Christmas Blessings from America

A couple weekends ago I was invited to speak at one of the village church's Christmas ladies meeting.   It is a special church because we know the Pastor and his wife well.  We met them both when we first came to Togo in 2001.

 

As soon as Madame Akofa (the pastor's wife) asked me to come speak I thought that it would be the perfect time to give a gift to the ladies.  Some time ago the ladies of Faith Church (our sending church in NC) collected ear rings and gave them to me to bring to Togo and give some Togolese ladies.  I had kept the ear rings waiting for a special time to hand them out and then was just the right time!

The church is about 40 minutes from the hospital in the village of Djove-Pime down a VERY bumpy, pot hole ridden road....if you can even call it a road anymore!  It is more dirt now that asphalt.

This is Madame Akofa.  I can not say enough about what a godly woman she is. She and I have talked together, laughed together, prayed together and even cried together.  She has been with our family for the births of Eliza and Ansley.  And she calls herself the kids "Togolese Mother".

Can you spot the little Yovo (white person)? As soon as I arrived at the church, Ansley was whisked away from my arms.  But she was more than happy to be carried around on Louise's back.



Madame Kafui is another sweet lady.  She is a nurse at HBB and is very active in the ladies ministry at this church.



 

Ansley definitely made her rounds visiting with all the ladies.  One lady was holding her and Ansley just barely started to fuss and Akofa (even though she was leading the meeting) went right over and took Ansley.  And Ansley settled right down!  All our kids LOVE Akofa.

After I gave a devotion, Madame Akofa explained to the women that the women from my home church had given ear rings for them.  They were all so excited.

Madame Akofa handing out the gifts.



They all wanted to put them on right away!

 



This lady was so precious.  She just beamed as she wore her new ear rings.

Helping each other out



 All gathered around looking at each others new ear rings.

Some of the ladies after the meeting.  All very so thankful.

 

One thing that struck me was how excited the women were.  And I honestly don't think it was about the gift itself as much as the act of giving.  I think they were quite surprised that some women way over in America, from a different culture, a different language, a different lifestyle -really a completely different world- had thought about them and wanted to share something with them. The simple ear rings conveyed a great message of love in Christ.
 

I told the women that even though in this lifetime they will never meet the women from my home church and that even though we are from different worlds, we are sisters in Christ.  One day in Heaven, together we will bow before the King of Kings and worship together.  Skin color, tribe, language, culture will all be irrelevant as we kneel before the One who humbled Himself for us, one Christmas long ago  so that one day He could be our spotless sacrifice.

 

So from the ladies of Djove-Pime to ladies of Faith Church
Joyeux Noelle (French for Merry Christmas)
 &
Akbe-lo (Ewe for "thank you") for the Christmas blessings.

Sweet Little Grace

Grace is a little girl that we have all fallen in love with.  Several months ago she came into the hospital having some heart dysrhythmias and it was determined that she needed to go to the U.S. for heart surgery.  While all of that was being worked on her father, Komi, collapsed while working here at the hospital.  Komi was one of our lab techs and was a wonderful Christian man who was always joyful and such a hard worker.  After his first incidence, he was resuscitated and miraculously survived.  It was decided that he too would need serious surgical intervention to correct his heart problem.  Six weeks after his first cardiac arrest, he collapsed again at home and was not able to be revived.

Just a day or so after his death, Dr Kelly (our missionary pediatrician who has been working to get Grace to the U.S.), got word that all the paperwork had gone through and that a hospital in the States was accepting Grace and they would do the surgery she needs to live.

My girls met Grace just a few weeks ago and they go to school with her.  Well, they have just clicked with her and have become good little friends.  They can't communicate (she speaks Kabiye and just a little French) but they don't seem to let that hinder them.

When Eliza and Olivia heard Grace was going to the US and would be flying on a plane they wanted to do something for her.  So we went through the things we have here and made her a little bag with crayons, a coloring book, glow sticks (for when it gets dark on the plane), some stickers, a little doll and some fruit snacks.  Yesterday evening we went to visit Grace at her home and give her the little bag.  At first, Grace was a little shy.  I think she was surprised at all the Yovos (white people) at her house.  But soon, they all grabbed hands and went to play on a big pile of dirt.  There was lots of giggling!

 

As a write this, little Grace is boarding a plan in Lome to head to the US for her heart surgery.  She had to leave behind her mom and little brother.  I cried the other night as I thought about her getting on that plane and how very scary it will be for her.  I worried she wouldn't know how to use the potty (remember she doesn't have plumbing or running water) and if she would know how to eat the food they serve on the plane.  Would she be scared when the planes takes off??  So I called Dr. Kelly to get some details!!  She told me that Grace will have an escort (an off duty flight attendant) to accompany her all the way to Indianapolis where she will have her surgery Tuesday.  But please pray for Grace.  The organization that is funding her surgery has arranged for some Togolese people who live close to the hospital (and who know Kabiye) to be there to help with communicating with her.  But it just breaks my heart to think of her being in such a different place, with different looking people, a different language, different food, freezing cold and without anyone she knows.  And it just breaks my heart that her mom had to send her off after just losing her husband.

Would you please pray for Grace.  Her surgery is this Tuesday.  Please pray that the Lord will allow the surgery to be successful, that Grace would do well and that she can return home quickly so that her family can continue to be a testimony for Christ.

Two Years

December 3rd, 2011

The day will forever be etched in my heart and mind.  It was the day we lost everything. It was the day I received a phone call from my husband saying, "You need to come home.....our house is on fire".

And while there are far worse trials that we could have faced, this was a hard one.  So as I look back at that day and the days following I want to always remember some of the things God taught me.  And since my memory is not the greatest, I wanted to write them down.

Things really do matter.

Yes, I said it.  Things do matter, but they are not the most important.  I would be lying if I said I didn't miss some of the things we lost.  Some days, something will pop into my head and then I remember... no, we lost that in the fire.   My girls will never get to try on my wedding dress.  They will never see their newborn hospital photos.  Aiden will never get to have the rocking horse his great grandfather made for him.  They will never be able to give their own children that special outfit I had saved.  They will never get to see pictures of John and me dating. But you know what?  It is OK.  It is ok to be sad over those things.  But it is not okay to be consumed by the loss of those things. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with having things or being sentimental about material things. I am sentimental to a fault!  But I have to keep it in perspective.  God gave us those things to begin with and then He saw fit for us to have them all taken away.  I just have to remind myself that I can chose to be sad over what we lost or I can chose to rejoice over what we have.  And the list of what God has given us is far greater than the list of what was taken by the fire!

 Invest in people, not things.
 But wait!!  I just said things matter.  And they do, but people matter more.  The question is, what is our focus?  And I ask myself this too!!  I am writing this so I will remember these things. So that I will be changed.

 But what do I invest in?  I use to get so caught up in the bows and boots and the fancy outfits.  I spent countless hours sewing for the kids.  There is nothing wrong with all that. I still love cute dresses and big bows for the girls! I got caught up in the activities and outings and experiences for the kids.   But after the fire, I was really convicted of making sure I invested as much into my kids hearts as I did into their appearance and activities.   I want always to invest into their lives, into their little souls,  because nothing can take that away!

And what about the house?  Did I invest as much time and effort into making it a place of hospitality so that we could minister to others as I did in trying to make sure it was up to date with Pinterest and all the latest home design blogs?  Did I hesitate to have people over because there was toothpaste on the bathroom mirror or because our walls weren't painted the latest shade of Benjamin Moore.  I did.

Our home here is simple.  Most of the things in it our not our things.  Ours floors may be dusty and my curtains may be tattered, but I want it to be a place where Christ is shared through hospitality.   Because the love and time we pour into others can never be lost!

People don't care as much about the appearance of your house as they care about the heart of your home.

The Kindness of Strangers

Before we ever left the scene of the fire, people were stopping.  Stopping to see what we needed, stopping to give us food, clothes and gift cards.  Cars would slow down to pass the house only to come back buy 3o minutes later, get out of their car and hand us some money and then leave.  They did it completely out of the kindness of their hearts.  Most of them we did not know.  Most of them we would never be able to thank or repay.  They had nothing to gain by giving.  Yet they gave.  Oh that I may have such a generous spirit and always look for opportunities to give, specifically to those who can not repay.  Because isn't that when we are most like Christ, when we give to those who can not give back.

The Strength of our Church Family

The are no words eloquent enough to describe the love that was poured out on us from our church family.  To those who gave so very sacrificially.....Heaven smiled as you gave your last five dollars so our children would have a good Christmas that year.  Two years later, I am still simply humbled at the way our church gathered around us and did for us what we could not do for ourselves. 

The Sovereignty of God

So, I still do not have some great spiritual reason why this happened to us.  I still don't know why God allowed this trial into our lives just as we were preparing to serve Him in missions.  But I do know that God is good regardless of our circumstances.  It is not a cliché.  It is not a hollow sentiment.  It is not an empty mantra.  It is a truth that I have threshed out and that I claim! I know that HE never changes.  I know that He is a loving and faithful Father.  And now, I can accept that that is all I need to know.  I know HIM!   I don't need to know why this happened because I have faith in the ONE who allowed it to happen.

Thanksgiving

 

Just a few pictures from our Thanksgiving here in Togo.  We celebrated with all the other missionaries here, mainly Americans but also a few Canadian missionaries.

 

 John and Aiden carving the turkey.  Aiden was just fascinated by the electric knife. 

Setting up the food in the pailloute (a gazebo) here on the hospital compound. 

 

 This is what Thanksgiving lunch looks like in Togo.  Not too bad, huh?

The only things missing were some of my Grandma's collards & turnips, and some of John's Grandmother's candy bar dessert!

  

 Eliza, Olivia and Cassie.  Sweet friends

 

 Drew, Aiden and Ansley

 

 

 

 Sweet Ansley has been pretty sick lately, but she did take a few bites of her first Thanksgiving meal.

 

John leading the time of singing and praises.

 

 James, one of the missionary kids, leading music.

 

 The MKs singing.

 

 What a great group of kids!

 

Our little family.

  So very blessed and so THANKFUL for all the Lord is doing.

Kougdragan Baptisms

One thing we really enjoy is visiting some of the different churchs that have been planted here as a result of the hospital's work.  On this Sunday, we drove up the mountain about 20 minutes from the hospital to visit the Kougdragan church.  It was a beautiful morning and the weather was a tad bit cooler in the mountain air.

 

 When we arrived, Pastor Lalabia told us that they were having a baptism service which is always a blessing to see.

 Three men and two ladies had completed a baptism class and were going to be baptized.  They each stood and gave testimonies on how they had come to the Lord.  The man on the far left of the picture had been one of the masons who had help build the church building a couple years ago. 

 This sweet lady told how all our her family had essentially disowned her when she made a decision to turn from fetishism to follow Christ.

After the service we loaded the van up with as many people as we could and drove a few minutes to the closest water source.  We parked and then had to walk a little farther to reach the water spot.

When we got there, some village children were washing dishes and clothes and collecting water to take back to their homes.

Carrying water home is a daily task.

 So we all waited for the children to finish and for the rest of the church who had to walk from church to the water spot. 

 

 As we waited, we sang hymns in French and Ewe. 

 So thankful that our children can have these experiences.

 

 This was the young lady whose family has disowned her.  As she came out of the water, she started singing "I have decided to follow Jesus".  What a testimony!!

 It really was an amazing experience.  I had this moment of realizing just how small we are and just how BIG our God is.  Here we were standing by a water hole in the middle of Togo as these people make a public statement to follow Christ.  I was utterly humbled as I imagined God looking down from Heaven's splendor to this simple place as His children celebrate the newness of life we have in Him. What a blessing it was to be able to part of this sweet service.



From Floors of Clay to Streets of Gold

One of our Togolese friends just lost their 10 year old "adopted" son.  The Lord has chosen not to give them children of their own, but they adopted their nephew and his sister who lost both their parents.  My heart hurts for them for many reasons that in this lifetime I will never understand why.   I may never understand why God acts in the way He does or allows the things He does, but I trust that He is a good God.

Beni, this little boy's adopted father is confident that the little boy was saved.  Apparently, because of his testimony even in his suffering, his extended Muslim family was aware that he was a Christian.  So much so that when he died the family (Beni and Enyonam where not there when he passed away) called the closest Catholic Church to bury him because they knew he was not Muslim.  The Catholic church was the closest thing they knew of to this little boy's Jesus.

As Sharon (one of the other missionaries here) and I were praying for this sweet family, my eyes filled with tears.  Yes, they were tears of sadness for this family's loss, but it was as if I had a glimpse of Heaven.  The Holy Spirit so impressed upon my heart the hope of Heaven we have as Christians.

But as we prayed for this family I was struck by something that I am not sure I can explain.  I had this image in my mind of this little African boy waking up in Heaven.  Now for all of us Heaven will be more grand than anything we have ever seen, but I couldn't help but see his sweet brown face with  big brown eyes as he saw HEAVEN!  A little boy who had known loss greater than most will know in a lifetime is now with his Heavenly Father.  A little boy who knew what is was to suffer and be hungry will never hurt or be hungry again.  A little boy who had probably never seen much clean water now drinks of the Living Waters!  A little boy whose home was mud bricks now has his promised mansion. A little boy who grew up on clay floors now can run on streets of gold!  What an awesome moment it must have been in Heaven as this little boy opened his big brown eyes and saw his new home and saw his Jesus!

Ansley's first time to Church

Oh wow!  Whoever said the days are longs but the years are fast wasn't kidding!!  I really can not believe how quickly time is going by.  I have a LONG list of post I need to write, but I am still so behind.  So here is yet another post from a few months back!! 

A few months ago we took Ansley to church for the first time. Now, she had been to church here on the compound, but this was her first big outing.  We chose to go to the church of Pastor Theo and his wife Madame Akofa in the village of Dzogbekpime.  I had to take a few pictures!

 

Madame Akofa with Ansley

Aren't the children just beautiful!?

Our kids kind of stick out!!

Such sweet faces