My final week in SA

Well, hello there! I know, I've stalled a bit on this post. Apparently, a bad malaria fever thought it was fun to attack me the past week, but here I am, healthy and strong again, thanks to our awesome Healer. :)

Ok, let's cut to the chase. lol.The final week in SA was bittersweet. As much as I loved my experience, I was kinda dying to get back to my warm Ghana. ;) Seriously. Missions is certainly not the most glamorous, luxurious work to do. We always slept late and woke up early dawn to pray. But that's what it's all about. Sacrifice. I made that tough decision to leave behind my comfort and go out there because I'm that concerned about the lives and souls of people I don't even know. And as I felt thankful and fulfilled to have done my assignment in SA/Swaziland those three weeks, I also looked forward to the new chapter of my life. (this lass is a fresh graduate!...I know, I don't look it. lol)

Ministering to some Oosrand senior high learners, focusing on 2 Timothy 2:22

"But flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the name of the Lord from a pure heart."

During one of the love fellowship meetings at Tembisa.

 

Celebrating Denzel's birthdayyy! (guy on the extreme right)

That's our host pastor, Pastor Wesley in the striped shirt and his wife on his right. Such sweet people!

Me with Jayden, Denzel's fiancee. :)

So, the teachers and students of Goede Hoop Primary, one of the schools we consistently ministered at, loved us so much they decided to have a lil thank you/goodbye party for us. These are some of the lovely students dancing to 'Who am I' by Casting Crowns. I  certainly was entertained and happily sang along too. *claps* Oh, they danced so beautifully!

That's one of the teachers presenting some gifts they had packaged for us. Talk about lovely hearts!

This is my precious gift from the teachers. A Bible to make teaching kids about God extra fun! Thank you Goede Hoop Primary!!!

Aquala, the school prefect & her buddy, Mickayla and I.

That's Mickayla teaching me how to play some melodies on their huge xylophones.

See, I'm a fast learner. ;)

Sweet Kayla dropped by when we were decorating placards for our very last Jesus March.

The placards all ready for the march.

I chanced on some of the kids from our host church playing in a park during the march. I miss these kids!

BBQ party at our host pastors house. The steak though. Finger lickin'!

Crystal! Miss her lots.

Before church service on the very last day.

Me with elder Celeste from Potter's House and her son after service. *Goodbye pictures*

Remember Nokwanda from Swaziland? Yurp. It was such a pleasant surprise to see her come over to fellowship with us at Potter's House and go see us off at the airport. :)

Final moments at Potter's House.

At O.R Tambo Int. airport. Leaving was getting real, but I kept my smile anyway. :)

A slice of O.R Tambo Int. airport. It's so huge and beautiful.

Grabbing a bite at Nandos after check in.

 

My almost cleared plate.

Yeah, you guessed right. I couldn't miss taking a snap with the cloth imprinted with the photo of our dear Nelson Mandela. :)

 

 A snap of one of the numerous planes at the airport.

I had a flight to catch but of course, I stopped for a snap. lol We would have been a lil late if we hadn't super hurried our tails from Nandos to get through security. Nandos is right inside the airport but I tell you, it's a long way from there to security. We skipped and ran when we could. lol I was bold to stop and take this snap cos I was done with security and I was literally about to board my flight. Plus, I needed to catch my breath and I loved the view. ;)

I totally enjoyed my 6 hr flight back home. I watched some comedy shows to while away the time, and I conked out while watching Despicable Me 1. Oh well... South African Airways has great service though. :)

Yeah, I got a middle lane seat this time around, but I thoroughly enjoyed the flight all the same. :)

And it's goodbye to SA...till some other time.

I've learned so much from this experience, seriously. Being with the kids from our host church and the schools brings me such joy and I believe God is calling my heart into children's ministry. The way the faces of the kids light up when I'm hanging with them is something of a confirmation for me.
I'm glad I got to speak with all the people I spoke with on this trip. I believe God beautifully designed it all even before I made the decision to GO. And I'm so thankful for being graced with the wisdom and strength in my beginning steps to honor Matthew 28:19,20

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

I pray that all Christ followers will see the seriousness of this scripture and put their comfort on hold for the greatness of the Kingdom.
I pray all Christ followers see themselves as default missionaries with a task to GO near and far to share the Good News, helping to save souls from the horror of hades and to encourage people in their walk with Jesus.

God needs you on board dear one. What do you say? :) xoxo,
Delali.

May Is Here! + Kicking Fear To The Curb

Hi friends, May is finally here!!! :D Yaaaay! Wanna know why I’m so excited about May? Well for starters, it’s my birth month (hint, it’s AU day ;) ), my mom’s birth month, and I finish up undergrad this month! (the day before my birthday!) Finallyyyyy! I tell you, I’ve had it with school. I’m so tired of having my face in academic stuff and constantly studying, especially at the moment for my very last finals. So seeing May arrive just lets me know that I’m going to have my life back soon. I can’t wait.

Undoubtedly May is my favorite month and I’m pretty sure it still would have been even if it wasn’t my birth month. There’s just something about it. MAY. Simple, and yet so beautiful and compelling.

Today’s a holiday here- Labour Day. But of course, I’m stuck with books to study for my finals. :|

 Via

Oh well, before I get carried away about this special month of mine, lemme share this super inspiring poem on the very first day of this beautiful month by Marianne Williamson.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others. 

The first time I heard this poem was from the movie, Akeelah and the Bee. That was about six years ago. And these words have since then been stuck in my mind. I’m sure they aren’t going to fade away from my memory any time soon. I have bits of it pasted on my wall beside my bed. (Yeah, I like it that much.)

As we welcome this new month, I want to urge you on to step out in faith and start to live the meaningful life God made you to live. I want to remind you of how wonderful you are. You don’t have to be like someone before you realize you are special. Do some soul searching and ask God what gifts He’s placed in you and go out there and make life happen with those gifts. 

I want to ask you to look back over the last four months and see if you did the things you set out to do in the beginning of the year. (I blogged about New Year plans here.) Are you on track? If you aren’t, it’s not too late. The first quarter is gone but we have two more quarters left in the year, make it count. You can start living that fearless life God needs you to live, the life which speaks loud and clear that you are not ashamed to be known as a child of God, a child of wonder who has been bought with the precious blood of Jesus. 

The clock is ticking sweetheart. We are not promised tomorrow. Today is what we have, and we might as well make the best of it. Let go of all the things that are tying you to the ground and take those bold steps to make your dreams a reality. Living fearlessly has been something dear to my heart lately. I blogged about it here, and there. 

One of my favourite verses in the Bible says:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Dear one, stop trying to belittle yourself. Stop trying so hard to convince yourself that you don’t matter. I’ve been there, doesn’t do any good. You really do matter, that’s why you are breathing at this very moment, that’s why you are still alive. Your heart is beating in the left side of your chest right now because of a great purpose. Each heartbeat is a reminder of a purpose God needs you to fulfil.

“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 

You need to trust His plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.”

Comparing yourself to others who you deem to be better at something than you, would just make you feel inadequate and less than. It’s the worst. Stop hurting yourself and stop the unnecessary comparisons. She may be smarter than you or she may easily make friends than you. But so what? You are good at something others aren’t good at too. So just focus on your strengths and quit beating yourself up. Remember that we have different personalities, so know yourself and your strengths. We are each moulded uniquely and intricately by the hands of God. 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

The good thing is, God loves us just the way we are. We don’t have to be smart or good looking like someone else before He loves us. He created us after all and there’s a purpose for each one of us to fulfil before our time on this earth runs out. Make sure you spend your time wisely before it slips away. So no more excuses, no more procrastination. Ask God for your purpose and talents and passionately pursue them for His glory. Focus on your journey and allow God to make something beautiful out of your hurts, brokenness, hardships, guilt, regrets and pain. Isaiah 61:3 says He bestows on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes. 

  

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9,10

May you see some beautiful, meaningful and happy times this month. Philippians 1:6 is my prayer as I trust my Father to bring to a beautiful completion this month, some things He began in me some years ago. The verse says “And I am sure that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  This month is extra special because it marks the end of my four year journey in pursuit of a degree and it marks the beginning of a new year for me. :)

May you allow the things that need to die away in your life do so as you embrace the new things that’ll be born in you. Let your light shine dear, someone needs it to find their way. Be strong in the Lord & have yourself a meaningful and magnificent May! xoxo

Delali.

Facing My Fears

Somewhere last month, I took the step to leave the shy world I created for myself and be bold. You see, I’m this person who doesn’t really like to face crowds. The thought of it alone shoots my nerves to space. LOL I’m such a clutch of nerves when it comes to this. Thing is, I really like to write but when it comes to performing my pieces, I go like “no, I’m shy” or “oh, I would perform some other time.”(which I never end up doing.) I’ve known all along that I needed to get over it and face my fear of crowds. Because honestly, the message I have to share could be what someone really needs to hear to help them through a situation in their lives.  

I’m realizing that as a writer/poet, there’s no way I can hide and cower behind shyness forever. So last month, I took that bold step to perform one of my pieces. Yes, I did! :) I tried so many times to talk myself out of it but I guess the part of me that listened to the excellent Spirit in me, which is the Holy Spirit, convinced me to believe that I could do it, I could stand in front of a crowd, regardless of my fears and nervousness and share what is on my heart. The whole thing got me thinking about how sometimes we let our fears get in the way of what God is softly urging us on to do. And I’ve realized that the importance of what we need to do is far greater than giving in to our fears. 

I can count the number of times I’ve performed in my life...in church and in senior high school. But these were not poetry performances. They were either drama based on the Bible or music performances. So this step I took last month was kind of a big deal to me- sharing one of my poems for the first time for an audience as a budding poet. The funny thing is, comparing the present to when I was growing up, the tendency to be shy is stronger now...but that’s all about to change.

I wrote about living fearlessly here. And my own words challenged me to go out there and do what God has called me to do with the talents He’s blessed me with. I wouldn’t lay it on thick that it was an easy thing for me to perform for an audience, no. No pretenses here. My mind was filled with so many ‘what ifs’... What if I forget my lines and go blank? What if I make a mistake and the audience laughs at me? What if this, what if that. All these questions were racing back and forth in my mind, threatening to cripple me. They almost made me refuse to take the opportunity to fight back my fears to share what I needed to share with that audience. A part of me even tried to convince me that I was not cut out for performing my pieces, and that I was supposed to be the writer/poet who only writes but never performs. Sometimes I even felt what I had to say was not important. Oh, the lies the devil whispers loudly into our ears! 

Something greater in me however tried so hard to fight back those lies the devil was filling my mind with. I chose to believe the truth of God’s Word and believed that an excellent spirit dwells within me. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.”

I also realized that it’s not in the absence of my fears that I can say I overcame but rather, it’s my behavior in the presence of the fears I face that determine if I’m really believing God’s truth over my life or not. Those fears are there to challenge me and test my faith. And the good thing is, I didn’t make a fool out of myself on stage, I almost blanked out but I didn’t. :D I shared what I had to share and it brought such fulfillment to my heart.

On that very day of the performance, I started overcoming that fear of addressing a crowd. It still lingers around, but because I finally took that first step, it’s not so glaring as initially. I even performed that same piece the following week at a different program and it went really well. *shoots right fist up in the air* LOL So you see, I’m gradually getting over this shyness and fear of crowds thing. It’s not a one time thing that you get over. It’s a learning process. The more I rehearse for my performances, the better it gets. And the more I perform, the more I get over my silly shyness and fears. 

 Pouring my heart out. ;)

2 Timothy 1: 7 rings in my ears whenever I feel like I can’t do something. It says “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” How cool can it get! To know that shyness is not from God and that I can overcome any fear in my life because I choose to believe that the Holy Spirit within me has the power to help me do so.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121: 1,2

 I couldn’t have taken that bold step to face my fears without my Helper. I told God to help me overcome and give me the courage to go out there and say what He needed me to say. Because regardless of how I feel, what needs to be done, must be done. I’m not supposed to fear my audience, I’m supposed to love them enough and have that desire to share with them what God has laid on my heart. 1 Corinthians 16:13,14  says “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

 After my performance, I felt so relieved not just because I wasn’t a complete klutz on stage, but because I felt this inner peace and happiness for speaking the words that needed to be spoken. Although the applause and compliments I received afterwards encouraged me, those weren’t why I performed. I didn’t go to that stage for that. My mission was to get my message to the audience and I did exactly that. And even if I hadn’t received any applause because my message was convicting and a hard truth to sink in, I would have still felt glad to know that I said what I had to say. 

 These days, I’m believing in myself some more. I’m believing in the truth that what I have to say matters! This truth compels me and moves me to action. I’m doing all this bearing in mind what Paul said in Colossians 1:10 “To lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” I don’t want the talents given to me by God to go wasted. I want to pour all of it out of me to serve the purposes for which they were given to me. I’m a vessel, filled with gifts and I have to use these gifts to bear good fruits. My poems and stories, the ability to perform my pieces, my blog, my sweet voice (ahem!) ;) ...these talents must all encourage people to live their lives for God and bring glory to His name.

 So dear friend, what are your fears? Write them down, cancel each one out with a pen/marker and tell yourself you have overcome! Be bold and face your fears. Is it a fear of taking an academic course? A fear of amounting to nothing? Or is it a fear of never meeting that special someone? Please believe me that you can overcome. You are dearly loved and the awesome God who created the skies, stars, mountains, oceans and a lovely you says you can overcome all of these fears. You only need to believe this, ask Him for strength, go out there and face that fear. Nothing beats that happiness you feel when you finally look that fear in the eye and overcome it. Nothing. It’s exhilarating.

“And Jesus answered them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”” Matthew 21:21,22 

 Don’t succumb to your doubts ok? Be fearless and trust God to help you overcome. Reading the Word also does so much good in dissipating the doubts in your mind. James 1:6 says “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

I want to urge you on to take that bold step you need to take and live that meaningful live God planned for you. Go on, you can do this! \o/ :D xoxo 

Delali.