Author Archives: ryanrichardson

Beth and I are each being tutored in French by Debbie Kohlbacher at Whitehaven high school in preparation for speaking in Togo. Learning a language also requires learning a new culture. For example, the French are more formal than Americans when addressing a stranger, and the language reflects it.

Talking with God is a skill that must be learned. It is not that the language is difficult, but it still must be practiced. The “Father or Lies” desires to claim our hearts, and therefore our speech. As we learn to have conversations with God, both speaking and listening, we become more like Him, and our fluency in faith grows.

I (Ryan) will be in Little Rock Sunday preaching for the Central Church of Christ. Central is the church that is considering supporting us in the field so I hope to bring my “A” game. Actually, I am excited to share my motivation and thoughts about missions with them, and pray that we can all learn something in the process. I always feel like I learn more from a sermon than the people hearing it ever will. Having time for deep Bible study is a blessing of my work.

Please keep the Kennells in your prayers as they travel back from Togo. They are “stuck” in London for a week before they fly to Texas.

Also, keep our teammates Matt and Grace Hangen in your prayers. Matt has been suffering from some health difficulties for several months now.

Some of our other teammates, the Stoffs, rejoice in having their second child, Elouise.

Last, but not least, pray for their Heads as they try to raise their last bit of funds before they move to Togo in February.

Thank you again for your support and prayers!

Ryan, Beth, Katie, Jonah, and Aaron

An exciting part of our journey to Togo is getting to know our teammates. Andrew, Julia, and Leila Stoff are teammates from Australia that we have never met in person. We have emailed with them but that has been the extent of our communication.  I was pleasantly surprised to get a Skype message from Andrew on Friday night asking if we could chat. They are currently in Australia awaiting the birth of their second child.

We were able to do a video conference for about half an hour and it was exciting to hear how their life in Togo went for the first year. It was interesting to hear him share how denominational differences are not as strong in Australia as they are in America. I’m sure his experience will be useful in Togo as we try to build a church that unifies around the Bible, and not denominational ties.

Andrew, Julia, and Leila Stoff

Ryan and Melissa Head have been studying French in Quebec in preparation of joining the team in Togo in February 2012. They have put together a video about their family that I think you will enjoy. We look forward to working with them!

Beth’s back surgery was a success. We appreciate everyone’s prayers. She is not able to pick up anything heavier than a coffee cup for another week, by doctor’s orders, but is not suffering from pain anymore. Too bad she doesn’t like coffee.

We have continued discussions with Central Church of Christ in Little Rock and look forward to meeting with them again soon. Please pray that we can have good discussions about the work in Togo.

Please pray for Beth. She will be having back surgery on Thursday, July 28th. They will remove a part of her herniated disk.  It will be done at a clinic so she will not have to stay overnight in the hospital. Thanks!

We had a wonderful trip to Little Rock, Arkansas.  Bill and Nancy Lamb hosted us in their home in Maumelle, a French-named town with French street names. It was good practice for the future.

The Lambs fed us, took us to a park, and gave us a tour of Maumelle. We enjoyed them immensely!

Our meeting with the missions committee at Central Church of Christ went well. I feel like Beth and I were able to communicate what we hope to be about in Togo. The kids enjoyed their classes and were good travelers as usual.

This was our second trip to Central and it seems very similar to our current church, Holmes Road, except it is bigger. Please keep the church and us in your prayers as they hope to make a decision about our support in the next couple of months.

We will be travelling to the Central Church of Christ in Little Rock, AR to share our plans with the missions committee this Sunday. Please keep this trip in your prayers.

Many of you know that Beth has a herniated disk in her back that she has been struggling with recently. The good news is that she has been feeling better each day, and we’re hoping to avoid surgery. She has a doctor’s appointment next week and we expect good progress.

Based on several factors, we have decided not to go to language school this fall. This will free us up to continue to talk to churches about support. Thanks again for everyone’s prayers and support!

Here’s a fun picture our kids at Lichterman Nature Center.

We are prayerfully planning to go to language school for the fall in Quebec. However, we are still in need of $5000 to do this. We would be using some of our start-up funds for this, but it will help keep us on the timetable that we have planned on with our future team. We need this money in the next two months, so please pray for this provision. Thanks!