No Ghana fo' You. But England.... Just Might Do.

I was supposed to be in the air right now heading for Ghana. I was supposed to be sleeping out in the camps of the nomadic Fulani tribe, deepening a friendship with them. I was supposed to help gather 200 of them for a daylong meeting. I was supposed to be having discipleship conversations with some of the brightest young leaders at a 3-day leadership conference. But instead of packing mosquito nets, I’m packing sweaters. Instead of Fulani camps and leadership conferences, I’ll be in the homes and classrooms of the African diaspora in (of all places), England.

You guessed it: Ebola. Ghana is Ebola free for the time being, but in light global talks about grounding flights from West Africa, we decided over the weekend not to take the chance of getting stranded (or worse).

But there was another strategic part of this trip I hadn’t talked much about: a stopover in the UK to visit a good friend, African missiologist Harvey Kwiyani. Harvey is from Malawi, but he works with Ghanaian and Nigerian churches throughout the UK in discipleship and missions while teaching at the University of Birmingham. I was hoping to build my friendship with him and grow a possible ministry to Africans in the UK, something Harvey and I could work on together.

So I’ve decided to keep the UK portion and extend it to 9 days. I’ll be sharing some of my story in on Harvey’s classes, networking with the African leaders he’s teaching, and generally making myself available to whatever God wants to do. Harvey told me, “You’ll feel like you’re in Ghana the whole time!”

Crazy story: Harvey (under my left arm) flew from the UK to Ghana last year to join me and my friend Ash (from my church) for a conference on missions and discipleship. While there, we met Emanuvel (under my right arm) who lives in Chennai, India. Ash and I fell in love with his passion for Jesus and fatherly heart. SOOOO.... (spoiler alert!!) Ash and I are planning to visit Emanuvel in India this January. Naomi is the Ghanaian in the middle making Emanuvel laugh (an effect she seems to have on everyone). I love this picture because so many of my worlds are colliding. All my globetrotting comes together and makes more sense when you know the incredible people I'm traveling to see.

Then in a very recent surprising series of developments it was decided that some close friends from Chicago will be meeting coming to meet me in the UK for a few days of tromping around Whales, eating in pubs, touring castles, making my wife sick with envy, etc. I won’t lie: it’s going to be a lot of fun. But I also have to wonder what God is up to. These are friends I’ve invested a lot of time and energy in and I wonder what God might do in their discipleship journey (as well as mine) through our time together.

I’m really disappointed about missing out on my time with the Fulani in Ghana. I even had a dream the other night that I was speaking surprisingly good Pulaar with a Fulani lady at the market. But I’m also encouraged to know that the meeting will go on without me. It is being supported by many of my friends and donors, and hosted by local pastor Jonah Manyan, one of the humblest and most genuinely caring people I know. It’s very possible that it will go better without the distraction of grinning white faces... at least for now.

As for me, I’m off to the UK tonight (if the buddy-pass gods allow). I’m excited about what I know is going to happen. I’m especially excited about the people I know I get to spend tim with. But I’m just as excited about the things and people I DON’T know about yet. Adventures away!