Light of Togo

Several weeks ago Randy, our coworker, proposed the idea of doing a conference/retreat for all the Togolese pastors.  We all thought it was a good idea, so we started planning it.  It will take place this coming Sunday through Friday.  The idea is to get all the pastors together from all the churches that Randy has started and bring them around to each church so they can all see in person the work that is taking place around the country.  So, that means that we’ll be taking a couple overnight trips during the week.  Please pray for our safety as we’ll be taking two vehicles (ours and Jim’s) fully loaded on some rough roads.

Each of the four missionaries, Randy (Alderman), Jim (White), Jon (Huff), and myself will be speaking two times during the conference.  I’m currently preparing for these, so please be in prayer for that as well as for the others who will speak.  We are praying that this will be a time of refreshment and encouragement for these pastors, as well as a challenge to those who are perhaps on the verge of ethical, moral, or personal problems in their life.

I’ll keep you updated as much as possible as the conference goes along.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

In one corner, the unsuspecting missionary.  In the other corner, the heavyweight champion of African sicknesses.   In the first of many bouts to come, Malaria threw the first punch and knocked me flat on my back for 48 hours, but thankfully due to a very effective treatment we found I am now back on my feet again and recovering from it.  Tiffany had posted on Facebook that I was sick, so thanks to all who were praying for me.  I’m sure it will not be the last time that we meet this opponent, but we sure do hope that it’s very infrequently!

What I’m very thankful for (other than the obvious, which is of course that I’m not dead) is that I did not have many pressing obligations this week, so the sickness did not set me back too much in that respect.  I am also thankful for a wonderful and as-close-to-perfect-as-possible wife who took great care of me while I was stuck in bed for two days.  Thanks Tiff, you’re the best!

In the past couple months I have been quite a terrible blogger.  There has been so much happening every day, and I have not done a very good job with keeping you up to date.  While I can’t promise anything, I do plan on updating the blog more frequently.  In fact, in the next few weeks I plan on doing one very large post with photos, and maybe video, of lots of the things I’ve written about on our blog.  Many of you have been asking about photos, but up to this point I honestly have had no time to respond to those requests, so I figured that I’ll just do it all at once when I get some time.

So, to catch up on the last couple weeks:

The Huffs arrived in Accra safely, we crossed back over the border into Togo with no problems, spent a couple days in Lomé, then drove back up to Kara on the 4th.  That wasn’t necessarily how we wanted to spend Independence Day, but it was great to “celebrate” our return home to Kara.

Speaking of Kara, we’ve been busy trying to find a house in Kara for the Huffs.  We’ve seen around 15 already, and they’ve narrowed it down to one so far.  We’re going to see a couple more, but more than likely they’ll be starting negotiations on that house very soon.  In the mean time they are staying with us, and we’re having a great time together.

Speaking of houses, we are finally getting around to many of the little repairs and improvements that have needed to be done since moving in but haven’t had the time to do.  It’s great to be getting more and more settled in the house so we can spend more time focusing on the more important things.

Speaking of more important things, we had a great Sunday a few days ago.  There were quite a bit more people at church than normal, and as I preached on Colossians 3:1-4 it sparked a good discussion/question session after the message.  The passage deals with seeking the eternal things which are of infinite importance instead of being consumed with the passing, temporary things that attract our attention every day.  We do this because our old sinful nature was put to death in Christ, and we now have a new life and new nature because Christ is our life.  Please pray for me as I’m teaching/preaching through the book of Colossians.  I work hard at trying to effectively communicate these truths to the people, but sometimes it’s difficult with my limited understading of their culture.

Speaking of prayer, please also pray for this church we’re working at.  We have made a temporary commitment to help out there, and of course the goal is to see this church become independent (autonomous) of missionary help, so please pray that God gives wisdom and direction to the pastor, the members, and the missionaries involved so we can see this church reach that goal in the near future.

Speaking of the near future, I’m sure that you have many other things to do in the near future other than reading a very long update by a belated blogging missionary!  So, as they say in French, “À la prochaine!” (See you next time!)