KOUCHIBOUGUAC (by Colleen Carter)

Colleen Carter
Missionary to Ghana

Kouchibouguac? You might ask – where in the world is THAT? Honestly, it is a place in New Brunswick, Canada where my story starts.

The youngest of four children, I was raised with my brothers and sister by God-fearing parents who still live according to God’s Word. We weren’t rich by material means but God supplied our needs and blessed us with plenty of love.

The little one room schoolhouse – converted church was where my family attended. I received the Holy Ghost standing to the right side of the pulpit and was baptized in Jesus’ name in the Kouchibouguac River. My foundation is strong and secure.

My mother was my Sunday school teacher and we always sent Christmas cards to missionaries. The year I was seven, I selected the Everett Corcorans – missionaries to Pakistan. That was the beginning of a sacred friendship. As I wrote and they responded, God was moulding my heart toward missions.

At fourteen, God called me to missions. After graduation from High School I attended Northeast Christian College. While there I kept praying for the Lord to direct my footsteps. In my third year, with graduation fast approaching, I earnestly prayed for God to reveal His will to me. My brother went to Because of the Times and met the Jim Poitras family. He returned with a bookmark and told me to pray about it.  I placed it in my Bible. The next sermon I heard was about commitment and giving God all. I took my Bible to the altar and laid myself over it saying, “If this is what you want God then I will do it with everything within me.”

February 2000 I arrived in Ghana, West Africa as an AIMer for the first time with the simple goal of “being an extra set of hands to the missionary.” Immediately I fell in love with the country and church. Over the years, God has moved in my life – placing a burden in my heart for: reaching Africa’s children; passing the Word through the printed page; and training pastors through teaching at ACTS Ghana.

With almost five AIM terms behind me, I marvel at what God has done in my life. Has it been easy? Not always, but His grace is sufficient.  If I should ever question my being in Africa, all I need to do is watch the Holy Ghost being poured over a soul and my vision, passion, and burden are renewed. It may not always be easy but it sure is worth it!

With my tiny hand in God’s mighty hand, I applied for intermediate appointment in September 2005. Now I await God’s timing and perfect will. This is a big step, but when God says “Go,” I’m ready to run. The race isn’t to the swift, but to the one who endures to the end.