Happy new year, everyone! I hope you enjoyed a lovely time of reflecting on what God did in your lives in 2022, as well as celebrating the arrival of our Messiah into the world.
I hadn’t used most of my 30 vacation days by last December, so I took most of that month off. This was a pleasant period of spending time with new loved ones and resting.
Moving chronologically—last November I had the pleasure of beginning evangelism efforts with Pastor Tchagouni and some of his church members. They've worked to start a church plant in the neighborhood of Sanguera, which is currently small and attended entirely by children. This was the first time I’d had whole spiritual conversations with people (curious neighborhood kids) in French. I handed them tracts, and they all happily listened to the gospel message.
A while after, my holistic ministry team worked on our Christmas project. There’s a clinic in town that’s frequented predominantly by members of an Islamic unreached, unengaged people group (UUPG). We were able to prepare robust food kits with gospel tracts in them for distribution. We also had our evangelist friend, Mr. Samuel Avisse, deliver a gospel presentation to those awaiting consultations. As a result of this project, 35 patients received the kits, 40 clinic staff members received them, our campus guards (some know the Lord, some…we’re not so sure) each got one, each holistic team member got one, and a few other elderly community members got them. Additionally, during the planning of this project I was able to witness to a hospital worker who gave his life to Christ. It's crazy to review the outcome of this project, because it once seemed like clinic leadership was going to revoke our permission to have it at all. By the Lord's grace and the financial donation from South Main, God has been glorified in this community and elsewhere.
A few days ago, my weekly English class started back. The first half of the class was a lesson, and for the second half we had a delayed Christmas/New Year’s Party. The students and school nurses enjoyed the provided snacks, learning the lyrics to “We Wish You a Merry
Christmas,” playing a Christmas-themed game on the chalkboard, and listening to popular English holiday music. I also read to them the story of the birth of Christ in the Easy-to-Read Bible translation. The one casualty was the pool noodle I brought to play limbo with…in the party frenzy it was left behind.
My supervisor and I have continued to have the opportunity to pass out gospel tracts when out and about. These are usually warmly received, though we hope the clear message that’s enclosed is genuinely considered. Additionally, a friend and I have a planned time of evangelism in the neighborhood this week. Prayers would be much appreciated.
Remember the well project I mentioned? After several delays and edits to the plan, we finally have the official list of the 17 churches across Togo that will receive wells from GAiN. This will be implemented slowly, but we’re grateful to get the process going. Clean, physical water can be a wonderful tool to point people to the Living Water.
We're also in the earliest stages of planning another Pad Project with our target unreached, unengaged people group. This time, we're testing the supplies from a local retailer rather than waiting for volunteers to bring them from the States. We hope the participants will love the kits they receive, and even more the message they hear.
In closing, I'll tell summarize to you the realities of a missionary spending the holidays in West Africa.
They were toasty and fun! The Yoakums go ham with decorations, movies, and music to foster spirit in a place that looks and feels nothing like what's associated with the Christmas season in America. Parts of both Christmas Day and New Year's Day were spent on the beach. Roasted chicken was swapped for Togolese-seasoned shrimp and the like. And between the two holidays, some friends and I were able to take a trip to a well-known waterfall as a gift from my church. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my holiday season away from home (I was really touched by your messages). It's always one of the greatest blessings to celebrate the arrival of our Messiah in the the world, but this year was extra special.
That’s all I’ve got for now, folks. May you grow in your love for and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have a blessed week.