Aja Church

A heavy load

Hannah's Ant Hill

My Africa Adventure

It is 7:09 PM in Tabligbo, Togo on Friday night. I am staying at the Parker’s house. Jonathan and Jeremy are getting ready for bed. I have had an awesome time so far. Today we went to the market in Cotonou, Benin. I got some souvenirs to bring back for some people. We have gone to a few villages and the children in most villages have not seen white people so I was a big hit. It was kind of fun being the center of attention. We saw a village today that was on the water. It was very cool. People over here carry things on their head in baskets. Most things are good here except that the food is different here, the heat is horrible, I can’t speak French other then “thank-you” and “hello”, and I am sweaty all the time. I cannot wait to get back into my own house and bed and room, but this whole time I have waited. Dad says I have done well and that he knew this was going to be hard. (I wish he would have told me that earlier.) Even though this week I have been homesick and sweaty, I have learned I have way, way more than most people in this world and that I should be praising God for this wonderful experience that most 11 year olds don’t get to experience. Well I got to go. I miss everyone and can’t wait to be back.

We met the Vogts on their arrival in Lomé last Saturday. They visited the Aja work in Benin, and then Anthony accompanied them on their visit to the Fon area and Benin’s capital city of Cotonou. This will be Anthony’s last visit to the Fon before our departure from Togo in May. He was encouraged to see the progress of some of the churches, and thankful for the opportunity to offer encouragement to those who are struggling.

We experienced God’s hand of protection once again on this trip. Our clutch on our car went out while we were still in Benin, driving back to Togo. We were in a relatively isolated area, about five miles from the nearest town and phone service. The car coasted to a stop, however, beside a village whose most prominent feature was its small mosque. Several people came to offer their help and they found a taxi driver who had some mechanical knowledge. Anthony “just happened” to have a can of brake and clutch fluid on hand and the driver used a string that he pulled from an old rag to patch up the leak well enough to get us back to Tabligbo.

Maureen and the boys held down the fort at home while Anthony was away. She and the boys had a warm welcome waiting for us on our return. This week we’ll be going to the American embassy to try to secure Maureen’s U.S. visa. Please pray that our application is fully accepted and her visa is granted.

Another week has flown by, but I'm not too upset, because that means next week we leave for safari! I am incredibly excited about this, although it will mean very primitive living conditions for several days . . . and we'll be the only girls :) It should be a huge adventure to say the least!

On Thursday of this week, Louise so graciously substituted for me at school because I wasn't feeling well with malaria. I couldn't believe how much I missed the boys after only one day! It really gave me some perspective about what it's going to be like leaving in two months.

Everything else continues to go well, and I thank you for your love and prayers that help make being here such a joy. I love you all!

This coming Wednesday Kpeve's preaching point, Kpokede (Po-kae-day), is planning to have their first baptisms. 10 have said they want to confess their faith and give their lives to the Lord! Pray that Satan will not discourage them. Pray that God will protect them and continue to show them His power for those who believe.

I spent two days in Cotonou, Benin this week getting visas and police reports for our China Dossier. Our Social Worker also emailed us the final copy of our Home Study to look over one last time. And, we finally were able to order Christine's Birth Certificate! Praise God, our paper work is coming together. We invite you to join us in prayer daily as we ask God to smooth out the adoption path before us and to bless the little girl that He has chosen for our family with health and loving arms.

The family said at the funeral that he was 135 years old. Since they kept no birth records, we do not know for sure, but we are sure we was over 100. He had lived the bulk of his life as a very powerful bokono ( diviner or seer ), but praise be to God that he came to know Jesus in the last years of his life. We have always had such joy seeing Papa Sosu praise the Lord with his whole being at the services he was well enough to attend, which for being that old was a great testimony. There was minimal conflict at the funeral; his biological family and the village wanting to conduct voodoo ceremonies on his behalf yet, giving respect to Sosu's wishes, they allowed the funeral to be led by his church family. The Christians from the Atitogon cluster made a great display of love as they cooked and served the family, which is in contrast to the worldly expectation that the family should host all visitors. Though we will miss Papa Sosu, we are rejoicing that this death means another defeat for Satan! Pray that the witness of his redemption will be far reaching among that village.

As far as our family goes, we are glad to have Marty well again. He had a relapse of malaria this week. Tanner was showing symptoms of it as well, and so missed a day of school. On the happier side of things, Louise was treated to breakfast in bed on her un-birthday and Taylor enjoyed being the center of attention on Friday as he turned nine. The birthday rush is drawing to a close with Marty's on the 7th.