Issue link: http://lawtonfirst.uberflip.com/i/1263026
8 spring/summer 2020 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's and daddy's ministry, they have had a love for the people of Africa. ey have built more than 30 churches over the years in various parts of the continent of Africa. ey 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 90th 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." e words immediately came to my mind, "Go forth in Jesus' name." So, we began to make plans to go to Ghana. Taking our beloved daddy back to the very place where his missionary work began would be a Full Circle Journey. ere were so many miraculous events that took place during the planning of our trip. ere were obstacles to overcome, but not once did we doubt that we were to continue this 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 homefront 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 to December of 2019, we had to raise all of our funding, get our vaccinations, get our passports in Go Forth In Jesus' Name Pastor Debbie Pratt A Life Fulfilled. A Full Circle Journey.