I am still thinking about the word “multiplicity” mentioned in the post last week about the fortune cookie message.  Last January I picked a few simple words for my New Year’s Resolutions:   Magnify, Multiply, Maximize and Mobilize.

These words have been on the first page of my 2014 daily journal.  It’s been interesting to see how their meaning has come clear to me and unfolded during the last 12 months.  See:  https://annlaemmlenlewis.com/2014/01/26/a-motto-for-the-new-year/

I thought about them again this week as the photos below were sent to me from my friends in Ghana.  Bernice Ankrah (pictured above with her husband, Prince) has become a sister and friend to me, as I’ve watched and cheered her on from afar as she has done the same thing I am trying to do here.  She has magnified herself, multiplied her talents and energy, maximized her influence, and mobilized others.

I first met Bernice last February when I stopped in Accra for a few days and looked her up.  I learned about Bernice several years ago and have been buying and using her beautiful bags for many years.  The moment she walked into the room, I knew we would become dear friends.  Her countenance glowed and her spirit was familiar to me–I felt I was meeting a sister I had been separated from!  In the short time we had to visit, I knew our friendship would continue to grow in spite of the distances between our families.

I’m wondering if the words I selected as my motto this year helped me to recognize Bernice when we met, as a soul-mate.  She and I are striving to live the same kind of life.  When I sent our first duffel bag of DfG kits to Ghana and Bernice saw them, her life changed just as mine did a year and a half ago when I saw my first kits.  And ever since, both of us have gone down some exciting and interesting paths we never could have imagined.

Now that a new path is opening before me, I am considering all the ways I can magnify, multiply, maximize and mobilize other women before we leave on our mission next July.  There is a great deal of work to do.  Thanks to women like Bernice in Ghana, and 100s of women here, this work will carry on while I step away from it for awhile.  There are dozens of women ready to step up and take charge when I am gone.  That is exciting!

Between now and May, there are already 50 DfG events on my calendar.  I am praying for strength to complete them and for the ability to prepare others to carry on after I go.  What a fabulous year it’s been!  Thanks to each of you who has contributed in some way to this grand adventure.  Little did I know 12 months ago, where those 4 powerful words would lead me!  I am feeling happy and grateful for all that’s been done and all that will continue into the future.

Here’s a look at Bernice’s wonderful influence in Accra this week: