An incomplete thought...

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that everyone who reads this (and those that don't too) has a great day and experiences a little bit more the love God has for you. I've been thinking a lot lately about the Kingdom of God...due in part to some sermons I downloaded, in part to a book I'm reading and also because it's just been on my mind (I'm guessing that's a good thing). Today, in honor of Valentine's Day, I've been thinking about the love aspect of that kingdom. Specifically, trying to think about how the world would be different if half of us who claim citizenship in the Kingdom of God truly operated in the Love that God pours out on us and should then be poured out onto others. The thought alone boggles the mind (I've always loved that expression by the way, but don't get enough chances to slip it into conversation). Just so no one thinks I'm going on some super-spiritual ego trip over here, I'm by no means claiming to be operating in the love of God myself. If I'm honest, then I think at best I really get to that place only rarely and for short periods of time, but I think God is starting to open my eyes to the possibilities...
--Everyday I walk past a small house where three little girls start jumping up and down at the sight of me saying "Obruni, Obruni!" ("white person, white person"). I've always waved and responded, "Obibini, etiseyn?" ("black person, how are you?"--not offensive as it might be in the States) and enjoyed the excited response, in English "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" (this cannot be truly appreciated in written form unless you've heard it from countless Ghanaian children with the exact same intonation). Lately, I've started crossing the road and shaking their hands across the gutter, and am thinking about the next step closer...
--Orphanage ministry here remains the best part of any day or week, except for the part when we leave...
--Looking at starting a ministry to prisons. This means bringing things like toilet paper and food to the inmates...a very different experience to be a prisoner here than in the States...

As the title of this post says, this is an incomplete thought, about to be less complete than I had planned because my time at the internet cafe is almost up...

God bless you all, I appreciate your prayers and concern (and letters and emails too!)
~Rachel