Africa Update #5

Hello friends!!! I hope you are all doing well. I just wanted to send out another short update to you. It has been quite a week for us here in Ghana. Last Thursday we left for camp for the weekend. It was a long and exhausting weekend, with me not feeling well one of the days and another of the group coming down with malaria (first time this trip so we are still doing well). Yesterday (Tuesday) we took a very long trip to Cape Coast. We had the opportunity to visit the National park there and walk on rope bridges in the rain forest that were suspended over 80 feet in the air. It was AMAZING!!!!! We also visited the castle there that they used for slaves before shipping them to America. It was difficult to think of when we looked through the windows.

Over the weekend while we were still at camp, there was a lot of reflecting on our journeys to Ghana. Many of us originally planned to be here while others took different routes than expected. Some people planned on coming but were not able to make the journey while others planned on being in a different country other than Ghana but ended up here. I was asked to speak one of the evenings about the trip thus far (mainly the trip to the villages) so I decided to write a poem about our team. So many different paths were taken. I thought I would share it with you.



Perfect Imperfection
Ghana Gold 2009
By: Sharina Schaller
7/26/2009

We are imperfect people
From an imperfect place.
Brought together in imperfect ways
But through God's loving grace.

Who is the one who's perfect?
Who created everything?
The author of the book of life
Whose praises we do sing?

Who is the perfecter of our faith?
Who wrote out all life's plans?
Who lays the journey before us
Then guides us with his hands?

He is God our creator,
To his promises we cling.
He is author of our lives,
It's of his grace we sing.

Through his gentle guidance
This journey came about.
It is through God's will and love
That we met here, no doubt.

Different paths were taken,
Some unexpectedly,
Holding to expectant faith
God made us wait and see.

Now that we've come together
To serve with all our heart,
God has blessed us with each other,
He'll bind us when we part.



I hope you enjoyed it!!! I will keep you posted on more!!!

In Christ,
Sharina Marie Schaller

P.S. Please pray for safe travel. Half of the team will return back to the U.S. Thursday night and Friday (July 30th and 31st) while 6 of us will remain in Ghana until August 15th. Pray for safe travel for the first half as well as health for all of us as we near the end of this trip.