"2 Weeks and we all can feel a calling"

The delta state group came together with the msu group and had an amazing time in Ghana...

(sorry i'm a little late at blogging...but consider this a taste of africa tardiness--ha)

"OH THE PLANE RIDE"
6 of us DSU people left from Memphis on May 11th and headed towards Amsterdam, but because of the volcano's ash that errupted in Ireland (?), the plane was late arriving. Had the plane left on time, we would have had a 2 hour layover to make our connecting flight to Accra, but the plane was 3 hours late so we had a total of 6 minutes to get from one gate to another...luckily, the Lord must have held that plane because we did it and we were on our way. We met up with Sarah, who was from Virgina, and finally our team was ready for Accra...

"FINALLY ACCRA"
We arrived in Accra May 12th at 7:30 p.m; however, our luggage did not arrive. We figured that would happen though since we had to literally run to the correct gate leaving for Accra...I was traveling with some students who have never been to Africa before, and one student, Chessie, says, "i even imagined Africa to smell like this..." She has believed that the Lord placed this continent on her heart when she was a child so she was really excited to finally be arriving...

"WINNABA"
The next day we woke up and had to get accustomed to "Africa time" fast. (That seems like an oxymoron statement: africa time and fast that is...ha). As the students would tell you, Africa's time is must different then America's time. To them, time really doesn't exist. As part of their culture, tardiness does not exist. When you make a plan, you don't have to stick to the time they tell you...this takes a lot of time to get used to because here in America we are used to being on time and that tardiness is not acceptable. We went to Winnaba, which was a town about an hour away from Accra to meet up with the boys from MSU. We were welcomed with some delicious coconut...the guy even climbed about 4 stories up this palm tree to cut the coconut down with his machetti. Wow. That was a sight to see...That day we joined the guys to play with the children on the beach...it was a good first day...

"WORSHIP AS ONE"
Something I loved about what we did each night while we were there as a team was we worshiped together. We had time for people to share what was going on in their hearts and then we praised the Lord and then we usually closed in prayer. I believe that time united our teams together. I was so humbled by peoples honesty. I praise the Lord for that. It was a time where we encouraged, challenged and loved one another...

"KAFUI AND HEATHER"
We did some work in Accra, but our hearts were aching to go to Rafiki Orphanage. I believe Micah shared about Kafui and Heather. To meet them and hear about what Heather is doing for Kafui completely shook my world. Heather is 22 and while we were there, she was fighting for Kafui's freedom and had decided that she was going to adopt her. Heather is not a believer, yet she is pouring out love and compassion to this child who has lash marks on her back from "so called believers." I can not even begin to fathom what Kafui's view of the church must be. Even though Kafui has a dark story, she has innocence in her eyes and a heart that is full of joy. Heather is beautiful and has really challenged me in my faith. We got a good amount of time to share with each other about our lives and to encourage each other and I will be forever grateful for that time.

"COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL"
While we were there, I got the opportunity to visit the child that I sponsor named Ebenezer Amoo. He lives in a village called Mankessum, which happens to be a village that our team two years ago got to go and work at. We visited schools, churches, and did a medical mission there. Clint was able to go with me to meet Ebenezer, which I am very grateful for. He photographed the whole visit and got to be there to participate in the warm and gracious welcome that we received from that village. Mathias drove us and when we arrived, there was a reception where people greeted us and informed Clint and I about the village and how Compassion began there. In this compassion branch, there are 265 children who have sponsors, but we were the first to visit so it was a really big deal. You could tell how appreciative and grateful they were. One of the men even said they wanted to name a building after the "Heckel's", but since it already had a name, they would put up a plaque instead. After the reception, Clint and I got to go to Ebenezer's school. We pulled in and realized that this was the school that we had visited two years ago. How special is that? We walked out of the car and immediately heard, "El bruni, el bruni", which means "white person." Ha.

Ebenezer's school pavalion had a whole lot of children in it...probably around 200. We made eye contact and smiled, but he was so shy at first. He came up to meet me and my translater informed me that they had told him I was coming a week ago. He also told me that Ebenzer had been so excited and couldn't sleep the night before. We took some pictures, but then a dust/rain storm moved in so we had to move to the school office. There, Clint talked with Lydia, the compassion tour representative about Compassion, and the translator and I talked with Ebenzer. He was so sweet and precious. Later, we got in the car and Ebenezer sat in Clint's lap. I believe the moment my heart sank was when Ebenezer took my hand and placed it in his. I can not even begin to tell you what my heart felt at that moment. We arrived at Ebenezer's house, which he lived in a one room compound. I met his grandmother and his sister and we were able to present him and his family with the gifts that I had brought over from America that my family had helped pick out. They were so appreciative and this definitely was a life changing experience for me... On May 17th, 2010, my brother, Ebenezer Amoo came into my life and in to the lives of my family...not that he wasn't a part of my life before then, but now it is so much more real...

I am so thankful for that opportunity...

"RAFIKI ORPHANAGE"
The teams packed their bags and we headed off to Winnaba to live at Rafiki Orphanage for the rest of our stay. Wow. Those 7 days were amazing. We spent time playing with the children, teaching them math and english, doing arts and crafts, singing songs, and just holding them...

I was encouraged with what Jesus did with the children when He told them to come to him in Matthew. It says, "Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people,but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." And he laid his hands on them and went away.

There were times when we got discouraged because we were not teaching them with words about Jesus because of the language barrier, but then the Lord reminded us how Jesus loved on the children...he didn't begin to preach to them, but instead he touched them and laid his hands on them. Love needs no language. I often try to think back to the people in my life during my childhood and remember what they "taught" me. But for some reason I can not remember the things they taught me, rather, I remember the times they played and loved me. One day, these children will remember the bruni's that came from America to spend their summers with them...they will remember the times that we made them laugh and play. I pray that they ask further questions and relate the purpose of our trip to Jesus. We pray that these children at Rafiki will remember us and that the Lord will gain glory through this act of service because we know that the Lord doesn't need us, but allows us to be a part of His kingdom building.

"Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead. Now that I have held you in my own arms, I can not let go till you are." -Brook Frasier

"BACK IN AMERICA"
We've been back in America for over 2 weeks now and my heart is still pounding with "what to do next." The question that lingers on in my heart is: it is so important to take care of orphans and by placing them in Rafiki Orphanage they are being rescued from captivity and that is so important, but is placing them in an orphanage all we are supposed to do or are we to place them in to our own families????

"FUTURE WORK"
I've been praying to the Lord a lot, and will continue to pray, but doors might be opening for Clint and I to go back in a year and work at Rafiki for 15 months...This would be amazing and challenging at the same time... We are going to be working on sponsorship opportunities for people to sponsor children at Rafiki as well as opportunities for churches to partner with Rafiki...

Thank you for your prayers and support.
We will continue to pray for Clint, Adam, Derek and Micah as they continue to be the hands and feet of Christ to the people in Ghana. We pray for their strength. We pray for their courage. We pray for their ability to teach. And we pray that they will continue to see and feel the Lord in powerful ways while serving with Him...

1 John 2: 6 says, "Those who claim to live in Him must walk as Jesus did."

Ochiababa,
Katie Heckel
:)