Missionary Kids, Mosquitos, and Mud
We have been back in Togo for almost six weeks, and they have been busy as we adjust back to life in Mango. After landing in the capital city of Lomé, we spent a day shopping for groceries and car parts that are not available in our region. Then we hired a Togolese driver to bring us up to Mango and we stayed in the guesthouse at The Hospital of Hope for one night to make sure that we had an ample supply of clean water in our house before moving back in. The rainy season in northern Togo is a welcome change from the dusty heat, but with the moisture come the mosquitoes and terribly muddy roads. Last night Marc was helping a colleague out of the mud when his winch cable broke and the tractor that was pulling them slammed into the front bumper of our pickup. It could have been a much worse outcome, so we are thankful for God’s protection despite the damage to our vehicle.
Within a week of our arrival, classes started at the MK school and Valerie jumped right into her junior year of high school. Marc is teaching Bible, PE, math and science classes to the older students and Serena is teaching 1st through 4th grades. Although our class sizes are smaller this year, we still have students in every grade level from 1st to 8th. We love our teaching responsibilities and the ministry of discipling these precious missionary kids.
While many of our teammates are back in the US on furlough, the work of the hospital, radio, Bible institute, and church planting are going strong. On Sunday mornings, the missionaries disperse to various surrounding villages to participate in church services with national groups, but every Sunday evening we gather for worship, prayer, and teaching in English. These services have been full of wonderful testimonies of how God continues to draw people to Himself. Please pray specifically for a man who accepted Jesus as his Savior earlier this month and denounced his former life as a fetisher (witch doctor). We have not learned his name because everyone just calls him the “maisonier” or landlord. After witnessing to his whole family, he began to experience persecution and had to leave his village for a time. He also started having terrible pain and was brought to our hospital where he received life-saving treatment for a blood clot. It is obvious that the Enemy would like to silence him, but God has already used his testimony to draw other family members and neighbors to Himself. Please pray for continued boldness and spiritual growth for this man and his family.
Thank you for faithfully lifting us up in prayer and for your very generous donations that make it possible for us to be here in Togo. Please reach out if you have any specific questions about our life and ministry. We would love to highlight your questions in a future newsletter.