After the mooncakes and holidays...

Autumn is usually a festive time here. There's the traditional mooncake craze, where people gift and re-gift colorful, elaborate boxes of glorified lard balls (apologies to all mooncake lovers!) followed by the long awaited week-long holidays in October. Pollution level is at an annual low, and the weather is most enjoyable.  

After returning from Ghana in July, we had a nice, peaceful month of quietness before the chaos kicked in. It was a glorious month of rest! Since we are both night owls, we continued living on Ghana time for the whole month of July. Why? Just because we could :)

Joe took Joyce out on a kite flying date on a beautiful day in July

This fall feels different. A good kind of different. G is bringing new elements into our lives and is continually challenging us to trust him more each day. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen  numerous new ministry opportunities popping up, and we sense that he wanted Joyce to take an even bigger role with the youth girls than she did last year. After months of deliberating (and struggling on Joyce’s part), she resigned from Bethel the foster home for blind orphans – work that she loved and cherished – and joined Joe in investing in the expat youth community full time. It has been a LONG time since Joyce was a teenager, so this was a scary step for her. But it’s all turning out quite nicely – she is adjusting well and learning how to be a better helper to an amazing leader in ministry and at home.

Another change, or accomplishment, rather, is clearly a result of Joyce’s prayer in 2009 (or so she claims): Joe is now a certified, legit Personal Trainer! Back in 2009, way before Joe and Joyce even met on this planet, Joyce was training with a personal trainer in Ottawa. His name was also Joe and he is really the best trainer in the world. One evening as Joyce was struggling to do a 400lb leg press, she casually asked G in between breaths: “Wouldn’t it be nice if I get to marry a personal trainer in the future? That way I’ll get to be fit all the time!” Who says seemingly frivolous prayers won't be answered?

Random shots over the summer

After we finally gotten over our jet lag, Joe studied really hard and eventually passed the PT course with flying colors. Working out has always been a favorite hobby of ours, and we've been hitting the gym hard ever since. Hopefully you'd see a difference in us when we meet up next time!

Now you would probably understand that it’s no accident that the theme for our youth this year is “Get Ripped.” We are taking the theme rather literally, but it also has a significant spiritual meaning. We encourage our youth to work hard on getting ripped not only physically, but spiritually; to exercise our spiritual muscles and tone them to be more sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. Another important emphasis is the collective aspect of bodybuilding. We want to build up our own bodies, but even more importantly, we also need to focus equally hard on building up the body of Chrst, whom we’re all called to be a part of.

This is a snapshot of what’s up with us in this part of the world. What’s up with you these days and what has G been doing in your life? 

JJJ in action with the boys and girls!

The Thundergoats trekking in Ghana

Ghana Trip 2012

The Thundergoats is a vibrant team of 12 who decided to follow the Great Commission this summer, taking the Gospel into remote villages in Ghana. This all sounds very grandiose and altruistic; however in reality, we are the true beneficiaries of this trip. God showed up; our lives were forever changed. In this process of transformation, he was gracious enough to let us partner with him in a bit of his Kingdom work, which in turn left our jaws wide open and our hearts filled with awe.

Team Thundergoats in Ghana

None but one of our team members have set foot on African soil before, so this was indeed a new adventure for most of us. On our way to Kpandai (our first destination), all of us were fascinated by everything we saw: from the redness of the dirt and the myriad mud houses to the cohorts of kids chasing our van and the Ghanaians’ friendly waves we got along the road. Once we got there, however, the initial novelty of the place faded to the background as we were confronted by many bouts of cultural and environmental shock: The concept of African time totally messed up our schedule; outhouses there make China’s “squatties” look absolutely heavenly in comparison. Bugs became our new best friends in bed, not to mention the occasional visits from mice. One of us got bit by an insect hence nursed a swollen ankle for 5 days and two of us were struck by malaria which cost us our trip to Togo. Tap water cuts on and off with little forewarning as often as my mom changes her mind, and electricity goes out at the most inopportune time, i.e. at midnight while we are in the middle of a heated Mafia card game. Just as we started to bond with the children there, one of them raided our house while we were out and robbed us of many of our valuables and our sense of security there.

Needless to say, Ghana has thrown all of us out of our comfort zones. Regardless of how tightly we tried to hold on to the familiar, all of us soon realized that we had to die to our own needs and quickly learn to share everything with the rest of the 11 in order for this team function effectively. Girls learned to shorten their blissful time in the shower so that everyone else can de-stink before the water runs out; boys who are carnivores by nature had to stuff their meat cravings with more foo foo so that the rest of the team gets to taste a morsel of that delicious (yet scrawny) chicken. Even in all this, our days spent in that little guesthouse boast many conveniences and luxuries that our Ghanaian friends don’t have: electricity, tap water, fan, proper four-legged beds, fridge, stove, cabinets or even meat on the table unless there’s a special occasion.

Undoubtedly, the degree of poverty stunned us; we saw much lack and real time needs with our own eyes as we visit schools and homes from village to village. Some schools have so many students but are yet so ill equipped that teachers have to teach geography outside in the 40 degree heat under the shades of mango trees. More than a hundred students were crammed into a classroom not more than 200s.f., and eager souls who wanted to know more about Christ do not have bibles in their own language. At first we were eager to help in any way, loving on the kids and dishing out supplies we brought with us. Basically, we were trying to be the 21^st Century savior to the poor people we met. However, it didn’t take long before our supplies ran low and we realized our limitations. There is no way we can satisfy all the needs we came across! Slowly, this became clear to us: even if every kid gets to go to school and every school gets all the supplies and teachers they need, there will still be new needs: more computers, more notebooks, new pens…the list is endless. Furthermore, no amount of shiny ballpoint pens or crisp, white sheets of paper will save these people from their poverty in material, let alone their poverty in spirit. This is a void only our Lord Jesus Christ can fill.

This revelation brought to mind a conversation the apostle Peter had with a crippled beggar after Jesus ascended to the heavens. One day he and John were walking along the road when they saw him, and he begged them for money. Instead of throwing a couple of coins at him, Peter said: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6-7) If only we possess Peter’s confidence in Christ’s power that is alive and active within us today! If we did, I believe we would have walked the Ghanaian dirt roads with a different stride. We would have discerned spiritual darkness and starvation with a deeper compassion, conviction, and felt freed and empowered to heal sickness in the body and spirit. If only…

Through this trip, we have witnessed God’s greatness. He is not only our God, but God of all people, all cultures, all nations. He showed us what peoples’ real needs are, and they are far from material. As we write this, we feel a spark ignited in our hearts and a desire to grow in faith and walk ever more confidently in the power that is invested in me through Jesus Christ. May we come to know God for who he is and marvel at his greatness; may our lives pattern that after our Lord Jesus and forever point people to Him who is the fountain of truth and life – He alone is enough and will satisfy the deepest desires and needs that we will ever have.