TW3 - this was the week that was

Thought you might like to see a "side street"  going back to the village we visited Friday evening.  A foot path and motorbike trail is our road.  Pastor Moussa and about 20-25 people from his church go to small villages that have no church on a Friday or Saturday evening and while half the crew sets up video, lights and sound system the others go two by two and   visit the surrounding area.  It is both witnessing and inviting local families to the Gospel film and message.

As soon as they start setting up the local people start to gather.

Every night they show this, they have to bring a generator, screen, sound system, lights, DVD projector as well as a Gospel of John and Book of Romans (in French) and hundreds of Gospel tracts.

This is the road to the village we visited Saturday.  Sometimes the problem is not getting to the village (daylight) but trying to find your way out at ten o'clock at night.  Cristophe had to get out and lead on foot at one point.

Jon, your pickup truck did fit under the leaning tree and between it and the bush to the left.  Once I got thru, it was decided that we would set up this side of the tree and I u-turned and came back.  Sometimes I actually loose the steering wheel and let God drive when going gets tough.  The rest of the time we share the job.

Down the trail and looking for the next home to visit.

My visitation partner speaks English, French, Kabiye, Ewe fluently and a couple of others conversationally.  He is a blessing to work with.

Just so you know, it is not all work.  I eat thirty eggs a week.  Scrambled, omelets, french toast, over easy....... Don't tell my Cardiac nurse.

Took a little ride on my motor bike during the week.  Went thru Kara first and then back towards home.  Instead of going home I continued East about 20 kilometers to Ketao then returned home.  When I looked at it on the map (enlarge below by saving as picture and then viewing) I found that I was about 5 kilometers from Benin.  It is not that far East or West to the border.  Unlike going from one State to another, going from one Country to another can be a real challenge.

Back to evangelization (sp).  Music draws people from a great distance.

My witnessing brother.  Saturday we met two of his former students in different homes we visited.  At the last home we were able to witness to ten men who had just came in from working in the fields.  When the program first starts there are 20-30 children maybe 15 women and a few men.  By the time the video that takes them from fetish/idol worship to salvation starts there are well over 50 children and more than 50 men and women.  The video, in French and Kabiye, follows one couple from witchcraft to salvation thru Christ as they experience the futility of idols and the reality of Jesus.  I have only seen this video twice and both times I have seen people in the audience respond to the preached message afterward and come to members of the team with questions on how to know Jesus Christ.  

The homes we visit are really compounds of small mud huts in a walled enclosure.  Maybe one family or a large "extended" family occupy with separate buildings for storage, sleeping, cooking and a large courtyard for  gathering together.  Men, women, children, chickens and dogs share the enclosed area and they love to welcome visitors.  The ten men we talked to last are hoping enough people will come to know Christ and meet regular so that there might be a church started in their village.  One of Pastor Moussa's members meets with these people every Sunday (believe he is a Bible Institute Student)  to disciple them. 

 Leaving Kara about 3:30 in the afternoon, it is about 11:00 at night when we get back.  Always having an appetite, I snack on fresh Mango at midnight.

After church at Tchandida today, French toast, eggs over easy, coffee, mango w/banana and ice water.  Does it get any better than this?  Don't think so.

God has blessed me and shown patience with me beyond anything I could imagine and still I come up short.  I have never known how amazing our God is until seeing him work in the lives of the people here in Togo.  Everything else has been academic, this is real.