In 2010, I traveled to Côte d'Ivoire with Journey Corps. I came planning to stay for a year, but God expects more than our human limitations often allow for. I fell in love with the Ivorian people, and God grew in me a heart for those who are neglected by the majority of society. Jesus called them “the least of these” (Matt. 25:45).
I love Journey Corps because it’s based on a partnership with the Ivoirian church. Ivoirians became my father, mother, brother and sister – literally. By living in a host family, I was given the chance, to not only learn their cultural values, but to live them out. Their struggles became my struggles and their joy, my joy. Today, I grieve the loss of a neighbor’s husband and celebrate the marriage of a close friend, alongside my Ivoirian family.
With these relationships, built by learning their languages and living in their culture, I have found a place in ministry. Through visiting widows in my church with the pastor, I was able to see their hardships to support their children without a husband’s income. Together with the church, a fund has been set up to help these women start small businesses such as making soap or selling food in the market. My dream is that, through this project, the Ivoirian church will learn from the early church of Acts, who did not let anyone go overlooked (Acts 6:1).
Africa needs leaders for today; tomorrow is too far away. As a country recently depressed by war, Côte d'Ivoire’s young people are hearing this growing need. Along with my Ivoirian peers, I am part of the HuD group, an organization focused on training young, Godly leaders. Learning alongside Ivoirians, Sierra Leoneans, Liberians, and Ghanaians, I have been challenged to labor with my African brothers and sisters. Leading Sunday school is just one way I’ve found to empower the next generation of this country.
Adolescence is a key age everywhere. I volunteer at a trade school for teen girls in difficult circumstances – many have been violated, sought prostitution, are orphaned, or simply have no hope for a future. I lead weekly drawing and painting classes with the girls – as a source of healing from trauma and a key to give insight into their situations. However, Jesus is the only one who can fully heal us – a truth I pray I can communicate everyday in the secular context of the school.
I grew up in the church, and from the age of 3, I said that I wanted to be an artist. As I got older, I pursued art making and missions separately, never dreaming they could work together. In Côte d'Ivoire, I have found this to be possible – through opportunities like painting a mural to promote Nyarafolo literacy and leading art classes at the girls’ school. I often joke that God tricked me into this. As an older missionary once told me, “if you knew what you’d be doing in 20 years, you’d probably say “no way!”” Everyday, I learn what it means to live a life worthy of His calling – one with a Christ focus. This costs our whole lives, a scary but invigorating concept. I can choose to live the way I see best, or I can embrace Jesus who tells me that I am not my own because I was bought with a price (1 Corinth. 6:19). Which one will you choose?
