My 30th Birthday Request....

It was 2003.

I was fresh into my first year of college, first year 7 hours away from home, first semester of trying to catch a glimpse of who it was that God was shaping me to be as an adult.

I wasn't sure where I fit in that year. I felt conspicuous and out of place. I felt unknown. And so He drew me closer. He had put a love in my heart for missions and big urge to just GO... anywhere, everywhere. And so I found myself at the Lipscomb University Missions Fair, perusing the tables of upcoming trips and opportunities. The world truly felt at my fingertips.. every continent and dozens of countries were represented. But my heart had always been pulled toward Africa. And I came upon a small table, manned by one freshmen who was a little younger than me, starting up a trip for the first time to Ghana, West Africa. The Spirit leapt in my heart. I was pulled there.

Our team in 2004.
 Forgive the poor quality of these pics... they are pics of non-digital pics from 10 years ago! :)

Looking back, I can't hardly believe my parents went along with this trip. On the team were 7 college students, led by a freshmen who had been to Ghana a time or two. We had 3 native Africans on the team as well, which made it feel safer and definitely made it more fun. So I raised the $2000 and went to a few team meetings and off we went to Ghana, over the Ocean, through London, over the Sahara desert and to the place that has drawn my heart back over and over again.

Africa.

I loved everything about it. I didn't even mind the heat; the lack of showers and electricity just made the experience all the more authentic for me. I taught at a school and was paired with a teacher, Mrs. Kangah in the third grade.

And this is where it all made sense. The reason I was a 19 year-old scaring her parents to death by going on a first-time, no-faculty trip to a small orphanage in West Africa. It was for this teacher and her daughter. It was for me.

Have you ever experienced the Lord just "clicking" your heart together with another? Like in the deepest part of your Spirit, you just know the relationship was meant to be?

This teacher, Ernestina, has become a sister to me over the last 10 years since my first trip to Ghana as a college freshmen. Her daughter, Anna, was in that 3rd grade class I taught for two weeks. They would come to the orphanage every night so we could sneak away and learn more about one another. We laughed together, cried together, wrote letters and exchanged gifts on our final night at the orphanage. They left town the next day so they wouldn't have to say goodbye. My heart loved them, but I wasn't sure how this relationship would continue except through prayer. But God is so much bigger than this little ole world.

Me, Anna and Ernestina in 2004

Over the next 3-4 years, we wrote. These letters from my sister Ernestina have some of the deepest sorrows, greatest joys, hardest heartbreaks, and weathered faith I've ever experienced in my life. This single mother in West Africa shaped me in a deep way over the course of my time in college.

Anna is on the far left

ignore this picture of me, but I love this one of Ernestina!

But then it just kept growing. Every time a friend would go back on this trip, we will send gifts with them. I get packages in the mail with Ghanian clothes and even food and books and pictures of the lives they are living on the other side of the globe. After college, they started calling. On every holiday, birthday, special occasion, loss, celebration, I know that my sisters will be on the other end of the phone. Praying with me, rejoicing with me and sharing their joys and sorrows too.

It is truly a picture of a God-ordained friendship. 

And now that 3rd grader? She's a grown up woman. She not only graduated high school, but has finished near the top of her class and was even honored by the President of Ghana along with 22 other scholars last year. She is brilliant and motivated and mature and loves the Lord.

Anna in 2013

And now. Now she is embarking on a new journey as she plans to begin college early next year. Her plans are to go to medical school and become a pediatrician - something that her nation needs more and more with each passing year. In a land where illness often goes untreated and children die daily from preventable causes, Anna wants to stay and serve the children of Ghana through her knowledge and education.

Anna receiving her award from the First Lady in Ghana last year

And me? Well, I'm not that 19 year-old I once was either. These two beautiful women have been by my side - so to speak - through all the ups and downs of marriage, children, illness and everything in between. And I'm 30 days away from saying goodbye to my twenties - a decade of my life that Ernestina and Anna have touched in so many ways.

Ernestina is a teacher in Ghana, but there are seasons when she won't see a paycheck for months on end. It is not socially acceptable to be a single mother - this is something that Ernestina has fought for years. She longs to send her bright daughter to college but the reality is a hard one for these two hard working women.

And so, in honor of my 30th birthday on September 22, I'm asking that 100 people will donate $30 to fund Anna's first year of college. That's all it will take. $3000 in Ghana will pay for a year of school.

Won't you join me? These women mean more to me than I can fully express to you in words. My favorite story of our friendship is the night in 2011 when they called to pray over my daughters' health before I even knew she was sick. And later that evening, we wound up in the ER with sweet baby G.  I had peace in knowing the Spirit had convicted my sister on the other side of the world to wake up in the middle of her night to lift my daughter up to His throne! These women are the real deal.

Please pray about donating to this cause. For my birthday, this would be the greatest gift I could receive - to take this financial load off the shoulders of my sisters and let them know that we are all behind them, on their team as Anna begins this amazing journey!

Thank you, friends.
(If $30 isn't do-able, I understand! If the Lord prompts you to give more or less, it would be a blessing!)

If you'd like to send a donation via paypal, my email address is LThrasher10@gmail.com, just put that as the recipient and I will receive it! I'll let you know when I get it! You could also send a check if you'd prefer, message me for our address! This means so much to me!!

Grace, Faith and Joy to you,
Lindsey