Greetings from Ghana!
Once again, WiFi is very limited in West Africa so that is why you have not heard from me yet this month. My team and I are all settled in with our hosts here in Keta, Ghana. We have been doing children’s ministry and construction work as well as singing and preaching at church services. This month we are also with team Radiance (link) which has been really delightful. They are all such wonderful women and it has been a blessing to live and work alongside of them.
Because we have two teams we have been able to get twice as much done, like yesterday morning, when we split up into groups in order to preach at four different churches at the same time.
Saturday afternoon the team circled up to decide who would be preaching. Morgan had already felt that the Lord was calling her to preach and had started working on a message. I didn’t feel that the Lord was specifically calling me to preach but knowing that we would need four preachers I had started brainstorming some topics and finding relevant scriptures. I volunteered as long as no one else was really feeling that they needed to preach. We decided Morgan and I would be the ones preaching.
However before I had a chance to actually sit down and write my talk someone shared with me that they were feeling called to preach. I said something to the effects of: “Great, sounds good,” and that was that.
So yesterday as we headed to church in our mini team of four, I was going solely as a member of the support crew. As the service began, the pastor turned to ask who was preaching. My teammate raised her hand. “Great,” he said, “who is your other preacher?”
There was a pause.
We clarified what he meant.
Once it was clear that yes, we needed to have two preachers, I chuckled a little bit inside and raised my hand. Immediately I was introduced and handed a microphone and before I knew it I was preaching a full-length sermon to a very tiny congregation in this little hand built church, with walls made out of palm fronds, a tin roof, and floors of sand. As I preached people trickled in so I kept feeling the need to reiterate my main points.
I preached on the Lord’s prayer (Matt. 6) and on Psalm 100 and how through praise and thanksgiving we can enter the courts of the Lord.
Jesus took our place on the cross so that we can stand in His place in the throne room of heaven.
We are welcome in with open arms.
Having not actually prepared a sermon, I had to trust the Holy Spirit to guide the words as they came out of my mouth. I had these anchors of scripture, but it was a surprise even to me the framework that was formed around them as I spoke.
The Lord is so sweet and kind, and I feel so honored to have been used to share this message of belonging to this handful of people in a little fish village in Ghana.
We are His sons and daughters, and at all times, through praise and thanksgiving, we have access to the kingdom of heaven. God invites us to take refuge in him, and even in a little shack in West Africa, with holes in the tin roof, and no actual floor to speak of, we can step fully into his presence. We don’t have to wait for heaven. Instead we pray that God’s kingdom come right now on this earth.
As Psalm 100 says:
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (verses 1-4)
And what a beautiful thing, that even while my team and I are in four different churches on Sunday morning, we are all joining each other in the same place- worshiping the Lord in the courts of heaven.
As always, thanks so much for reading and thank you for your prayers and support!
Stay tuned for more stories from month 2!
Much Love and God Bless,
Hattie
p.s. here is a photo of the church to give you a better idea. Photo cred: Michaela Card
The Lord is indeed good. I love to think of Sundays as the day when Psalm 100 comes into its own. As Christians rise for worship around the world, each congregation comes into His presence with singing and thanksgiving. I am reminded of this when I watch the New Year’s celebrations. As time steps into the new year, people in each time zone celebrate by singing and rejoicing. We do this every Sunday. This little congregation is part of that.
I’m so grateful to finally heat from you and again am so glad that yet another sermon was spot on even though spontaneous. Am also assuming your pneumonia is behind you PTL
We are always delighted to receive news from you “whenever.” You are bathed in prayer every Monday by the Prayer Group. We thank God that His presence is so very real to you and that you are faithful to listen to His leadings. I must confess to reading your mother’s response and delighted in her description. The hymn “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun” popped into my head, especially verse two: For Him shall endless prayer be made, And praises throng to crown His head; His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise With every morning sacrifice.” I hope that our remarks will confirm to you your faithfulness to the leading of His Holy Spirit. Add to that this “coincidence” that from my daily reading I find this verse Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of Hosts.” All join in sending love
My earlier comments were credited to Leena.Dont know what happened. Love nana
Wow. Thank you for sharing Susan.