Steps Of Trust

               Steps of Trust

Well, where did that year go? I have been in Ghana for eight months now as of January 1^st. The time has flown by! It hasn’t gone exactly as I had planned, but somehow everything worked together for good! It has been an invaluable learning experience.  Adapting to my new culture, the often treacherous driving conditions, the hot climate, and even the cold showers [when there’s water] were lessons along the way. I have become accustomed to frequent "power outages"… 161 in the final 92 days of 2013. Oh yeah…that is an accurate number…and finally the inadequate internet service. My last post on Facebook for 2013 took me eight hours due to the weak network signal…But God has taken every one of those opportunities and is teaching and preparing me for the future through them.

Over the eight months I have been here, I have definitely lived the name God gave us. Everything has been “Step By Step…” God gives me the grace and strength to adjust to these physical and environmental challenges. I am now relating to the culture, meet the driving challenges with confidence, live comfortably in the heat of the day, and the cold showers…well, there is nothing more invigorating. I redeem the time on the intermittent internet, and have spent hours upon hours reading by flashlight. The food is good. The water is safe. The people are wonderful. I am home now! And I am learning and applying my lessons every day!
…One thing I haven’t adjusted to though…mosquitos…let’s not talk about that right now…I could write a whole blog on those pesky nuisances!

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

Did I have struggles? Let me tell you. These eight months did not turn out like I thought they were going to. I had these “heart” plans to blaze the mission field winning souls and at the same time fill the orphanage with children who need the love of God. Driving the unpredictable roads of Ghana is nothing compared with dealing with the unpredictability of my emotions! Adapting to John Michael Stainsby was impossible. I struggled with bouts of loneliness but the problem was not in the loneliness but in the way I dealt with it. I found many times I was “feeling” [key word] sorry for myself. I became reclusive for a time and even got angry with God. I thought why am I here if I am not going to the mission field or bringing children daily into the orphanage?  "The old man has to go!" Heard that before? Well, I made a decision. I gave that old man up to God! After realizing my emotions were a "stumbling block" to the work God has for me here I gave up the fight. I fully believe this precious time was set aside so He could make the man, before He would fulfill the plan. And that is when I felt the peace. In fact, Peace resides here! I will write more on that in my next blog entry!

OH, But do not be mistaken, the possibility of stumbling, I still deal with it every day. The difference is sowing deeper seeds of intimacy with my Father. He is continually teaching me, but more so, He is loving me away from myself. He is a jealous God and He wants all of me. Earnest prayer took over complaining, renewing my mind through God’s word took over my thought process, and His presence overcame my loneliness. The key as you can see was taking the focus off me and putting it on my LORD. And I knew that... there is nothing new under the sun. It is always about putting Him first.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Even over these trying and testing eight months of waiting, God is still preparing the man for the plan. He is taking me through the hard lessons and celebrating the victories with me. 2014 may be a new year, but it is all the same to my Papa. He is moving things ahead, step by step, in His time. This is the seventh year since He called me here. The year of completion. It is my part to take steps of trust in this walk of faith. He is putting all things together. And He will work "all things" together for good, and receive the glory for it all.

God bless you all in this coming year,
Papa John
www.stepbystepworldwide.org