Ghana 2009 - Day 6

Today we had another fairly long journey to our distribution site, leaving again at 7:00am.  We were based in a church in Asesewa.  I think many of the team will agree with me that this was the most challenging day of the trip so far.  I remember the awful feeling of ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ after walking in to an exceptionally hot, stuffy church following a long bumpy coach journey (I was feeling a little travel sick by this time!) and seeing almost 200 people waiting for us.  Admittedly several of them were friends and relatives of the patients we were there to see, but it was still  completely overwhelming, and many people were beginning to get slightly restless.  One of the other team members was desperately trying not to faint in the sheer heat and humidity she found herself faced with as soon as we stepped into the building.  I remember just in that moment standing there begging God to give us the strength to get through the day, knowing it was going to be one of the hardest day’s work we had ever faced.   I was so grateful when two of the men stopped setting up for a minute to pray with each of us therapists, for energy and wisdom to carry out our roles effectively.  It was also encouraging to know that there were people praying for us back in England.

Despite the challenges of the day, God really did give me the strength to get through.  Overall, we persevered at a pace and energy I never even knew was humanly possible – we all agreed that it was only made possible in God’s strength.  In total, I think we managed to see 104 patients that day.  There certainly was a sense of accomplishment when we realised everyone had been seen! We arrived home just before 8:00pm - a very long day.

The day became even more special when I later heard that several people were healed that day following hearing the Gospel and receiving prayer!  Many of the people who had turned up in the morning were blind and had come in hope of receiving a white stick.  Some of the team had explained that unfortunately we are not able to give out white sticks, but that they could pray with them before they left.  Following prayer, several of those individuals either had their sight fully or partially restored.  They had come for white sticks and gone home healed – Praise God!