Furlough Reflections

Well, furlough '08 is 4 days old already. Here are some thoughts I've had since arriving on Thursday...

- I like brushing my teeth with cool, fresh water straight from the tap.
- Cold weather is so underrated that it sickens me.
- What is cold or hot depends completely upon perspective.
- I have a really great family.
- Everything is easy here.
- I really like my life in Togo.
- People watching is really fun when you haven't watched Americans in a whole year! What a funny bunch we are!
- I truly do understand why people don't like it (or even hate it in some cases), but I really like Walmart. Sorry.
- March Madness!
- I wish Netflix delivered to Togo.
- Worshiping, fellwoshiping and serving with hundreds of other believers is a gift from God and a part of His plan for our lives that should be cherished and held onto with the utmost urgency.
- If this economy is headed towards (or is already in) a recession, you sure wouldn't know it by outward appearances only.
- Order and chaos both have their place in this world. Too often one is viewed positively and the other negatively.
- Kohls is a great store and I love shopping with April!
- My brother and sister-in-law are really great people that I have loads of respect and love for.
- Having a 2 year old is simultaneously the greatest and most frustrating thing on the face of the earth.
- Having a sweet 4 month old is mostly just great :)
- Seeing people that you haven't seen in 12 months is great, but at times a little awkward. However, I love the genuine hugs that we have received from so many people since we arrived on Thursday. God is giving us what we need!

More later...

The 2008 Kabiye All-Church Retreat

The '08 Kabiye ACR is underway! This year's retreat is co-hosted by the villages of Kaacade and Hade Te Yo, and it was planned almost entirely without our help, something we are very thankful for. We began on Friday night with singing and prayer time, and continued today with more singing, teaching times, and lots of great fellowship and prayer. I even gave my first talk in Kabiye! It was short, only about 5 minutes, but it was alot of fun. My Kabiye brothers and sisters were so gracious and patient with me...

Here are some pics of the night. I will update more next week, hopefully even with video of my lesson. Please be praying for this gathering and for all of the Kabiye churches and believers to be one in Christ!Under the shelter they built specially for the ACR.

Three robbers attack during the Good Samaritan skit!
The poor guy was left for dead...these guys did a great job with the drama!
Trying to get the generator running so we could have lights. Pretty much every single warning in the owners manual was violated at some point during the setup process...C'est Afrique!
Kpatcha and Jean-Marie in deep discussion...

The retreat will wrap up on Sunday with a holy gathering and time of worshiping the Lord. May God's Spirit continue to be poured out on us all!

PRCC Visitors

The Preston Road Church of Christ (PRCC) sent a group of 7 adults and 5 children to visit their missionaries and our teammates, Bryan and Tracey Ries. We were blessed to be able to host the three single ladies during their time in Togo. This was a special treat for us because one of the girls, Angela Boyd, was an intern with us back in 2003. Teresa Boyd, Angela's sister, and Holly Thigpen were a joy to have in our home as they jumped right in to our family life. Thank you girls for your generosity of goodies (American treats yummm!), willingness to be flexible, and your joyful spirits that blessed us more than you know. Thank you to the Sanderson and Chambers families for their genuine interest and support for us as a family, even though we're not sponsored by PRCC . We only wish we could have spent more time with each of you. Thank you for blessing and encouraging us in so many ways during your short visit. We love you all!

Kabiye Greetings for the GracePointe Church

Kabiye_greetings
Uploaded by emersonstogo