Thursdays are lighter days…thank goodness. Seeing all this sickness around me and knowing that I am limited in what I can do is draining. I know however that God is the ultimate healer and is always in control.
After rounds, we had a delicious lunch, then I took a much needed nap. Afterwards, I went with another student and missionary to market. Market is such a bustling place…lots of vegetables, fruits, spices, maize, cloth, and street food. Kids yell “Saminga” or white person hoping for a toy, candy, or attention. I often wonder why I was born in the US and have lived a life lacking nothing vs being born in a third world country and lacking many basic necessities. The missionary described how she has developed a relationship with a woman who had a tumor on her leg, who has since had to have 2 amputations (I assisted in the second amputation). This woman now stays near the hospital and the surgeon has developed a strong relationship with the patient and her family. The surgeon makes house calls and is arranging to bring a Ghanian with her on one of the visits to share the gospel message with this patient. God is so good! I pray for this patient to have an open mind about the gospel and choose to believe in Jesus; I also pray for her to join a group of believers in her hometown once she is better enough to travel home; lastly, I pray that her wound heals well and that the tumor is gone forever.
I am in the middle of reading Radical, by David Platt. In it he discusses the gospel message and our responsibility as Christians (especially US Christians who have plenty) to be going to the world and using the blessings God has given us for His glory. Tyler and I will definitely be talking about this when I get home about how we can best use our resources to serve God.
Thursday night is the station meeting with all the other missionaries. One family just left Ghana for their previous home in Burkina Faso…so the group was smaller. We discussed ways of sharing the gospel through reading scripture (either in Mamprusi or through a translator) then asking questions about the passage…like what sins are present, what does God teach us, what are the promises here, what knowledge can we gain…it is definitely a format I plan to adapt to my own scripture reading to hopefully retain more scripture and come to understand and appreciate its’ full meaning.