PRATT FAMILY BLOG

 GO FORTH IN JESUS' NAME

A Life Fulfilled.  A Full Circle Journey

I was five years old when Daddy returned home from his first missionary trip to Africa. It was 1960.  I remember him opening his big, brown, hard-sided Samsonite suitcase  and the fragrance that engulfed the room.  It was a fragrance that I would never forget, a memory embedded deep within my senses. 

All of our lives, we have heard the stories of the miraculous journey my father took to Ghana, West Africa.  All through my mother and daddy’s ministry, they have had a love for the people of Africa. They have built over 30 churches over the years in various parts of the continent of Africa.  They have travelled to many countries in Africa; however, Daddy had never had the opportunity to return to Ghana, the place where God began his journey of missionary evangelism. 

Fast forward to September 2019. My siblings and I hosted a celebration of our daddy’s 90^th birthday.  At the celebration, I shared that Daddy had always wanted to return to Ghana, and that it was our desire to take him back. He was elated at the possibility of returning to Ghana.  Even at the celebration, people began to write checks for his trip.  Several days after the celebration I was praying, and I remember saying to God, “I need to know that this trip is something that you want us to do, not just something we want to make happen.”  The words immediately came to my mind, “Go forth in Jesus’ name”. So, we began to make plans to go to Ghana.  To take our daddy back to where his Missionary work began would be a “FULL CIRCLE JOURNEY”.   

There were so many miraculous events that took place during the planning of our trip.  There were obstacles to overcome, but not once did we doubt that we were to continue the FULL CIRCLE JOURNEY. 

Some of the obstacles had to do with getting all of our schedules worked out so that my older sister, Deatra, and my younger sister, Fara, would be able to go.  Deatra had never taken a mission’s trip before.  She had always stayed home and taken care of the home front for Mom and Dad.  Fara had gone to Kenya with Daddy in 2010.  My husband, Gary, and I have been on several mission’s trips and have been to Africa with Daddy, both to Kenya and Rwanda. Our brother, Rickey, was not able to make the trip with us; however, he was with us in spirit.

 Finally, we were able to secure our Missionary Sponsor, Bill Moore, and a date that would work for everyone.  We left on January 9, 2020.   From September, 2019, to December 2019, we had to raise all of our funds, get our shots, get our passports in order, and our Visas secured.  There were a lot of anxious moments, timelines that were concerning us, and details that had to be tweaked, but all along we held on to what God impressed on my heart… “Go Forth in Jesus’ name.”

When we arrived in Accra, Ghana, we were welcomed by the office of the General Superintendent of Ghana.   He had sent his driver Asante, to pick us up at the airport and take us to the Guest Housing of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Ghana.  As we began to get into the SUV, my younger sister, Fara, exclaimed “Oh my goodness, Debbie!  It’s the BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR.”  Sure enough, the driver was playing the BROOKLYN TABERNACLE MUSIC!  Anyone that knows us, knows how their music has impacted our lives and how my sisters and I travelled to NEW YORK with the expressed purpose of hearing the BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR in person.    It wasn’t until we began to exit the airport, that I realized what the song was….I began to weep.  The song playing was “GO FORTH IN JESUS’ NAME”.   Only God could have confirmed Himself to our family, that indeed this trip was ordained for such a time as this.  We knew that God had brought our daddy to the FULL CIRCLE JOURNEY for purpose.