Merci(e)s in Togo

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4:1-3 A smile crosses my face as I pop in my earbuds, queue up my workout playlist, and start at a fast-jogging pace along the red dirt road. Although my pace slows as I round the first bend to settle in for a steady trot for most of my run, my enthusiasm does not diminish in the least.  Blame it on my dad for passing it on to me, but I caught the runner's bug in high school and haven't seem to have recovered from it yet. I love a good run, especially the challenge of a sprint at the end.   The first season of life in Togo has felt like an energizing run, with a sprint in the middle of September through October in accompanying Ahad with Sekina to the states for his potential heart surgery. ...

  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." - Psalm 19:1-4a.  " But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.- Ephesians 2:4-7 Little Man Ahad before he was intubated the second time, which is his current state. This photo is precious because in Togo he rarely smiled for pictures. Dear God, I know that you are good, but how in the world can this glorify You?? These were the beg...

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” -Habakkuk‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭ESV‬‬ This will be a very focused update, but I wanted to share a prayer request for those who aren’t already aware. (Also, it is late and so I apologize for typos!) Little man here, Ahad, is now in Florida.  In the last update, I believe we were waiting for his passport. Well, I the span of about a week we obtained his passport, applied for and received his visa, and flew to the US. During the flight Ahad demonstrated his dislike of flying: he started having trouble breathing, turned a bit bluish, and his oxygen levels which are normally low, went even lower. The flight crew gave us an oxygen tank with the reminder that there was only so much oxygen for everyone for the flight in case of ...

"I need Thee, O I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee! O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee  - Annie S. Hawks, "I Need Thee Every Hour" " Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6    Let me ask you a question: What is the definition of a "good day?" A relaxing one with few worries? A day free of children complaining, or at least one with less complaining than normal? A day where you have a skip in your step and a happy ditty in your head without really knowing why? With the last couple weeks being a bit bizarre, I have found myself asking the same question. What characterizes a “good day?" In a place where your schedule for the day can change in seconds, and it takes a while to accomplish tasks, I have since left the word “productive” far behind from being part of my "good day" definition. The health of my...

 "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor." - 1 Corinthians 3:6-8      If you were to come on a walk with me near my house, you'd likely see puddles on the road from the recent pluie (rain). You'd observe goats scrambling, donkey's braying, cows parading by, and plants poking their heads out of the soil in the fields. The air can often be humid, the mosquitos abundant, and the mornings cooler after an overnight shower. Conversations at work can center on how planting rice is different than sowing seed for corn. My friends educated me on the fact that both general and selective herbicides exist, which blew my mind!  How do they do that, single out the pesky weeds and leave the crops alive?! (As you can tell, I am not a gardener or farmer at all, so pardon my naiveite...

       Yes, we are going to talk about feet this go ‘round. In case you were wondering, mine at present are sweaty, stinky, decorated with the occasional mosquito bite, and have reddish Togo dirt on them. Go ahead and look at yours and consider what you do with them. With mine, I pick things up when my hands are full, squash bugs, race kiddos, pedal a bicycle or shift gears, and, most often, make dusty or muddy footprints through my house. Feet are fabulous.      There is an Anufo saying that mentions this wonderful part of the body. “Ajari sa lamoya su.” Basically, it means that it is the feet that reunite or connect the family. If you say that you have family in town but never go to visit them and they never come to you, that’s not really a relationship. The same goes with friends. Friends are made with your feet. I met the twins inside the hospital and have gotten to visit them in their home since. Josias in green didn't seem to want his photo taken...

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." - Romans 1:16-17 Greetings from TOGO!!!! Oh friends, it is a joy to be back again. God provided safe travels and a lovely welcome from friends, coworkers, and neighbors here. Greetings in Togo are huge, so I am thankful for the opportunities this past week to visit with others and marvel at God's kindness in preserving and working in our lives.   It may sound very silly, but when COVID-19 hit while I was in the states and we still weren't sure what exactly we were dealing with, I started to wonder if I would see my friends again this side of eternity. One prayer of mine was that God would keep my friends and community members safe here and that we might have a future reunion in Togo. Thus, there were smiles and much rejoicing when I got to see many dear ones again! Yet, even more exciting is that God's work continues here...