Just today I finished up grades for the third nine weeks. It's so funny....last fall when I was planning for this part of the school year, it seemed so far away, and now it's already gone! When we come back from spring break, we'll only have four weeks, and it seems so unreal to be so close to the end.

I'm REALLY enjoying this season in Togo; it's planting season, and the rains have made everything the most brilliant green you can imagine! The farmers have started digging up the ground, planting their crops, and it is honestly wonderful to just drive the roads and look out the window. The rains are such a blessing, too. They are always from God, but I feel it especially so here, because everything is so dependent on them--the wells, the crops, the animals.

Earlier this week we had a team breakfast and watched the solar eclipse together--what an amazing testimony of God's majesty, might, and wisdom. I was so in awe of Him the whole time as we watched, and was so grateful that He brought me here this particular year that I might enjoy it. He is SO GOOD!

We leave tomorrow for our team trip to Ghana, and then from there to the West African Missionary Retreat. I am VERY excited about this, because we'll be on the beach, and that's always a taste of home that I so welcome!
I am looking forward to just having some time to relax and invest in relationships :)

I love you, I bless you, and I pray for you always. Thank you for your love and support that God has used to sustain and encourage me while I've been here.

Visit our blog, for an incredible story of God's mercy upon us!

The big family news this week is that Matthew lost his first tooth (and is about to loose another) and Stephen is not wearing glasses. Stacey had mentioned that he wasn't seeing some things clearly in school so we took him for an eye exam in Accra and sure enough, he needed glasses. We picked out a really cool pair of kids glasses for him. When he first put them on he kept saying "Wow, it's clear!"

We submitted our I600a for our adoption this week and mailed off nine notarized documents to the States to be authenticated. Things are moving along and we should be ready to send our documents to China in a few months! Pray for the little girl that the Lord has chosen to be a part of our family, that she will be held in loving arms until we can hold her in our own arms.

This weekend the team is enjoying a last gettaway together in Accra. Next Tuesday through Saturday we'll be at the West African Missionary Retreat. Blessings to all of you. Thank you for your prayers, He is listening and He is answering!

After living in the same house for nearly 12 years, it seems strange to have our of our things in a container headed for the USA. The truck came on Tuesday to load up the belongings of three families: The Parkers, The Neals (missionaries in Kara, Togo, returning to be directors of Camp Deer Run), and our family. We still have over two months in Togo before we actually move to the States. We are living with borrowed furniture and kitchen supplies. Over the next few weeks, we will spend time visiting all of the churches. Jeff will also spend time in prayer and fasting with the leaders he has trained.

On Wednesday our whole team came over to our house for a breakfast to welcome our mentor, Mark Berryman, to Togo. Mark helped recruit and form our team over 15 years ago. It was good to see him just before our family returns to the States. Mark will be a keynote speaker at the West Africa Missionary Retreat (WAMR) next week in Ghana. We look forward to spending more time with him.

That same morning was the big event of the total eclipse. During the eclipse (about a three hour event), the entire country of Togo came to a standstill. The government made the day a holiday and scared the people into locking themselves in their houses all morning. Our team had found some special glasses made for watching the eclipse. So, we all took turns watching the sun slowly slip away until it was completely covered and darkness fell over the land. It was an incredible event that God let us witness! Unfortunately, as the government had declared it a holiday, Jeff couldn't buy spare parts to make car repairs until the afternoon. So by the time he got home from the capital city with the parts, it was already dark and he couldn't finish until the next day. Additionally, our computer has been down for a while, we had hoped to have it back on Thursday, but because of the eclipse holiday, we were told to wait to pick it up until Friday or Saturday. Oh, Togo!

Starting Saturday, our team will have a send-off trip for the Parkers and our family. We will stay in Accra, Ghana for a couple of days to celebrate all God has done in Togo over the years. From there we will continue down the road a couple hours to Cape Coast, Ghana, for the missionary retreat. Please keep our travels in your prayers. Also, please keep praying for all of the church planting efforts and the stability of the existing churches.

The solar eclipse was a highlight of the week for our town. Tabligbo, along with the majority of West Africa shut down for the event. As a team, we were gathered at the Holland's house for breakfast, and took turns with the special glasses to witness the moment of history. There were very few of our neighbors who trusted the glasses enough to go out and take a peek. Still, all were amazed at the awesomeness of God's power. At the end of the week, we journeyed to Accra, Ghana, where we are enjoying a team funtime before we go to the West African Missionary Retreat. We ask you to pray for Trevor who is having a difficult time getting rid of Malaria.

This has been an amazing week so far, and it’s barely half over as I write this. Sunday we said our goodbyes to the Vogan church, and were treated to a wonderful lunch at the home of Hammer and Dela Afakule. The Vogan church presented us with a beautiful weaving of kente cloth, and some of the members individually gave us gifts of cloth as well. We were humbled and honored to be so blessed by this church.

Monday was our final day of packing up our household goods. We were sweating as we watched the things that we wanted to ship begin to accumulate and we could not imagine how all of our things, along with those of the Neals and Hollands would fit into the container. We prayed, but we also thought a lot about what was low priority and what we would leave behind if there was not enough room.

When the shipping container arrived on a flat bed truck early Tuesday morning, we were astounded to see its size. It was over a foot taller than what we had been told to expect. When that extra almost foot and a half was stretched out over the its forty-foot length, this added up to a lot more shipping space. We ended up loading all three families’ belongings with plenty of room to spare. We were amazed at God’s goodness for providing even more space than we needed. We’re feeling a sense of relief and have decided that we actually like the empty look of our house. We have been greatly blessed this week by our teammates who have provided both childcare and meals to help us out as we got our shipment ready to go.

Wednesday morning the team met for a breakfast with Mark Berryman, a longtime friend and mentor who was traveling through Tabligbo. At the same time, we witnessed the total eclipse of the sun. It was truly amazing as the sky grew dusky and then, at 9:15 a.m., we had just a few minutes of almost night-like darkness. The people of Togo took the warnings about looking directly at the eclipse very seriously. In fact, the streets were deserted and businesses and schools were closed all morning. It seems that many were fearful, but after all was over, the people we talked to seem to have enjoyed the experience.

I’m writing this week’s entry early as we leave tomorrow, Thursday, for Ghana. We plan to travel to Kumasi where Maureen worked in the mission clinic for two and a half years before we were married. Then we’ll meet the rest of the team in Accra for a few days of together time, and then join other missionaries for the annual West Africa Missionary Retreat in Elmina before returning home next Saturday. Please keep us and all those traveling in your prayers.

SPRING BREAK.......yay!!! I am really excited to spend a couple of days in Ghana. I found out yesterday that I still have malaria so hopefully that won't take the fun away from this trip. I don't seem to have any bad symptoms. A headache here and there along with some aching of the body and tiredness, but it's all good. I'll just tell myself that I don't have malaria and I will feel like I don't (I heard it's all a mind thing anyway)....I wish.

Wednesday was one of the most thrilling days of my life. I am already crazy with the sky and all it's wonders. To have the eclipse happen while I am here in Africa is one of the greatest gifts I could have asked for. To watch the moon and sun dance. Then for a minute they became one. I couldn't help but look up at it when it happened. I will probably pay for it later.
God bless you all and thank you....thank you so much for your prayers. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you have gone with me this far.

With all my love...