Five For Togo

If you would like to see what the first two years of a missionaries life can be like, check out this blog I found today. Brett assesses his family’s first two years in Tanzania, the good and the bad. I found it to be very honest and a good glimpse of the missionary life.

http://jamesbrett.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/nearly-two-years-in-tanzania-an-update/

At Holmes Road Church of Christ e have been preaching through a series of sermons based on a recent best-selling book called Radical.

The idea of being a “radical” Christian is interesting to me. What makes you radical? Should some Christians be “radical” while others are just normal? Does moving to a third world country make one radical?

I believe that becoming the person God wants is first about submission to Him. He is the one who will make us look different, or call us to do “radical” things. Sometimes we want the big splash when being faithful to what’s in front of us is most important. Like Jesus, being radical means saying “Not my will, but Your will be done.”

This weekend our family was able to participate in a rewarding activity. We collected items from  church members to give to the surrounding community. Flyers were sent home with kids from an area school and we had a good response as several hundred people came through our doors and took home clothing, furniture, and other goods.

People thanked us saying how timely it was to be receiving these things. There were many baby items that new mothers were able to take and use. Several items also went to some families affected by an apartment fire.

It was a good day when “my stuff” became “God’s stuff.” I hope that can happen more often.

First off I want to say thank you to everyone who has lifted us up in prayer and support. Unfortunately we have not raised enough funds to meet our target date for departure for language school. This is disappointing to us, but we just see it as a bump in the road.

We plan to continue to move forward with fundraising over the next few months with a goal of starting language school in September.  Please let us know if you think your church might be interested in hearing about the current and future work planned in Togo!

We had a great Thanksgiving week with Beth’s family near St. Louis. It’s a full house, but we really enjoy our time with everyone.

The week was topped off by coming back to Memphis to see my extended family. My sister’s youngest, Sophie, was baptized by my Dad Sunday morning at Holmes Road. We had a “birthday” celebration afterward at my parent’s house. My foster sister Valeria was also present, so it was a great day all around!

Mark and Nicole Kennell, our teammates, have made a new video about their work in Togo. You can see it here: http://gallery.me.com/mkennell#100244

See the Richardson newsletter here:

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=172370-bbab60