This is the concluding segment of the interview Jim Kimball and I did with Carol Gray. Carol passed away after a long battle with cancer on July 3, 2010.
The fact is that I know the Lord went with us on that first convoy, and so a month later I went on another one and I continued to return. The Lord has just opened so many doors to me that have allowed me to go into areas where not even the UN was in the early days. The UN used to come up for a debrief. They would ask "Where have you been?" I would tell them and they'd say, "How have you got into there?" I would say, "It was because the village people took me round the back way so that they knew I would be safe." They then said, "We can't believe you've gone there. We can't even get in and we are a peacekeeping force."
I had a strong feeling before I went on that first trip that I knew I would be kept safe and that the Lord would look after me, but I somehow knew that it had to be me to go. I realize now why. I know that in the early days it had to be a woman, because a woman wasn't seen as a threat, and they were great with me. They looked after me so wonderfully. They are very special people.
I have been on 32 convoys there, and over the years the British people have been wonderful. It costs us approximately £8,000 to £10,000 every time a convoy goes over. It is an extremely expensive trip. Over the years we have taken well in excess of £4,000,000 worth of aid just as a small charity. I know that is because the Lord has opened so many doors.
We have been able to go to some of the most incredible places where there has been the greatest need. These people just throw their arms around me and tell me how much they appreciate what we have done and how grateful they are. It is a wonderful feeling to hug someone and say "We're here because we care and because we love you." It has just been an unbelievable story to me of how, when the Lord is on your side and you have a desire to help He gives you the ability to be able to do it.
I have learned a lot over these last few years. I have learned that as individuals each and every one of us can make a big difference, regardless of how small we are, or how insignificant we think we are. I am just a very ordinary English housewife and mother that has got involved in something that the Lord has somehow made very wonderful. I did not expect that when I began this. I think the greatest lesson I have learned is that within each and every one of us there is a wonderful capacity to do a lot of good. All we have to do is get down on our knees and ask the Lord what he wants us to do with our lives, and he will direct our path.
Another thing I have realized is that the greatest gifts I will ever have in life are the spiritual gifts, such as gratitude and love for these people. There is just a wonderful feeling of oneness with them. I know that over these last few years I have sometimes put my hand out in times of real difficulty, and I know that the Lord has taken it. I have learned to love my Savior very much. It has been quite an incredible experience for me.
All we have got to do is just plunge in and do it and not be afraid. I am not a business woman. I am totally devoid of any business acumen, but I muddle through it, and somehow the Lord has given me the ability to raise the money that is needed. I can't always believe that it was me that has been through all of this. Some people get involved in things like this because they enjoy the publicity of the moment, but most people go there because they genuinely care, and they do a wonderful job.
I remember one man who came on a convoy. He was an ex-SAS paratrooper and he was a very macho, tough man. He was a born-again Christian. When he phoned me, he explained who he was and said, "I've heard about these wonderful convoys you do. I'd like to go on one, can I join you?" I said, "We would love to have you." But then he said "I must say to you, I don't want any of this lovey-dovey stuff, I have heard that your convoys are a bit emotional and you put your arms around everybody and you tell them that you care, and that isn't my scene at all. I just want to go and take the stuff and hand it to them." So I said "Fine, that's lovely." When I met him, he was a lovely man and I traveled with him for a time. As we traveled there he was saying, "You're not going to get me putting my arms around anybody. It's just not my way.”
When we got into the first village all these old ladies came running out because they recognized our vans and all the other convoy members who had been before were greeting them and there were tears all around. Mike was standing back. This old lady went up to him, she just threw her arms around him and he just raised her in the air, and spun her around and he had tears streaming down his face. He hugged everything that moved after that. He was just the most amazing man. He came on several convoys afterwards and always loved the experience.
The Croatian government in Rovanska asked me if I could take lots of flat pack kitchens and bathroom suites. We had lots of these flat pack kitchens donated, and many bathroom suites of all different colours. I was just leaving on the convoy and I suddenly had this real strong urge to put my old pea green bathroom suite on the truck. It was the last one to be loaded. I thought nobody will want it but I will take it just in case. I was a bit embarrassed about it when it came out as it was such a disgusting colour.
As we started to hand the aid out in Rovanska all the lovely bathroom suites came out, the magnolia ones, the white ones, the pink ones, the light grey ones. Eventually the only bathroom suite that was left was mine and everybody was saying, "Ugh, who on earth would want that disgusting green?"
We went to this last house and the lady came out as she was expecting her bathroom suite. When she saw the bathroom suite on the truck she threw her arms in the air. She laughed and started to cry and hugged me, and then she said, "You come, you come, you see." She took me in to her home. It was devastated, but it had had a new roof on it. There was no furniture in it and the only room that was left intact was where the bathroom suite was going. It was the only room that had any tiles on the wall. The tiles left on that wall were an exact match to the bathroom suite. She just raised her hands and said prayers the whole time. She just loved this bathroom suite.
It is a funny story, but if I hadn't have been prompted to put it in, we would have been one bathroom suite short and she would have gone without. Yet it turned out to be the exact colour that she wanted.
Eleven Years Later – September 2008
My last convoy to the Balkans was in 1999. It was in 2000 that I was invited by the church humanitarian department to visit Africa. We flew out to assess the situation and see if we could help in any way. My first trip was amazing.
I always had a dream to build an orphanage in Africa. It would be like a home with a momma and a family. There are so many children in Africa that grow up without their parents, due to the aids epidemic, other diseases and poverty. I wanted to give these children an environment that would be as close as possible to being raised in a family.
In 2001 I returned to Ghana and bought 36 acres of land in Trom, Somanya. This was an area of great need. The first necessity was to sink a well, so that there would be water close by for the village and the site. We then began the building work. We built houses that would a home for 10 – 12 children, a momma and another caregiver.
We called the site Mmofra Trom – this means Children’s garden, aptly named to emulate the focus of what we wanted for the children whose home it would become. The homes were opened in 2004 and since then I have been privileged to see many young children come to our homes. They have been sad, frightened, shy, nervous and timid on arrival. It has been amazing to see the transformation in them from their arrival to when I next visit Ghana. They are cared for, sheltered, fed and loved. When I see them again they are smiling, laughing and playing as all young children should. Their personalities are flourishing; their confidence just gleams and their eyes are bright.
The site has always tried to be as self sufficient as possible. There is a fish farm, poultry and a plantation to provide food for the children. Also the children are to be trained in a trade that will help them be able to provide for themselves when they are adults.
In 2006 the school was opened and it has gone from small beginnings to grow and flourish. It now has an intake of 400 students. The next plans are for a medical centre that will reach out to 40 villages in the surrounding area, so that those who cannot walk to get medical treatment will still be able to have health care. All the volunteers in Hugs International feel that Mmofra Trom is an oasis in Ghana and will always try to shelter and protect those in need. It has been a wonderful blessing to have been part of this amazing experience.
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