Final Thoughts

Right now it is early morning here in Africa. I woke up early this morning with so much already going on in my mind... today at 2:20 I will say goodbye to dear dear friends here at Mercy Ships and board a plane to head home to the states. What an experience these last six and a half months have been. In every way, God exceeded all expectations and deepened a love within me for the poor and needy in West Africa.



These are the precious faces that I will miss seeing. Yesterday was my last day at Fatima Orphanage, and I tried to soak up every moment, every hug, every sound, as I knew I would not see most of these little ones again. What an amazing God we serve. Yesterday I was thinking of what great love God has for each of us and these little ones here, to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our stead, for our sins to provide abundant and eternal life with Him. It is that love that spurred me to come here to West Africa to give of time and resources to serve with Mercy Ships. It is that love that gives me LIFE. It is that love that I share with you.


So with my final thoughts, I want to share with you all a passage of Scripture in John. One that has been on my mind these last few weeks. It is a prayer Jesus prayed before He was betrayed and crucified...

" ...I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent Me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me before the foundation of the world. Oh righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
~ John 17:20-26


It is my deepest desire that you know that love of the Father. I hope that you have seen a glimpse of it in the stories I have shared these past few months.... it is yours for the taking. Thank you so very much for walking this journey with me in Ghana and Liberia. I will see you soon.

Farewell dear Africa, I will greatly miss you...

~Kristen Nicole Shaffer