12 Bittersweet Days!

I haven't posted in a long while, sorry about that!  A lot has changed since I last posted. I graduated college, moved out of my house into my parents, switched towns, changed jobs, and a lot more little things. I am a bit of a procrastinator, so my "Africa to-do list" has been sitting on my bedside table and rarely does anything get marked off. Until now that is! I am 12 short days away from beginning the journey to Ghana!

 It is amazing to me to see how things come together. I am easily overwhelmed by the amount of things I have to get done before a certain point, but when I truly hand it over to God, it always gets done at just the right time and in the right way. I now have my passport, visa, vaccines, malaria pills, itinerary and more long skirts than I will ever need!

Story time: I was expecting to pay about $200 for my prescription medications to take with me so I was putting it off till the last minute (because that will make it cheaper, right?) and yesterday I went to get them filled, said a little prayer on my way there that they would be affordable and if they weren't that I just accept it and not dwell on it. When I went to pay, they were only $50! 1/4th of the amount I was prepared to pay! When I got home I was then even more blessed by my dad giving me that same amount to cover the cost. I was busy worrying about how much they would be because it would cut out of the funds I have to live on while I am there, and the whole time God knew I wouldn't have to pay a penny for them. I'm truly learning to cast my cares on the Lord in this whole process.

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

When I have read this verse in the past, I just thought it meant tell God what you are worried about and he will take care of it. After just reading it again, I began to really think about what "cast" means. The definition is to "throw something forcefully..". Throwing forcefully and casually sharing are two very different things. If we are intentionally casting our cares on the Lord, we are giving all of our worry to Him and leaving none left for ourselves. He will work in amazing ways if we begin to follow this command.

I am more than certain that God is going to keep me safe and provide for me on my journey, but I ask for your prayers too. If you feel called to pray for me please focus on these specific needs:

-Safety in all of my travels to and from Ghana.

-Openness and flexibility to things that are different from what I expect.

-Financial support for living expenses while I am there and funds to return to Ghana after the first 6 months there if it be in God's plan.

-Ability to recall what I have learned and use it to my best ability to help teach the students and teachers of Greater Heights International School.

-Confidence to share God's love with the Ghanaian people.

-To clearly hear God's voice and learn why I am called to Ghana and what my future holds.


I will hopefully be posting more often with updates from Ghana!

Grace and Peace,
Shelby