The SAVEDpreneur™ Spotlight: Sarafina Asiedu, CEO of Time 2 Talk Media

Sarafina Ama Dodua Asiedu was born and raised in Chicago, but Ghana runs through her blood — and her lens. As a faith-based photographer and media creator, she uses her camera to capture more than moments. She captures purpose. Her story is one of a woman who slowly stopped desiring the world and started desiring God, and has been building her life around that shift ever since. She is not waiting until everything is perfect to show up. She is showing up, serving in her church, and trusting that her obedience will reach the right person at the right time. Including, perhaps, the one who will help her build the Christian Café God placed on her heart.

Let's lean in.

Tell us who you are and when did you know God was calling you to do more and be more?

I am Sarafina Ama Dodua Asiedu and I was born and raised in Chicago, but Ghana runs through my blood. I always had a voice and a desire to be heard, which showed through my many creative interests from an early age.

I knew God was calling me to do more when slowly my desires for the world started to change and I no longer felt the urge to be of the world.

What does it mean to be saved and how do you live a saved lifestyle?

For me, to be saved means you intentionally live for God every day with Him in mind in your decisions and habits. How I live a saved lifestyle is to live my life for Him. I am not saying perfect — because I am not — but when I became closer to God, there are a lot of things I have let go. I just have more faith that things will work out for the greater good. Being saved also means doing what is right in a world where living a life of sin is extremely normalized.

Success in the Kingdom looks different from the success of the world. How do you explain the difference?

Success in the Kingdom means being content with what God has called you to do, even if it is not what you desire. Serving in the church when your bank account is hanging on by a thread, while still having faith that your breakthrough is coming. Being okay that financially things might not look how you want them to look right now.

Success in the world is doing things for money that do not serve God — doing something that causes you to sin and being okay with it. The difference is including God versus not including God.

If you could partner with anyone to fulfill your vision, who would you work with and why?

Without a doubt, if I could partner with anyone to fulfill my vision it would be Brenda Palmer. I truly admire her story, her humor, and her transparency about where she started and where she is now. I admire how she bridges faith, culture, and media while still encouraging people to walk boldly in their faith no matter what people say. My vision as a creative is to use photography and media to capture moments that inspire people to fully step into their purpose — and for people to draw closer to God through that.

What does being a SAVEDpreneur™ mean to you? What is your kingdom assignment and how are you carrying out your assignment now?

SAVEDpreneur™ to me means being the entrepreneur who sticks to the plan that God has for your life, no matter the struggles that may bring. I feel like my Kingdom assignment is telling my story through my lens, my past experiences, and my humor. Where I was then and where I am now — I am extremely proud of — and people need to hear that someone like me can relate to them without judgment.

I am carrying out my assignment by serving in church, surrounding myself with good people, and being okay with letting go of what was in order to pursue what God wants for me and my future.

What did God call you to build, and how did you know? What steps did you take to be obedient? How quickly did it take you to answer the call?

It has been on my heart to open my own Christian Café — a space for Christian creatives just like me. To be honest, I have not actually started the process yet and I am still figuring out how to go about it. But the vision is there, and I am trusting God to bring the right people and resources to make it happen.

Where did obedience cost you something—money, time, identity, approval? And how did you handle the tension?

Obedience has cost me all of the above — money, time, identity, and approval.

Giving my life to God and changing my lifestyle and habits has made me realize that no matter what decisions you make in your own life, you simply cannot please everyone — and that is okay.

Serving in the church and giving my time to God when my bank account is as dry as the Sahara desert, when I could easily get a job or work for a client that would draw me further from God — that will not make sense to a lot of people. But in the end, God sees my heart and will reward my obedience to Him.

I have also realized that not everyone will understand the lifestyle change, and that is okay. Living a life for God around the same people you used to live a life of sin with can be very difficult. But how I handle that is to simply be patient and hope that my decision to live for God, after all I have been through, will inspire the next person to do the same.

What upcoming projects are you working on that you want our readers to know about?

I would love to start the process of my Christian Café. I am hoping my story will reach the right person and that my destiny helper will see this so we can start the process together.

What is the best way for our readers to keep up with you?

Instagram: @time2talkmedia

Email: time2talkmedia@gmail.com

Website: https://time2talkmedia.format.com