Love at City of Refuge Ministries was many things. Love was rooster’s crowing at 5 in the morning (or earlier.) Love was sweating during the day and sometimes at night. Love was cold showers, bug bites and no electricity (at times.) Love was walking to get filtered water and giving up the comfort of your home and everyday life. To some that may seem like a challenging love but for me it was sweet love. Sweet because the love of Christ surpasses all. Love was hearing the story of how (the founders) Pastor JohnBull and Stacy met. Love was hearing the bell ring because that meant Mama Selena had cooked it up and it was time to eat. Love was walking through the mud after a rainy night trying to avoid any slips or falls. Love was the fresh mango smoothies made by the one and only Charity. Love was seeing children run around the playground. Love was snacking on home-made popcorn during movie night. Love was watching single mothers from City of Refuge Empowerment make handcrafted items from local Ghanaian fabrics. Love was worshipping together with thanksgiving on Sunday mornings. Love was teaching grade p4 how to play heads up 7 up. Love was playing UNO 20 times a day and winning once. Love was having briefings at the end of the night with my team where we were able to unwind and discuss our highs and lows for that day. And along with all that sweet love came tons of hugs, tickles, laughter and prayer.
Love isn’t the amount of likes you get on social media. Love isn’t taking a picture just to say you were in Africa. Love isn’t attending church just because it’s Sunday and that’s what everyone else does. Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered and it keeps no records of wrongs. At City of Refuge Ministries, love never fails. The feeling cannot be described. It must be experienced, it must be seen and it must be felt.
