God-sized dreams for our lives as we dream and seek Him which is totally God’s timing because it is rocking me as I’m praying about my dreams. So Jake thanks for the book and also thanks for posing a question to Micah and I. When he was I, you asked, “If you had unlimited resources and had to choose one thing to do with your life to impact the kingdom, what would you do?” Jake, I wrote that question down and re-read it the night after the Door of Return floored me and that question messed me up in a good way. I don’t know the answer, but God is beginning to put the pieces together by awakening desires in me while I’m here and messing me up for Him—again this is good—and I’m so excited to see Him continue to reveal His unimagineable plans. Jake thanks for always stretching and challenging me with books and questions and great fellowship…and thanks to all of you for your prayers and the way you have each impacted my life and stretched me to make me into who I am today, and more importantly who I am becoming with each new day as I walk with God!!
No Regrets,
Todd