Kristin Thornton’s Blog

Going to Ghana!

Family, Friends, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you with a request for prayer.  Many of you know that I will be traveling to Ghana, Africa soon.  My flight leaves Kansas City on December 30, 2008, just a few days after my beloved sister’s wedding!  The preparation has been coming along well, but I need your prayers.  I recently went to a Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, KY where medical missions minded people from over the world gather for a time of worship, encouragement, and learning.  I was greatly encouraged to see so many men and women of God living out their calling on the medical missions field and am excited to be among them soon.  It was such a beautiful blessing to see so many excited about what God was doing and gathering together to build each other up!  The worship was amazing, joining with so many to lift our voices up and sing praises to the God we serve!  God is so good!

Matthew 28:18-20 tells us some of Jesus’s last words on earth, he says “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 tells us, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  This verse really spoke to me, because it tells us what our purpose is as Christians.  I’ve been traveling around for school over the last few months and its been tiring and frustrating at times.  One day I was down and opened the Word to draw near to God, this was the verse I read.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was down because I had lost sight of my purpose and life seemed gray because of it.  Acts 1:8 reminded me of my purpose as a child of God, I’m to be a witness.  As I looked closer into what the verse said I saw that he called us to be witnesses in 1) Jerusalem, in 2) Judea and Samaria and 3) to the ends of the earth.  To me this was saying, I’m called to be a witness at 1) home, 2) the surrounding communities and 3) to the faraway places of the world.  As Christians our calling is simple, its to be witnesses at home, nearby and far off.  I know that many of you aren’t able to go far off, but I’m asking you to “go far off” with me by praying for the people in Ghana.  Pray that God will open their hearts and minds to His Word, His Salvation, and His Love.  Please pray that Sarah (another medical student from KCOM) and I will be prepared for what God has in store for us and that we will be open to hear His voice guiding us each day.

You have been a source of encouragement in my life, you’ve walked alongside me at different times and God has used you in a special way.  Please continue to be used of God in whatever capacity He’s calling you to and I hope its also in prayer for the people “far off” and for me as I go.

This trip to Ghana, Africa is for medical missions and is part of my schooling for medicine.  I’ll be working at Nalerigu Baptist Medical Center in Ghana, Africa and learning about international medicine.  December 30, 2008 is my departure date from Kansas City.  I’ll arrive in Ghana for New Year’s Eve and continue traveling to Nalerigu, northern Ghana, West Africa where I will work for 4 weeks.  Then begin traveling back home on January 30th.  INMED is the organization I’m going through and they’ve set up a blog for me to write and post pictures while I am gone.  The link for this is below and I encourage you to check it out.  I’ve also put a link for INMED and Nalerigu Baptist Medical Center below.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers,
Kristin Thornton, a servant of Christ Jesus