Nature of Prayers

 The nature of prayers can be subtle or very clear. On our trip to Mali, my answers to prayers seemed very clear to me but were not seen by all those around me. Jeffrey fell ill the first night we arrived, though it didn't have the symptoms associated with Covid, I was concerned for the test the next morning as I didn't want him to be stranded in Mali if it turned up positive. All tests were negative. 

We had to go to a different hotel as the water stopped working and a few things weren't quite right at the first hotel. The second hotel was great, but it was evident that Jeffrey was very ill. He didn't make it to any of the meetings or any sight seeing at all. Though I went out with the rest for a few events like the Mali church legal meeting and visiting with Yeah, I had come on the trip to be with Jeffrey, so I stayed with him Friday morning to chat a few - very few times and then had a wonderful time on the Niger River boat trip at sunset and out to eat with everyone. 

My prayers on Saturday were multiple. One, that the day's travel would be smooth, no roadblocks or shenanigans. Two, that Jeffrey (or any in our group) would test positive for Covid unless they actually had it. I even prayed for bodily functions to work properly and when it would be convenient. Sitting in the lobby at the hotel in Mali, trying to pay for Covid test in Accra and give a health declaration was tricky as nothing would go through on the internet.  Lorinda rose at midnight from a sickbed to pay and apply for Covid tests for all of us when we arrived in Ghana. Everyone's came through by the time we landed in Togo.

Some in our group said how interesting it was that there were fewer people so we weren't crowded on the plane from Mali. In Lomé, Togo we didn't get on busses from the car to the terminal, we just walked right off the plane into the airport and the immigration had four lines running so we were through in about 15 or 20 minutes. The trip scheduled for 2:15 pm arrived about 1:50 pm. Arriving in Accra, we were the first plane of that hour, so the only wait for the Covid test was the people in our arriving plane. Everyone tested negative and we didn't have to wait more than 20 minutes for the results. We were out in a surprisingly short amount of time. No bodily function issues came up during travel. Life is good.

Some will tell you what a coincidence it all was. We just happened to be traveling on the right day, etc., etc. Not me,  I know the power of prayer.