~ Rachel Baker ~
 My parents are in Togo!!! It's hard to believe, as many of you would agree, that Greg and Terrie Baker really made the trip over to West Africa! But they did, and it's been such a blessing to have them here with me. Already, they've experienced a day out a church in the village and a trip to Lome'. Church was a lot of fun – we went with the Crowsons out to the Agodeke village. While walking out to the village, a little girl about four years old came up, grabbed Dad's handand just walked with him to church. Then, another one came and grabbed his and Mom's hands afterwards when going to see a well in the village! It was very cute. They also got to try most of the traditional foods in one sitting at church. It's such a blessing to have them here- something I've been looking forward to for a long time! Please pray for a safe journey home for them on Friday.
 It was a pretty uneventful week last week. Sunday, the Crowsons all came over to do some dryer exchanging. I didn't realize how much of a dryer grave yard we had in our laundry room! But, Murphy did a lot of switching of parts and finally got two different dryers working. As Christine says, "You've got to hear the Woosh, because that's how you know it works!" She was right though… we all got a little too excited when the gas lit the igniter. (I still find myself laughing at the things that entertain us.)
 But them coming over gave us a chance to hang out with Stephen and Matthew outside of school. They went missing at one point and we found them hiding in one of our rolling cabinets! They're always coming up with something new.
Well, my secret's out. I'm surrounded by six boys that absolutely love StarWars and I've never seen it. Marty and I had a deal that when it rained five times in Tabligbo, I had to tell, so I did. Now, they're having to be careful how much they talk about it so they don't ruin it for me. Tuesday, they all showed up with their light sabers and played with them during recess. I couldn't help but just laugh at them and this world I know nothing about! Apparently, I'm about to start watching the "episodes"…
~ Murphy and Christine Crowson ~ Crowson's Blog
 From Murphy - We have enjoyed having Greg and Terri Baker (Rachel's parents) with us this week. I think that they get the record for the most experiences in the shortest amount of time!
Greg and Terri are members of the Southern Hills Church of Christ in Shreveport, LA which supported Frank and Jenna Bunner during their time in Togo and continues to support the team and ministry. We praise God for their faithful committment to the growth of His Kingdom among the Watchi! God is using them to bless many lives and bear much fruit!
Please continue to pray for Emmanuel and Kokuvito (two leaders from Adangbe) who are preparing to plant a new church in a distant village this summer. They will move to the new village for three to six months, rent a room, and begin to seek out spiritual relationships through which they can bring people to Jesus. Pray that God would guide them, protect them and use them in powerful ways to spread the Good News of Jesus.
Last week I had to work through a difficult situation for me personally. If I told you the details you wouldn't think it was that big of a deal. In fact, I don't know why is was so difficult emotionally for me now that I look back on it. My integrity and honesty were questioned in a certain matter by someone I don't really know and have never met. Nevertheless, it upset me and I'm trying figure out why. If I'm living before an Audience of One it shouldn't matter what other people think of me. But last week it did (more than usual) and I'm not sure why.
As we prepare for our transition to Rwanda we are praying that the Lord would continue to mold and shape us into more fruitful servants. Along that journey God has to prune me and as He does all kinds of crud is showing up in my heart that I didn't even know was there! Please pray that God would continue His work in us by cleansing our hearts and lives so that we can bear more and more fruit in His Kingdom.
Tomorrow morning we will drive to Accra to take the Bakers back to the airport and then from Sunday through Thursday we'll be at the West African Missionary Retreat in Elmina, Ghana. We're looking forward to some sweet and fun fellowship with all of our missionary friends from Togo, Burkina, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. Pray that God would bless this time by renewing our spirits and refreshing our souls!
Because of W.A.M.R., there will be no Tabligbo Times next week:)
Then, next Friday my brother by marriage and nephew are arriving for a 10 day visit. We're so excited to have them in our home. They will be here for Stephen's 10th birthday party!
The night that Todd and Daniel leave our four interns will arrive for the summer! The night that they leave, July 12th, Marty and I (along with Matt Miller and David Reeves) will fly to Zambia for a Church Planting Conference. The night after we get back, the Parkers arrive for a short visit! It's going to be a fun summer!
 From Christine - We have had a fun, full week. On Sunday we had cluster worship in Agodeke. We enjoyed introducing the Bakers to our friends there. Then on Tuesday night we hosted 15 women plus some children for a party (just for fun). We feasted on detshi (a stew) with rice and cornbread. THey seemed to like everything and ate a lot. Afterwards, we watched a couple of videos about Rwanda. The women stayed in our guest house and for most of them it was the first time they ever took a shower with running water, used a toilet or slept on a soft mattress. We had a great time of fellowship, singing and lots of eating.
 The next day, Terri Baker joined me and we took the Sedome women home. After dropping them off, Terri and I went to Batoe to spend the morning visiting with several of the Christian women there. We went to several homes and spent time visiting and praying for the women. Terri was great fun as she asked the women lots of questions and didn't let the language barrier inhibit her from interacting with them. I could tell that they enjoyed her company.
~ Emily Dunnagan ~
 In the past weeks we have seen many new recess games, including jumping off of the swings into the thatch that fell off of the play fort. The boys take turns swinging as high as they can and then they try to land in the middle of the pile of grass. Watching this game is like watching children in America play in a pile of leaves, it is very fun to watch.
We have had a good school week and I have really enjoyed teaching. I am learning a lot about leaves from our Botany study and refreshing my memory on all of the amendments to the constitution in our American Government unit.
The four older boys have all completed their first typed papers of the year and I have really enjoyed reading them. Tucker and Taylor wrote their own life stories/autobiographies, while Tanner and Stephen just told a favorite story from their life.
Friday and Saturday they were excited to share what they had written with the class. Matthew and Trevor shared their favorite journal entries from the week about "what they want to be when they are 20 years old". Trevor wrote that he would like to be a farmer who grows crops for people, and Matthew would like to be a gardener/photographer who takes pictures of his plants.
Lauren came over and hung out with me while Rachel was gone to get her parents in Lome on Friday and Saturday.
 Sunday we had a wonderful adventure going to and being a part of cluster worship in Agodeke (pictured left). It set the record for longest church service I have attended, but the singing was great, I got to hold a cute baby, and we had a wonderful fellowship meal after church.
~ Marty and Louise Koonce ~ Blogs: Marty, Louise, 4T's
From Marty - As many have come to my rescue over the last few months of vehicular difficulties in Togo, it was my joy to help out one of our northern teammates, Bryan Ries, this past Monday. He had broken down about two hours into his five and a half hour trip south. Blessedly my car made it there and back again and he was able to get his needed car parts, drop off the new dog, and then return for Kara with the aid of Murphy. Team is a wonderful thing. You are an important aspect of our team and we need your prayers.
Here is a list of things you can pray for that will aid the work in Togo and help us prepare for our future work in Rwanda.
- Please pray for the Watchi people, as a whole, to grow in the fear and understanding of God.
- Please pray for humility among the leaders and missionaries and that God would completely destroy our pride.
- Please pray that the Christians among the Watchi would take the lead in confession and repentance and that God would heal the land of southern Togo.
- Pray that God would protect us from harm.
- Pray that we would be full of grace and truth for each other and for the Watchi.
- Pray that our vehicle would last out this year and that we would be able to repair the suspension and four wheel drive.
- Pray for our upcoming internship that it will go well.
- Pray that our upcoming and last WAMR will be refreshing for all the missionaries there.
- Pray that we will be obedient to God's Spirit.
- Pray for our physical and spiritual preparation for the move to Rwanda.
Thank you for caring enough to pray. We praise God for the part you take in this work.
From Louise - There have been some interesting developments in our house this week. We gained another Rhodesian Ridgeback named Charger from the Ries family, who are due to leave Kara, Togo next month. Marty came home from town on Saturday with five full gas bottles, which will help restore cooking order.
Speaking of cooking, I attempted to teach Lauren and her parents the art of making Mommy Dela's yam balls.
 The big "breaking" news (pun intended) was that a palm tree in our back yard crashed during a heavy storm. God mercifully prevented it from coming in the kitchen as it fell only a few feet from the corner of the house.
We have had several cases of illness on our team, most likely malaria. Please pray for recovery and good health.
 On Sunday, Marty and three of our boys attended the wedding of Andre', who is the son of Koffi Taylor, an elder in the Tabligbo church. Marty turned a new role as he became the photographer.
~ Agricultural Ministry - Laté Lawson-Simlen ~
Laté finished buying all of the supplies for our first well project using the new technique that he learned in northern Togo with the Kabiye team. There are many villages that need wells. Please join us as we pray for God's guidance and blessing as we choose which villages to work in next. |
