August 2017

This time, from Ryan:

The last several months have been very encouraging for us. In this letter, I’m going to share just a few of the things for which I thank God.

I am thankful for the Fairview Team from Missouri that came out. They provided two teams of experts. The first team assisted with a construction project on the church that we attend. I had the privilege of leading the work team as we gathered supplies and built new walls and structure. We also wired fans and lights. The second team consisted of optometry experts who saw patients at the ABWE hospital. This directly affected many of our workers as they were able to get the treatment that they needed to help with some of their vision difficulties. I was very encouraged by the attitudes, actions, and gracious donations of the men that I worked alongside over their two weeks with us. We also received many unexpected gifts like pepperoni, candy, work gloves, and carpenter pencils, not to mention, a new set of treasured friends.

I am thankful for my colleague, Joe Gelatt, and the encouragement that he and his family have brought from Ghana to Togo on more than one occasion this year. Sometimes it’s nice to sit down with a fellow aviator and talk pilot-ese. We have been able to accomplish many tasks in the hangar together, including fixing our aviation push mower and my household generator, as a result of his ability and know-how.

I’m thankful for two teams sent by from Grace Bible Church in Virginia. During these teams’ short visits, I received help in ways that I couldn’t and probably wouldn’t have normally asked for. With the first team we were able to completely dismantle two tractors and begin work on several vehicles that belong to my colleagues and me. This was a huge blessing to me as many hands made light work of several very large, time consuming tasks. Problems on the vehicles and tractors were discovered, parts were ordered, and the second team brought out parts to repair and finish these projects. I was especially blessed with a new friendship with, Ernie, who came out with the first team and stayed here for eight weeks and left with the second team.

Ernie is a recently retired auto technician who has been a tremendous encouragement to me and my family. He became “Uncle Ernie” to our kids. It has been fun to have a work companion and we appreciated working together on several projects. His knowledge, know-how, and friendly demeanor have been instrumental at greatly increasing my understanding and confidence in auto and tractor maintenance. We’re promised he’ll be making a return trip with his wife in the future and we all look very much forward to it.

I’m thankful for my sending church, Edgewood Bible Church. As our plane is now nearing re-arrival to Togo, needs have arisen for the airplane and its ministries. They have recently raised more than $3,400 toward some last minute needs such as a new hangar push mower, tires and parts for our Kubota, and several other miscellaneous items that will be sent to us on the airplane’s shipping container.

I’m thankful to an anonymous donor. Last year, the aviation team was given a small size Kubota tractor. This tractor has needed a lot of repairs. This donor was ready to donate up to $5,000 for a new pull behind finishing mower to go with the tractor. As it turns out, we were able to order the mower deck and all necessary extra parts for much less than that amount. The Kubota will be used to mow the area directly around the hangar where we will do run ups, taxiing, and refueling.

If you have been counting, I have mentioned in this letter three different lawn mowers that will be necessary to mow approximately 7 acres of specified land for our airstrip and hangar area. When your landing strip is grass, it is important to have the right tool for the right job, and now we will be fully equipped.

I am thankful for store owners and corporations across the US that have given us huge discounts on parts, pieces, accessories, and even clothing items. The sales representative at Danner Boots, Inc. gave me a 50% discount on the order of a new pair of waterproof boots to replace the pair that have disintegrated due to the trauma I have put them through over the past four years. Their one request in return was that I send them a photo of my new boots being put to use. My creative juices are flowing as to what dramatic African photos I can produce for their amusement.

I am thankful for all of the people at JAARS in Waxhaw, NC for their hard work on or airplane over the course of the last two years. They have worked faithfully and diligently on repairing our aircraft to completion. Their expertise has been a tremendous help and there have been many people that have volunteered their time to lower overall costs. The airplane, will at last be headed back to Togo this September.

I am thankful for two Liberty University instructors and five Triad Baptist Church volunteers who traveled down to our airplane container in Waxhaw last weekend. They sorted and organized all of the miscellaneous parts and pieces that came off of the plane, and disposed of whatever would not serve a purpose to us here in Togo. It was a big, dirty, and probably confusing task, but they did it above and beyond our expectations, and saved us another costly trip to the States.

We are always thankful for care packages, letters, cards, and Facebook encouragements that are sent our way. American chocolate and pepperoni are a huge blessing!

I am thankful also, to have the privilege to work alongside my Togolese brothers in the Lord in the ministry here in Togo. The G family is growing in faith and learning basic doctrine and the Toussie evangelistic project is slowly progressing also. My national partners are instrumental in teaching, translating and sometimes transliterating what we are trying to communicate from God's Word. 

I am thankful to God for my family. God has given me a wonderful wife of faith and three beautiful children on this journey. We have many adventures and new experiences together. But even through difficulty and sickness, God is faithful to lead us through as a family.

By the grace of God we, all of the people mentioned above, as well as you, our prayer and financial supporters, are working together with a heart to reach the nations, specifically, Togo, with the gospel of our Savior, Jesus. May we all, myself included, remain faithful to the task to which we are called.

In Christ,

Ryan Buczak