April 2017

Coffee: Each morning Ryan and I wake up, make coffee, and discuss what how we are going to navigate the day’s tasks. Christian sits, or runs around rather, in his walker pulling things off shelves, and his sisters straggle in one at a time for their morning bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar. Eventually, we have our plans in place and we scatter hoping to get some things done.

This morning, I wish you could join us for a cup of coffee (or tea if you prefer), so that we could update you on all that the Lord has allowed us to be a part of. 

We would talk about:

• Easter Sunday’s Resurrection service and bar-b-Que that we had a blast hosting at our house. There were probably around 40 people crowded into our living room singing to Jesus and celebrating His resurrection from the dead that proved power over death and the grave.

Bible lesson in Toussi

• We would tell you about our continued discipleship with the Gnamssa family, how one recently changed his name to “Redeemed of God” rather than “Sold to the spirits.” How we hope to deepen the level of discipleship we’ve been doing with them, and to possibly prepare them for baptism.

• We would tell you about the project in Toussi, where the chief is already searching out land for a church even though we’ve only had the chance to show the Jesus film and start lessons in The Story of Hope.

• Ryan would tell you about how he’s been teaching guitar lessons, but it’s been a challenge trying to teach new rhythms to young people who basically know one rhythm and have a very hard time learning how to break out of the old in order to learn something new.

AnnMarie is our fashionista.

• He would tell you about the drama of trying to teach people about airstrip safety, and trying to explain to them why they can no longer cross the runway even though they don’t see an airplane and can’t understand why their pathways in the airstrip are dangerous for pilots and airplanes. How our makeshift bamboo barriers have been vandalized EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for the past several weeks; how one government-hired scout has been beat up trying to keep people off the runway, and the perpetrators sent to jail; how Mr. Gnamssa might have been one of those perpetrators before he was saved, but has now become extremely helpful to us. I will say, however, that given his handicap from his stroke, it has been difficult for him, too, to walk the extra 4,000 feet to get around the runway. God has allowed his salvation and discipleship to help us in communicating with those who live around the airstrip that we are not here to just be big meanies who don’t want to share our land, but that we really do have a life-saving message to share.

• We would tell you about how the airplane is scheduled to begin test flights THIS WEEK! And how it actually is truly likely that we will have it back here on Togo soil THIS SUMMER!

• We would tell you about how homeschooling has its ups and downs, but how we are pleased that a teacher has agreed to come out and teach the missionary kids next school year!

• How God has allowed us to be part of the lives of woman and her 5 kids while her husband is away searching for work.

Leslie got her hair done in braids.

• We’d tell you about some of our frustrations with learning this culture, and even some of the Kabiyé language.

All of these things we would love to tell you in great detail in person, and we would want to hear your stories, too. We want to hear about your family, your busy schedule, what God is teaching you, and about what God has allowed you to be a part of. We would share life with you, all over that hot coffee (or iced if you were here and don’t want to begin your day drenched in sweat).

For now, we will resort to communication by email and social media. I'm so glad that for those of you with whom we share a common bond in Christ Jesus, we have a future hope of spending eternity together sharing our stories and glorifying God for all he has done in, through, and for us. I can't wait! Until then, I’ll leave you with three specific prayer requests. 
 

•  Please pray that our mission will be able to get NGO status before the airplane arrives. NGO status is granted by the government of Togo to non-profit organizations and it gives us certain tax cuts that will make it much easier to get our airplane back into the country without having to pay astronomical taxes. 
•  Please pray that God would help us to grow in grace so that that grace flows through us as we handle all of the different challenges that come our way each day; be it within our family, with our neighbors, or with the one who would like to see us fail.
• Pray that God would continue to guide us in wisdom as we work in Toussi and Agamé to share the gospel and disciple new believers.

We are ever thankful for you and for your support of God’s tasks for us here in Togo. May God bless you as you learn more and more about His grace today and into the future.

In Christ,

Ryan, Stephanie, Leslie, AnnMarie, & Christian