The Emerson's Journeys in Africa

Two Years Ago Today

2011-07-12T22:47:00.001-05:00

On the floor of our entryway :)

What Sort of Person Am I?

2011-01-12T17:50:00.002-06:00

This evening I walked outside to check the mail. I happened to be barefoot at the time, so I took the opportunity to step barefoot in the snow, just to see what it would feel like.

It was freezing cold. So cold it brought pain to my feet.

But I felt it. I experienced it. That's the sort of person I am.

Rock Star

2010-11-04T19:48:00.002-05:00

I had the day off from my regular duties today. 7 hours of professional development isn't much of a break, but I did sleep in for an extra hour, and I didn't have to deal with my students' problems from dawn til dusk, which is an important mental break.

Having a substitute in my room is stressful. Will my kids live up to my expectations without me there? Or will they disappoint me with their disobedience? I'm always hopeful, but most of my children don't define "character" as what you do when nobody is looking at you.

So on my lunch break I decided to visit my school, which is only a 3-4 minute drive from the training center. I popped my head in unexpectedly on my 7th grade class...and everything was running perfectly. Everyone was where they should be. The substitute still had her sanity. All was in order. I rejoiced!

Then my students realized that I was in the room. Chaos ensued. It seemed as if I had been gone for weeks they way they mobbed me, droppin' high fives, fist pounds and chest bumps like we had just won the World Series.

And several hours later, I realize that being treated like a rock star validates us. It validates our work. It validates our relationships. It validates our existence, our purpose.

I pity people who seek out that validation, because that is not a good way to live. But when validation comes, I will enjoy it, not as validation for who I am, but for what I am doing in the Kingdom.

Rock on!

Names Have Been Changed to Protect Identities

2010-11-03T19:53:00.002-05:00

I have many, many good stories that arise from my daily work.

I teach 6th, 7th & 8th grade children how to improve their reading skills, and the teaching part is interesting enough; the lives and actions of my students push it to a whole other level.

It feels weird to even type this sentence, but my life is more interesting and unpredictable now than it ever was when I lived in Togo. In my previous life, the unpredictability of life was predictable. I expected to see naked woman walking around in public blowing a goat horn and dancing to Michael Jackson while balancing a chair on her head. In my public school life, I truly never know what I'm going to get.

There are laws that protect the identities of children, laws that I am grateful for as a professional educator, so I can't post names or pictures of students.

But I can share funny stories. Life lessons. Teachable moments. Ghetto pranks. Breakthroughs. Connections. Impacted lives. Changed lives. Saved lives. My daily work.

Red Meat & Pop

2010-08-20T17:52:00.002-05:00

I'm into marking transitions in meaningful and interesting ways. I recently switched jobs and continents, and I can't imagine a bigger transition than that. In order to mark that transition, I decided to not eat red meat or drink pop for one full year.

It's kind of a strange thing to do, I know. It's not like I consume mass quantities of either item, and neither red meat nor pop have been something that I crave on a daily basis. They are luxury items, however, and giving them up is somewhat significant.

I've instructed April not to adjust her menu in any way. Go ahead and make tacos; I'll just put beans on mine. Feel free to grill some burgers; I'll eat some leftovers. Pop is easy enough to avoid; water is always a better option, anyways. And I'm not giving up beer :)

This year without started on August 1st, 2010, which roughly coincided with the beginning of school. Every time I pass on an opportunity to eat a steak or gulp down some Cherry Coke, I'm reminded that God has done something good, that my family has been provided for.

I'm kinda looking forward to August 1st, 2011. If you're not doing anything that day, please join me for a thick, juicy steak (maybe a 6 nations?), a bottomless glass of pop, and an extra large helping of Praise and Thanksgiving!

Urban Riding

2010-08-07T23:15:00.002-05:00

I recently explored downtown Memphis with my camera and my bike. I love to ride trails, the deeper the forest the better, but urban riding has it's own set of merits. Try it if you get the chance!

You Can Take the Kid Out of Africa...

2010-07-30T21:19:00.002-05:00

The boys have always loved carrying stuff on their heads :)

Intro to Parenting

2010-07-26T20:00:00.006-05:00

Most days I think I'll be learning about parenting until the day I die and it still won't be enough time! I don't know it all, incredibly far from it, but I have learned a few things in the last 5 years or so.
Tonight I fully realized that putting kids to bed should ideally be a slow, winding process. Bed time processes that start suddenly and end after 10-15 minutes virtually guarantee that my boys will be up and out of bed within 5 minutes of my (or April's) departure from their room. Bed time goes best when we go slow, taking time to unwind from the day.
It's great for my boys, but it also does April and I good to end a crazy day of parenting two energetic, growing little boys in a slow, deliberate way. Quick bedtimes rob our family of intimate times that can't be replaced. Go slow, parents.

Where This Blog is Headed

2010-07-25T09:09:00.003-05:00

We don't live in Africa anymore. The last 9 months have been quite a ride, and today we find ourselves living in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm not going to get into the details of why we left Africa, at least not right now. It would make sense to change the title of this blog from "The Emerson's Journeys in Africa" to something more appropriate to our current place in life...but I'm not going to do that. This blog is going to stay exactly how it is; the only thing that will change will be the content I post.

In the past, this blog was mainly to inform supporters about what was happening in our work in Togo. Well, we no longer have supporters and we no longer work in Togo. Instead, I'm now going to use this blog to sound off about anything and everything that my mind ponders on a daily basis. Some of it will still be about Africa, but much of it will not. I might do flashbacks, or flashforwards, or even alternative realities (LOST, anyone?). Who knows. I may be compassionate, I may be controversial. Regardless of the content, I hope to provoke myself and others to deeper thought about what ills this world and how to heal it...or maybe just laugh together about something stupid. We are still healing from some wounds, and laughter is often the best medicine :)

Peace!

A Great Gift

2010-01-28T08:36:00.002-06:00

A couple of months ago, I was out in the village of Lassa Tchou spending time with some of the Christians there. We somehow started talking about composting, which is a subject that I find myself very interested in these days. I asked them if they ever collected animal poop to combine with other organic materials to be used as fertilizer, and I was met with a combination of laughter and blank stares. We talked about it for a few more minutes, then moved on to other things, a conversation like many others I've had before.

What this conversation led to, however, warmed my heart. The mother of one of the Lassa Tchou church's leaders is a faithful and beautiful Christian woman. She is quite old, and also one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Her smile can light up an entire village :) Many people who have visited Togo have fond memories of Jean Marie's mother. She was listening in on the conversation about animal poop and composting that day, but at the time did not have anything to say.

Instead, she went out into the fields and starting picking up poop.

I returned to Lassa Tchou one month later, on Christmas day, and this sweet sister had a huge bag full of animal poop to give to me as a present! It blew me away. I showed her how thankful I was in a culturally appropriate way, but all I really wanted to do was pick her up off of the ground and give her a huge hug!

Sometimes it seems like the people I work with don't listen when I speak. Sometimes I get the feeling that much of the teaching I do goes in one ear and out the other, and that I'm not having an impact…

And then someone gives me a big bag of poop :)

Redefining a "Succesful" Meeting

2010-01-15T11:07:00.002-06:00

Today we loaded up the truck and took the whole family out to the village of N'Djei for a morning meeting. Being able to spend time in the villages as a complete family is just one of the many blessings that comes with having children who are not yet school aged :) The people love to see our children, and we love to share our whole life with our brothers and sisters, which includes our rambunctious little boys.

We rolled up at 9:30 or so, and there was only one man sitting near the meeting place, reading his Bible. Over the next hour or so, the boys chased chickens and goats while April and I talked with the people that slowly trickled in. Only 5 more people came, and one of them left when he saw his friend on a motorcycle and asked him for a ride into town. Priorities, people.

We decided to go ahead and teach at the urging of the 5 people who showed up, and we had a really good meeting. Thought provoking questions were asked and responded to, laughter filled the meeting place several times, and everyone left having learned something (us included) and having been encouraged. This meeting had only 5 people attend it (these meetings usually have 20 or more), but it was a successful meeting.

Last week I went to another village, Lassa Tchou, to teach. The Christians did not show up for the meeting at all, and I was very disappointed at first. Then a young man who is a faithful church member showed up and told me that all of the Christians were at the home of a young boy who had died that morning, comforting the family and praying with them. Needless to say, my heart was full of pride, and even though the meeting didn't even happen, it was a successful meeting.

Our lives here in Togo have led us to redefine many things in our lives, and success is one of them. In a country where things often don't go the way they should, I believe that we can find success in things that an outsider might consider a failure. May God be glorified through all of our successes, through all of our failings, and through everything we put our hands to.

Tragedy for Togo

2010-01-11T10:31:00.004-06:00

Today, Les Eperviers du Togo (The Togo Sparrow Hawks) were supposed to be playing the Ghana Black Stars in Group B of the African Cup of Nations, the continent wide soccer tournament that is second in importance only to the FIFA World Cup. Instead, the Togolese national team is back in Togo, healing from a tragic event in which three people were killed after Angolan rebel forces opened machine gun fire on their team buses.

As I was on my way to work today, I noticed that one of the homes of a very important person in this particular village had it's flag at half staff. I was caught off guard by how touched I was by this gesture. Emotions welled up inside of me, and I wept.

As I reflected on the whole situation this afternoon, I realized that there was only one other time in my life when I had shed tears for a country. It was a little after 9am on September 11th, 2001. One plane had already hit the World Trade Center, and I watched live as the second plane smashed into the south tower. Immediately, I fell on my knees and pleaded with God to have mercy on our country. I never could have imagined the horror that I felt in that moment.

Today, my 2nd country is dealing with similar emotions amidst tragedy. America will always be my first country; you can see in the picture below that my purse has an American flag on top and a Togolese flag down below. However, over the last 7 years, Togo has taken a huge chunk of my heart. When the Togolese people are full of joy, our family is full of joy. When the Togolese people celebrate, our family celebrates. When the Togolese people mourn, we mourn right along with them and do whatever we can to share their burden. This was very poignant to me as I watched a family mourn the death of a young child this afternoon while I was out in the village. And so tonight my head is slightly bowed. My demeanor is a little subdued, and I am sad. My 2nd country has been robbed of 3 young lives. It's no September 11th, I know, but in a country where very few things go right, the things that go horribly wrong are magnified. They have also been robbed of the joy of competing in the African Cup of Nations. We have presidential elections coming up at the end of February, and the whole country is already slightly on edge.

Please pray for Togo. It is in need of the strength that comes with the prayers of the saints. So often the Togolese are forgotten or left behind, and all of us here are in need of the hope found only in God.

Family Christmas in Lassa Tchou

2009-12-30T07:48:00.003-06:00

This year our family was invited to spend Christmas day with our brothers and sisters in Lassa Tchou. We gladly accepted, and we were joined by our friend and colleague Mike Squires and his roommate Larry. Since we were invited to the party, we of course had to bring gifts. We settled on watermelons and a huge monitor lizard! Watermelon season is almost over here, so we decided to get 5 big, juicy ones to bring to the party. The monitor lizard was more of an impulse buy, but we knew that it was a savored delicacy for the Kabiye, and as you can see from the picture below, it was a very well received gift!
Here is a picture of our friend Boniface preparing the giant lizard, which measured about 4 feet in length. We did not get a chance to taste it ourselves, but we spoke the next day with Jean Marie, who said that is was very, very sweet! Puwe lelen kpem!
We went to share our lives with our friends, and that we did. Caden and Corban love spending time in the villages, and they especially enjoyed this trip with all of the singing, dancing and playing with the village children.
We always feel welcome in Lassa Tchou, and many people that have visited Kabiye land have felt the same way. Caden ran around like a wild man with the children, and Corban managed to get a dance with this young girl :)
Our children are a novelty in the villages we visit, but they really are much more than that. We, as parents, rarely feel more loved then when people love on our children. All parents understand this. This is even true in Kabiye culture, where children are often an afterthought. We believe that God has put a love for children in the hearts of His people, a belief that is confirmed strongly by the interactions Jesus had with the little people he came into contact with. Some things, we have found, are universal, transcending culture, religion, social status and any other barrier that man creates. God has chosen the mouths of infants and children to truly praise Him!
Caden simply could not be corralled for this picture, taken after a tasty meal of rice, pork and tomato sauce. This festival reminded us that we as God's people occasionally need to stop, reflect, and enjoy this life on earth that He has given us. We are thankful for our family in Lassa Tchou, who showed us once again that one of God's great gifts is that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

Tumladu Kifalu

2009-12-06T10:18:00.005-06:00

"Tumladu Kifalu" is the name given by the guys to our newest participant in Saturday communal work days, which basically means, "The New Guy". His real name is Prinam, which means something like "success", and he is showing a lot of good potential for discipleship. Trimming the branches back on the big front yard tree

I've known him here and there from just being around the neighborhood, but the other day he came to my house to ask for help. He had lost two of his school books, and he said that his dad was going to beat him if he found out that they were gone. I'm strongly for being honest with your parents, but I am also strongly against domestic violence against children, something that is widespread in Kabiye families. The books only cost about 8 bucks total, and it was a pretty easy decision for me. Mixing up the compost pit (which is looking dark and rich by the way!)
After asking the other guys on the work team what they thought about him, they all agreed that he should come and work with us to pay off the cost of the books. This Saturday was Prinam's first run with the work team, and he showed himself to be a hard and committed worker. He was quiet and obviously wary of his place in this particular circle of men, but he held his own and even responded to some questions about God that were posed.

Prinam is the shorter of the two yellow shirts, the other is Akla, my adopted son. Please pray for him and our interactions in the weeks to come. May his heart and ours be open to God's leading.

Wednesday in Lassa Tchou

2009-12-03T09:55:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I went out to the village. It was a mostly normal visit, much like dozens of others I've done previously. What made it just a little bit different, and better, were the many things I learned. Following are some great things happening in Lassa Tchou, according to the people themselves. So often we ask them what is wrong in their village, but this time we asked them what was going right, an insightful question by Monsieur Michel, the Community Development specialist.

- They said that marriage relationships were getting better. They have received teaching in previous months on the subject of marriage, and they have been sharing these things with their neighbors with positive results. Whole families are eating together on a regular basis; men, women & children, a rarity in Kabiye culture, where the men usually eat separate from their families.

- The Kabiye love to laugh. As we were discussing families yesterday, I gave them the old analogy of "The man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck, and the neck turns the head". They about fell out of their chairs, and two guys had to leave the building to hack up some Harmattan dust.

- The 3 women at the meeting all said that the women/wives of their village are being treated better, often given a voice and respect by their husbands.

- They said that they are doing better disciplining their children. A young father even repeated to me, "My children learn more from what I do than what I say." I had taught this same concept at a Kabiye marriage retreat back in August, and this man was not in attendance at that meeting, which shows me that information is filtering out from core groups.

- They said that here are several large compost pits in their village, implemented after they were taught about composting in a development lesson. I have recently fallen in love with the dark, rich, and all natural fertilizer known as compost, a better long term alternative than chemical fertilizer. I plan to visit again next week to see how these pits are coming.

- They said that they are having Bible studies with their neighbors. This is obviously the most important teaching they have received, the story of love, redemption, sacrifice and everlasting life with God. I thank the Father that his Son is being proclaimed in big ways and small, through avenues both direct and indirect, in the village of Lassa Tchou.

Alibi 1 Introductions - Wiyao & Yawa Nnama

2009-12-02T07:08:00.003-06:00

This is the first in a series of posts that will introduce you to the new Body of believers in Alibi 1. Today I want to introduce you to Wiyao Nnama. Wiyao (wee-a-ow) is the Kabiye word for chief, and Nnama means respect or obedience. Wiyao is married to Yawa, and together they have 6 children. He works mainly as a farmer, but when the opportunity arises, he is also trained to work as a mason. Wiyao is a fun, energetic and outgoing man. I enjoy his company, and our personalities mesh well together. Yesterday I spent about 30 minutes talking and getting to know him one on one, and I believe that God will use him for great things. I have seen how his fellow villagers like and respect him, and that will hopefully be a key to open the door for the gospel to be shared within Wiyao's sphere of influence. In the picture below you can see the joy of brotherhood that he shares with his friends.
Wiyao is also quite a dancer. Follow this link to see his great moves: (Wiyao's moves)
Please pray for Wiyao and his family as he leads them on a new journey in life, one that is now taking place within God's Kingdom. I hope that one day you can come and meet him, give him a hug, and let him know that you love him and have been praying for him!

Another Alibi Baptism Video

2009-11-16T02:36:00.002-06:00

This one from my friend Matt, who attended the baptisms with me. Enjoy God's greatness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKbqh6eZi2Q

Alibi Baptisms

2009-11-01T01:30:00.004-05:00

Yesterday there were 34 baptisms in the village of Alibi! I know that many people have been praying for this evangelism effort, and our prayers have been answered. The number baptized included 10 married couples, which is a huge praise! We are leaving to go to the beach for a few days here in about an hour, but I wanted to quickly share the news and post some pictures (you can see even more pics on my Facebook page). I will tell more of the story later, with video. Praise God with us today! Headed down to the river, singing and dancing all the way! The chief of the village and his wife were baptized! These 4 friends were so full of joy after being baptized, laughing, dancing and slapping each other on the back :) The entire group of 34, plus their children. First communion. We praise God as His Kingdom expands among the Kabiye!

Here's a short video!

Hearing & Doing - Making Disciples

2009-10-14T09:46:00.001-05:00

Matthew 28:16-20 - "Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

A response I have to this scripture is to climb a mountain this weekend and worship Jesus as the 11 disciples did when they first saw Him after the resurrection. He is my Lord, my Teacher, my Savior, and He is worthy of my praise. My life and work will flow out of my love for Him.

I will also respond to Jesus' teachings in these verses by daily studying the Gospels to find exactly what He meant by, "everything that I have commanded you." I want to know the commands of Jesus. I might even make a list! I also was given a good book by a friend: What Jesus Demands of the World by John Piper. I'm looking forward to digging into it!

Specific commands that Jesus gives to the 11 disciples/Apostles in this passage:

- "Go and make disciples of all nations."
- "Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
- "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you."

I've been struggling lately with making the link between Jesus' clear commands to his 11 closest original disciples (the other one Jesus chose betrayed His very life), and those also being the direct commands to us today. If you have any thoughts or input about making this link, please post your comments here or send me a message on Skype/Twitter/FB/MySpace/my Yahoo email address, my Gmail email address, my other Gmail email address, my really old Hotmail email address, or just send some old fashioned snail mail to:

Brett Emerson
B.P. 802
Kara, Togo, West Africa

That should cover it. Grace & Peace!

Hearing & Doing - Shema Living

2009-10-05T02:16:00.002-05:00

Our team is currently engaged in a season of seeking God's direction for our work. Much of what we are studying together stresses obedience to God and His commands, many of which were given through Jesus. What is obedience, exactly? From reading The Shema in Deuteronomy 6, my friend Matt came up with a great definition: Obedience is hearing and doing. I plan to blog some bits and pieces of our studies together, focusing on specific scriptures (hearing) as well as my response to that scripture in my daily life (doing). Today I'll start with Deuteronomy 6:3-9.

"Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

In response to this scripture, I will lead my family daily in reading God's Word. I will also search the accounts of Jesus' life to better understand how I can obey my Lord.

May we all not just hear God's Word but obey it as well!

Grilled Sweet Corn and Male Bonding

2009-09-15T08:28:00.005-05:00

Some guys bond over beers, some over football, some over video games, the outdoors, etc. Here in our place we bond over grilled sweet corn...From left, Patrick, Eric, Akla (I hope that's a not a gang sign), and Horou. A small portion of our harvest of sweet corn, the seeds of which came from a small feed store near Montgomery, Alabama. The guys trying to prove who is the most manly among them by flipping the sweet corn on the grill with their bare hands....for me, I prefer my grilling tongs :) Eric, our day worker. A devoted Catholic with a mean corn eating face! Patrick, student at University of Kara and the best car detailer in the prefecture! Akla, my adopted son, rabbit guy, dog walker and high school student. Horou, a hard working, do everything kinda guy. This year he is beginning university! Jolie, our adorable little German Shepherd puppy. Our dogs love corn, a fact which is most easy to see when we clean up their poop in the yard :)

I thank God for the young Kabiye men in my life, these and so many others. May our relationships continue to glorify God and further His Kingdom!

Travel in Togo

2009-09-14T11:39:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder why life here is so crazy? You can read about a recent travel day that I had in Togo here, well explained by my friend and colleague, Jesse Shanks. Thanks Jesse for taking the time to write the story and share the pics!

It's Harvest Day!

2009-09-05T17:51:00.005-05:00

We harvested our sweet corn (seeds brought from America) a few weeks ago. The whole family got involved as did many of our neighbors. The man in the hat is our day guardian.

As we pulled the ears off the stalks, we threw them into trunks...

when we were finished, we had five full trunks!

After everyone had left, Daddy let Caden have a little of his own fun in a sand pile out front....and I was wondering why he came in with sand in his hair. ;)
We blanched quite a bit of the corn for ourselves and gave away even more. It was so fun to hand out plastic bags full of ears of corn. If you haven't shared any food with your neighbors lately, I encourage you to do so...you will both be blessed.

Something You Should Know

2009-09-01T14:55:00.002-05:00

Eight years ago I married this handsome man  (Brett....not the monkey!)And I love him for reasons too many to list. He's still my best friend!   Read HERE about how we celebrated and how Brett pulled off a huge surprise for me :)

My God-Moment Yesterday

2009-08-13T08:58:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was one of those days where God seemed to put everything in place so His word could be shared. Immaculee came by to say thank you for some things I had helped her with recently. Often when she stops by it is just as I'm preparing lunch or dinner for my family and I'm not able to talk long...though she could talk for hours! I admit that a lot of my time with her has felt like wasted time to me. I wasn't sure why God had put this woman in my life...I'm still not sure, but He did give me a God-moment yesterday. We had been chatting for a few minutes about what was going on in our lives right now, all the while keeping an eye on Corban who was trying to play in the dog food. At some point, Caden decided to join us outside so now my attention was stretched between 3 people. Immaculee was telling me about a new family (a mother and three children) who were now renting her spare room. She was quite excited to have housemates again because she gets so lonely living by herself. The mother did not have the money to pay the usual three months rent in advance to secure the rental. Immaculee said she knew what it was like to be poor and felt sorry for her. She decided to help the woman out and let her stay and simply pay the monthly rent when she had money. I told her that she reminded me of a story in the Bible called The Good Samaritain. She had never heard it. About that time, Akla (the rabbit guy) showed up with a friend. The children followed him to the rabbits to play. I trust my children with Akla and knew he would let them play but not let them get hurt. This allowed me to turn my full attention back to Immaculee. I told her the short story and then decided to take it a step further. I went and got a French Bible and my English Bible. (If you don't know, Immaculee speaks French and English very well but is always wanting to improve her English so she can communicate with her daughter in America.) She read Luke 10:25-37 out loud in French and then I read it in English. She loved the story. And I loved the moment. As we were ending our discussion, Akla was leaving and the mosquitoes where coming out forcing us to end for the day. I have no doubt there will be many conversations in the future that will feel like wasted time between Immaculee and myself...but when God blesses me with moments like this one, it feels like it's worth it. As she was leaving, she asked me when I was going to give her a Bible. I told her, "For now, you can come and read mine". I hope she asks the next time she comes for a visit.

See Ya Soon "Miss" Ethel

2009-08-04T10:51:00.006-05:00

I heard a missionary say once that there are no goodbyes, only see-you-soons. But if you really knew it was your last time to see them would you be able to not say goodbye? Is it really goodbye? If we will one day see them again and their memories are forever with us then isn't it just another "see ya soon"?

As people living in a land that is not our own, we are never going to be comfortable with what goes on around us. I am beginning to learn this on a whole new level. Since our arrival in Togo, we have had to distantly say "goodbye" to six people and grieve in our own way. A wise friend recently told me, " Such is the life of a warrior and warrioress on a foreign field of battle. Foxes have holes and birds have nests--but we have no place to lay our heads." This is one aspect of our job that I was not prepared for.

The above picture is the only one I have of my family with Curt and Ethel Pemberton. It was taken on our 2008 furlough when the GracePointe elders and their wives had a dinner/meeting with us. "Miss" Ethel passed away Sunday morning. I have told many people that she was a woman that truly understood the daily blessings that God puts in our lives. I am so thankful that we were able to see her and spend time with her during our recent furlough in March/April. "Miss" Ethel was a woman of energy. A true gift from God...I don't know where else she could have gotten all that energy. She was an encourager, a provider, a servant, a helper, a grandmother to so many, and a lovely southern woman that loved God with all her heart. We will notice she is missing on our next furlough to Montgomery. Thank you "Miss" Ethel for the amazing example you were to me and my family. God has blessed us many times through you.

Please keep the Pemberton family and others at GracePoine as they mourn the loss of Ethel yet rejoice in knowing we'll see her soon.

Summer 2009

2009-07-26T16:19:00.003-05:00

One of our "jobs" as missionaries is to open doors for other to experience our life. We can try our best to describe it to you, but until you step into our world, there is no way to paint an exact picture. Every summer our team hosts a group of college students for two months. This year was no exception. They experienced life daily with us....living, eating, playing, ministering, praying, waiting, frustration, joy, team life, Togolese culture, we didn't hide anything from them. They were a great group to have in our homes and our lives have been impacted by them. Thank you to their friends and families that sent them to us with your blessings. God will continue to use their experiences here to shape their futures and we're thrilled to be able to watch Him work.

Jacob, Matt, Tyler, Josh, Abbie, Chelsea, Allison, and Maleah, thank you for blessing our lives.

Update On Antoinette (and my life)

2009-07-22T16:37:00.000-05:00

Antoinette returned from Tsiko with more waiting ahead. The blood analysis machine at the hospital there was broken so they suggested she return on Aug. 15th. In the meantime, they sent her home with meds to help with pain, depression, and energy. It’s now been two months that she has been sick. I’m getting more frustrated every day.

Picture your life like this....you’ve got a quaint little bakery that is within walking distance of your house. The next closest grocery store (of any kind) requires the use of your car to get there. But you don’t mind, you like your trusty little car. You have your weekly routine of strolling to the bakery twice a week for fresh white bread, banana bread (with the occasional zucchini bread), tortillas and tortilla chips, pie crusts and pizza crusts. You’ve become such good friends with the baker, that she shares other things with you like fresh squeezed lemon juice for lemonade or a delicious ham and cheese quiche. On Tuesdays you make your weekly trip to the grocery store with the occasional stop off at other place for a few staple items. Then imagine that suddenly your bakery closes. You don’t know why and you don’t know if or when it will reopen. Now you have to find a new place to buy your beloved bread items...or you could make them yourself. You don’t mind making these items, you just can’t make them as quickly or abundantly as your baker-friend. You’re watching your life become slowly more difficult. It’s Tuesday, grocery store day. Guess what? your car won’t start so you’ve got to find some other way to get to the store or your family won’t have anything to eat this week. Then, your dishwasher breaks. Are you getting the picture?

Now, obviously, I’ve exaggerated things a bit for you to get a glimpse of my life right now, but it is frustrating. I really don’t mind doing the extra baking, and actually enjoy it, but it’s difficult to do that with 2 toddlers demanding my attention. It’s taking a lot more planning in order for our week to run smoothly. With Antoinette, I could call on her at a moment’s notice to help me with anything....cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, running to the store for me...I just can not do this with anyone else as easily as I can with her.

Please pray for Antoinette’s health and my (April) perseverance as we wait for answers.

Pray for Antoinette

2009-07-10T10:51:00.004-05:00

Antoinette, our wonderful house helper, is leaving at 5:00 AM tomorrow morning to go to Tsiko, the Baptist Mission Hospital south of here. After a month or so of illness, her health continues to be a mystery to us and we ask that you join us in praying that the American doctors there can give her (and us!) some answers. Pray for health of safety of her three children that she is leaving at home.

Time for Survey

2009-07-05T02:42:00.002-05:00

It's that time of the year again, time to pack up the trucks and head to Mali to survey the Dogon people. So what's a survey? Good question. A survey is a trip to learn more about the need for missionaries among a largely unreached people group. In addition, we take a look at the logistical aspects of missionary life: what's available, how much it costs, what the government requires of missionaries and so on and so forth. Survey trips have resulted in mission teams locating to many fields all over Africa and the world over the last 20 years. As I write, in fact, there is a team of 10+ students at Harding University who are making plans to live among and minister to the Dogon people, a direct result of survey trips to Dogon land that our team has been undertaking since 2004. This is the 3rd year that I have been involved, and it has been eye opening to say the least.Please pray for our safety. Anything can happen on trips like these, and it usually does, and we are asking God to go before us and make our paths straight, in the West African understanding of straight at least :) Pray also for April and the boys, as they we be without me for 10 days. I praise God for my family and the strength that they have that allows me to make these journeys. May the Kingdom expand as a result of our efforts!

Goodbye Eli

2009-06-07T09:27:00.005-05:00

This morning Asiki came to us saying that one of the twins was in the hospital again. A few hours later, he returned to tell us that Eli had died. We are saddened of this news and are still trying to process it. There are mixed emotions running through us. This is not uncommon here for children to die before they are one yet is there something we could have done? We're thankful Eli was/is not Asiki's only child. As parents ourselves, it is never easy to watch someone lose a child. We are not clear what caused him to die, although, Asiki was saying he had "bad blood" again. It's possible that Eli had a problem that could not be handled here.

Our hearts are morning this loss...but know that Eli is no longer in pain. Pray with us for Asiki, his wife, and Elise (the other twin) as they mourn the loss of Eli. He would have turned one this month.

Pray For The Sick

2009-06-01T06:59:00.003-05:00

We've been back in Kara for about two and a half weeks. During this time, it seems people we love are becoming sick. There are three people specifically we want to ask you to pray for:

Antoinette, our houseworker, has been sick for almost two weeks. In the two years she has worked for us, I think she has missed work because of sickness three times. She went to the doctor who put her of medication for high blood pressure. Her daughter has been helping us at our house and I can tell she is concerned about her mother's health as well. Antoinette lost her husband years ago, if something happens to her, her three children will have no parents.
Erik's wife, I don't know her name, is sick. I don't know anything other than Erik did not work today because he was taking her to the doctor.
Eli and Elise, the twins, have been in the hospital. They were not eating. They are both doing better now, but I ask that you continue to pray for them to gain strength.

Through all of this we ask that you pray for our health and strength as well. Because life here is difficult physically, a simple headache can feel like an illness. We are thankful for each of our prayer warriors and praise God that you are in our lives.

Missing Home

2009-04-15T10:10:00.002-05:00

Veronique's Visit

2009-03-30T14:37:00.005-05:00

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you know about Veronique and her story of how she lost the ability to walk when she was a little girl. Just before we left Togo, she came to our home to share this excitement with us....

Veronique
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Together for Togo Updates

2009-03-25T15:26:00.001-05:00

We now have less than two weeks until the 2009 Together for Togo conference! Much prayer and planning have gone into this conference, with much more to come in the next several days leading up to the big event. We want to update you on three things in this email. First, the deadline to register, second, an update on the registration costs for the conference, and third, the conference schedule.

We would like to ask everyone who plans to attend the conference to please register by this Sunday, March 29th. This is especially important if you will be needing housing during your stay in Montgomery, since we will need the week before the conference to make the final arrangements on where everyone will be housed. If you won't know until the very last moment whether or not you will be attending, registration will be available at the door when you arrive, but housing will not be available for late registrations. Please visit www.togetherfortogo.com and register today!

We would also like to announce an updated pricing schedule for the conference. Registration for the full conference weekend is $65 per adult and $10 per child to cover the cost of food and other expenses. However, if you can only attend a portion of the conference, pricing is as follows: $25 for Friday only (includes dinner), $35 for Saturday only (includes lunch and dinner), and $10 for any single session (Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday evening) if you do not plan to eat with us for any meals. After registering at www.togetherfortogo.com, please make payment out to Grace Pointe Church of Christ, write 'Together for Togo' in the memo line, and mail it to Grace Pointe at 1565 Ray Thorington Rd., Montgomery, AL 36117. All funds will go directly towards the costs of putting on the conference.

We would also like to note that free housing will be provided for all out of town attendees. A big thank you to the members of the Grace Pointe and Vaughn Park churches for graciously offering their homes for the conference weekend.

Finally, we want to give everyone a heads up on the conference schedule. GracePointe will open it's doors on Friday, April 3rd at 4pm to begin the on site registration process, and the evening meal will be served at 6pm. At 7:15pm we will worship together and listen to a keynote speaker. On Saturday, April 4th, we will begin at 9am with worship time, followed by breakout classes and another keynote before lunch is served at 12pm. We will begin again at 2pm with more breakout classes which will continue until dinner is served at 6pm. We will have more worship time and a keynote speaker at 7:15pm before breaking for the evening at 9pm. On Sunday, GracePointe will have two services, at 8:00am and 10:15am, with combined adult classes in between. We look forward to sharing in these special times with everyone!

Please visit www.togetherfortogo.com today to register for the conference. We continue to ask that you be in prayer for the success of the conference and that God would be glorified as we gather to celebrate the advancement of His Kingdom in the tiny country of Togo. God bless you!

Furlough Time

2009-03-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year once again for our family, our time to leave our lives in Togo for several weeks and reconnect with our sponsoring church, our supporters, our family and our friends. Please pray for our time in the States, that it would be productive, restful, and full of God's sustaining grace. Hope to see many of you soon!

Our Team

2009-02-28T11:47:00.003-06:00

Pictured above:
-Reeves Family: David, Becky, Hannah, Elijah, Gabriel, Caleb
-Kennell Family: Mark, Nicole, Maddie, Michal
-Hangen Family: Matt, Grace
-Emerson Family: Brett, April, Caden, Corban
-Miller Family: Matt, Andrea, Abby, Aidan, Asher, AnnaMarie
-Teachers: Bennett, Daniel, Bekah

Not pictured:
-Stoff Family: Andrew, Julia (Albertville, France)
-Head Family: Ryan, Melissa (Memphis, TN)
-Richardson Family: Ryan, Beth, Katie, Jonah, Aaron (Memphis, TN)

Ever Wonder What Life is Really Like Here?

2009-02-27T04:05:00.004-06:00

We've always found it to be very hard to describe our lives and work here among the Kabiye to our loved ones back home in a way that they can truly understand. I think that an outsider's perspective is necessary for this job, and my father, Darrel Emerson, is currently undertaking the task. After their visit to Togo last November, my dad returned home and began blogging about his experiences. For an insightful, honest and enlightening series of posts about our lives here, visit his blog at http://darrelsafricanadventure.blogspot.com

Thanks for sharing your experiences dad!

Discernment

2009-02-27T03:34:00.004-06:00

This is Prosper. You might remember him from a previous post. He comes to our house every week or two, sometimes just to greet us, sometimes to bring us tomatoes or carrots, and often times he is coming to ask for money. We usually help him out with a small percentage of what he is asking for, which is mainly related to his health because of his age (he is 69, which is VERY old for a Kabiye person). He always thanks me and says, "God bless you", but it's his face right after I hand him a lot less than he asked for that rubs me the wrong way. His face says, "That's it? Are you kidding me?!" just moments before his mouth says "Thank you".

To be honest, my pride despises his reaction. Words like "ungrateful" and "manipulative" often run through my head after interacting with Prosper, but most times my compassion wins over and I receive him again the next time he visits. So my question is (and has always been as I struggle through benevolent giving in this foreign culture), "Where does God given discernment fit into this process?"

April and I could not possibly help every person that comes to our door or stops us on the street. We want to help as many people as we can, but we also don't want to create a group of people who are semi-dependent on our family. We're not going to be here forever. We want to find compassionate ways to help, but also creative ways. Righteous ways, but sustainable ways. Christ like ways, but discerning ways. You get the picture.

If you were reading this post and hoping for an answer to the problem, then I am sorry to disappoint you. It's more of a thought process post, something to spur myself and others on to holy thinking about poverty, our reaction to it, and the discernment that God promises us through the indwelling of His Spirit. Thoughts, comments and advice are definitely welcome!

2009 Together for Togo Conference

2009-02-19T16:01:00.001-06:00

Bi-annual Together for Togo Conference to be held April 3-5 at the Grace Pointe Church of Christ in Montgomery, AL

After much planning and prayer, we are pleased to offer you the chance to register for the Together for Togo conference. Held every two years and hosted by one of our sponsoring churches on a rotating basis, the conference is a weekend full of worship, fellowship, learning, caring and sharing about God's great work in Togo, West Africa. This year's conference features several speakers and teachers with strong, deep-rooted connections to Togo.

- Bryan & Tracey Ries were members of the Kabiye Team serving in Kara, Togo from August 2000 to May 2008. During their eight years in the field, they poured their heart and soul into loving and serving the Kabiye people. Bryan and Tracey currently reside in Franklin, TN with their three boys.

- Frank & Jenna Bunner were original members of the Watchi Team in southern Togo where they served for 10 years. Frank is currently a campus minister at Austin Peay University where he actively encourages young people to have an interest in missions.

- Tom Moore has been couseling mission teams in Togo for over 10 years. His understanding of what it takes to live and work in Togo has been a blessing to both missionaries and their sponsoring churches. His goal is to help missionaries live healthy and fulfilling work, team, and personal lives. Tom has a private counseling practice in Shreveport, LA.

- Stephen & Jennifer Presley have been members of the missions committee at the Homewood Church of Christ for 10 years. During this time they have also served as the contact family for Matt and Andrea Miller, members of the Kabiye Team. Stephen and Jennifer have blessed the Millers and the team by doing an exceptional job caring for them and by making two trips to Togo to visit and encourage the missionaries.

- Brett & April Emerson have been living and working in Kara for two years as members of the Kabiye Team. Their first trip to Togo was in 2003 as college interns, and they joined the team shortly thereafter. Brett and April are sponsored by the Grace Pointe Church of Christ, the host church for this years Together For Togo conference.

The cost for the conference is $65 per adult and $10 per child, and payment should be remitted in advance of the conference. We realize that these are tough economic times, but we also feel strongly that anyone with an interest in or connection to missions in Togo will be greatly blessed by attending. However, we don't feel that monetary concerns should stop anyone from being a part of the conference, so there will be scholarships available on a limited basis. Please reply to emersonstogo@gmail.com if you may be in need of financial assistance to attend the conference. We would also like to note that free housing will be provided for all out of town attendees. A big thank you to the members of the Grace Pointe and Vaughn Park churches for graciously offering their homes for the conference weekend.

Please visit www.togetherfortogo.com today to register for the conference. We would also like to ask that you be in prayer for the success of the conference and that God would be glorified as we gather to celebrate the advancement of His kindgom in the tiny country of Togo. God bless you!

The Twins

2009-02-17T09:51:00.006-06:00

Back in July, we introduced our supporters to these two little twins. Elise and Eli.

A few days ago, Assiki and his wife came to visit with the twins.

I could have played all day with these two little ones...so cute!

They are now around 8 months old and doing great. Thank you for praying for them and their family. Please continue to pray for these little ones as they grow and learn.

Drums, Dancing and Death

2009-01-31T15:09:00.002-06:00

The month of February is funeral month here in Kabiyeland (give or take a few days in January or March). Every Kabiye person who has died over the last year will be officially celebrated and honored with a funeral. Don't worry, they bury them shortly after they die and save the big celebration for February. There will be many times during the next month or so when we will see this exact scene repeated over and over as we visit villages or just travel around town. We know that we have a lot to learn about what this month really means to the Kabiye people, and we look forward to this month as a chance to deepen our understanding of Kabiye culture and (spiritually speaking) why they do what they do.

Kabiye Funeral
Uploaded by emersonstogo

This video was taken today as a Brett returned from a hike in the mountains with Daniel, one of our team's current school teachers...

What Is Skype?

2009-01-28T14:40:00.000-06:00

Skype
Uploaded by emersonstogo

You, too, can call us on our Skype number. It will only cost you what a normal long distance phone call costs (unless you are in Montgomery, AL, then it is free!). Another great thing about Skype is that it is only connected to our computer and will not wake us up in the middle of the night...so go ahead, pick up your phone and call...no matter what time it is, we'd love to hear your voice. 334.239.3109

My Adopted Son

2009-01-15T09:05:00.003-06:00

I've been working with Akla alot lately. We're building a new rabbit enclosure together, and I have enjoyed spending time with him. It's weird because I'm way to young to have a 17 year old son, but for some reason the relationship just works.

Last week Akla came to me with a form for school that needed signing, asking me to give my John Hancock where it said "Parent or Guardian". With his dad passed away and his mother illiterate, I guess that title falls next to me! It is an honor to have this father/son relationship with Akla, to study the Bible with him, to discuss Togo and America, to teach him things and to discipline him when he acts like a 17 year old. I thank God for my adopted son and the blessing of being in deep relationships with the Kabiye people that God called us to give our lives for...

One of the Many Reasons

2009-01-14T02:18:00.002-06:00

One of the many reasons I love our job of living in Togo...These yummy veggies (tomatoes and green beans) came from someone we have helped financially in the past. But it's not just a one time thing, we have had special deliveries from many of our friends. It is such a blessing to be thanked with the things that they have. Every time it reminds me of a different story from the Bible when someone gave what they could or what was precious to them. We chose to help these people without the expectation of ever receiving anything, so you can imagine the feeling to open the door one day to this enormous gift. I love this job.

Update

2009-01-06T15:44:00.002-06:00

If you read our previous post, we have some exciting updates for you. (If you haven't read it, click here). First, we have a correction to make. Our friend's name is Veronique (vair-own-eek). Secondly, we found out the history behind why she has been in a wheelchair when she came by this morning. She was climbing a tree nearly 15 years ago, helping her family with food, when she fell. Thirdly, during the holidays she was able to raise some of the money herself to be fitted for the braces which will able her to walk. We were so thrilled that she had continued to look for help rather than just waiting for us that we willingly helped with the rest of the costs for the procedure. And lastly, when we asked her when the procedure would take place, she let us know that the doctor said he would do it as soon as she had the money.

Please pray for this doctor, Veronique's family (she is married with three children), and especially Veronique as she learns to walk again. We look forward to sharing pictures with you in the future of Veronique with her "new" legs.

The Lame Walk?

2008-12-26T07:39:00.003-06:00

Our faith is being tested. One of our friends, Evangelique, went to the doctor recently, and the doctor told her that she may be able to walk again. Doubt immediately filled our hearts and minds; why is that? Is God not greater than the ailment that has kept Evangelique bound to a hand-powered wheelchair for all of these years? Please pray with us as God's plan for Evangelique and the role that we will play in her life is revealed...

My Parents Visit

2008-12-08T01:01:00.000-06:00

There are few things that could be more emotional for me as a missionary than having my mom and dad come to visit us here in Togo. For two wonderful weeks, we got to share our lives here with them in every possible way. They got to see the good, the bad, the really bad, the beautiful and the profound way that God is working over here. The best thing about their visit is that now they "get it". Having them play with our boys and enjoying their presence in our home was wonderful, but knowing that we no longer have to try and explain our lives to two of the people we love most is priceless. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip over. We'll never forget it!

Immaculee

2008-11-14T15:17:00.001-06:00

Being a mom of two very young boys, I have found my involvement in our ministry here in Kara to be quite different than what I thought almost two years ago before we arrived. I am more involved with the people that come to our home rather than who I meet out in the villages. I am perfectly content to be experiencing ministry this way as it allows me to be involved 100% in the ministry I am first called to...my family. There are a few Togolese women that I have developed relationships with. Most of them only stop by asking for help occasionally, making it difficult to build a strong relationship. Then there is Immaculee (ee-mah-que-lay).
Her story is an interesting one. More than 10 years ago, she was Immaculee Ward, living in Boston with her husband and baby girl. Now, she lives alone in Kara. She speaks English well but desires to improve it so she can have good conversations with her daughter, who is still in the States. She is eager to help me with my French while I help her with her English. While in America, she was trained as a hair dresser and desires to use this talent here in Togo too. Unfortunately for her, Brett likes my hair long. ;) She does what she can to have money to eat and buy soap. As a mother myself, I understand her longing to see her daughter again. It is that emotional connection that keeps me doing what I can to help her make contact with her friends and family in America. I explained to her last week that I do want to help her...but I want to help her in a way that insures that she can take care of herself in the future. Please pray for Immaculee as she struggles through daily life in Togo while desiring to be somewhere else. I also ask that you pray for me to have wisdom in knowing the best way to handle her situations...to help her, not to hinder her or her relationships.

An Erasable Message Board of Truth

2008-11-06T11:07:00.001-06:00

On a recent trip to Accra, Ghana, I snapped this pic by the side of the road. While this is a truly powerful message that rightly deserves it's place, the message itself is not what profoundly struck me. Here's what did...

First of all, this is NOT a church sign as you might suspect. This is a sign out in front of a lumberyard! In my home culture, this sign would only find it's place outside of a place of worship, put there for passersby to read and soak up in conjunction with the insanity of everyday life. I am a huge fan of truth in the midst of chaos, but what do these church signs that read, "No Jesus, No Peace, Know Jesus, Know Peace" really accomplish for the kingdom? Not much, at least not in my humble opinion. They are more for the church goer than the pagan neighbor type. The fact that a regular business venture would put this out in front of it's cedar and mahogany planks is foreign to my cultural norms...

The 2nd and most profound thing that I noticed did not come to me immediately, but only after driving past the exact same sign 3 days later. You see, this message is written on an erasable chalkboard, and when I passed by again after my time in Accra, it displayed an entirely different message of truth about God. This next time it said, "God is Eternal".

I hope that my life is like an erasable message board of truth. I hope that everyday, the people I encounter in my life and ministry in Africa can see a new truth about God just by observing the way I live my life. May it be so for all of us; may our lives simply and distinctly reflect truths about our God, our Savior and His Spirit that dwells in us...

Prayers for the Millers and Reeves

2008-10-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

Our teammates the Millers and the Reeves left last week for a 2 week survey trip to Rwanda. Both families plan on making the move to Rwanda sometime in the next 3 years or so, and this trip will help to pave the way for that eventual transition. They are a part of the Musanze Team, which also includes the Crowsons and the Koonces, our colleagues in southern Togo, and the Robinsons, who are currently in the States preparing for the big move. The Musanze Team, minus the Robinson family

Please pray not only for their comings and goings, but also that God would bless them with great experiences. Especially for their children, that God would use this trip to begin helping them deal with the coming uncertainty. Thanks and God bless!

How Did You Find My Blog?

2008-10-27T10:48:00.001-05:00

Following are the top 5 Google keywords from the last week that were typed in and eventually led to this blog:

1) "Flooding in Togo" (glad I could help make people aware of this problem)
2) "Akpema" (this is the female initiation ceremony for Kabiye girls)
3) "Three village football schedule" (I have no idea on this one...)
4) "Emerson's Mission" (we'd like to clarify that it's God's mission; we're just along for the ride!)
...and finally, maybe the greatest keyword that has ever led to this blog...
5) "Madness, it's all madness!" (this was said by our good friend Faires Jones while he was visiting us here in Togo; his words will forever be famous!)

These are just the top 5...somehow, people continue to find us in weird ways!

500 and Counting!

2008-10-23T02:15:00.002-05:00

508 to be exact. That is how many CFA we can currently get for 1 of our American dollars. The CFA (SEE-fah) is our local currency here in Togo. We get paid in American dollars just like everybody else, but we must then withdraw money from the ATM here in town to pay for anything and everything. Living in a 100% cash society has it's challenges, and the fluctuation of currencies is just one of them.

For several months the exchange rate was about 420 CFA for each dollar, which meant that we had a lot less money. Let me give you a simple math example. If I take $1,000 worth of CFA out of the ATM at 420 CFA for each dollar, I get 420,000 CFA. If I take out $1,000 worth of CFA at 508 CFA for each dollar, I get 508,000 CFA. The difference in these two transactions is 88,000 CFA, or about $175!!! As you can see, a lower exchange rate greatly reduces our buying power here. Considering that we take thousands upon thousands of dollars out of the ATM each year becaause we live in a cash based society, having the CFA back up around 500 is a huge blessing to our personal lives here, and it also lets us help people more in our benevolence ministry.

It's interesting to me that the quick rise of the exchange rate has come hand in hand with the economic crisis is America. I'm not an economist, and I don't claim to know why these two events are linked, but they are. We have been praying for everyone in America as the financial crisis continues, but it may help you to know that your missionaries are a little better off now than they were a few weeks ago :)

Reflections on the GracePointe Group

2008-10-15T03:27:00.002-05:00

I want to share some of my thoughts on the first group of visitors from GracePointe, our sponsoring church in Montgomery, AL. No disrespect to Charles Campbell, who was truly our first visitor (singular) :)
This group brought an amazing set of gifts to the table. It was well balanced, and the 5 of them meshed together incredibly well despite many differences, like life stage, age, personality, and on and on. One of the best things about living in community as Christ-followers is that none of that really matters! Even taking that last sentence into consideration, describing this group in many ways involves putting them into groups but please note that this group was in no way divided!
First Let me talk about Scotty and Faires. These two guys provided the spiritual guidance and thoughtfulness that the group needed. Scotty is a great preacher, and like all great preachers, he always has a word from God ready and appropriate to any given situation. The man lives and breathes the Word of God! He was also very gung ho and ready for just about anything at anytime. He provided us with some comic relief as well, sometimes in the moment and sometimes upon further reflection. Scotty loved the beauty of the area of Togo where we live, espcially the coconut trees :)
Faires is a man that is very intimate with God; he knows His heart and is known fully by Him. It's great to be around someone who is so in tune with spiritual matters. He also knows his place in relationship to God; I heard him call himslef a sinner living only because of God's grace on more than one occassion. Faires is very tough as well. There are very few 67 year old people who could endure the physical hardships of a trip to Togo with it's 10 hours car rides, awful roads and hot weather, but Faires is not your typical 67 year old man. I'm only 31, and I hope that in 36 more years I will be half as tough as Faires! The man is also genuinely funny. He kept us all rolling with his often random comments coming from the backseat of the car or with a playful jab at one of us. "Madness, it's all madness!" will forever echo in my mind :)
When I picture Scotty and Faires, I see them sitting together in our rocking chairs out on the front porch. Those two spent HOURS out there!The conversations about God that streamed in through the windows at all hours of the day or night were a blessing to me, even if they didn't know I was listening...
Betsy and Sheal Lea...what a tandem! These two are obviously good friends, but they are friends in a way that doesn't exclude others, but draws them in instead. Betsy is my sister-in-law, but you can just scratch the in-law part. She is my sister, and I love her very much. She holds the distiction of being the first member of the Emerson side of the family to make a visit over here, narrowly beating out my parents by a month or so. Betsy experienced life here to the full. She has the ability to realize the meaningfulness of a moment while she is still in the moment. She is also a very thoughtful person. We felt loved and cared about by her in a major way. She is an emotional person, sometimes more so than she lets on, and she allows God to use that emotion to bless others. Betsy is also a true seeker; she loves God and wants to know Him more. She is mostly quiet about her spiritual side, but that is not because it is small or not important to her. Her love for God runs just below the surface, and it guides her actions daily. She played alot with the boys too, which is not a stretch for her since she has 3 of her own, and Caden will definitely remember her being here and spending time with him :)Shea Lea is awesome. She is fun, outgoing, energetic, organized and mindful of others. She brought something extra to the group, that "go get 'em" type attitude that can be very infectious (although Faires never quite caught it!). The rest of the group claims that they would have been lost without her organizational skills, and we could see that in her as well during her brief time here. One of the greatest things about Shea coming here was how passionate she became to be an advocate for us and to even join the GracePointe Missions Committee. We love knowing that we have another strong person fighting for us back home :) On a personal level, I realized that Shea and I have tons in common. We grew up during the same era, and we have lots of common experiences in our pasts. I enjoyed getting to know her as a friend during this trip! To top it all off, she makes awesome balloon animals, and she was a big hit with all of the Kabiye kids she interacted with :)Finally we come to Susan. Let me say first thing that Susan was one of the best visitors we have ever had over here, and a personal favorite of mine. She is the kind of person who loves people and refuses to let language be a barrier, using instead an endless supply of smiles, hugs, hand gestures and silliness to connect with them and communicate God's love. It pains me that an accident where she hurt her foot and neck cut down on her time out and among the people. Seriously, it pains me! I loved watching her out in the village those first couple of days, and the picture of Susan smiling and laughing as some village children touched her hair will be the one that I always carry with me. Susan is also a wonderful mother figure to April and I. She has that loving quality and compassion that only mothers who have raised grown children truly have, and she embraced April and I with that love. I know that God smiles when he watches Susan live her life, and she is a joy to everyone around her as well :)In summary, we were incredibly blessed by these 5 as individuals and as a group. The only thing we would have changed would have been more time with them, as they only had about a week to experience a month's worth of our lives and work. They just scratched the surface, but they did it with joy, great attitudes and a desire to learn. To Scotty, Faires, Besty, Shea Lea and Susan: We love you deeply, and we thank you for making the effort and sacrifice to come so far and visit us. We now have 5 people who better understand our lives and care immensely for us, and that will live on for a long time to come. God bless you!

Africa Moment #9 - Ghana 4 Obama

2008-10-10T12:22:00.000-05:00

I guess this is more of a series of Africa moments. I have been informally interviewing alot of Africans lately, and they have so far been 100% for Senator Obama. It would be completely normal to see dozens upon dozens of Obama '08 bumper stickers, shirts, hats and even large banners on the streets and malls of just about any town in America. But to see this in Togo and even more so in Ghana just seems strange.
It shows me that the world is watching; it also shows me that many of these residents of small West African nations care more about who is president in my homeland than I do! I readily admit my apathy towards politics, but this election has something special about it, and its not Senator McCain :) Not since I was living in Italy in the fall of 2000 and saw the craziness of the Bush/Gore debacle unfold from afar have I been at all interested in who is running things. This year I may just drive the 6 hours down to the American Embassy and cast my vote. It would be incredible to think back and realize that it was a group of Ghanaians I met at the Accra airport while waiting for visitors to arrive that inspired me to jump back into the politial process!

Childhood Memories of Church

2008-09-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

I have some vivid memories of what church was like when I was little. I remember how my friends and I would wait completely impatiently for the mandatory Wednesday night pre-Bible class worship time to be over so we could race upstairs to our room... Who finished first on a weekly basis was of the utmost importance in our lives. I remember every Bible class teacher I ever had, from Miss Ruth, to Miss Cindy, to Mr...oh wait, men aren't allowed to teach Bible class to kids until they are in high school :) Before that, it's a woman's role (please acknowledge the bleeding sarcasm in that sentence!).
What will my kids remember about church? I ask myself that most Sundays. Will they have any recollection that they were the only kid with the same color skin as them? Or will they be color blind, as we all should be? Will they remember chasing chickens and goats? Or will they remember being chased by African kids who would give anything just to touch their curly blond hair? Will they remember being passed around from woman to woman, each one taking their once in a very long while turn with the Yovo baby? Or will they remember passing person after person on the road, wondering if they have yet come to know Jesus? Will they remember playing on the wooden logs being used to prop up the falling mud wall of the church building? Or will they remember playing on the jungle gym at our traditional Sunday afternoon lunch spot?Whatever it is that my boys remember, I desperately hope that they remember it well. Our time in Africa will always be a part of who they are, and I want that to only be for the better. I pray for my boys each and every day, that they will be better people for what they have experienced here. Their memories will be different than just about everyone else's, and I trust that God will use their unique upbringing to bring glory to His name...

Light And Momentary Troubles

2008-09-07T08:04:00.002-05:00

We have become somewhat accustomed to the trials of living in Togo, often expecting bad things to happen for no good reason. What we have not learned is how to predict the crazy things that happen to our family. What kind of things you ask? Well, let us give you a small glimpse into the "light and momentary troubles" we have experienced these past few weeks. We don't write this to gather sympathy but to remind ourselves to see God's blessings amidst the trials.

First this...
Can you figure it out? That's the dryer on the right of the picture. Here's what happened...We had called our friend Adam (who is an amazing electrician!) to come fix a few small things for us. When he arrived it was raining; when he left it was raining. Not 3 minutes after he left we noticed the microwave was not on. Through some investigating of our own we discovered there were several sockets in the kitchen not working. We attempted to figure out which breakers ran those sockets. As Brett was flipping switches, we heard an odd buzzing sound. Within seconds we were smelling smoke. As we searched for the source, we discovered the smoke in our small laundry room. Thankfully the fire had stopped when we turned the breaker off. The wall around the socket was black and the dryer plug was completely melted into the socket. We quickly called Adam to return! He worked all afternoon to repair our problems (including the non-working sockets in the kitchen), even cleaning the black soot off our wall. Now this is NOT a common practice in Togo. Most workers do their work and leave their mess for someone else to clean up. But Adam, he took the time to not only clean up his mess but also the damage that had occurred before he even arrived. Aside from the cost of a few parts for the job, his labor only cost us $10! This is not the first time Adam has been a blessing to our family.

The other crazy occasion we experienced occurred about 3:30 one morning. Yes, I said morning. The weather has been very comfortable during the rainy season allowing us to sleep with the windows open (sorry Southerners who are experiencing heat during the day and night, but you have A/C anywhere and everywhere!). We were startled awake by the window blowing our curtains parallel to the ceiling. We both bolted out of bed and began rushing around closing windows as we knew the rain was either falling or would be very soon. I (April) began with our room as Brett (I learned later) headed for the playroom. We met at the boys' room. As I walking down the hall to the living room, I watched Brett slip and fall. The following thoughts happened at lightning speed: how could Corban's slobber still be on the floor, oh wait, that's water, oh my goodness, I can see the water in the air, oh no! the rain is flying in the windows! Brett are you OK? Quick, close the windows. It was at that moment we discovered that EVERYTHING was wet...tile floor, rug, couch, toys, computer, wooden chair (that we now know is stained because it was running off the chair onto the floor), pictures, walls, car seats and shoes (that were on the porch). We mopped up what we could, turned on the fans, and went back to bed. What else could we do? Nothing. Everything seems to be back to its original state and has dried out nicely.

We praise God that no one was injured during these two crazy experiences. It has taken me several days to put this post together. During that time Satan attacked our family once again. Brett seemed to catch a virus the guys on the team were passing around and Caden has something that is causing him to have diarrhea. I have never changed so many cloth diapers in one day! This is part of the reason it has taken me several days to write this post. So I ask you to pray for our family. For healing. For protection. For peace. For wisdom to see the blessings amidst the trials.

May we all learn to see the blessings of God during the times of joy and the times of stress.

Well Project Update

2008-08-28T04:15:00.001-05:00

The well project that many of you have been praying about and even contributing funds to has had to be put on hold. Because of the excessive rains, the ground has become too saturated to drill. David Reeves (the lead guy on the project) decided to stop until at least the end of September and maybe even into October. This also has the advantage of allowing the villagers to finish up their work in the fields and harvest their crops, which will free more people up to help in the drilling process.
The drilling is very cheap to do but is also very labor intensive. Free labor is easy to come by when you are offering people a clean water well right near their home! Here are some pictures that I took out in the village of Ewede that show a little bit of the process. Basically you have two people shoving the pipe with the drill bit on the end into the small hole (about 4 inches in diameter) while two or more people pull on the rope that is attached to the pipe to help pull it back out of the hole. By some process I don't really understand, the water, dirt and sand is sucked up through the pipe and spit out onto the ground beside the hole. I can tell you from personal experience that this is hard work! It seems to use muscle groups that I have apparently never used even once in my entire life. Of course, the Kabiye take it all in stride an work as tirelessly as I would if I were merely raking leaves or washing my car. Seriously, those guys are amazingly tough and hard working! I always tell them, "Malaki tumiye ne mo noo deke", which means, "I only do work with my head". They always laugh at me in a slightly dismissive way :)Finally, this little guy wants to know, "Are YOU praying for the Kabiye and the Well Project?!?!?"

Africa Moment #8

2008-08-25T15:17:00.000-05:00

If you're ever living in Africa and missing the comforts of home, why not try "Al Donalds"? They may only have one arch, but they have lots of mediocre, over-priced food, and that is all we really want, right?

Yes, it exists (in Lome'), and yes, we ate there. You even get your food in a dirty black plastic sack!!! Ah, Africa...

Internet, Schminternet

2008-08-16T04:57:00.000-05:00

Who needs the internet, really? Truth be told, we all do, in one way or another. Here in Togo, we have set up our lives to be somewhat dependent on a reliable internet connection, and as I sit here and type, I realize that we may have made a mistake on the front end :)

So few things are reliable here. After our house was struck by lightning almost 2 weeks ago, we didn't expect to have our phone line repaired (and thus our internet) for quite awhile. Even after visiting the telephone company office and being assured that a technician was on his way, we knew better than to really think that it would happen. And so, 2 weeks later, our phone line is finally fixed...but the internet still is not working. I'm sitting at a local restaurant that happens to have wireless internet (a marvel in and of itself) and pondering my next move. We have set up our lives to be dependent on the internet; after making that bed, we are now lying in it :)

My mom said that we must be doing some good things over here because bad things keep happening to us, and maybe there is wisdom in that. We will continue to take it in stride, and we ask everyone back home to do the same with us. We may not get back to you in a timely fashion, but we will eventually, we promise. We love and value you all so very much!

Severe Flooding in Togo

2008-08-02T01:12:00.000-05:00

You may remember that last year there were dangerous floods that killed and displaced thousands of people in northern Togo. Well, chaos is reigning once again, but this time the entire country is being affected. Torrential rains have done much damage already, including flooding fields, knocking out bridges and even taking lives, and the rainy season is not even close to being over. I am not exaggerating when I say that the country in many ways is teetering on the edge of disaster. You can read more about the current flooding here and here.

Please pray for our country and it's people as you read this post. Keep all of us in your prayers in the coming weeks, asking God to bring order to the current chaos. The flooding will surely affect our lives in some ways, in fact it already has, but it will be nothing compared to the suffering of the Togolese people living in villages and rural areas where the water gets out of control. Please Lord, have mercy!

Akpema (God-Honoring Edition)

2008-07-27T10:29:00.004-05:00

The traditional Akpema dancing
This past Saturday we attended an Akpema ceremony in the village of Kaacaade. Akpema (Ahk-peh-mah) is a traditional Kabiye ceremony that signifies a young girl is passing into womanhood. You can read a short article about it here. Normally this ceremony involves sacrifices, nudity in front of wide-eyed young men and sitting on a rock in front of village elders. Once on the rock, it is said that if the young woman lies about her sexual history, a swarm of bees will be released. If she has had an abortion, a python will appear between her legs.We enjoyed a great meal of rice with hot sauce and sulum after the ceremony, Yum!

It is easy to see that this is not a healthy cultural tradition that should be carried on in it's traditional form. Our team has encouraged the Kabiye Christians to come up with spiritually healthy alternatives to these traditional rites and ceremonies, and on Saturday we experienced our first taste of what that can look like.

While still incorporating aspects of the traditional ceremony such as ritual dancing and singing (see video above), the Christian Akpema put on by this Christian family also included songs of praise, prayers, blessings on the young girl, and the taking of the Lord's Supper. Afterwards a huge meal was served, and a joyful, happy atmosphere was in the air.This little girl had the best time out of anyone in attendance. Her joy was evident!

What a blessing it was for our family to attend this ceremony! Not only was it a very interesting and thought provoking afternoon, but above all, God was honored within the Kabiye culture. We have not come here to change this culture or to make the people like us and adopt our cultural norms; we have come to preach the Word that testifies that Jesus is Lord, confident that God will work within this culture to advance His Kingdom. To see that happening makes our insides sweet!The team ladies with the young girl, now a woman!Corban loved the singing and especially the drums

Elise' and Eli

2008-07-23T09:47:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, a man named Assiki came into our lives. His wife, Lydia, was having an emergency birth at SOS, the crisis pregnancy clinic here in Kara, and he came to our house to ask if we could help them. We're not sure how he found our house (we haven't asked), but we're glad that he did. We had been praying that God would give us people to have relationships with in our neighborhood, and even though Assiki and his family live in a village about 10 minutes away, it was close enough :)Well, it turns out the birth was twin boys!!! They are named Elise' and Eli, and they were born 8 weeks premature; so far they are doing well. In the States they would undoubtedly still be in NICU or at least under pretty constant watch, but we are in Togo, and they were sent home just 3 weeks after they were born. We were able to visit them at their home recently, and we prayed for them and let them know that we are here to help whatever way we can. Assiki and Lydia are not yet Christians, and we are excited to see what develops in their relationships with God in the coming weeks and months. Please pray!!!We included this picture of Caden with the twins to give some perspective. Caden weighs about 25 pounds, and when this picture was taken, the twins weighed 1.6 and 1.8 kilos, respectively. That's about 3.5 pounds and 4 pounds! Please pray for their health, which is in God's hands...

I Love Our Community of Believers

2008-07-17T03:16:00.002-05:00

Sometimes they can be frustrating, but I must say that I love our Kabiye brothers and sisters so very much. Today one of the village church leaders rode his bike about 20 km all the way to my house just to let me know that his son has accepted Jesus and is going to be baptized next weekend. He asked me to come and to bring my whole family to celebrate with him. Praise God! I thank Him for sweet little joys amidst the hard work and struggles :)

UPDATE: Eyabene spoke to me in Kabiye, which I don't understand as well as French, and another teammate just informed me that 1) he was talking about his daughter, and 2) she's not getting baptized, but rather they are attempting to take a Christian approach to the female initiation ceremony. Ah, the joys of language learning! I'm actually impressed with myself that I understood as well as I did :)

The "Rabbit Guy"

2008-06-29T04:42:00.002-05:00

If you keep up with our family blog,

you might remember this guy:

He came to us with rabbits and has faithfully come to our home every day since Oct.'07 to feed and take care of them. We have increased his jobs as he has shown incredible responsibility for a teenager. He now takes care of our first set of bunnies, walks our dog daily, and even found us a bird for a cage we bought on the side of the road. One of the things I love the most about this young man is how he plays with Caden. He lets Caden hold the rabbits (sometimes a scary thing to witness), kicks soccer balls with him, helps him learn to learn throw balls, pulls him in his wagon, pushes him on the swing, and brings his nephew over for Caden to have someone to play with.

Just yesterday when I told Caden he needed to have shoes on if he was going to stay outside , Caden grabbed his sandals from me and took them to AklaEsso (his name means, "Who is greater than God?").

Several weeks ago, AklaEsso's father passed away. He came to work one afternoon and Brett noticed he seemed sad. (He is usually a very smiley guy.) When we found out what had happened, we gathered what food we had that we could send home to his family. About a week later, his mother, aunt, and sister all came to greet us and thank us for the food and more specifically for the work we give AklaEsso to do. We were proud to share with his family how thankful we are for him and the work that he does.

On Saturday, AklaEsso was baptized into Christ!

He invited Brett to the baptism and he gladly accepted the invitation. You see, AklaEsso's father at one time had told his son that he was not allowed to go to church. We prayed and were making plans to talk with his father when one day he just decided to allow AklaEsso to return to church. We praised God with him and continued to pray for his spiritual journey. Witnessing this incredible step was a joy to see and a blessing to be a part of.

Planting New Hope With Tears

2008-06-17T06:53:00.001-05:00

The following is something one of our interns, Ben Fulfer, wrote in response to a few things he has witnessed recently while experiencing life with the Kabiye. We thought some of you might enjoy seeing things through a new set of eyes. Please take the time to read this...you will be blessed.

Trees are something to admire. They do so much and they do not get any props for it. A few things they do for us humans are the following: they give us shade, they let off oxygen (which we need to breathe), they can provides us food (fruit trees), they give us wood, and the list can go on and on. So when I went planting Mango trees in Africa for a cluster of small churches in the local villages I was excited. The trees were giving so much to those churches. We planted Mango trees, ninety three of them to be precise, around three churches. Those churches could now have a way to have shade, food (both mentioned earlier), but they also would gain respect by others in the villages. By planting these trees we were planting so much more than just planting more than bark and roots and leaves but we were planting hope for that church and the lives of the people in the villages. The people around those villages would see those trees as a beacon for something more to their lives, at least that is our hope. The feeling that was pumping through my veins as I saw the brilliant faces of the families we were helping you realized that these trees were a lighthouse in a dark place. The fruit from their branches would bring up strong willing kids and bring income for the church at the same time. I could not help but be filled with hope.

There is another thing that I could not forget about trees. That is, they do not sprout up in one day. By planting these trees we were depending on that church to take care of these trees and groom them into their full potential. They needed to bring water to the roots of the young trees. They needed to know that without their help this trees would not make it. But with their help these trees would grow to be strong centers in their churches. The bringing of life to these trees inspired and made me wanted to jump with joy.

A few weeks ago as we were digging wells in the village of Lassa Tchou and a older woman came to us telling a sad story. She told us of the recent death of a lady in the village. The lady who died had left a 9 month old baby behind. This baby's father, a man not of faith, decided that the baby was lost and left the village, in turn leaving the baby to die. The woman told us that the grandmother was taking care of the baby as best as she could but the baby had no way to get the milk it desperately needed (the lady was trying to get one of our team's girls to breast feed as we later found out). Well over the next few days and weeks we prayed for this baby. We continued to call and ask about the health and situation of the baby. We were told by his family that he was doing okay, but was not eating. So just a last week one of the missionaries went to the village and picked up the baby for they feared the babies condition was getting worse. When she (the missionary) got their she found a baby that looked more like a skeleton. The bones of this poor child of were so apparent and visible. She rushed him to a local hospital where the doctors tried to get the baby some food. The news came that the baby should pull through which relieved us all. However around lunchtime at that same day we got the news that the little boy died. The rest of the day was a rush of emotions as the missionary, myself and one other intern took the boy's family and body back to Lassa Tchou. When returning to the village we saw the village come and share a few words to the family. We (missionary, myself, the intern, the grandmother and what I assume to be an aunt of the boy) went into a hut and prayed over the lifeless body of the boy.

That day rattled me personally, for so many thoughts went running through my head. How could God, a God who had showed me two days earlier the hope of new life through planting trees, show me the terror of the loss of this baby's life. I hated the fact that this boy's life was taken and he had not even had the chance to experience life. I thought it was so unfair that I get the chance to experience all I have in this life, and that boy got to experience next to nothing.

On the car ride out to the village I watched the baby's family and the tears welled up in my eyes. I badly wanted to say something but I did not have any words (plus I do not speak their language). I wanted to know why God did not come down and show the boy the same hope he showed in the trees that I planted a few days earlier. The boy's family were not Christians, what did that show them? Did they show them they should come to Christ and watch their children die? This thoughts came like rapid fire to me and I was a crying mess. I tried so hard to fight it off for Africa culture does not show much emotion. But the pain was to real to bare.

I never want to be God, he has a hard job. However at the same time he is really good at what he does. I do not know why he allows children who are 9 months old die because they cannot eat. I do not know why he allows war to ravage our world. I do not know why he does a lot of the things we does. I know that God has given us free will and the chance to choose what we want with our lives. How cool is that? That the most powerful being allows us to choose our lives! However with that choice comes the messy sections of our lives. The dark places, for sin is ever apparent. God showed me over and over in my life that he can work through hard, messy, crappy situations. You know what, he can't stand that those things happen. He was hurt to his core just like I was that the boy died. However, God is so powerful that he can take that bad situation and make something new. I pray that through that situation something radical happens. What that looks like I have no idea. I hope that some how that those people saw Jesus through what happened through last week. Maybe the family of that boy saw some kind of love that they never have before, maybe their grief will spur them to ask questions about this universe. I have no idea. I just have the prayer that God will work his unmatched power in this crappy situation. Let us look at this way. While I was there crying for the immense pain of the family, I hope those tears fall and start making a puddle. A puddle of hope that begins to water a seed that God planted. And that seed turns into a tree that bears fruit that is eternal.

So I hope this inspires Christians to stop looking at things in the way of good and bad. Let us start looking at everything through the eyes of Jesus. Does that mean bad things will never happen. No! Does that mean we have to be super happy all the time and being that annoying non-sensitive kid. No! What it means when we laugh, laugh with the voice of God. When we dance let us dance with a total jig towards God. And when we cry let us cry tear of hope. For through my laughter God can show joy of bigger things. And through my sight we can see faith of the full potential of God's plan. And finally through my tears I hope to being planting new hope, and maybe I can enjoy some sweet mangos while I am at it.

You can read more about the Lassa Tchou (la-sa cho) infant who died by clicking on Becky Reeves' blog.

Language Learning

2008-06-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

I want to give an update on my progress and also share some thoughts on language learning. After returning from our furlough during the month of April, I jumped right back into my Kabiye studies. The process looks a little different now than it did before furlough, but the idea is still the same: get out and speak it!Working on a lesson I wrote with Eyabane, a leader in the church in the village of Kaacaade

Instead of having class 4 times a week and studying straight out of the book, my language teacher and I have adopted a strategy of thirds. One-third book study, one third translating (English or French into Kabiye), and one-third heading out to the village together to get practice/correction/guidance in a hands-on way. So far, I am enjoying and benefiting most from the translation portion of my study time; I think this is because it helps me to see more clearly that Kabiye people don't say things the same way that I say them. Seeing something in English and then turning it into Kabiye sheds alot of light on the Kabiye way of phrasing things. The cool thing is, I am actually starting to think that way sometimes :)
Playing a Mancala-type game with my friend Nestor in the village of Legue Legue
Language learning is a funny thing. Just when you start to feel a little confidence in your abilities, you get knocked down and have to drag yourself up again. The ups and downs are full of both joys and frustrations, with very little in between, at least for me. I have found it to be an ever-evolving process, with some strategy or approach working well one day and then being barely useful the next. I have also found that it is a series of milestones and small victories. In the picture above, I am playing Mancala with my long-time friend, Nestor. We met on my internship 5 years ago and have spent alot of time together since then. Over the years, we have probably played about 20 or 30 games of Mancala, and I have never won; until this past Saturday!

Yeah, it's just a small victory, one win out of 30, but it gave me great joy. I immediately saw it's symbolic nature in relation to my language learning, showing that while they may be few and far between, a series of small victories will eventually win me fluency in the hardest task I have ever taken on: learning the Kabiye language.

Finally, I want to stress how I have seen that language is gift from God that only He can give. He formed the Kabiye language and knows it even more intimately than the Kabiye themselves. Please Lord, open my mouth to speak and my ears to hear!

2008 Interns

2008-05-26T15:37:00.000-05:00

Our summer interns (there are 12 of them) are on their way to Togo. Please be praying for safe travels and for God to impact their lives this summer.

Semi-Final Furlough Thoughts

2008-05-08T17:50:00.000-05:00

I know that I'll post again on this subject once I have done some processing, but for now I want to just throw some stuff out there while it's still fresh :)

- On the 8th day God created Malibu, California. My word that place is amazing!

-On our last Sunday at GracePointe, we were fairly anonymous; no big parade or blowing trumpets for our imminent return to Togo. And you know what? That was just the way we liked it. Being a missionary means that quite often you are in the spotlight. Whether you're the only non-Kabiye at a village church service or the only people who can pronounce the word Kabiye in an American one, the spotlight often burns bright and definitely gets old. I don't know how preachers do it every Sunday. Kudos to you, gentlemen!

- I'm just going to be open and honest here: sometimes when people find out that you are a missionary, you end up getting stuff or services for free. And you know what? I love it :) God touches peoples hearts in many different ways, and I am thankful for the ones to whom he gives a deep love for missionaries. You know who you are, and thank you...

- Having a brother who is also a great friend really helps fill my life with joy...and to think that he used to literally torture me...proof of God's redemptive nature :)

- I love it when people get excited about coming to visit us. There were several people while we were home who expressed an interest, and even if only half of them follow through, we'll be busy with visitors in the years to come...

- I really enjoy seeing movies in the theater. The atmosphere, the popcorn, the giant thing of pop, the candy, the cuddling up next to April (when the boys aren't there), all of it. We took Caden (and sort of Corban) to see his first movie, and it was a blast. We saw Horton Hears a Who and we highly recommend it. "A person is a person, no matter how small"...

- I always thought that my nephews would bring me great joy, and then my own sons would come, and that joy would lessen. I was wrong...

- It's kinda too bad that most fast food is horrible for our bodies, because some of it is really, really good...I had this thing called (not making this up) "The Baconator" at Wendy's, and it was good, really good. Too bad my heart stopped momentarily just after the last bite...

- There are alot more people in America who seem to be strong in God's Kingdom than I previously thought. Maybe it was just a oversight on my part, but I am encouraged for the future of the Body in America. Lots of people, young and old and in between, are on fire. Maybe I just have a better understanding now of what "strong in the Kingdom" really means...

More later...

More Furlough Reflections

2008-04-30T00:46:00.001-05:00

One week to go for furlough 2008. It's been a great ride in every way, but we're getting close to being ready to be home in Togo. We say close because how can you want to go anywhere when you're enjoying Malibu??? :)

- HD television really is much better than the regular stuff.
- Drivers in this part of California are incredibly kind and courteous to pedestrians, and those same pedestrians do a great job of respecting laws and using common sense. This is literally the exact the opposite of my life in Togo.
- Tonight we sang songs old and new with a few thousand other believers, and I cried through the first 4 songs. My respect for corporate worship has never been at a higher level in my entire life.
- I love watching the NBA playoffs!
- Bonding with our sponsoring church takes a great amount of energy, and it is worth everything we've poured into it.
- We love our families, and not just because they are our families; we truly enjoy being around them.
- We have incredible friends and we are humbled by their love for us.
- We saw Uncle Sam Shewmaker and his better half Nancy tonight. What a blessing they have been to our lives and so many others!
- The #1 thing I would add to the list of things I can find to drink in Togo would be the Aloha Pineapple Smoothie (with an immunity boost) from Jamba Juice. #2 would be Blue Moon :)
- Theology in the Church of Christ is changing, and the change is for the better. Much of the messed up theology from the Church of Christ I knew growing up will soon be gone. I pray that my generation and the ones to come always search for a better understanding of what God wants from us and are always willing to grow and change as the Spirit leads.
- Everything is easy here in America. Seriously. REALLY easy!

Our Home in Togo

2008-04-19T08:26:00.001-05:00

Here is a video of our home in Togo. After many questions and requests for pictures and video of what our home is like, here is our response! You might want to grab a snack, it's kind of long...

Furlough Reflections

2008-03-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

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

2008-03-22T17:13:00.003-05:00

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

2008-03-18T09:49:00.001-05:00

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

2008-03-08T06:27:00.003-06:00

Kabiye_greetings
Uploaded by emersonstogo

February Family Newsletter

2008-02-28T07:36:00.001-06:00

You can read our latest newsletter by clicking the following link:

http://www.harvestfields.net/kabiye/Feb_08_Newsletter.pdf

Feel free to send it on to anyone else who might want it, or send us an email if you would like to receive it in your inbox each month.

Love and blessings,

BACC

Mandouri Flood Relief

2008-01-30T08:52:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, Matt and I loaded up two Landcruisers full of camping gear and Kabiye Christians (13 of them!) and made the 5 hour trek north to the town of Mandouri. The entire Savanes Region was devastated by widespread flooding after receiving a record amount of rainfall this past rainy season. This led to the destruction of a huge amount of the season's crops, and a subsequent food shortage that has crippled many of the people in this region in their ability to feed themselves until the next harvest. As usual, the very poor and vulnerable are the hardest hit. A widow who was given food. Widows can be very vulnerable in this society.

Mandouri is a city of the Gourma people, a group that we surveyed this past summer with our Harding University interns to see if the area is ready for missionaries. Matt has developed a friendship with a local pastor named Pascal, and when Pascal informed Matt about the situation, he began asking God how we might all be able to help. The answer came mainly in the form of a donation from Healing Hands International, who gave $6,000 towards the purchase of corn and rice. When put together with about $1,000 given by Harding University students and others, this past Monday we were able to distribute 220 sacs of corn and rice (keep in mind that the sacs of corn weigh over 200 pounds and the rice sacs over 100 pounds - this is ALOT of food!)Kpaatcha, and elder in the N'Djei church, taking notes of the event to share with his church family

Part of the vision that Matt had for this effort was to include Kabiye Christians in the endeavor, to broaden their view of the Kingdom of God and to be an encouragement to the Gourma Christians that were helped. The Kabiye churches banded together and gave about 2 full sacs of corn plus about 25 yams, a truly rich gift! We were reminded of the poor lady who, in spite of giving only 2 small coins, gave much more than the rich people who gave to show off their wealth. Praise God that He has instilled in our Kabiye brothers and sisters a passion to give generously! Kabiye Christians being interviewed by the Togolese National Press

Below is a slide show of pictures from the distribution. The spiritual implications of this day are still sinking in and will surely resonate for a long time in our hearts, the hearts of the Kabiye Christians and especially the hearts of those who were fed in Jesus' name. Our prayer is that God would use this event to expand His Kingdom here in Togo and beyond. Praise God for His mercy, compassion and love for all of His people! Matt, me, Pascal, the Prefet and the Kabiye Christians during the distribution

Kabiye Teaching Kabiye

2008-01-24T06:33:00.000-06:00

One of the benchmarks for a successful church planting movement is when native Christians express a desire to begin evangelism in villages near them. This has happened in several villages where our team was the original church planters, and yesterday I accompanied Matt to a teaching session led by Christians from the villages of Sande Te and Ajadaa. Here is the group (that is Matt sitting in the middle of the frame).
The village is called Kpangkulum, and it is a very remote village that is in the same district as Sande Te and Ajadaa. The session was led by these two men, Tchalo, from Sande Te, and Eyana, from Ajadaa. They are emerging young leaders who have a good grasp of what the Bible teaches about salvation through Jesus. Pray for these young men! One day they will be wise elders in their villages and in their churches, but in this season of their lives they are blessed with an energy and enthusiasm for spreading God's word! Matt has been involved in the process only in terms of helping out with transportation and giving some guidance when needed. For the most part, these brave young men are acting on their own faith and trust in the Lord.Teaching in Kpangkulum is at the halfway point. During this last visit, they talked with the people about Jesus' birth and baptism. There were many good questions asked, such as, "Why did Jesus have to be baptized?" and, "Why did John the Baptist have to come before Jesus?" Tchalo, Eyana and the others handled these questions very well and showed alot of maturity.

One of the biggest obstacles to any evangelism among the Kabiye is the stronghold that Satan holds over them through their traditional religion. We met just outside the chief's compound in Kpangkulum, and inside we found these two items:The first item is a fetish tree that has a prominent place in the middle of the compound. Notice the small concrete bowl that is built into the ground. This bowl receives sacrifices to spirits or ancestors.

The second item Matt and I are not totally sure about, but we think it's a fertility idol. Notice how the a hands of the wooden carved man are resting in the genital area. Holy Father, we pray that you would bring the people of Kpangkulum out of the darkness of their traditional religion and into the Light. Thank you for stirring passion for the lost in the hearts of the young men of Sande Te and Ajadaa, and I ask that you would give them strength, courage and absolute faith in Your power to change lives. We want Christ to be Lord in the lives of all Kabiye people! May it be so...

The Kennell's Are Here!

2008-01-16T01:45:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we welcomed Mark, Nicole, Madeline and Michal Kennell as a part of our team here in Kara among the Kabiye. (The only pic I could find of their family was this one with Mark Berryman, a good friend to our team. Mark Kennell is on the left.) Brett drove down to Accra with Matt to pick them up on Sunday, and then after a day in Accra for rest and shopping, we traveled back to Kara.

The Kennell's were original members of the Kabiye team that arrived here back in 2000, but they left after 2 1/2 years. Making a return after a 5 year absence takes alot of faith and courage, and we are excited to share in this new journey with them as teammates. God is going to do great things through them!

Please pray for the Kennells over the next several months as they adjust to life here. They will be returning to the States in May to wrap up fundraising and logistics, and then moving back for good sometime in the fall. We are so thankful that God is bringing more people to this team to work for the salvation of the Kabiye people!

December Newsletter

2008-01-09T07:37:00.000-06:00

To view our latest family newsletter, click on the link below or cut and paste it into your web browser. To subscribe and receive the newsletter via email, just leave a comment with your email address!

www.harvestfields.net/kabiye/Dec07_Newsletter

N'Djei Cluster Baptisms

2007-12-25T04:14:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday, 14 people from the villages of N'Djei, Ewede, Sogode and Kayahte put on Christ in baptism. This was particularly exciting because the wives and children of several Christian men completed the salvation of their earthly families by leading them into God's family! What a great gift for them to receive just before Christmas. Click on the videos below to see two of the baptisms.

N'Djei Baptism
Uploaded by emersonstogo

The best part for us as missionaries was that these Christians led each other to Christ, handled the baptisms themselves, and ask us to be there only to observe and celebrate with them. Having a group of such highly motivated and self-sufficient Christians is very fulfilling for our team and our work here. It makes our goal of a sustainable and self-replicating church movement among the Kabiye seem more real with every passing event such as this!

N'Djei Baptism 2
Uploaded by emersonstogo

You have to love Kpaatcha, an elder of the N'Djei church, doing baptisms in 90 degree heat while wearing a winter hat but no pants. A more African scene would be hard to find! We love these people and their culture so much, and we feel that we have the greatest job in the world to be able to share in their growing walks with Christ. Praise God!

Thank You!

2007-12-25T03:01:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to everyone at Grace Pointe and Sycamore View for all of the wonderful gifts you sent over with Charles and April's parents! What a special holiday treat! We love you all so much and thank you for your gifts of love.

Our First Visitor!

2007-12-17T01:29:00.000-06:00

This last week we were blessed with a visit from Charles Campbell, a member of the Missions Committee at GracePointe, our sponsoring congregation. Charles had the opportunity to see so much of what God is using our team to do among the Kabiye, and he came away with a much better understanding of life in West Africa. He experienced about the worst border crossing in border crossing history, and that probably isn't even his best story!

Thank you to GracePointe for sending Charles over here to bless our lives, and thank you Charles for being willing to come at the last minute. Thank you God for providing us with a great support system of family, friends and a loving sponsoring church!
Here is a pic of Charles bravely stumbling his way through his first Kabiye lesson. It's not for the faint of heart!

Finally, we want to thank everyone who has been trying to contact us by Skype, Facebook, email and blogs lately. Our internet has been very inconsistent since we arrived back in Kara, and we will not be able to talk on Skype until our internet is back to some kind of normalcy. We will try to keep updated on email as much as possible, so let's all hang in there together. You can still call and leave us a voicemail, and we will call you back just as soon as we can! (334)239-3109 (no international fees!) Please understand that we are just as disappointed as you are about not being able to talk to our friends and family. We love you all!

How Can We Help?

2007-11-18T08:43:00.000-06:00

So many people have asked us how they can help us in the wake of our truck tragedy from last month. The best ways right now are to 1) Pray for the fundraising process and 2) Make a donation to our New Truck Fund. We know that God will provide, and we are excited to see exactly how he does it...

To read more about what happened, scroll down and read our previous blog entries. To see a PDF we created to help in the fundraising process, click here.

Brett's friend Justin Baeder over at Radical Congruency helped us create a button that will allow people to donate to our truck fund online through Paypal. Paypal is 100% secure, and all money donated will go directly to the purchase of a new truck.

If you feel more comfortable sending a check (or you just want to deduct your donation on your taxes!), make it out to the Grace Pointe Church of Christ, mark "Emerson Truck Fund" in the memo line, and mail it to:

Grace Pointe Church of Christ
1565 Ray Thorington Rd.
Montgomery, AL 36117
Attn: Jerry Atkinson

Please join with us and make a donation to our Truck Fund so that we can continue the work God has called us to here in Togo among the Kabiye. God bless you!

Click the "Donate" button below to contribute using Paypal.

How Exactly Did You Find Our Blog?

2007-11-17T12:03:00.000-06:00

It's fascinating to see how people come to find our blog. Our Site Meter tells us where people clicked in from, including from search engines like Yahoo and Google. It also tells us what keywords were searched for to find us. Here's some search terms people have found us with over the last few weeks:

1. "July 18, 2007 Africa" - I guess we posted on this day, and we live in Africa, so.....

2. "Sam and Nancy Shewmaker" - Apparently they have a fan club that searches the internet thirsting for information about our good friends in Rwanda...

3. "Soumdina" - This is the partial name of a village where there is a Kabiye church...but how somebody in Athens, GA new that, I'll never know...

4. "Africa Adventures" - I have to admit, this one was very personally satisfying for me (Brett)...

5. "Toyota Hilux Wreck Pictures" - I have to admit, this one did not make me smile...

6. "West African CFA" - Our local currency, which you can learn absolutely nothing about by reading this blog...

This is just a small sample of how people find us here. Some people come by simply typing "Emersons Togo" into a search engine, but that's just not that much fun!

A Piece of History

2007-11-12T05:48:00.000-06:00

This past week our team welcomed Don & Jane Neal and their 4 children back to Togo, their home from August 2000 until February 2006. Our blog readers probably haven't heard of the Neals, or else you're sitting there thinking, "That name sounds vaguely familiar..." The truth is, we don't know them very well ourselves, but for some reason we feel like we do...

You see, the Neals are a huge part of our team's history. They were original members all the way back in the 90's when the team formed, and they lived and worked among the Kabiye for 5 years. Their family has definitely been a big influence on the team and the work among the Kabiye. We missed out on getting to know them during our internship in 2003 because they were on furlough, and we missed living with them in Togo by a little less than a year.

We had only met them once before their return trip this week, and that was only for a short afternoon at their home in Texas. On their return trip this past week, we only spent a few hours with them. They passed through Accra (where we are currently awaiting the baby) on their way in and out of West Africa, but the bulk of their time was, of course, spent in Kara.

But for some reason, we feel like we really know them...

Maybe it's the stories we've heard about them from our current teammates. Maybe it's the fact that we live in their old house! Maybe it's that we can see the mark they left on the team and the work here, even after they have been gone for almost two years now. Maybe it's that our families are both a part of something bigger than ourselves, something lasting, enduring and led by God. A team of families dedicated to bringing the gift of God's salvation to people who otherwise might not receive this gift.

We want to say thank you to Don and Jane, for who you are, for what you've done, and for all that you do to support the work here. God has been glorified through the lives you lead for Him, and we are so blessed to have you as teammates and as a piece of our team's history!

Kalao

2007-11-03T07:04:00.000-05:00

We have been meaning to post this for awhile, sorry for the delay. Recently our family came to know a man named Kalao (kah-LAH-oh). He lives in the same neighborhood as we do, and he heard from another person in the neighborhood that we were a family that helps people. When Kalao came to our door, he truly did need help.He is a taxi driver by trade, and a few weeks before he came to us, he had been in an accident that flipped over his taxi. His leg was injured pretty badly in the accident, and he is currently walking with crutches and is unable to work and provide for his wife and two year old son. The Kabiye are, as a general rule, very kind and humble people, and Kalao is even more so than normal. From the moment he stepped into our home he has been a blessing to our family.

Kalao’s doctor told him that he will not be able to work for the next 3 months. During that time, we are helping him to pay his bills and feed his family. Please pray that Kalao would heal quickly and be able to return to work. Kalao is a strong Christian, and we have confidence that his faith in God will help him through these hard times. We are so grateful to have a Father who does not leave us on our own, but constantly works for our good. May He do so in Kalao’s life!

Truck and Driver and Baby Update

2007-10-24T02:05:00.000-05:00

We want to let everyone know that we are doing some better. My teammates here in Togo would surely tell you that I'm still not myself, but I have been comforted so much by your words of encouragement and your prayers for us. April and I feel so blessed to have so many amazing friends and family...

Abalo, the driver, is home from the hospital. I visited him each of the last two days in his home. Now that he is better, it is VERY difficult to be around him. God is teaching me so much about forgiveness and grace. If I can't give it to Abalo, how can I receive it from my God? However, my human nature is not easily suppressed, so while needing to forgive and give grace is the spiritual reality, it is not that simple when you add my flesh to the equation. Pray for April and me. Ask God to overwhelm us with the grace and forgiveness we have received from him, and the spiritual strength to give the same to Abalo.

The first trip to Abalo's house was to get his first hand account of the story. I asked Matt to go with me to help me with communication and to make sure I kept my cool, and the visit ended up going ok. There are huge holes in his story, and while I''m not willing to call him a liar, I will at least say that he is probably confused on some of the details :) He was, however, apologetic. He actually thanked me for saving his life and for coming to visit him in the hospital. I thought the "saving my life" line was a little dramatic, but then he explained that he was in pretty bad shape at one point and the money we gave his family to buy him meds was pretty crucial.

The next day I brought the police to his house to get his information and a statement so they could finish their report. Now listen carefully to what I'm going to say hear: Under normal circumstances, I take no pleasure in cruelly scaring other people or making them just about wet their pants with fear, but I have to be totally honest here and admit that it was a guilty pleasure for me to watch Abalo squirm and twitch when the two policemen walked into his home with their full military garb on. Maybe God granted me that pleasure, who knows :)

We also found out that the truck is semi-salvageable. We did not have full coverage insurance since it costs about $10,000 a year, but we will be able to get about $8,000 - $10,000 out of it to put towards a new truck. Which means we still have lots of praying to do, but we feel blessed to have our amount needed cut from $40,000 to about $30,000. The truck is now resting in our garage, awaiting a mechanic from Lome' to come and assess the damage and see what we can get out of it...

And now, the baby update. Prell has been almost completely off of her feet for several days now, and the contractions seemed to have lessened. However, we are taking no chances with this little life, and we are leaving tomorrow for Accra to wait for the baby. Please pray that this little one will stay inside for a few more weeks....

While in Accra, we will be able to communicate regularly and would love to talk with you. You can reach us by calling 334-239-3109, a stateside number that goes right to our computer. It costs you only what it normally would cost you to call Montgomery, Alabama. Thanks so much to everyone for continuing to bless us. Please know that we are doing better and that God is sustaining us. I am personally clinging to this verse in Psalms, Ch. 65 vs. 5:

"You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior.You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas." NLT

May it be so!

Here is a pic from the last trip my truck ever took to a village here in Kabiyeland. Thanks be to God for blessing us with this truck, even if it was for a short time...

Newest Journeys

2007-10-21T09:44:00.000-05:00

We have had a rough week. If you haven't heard already, our truck was totaled in an accident (thankfully, we were not in vehicle) and April has begun experiencing early contractions. These are Brett's journal entries from Facebook.

Written Thursday, October 18, 2007
"Prayers Needed In Togo"

Long story short, our brand new truck is destroyed. I'm not really in the mood to recount the whole sordid tale, but I will say that a mechanic came to work on our truck, and we totally trusted the guy because he works for our team at the MK school and as a mechanic. He fixed a small leak our car was having and then took it for a spin to make sure everything was OK (please note, mechanics coming to your house to work on your car or take it to a garage is not the norm in the States but is common here). Turns out this man of normally strong moral character had a lapse in judgment, went for a joyride, drove fast and out of control and drove our truck off of a bridge. He is alive, but barely. God spared him for some reason, for as you can see by the picture, there is no rational reason why he should have survived.
This comes at a difficult time for us with April just 6 weeks away from her due date and us only two weeks from journeying to Accra to wait for the baby. We are trying to keep our heads up and not let our Adversary use this against us, but it is hard. However, we have felt God's presence through all of this mess and we're putting our faith in Him to sustain us and help us find the solution for the problem of getting a new truck.

Please pray. Pray for the man who was driving our car. His name is Abalo and he is a good man and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Pray for us that we would have peace. Pray for a solution and that God would provide for our family.

Written Friday, October 19, 2007
"Truck and Driver Update"

The man who was driving, Abalo, is going to make it, praise God. After 12 hours in a coma, he finally woke up, begged for some water and they hooked him up to an IV of pain meds. He was incoherent all day yesterday, but today I was able to talk to him. He is still in ALOT of pain, but God has spared his life. I hope he does something great with it...

We talked to an eyewitness who said that while the truck was airborne, probably about 20 feet in the air and 30 feet from the road off the side of the bridge, he actually opened the door and jumped out. Just amazing. Had he been wearing his seatbelt like he should have he would almost definitely be dead.

The truck is another story. We did not have comprehensive accident coverage because it costs about $10,000 per year, so we are going to have to salvage what we can and find the money for a new truck, around $40,000. The thought of fundraising again makes us sick to our stomachs, but it also gives us a chance to step aside and allow God to work, because there is NO WAY that we can do it on our own. We just don't have the resources available to us. We know that God will provide, so stay tuned for a crazy and encouraging story about how He does it...

The timing is just killing us right now. April is 34 weeks pregnant, and Caden came at 38 weeks. We are leaving for Accra, Ghana in 2 weeks to deliver the baby, and the stress of just living here plus April being very pregnant plus having an amazing but crazy two year old plus having our brand new truck obliterated plus trying to fight against Satan hardening our hearts toward Abalo (the driver) is pretty tough right now. We covet your prayers and words of encouragement.

So many people responded to my last note. Thank you, sincerely and gratefully, thank you. I hadn't shed a tear over this whole thing yet until this morning when I got up and my inbox was flooded with emails from Facebook saying "so and so has commented on your note" and other encouraging emails from people. I'm more convinced almost everyday that the ability to love and to be loved, to give and receive LOVE, is one of our Creator's greatest gifts...

Written Saturday, October 20, 2007
"Like We Needed the Drama"

Last night, April started having some pretty strong contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart and longer than 30 seconds. I'm no nurse, but even I know that this sort of thing is not good. Fortunately, our friend Edith IS a nurse, and she said pretty firmly that this is not good. We were scheduled to leave for Accra on November 5th to await the baby, but we're going to have to leave two weeks early, probably this coming Wednesday.

If you've been following the previous notes about our truck situation, then you are well aware that we don't need this right now, at all. We just have to accept that it is happening and deal with it. We've got an amazing support team in our teammates, fellow missionaries, our sponsoring church, our family, and of course our friends.

We would really appreciate your continued prayers. All of this is so much to take in all at one time, and we're struggling to deal with it all. Please pray for my beautiful, radiant wife and our unborn child. Pray for me that I will be strong in the Lord for them. Pray that we can, when this is all past, praise God and bring further glory to His name...

A Riddle

2007-10-13T01:47:00.000-05:00

In Africa, how many people can you fit into a truck?

Answer: One more!!! There is always room for just one more!

Attention: Road Work Ahead

2007-10-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

We are winding up the rainy season here in northern Togo, and the roads are an absolute mess. Leave it to the enterprising youth of our country to step up and solve the problem!

On my way out to the village of Koumea Laou to practice my Kabiye language skills this week, I came across these two youngsters engaging in a very ambitious activity: They were trying to fix the road, one small shovel full at a time!

They don't do this for free, of course. All over Togo right now as I write there are young boys filling in potholes and hoping that some kind soul will stop and pay them a few coins. These two actually did a pretty decent job on their little 6 foot stretch of road, so I stopped and paid them 200 CFA for their effort, about 40 cents. They were very happy to receive such a gift, and if you look closely you can see the boy on the left holding up his coin for the camera. God has given these two the gift of entrepreneurship!

Growing Up In Two Worlds

2007-10-04T11:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of Caden watching a movie with our friend Germaine's children. Germaine has built lots of furniture for us and is an excellent carpenter.

Here he is lounging around with some of our teammate's (the Ries boys) kids.Here he is again playing with the children of our houseworker, Antoinette. Watching Caden interact with our teammate's children one day and our Togolese friend's children the next has really helped us realize how Caden is growing up in two different worlds. Caden shares a common language and culture with the Miller, Reeves and Ries kids, but he shares only small commonalities in language and almost none in culture with our Togolese friend's children.

So what is our response to this? We have asked ourselves plenty of questions about what our lives should look like here as missionaries, and one question we've dealt with alot is, "How do we engage this foreign culture while still maintaining our (and Caden's) cultural identity?" It is a delicate balance, and to be totally honest, it's been difficult at times. We did not realize how much God would ask us to open our lives to the people around us; our home, our privacy, our possessions and our time have all been demanded of us.

We have made the decision before God, our sponsoring church, and our many supporters to leave our lives open to the people we encounter everyday. Sometimes this decision is difficult to follow through on, and at other times it gives our lives such great joy. Whatever the cost, we believe that it is our responsibility as Christ's ambassadors to open our lives to those who don't know His saving grace, and in that way we will serve God's kingdom as long as He would have us live in two worlds...

Africa Moment #7

2007-10-02T03:22:00.000-05:00

When I have an annoying hangnail or my fingernails just don’t have that smooth edge, I always reach for my…hacksaw blade?

Prosper

2007-09-16T09:51:00.000-05:00

Not the financial kind of Prosper; were talking about our friend Prosper (pronounced proh-Spare). Brett met him in the market here in Kara a couple of months ago and started a conversation. Prosper is a kind and gentlemanly old fellow, and they hit it off right away (they say opposites attract!). Brett ended up giving him a ride home, and they have been friends ever since. He likes to teach Brett the Kabiye language, and in exchange Brett has given him rides here and there around town, since he is an old man and doesn't get around very well.

This week Prosper came to our door in need of our help. He had swelling in his hip because of an infection, and the doctor prescribed him some antibiotics. Prosper does not have the financial means to buy the needed drugs, so we bought the drugs for him. We'll see him again this week and get an update on his health. At his age, even the smallest things can be very dangerous.

Please pray for Prosper. Pray for his body to heal, and praise God for his kind and humble spirit that has so strongly affected our family. We thank God for giving us opportunities to serve people right here in our part of town!

Family Meeting

2007-09-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

Four times each year, we meet as a team with representatives from the churches or clusters of churches in Kabiyeland. Some are elders, some are just well respected by their brothers and sisters, and all are committed to God and to living lives of righteousness in their villages as a witness to Christ's life changing power living in them.

We talk about what is happening at each church, a kind of "state of the movement" discussion, pray for each church, and cast visions for the future of each church and the movement as a whole. It is a beautiful time of fellowship and communion with a common purpose in mind: the spreading of the gospel of salvation through Jesus to all Kabiye villages and people!

What really struck me at this last meeting was the sense of brotherhood. Our movement goes by the name "Kabiye Yesu Cecewiye", or the Kabiye Family of Jesus. This family mentality was so evident as the men present at the quarterly meeting talked, laughed, planned and prayed together. A true family of people that would otherwise never be brought together. Without the common bond they all have in Jesus Christ, this gathering would have had no purpose!

Pray for these men. Pray for Jerome and for Kpaaca (pah-chah). Pray for Essohanam and Jean-Marie. Pray for all of the leaders of the Kabiye Family of Jesus, that they may continue to spread the message to all Kabiye people so that nobody will be left out of the family...

New Truck!!!

2007-09-10T08:23:00.000-05:00

It's finally here!!! We want to thank everyone for helping to make this happen. Thanks especially to John Land for doing lots of research and seeking out good advice. We are very pleased with our truck and feel that it will serve well and meet our needs for years to come. We plan on taking VERY meticulous care of it so that it will survive and thrive in these harsh conditions.It feels great to have our own transportation for the first time since we arrived in Togo this past January. Praise God, and may we use this vehicle to minister to the Kabiye and bring glory to Him!

We've Made A Decision!

2007-09-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

We have decided to have our baby in Accra, Ghana at the Lister Hospital. (Click here to view their website and see more pictures.) This is a privately owned hospital that is only two years old. They are striving to provide excellent health care that rises above the typical Ghanaian hospital. Their facilities are very impressive and your first thought upon entering the lobby is, "Wow. This is in Africa?!" The staff we met today seemed very confident and we organized. We still have a few questions and medical staff to meet, but our overall feeling was very positive.

We were able to talk to a couple (she is Dutch and he is Ghanaian) that recently delivered there to get the good and bad of their experience. They had their first son in the Netherlands via C-section and therefore had a good perspective of what was different in terms of holistic health care. They gave us confidence in the quality of medical care we would receive and a "heads up" on the typical Ghanaian care we would receive from the nurses. We were glad to hear all they had to say so we didn't go into this birth with unrealistic expectations.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during this decision. We truly feel this is an answer from Him. Continue to pray with us for the future doctors and nurses that will be assisting us in bringing this gift from the Lord into the world.

Tough Trucks and Tuesday Afternoons

2007-08-28T17:22:00.000-05:00

Today my teammate Matt Miller and I were up in the Kabiye mountain region, an area that has several paths on which to drive, but few that actually qualify as roads. Thank God that He has provided us with big, strong trucks to carry the Gospel into hard to reach areas...

Matt heading back to his truck after scoping out the road ahead. We had to turn back because the road was so bad!

Matt and I are doing research in the Kabiye mountain region each Tuesday, trying to figure out where new evangelism might be needed. We have found that there are very few churches, and most of those are Catholic, and most of those Catholic buildings don't have people in them. We had a good conversation with some Kabiye men by the side of the road during our research trip today. One man said that there was no church in their village, and that he and few others had been meeting occasionally to sing some songs, but that they needed some guidance and direction. They asked us to come back and teach them, and how can we refuse an invitation like that? Matt will be heading back to that same village next Tuesday to meet with these men again and further build a relationship. I will unfortunately be in Accra picking up our new teammates, Matt and Grace Hangen, who will be with us here in Togo for a month-long stay. I will be back with Matt the following Tuesday though, and I can already see God working through these Tuesdays to spread His Kingdom among the Kabiye. I can also see that Tuesday afternoon is fast becoming one of my favorite times during the week...

Pray with us! Pray that God will show us the way to go, that He will provide everything that we need, that He will open the hearts of the Kabiye people in this unreached mountain region, that He will speak through us and that He will bless us with the gift of language (this last one is especially important to me!). I will keep you updated on the progress we are making in the weeks and months ahead...

Pray For Our New Teammates

2007-08-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

God has blessed our team in recent months with the additions of 3 new families to join us in our work here in Togo among the Kabiye. From the left, the are Matt & Grace Hangen, Tom Moore (who has done extensive counseling and team dynamics work with us, but does not actually live in Togo), Ryan & Melissa Head and Mark, Nicole, Michal and Madeline Kennell.

With the Ries family set to return to the States in May 2008, it is good to know that reinforcements are coming. We as a team believe that each of these 3 couples have been led by God's hand to work among the Kabiye. Please join us as we lift them up in prayer as they plan, prepare and work diligently to make their way to Togo and the place on our team that God has called them too. Praise God for providing further workers for this harvest!

Sudan Survey

2007-08-15T02:15:00.000-05:00

Praise God! We have had an amazing last few weeks working for the Kingdom here in Africa. Notice we said Africa, not just Togo. While we have been busy in ministry here at our home in Kara, God gave Brett the opportunity to minister on the other side of the continent, in Sudan. As you probably know, Sudan has been in a state of war and unrest for the better part of the last 20 years. Fighting still continues in the northwestern region of Darfur, but the south of Sudan has been living in peace for the last 2 years. Brett, along with his teammate Matt Miller and several other missionaries, are interested in bringing the Gospel to this recovering region, just as the door is opening up because of the end of the civil war.

This picture is of two of the college students that Brett and Matt took with them. They were one of two couples on the trip who are seriously considering southern Sudan as long-term mission field. They were able to gather information and "scout out the land" in preparation for possibly moving to this region in the next few years. Also pictured are William Deng, Johnson Mading, and Jacob Deng. They are 3 Sudanese Christians from the Dinka tribe who accompanied us on our journeys and served as translators for our interviews with locals. Please pray for these 3 men as labor to bring their people into fellowship with our Lord. Pray also for the young people that God is raising up to harvest the spiritual fields of southern Sudan!