Departure

Dear friends and family,

Daniel left last night about 7:30 with a group of 12 others for the Village of Hope in Ghana, West Africa. They went straight to Amsterdam from Memphis and arrived in Ghana about 1:30 p.m. CST Saturday. They had about an hour's drive to the Village of Hope where they will be working with Fred Asare and Tommy Drinnen for the next couple of weeks. Ghana is five hours ahead of us here, so they may be getting what will feel like an early shot at bedtime. I hope so.

As we prepared for this venture, I was doing really well with the do-not-be-anxious-for-anything concept . . . until Daniel started running a fever Wednesday night. He came home early from a Fourth of July sleepover a bunch of his friends were having and asked if it were too late to get a doctor's appointment. When his fever spiked that night to 102.3, I was a little worried. The doctor did a strep test on Thursday; it was negative. But she gave him antibiotics for the unknown bacterial crud that seems to have cropped up in a number of the kids that were at camp last week. So he's been chugging o.j. and tylenol, and he's basically lain around for the past two days -- except for when he finally started packing this morning. His fever is gone, but the sore throat and all the nasties associated with this bug are just beginning -- not too nice for a plane ride. Pray for healing.

A group of nearly fifty people (family, friends, previous mission goers, and church members) met at the airport to see the mission team off -- as much as you can see someone off from the lobby of the terminal. We arrived about 4:30, and the travelers checked in. Then we all stood around and visited until 6:00 when we circled up for a prayer and goodbyes. A palpable anxiety settled over the crowd -- not fear so much as eager uncertainty. Proud parents, nostalgic veterans, already lonely siblings clung to the fellowship of the others long after the last passport was checked and the last backpack disappeared through the security gates.

You can keep up with this trip by reading the group's blog at www.wsyginghana.blogspot.com which their youth minister will update each day. I don't doubt that there will be pictures as well as a summary of each day's activities. From what I understand they will be doing manual labor (probably painting one or two of the older buildings) during the day, tutoring students in the orphanage in the evenings, and teaching and leading worship at church. They'll also conduct a VBS in a nearby village and distribute clothes and school supplies that have been donated. And I think an Olympics style competition may also be in the works for the children on one Saturday.

They'll be leaving Ghana on 7/23 and will be back home on 7/24 -- physically dog tired but spiritually energized, no doubt. We appreciate all the support that you've already shown and ask that you continue to remember Daniel and the rest of the group in prayer for the next three weeks. I am sure that those who are going so far from home to do a good work will be made more like Jesus by this experience.

Be blessed as you have truly blessed us!

Lisa Lockhart