Togo--post 11

Another week has flown by. We have noticed that we are getting more and more settled here. The things that sort of shocked us at first no longer do.
Last week we went to the capital city of Lome. All I really have to say about the overall experience is that I was not made for the city. The traffic is busy, and since Yovos stick out like sore thumbs, we are easy targets to those who think we're rich and want to ask us for money. However, Lome was also a highlight, because there we got to visit the school for the deaf. Many of my questions about the deaf in Togo were answered. The main question I had was whether or not we use the same form of sign and the answer was that for the most part, yes. That in itself was a huge encouragement. The deaf here use a mixture of French Sign and English Sign, but it was not too difficult to understand them. I was not able to locate a sign dictionary, because the directors and teachers were in another village and I was not able to meet them. I met some other employees, maybe gardeners or something. The condition of the school was not what I would be comfortable sending my children to, but I guess for a normal Togolese person it was alright. Can you believe that a year of schooling only costs about $25!? That's a lot of money to the Togolese, but for us it's less than a tank of gas!

On the cool missionary story side of things, the gardener named Yao found and killed a green mamba today! Yuck, eww, and shriek! A good blow to the head and he was gone. One of our Togolese friends here, Komi, says that he hangs out by the creek at night with a flash light. The flashlight draws the snakes and then they smack it in the head with a machete, stick, or rock. Apparently, they get their fair share of practice at this "sport." It's definitely not my idea of a sport, but for them, it puts food on the table. Ryan has been teaching the story of Adam and Eve in the village, Agame, behind the compound. When he tells the people that God told the serpent that he would crawl on his belly and be an enemy of humans, it's not hard to identify with what he is saying. I couldn't help thinking of the scripture that talks about the serpent bruising Jesus heal, but Jesus crushing the serpents head. That's definitely the best way to kill a snake!

We can't believe we have only one more week here. Though we have not been here years, we already know that we will face some culture shock coming back into the states. Please be patient with us, but do ask us lots of questions. We obviously would love to talk about Togo as much as we can, but I think we'll have a hard time knowing where to begin.

Oh, and a special note to my Sunday school class; We have been watching videos from the Truth Project put out by Focus on the Family. I hear that it is very difficult to get your hands on this material, but it is definitely worth it. It's a series of videos on the history of America and how its history has been changed to fit modern thinking. Anyway, it just seems to fit the personality of our class. If we can find it, I think it would be great for a home meeting thingy.

Also, happy one month birthday to Addie Nifong. Sorry we missed it sweetie. We can't wait to see how big you've gotten. Hello to our fri-end, Isaac. Hello to Joey, Ryan, Jake, and Tory. Hello to Allison, Jake, Daniel, and Elliot. We look forward to seeing all of our little Yovo friends at church again very soon.

Continue praying for Dorcas and Jaquie. They are improving slowly. However, it appears as though Jaquie is excited about finally being able to tell us what she wants. You can see the lights come on in their eyes and it's beautiful. Not a long time ago, Jaquie was up for adoption. I tell ya, if I was not in debt and trying to get my husband through school, I would take her in an instant. Darn that debt! The Lord knows the desires of our hearts. Who knows, maybe some day I'll have ten African deaf children of my own. You should hear their laughs, their sooooo beautiful. :)