Ghana Updates, 5-12-06

Greetings!

This will be the final update regarding my experiences in Ghana.

I've made it home safe and sound Wednesday late afternoon after a, well let's just say, weird flight home. Pastor Bud and I left Ghana Tuesday at 7pm (2pm CST), after having issues checking our bags, etc. We also found out that once we arrived in Frankfurt, we would be traveling to Chicago separately. Which made for an even longer flight as I didn't have him to entertain me with BAD jokes. :o) However, I made it home safe and sound and I'm going to assume Pastor Bud did as well. :o)

The experiences I've had the last three weeks have been amazing! There are so many things that will be remembered forever; the people, the sights, the smells, etc. Despite all of the poverty, the things we take for granted, they need it to survive. People, especially family members, mean much more to them that it does here in America. Everywhere I went, there was always a smiling face greeting me/us. Whereas here, everyone is more focused on themselves. They take pride in more personal things, things that matter, not material things. In a way, they seem much more richer than we are. They're not afraid to share their beliefs, they proudly tell everyone that they're a Christian and they love Jesus. They're more willing to go out and share the Good News than we are. They have no real fear of telling the Gospel, they don't care what people think, they just want everyone to know Jesus. There's so many people here in the states that are afraid of telling their friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc that they're Christians, I know sometimes I'm guilty of that. We could all learn so much from them.

I'm attaching a couple photos of the trip in this email. The first picture is me with the Deaf from Adomrobe village. The second photo is Pastor Bud teaching his students. And the third photo is me with a bunch of my students. If you would like to see more pictures, please contact me at mckinnsa@yahoo.com and I'd be happy to share them with you.

Basically, it's really hard to fully describe my experiences in words that will make sense to you all, I wish everyone could have the same experiences that I did. I read in a book once before about a girl who went to Africa as a missionary and she said, "Once you've been to Africa, it gets in your blood and you can't get it out." I think that fully describes everything. I know I want to go back again and help spread the good news further. I pray that someday I will be able to.

In the meantime, Pastor Bud and Pastor Reinke will continue working with the people there. Pastor Bud will be going back in September. If you would like to further the Ghana Mission field, please check out the following website and make a donation for the DLMS (Deaf Lutheran Mission Society). Anything would be helpful and would go a long way to supporting the Deaf there.

http://www.deafjesus.org/html/missions.html.

Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers the last three weeks and we ask that you continue to pray for everyone in Ghana.

God's Blessings!!! _\,,/

Sara Ann McKinney

	Greetings! This will be the final update regarding my experiences in Ghana. I've made it home safe and sound Wednesday late afternoon after a, well let's just say, weird flight home. Pastor Bud and I left Ghana Tuesday at 7pm (2pm CST), after having issues checking our bags, etc. We also found out that once we arrived in Frankfurt, we would be traveling to Chicago separately. Which made for an even longer flight as I didn't have him to entertain me with BAD jokes. :o) However, I made it home safe and sound and I'm going to assume Pastor Bud did as well. :o) The experiences I've had the last three weeks have been amazing! There are so many things that will be remembered forever; the people, the sights, the smells, etc. Despite all of the poverty, the things we take for granted, they need it to survive. People, especially family members, mean much more to them that it does here in America. Everywhere I went, there was always a smiling face greeting me/us. Whereas here, everyone is more focused on themselves. They take pride in more personal things, things that matter, not material things. In a way, they seem much more richer than we are. They're not afraid to share their beliefs, they proudly tell everyone that they're a Christian and they love Jesus. They're more willing to go out and share the Good News than we are. They have no real fear of telling the Gospel, they don't care what people think, they just want everyone to know Jesus. There's so many people here in the states that are afraid of telling their friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc that they're Christians, I know sometimes I'm guilty of that. We could all learn so much from them. I'm attaching a couple photos of the trip in this email. The first picture is me with the Deaf from Adomrobe village. The second photo is Pastor Bud teaching his students. And the third photo is me with a bunch of my students. If you would like to see more pictures, please contact me at mckinnsa@yahoo.com and I'd be happy to share them with you. Basically, it's really hard to fully describe my experiences in words that will make sense to you all, I wish everyone could have the same experiences that I did. I read in a book once before about a girl who went to Africa as a missionary and she said, "Once you've been to Africa, it gets in your blood and you can't get it out." I think that fully describes everything. I know I want to go back again and help spread the good news further. I pray that someday I will be able to. In the meantime, Pastor Bud and Pastor Reinke will continue working with the people there. Pastor Bud will be going back in September. If you would like to further the Ghana Mission field, please check out the following website and make a donation for the DLMS (Deaf Lutheran Mission Society). Anything would be helpful and would go a long way to supporting the Deaf there. http://www.deafjesus.org/html/missions.html. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers the last three weeks and we ask that you continue to pray for everyone in Ghana. God's Blessings!!! _\,,/ Sara Ann McKinney