~ Special Prayer Request ~

We ask that you pray this week for Ablavino (A-bla-vi-no) and her family. Her oldest daughter (Ablavi) died this past Sunday morning. She is the only Christian in her family and her husband is especially belligerent. He's a hard hearted man and blames her faith and the Christians in Tabligbo for his daughter's death. Ablavino will need special, divine strength this week to endure through the persecution of her family and also mourn the loss of her daughter. The funeral is expected to be today (Monday) or tomorrow.

This last week has been pretty low key for us. The boys are excited to be back in school, which began this past Tuesday. They are learning to overcome the challenges of flat tires and loose chains, etc... We are all being affected by the Harmattan dust and winds. It has never been this bad in the Tabligbo area. Now we even more deeply admire the teams from northern Togo and Burkina Faso who experience it much worse than this every year. As we are not used to the dust, it has challenged our respiratory systems and perspectives on cleanliness. I was looking at Trevor on Wednesday and thought I was looking at Pigpen from Charlie Brown. The cooler nights and the not so piercing heat of the day has been a welcome blessing, though. We are amazed at how much the boys have changed this year, especially in our lives in Togo. It is encouraging to see them cultivate relationships with kids in our neighborhood. Louise has been recovering from playing hostess for the last month. This is good because we are about to have more guests. The Bret Emerson family have made it to West Africa. They are members of the Kabiye team of Kara and have been on their way here for the last three years. They will be passing through along with the David Reeves family on Sunday and stay with us and the Crowsons prior to heading for Kabiyeland. We are so thrilled for them to finally be here and ask you to pray for them and their transition to life in Togo. Marty spent most of the week trying to get us back "on the grid", so to speak, with all of you. We are still without phone, but now at least are able to communicate through the internet and by cell phone. Beyond that we have spent most of the week at home, writing materials, meeting with Murphy and Christine, praying and studying. This next week Marty will be back out visiting the villages and teaching the leaders. He needs your prayers, though, to be able to balance this and the finishing of the materials he needs to produce. Thank you for your prayers and your deep love for us and the work here. God bless you even more in this new year with a deeper relationship with him.

School is back in session and I think the boys have finally settled back into the routine. This week Trevor continued to remind everyone that he could remember the number thirteen and also what it looked like. Although he is apparently starting to become concerned over the hold that thirteen has on his life. I caught him talking to himself saying, "The number thirteen won't let me go. It won't get out of my head. I guess it likes me."

My parents brought a violin to me in Europe and I've been enjoying the chance to play again. When I was boarding my flight in Paris to come back here a French gentleman stopped me and asked what instrument I had in my case. Then he said, "And you're going to Togo? Because I would like to come to your concert." It's now the joke that I am going to give a concert series in Togo. Then I could put on my resume that I had "played internationally." Tobias evidently likes violin music a lot. He runs into the room and starts howling whenever I tune up. I tell him that his accompaniment sounds great, but I prefer a piano. A Vivaldi concerto loses appeal when its competing with an African dog.

At 3:30am this past Sunday there was a tap on our window from our night guard waking us up to say that Ablavi had passed away in the night. Ablavi's mother, Ablavino, wanted to know if we would carry the body home in our car. Since Stephen was sick, Christine decided to go while I stayed home with the boys.

The gear shift on the car, which has been giving us trouble lately, decided not to work at this time and she couldn't get it in any gears to move the car. So, they (Christine, our night guard and Ablavi's younger sister) set off on foot with money to hire a taxi.

By the time they arrived at the place where the body was, Ablavino had already found a taxi to transport the body home and a few other Christians had arrived to help and comfort. She was in intense mourning. A very sad moment.

After encouraging Ablavino, Christine returned home and we tried to get a few more hours of sleep before worship. Since our car was out of commission we walked to Tabligbo church for worship. Sunday afternoon a group from the Tabligbo church (along with the Koonces and our family) went to greet Ablavino and give our sympathies.

The contrast between light and darkness could not have been more real. Ablavino's pagan family were wailing and singing hopeless songs about Ablavi's death. We could "feel" the darkness as we sat in their presence. No hope, no love, no comfort. The father was angry and rude to all of the Christians who had come, blaming us and Ablavi for his daughter's death. The greeting process took several hours as we tried to explain that we were here to comfort and bless. Ablavino is the only Christian in her family.

At one point we were invited into a room to see the body while we comforted the mother as she was crying. Afterwards we pulled her off to the side and sang songs of praise to our God in whom our hope rests. We encouraged her in her faith and layed our hands on her as we prayed. With tears in her eyes she proclaimed "I will receive everything that God gives with thanksgiving."

Here, in the midst of darkness, a light was shining. The darkness is great, but "the darkness did not overcome it." John 1:5. I was inspired by this woman as she endured such hardness of hearts, ridicule and persecution because of her faith. Join us this week as we pray that the Lord would shine His light into the darkness through Ablavino and comfort her in her mourning.

I have a funny non school related story to tell! New Years Eve we all partied at the Crowsons and us girls (+Lauren) played games. Amy and I were on the same team for Taboo. I had the card "Reindeer" and was trying to give Amy clues so I said "Prancing on the Roof" and do you know what her immediate response was..."Lizards!" Evidently the only roof Amy can picture any more is a tin roof. And to make it even funnier, Thursday during school the lizards were "prancing" very loudly over my classroom and I was trying not to die laughing picturing these giant black and orange lizards prancing about overhead.

School is going well so far and the boys are adjusting back into the routine. Harmatan dust and winds are here full force! When we go into the side yard for recess you can just see the dust swirling in the air and feel the Sahara in your teeth. The nice side effect is that the dust blocks the sun and lowers temperatures drasticaly. I wore a sweater over my tank top Wednesday morning as I drank hot chocolate! It had to be 75 or less! And Sunday morning I didn't realize how cold it was and wore a thin sleevless dress only to get goosebumps and shiver all through early morning church. It is nice to sleep under a sheet again and to enjoy taking a hot shower in the mornings. Our power has been on since Sunday and it is an amazing blessing!