The title says it. I'm sorry for this delay in an update (not sorry enough to skip the beach last Sunday...but truly sorry all the same). Thank you for reading my updates and praying whenever they do come through. The Lord has been quite visibly moving the last few months.
Praise Reports:
- Many prisoners were able to eat by God's grace.
- L&D staff in the center of Togo are better equipped to resuscitate babies.
- Hundreds have heard the words of the Lord, and numerous have accepted.
Prayer Requests:
-That God would be glorified through our upcoming trip to the North of Togo.
-That I would be diligent in independent language study.
- That I would have wisdom concerning an opportunity to visit a school weekly.
I'll get to it.
I was invited to go on a ministry trip to Atakpame (a few hours North of Lomé) that primarily consisted of hospital renovation at the end of last April. Unfortunately, I knew I would have to leave the trip after two days so I could take a covid test and catch a flight in time. When I arrived at Gospel House Church to go on the trip, the group realized I was the only attendee in possession of a truck (The mindset of we’re just going to forgo planning and see how this works out is common to this region of the world—likely due to day-to-day living being a feat in and of itself). Because of this, my truck was loaded down with a bed and food bags and the schedule was changed. Rather than working on hospital renovation while I was still there, we took my truck to the prison to drop the food off, and we simply dropped the bed off at the hospital. It wasn’t what I expected, but I was glad the Lord was able to use me (well…my truck), and I brought some entertainment by being the only white person in the group. Can’t complain!
A few days later at the beginning of May, I went to the GROW Conference in Kenya. THANK YOU again for praying for my passport to be found so I could attend. This conference was for first-term missionaries across Sub-Saharan Africa to gather together to be encouraged and educated. I learned a lot, and afterwards I got to spend a few days with my friends in the city of Nairobi! I’m grateful to have had this opportunity.
On June 1st, I began a 16-day trip to the Islam-dominated center of Togo. Our team included a Labor & Delivery Nurse (Dr. Kristen), an evangelist, a technician, and a deacon/driver. These were the four primary components:
1. The official reason for our presence was so that Dr. Kristen could give a “Helping Babies Breathe” class. Many newborns die in impoverished countries because the birth attendants lack the equipment and/or training necessary to resuscitate them when they aren’t breathing. With HBB, Dr. Kristen was able to train about 35 healthcare workers on how to resuscitate babies and leave them with the equipment necessary to do so. I was the photographer, and the first person to “give birth” in two of her classes. These events were enjoyable and beneficial to the communities.
2. Mr. Samuel Avisse is a wonderful evangelist, and Mr. Timothee is crucial as his technician. Twice, we were able to have large “The Jesus Film” viewings. One was at a church, the other was in an Islamic village. We’d hoped to show the film in two other villages, but the Muslim chiefs decided to revoke their permission. We praise God for the opportunities we did have. Many adults and children attended the viewings, and several men from the Muslim village made professions of faith. They are now connected to local Christian churches.
3. To my surprise, Pastor Saraji asked me to speak to the women of his church about the importance of being involved in ministry and then hold Q&A. About 30 women attended, all of whom were older than me and married. Talk about feeling unqualified! Fortunately, I had gleaned some wisdom from other women over the years, read a helpful booklet entitled “Coworkers” by S. Snodgrass, and Dr. Kristen was able to chip in.
4. In the rest of the time we had (And when Dr. Kristen and I weren’t suffering from a bad fufu lunch), the group went out for evangelism. The people we interacted with were from several tribes and they all received us graciously. In the first town, numerous individuals were ready to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In the second town, you could tell their gears were turning about the gospel, but they were much more hesitant to accept. When a Muslim accepts Christ in this country, he or she could be angrily kicked out of the house and lose all social connections. This gives all the more reason to pray about the seeds that were planted.
When I returned to Lomé after all of these adventures, my parents were able to come check the place out for 5 days. It was nice getting to show them the place that is now my home.
A week ago, I had my first official language evaluation. After 5 months of thrice weekly tutoring (and honestly less independent study than is ideal), I’m getting close to the level I’m expected to reach at some point in my term. Please pray that the Lord would give me the diligence to stay on top of language.
Concerning the future, we will be picking up a physician (Dr. S) and her sister today. Our deacon-driver, a global partner, Trevor Y., and I be traveling with them to the very North of Togo so we can check out the hospitals where Dr. S will likely return to work. The team will also be performing evangelism. There have already been some bumps in planning the trip, as certain team members have fallen ill. Please pray that the vision trip would go well, that God would prepare hearts to hear His message, and that we would return to Lomé safely. It it is quite spiritually dark up there.
Concerning the further future, I have a decision to make. Pastor Denis has invited me to go have conversation with the 12-15 year old students at his school that are learning English. This would be a great way to gain deeper insights into the culture, witness to youths, and possibly provide some counsel to them. However, it's a roughly (and rough) 45-minute drive to this school, and increased road time means increased risk for mishaps. Please join me in prayer that I would make the right choice.
I think that's plenty update for now. Thanks so much to those of you who have sent me encouraging words, prayed for my team and I, and offered financial support to the mission. We literally couldn't do this without you, and I'm grateful to the Lord that I have you as my brothers and sisters in the faith (Or as supporters...please always feel free to reach out if you have questions concerning Christianity). God bless!
PS: I forgot to mention that school supplies were distributed to the 60 orphans that our Send Relief grant provided funding for! Praise God that they will be able to have a solid, Christian education this year.
