For the past three years, Arm of Hope has prayed and God has supplied a specially, handcrafted team to pack up camp and take it to some pretty special kids in Ghana.
Ever wonder what it takes to be a part of a team like that?
It takes a little bit of crazy. Take Greg for example. Normally he sells insurance and responsibly worries about the many details of life and family, but get him in a van headed to Ghana and he immediately changes into (drum roll please)…AFRICA GREG. Africa Greg doesn’t have a worry in the world. He’s wild, crazy, and fun all the time. He’s up for every challenge and every change. Be like Greg.
It takes a good bit of work. Work to raise funds, Work to gather supplies (36 tubs of them to be exact). Work to plan and prepare and make it happen. The saying goes, “Hard work never hurt anybody,” and in this case it’s true. Hard work actually helps people. A lot.
It takes a sense of adventure. I mean it is a little wild to get stuck with needles and take funny pills and sacrifice your finances and get on a plane and fly 12 hours and land in a place completely different from home where the food is unusual and the language is unknown.
It takes a willingness to get out of your comfort zone. A team takes people with all kinds of different abilities and skills, but sometimes you have to be willing to try something new. Like teaching. Or leading. Or sharing about your life. Or acting. Or doing crazy motions to songs. Erika went outside of her comfort zone to teach in the slum Bible club. It was a big room full of noisy children with a language barrier and a translator. But she did it, and God used her!
It takes an attentive, listening ear. I don’t think there’s a person on earth who doesn’t feel loved and valued when someone truly listens to them. Throw in a really tough life of living on the streets in a slum, and listening becomes even more important. Listening says, “You matter”, and “I care about what’s going on in your life.”
It takes a willingness to be a mom. Or a dad. Or a sister. Or a brother. Or a friend. By being there, you are saying. ” I cared enough to come the whole way here just to see you. I am here for you!”
It takes a willingness to lead. Leading doesn’t mean you know everything. Leading just means that you’re willing to share with others what God is teaching you.
It takes love. Love for people who are different than you. Love for people who annoy you. Love for people who make wrong choices. For those who are easy to love, and for those who are more of a challenge, it’s sharing God’s love. It’s knowing that God loves me even when I make wrong choices and don’t listen and am annoying. It’s transferring that love of God from myself to others.
It takes hugs. It takes being ok with lots of little people sitting on you and hanging on you and hugging you and falling asleep on you. It takes giving and receiving unlimited physical affection all day every day.
It takes living by example. Not an “I’m perfect” kind of example. It’s more of an “I follow Jesus, and this is what it looks like” kind of example.
It takes teamwork. Each member doing his part, selfless, humble, willing to learn, willing to do whatever it takes to serve.
It takes a love for Jesus that’s big enough to trust Him to use you and work through you even when you feel small and inadequate. It takes a trust that says, “None of this is up to me. I’m just a small part of God’s plan for the world and He’s the one who is really doing the work.”
It takes the faith to say, “I know God is big. He was here before me, and I know He’ll keep working when I leave. I am at peace, because my confidence is in Him!”