Five For Togo

Our trip to Togo was amazing in so many ways. It had high highs and low lows. (How’s that for redundancy?) The Togolese people and mission team were incredibly hospitable to our whole family as we dealt with visiting a new and sometimes strange-to-us place. Now our family is back home thinking and praying through our trip. Beth and I have decided to spend an extended time praying and talking to our mentors about the trip and our future decisions regarding moving to Togo. Please keep us in your prayers!

One of the more interesting parts of our trip has been watching the team here interact. The missionaries here are so dependent on each other for so many things. They have to learn to love and communicate at a level American ministers and Christians are not used to.

This has been an especially interesting time because the team is in a big transitional period of adding team members, while others are planning to leave. In the midst of some conflict, several team members have recommitted themselves to working on areas of their lives that need improvement.

It’s interesting that it is a tight community working together that causes more spiritual introspection. Could it be that this is something we are missing in America?

We’ve been blessed during our time in Togo. Check out some pics and Beth’s thoughts at her blog. Click here.

A few memories of our trip so far:

Two flights over two days that lasted a LONG TIME.

A drive over two days that was much more enjoyable.

Being surprised by the beauty of Togo, especially around Kara.

Enjoying speaking a little French with the people.

Being surprised that I can understand and speak some French.

Watching “thousands” of missionary kids play tonight.

Appreciating the hospitality of the mission team here.

Working to understand the culture here.

Enjoying the friendliness of the Togolese people.

Being thankful to God that the trip has gone so well so far!

When we leave next week for Togo, we hope to accomplish several things  The following are three of our goals.

1. Confirm God’s will for our lives. We believe that God has called us to work in Togo. Going there, meeting the people, and praying about God’s will with the team there, will help us confirm God’s leading in our lives.

2. Encourage team members. Mission work in a different culture is difficult for a variety of reasons. You are away from family and friends. Normal daily activities can be difficult due to a lack of conveniences or products. We pray that we are a blessing and encouragement to those already working there.

3. Love the people of Togo. Loving our neighbor is the command of Christ. By beginning a relationship with the people of Togo now, we can begin to see how we will minister to, love them, and be loved by them in the future.

We have truly been blessed over the last week by friends’ giving to us for our survey trip. I”ll have to add it up tomorrow in my office, but we are even closer to having our expenses covered.

I have to admit that depending on people for money is a bit humbling. I think we have deep within us the desire to provide for ourselves and our families.  But then again Jesus said

So do not worry saying “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” for the pagans run after these things and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

I feel caught in the middle of trying to make money appear vs. waiting on God to provide it.  Is there a middle ground? Or should we always just wait on God and let Him do the work? Some have taken this stance and stayed with it over long periods of time.  When we have a finanical need, maybe we should see it as an opportunity to grow spiritually, more dependence on God and less on our talents, persuasive speaking, or even…dare I say it, hard work.

We know that work is good, but a faith in my “hard work” or “good-paying job” over God can be idolatrous.  For we know that “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Racism in America is always a hot topic. The fact that our nation had its economic start primarily on the back of slaves is a sinful fact that continues to follow us today.

In the past month as our country has debated whether a professor was racially mistreated or not, a dear friend of mine, an African-American unfortunately experienced a blatant racist attack.

As she shared the facts with me, I could not believe what I was hearing could happen in today’s U.S.A. Thankfully this person does not harbor bitterness in her heart and has begun to see the perpetrator  as someone to be pitied more than hated.

Hearing this story was eye-opening to me in understanding the evil in the human heart. Sin can become so deeply embedded in us that we act in ways that are beyond comprehension.

But this story also made me thankful to be in a church where whites and blacks interact and worship in many different settings. Through getting to know each other at more than a superficial level, we are able to take direct aim at racism and work to obliterate it from our futures, even if it remains a painful part of our past!

Our survey trip to Togo is growing closer and closer. We have bought our plane tickets and will be getting shots this week. Hopefully the last of our passports will arrive this week, and then we will send them off again for Visas from Ghana and Togo.

On the evening of Monday, September 14th, we will fly out of Memphis to Amsterdam, and then take another flight from Amsterdam to Accra, Ghana. From Accra, we will have a nine hour drive to Kara, Togo. We will repeat this process in reverse on October 9 and 10. Please pray that all of our travels go well, that our kids and luggage behave, and that God is glorified no matter the inconveniences we encounter.

Our time in Togo will consist of visiting villages, the market, an AIDS clinic, spending time with future teammates, eating new foods, and other unknown adventures.

We were given $300 more dollars at church yesterday. People at Holmes Road are so generous. We only need about $1700 more to cover all of our expenses for the trip.

I am also in discussions with many church leaders about our full-time support on the mission field. Please pray that God will match us up with churches whom we can bless,  and then be blessed by them!