Entering Through the “Door of Return”
Something within my spirit has always drawn me toward Africa. In 1991 Essence Magazine published an article on the People of Ghana, West Africa. Being a “long range planner,” my husband asked “What do you want to do for our 20th Wedding Anniversary in 1992?” Immediately, I answered “I want to go to Ghana.”
Something within my spirit has always drawn me toward Africa. In 1991 Essence Magazine published an article on the People of Ghana, West Africa. Being a “long range planner,” my husband asked “What do you want to do for our 20th Wedding Anniversary in 1992?” Immediately, I answered “I want to go to Ghana.” Surprisingly he said “OK!” The moment we stepped off the plane in Accra, the capital of Ghana, I knew I was in the place of my ancestors. I saw people who looked like me and several of my relatives so much that I started conversations, only to hear an accent and a language very different than mine. During the visit we were up nearly every morning with a driver and an interpreter to travel the roads, meeting the people, and experiencing the culture that reminded me of growing up in “The Old Neighborhood,” of Dallas, Texas USA.
Since 2006, my travels to Ghana have connected me with the people and transformed my life. It was during one trip that a Ghanaian woman said to me, “I am sorry, our people were enslaved in America . . . Remember we were enslaved but not slaves. They took so much from us … Our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, our doctors, our mid-wives, cooks, seamstresses, teachers, mathematicians, and on and on.” Finally she said, “Now look at you and look at us.” Ever since that trip, I have made it one of my missions in life to encourage as many African Americans and other Americans to experience the people of Ghana.
When our African ancestors left slave dungeons in Ghana, they went through a door, known as “The Door of No Return.” Now we go through that same door and re-enter and the sign reads “The Door of Return.”
Through the Global Ministries “People to People Pilgrimage Program” we have experienced hands-on sharing and being the good news of Jesus Christ. In Ghana, we have donated funds to install water wells, taught children through educational programs, health screenings, provided school supplies, clothing, toys for children and the painting of different facilities. The National Convocation Executive Committee will hold their March 2014 Board meeting in Ghana. We will be transformed, as we “Be still and know” God in Ghana, West Africa.