Six months ago today, I boarded a plane headed to Ghana for the first time. It was the culmination of some fifteen months of prayer, planning and preparation. It was a day that would change my life forever!
As I think back on that time, I can only think of it in terms of the many miraculous things that happened in order to make it come to pass. Though I spoke it every day for fifteen months, up until the day that I took off, it was a struggle and a test of my faith and obedience to God. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did go wrong and yet I know that God was so merciful and so kind in protecting and preserving my mind, soul, body and strength. God surely had a hand in it and I remember thinking, at one point, “This is definitely the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in my eyes!”
I remember vividly the moment I actually stood on the ground in Ghana… I was on the tarmac at Katoka International Airport and when the reality of my arrival hit me, I felt warm tears slip down my cheeks. These would be the first of many tears I would shed during the next ten days. Those tears continue today as I think of and pray for the many women and children we are assisting through Ceciyaa Foundation programs and the multitudes who are in need whom we have yet to reach.
As I stood there, surrounded mostly by Ghanaian people who were returning home from other parts of the world. My mind went back to the man I sat next to on the flight. He was a young father of three whose oldest, a beautiful nine year old girl had died just days before. As I ministered the peace and grace of God to him in his deep sorrow, I was once again assured of the powerful things that God was about to do in and through me on this journey. I thought too, of the girls I was yet to meet and my heart was set aflame for them and for their futures.
That flame carried me through the next ten days of traveling and teaching at a pace that many would find overwhelming. It was only the grace and supernatural power of God that kept me as I traveled almost the entire country in ten days. I taught over 526 young women in four regions and visited all five of our sewing centers, our micro-farming project in Njokola, the orphanage we support in Ejura and one of the medical clinics we support in Asafo. I sat with ministers at Ceciyaa Farm and engaged them, along with other young leaders in a discussion about how I view grassroots efforts toward socio-economic change growing up out of the church as a crucial part of changing Ghana’s future and winning her people to the Lord. We dreamed together and it was amazing.
By the end of the ten days, I had seen so many things and met so many people! Many of them, I know will be a part of my life forever. I met sisters and brothers and sons and many, many daughters. I returned to my home in Austin still feeling this bubble of protection that had surrounded me throughout my trip. I also returned carrying Ghana and her people in my heart and in my belly! I will return to Ghana in a few months to reunite with my Ghana family and continue in this great work that God has given me to do. I will walk in the villages again and eat plantain chips! I will see the smiles of my GhanaGirls and once again my body will be where my heart now resides.
Felicia Akhianyo
Felicia Akhianyo volunteers as the Director of Marketing & Communications for the Ceciyaa Foundation, a non-profit organization which brings food, medical care and clothing to women and children living in rural areas of Ghana. Ms. Akhianyo resides in Austin, TX.
For more information about CECIYAA FOUNDATION please visit, www.ceciyaafoundation.org or find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ceciyaa-Foundation/
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