Wednesday Word from Malinda

This week's Wednesday Word message was written by Malinda Shamburger. Last month Malinda journeyed to Ghana with a small group from the Diocese of Atlanta.

My journey to Ghana began long before I boarded the plane. Even before I received the invitation, Ghana was calling me. In Ghana for me, many things happened at the same time. I felt happy and sad, angry and joyful sometimes, those feelings were in a span of five minutes. I never realized I could feel so many things all at once.

I am sharing a picture of our group of Episcopalians walking up the steps that lead to the Anglican church that sat on top of the dungeons at Cape Coast Castle. While Anglicans worshipped, captured Africans were in the dungeons below, suffering and not understanding what was happening. Different things happening at once.

A man in our tour group said to our guide, "I don't understand how can the people of Ghana follow Christian religions when these horrible things were done to their people by Christians?" Our guide did not have an answer. Unfortunately, neither did I. Trusting God and questioning Him. Different things happening at once.

On Sunday morning, I attended Thomas Thompson Anglican Church, Rev. Samuel Boatend Ameyaw Adoll is the priest. Holle Tubbs and I spent two days with him, his wife Edith, and two sons, Bonaventure and DeGraft. At the morning service, everyone was singing and dancing, praising God. Joy was overflowing, and I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I felt like crying and laughing. Different things happening at once.

In the midst of the praising, I closed my eyes, and I said to God, thank you for allowing me to experience this. Thank you for trusting me with this experience, and as I was praying, the lady beside me nudged me and said, "Dance, my sister, dance. God is good, my sister dance." So I danced.