Translation Project Finished!

Wahooo! God provided the money for translating the lessons into Moba and Tamberma! 

I never want to stop being amazed by how God provides. I asked God many years ago to "multiply the fish" in the ministry, and we are continuing to see this happen in amazing, creative ways.

 I was just talking to one of my sons today about the Bible story of the boy with a few fish and some bread, and how Jesus blessed it and broke it and it fed thousands with it. We truly have a great God who can use anyone or anything to supply the needs for His work. This time God used a young girl and a chili cook off to supply the remaining funds for this translation project. He is multiplying the bread and fish and He deserves the praise!

Spreading God's Word!

One of the big parts of our ministry is making sure the men and woman who come through our training are equipped with the appropriate tools to spread God's Word throughout Togo. Because the majority of people they work with are illiterate, we must get the Bible onto radios so that they can listen to Scripture. That sounds easy, right? Well, Togo has over 40 different languages, so you can imagine the work that must be put it to making this possible!

The primary tool our students use to spread the gospel is called Good News. It has a book with pictures in it, and the chronological Scripture stories they are listening to go along with the pictures. We have two languages, Moba and Tamberma, that need the lessons recorded for the people in these regions to hear the gospel.

We are asking for help to make this happen, so we have started a GoFundMe page asking for $550 which will be used to pay recording fees as well as transportation and food for the translators. The recording team will begin on October 18. To know that so many people will be hearing God's Word in their native language is so exciting. This will open so many doors into many villages and homes. Please pray about supporting this opportunity to spread His word more in Togo.

Click here to donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/recording-bible-stories-in-africa

An Amazing Act of Love

When we arrived back in Togo at the first of the year we had some new neighbors. They had children, but these children were different than the children you see around Kara. It appeared to me that these kids were from the village; in other words, not street smart. For example they were not to sure about our truck and they were not too sure about this white lady that kept going by their house.

As time went on I got to know them a little better and began to interact with them at Bible hour with the neighborhood kids. At first I found it very hard to connect with the kids; they were dirty and a little awkward, but I continued to try. Two weeks ago during Bible hour with the kids one of the little boys was sitting close to my feet. I noticed he became very excited about a person walking by, who turned out to be his mom. He waved to her and as she walked away his face told how he felt about this woman: he adored her. I looked at him and asked him if that was his mom and he said yes and asked him if he loved her and he got the biggest grin on his face and said "yes, I do." I know this probably does not sound like much to most readers, but it is very rare to see love like that come from a 7 year old boy for a mother in Togo. I am not saying it does not happen, but I have never seen it.

I asked my friend Yvette about this little boy and his mother, and she began to tell me a story about an amazing act of love.

A man was abandoned by his wife and left with 5 kids. He was not able to take care of all these children by himself so he began talking to a woman who lived in Kara (our city). He finally told her he had a child, and she began talking to him about bringing the child to her so she can take care of it. He agreed to do this, but on the day that he was supposed to bring one child to her he brought all five! She was shocked and surprised to see five and not one. Her compassion kicked in. She saw how dirty and how poorly dressed they were, so she immediately started bathing them and taking care of them.

The man and woman were married and they now live next to us. I was told more info about this woman that made me thank God for the heart that He has given her. The husband does not help financially at all; he basically is out of the picture.

Because of the situation, the step mother of these children needs to provide their food and clothes.  So she works. She is a wonderful hair stylist, which is a blessing for her. Not the kind we think of in a nice shop or booth. This is outside of her home with a wooden chair placed on the dirt and she stands and does ladies hair all day to put food in these childrens' mouths and clothes on their backs. This amazes me. This lady loves these children like they are her own. I was told that the one boy that I was telling you about earlier sits by her, and if she needs anything he runs and gets it for her. He anxiously waits for her to speak to him and he eats it up.

This act of love I see in this lady is such a great example for all of us. I thank God for this love He has placed in her heart for these children.

Life in Togo!

 This is our hedge hog named Spike, he eats bugs and hot dogs. He loves to run around the yard, and hide in blankets. The boys love Spike, and we have so much fun with him.

 Ian's middle name should be dirt. :) He loves to play outside, and has no problem getting dirty.

 This is Drake, he is a spiny tailed lizard. He loves to eat Hibiscus flowers, and moringa leaves. When he lays in the sun the green spots on his back get really bright. He is a great lizard.

 Ian was trying to make a tough guy face. He got tattoos from his Papa and Nana for Valentines day. He loved the tattoo and was showing them to everyone.

 Tough guy, with a tattoo on his arm. He thought they were great.

 We have a pool in Kara here and the boys love it. They both love the water.

 These boys love popsicles and love books. I found them the other day like this, looking at book after book.

 This is our school room. Owen is in Kindergarten and he is doing so well. Ian is just here for the ride. Ian's favorite thing to do doing school is cutting. He cuts a piece of paper up almost everyday into tiny pieces. He also loves the blocks, puzzles and coloring.

Owen and Maurice saw Jesse taking shovels and rakes out of the back of the truck and they asked if they could use them to dig. This is what they decided to do with them. Now the whole pile behind Owen is moved to the left. Lots of work for these two but they loved every minute of it.

 We went to a local church today, the whole service was done by children. The boys loved it. When I asked Owen what he liked best about it, he said the singing and clapping part. It was great worshiping with other believers.

Africa to America back to Africa

When coming from Africa and going to America it's a big change for me. Yes, you heard that right: going to America is difficult. Whenever you live in a culture long enough, it becomes hard to go to another, even if it's the one you grew up in.

Coming back to Togo after being in the States is no different. The way they eat, the way they communicate, the way they treat one another, the way they deal with difficulty, the way they live as a family. Every culture is different. When you are in a culture and are apart of it you start to take on some of their characteristics whether you realize it or not, or whether you like it or not. For me and for my family, one of the big things here in Kara, where we live, is sounds that they make with their mouths. When they want to say yes they click at the back of their throats, when they want to say no they click two times. Currently all of our boys do this. It is quite humorous, especially hearing our 2 year old do it. When people here feel shocked or upset they have a sound for it. It's pretty funny when we go back to the States and it slips out before we can stop it. Quite embarrassing! It is quite the adjustment. Joshua would love to eat with his hands all the time because his friends do it. Trust me, you can not eat fufu with a fork or a spoon, you could try but you will just get frustrated, you must get your hands right in there, dipping the ball of fufu right into the sauce. (Fufu is a type of food they eat here that comes from a root. It is starchy and really has no flavor, it is simply a tool to use to eat the yummy sauce). So when going from Togo to America it is a bit of a shock to the system.

When we were in America, things were completely different. The culture is obviously completely different than the culture in Togo. Our kids were not too sure about it. To be honest, I am not too sure about it. Greetings are different, people talk differently. Not a lot of people talk to you. No one is making clicking sounds, and no one eats with their hands except for Joshua (or if you are eating pizza). Everything is different, but it’s a good different. There are things I like about America: coffee is a big one! And we have lots of conveniences, like all the stores to choose from. But the greatest thing of all is the church culture, we are able to worship Christ together with other English-speaking people and worship Christ. You can worship Christ anywhere but, there is nothing like worshiping Him in your own culture in your own language. I am grateful for both cultures and love them both.

So back to Togo we go! This return for me has been one of the hardest for me. It is not that I did not want to return to Togo; I really wanted to. It started on the trip over to Togo. It would hit me in waves. Like when I walked into the airports that were no longer American, something inside of me screamed unfamiliar!, unfamiliar! The thing is, is that it was not unfamiliar ground for me, we have done this trip 5 other times, and this is our 6th. It was as if my body had adjusted to American things and culture in the 6 months that we had been in the States, that it was not having anything else. Okay, it did not help that our 2 year old was melting down too. There were different smells, different people, people from all over the world. It was as if I was on overload. When we finally reached Africa, my senses were heightened. We were no longer walking down a hallway to get off the plane, we are walking down stairs to get on a bus to take us to the airport. We all crammed into a bus with no sitting room while we waited (and waited) to drive off. This wasn't new to me either, but for some reason this time I was not liking it. As we make our way to the airport immigration, I started to relax, then it dawned on me, our suitcases, did they all make it? And if they did how much are the customs guys going to charge? All those things started to make me have those feelings again. Again I want to say I have done this many times, not a problem right? Everything went smoothly, we never paid anything, and our friends were waiting for us on the other side of the door to take us to the hotel.

The next day as were driving around Lomé (the capital of Togo), something struck me, it was poverty. It is impossible to miss, and it is impossible for any caring person to ignore. What to do about it? I felt like one person with one bowl of rice with 10,000 people around me asking me for that one bowl. How is it possible to help this many people? Another crushing thought that made it difficult to enter in Togo again.

As we finally arrive in our home up north in Kara, I was struck with the horrible smell of mildew. There were no pictures on the walls, lots of things were put away in storage, and it did not look like a home. Everything was so dusty not because it was not cleaned, but because we are right in the middle of Harmattan, where dust comes from the Sahara and showers us with a lovely fine dust, impossible to keep out of anything. This was depressing. Because of some other things, I was not feeling at home. But there is hope to this story. The mildew smell eventually went away, pictures started to go back up on the walls and it started to look and feel and smell like a home. The dust stayed, but we will have our big clean when this season is over and it will be grand. My heart and my mind were settling back in and when I was able to see my dear friends in town made it even better. This particular transition was difficult, but my desire to live here comes from the Lord and the love for people around me comes from Him, no matter the color. I thank God for the people around me and for the encouragement I have received from them. So I can now say I am back and loving it. There will always be poverty in the world, but a greater problem is that people around us do not have Christ. This is the greatest thing that helps me to come back to Togo.

My House

People have asked, do you live in a grass or a mud hut? Do you have running water? Do you have electricity? All of these are great questions because they have no idea what Togo is like. So I'd like to show you how my family and I live in Togo. I would love to show you personally and have a cup of coffee or tea with you but a picture will have to do.

This first room is my favorite. It is peaceful and cool, and is full of tropical plants. It has lots of textures and some color. Jesse and I love to sit here in the morning to read and drink our coffee. The boys love the porch too; it is a great place to snuggle up on someones lap! Before that it was completely unusable because the mosquitos are so bad on that side of the house. Now we love it so much that we wish we had done it years ago when we fist moved here. When you come to Togo we will sit out there with our coffee and chat!

When we first arrived in Togo we decided to get some seagrass chairs made. It has been a great investment. I think they make this room, and they are my favorite thing in the room. I love to decorate with local things that have been made here. I have three baskets on the wall, which are normally used to sell things on, and the big bowl on the table is made from a cashew tree. Just recently I asked a gentleman from one of the trainings if he knew of anyone who makes rope and I asked him if he could buy me a few rolls of it in the village. I expected small rolls like a ball of yarn, but to my surprise he brought these massive things! I love them, though, and I think they make a great statement. The mat on the floor is a large muslim prayer mat. I love how colorful it is. These mats are used by everyone in Togo, and I love decorating with them. My favorite part about them is that you can just hose them off when they get dirty because they are plastic.

I hope you enjoyed my front porch and please stop by again, I will be sharing more of the rooms in the house in the near future.

A ball of locally made rope

Baskets from the market

Muslim prayer mat

Sea grass chair from Ghana

A little friend at the market

I was walking through the market one day and I came across a little girl strapped into a chair. The reason why she was strapped in was because she is handicapped. The thing that struck me about little Esther is that she was so happy. The minute you start talking to her she starts smiling at you. Not a small smile; its a huge, contagious kind. I am blessed to know little Esther and her mom.

In Togo and many places in the world people who have handicaps are unfortunately not always looked after the way they should be. When I saw Esther's mom sitting on the ground with her, feeding her and cleaning her, my heart sang. It was and is obvious she loves her daughter, handicap and all. I could not imagine the difficulties she faces here in Togo, but it makes me smile every time I see little Esther sitting in the chair happy as can be, and seeing her mom with a heart full of love for her. I am so blessed to know little Esther and to be able to see that beautiful smile and talk with her.