We have now returned from our 16-day trip to Togo and are so thankful and amazed by all the divine appointments we had and all that God did in and through us. We would like to thank everyone for your support, encouragement and prayers as we prepared for this trip, while we were overseas, and since we have been home. In Ephesians we are told that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil, which is what we experienced during preparation, time in Togo, and even upon our return. That is why it is so important to always put on the full armor of God. We greatly appreciate all of your prayers and hope you will all continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to seek and follow after what God has called us to do.
With our background in education we really wanted to take the time to visit some schools and see how students are educated as well as visit with school directors and teachers to learn as much as we could about the school systems and the challenges they deal with. We visited four different schools ranging from primary (elementary) to university. When we saw the conditions students are educated in as well as the very limited resources the teachers have to work with it absolutely broke our hearts. The crazy thing is that all students even those that attend public school have to pay for their schooling. This creates inequities because some families can’t afford the schooling for their children. This means that not all children get the opportunity to go to school. We were able to share with some of the schools why we were in Africa and encourage them. We were also able to leave a lot of supplies with the students and teachers to help as much as we could. We also hope to be able to keep in contact with the schools, teachers, and some of the classrooms throughout the coming year. We appreciated the time we spent in the schools while in Togo and it really showed us the challenges they face and even some ways that we can hopefully help in the future. It also made us appreciate the education system that we have even more than we already do.
Our time in Togo included the opportunity to visit 3 villages, preach in 2 Sunday morning church services, visit countless other churches, show the Jesus film, and take part in a mobile outreach training. God continued to show His faithfulness by providing divine appointments, meeting all our needs, and protecting us in all situations. The highlights of our time in the villages was visiting the church planted in Boniface’s Uncle’s village last year, being officially welcomed in Boniface’s village, and having the opportunity for Michele to speak at the Queen’s village about the importance of women in leadership. The relationship with the Queen was quickly formed and she even called requesting to come to church with us the next day
Some of our highlights of our time in churches included preaching in Lome and Kpalime, meeting with Pastor Seth, taking part in a Jesus Film showing and mobile ministry training in Kpalime, and meeting with the President of the Assemblies of God in Togo. After taking part in a mobile ministry training in which people use clips from the Jesus Film on their cell phone to evangelize people, we went out in groups of two and did street evangelism right away for about 45 minutes and saw 12 people come to Christ. This model of training indigenous people to evangelize people in their own native tongue is the most effective way of spreading the gospel.
We also had the opportunity to visit the West African Advanced School of Theology where we were able to connect with their president Mary Ballenger and learn more about the work they are doing to train church leaders. This international school offers programs for individuals, pastors, and missionaries to earn bachelor, master’s, or even doctoral degrees in theology and church leadership.
Our time in Togo was capped off with many amazing opportunities to meet with church leaders and pastors which showed us the real challenges facing the expansion of God’s kingdom in West Africa. The church is growing very quickly but because of this they are lacking the pastors to fill these churches as well. They also are facing the challenges of spreading the message of Christ in the southern coastal region dominated by voodoo and the northern region that has seen the rise of Islam at an alarming rate.
Gabe and Alex’s highlight was following after what God has called us all to do, as they were baptized in the Atlantic Ocean while in Africa.
