Last Moments at Lake Bosumtwe

Little heads hanging out windows, the patter of little feet on the rocks, the cries of ‘sister Akua’, the sunset over Ancasse lakeside and the stream of children following us wondering where we will go or what we will do.

These are just a few of the things that greeted me as I walked past Atafram and on to visit Ancasse last night.

I saw my salon, I saw the little girl that is always on the front row of the children singing her heart out and dancing and I saw the Queen Mother who sold me some minerals once again. For my last Thursday night at Lake Bosumtwe I was living the surreal life once again. We walked down to the lakeside followed by our entourage of course and I finally got on one of the boats that I had been wanting to try since I got here. I wasn’t bold enough to try it out in the actual water lol but hey I did get on it.

We took pictures of the beautiful sunset and sang songs with the children. It was time for me to say goodbye to this village that I have sang and danced and ministered at. It was a fond farewell. The sky was absolutely amazing! As we left to go we stopped at the Atafram Chiefs house.

I had bought him some rice and some chocolate as a farewell gift and I wanted to stop and talk to the man that has become a friend and encourage him. I was a little discouraged because I could tell he had already had something to drink but I was determined to talk to him before I left. He had mentioned to me once before that he was thankful that I was open with all the people and that the people could really tell that I cared about them. I reminded him that he had said this to me and I told him that the thing that he saw in me was Jesus on the inside and His love being shown to all the people. With Michael as my Okyiamie(spokesperson/translator) I spoke to him about the influence that he has over the village of Atafram and how he can use that for good. I encouraged him in his desire to start a church in his village because there is no church yet in Atafram. I told him that he has the potential to be not only a great physical leader in the community but also a great spiritual leader as well. He informed me that I would be remembered as his second wife and if there was anything I wanted to send to him I could do it through Abena who will be staying till February. I asked if I could pray for him as I left and he agreed. I prayed that God would be glorified in his life and that he would yearn for the Word of God. I prayed that he would lead the whole village of Atafram into a deep personal walk with the Lord. He has great potential to be an incredible leader and I will continue to pray for him always that the Lord will touch his life and empower him to make a difference. He walked far with us that night to send us off and say his farewells. I think it went really well. We went home after this and ate very American spaghetti before walking to the village of Adjimim to order gari and beans for my going away party on Friday. I stopped by to see my friend Grace in Amakom and invite her to my party the next day (which I was throwing for myself by the way lol). On Friday I woke up very excited because I knew that we were having the party and then in the afternoon we had a football match to attend in Adjimim. I bought and cut bread from YaYa in the morning and made sure the waters were on their way to getting cold. It has become sort of a thing for me to buy something for the workers on Friday and sit down to eat it with them. I was very intentional all summer in trying to build relationships with these men to arrive at this very point on this very day.

On this day, before we ate I shared with them how they have made a difference in my life with their smiles, friendship and encouragement with my Twi and the work at the lake. I told them that the most important thing in life is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. If that’s not in line nothing else matters. Michael went on to tell them that they can never pay me for coming here and encouraging them and that they could never even help as far as when it came to my ticket but that I was not there to receive payment for anything but to just build relationships with the people and tell them about Jesus. They started cheering and after we ate many came to say a big thank you and to inform me that they would write. It was so sweet! They were all pumped up and ready to go to the football match after this and Michael and James let them go early to prepare.

Abena Rebecca went this time and we had so much fun at the football game cheering Amakom on and playing with the children and eating off the women selling things in the baskets on their heads.

I even tried on the local hairstyle to see if it would work for me.

The game was very competitive and the cheerleaders were out in droves. It ended in a tie 2-2 which no one was really happy with but at least Amakom didn’t lose again. After the game some of the guys were walking with us all the way from Adjimim to the clinic side singing and dancing because they were so excited and in such good spirits. They kept singing Sister Akua followed by a lot of stuff I didn’t understand.

Someone told me the song talked about dancing with them so of course I started dancing. I then learned that the rest of the song talks about your sweet work for the Lord and how the person that they mention sits with the Lord as they sit with the person. It was one of the best send offs ever. They shook my hand and hugged my neck and we took a group shot to commemorate our last moments together.

James and Michael came over for dinner and shared with me sermon after sermon about how they have been impacted by my life and what they have seen of my life since I have been here. I was so touched by their kind words and the friendships we share with men of God that are sold out, love Jesus and are not one bit ashamed of it. We talked about how different our cultures are but how united we have been able to become because of the same Spirit we all share.

We shared Scriptures and they encouraged me as I move forward to more ministry away from the lake in America. We prayed together and they let me know that they would be accompanying me away from the lake and it made it easier to know that they would be with me when I left.
So my last night at Lake Bosumtwe has arrived and I am busy packing, doing laundry and saying goodbye to dear friends. What the Lord has for me next I don’t know but what I do know is that he placed me smack dab in the middle of one of my biggest dreams and it was more than I could have imagined.