~ Marty and Louise Koonce ~ Blogs: Marty, Louise, 4T's

From Marty - We have entered into our last two months in West Africa and I must say I am amazed at the gamut of emotions that hit us in a given day. It has been great getting an early start on packing for our container.

As well it has been enjoyable still spending time out in the villages encouraging leaders and doing practical things like building more Frank stoves. The stoves are a hit and it baffles me each time that we build one how efficient they are and how hot they burn.

As for teachings, on Sundays I have focused mostly on unity, grace, and love which has been very healing, especially for areas like Nyinoume and Kpessou as they have struggled relationally for the last couple of years.

Additionally I am still training with one last group, the leaders in Ahepe. That has been one of the most rewarding studies I have done and it gives me great hope for the church here after we are gone.

Several of you have been giving a great deal of time in prayer for our transitional funds to Rwanda and I am happy to say that only two aspects are left for our move. We still need money for our container to ship our goods to Kigali and we need funds for a vehicle once we get there. In all we have about $56,000 left to raise, so, please keep praying and give if so inclined. Thank you so much for your love to us and the grace you bless us with.

Lastly I am happy to report that almost complete victory has been achieved in Vogan. Those who gave themselves for the last three years to destroy that church have been silenced. Pray for Hammer and his wife Dela as they recover from this massive trial.

From Louise - My life is consumed with packing and getting ready to move. The emotion of the transition comes and goes. We had to say farewell to Rigobert as he returned to University this week (pictured left). We have watched him grow from a boy in the Kpo Kpo Kondzi church to a faithful young man.

We have begun doing those "last things"; the last time to go to church in Vogan, the last time to eat at Dela's house, the last Sunday with the Tabligbo church alone,  and the last time to be cold in Togo! Yes, the heat has returned and has come on strong. As a parting gift to some of our friends here, I have begun taking family portraits. It is a joy for me to do and a keepsake that most would have no other opportunity to receive. This week we will be traveling to Ghana to see our teachers off. Please pray for our travels as well as the difficulty of saying goodbye to these special ladies who have become a part of our families. Continue to pray for all the details of our leaving Togo; that we will finish strong.

~ Rachel Baker ~

Wow, my last Tabligbo Times.  It has been an incredibly busy last week or two.  Between getting packed, saying goodbyes, and all the team functions, I feel like as I sit here this may be one of my few moments to sit and take a breath.  Busy is the way that I prefer life though, I've always thought. Being in Togo has made me learn to love the downtimes, because typically, that is what my life is full of – so this new business has taken some getting used to.  I can say I'm fully packed. I can't say whether or not my trunks are light enough to meet the 50 lb weight limit, but at this point, oh well – I simply cannot purge anything else!!! I'm headed home and I'm bringing all my acquired junk with me!

I've sadly said all my goodbyes and made my last visits around town. I've gotten to have some great times with Dah Emilie – especially getting our hair braided! (pictured above left) We've had fun with the boys and families, too. We've had our "last meal" at each house, our last day of school, a fall festival, and a pita pizza/movie night just us and the boys.

I'm grateful for the year I've had… well, ten months. It's been eye-opening and unforgettable.  Here's the top ten things that made it great:

1. I can now appreciate constant power and water.
2. Witnessing Taylor, Stephen & Matthew's baptisms.
3. Hearing my nephew say, "I have a baby sister" & "I love you" on the phone.
4. Singing in Ewe with the Togolese Christians.
5. The surprise in people's voices when they get a call all the way from Africa!
6. The Timbuktu stamp in my passport.
7. The Crowsons and Koonces – two fabulous families.
8. The infamous "game park experience".
9. New Friends – Sammy, the postmaster, Amelie, my seamstress, and Dah Emilie.
10. Greg Baker actually coming to West  Africa and Sunday night phone calls from home.

~ Murphy and Christine Crowson ~ Crowson's Blog

From Murphy - We enjoyed a visit from Bill and Judy Howard this past month. Bill and Judy were our liasons @ our sponsoring church from 1997-2008 and have truly served us with the love of Christ. This was their third time to visit us in West Africa and it was a joy to show them all that God has done in the past 10 years! We are very thankful to them and to the Homewood Church of Christ for all of the years that they faithfully, prayerfully and generosly supported our family and ministry in Benin and Togo.

The goodbyes and blessings have begun. Already we've had our "last" worship time with the Kpotonou and Sedome churches. Pictured left is me speaking a blessing over Denni, one of the leaders whom I've poured my life into these past seven years and the two leaders that he has begun to mentor. May the Lord bless these men so that the discipleship chain will continue on and when Jesus returnes He will find faith on the earth! After worship on Sunday Norbert, the guy in the red shirt on the far right, pulled me aside said that they were going to plant a church in a nearby village and "just wanted me to know." Thanks Norbert and praise God!

I continue to be encouraged by the way that studying the Bible inductively on Sunday mornings is blessings Christians, especially the women. Pictured left are the Sedome women studying two parables about the Kingdom this past Sunday. Their passion for Scripture and deeper understanding comes alive in their energetic discussions. The Word is powerful and is working in their hearts!

You can read more family news on our blog...

Thank you for praying for our transition to Rwanda, especially for God to provide all of the funds we need. God is faithful and has already provided 45% of our total need! Praise Him! Please continue to pray that God would continue to move His powerful hand to provide the rest of the funds needed for a healthy and smooth phase-out of Togo and phase-in in Rwanda this December and January.

You can find a list of our remaining Rwanda Transition Needs on our blog. You can find out more about our future ministry in Rwanda by visiting our Musanze Team's website @ http://rwanda.harvestfields.net.

From Christine - Life is moving fast these days. The end of our time in Togo is fast approaching. From now on we are experiencing our last of everything. Saying good bye to our Togolese friends is so much more difficult than I could have imagined. I know that we will see them agian but not in the way we do now. We hosted our last ladies' party on Tuesday night. Ten women came from Batoe along with several of their babies. It was a wonderful time and truly a blessing to have them in our home. Thank you all for your prayers for these women over the years. We have watched as many of them have matured in their faith and become a stong witness in their village and surrounding villages.

The boys have had their last day of school. Our teachers depart for the US on Wednesday. We celebrated the last day of school with some fun and games and the boys performed a skit. We are so thankful for Emily and Rachel and the wonderful job they have done teaching our boys this year. They have been an incredible duo and we are so grateful to God for moving their hearts to come and serve in Togo. On Friday the boys and I carved our last pumpkin in Togo (pictured left). We look forward to carving one next year in Rwanda.

~ Emily Dunnagan ~

We have finished our school semester, my trunks are packed, and it is only a few days until I leave Togo.  I have had a great end to my time in Togo!  During our fall school holiday I was able to go panya (fabric) shopping and get my hair braided with Da Emilie.  Several of our Peace Corp friends also came over for a day to celebrate my birthday. 

This past week we have packed in the parties.  Monday night we had a party with the Crowsons for all of our workers (pictured left).  Tuesday night Rachel and I helped out with the Batoe women's party, and then Wednesday night we had a special blessings devo.  Thursday we went into Lome for lunch so that I could eat at China Town one last time.  Friday we had a fall festival party at school, ate lunch with the Koonce family, and then ate dinner with the Crowson family.  Saturday day we visited Amelie (our seamstress) for lunch and then had the boys over for pizza and movie night. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 2 ½ years I have spent in Togo.  My faith has grown so much! Living in West Africa has taught me to enjoy life at a slower pace.  I never would have imagined the bits of language I would learn, the friendships I would make, or the deep relationships I would build with the Koonce and Crowson families.

~ Agricultural Ministry - Laté Lawson-Simlen ~

The Ag Ministry is going VERY well. This past month Late helped farmers plant over 50,000 new pineapple plants which will be ready for harvest next year.

At the end of November pineapples planted last year will be ready to take to market. We are expecting a bumper crop and the farmers are excited. They will also harvest their soya beans. We have orders from buyers for 40 tons of soya beans! Last year the farmers produced 7 tons. This year we expect 10. Demand is high so they will get a good price. Each year more and more are being produced.

The most exciting thing about all of this is the hope that I see in farmer's eyes. Hope and trust that God is going to provide for their families needs as well as fund their ministry projects.

This month we are also buying land to begin a farm. The idea behind this is that the farm will produce enough income through soya beans, corn and pineapples to one day pay for all of the agricultural ministry's expenses as well as fund new fresh water wells in new villages.

In January Late will resume well drilling. Next year we hope to dig wells in six villages: Kpokede, Bagoukope, Klika, Nyinoume, Tafakope and Lakata.