“NOW GO CHANGE THE WORLD.”
That is how one of the goodbye texts I read while boarding my flight to Accra ended.
It was heartwarming, no doubt, but at the same time I wondered what I, a 20 year old college junior and football equipment manager, could possibly do to make a change in the world? The odds of me ending world hunger were slim and there was no way I could create world peace. These past two weeks have shown me the answer: I can do a lot more than I thought I could.
The first thing that stuck out to me when we passed through Rafiki’s gates were the smiles. Smiles everywhere. Kids I had never met were delighted to introduce themselves, offer a hug and dive into thousands of questions about me, my family and friends, school, sports and my favorite movies. And that’s when I realized that I didn’t have to fix world hunger or world peace to make a change in the world. I had to be there, in Ghana, at the Rafiki Village, showing these kids just how much they were loved through sports, scripture and smiles. I didn’t have to come bearing the newest sports equipment or team gear, I just had to come with an open heart, ears, and arms. It’s extremely humbling to see how God’s work can be done through six individuals and a group of children eager to love and learn; learning not only about us, but about their faith and relationship with Christ. I’ve heard before that you don’t fully know something until you’ve had to teach it, and this journey has been full of learning opportunities for everyone; learning patience, prayer, identity, purpose and discipline, just to name a few. As much as we are trying to teach kids about patience or prayer or identity or purpose or discipline, they are unknowingly teaching us the lessons on the same topics in their own ways.
I know I have been given so much: my family, my faith, my education, my job. And to see how I can use those gifts to help children who were not as fortunate as myself is humbling. We are instructed not to use our gifts, talents and freedom for ourselves, but rather to “serve one another in love.” The love I have felt from every angle in this village is astounding. I didn’t know I could come to love and learn from one hundred kids I didn’t know in two weeks but He works in mysterious ways. I have realized just how little effort it takes to have a positive impact on just one kid, and then to see that impact ripple outward. Multiply that one child by one hundred, and it isn’t hard to see how God’s work is being done through six managers on one Mission.
That is how one of the goodbye texts I read while boarding my flight to Accra ended.
It was heartwarming, no doubt, but at the same time I wondered what I, a 20 year old college junior and football equipment manager, could possibly do to make a change in the world? The odds of me ending world hunger were slim and there was no way I could create world peace. These past two weeks have shown me the answer: I can do a lot more than I thought I could.
The first thing that stuck out to me when we passed through Rafiki’s gates were the smiles. Smiles everywhere. Kids I had never met were delighted to introduce themselves, offer a hug and dive into thousands of questions about me, my family and friends, school, sports and my favorite movies. And that’s when I realized that I didn’t have to fix world hunger or world peace to make a change in the world. I had to be there, in Ghana, at the Rafiki Village, showing these kids just how much they were loved through sports, scripture and smiles. I didn’t have to come bearing the newest sports equipment or team gear, I just had to come with an open heart, ears, and arms. It’s extremely humbling to see how God’s work can be done through six individuals and a group of children eager to love and learn; learning not only about us, but about their faith and relationship with Christ. I’ve heard before that you don’t fully know something until you’ve had to teach it, and this journey has been full of learning opportunities for everyone; learning patience, prayer, identity, purpose and discipline, just to name a few. As much as we are trying to teach kids about patience or prayer or identity or purpose or discipline, they are unknowingly teaching us the lessons on the same topics in their own ways.
I know I have been given so much: my family, my faith, my education, my job. And to see how I can use those gifts to help children who were not as fortunate as myself is humbling. We are instructed not to use our gifts, talents and freedom for ourselves, but rather to “serve one another in love.” The love I have felt from every angle in this village is astounding. I didn’t know I could come to love and learn from one hundred kids I didn’t know in two weeks but He works in mysterious ways. I have realized just how little effort it takes to have a positive impact on just one kid, and then to see that impact ripple outward. Multiply that one child by one hundred, and it isn’t hard to see how God’s work is being done through six managers on one Mission.