If I made a list of things I love about Father’s House Ghana, at the top would be the way God continually gives confirmation and encouragement that He is with us! One way He has done that is by connecting us to incredible people like Contemporary Christian musician Josh Wilson.
In the fall of 2010, my family saw Josh in concert for the first time. I vividly remember standing in the auditorium with tears streaming down my face, fumbling to find the right button on my camera to record him singing a song that had not yet been released. In the weeks that followed, I woke up multiple nights with lyrics running through my head,
“…I can hear the least of these crying out so desperately, and I know we are the hands and feet of You, oh, God. So, if you say move, it’s time for me to follow through and do what I was made to do, and show them who You are…”
One of those nights, I got out of bed, found Josh’s website, and sent an email, not knowing if he would ever see it. I told him briefly about child slavery on Lake Volta and how we were planning to rescue eight boys in just a couple of months. Explaining how perfectly his new song captured the heart of our ministry, I asked for permission to use it in a promotional video.
What happened next was far beyond what I could have asked or imagined. Josh replied to my email within hours, giving us permission to use his song in our video. But he didn’t stop there. His email went on to say he was excited to hear from me because he and his wife had been praying that God would lead them to a ministry they could support with the proceeds from merchandise related to his new song, “I Refuse.” The song I had emailed him about.
In the following year, Josh not only performed free of charge at a Father’s House benefit concert, but he went on to showcase our ministry on his Christmas tour, raising awareness of the child slavery issue along with funds for the Father’s House at every stop! While Josh was telling people in America about them, eight boys in Ghana were being inspired by his music, learning to play guitar and singing loudly (in English!) songs about the God who loved them enough to come and find them and bring them to a new home!
A lot of growth and change has taken place in the years since those initial emails; in the lives of the first boys to call Father’s House “home,” our ministry, our families, and in Josh’s music. He recently released new versions of some of his previous songs in a collection titled, “Reimagined.” One of the songs included in that project is “I Refuse.”
Hearing those familiar and much-loved lyrics being sung in a slightly different way, I found myself thinking, “I wonder if…” and quickly typed a message.
Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming event!
-Written by Tammy Garrett, Father's House Co-founder
Image: Josh & Becca Wilson and the Garrett Family | Christmas 2011