From Marty - It has been a nice week away, full of good fellowship and great adventures, but likewise, I am glad to be home and am looking forward to a normal work week. I continue to work on finishing our training sessions for the leaders in Ahepe, Tabligbo, and the Atitogon cluster. It looks as though I may finish by June or July. Please pray that the leaders will take this training seriously and pass it on to others as they plant new churches and God raises up other leaders among them.

From Louise - Since our last posting of Tabligbo Times, much has happened. Our team made a trip to Benin to one of our favorite rest places, Casa Del Papa. It was a special trip as we celebrated my 10th and 40th birthdays, being born on the 29th of February. I enjoyed the time of relaxation and got in some special moments of reflection. Marty helped a group of local fishermen bring in their nets and in return they gave him a barracuda, which the hotel chef prepared for my birthday feast. Christine created a masterpiece of a cheesecake and cradled it all the way to the beach for my party.

Immediately following the birthday trip, we all traveled north to Kara. The men went on the annual Pendjari safari, while we women stayed in Kara with the other missionary wives. We helped Tracey Ries pack for their impending departure and had some great time of fellowship.

The trips were great, but I for one am glad to be back home and ready to get back to our routine.

What a few weeks it's been! We've had ten days or so filled with fabulous travel that was very uplifting and refreshing. Before leaving for any trip, though, I accomplished a major task… I finally got the pilot on our gas stove lit! When we had arrived a couple months ago, Marty lit it for Emily and I and taught me how to (since Emily made it pretty clear that that was my job!) but I hadn't had to actually do it until just the other day. It was quite the sight, I'm sure. The problem was that we had already begun using our oven/stove when the gas went out, so it was extremely hot. Getting it lit involved many matches, an oven mitt, Emily holding a flashlight, a dish towel, and me sprawled out on the kitchen floor. Needless to say, I completed the task!

Our two trips, to Casa Del Papa and Kara, were both amazing. God blessed us with easy and safe travel that we're all so grateful for. Being at Casa was just the right amount of relaxation! We were able to spend two days just swimming at the pool and walking along the beach. The food was great, the room was air conditioned, we had a fluffy down comforter, the pool was cool, and there weren't many people there – what more can you ask for? It was a weekend that ended way too quickly but it was worth every minute!

Kara was fun, too, but for much different reasons. Emily and I got the chance to teach 14 kids!!! Many of you may not know this, but I've never taught in an American classroom, so this was a ton of little people for me!!! But, we survived, and we even had some fun doing it. It was great getting to get to know the team there and their amazing kids. I also liked getting to be around some little girls; it was fun to see and hear all the giggles. One thing I wasn't prepared for was the extreme heat in Kara. It was 133 degrees one day! But the heat there was much different than the heat here. Tabligbo has humidity, almost 99% somedays it feels like, which my Louisiana body is used to. But Kara was dry… we were living in a hair dryer for a week! On the way back to Tabligbo, we saw a gas truck with fire wood and charcoal on top!

I must say it feels good to be home. Home… I called Tabligbo "home". That's a good feeling.

From Murphy - The annual guy's safari was a lot of fun. God blessed us over and over with a new sense of awe and wonder at the creations of His mighty hand. Lord, I stand amazed! The fellowship with the Kara men was great and the camping food wasn't too bad either:)

Sunday we worshipped with the Ahonkpe church (pictured left). Their building walls are about to fall over so at present they are worshipping under a tree beside the church. Because we were outside, we had a lot of extra visitors and kids who came to see the "white children". Anything that brings people to hear the Words of the Kingdom is a great thing! I taught on "on earth as it is in heaven" and our role as God's co-laborers to usher in His Kingdom and drive out the works of the devil wherever they are to be found.

Please join us in prayer for the Tabligbo church. Another elder recently left to go to the "One Cup" Church of Christ. The remaining four elders and church members are obviously discouraged, as well as other leaders in Watchi land. My meeting on Tuesday with the Sedome leaders was primarily a discussion of what happened in Tabligbo and what hope there is for the future. Pray that God will use this to strengthen and not discourage the Watchi leaders. Pray also for the elder that left, that the Lord would bless his faith and walk with Jesus.

After my Sedome leader's meeting we went to the river where two more people from the Agodeke village were united with Christ in baptism. I praise God the continued growth in this area. After the baptisms we went and began a new "preaching point" in the village of Taphohoue. Please pray that God would bless the proclamation of His Word and pour out His Spirit upon this village to convict them of their sin and bring them to faith in the Lord Jesus.

From Christine - We had a busy yet very fun week traveling and fellowshiping with friends. The team spent two nights at the beach in Benin celebrating Louise's 40th birthday. It was a relaxing couple of days. After the beach, we all went to Kara. Murphy and Marty joined the missionary men from Kara for a four day safari to Pendjari, Benin. THe ladies and children stayed behind in Kara. The fellowship and conversations with the women were very encouraging. It was nice for a change of pace and scenery. Stephen and Matthew really enjoyed going to school in Kara with several more children than usual. The chance to be around some girls for a while was very good for our boys. We praise God for the team in Kara and the ways that He is using them in His Kingdom work. As always, thank you so much for your prayers for us. We appreciate you so much!

It is wonderful to be home again after being gone for a week and a half, traveling always makes me appreciate the familiarity of home a little bit more. We had a wonderful trip to the beach in Benin and a good time with the other women up in Kara while the men were on Safari. I can also joyfully report that Tabligbo has had its first rain! This means that we will start getting rain every couple of weeks, which always provides such hope against the heat.

At Casa Del Papa in Benin I had a FABULOUS time!! We swam in the pool, we read by the pool, we sat on the beach and watched the boys play, we canoed in the lagoon, we ate restaurant food,and we loved having air conditioning!! Oh and when I say "we" I mean Rachel, Lauren, and I. It was a lot of fun to have Lauren along this trip. We laughed together a lot. It was wonderful to be so relaxed. I enjoyed being able to feel the difference in my French abilities compared to when we visited the Casa a year ago. We had a great party for Louise Friday night.

Louise got two offers for my hand in marriage during the border crossing process coming back into Togo from Benin. One of them was from a Muslim man who already had one wife! I was very thankful she didn't accept that offer. And I got two more the next day on our way up to Kara! We arrived in Kara Sunday night just in time for a team potluck. For school this week we had 14 kids in 6 grades with atleast 7 different curriculums, but it worked out just fine. Tuesday was hectic! African food was sent up to school for lunch so Rachel and I got to play cafeteria ladies and dish up the food. Then after the school day there is an hour of French club. Essowe (their French teacher) is a very kind lady and it was great to see her again. We survived and took nice naps in the air conditioning after school. They have high speed wireless internet in the missionaries homes in Kara and I enjoyed being able to update my computer and freely surf the net.

Friday night we went out on our own! I am not sure I will have another chance to see Anna (the Friesen's teacher) or Beth Friesen again before they leave Togo, so I really enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with them again. Da Emily was super excited to see us arrive home! We had a nice Sunday of worship in Afekome Kope this morning. This village was really struggling last year with only five people (or sometimes none) attending, but today there were 20 people and it was a small crowd because many people had to be out at their farms. Praises for answered prayers! Please pray that Rachel and I would be protected from the stomach bug that the team has been passing around.

For the rest of March and first two weeks in April, Laté will be in Kara, northern Togo helping with their new well drilling project and working with Kabiye Christians to begin a farm which can be used as a working example of development.

(Laté is our Agricultural Missionary among the Watchi. He works with Christians and Churches to develop better farming techniques and to improve life skills and living conditions. Our goal: Christians thriving in body and spirit!)