Month: November 2019

Today marks our 100^th day in Togo! We are amazed at how far we have come and achieved in this amount of time and look forward to what lies ahead for us. Our children are flourishing in their new environment and adapting remarkably better than we thought they would at this milestone.

Through God’s grace, in the last 100 days we have:

• Assisted in building the roof for the children’s building at Grace Church
• Completed roughly 350 hours of French tutoring, between Marci and I
• Moved into our home and purchased our work truck
• Overcome 2 spouts of malaria and other infections
• Grown with our team on the ground and those coming soon

With each of these victories, we have had equal amounts of struggles and difficulties, but through each of the struggles we are reminded of God’s promise from Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We are grateful and blessed to have you as our partners in the 6 Degree Initiative and acknowledge the steadfastness of your prayers and support as we strive to be “better together” in life and ministry to the least reached people groups in Togo.

We are exciting to see what God is doing in Togo and being able to be a part of it here on the ground. This past month we finished construction on the children’s building at Grace Church, which is the newest church plant within the 6 Degree Initiative. The next day they were able to have their first meeting of Court-Yard kids under their new roof! Thank you for those that partnered with us to make this possible. Lives of these kids are being changed and we pray that the Word spreads to their families, if they aren’t attending the church now.

Both of us are feeling more confident in our French lessons and are able to communicate in small ways with those we work closely. This has made us feel more connected to those around us and more grounded here, as well. The kids are doing well in school and are learning more French; seeing our kids singing along and listening at children’s church, even when they can’t speak the language, shows us that God speaks to every heart in His language.

We are thankful to the partners that have been with us all along and those who are partnered with us now. If you would like to partner with us in ministry, please click the link below or feel free to reply to this newsletter.

We have been serving in Togo for a little over a month, now. It still doesn’t seem real that our family is here. This morning I looked at Taylor and said it’s nice to get my clothes out of a closet and not a trunk. Yes, we are settling into our house and have been living in it for a week now. The kids have loved getting their rooms set up and sleeping with their stuffed animals. We were sad to leave the guest house at our team leader’s place and the gracious company we received while there, but we are not far from them and our girls are having a play date today!

We started full swing this week with getting the repairs on the house and French lessons started. The first few weeks I felt like a baby in this country, I didn’t know where I could go or how I could get there, or even the words that people were saying. Now I know why people teach their baby’s sign language to communicate because I was right there with them explaining to the plumber and the electrician where I needed items. They were nice and smiled while nodding their heads, but I knew they had no idea what I was saying. So there might be a few extra holes in my walls and extra piping then what was needed, but in the end, I believe we have everything where it’s needed and working!

Two weeks after we were in Togo, Taylor had the opportunity to attend and witness a Timothy Initiative Pastor’s Conference held in Cotonou, Benin. This conference was for 60 plus pastors from Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria to be encouraged and gain knowledge on leadership in their churches. It was an incredible time to see and hear what God is doing in each of these pastor’s lives and churches and to see them be strengthened to continue spreading the Gospel.

We have been attending Nouvelle Vie, which is the first church plant here in Togo. We have also been to Grace Church that is the newest church. The kids love to sing and dance and participate in the children’s church activities at Nouvelle Vie, even though there is a language barrier, they are always happy to participate and learn new things. The kids have been doing amazingly well in their new environment, school, and culture. Shiloh and Madeline recently had a field day from school at La Solution’s sports camp, where they got to participate and join in the fun. We are so proud of them and love watching them grow in their faith and in this ministry.

As we continue learning the language and culture, we look forward to what God has planned for us this month to serve Him. Thank you so much for your prayers and support for us, now even more, so. We are praying for each of you daily.