March 2015

AnnMarie making friends.

In our last letter I told you about our meeting and positive relationship with Mr. Gnamssa. That relationship is still very good and getting better. Shortly after our first contact, we called on him again to ask if he would allow us to come once a week to do a Bible study with him and his family. His response was a resounding YES! We should not be shocked because we know that it is the Lord who goes before us, but we stand amazed that the Lord has widely opened this door for us to bring the gospel to this very large and influential family.

We started a study called The Story of Hope that goes from Genesis through Revelation and is presented in 40 lessons. Our first lessons established who God is and then presented God as the creator by teaching the creation story. This is a very important starting point as it is commonly understood that the ancestors are the ones who have created all of the things that existed before us. The following weeks we talked about the creation of man, the fall of Satan, and the fall of man. So far, it is encouraging to see Mr. G’s family excited to learn about God. They really want to KNOW! We are aware, however, that Satan is totally against this work and is already trying to throw wrenches in our spokes. However, I was encouraged recently to read in John 1 that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness had not overcome it.” All of this work here in Togo is Christ’s work and He will not be overcome by darkness!

We got to meet our Compassion Child, Alice in February.

 

Please pray as we present these lessons that they would pass clearly through the language barriers. We present the stories in French and then our new friend, Komi, translates them to Kabyé. Please pray that the message would be clear despite our weaknesses.

Many more ministry opportunities present themselves to us on an almost daily basis as we build relationships from people from other religious backgrounds. We are coming to realize that when Jesus said that the fields are ripe to harvest, he wasn’t joking. These people are so ready to learn about the spiritual relief provided by Jesus. Please pray for us as we decide which relationships are best to invest ourselves into.

Word of Life Bible Institute Sweethearts.

You’d probably like to hear about how things are going in the aviation ministry. Ryan has been down at the aircraft hangar all day almost every day repairing things on the airplane, organizing and sorting the stock that we already had here as well as what came in on a recent container. There are several more steps before flying will begin to take place, but we are confident that God will get this ministry going in His perfect timing. The team has also been busy meeting important people in order to get permission to fly and land in Togo. So far, all of these meetings have been very successful, but please continue to pray that we will have all the permissions necessary to fly here. Lastly, after overhaul and shipment of the engine, airstrip work, fuel, propeller, and stock expenses, the Aviation Ministry Fund is pretty much down to $0. We have a decent start on getting things going, but in order to keep them going this ministry needs $10,000 per month. We have about 2% of that committed. If you or your church or business are interested in supporting this ministry, you can go to www.abwe.org/give and opt to give to “Togo Aviation” or account number 0763033.

Leslie and her tree.

 

Leslie and AnnMarie are doing well. Leslie loves homeschooling. She especially loves math. She has recently begun learning subtraction. AnnMarie loves to tell stories. Mom and Dad are especially amused by her logic in storytelling. She is very detailed. Please pray for me as I teach our kids. There’s a huge sense of responsibility in teaching your children as many of you know. Please pray we find a good routine and that we stay consistent with it. May our God use our kids for His glory here in Togo and in their adult lives. (Update: After having written this letter, Leslie fell 10-12 feet from a tree picking flowers for her friends and broke both arms. She is doing well, but we appreciate your prayers for her healing and for smoothness of family life as Leslie is double-casted and limited in the things she can do for herself. You can see pictures and learn more about this fall by visiting Ryan's Facebook profile or our blog at www.buczaks.blogspot.com)

We are working negotiations to rent a house about two miles from the hangar. Many of you have been asking how you can help us to get established. There’s quite a bit of work that needs to be done on the house to make it livable. The owner is working with us on how to make those things happen, but we are going to have to contribute a sum up front. This comes to about $6,000. We are also kicking ourselves for selling some of our press-board furniture at a yard sale in the States. We didn’t realize that we could have shipped it out with the rest of our stuff and replaced as is fell apart (press-board falls apart here because of the humidity), but now, there are several things like bookshelves, desks and dressers that we need to replace all at once. The quote on the wood supplies for these things currently comes to about $1,500. If you’d like to contribute to any of these things, you can go to ABWE’s website and put our account number 0134443-002.

Also, our current personal support level is $650 short per month. If you are interested in joining our work financially on a monthly basis, you may go to www.abwe.org/give and sign on. Our family account number is 0134443.

I realize that a lot of this letter talks about our needs for money. Quite honestly, there will always be needs for money on the mission-field, but we want you to know that we do not take you or your financial sacrifices for granted. We are blessed and privileged to be your teammates and ambassadors here in Togo in the name of our God who is worthy of our service. We are amazed at what God has already allowed us to be a part of, and we look forward to one day telling you all that we have been and will be able to do as a result of your ministry to us.