Two Sides of the Same Coin

This past week at the street ministry, I simultaneously experienced firsthand the joy and the despair that an unexpected or unwanted child can produce. What an overwhelming rush of emotions that can be for just one day!

Under the advice of the street ministry director Felicia, we have begun taking a handful of children from our home each week to Accra to see their mothers. Some of the mothers are able to visit the children once a year at the home, but most of them have not seen their kids since they were brought here nearly 7 years ago. This week, we took 6 kids with us, one of which was Stephen. He is a kid, who as I have explained before, is wild and stubborn and has absolutely stolen my heart. Naturally, I was eager to see the relationship between him and his mother. Almost immediately after exiting the van, he spotted her and they literally ran to each other and embraced. All of that hardness and resistance that he uses to guard himself, simply melted away in his mothers arms. Their smiles were beautiful and there was a visible joy shared between them. This child who at one time was nothing but a burden was now an incredible gift!

Now on the other hand, I also had an encounter with some of the most distraught women I have ever met. In an attempt to find the mother of a young girl who was new in the area, Felicia and I wandered from the common area where the service is held to some outlying places near the railroad station where people make their permanent homes in makeshift tents and abandoned marketplaces. In our meanderings, we came to a public shower room. Felicia quickly explained to me that this is where she spends a good deal of her time, and I would soon understand why. Inside this shower room were several very pregnant women sprawled out on the floor. One woman was completely naked but lacked the dignity or self-respect to be fazed by these strangers seeing her and her enormous belly entirely bare. Their few belongings were in scattered piles and smiles were nowhere to be seen. These are the women who already cannot take care of themselves and are stuck in the deep depression of wondering how they will ever take care of a child. Felicia explained that she spends much time here in order to discourage them from aborting their own babies. While clinical abortions are illegal here in Ghana, the grief that can lead to one is still very real.

In his book The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne says “If I am going to discourage abortion, I had better be ready to adopt some babies and take care of some mothers.” I saw the need for both of those things very clearly that day and will never be able to forget it. May we all have the courage to back up our beliefs with unwavering action!

Our girl today is Afua. She is 10 years old, fun-loving and very energetic. She enjoys getting together with girls to learn dances, and teaming up with boys to play basketball. I told her that I was going to be writing about her this week and she told me to let you all know that she needs prayer for her homework right now, as she is in P5 and struggling with the concept of area in math. Please pray that she continues to thrive in her studies, but that she also continues to be a good influence on the younger girls (like the ones in my class!).

Love,
Lindsay