The Silver Lining

The tree still stands, tall and proud A giant in the landscape A closer look reveals the damage A lightning hit -- burnt and scarred to the core Some limbs and branches never recovered, The life is gone from them An ominous dark streak from top to bottom Yet the tree still stands, tall and proud Arms lifted toward the heavens in praise Living branches full of green leaves The scar healed with new bark And the tree lives on Praising through the storm Praising through the lightning strikes Praising through the healing Praising through the sunshine How like that tree we followers of Christ can be Life's lightning bolts can hit us Damage us Burn us Injure us Leave parts of us for dead Yet we praise Him through the storms We praise Him through the lightning strikes We praise Him as we trust for a sunny day Our injuries are scabbed over Healed New Growth can sprout The scars remain to remind us Of HIS healing powers And that He carries us safely through the storms And we are Just like th...

July 7, 2010 The photos from Wednesday's activities were posted earlier -- here's a bit of what we did that day! (I am posting this to both blogs, Silver Lining and Waters Edge Ministries.) After a night of trying to sleep off jet-lag, we feasted on a huge breakfast of rice water (mmm my favorite!), bread and jam, and fresh pineapple. Our group’s morning devotion included some tips about evangelizing from Christi, who works with Campus Crusade for Christ. Our first stop was at the Tema dump. Something new I noticed was a thick brick wall, several feet high had been erected around parts of the dump; We were told that families were being “discouraged” from moving there with small children -- but there are many kids living there anyway. Christ Harvests the Nations had requested permission for us to visit with some of the residents prior to our arrival. However -- someone contacted the local police when they saw a busload of American obrunis wandering around. Within minutes of our ...

After spending all day in Adigbo Tornuu, we were elated with the success of the water system! I actually hated to leave; a big part of me would have loved to just spend the night in one of those mud huts in the village. I'd love to feel the village rest at night, then wake in the morning. Perhaps one day I will get that opportunity. We shall see. *smile* It's one of those things that I think about doing, and then wonder what kind of reaction my mom & dad would have if they could see it happen. Our van was full, but not over-crowded, as we drove out of the village and into the night. Our next stop was Alavanyo -- but I had no idea how far away it was. Christ Harvests the Nations plants churches all over Ghana. A few months ago, they began a new church in Alavanyo, in the Volta region. Starting with just 5 worshippers, the church grew to 35 in just a few weeks time. We'd been invited to join in their service this evening. We drove for a long time, through sma...