Debriefing

28 days ago today, I stepped out in faith and began my first African Adventure to Ghana. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but man oh man did God show off in the details!! Even after beating the jet lag and catching up on sleep, I still find myself struggling to put this experience into words.

In an effort to begin sharing this experience with others, I am just going to share where I am. I stumbled upon a few different debriefing articles and compiled a list of questions to process through. Here is some of the processing that has taken place already:

1. What kingdom work did I do?
I shared bible stories in various villages, trained bible club leaders on story telling, and showed the LOVE and JOY of Jesus to those around me.

2. What did I learn about myself?
I am a leader. I am confident. I am equipped. I am strong. I rely on Jesus. I am blessed. I can be used by Him. I am more than any label. I am more than depression. I am a teacher.


3. What did I learn about God?
He provides. He has big plans for my life. He knows me better than I know myself. He doesn't lead me astray. He took care of everything.

4. How were prayers answered?
Safe travels despite mechanical issues, re-booked flights with the team, patience, good health, restful sleep, ... I could go on for days :) 




5. What have I learned about God's purpose for my life?
-I am supposed to minister to children.
-I need to be more intentional with my money to be a better steward.
-I can minister to people older than me. I can still show them Jesus' love and joy and how God has worked in my life.

6/7. What changed in me during the trip? What prompted it?
-I am dependent on Jesus. This was prompted by a lot of unknowns where I had to blindly trust Him and completely rely on Him. There is no way I could have made all of it happen.
-I want to slow down and live in the moment. I do not want to rush through life and miss God in the details. This was prompted by comparing Americans to Africans. America is very fast paced and many Americans are very stressed. The Africans are laid back. They arrive somewhere when they arrive. Typically there is an hour time window ("Africa time"). At the end of the day, if I am alive and relying on God, every thing will be okay!!
-I am content with where God has me in life. This was prompted by being asked a lot if I was married since I was out of school. I don't want to wish this in-between time away. It is allowing me to have some intimate time with Jesus.
-I do not feel like I have to have everything planned or scheduled. I know He already has it planned and I trust His plans. This was prompted by being able to show up to a village, open my bible to a story, and teach. God gave me the words I was supposed to say and I wasn't stressing about having a lesson plan.

-I want to be intentional in all relationships. This was prompted by interacting with different people in Tamale. When talking with them, they are fully there talking with you. They aren't checking their phone or thinking about something else. It made me feel like a priority and I want to share that with others.

8. What was the best thing about the trip?
How can there be just one BEST thing? There was a lot of great parts. I loved seeing God show off in the details. I appreciated that I had some connection to home (via imessaging and facebook) but that it was limited- this allowed me time with Jesus on a deeper level. I enjoyed seeing those little faces smiling at me.



Something that just blew me away was when I was sharing the story of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego or the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and the image of gold. I shared the story and asked if they have faith like those 3 men? Do they truly trust God with their life? They all quickly said yes. I stood there second guessing their answer and pressed on. I told them that if I was being honest, the answer is no even though it's something I am working towards. I then asked what their fiery furnace was that God was walking with them through. They proceeded to blow my mind when they shared their heartaches and that they wholeheartedly trusted Jesus.

9. What was the hardest part about the trip?
The hardest part was coming back home. There were some things that were hard while there but God is good and He is bigger than any of those things.



Like I said, I am still processing and getting words together. I will continue to share various aspects of the trip and stories of how God worked.

"Every day can be a mission trip. God is up to something big in your life. All you have to do is follow Him. Remind yourself daily to live out the mission that God has placed in front of you" (from preparemymission.com).