Light of Togo

Hi!  We are Jesse, Tiffany, and Joshua Shanks, missionaries in Togo, West Africa.  Thanks for visiting our website, and we hope that you’ll come back often to read our blog and stay updated on our great adventure.  You can make sure not to miss miss any updates by either signing up to receive them by email, or you can subscribe to our RSS feed.

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A couple weeks ago I began meeting on Sunday afternoons with the family that lives directly across the “street” (more like a walking path) from us.  They are very interested in learning some of the agricultural and health information which I have learned recently.  We began with water purification.  I taught them how they can have cheap, clean water by using the SODIS method.  They have been drinking straight from their dirty, uncovered well, so you can imagine how thrilled they were to know that they can make this water clean for drinking.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing with them the amazing benefits of the Moringa tree.  Unlike most people living around us, this family has quite a bit of land, both next to their house and in their home village, so I’m hoping that they will begin planting Moringa in and around their crops in order to supplement their nutrient-lacking diet.

My goal is that I can soon begin incorporating a Bible study into our weekly meeting and lead them through God’s Word to give them an opportunity to meet Him.  Please pray for this family that God will work in their lives so they will come to believe on Jesus and follow Him.

Because this is such a long story, I decided to do two versions of it.  Feel free to read the longer one if you’d like , but I wrote it more for ourselves as a memory and for our family who may be interested in the added details.  This is the abbreviated “journal version.”

Friday early afternoon: I get a phone call.  It’s a missionary friend asking for our help for their coworkers who’ve just had a car accident 3-4 hours North of us.

Two hours later: Tiffany and I take two vehicles up to the accident site.  We meet Glen (who was driving) and his wife, Karen.  Rick is the owner of the truck.  He was in the backseat with no seatbelt, so he’s in the hospital with some possible broken ribs.  Broken ribs and busted truck, poor guy.  Glen and Karen are fine, but their stuff isn’t.  They were moving from Togo to Mali, so all their personal belongings went through the wreck too.  We load all their things into the two trucks and head to the Dapaong hospital.

Five hours later: It’s been decided that Rick’s in too much pain to go anywhere by vehicle.  I coordinate with Randy Alderman to have him fly up the following morning to get Rick and Karen and bring them to Lomé.  Rick has a great attitude about the whole thing - amazing.

One hour later: Tiffany and I are settling into our hotel room after deciding it’s way too late to attempt the drive back home to Kara.

45 minutes later: Tiffany and I have just finished a successful preemptive strike against the flock of terrorist mosquitoes living in our hotel room.  We go to bed not realizing they have called for reinforcements.

30 minutes later: I have become the target of the mosquitoes’ counter attack.  I decide these must be some kind of specially-trained covert ops mosquitoes, since they’ve somehow figured out how to bite me through the sheet! I get up and exterminate another 20 or so of their forces when I realize that this could go on all night.

10 minutes later (now 1:30 in the morning): Changing rooms.  Check…double check…ok, clear.  No evil, winged phantoms of death in this one.

2 hours later: “Why am I awake?  Why do I feel like I haven’t slept at all even though I’m exhausted?  Why am I itching…again?”  The hunt begins…again.  Found out that one mosquito can ruin your sleep just like 500 can.  Thankfully he was fat and slow due to sucking half the blood out of my body, which inevitably ended up smeared on the wall and my palm.

5 minutes later: Aaaah, sleep!

90 minutes later: Randy calls letting me know the weather is good and he’s clear to fly.

Around 8 o’clock: We discover the hospital’s sole ambulance is broken down.  I’m the new ambulance.  Rick laid in the back seat as I drove slowly, like 2 mph slowly, down the 15km bumpy road to the airstrip.

5 minutes later: Bump.  Rick, “ouch!”

3 minutes later: Bump.  Rick, “Are we there yet?”  Me, “Sorry, it’s gonna be a while.”

50 feet later: Bump.  Rick, “Can anybody see the plane yet?”  Poor guy.  He asked “are we there yet” more times than a 7 year old kid on a road trip to Disney World.  I don’t blame him, the back seat of a pickup truck is the last place I’d want to be with broken ribs!

Around 9:30: Saying a prayer for Rick, Karen, and Randy as they take off headed to Lomé.

30 minutes later: Picked up some sandwiches at our hotel’s restaurant for our trip back to Kara.  More on the sandwiches later.

Two hours later: Took Glen to the gendarmerie (local government office) so he can sort out the formalities of the accident.

Three hours later: Home at last!  Glen is sorting through all his things in our living room, picking out what’s damaged or broken.

27 hours later: I’m feeling unusually tired, my back aches, and I feel chilled.  Guess what?  It’s malaria time!

Two days later: Malaria’s gone.  Wasn’t nearly as bad as the first two times I had it.  But remember the sandwiches?  Tiffany and I think the chicken was bad.  For three days she couldn’t wander more than a stone’s throw from a bathroom, and I’m still fighting it.

Summary: Thankful.  Thankful we could help people in need.  Thankful to see God work even in bad circumstances.  Thankful for the new friends.

Oh, and as for the truck, it was rolled twice and looked to me like it was only good for scraps.  The mechanics, however, managed to do a couple temporary fixes, drive it all the way to Kara (2 hours), and they say they’ll have it looking and running like new.  I’m beginning to believe the missionary myth that Landcruisers are indestructible.

This is a very detailed version of the story that is meant to keep a memory for our family that we can read in the future, but if you like all the details of a story go ahead, but you’ve been warned…

This time last week I was having a pretty normal Friday afternoon when I received a phone call from some missionary friends of ours in Lomé.  They explained that some of their coworkers had been in a terrible car accident near Dapaong, and asked if we would be willing to drive up and help them out if necessary.  They didn’t know many details at the time, but we told them we’d of course do whatever we could to help.

Two hours later Tiffany and I were headed North with our SUV and our coworker’s truck, still not really knowing what exactly what the situation was, what we needed to do, or how long we’d be gone.  What we did know is that one guy, Rick, was in the hospital in Dapaong and that the guy who was driving, Glen, and his wife, Karen, were not hurt but had all their personal belongings sitting on the side of the road next to the accident.  They were in the process of moving from Lomé up to Mali, so the vehicle was packed to the brim with all their household things.  In case you’re wondering, it’s generally not a good idea for all your possessions to sit on a roadside in Africa.  On top of that, it had been raining all day.

When we arrived we met Glen and immediately started loading all their things into the two trucks.  One of the many miracles of this whole situation was that the accident happened not even one mile away from one of their mission’s Bible schools, so the first people to show up on the scene were the pastor of the local church and some of the members!

While we did this, Tiffany talked with Karen to make sure she was alright.  She was visibly shook up what happened, but not hurt in any way.  Once they explained the accident we understood why she was so shook up.  They were traveling through a rural area when they came up on a village, going about 60 miles per hour.  Coming up on their right side were three large cows and a small boy “leading” them.  At the very last moment one of the cows stepped into the road directly in front of the truck.  Glen quickly swerved to the left and managed to miss it, but because of their top and rear-heavy load the inertia caused them to spin out, bringing them to the right side of the road where the truck went down an embankment and rolled two times.  When it finally stopped, Glen’s window was flat against the ground, Karen was suspended in air by her seatbelt, and Rick had been bounced all around the back because he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt (kids, take note!).

Then it was off to the hospital to check on Rick.  Because of the poor quality x-ray machine, we did not know at the time what the extent of his injuries were other than some possible fractured or broken ribs.  It turns out that he broke four ribs on his left side, one on his right, and the membrane from his lungs separated from the ribs.  I’m no doctor, but that just doesn’t sound good!  He was amazingly in great spirits though.  By the end of our four hours at the hospital it was decided that he was in too much pain to drive, so we arranged for Randy Alderman to come up the next morning in his airplane to pick him up and bring him to Lomé.

By this time it was too late for Tiffany and I to head back down to Kara for the night so we ended up staying the night in a local hotel.  We learned an important lesson that day: always come prepared to stay the night!  In typical only-in-Africa fashion, our hotel room evidently was the local breeding ground for mosquitoes.  I killed 30 or so, was satisfied that I had got them all, and went to bed only to be bitten through the sheets from head to toe.  After killing another 20, I figured there had to be a hole in the window screens where they were flooding into the room.  After changing rooms (it’s now 1:30 in the morning) I discovered that there was one, yes only one, mosquito in our new room.  How do I know this?  Because at 3:30 I awoke from a very restless and itchy sleep to kill the accursed blood-filled agent of death.  Then I went to bed for a very restful hour and a half when Randy called letting me know he was clear to fly that morning.

This is the part of the story that gets very painful for Rick.  Because the hospital’s sole ambulance was broken down, we had to load him into the truck I was driving, bring him 15 kilometers to the airstrip, and load him onto the airplane.  Even though I drove a maximum of 2 mph down the bumpy road to the airstrip, he often winced in pain and asked at least 10 times, “Are we there yet?”

As he and Karen took off in that tiny airplane, I remember thinking how thankful I was that the situation worked out as it did.  After seeing the vehicle, I was amazed that the worst that happened was a few broken ribs.

The next few hours were spent taking Glen where he needed to go in order to take care of the legalities regarding the accident, then we finally headed home.  I had a really great time talking and getting to know Glen while we drove and Tiffany, well, she followed behind us.  I felt bad that she had nobody to talk to, but I think she probably enjoyed the peace and quiet.

That night we emptied both vehicles’ loads into our living room where Glen sorted through all the broken and damaged luggage.  Surprisingly, there was not a lot that was broken, even from the two trucks that were strapped to the roof and therefore had been crushed, twice.  The trunks have seen better days, but the only major losses were Glen’s Kindle (he’s an avid reader) and their coffee maker (a great tragedy!).

The next morning some of Glen’s coworkers came and picked him up along with all his things to bring them back to Lomé, which is ironically where their journey started.

That night (Sunday), I started to feel unusually tired, achy, and chilled.  Guess what that means?  It’s malaria time! Thankfully after having it twice I know what it feels like at the beginning so I was able to begin treating it right away and by Wednesday morning it was completely gone.  Unfortunately, Tiffany and I both picked up some kind of illness, probably from Dapaong, which has caused all kinds of stomach issues including not being able to wander too far from a bathroom.  Thankfully Tiffany got over this pretty quickly, but I’m still having major problems with it a week later.

We are incredibly thankful that God allowed us to help out these people in need and to make three new friends in the process.  It was a very unfortunate circumstance but we’re glad to see that everyone came out of it with their lives.

Oh, and the truck?  It’s a Toyota Landcruiser, which are evidently indestructible because the mechanics simply changed the tires on one side and drove it three hours South to Kara!  I didn’t think it was good for anything but scraps, but the mechanic says he’ll getting running like new!  Only in Africa.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have no access to clean water and not enough money to buy an expensive filter?  Unfortunately, that’s the situation of one billion people around the world including many here in northern Togo.  This has always been a concern of mine, but trying to figure out what to do about it can be a bit overwhelming!  That is until I heard about a form of water treatment known as SODIS, which is becoming very popular all around the world.

SODIS is such a simple method that it almost seems impossible that it could work.  All that’s required is a clear plastic bottle and 6 hours of sunlight, both of which are in abundance here.  Numerous scientific studies have shown that when using the right kind of bottle (PET plastic is preferred), the UV light from the sun will effectively kill all the common pathogens found in water.

I recently made a bunch of photocopies of the SODIS guide in French and have started giving them to people after talking with them about their need for clean water.  Our friend next door named, “Mama Bienvenue,” and her daughter were quite excited about it and asked for 10 more flyers to give out to their friends and family so they can explain the process to them as well.  She said that she’ll be buying some bottles (at 20 cents a piece) at the market soon so she can begin providing clean water for her and her kids!

I’m very thankful for those who have put in so much time and research in developing this method.  I pray that God will use it for His glory not only in our ministry here in Togo, but also around the world to bring physical (and hopefully spiritual as well) healing to those who begin drinking clean water for the first time in their lives.

Click here to download or print this update on our letterhead.

Double the Fun
As you probably already know, I have been studying Kabiye for around six months now.  I’d like to say that it’s coming along just fine, but the reality is that the farther I get into the language the more complicated it becomes!  I have decided not to let that discourage me, however, but to study and practice even harder.  In fact, a few weeks ago I doubled my Kabiye lessons from two times a week to four, not including my personal study time.  I am now studying with a Kabiye linguist and with an American who speaks Kabiye fluently.

I’ll also be looking for a good conversation partner soon, so please pray that I get connected with someone knowledgeable and patient who can help me practice what I’m learning.  As I’ve said from the beginning, I’m going to learn Kabiye even if it kills me, which of course would defeat the purpose of learning it, so perhaps I won’t go quite that far!

The Miracle Tree
What if there was something growing right in your own backyard that was capable of solving one of the biggest problems in your life?  As wild as it sounds that’s the case with the Moringa tree, which grows naturally here in Togo.  The problem is, very few people know its potential.  Those who do have nicknamed it “the miracle tree” because of its numerous benefits.  When processed correctly, its leaves contain enough vitamins, minerals, and protein to fortify the diet of even the most malnourished Togolese if eaten regularly.  We have already planted some in our yard and told many people about it.  Pray that God will use this amazing part of His creation to bless people around us.

Love Thy Neighbor(hood)
We’d also like to ask you to pray for a project we have coming up soon in our own neighborhood.  We have been developing several friendships with those who live around us, but we’d like to begin meeting with people on a more regular basis to help them solve problems in their own lives by teaching simple methods of water purification, agriculture, and nutrition.  The goal is then to begin Bible studies with them to introduce them to their Creator, whom they can know personally through Jesus Christ.

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Early this morning I got a call from a Togolese friend saying there had been an motorcycle accident, and that Tchala, a member of one of the churches in town, had been injured.  He wasn’t able to ride on the back of a motorcycle to get to the hospital, so they asked if I could bring him.  I rushed out of the house and headed to the “round point” (the major roundabout intersection in Kara).  When I arrived, there was a large group of people standing around.  I parked and got out as a couple men brought Tchala over to my truck.  Frankly, I was quite shocked when I saw him.  He is normally a very cheerful guy, always wearing a big smile.  Being a mason he’s also incredibly brawny.  This morning, though, with the help of two men he limped over to the truck like a wounded dog.  He had a massive lump on the front of his head, as if he had a baseball under his skin.  He was coherent, but barely.

Since there wasn’t anything more I could do for him after arriving at the hospital, I left some money with his pastor  to help with some of the expenses and headed home.  A couple hours later I received news that he had left the hospital and was resting at home.  He didn’t break any bones, but his knee was hit pretty hard by the guy who ran into him. Many people in Togo don’t wear helmets, but thankfully he was.  Otherwise, his head injury could have been fatal.

Please pray for Tchala that he can make a full recovery quickly.  If he is not able to get back to work soon, it can cause major financial difficulties for him and his family.

Click here to download this update on our letterhead.

Next Steps
A few months ago we asked you to be praying for direction regarding the next steps for us to take in our ministry. We are happy to tell you that at least part of that prayer has been answered.

Since arriving in Togo we have been observing and learning the culture as much as possible in order to develop an effective church planting strategy. And while our primary goal is and always has been to reach Kabiye villages with the gospel of Christ, we also desire to give something to these communities which will help them in their struggles of daily village life.

What we cannot help but notice in the Kabiye culture is the very important role that agriculture plays in their daily life. Almost without exception, every family has land which they are constantly cultivating to feed themselves and sell what remains.

The Problem
Over the past few generations, however, people have begun to use chemical fertilizers and insecticides in order to get a quick increase in crop production. In the long term this has all but destroyed the soil, which is now producing very little compared to the past. This is, of course, not at all helping their condition of poverty. Most people now find themselves realizing there’s a problem, but not knowing what to do to fix it.

A Solution
It’s not only foreign missionaries or NGOs who are noticing this problem, however. I recently had the privilege of meeting a Togolese Christian named Latté, who is incredibly knowledgeable in organic agriculture and husbandry. He is greatly burdened for his own people not only to know Christ, but to provide for themselves the necessities of life they so often lack. He has already seen amazing success in areas where he has taught his organic agricultural practices.

The Plan
So where does this fit in our mission to the Kabiye people? As I am currently learning the language I will also be learning more about agriculture from Latté and elsewhere. I then plan to use this knowledge to create open doors for the gospel and to give something tangible to the villages we work in. Please pray for this next step in our ministry that God will use it all for His glory!

Thank you for all your prayer and support!

Since we moved to Togo, we have been looking for ways to befriend our neighbors and to show them love and generosity.  We’ve done several things, like providing water to a family whose well temporarily dried up, and helping out financially during medical emergencies.

Just a few weeks ago, however, we realized another way that we could be a huge blessing to our neighbors next door.  As with most homes here, ours is surrounded by high walls on all sides.  On the other side of one of our walls is a housing area where at least 5 families live.  Because they don’t have electricity, the woman usually do most of their cooking on the ground outside in the dark, which can lead to serious accidents because of all the kids running around outside.  In addition to that, most of the children have lots of homework each night, meaning that they have to study by candlelight.

So, we decided to install a florescent light just over the top of our wall, which will cost us only pennies per month but will help them out so much every evening.  We’re thankful that God has enabled us to be a blessing to people around us in many different ways.

Click here to download this update on our printable letterhead.

New Disciples of Jesus
One of the churches we work in with in Kara had its 15th anniversary this month and as a part of their special celebration weekend, they held two special evening services on Friday and Saturday night.  The members invited many of their friends and neighbors to come watch a film, which is a huge deal in Togo!  The pastor asked if I would take up to an hour and explain the gospel, since there would be many people who had probably never heard it before.

I was quite excited about this opporunity, especially since I had ample time to explain in detail the essential elements of the gospel of Jesus.  I’m thrilled that after hearing the message, many people believed on Christ and said that they wanted to turn from their life of sin to follow Christ.  It is so humbling to be used by God in this way.  Please pray for these new disciples in Christ that they will “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.”

Peace in Togo
Last month we asked you to pray for Togo with the elections taking place.  We are thankful for your prayer, and glad to report that everything went very well with very little violence.  There were some protests after the election, but nothing which got out of hand.  Living on a continent where conflicts can escalate very quickly, we are very thankful that there is a continuation of peace among the people.

Some “Profitable” Lessons
Over the past few weeks, I taught a series of messages about what the Bible says about money.  As in America, money is very coveted and misused by most people in Togo.  With our level of income being drastically higher than that the average person here, I recognized the potential that my teaching about money could seem condescending.  So, I made it very clear from the beginning that I was not going to teach American ideas about money, or my ideas about money, but simply what the Bible says about it.

In the end, I believe it was very beneficial both to the church and to me, as I was able to learn a little more about the Togolese perspective of money. We had some interesting group discussions, a couple of which got fairly intense, as discussions often do in Africa!  When it was all said and done, however, I think the people had a much better understanding of what God expects from them concerning money.  I’m thankful for a God who is interested and involved in every area of our lives!

Thank you for all your prayer and support!

Making Progress
As I have mentioned in previous letters, I am currently devoting the majority of my time to studying Kabiye.  Just about two weeks ago, I finally felt like all this studying is starting to pay off as I began forming simple sentences.  What’s unfortunate is that the Kabiye people assume this means that I will understand anything they say.  That is definitely not the case!

Health Concerns
Over a week ago, we noticed a gland under Joshua’s right ear starting to swell and become painful for him.  After seven days, two doctor visits, a blood test, a throat culture, and speaking with an American doctor on the phone, we were still baffled and the swelling was getting worse.  Finally we talked to another doctor on the phone who gave us a good indication of what it might be and how to treat it.  That was two days ago, and since then he has been doing much better.

We are pretty sure that it was a bacterial infection of some sort.  It is definitely a test of faith at times living in a place where you can’t drive 15 minutes to the nearest fully-equipped hospital.  We are very thankful that God directed us to speak with the right people at the right time.  It’s good to have the energetic old Joshua back!

Today is Joshua’s 7th birthday!  On Monday, we had a party for him and all his friends.  They made tie-dye shirts, did an obstacle course, and of course ate plenty of cake and ice cream!  It’s hard to believe that “our little baby” is already seven years old!

Incidentally, February 3rd also marks the day we left America to come here.  We are amazed that it’s already been one full year since we moved to Togo.  The time seems to have flown by!

Click here to view or download this update on our letterhead.

New Year, New Opportunities
I imagine that you’ve probably heard several times already this year, “What happened to 2009?”  We feel the same way, as if the calendar jumped from 2008 to 2010!

As we are approaching our anniversary marking one year in Togo, we have never been so excited for a new year.  There are so many opportunities for ministry all around the Kara region that we are sometimes overwhelmed in trying to decide what to do next.

In fact, that is something we’d like to ask you to pray for specifically: clear direction from the Lord in taking the next step in our ministry.  Since our arrival in Togo, we have been involved in several ministries and have learned a lot from them.  We are eager, however, to take our next step, but we do not want to make these kinds of decisions based solely on what is most logical or pragmatic, but on what God wants us to do.  So please pray over the next couple months that it will be clear to us what that next step is.

A Great Visit
Over the holiday season, we were so glad to have my parents come stay with us for three weeks.  I think that Africa took them by surprise in many ways, and it was a bit rough on them at times.  Overall though, they really did enjoy their time here getting to know Africa and it’s wonderful people.

On several occasions they were overwhelmed by the generous hospitality of our friends and neighbors as they would thank my parents for coming to Togo and offer them a gift of food from the very little they have.

Safari
In order to get the full African experience, we also took them to a wildlife preserve in northern Benin.  It was our first time going as well, but it certainly won’t be our last!  We saw almost every kind of animal that lives in West Africa, including many elephants and a couple lions, all in their natural habitat with no cages or fences.  It was definitely an experience to remember!

Kabɩyɛ
Please continue to pray for my Kabiye studies.  Even though I started lessons a few months ago, I did not have much time until now to dedicate towards it.  So, from January to April I am committing a large amount of my time towards learning this difficult language.

As you can imagine, we’ve been having a great time with my parents.  A day after arriving from picking them up in Accra, we traveled to northern Benin to Pendjari Wildlife Park for a safari.  That was quite an amazing experience.  If you’d like to see the pictures, you can view them on my Facebook account (this works even if you don’t use Facebook).

Between the drive to Accra and back, and the safari trip, we estimated that we spent 50 to 60 hours in a vehicle in one week’s time!  Most of that was on bumpy unpaved roads by the way.  Needless to say, we were ready for a break.  We spent a very relaxing Christmas together, lounging around the house and spending time together.  That evening we had a special Christmas party for the people who work at our house.  We got each of them and their family members a gift, which was likely the only gift they received for Christmas.  They loved the spaghetti Tiffany made, and they especially liked the Coke floats for desert.  I asked them, and they said they had never tried putting ice cream in a soda before.

I set up a camera on Christmas morning and did a time lapse video that condenses about 3 hours into one minute. Have a look:

Christmas 09 Timelapse from Jesse Shanks on Vimeo.

I just wanted to write a quick update letting you know that we arrived safely home in Kara from picking up my parents in Accra.  It was quite a two day journey back here, and it was tiring for my parents, but they did a great job toughing it out on the smooth Togo roads.

They are already having a great time experiencing all the sights, sounds, and smells of Africa.  Thanks for all your prayers for their safety and ours as we drove.

Exactly one month after leaving for Accra the first time (November 18th), we’ll be leaving Kara to go there again. This time, however, the trip will be very rewarding since we are going to pick up my parents from the Accra airport! We are excited beyond words that they are coming as you can imagine. They’ll be staying for exactly three weeks, during which we’ll take them on a safari, celebrate Christmas together, and explore Kara and its culture.

As always please pray for our safety, smooth border crossings, good health, etc.  Pray also, if you would, for my parents flight and health while they are here.  They both have had some health problems of late, so we’d hate to see that hinder their experience here.

We’ll try to update you as much as possible in the new few weeks, but if we don’t you can just assume that we’re too busy enjoying the time with my parents!