Isaiah 61:1
"the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
It's February 16 as I type this on the porch in view of the bush looking out over villages and into Ghana. I am in awe of how fast time is going! Togo is one adventure after another! In some places, it looks like a western city. In other places it look like some of the trails I walk in Olympia, and yet in others, I think I'm standing smack dab in the middle of the Serengeti, wishfully waiting to see a herd of wildebeest or a giraffe picking leaves off a tree. Instead, I'm dodging packs of chickens and little mountain goats. Laughter is never in short supply as we try to communicate to the villagers or not pee on ourself in the squatty potty...or not be seen as we take a bucket shower whose wall is only five feet high. Our adventures as of late have taken us to two other YWAM bases in Togo: Agou and Kuwde. Agou was where we had an intensive study of Spiritual Warfare as we sat in a little classroom on the side of a mountain, infatuated by the beauty of Central Togo below. We all learned about the authority we have in our relationship with Christ against attacks of the enemy and walked into new truths about Jesus. It was malaria season to the extreme there, which landed three of our members with the dreaded sickness. No bueno! (But no worries, after being pricked with IV's and rehydrated, they were back to health). Thankfully, I didn't get bit once. We hiked a few hours into the mountains of Togo, and all I can say is WOW. You know when you go to the zoo or something, and they have all tropical habitats full of birds and trees and sound effects? Well, this was the real deal. The mountain was thick with tall trees full of cacao, coca, plantains, bananas, papaya, avocado, and the sound of birds filled the air. It was so green and so lush, then all of a sudden there's a clearing, and we step into a huge mountain side village perched thousands of feet above the ground below. It felt like I had just step onto the cobblestone streets of Italy (I say that because of what I've seen in movies, not be because I've actually been there, sadly) and we are greeted by kids with the biggest smiles, wanting to sing and dance. A lady was so happy to have visitors that she gave my friend and I two dozen bananas! I stood for a while and marveled at the view of Togo, praising God for having brought me to such a beautiful place. We came back to Noepe and worked hard on healthcare. We put together a skit/tutorial on the vitalness of hand washing for the primary school. They loved it, and we are working on setting up a hand washing station right outside of the school, with the eager hope that they will use it! We were invited to go to a clinic in Bagbe. There weren't any patients, so we ended up walking to an animal farm and veterinary clinic founded by the YMCA; it ended up being a divine appointment. While checking out where the locals get their water, which is a pond, we ran into a lady whose baby had scabies. The medicine only costs 3000 cfa, about $6, but she couldn't afford. God laid it on my heart to pay for it. She was incredibly blessed, and I was happy to be apart of a the healing of the precious baby. Soon after she left, the chief of the village got word of the "white doctors" and invited us to his home to meet him and his elders. He gave us his blessings and a big toothless smile, and invited us back anytime. Two days later we headed out on a nearly twelve hour drive to Kara/Kuwde in North Togo, which we were told would only be seven hour drive. Regardless, twelve hours of dodging enormous potholes squished in little vans was an adventure. This trip was when we all let our guard down, and decided to buy street vendors foods, praying against having bathroom problems after consumption. We purchased cold ice cream-like treats call FanMilk, fried bread, plantains, and tofu on a stick. So yummy, and we are all still alive! Our purpose for our visit to Kuwde was to encourage the base, evangelize and help with some landscaping. We arrived at dark to find there is no electricity or running water, but woke up to find the most incredible view of the African plains and mountains rising in the distance that made it all the better (this is where I pictured myself seeing giraffes, and only saw chickens). There were giant flat rocks protruding out of the side of the mountain we were on, so everyday I escaped and adventured down the rocks for some much needed alone time to worship Jesus with the beauty of Togo in front of me. My friend Rebecca and I took the liberty to walk across the plains, through villages and gardens to climb the nearest mountain. At the top was a 360 view, and we stood there, in our smallness, amazed at the extravagance of what we saw. She turns to me and says, "let's just sit here for a minute." it was so quiet as the breeze blew and the sun set in the distance. It was one of those moments where you could have sat there for hours and never gotten tired of the view or the peacefulness. We even considered how Abraham must have felt looking out at the miles of land God promised him, and wondered if he stood at the top of a mountain taking in what he saw. The next few days consisted of filling in potholes on the road, raking leaves, and adventuring into mountain villages or other cities to evangelize. I'll be honest, I really do not like door to door evangelism. For me, it's like I'm basically saying "you don't know Jesus? Well you need to. Let's pray the prayer, then I'm gonna go home in a month and never see you again, so I can't keep you accountable and disciple you in your new faith." God really changed my heart as I saw the grace of God revealed in the people we met. We may just be a bunch of crazy white people from all around the world, but people want to know truth. They want Jesus. As we were willing to be able bodies, he uses us in any and every way. We saw people come to Christ and the blind were shown compassion. God also reminded me that it's not able numbers or how many souls we can save, but it's about AUTHENTICITY. On another trip into the villages, twelve of us went into the home of a man who had broken his leg and was unable to fully care for his family. The Lord laid two things on my heart as I walked into his home: sexual immorality and voodoo. I wasn't sure if what I heard was right, but these thoughts were immediately confirmed. The mans leg was covered in a red paste and with a piece of string with wood tied around his ankle. It was burning in me to find out what it was. His response was, "the paste is to heal me, and the wood and string is to protect my leg, that way when people walk in my path it won't cause me extra pain." it makes no sense, right? And what also didn't make sense was that he said he was a follower of Christ, yet he uses voodoo as a crutch against insufficient fears. I look at him and say, "that piece of string does not protect you. You are making yourself vulnerable to what the devil is trying to do to you, when there is a God who protects and a God who heals. You don't have to do a ritual with pastes and strings, and you don't have to fear someone making a wrong move and hurting you. God is big. That doesn't happen in the family of Christ." he completely agreed, but we still saw the fear in his eyes. It broke my heart to see that voodoo was having a stronger hold on this area of Togo then real, firm truth. This man also had a few wives, and his daughters who were the age of my thirteen year old sister had kids already. My heart was breaking; there is so much confusion, so much injustice, and staying there one week was not enough to do anything about it. Our hearts cry was that we planted seeds and that other disciples of Christ would come to lead them on in their faith. We also drove an hour into the bush for a night of evangelism and prayer. The lord laid it on our hearts that Ashton, Andrea and myself would share testimonies, and Rebecca would close. Ashton spoke on the faithfulness of God, I spoke on Christ and the cross and shared about my grandpa coming to know Jesus before his death, and Andrea spoke on the grace and goodness of God. Rebecca gave a message about how because of the cross, we are given life, and God is calling the lost to come back to the Father. Twenty people, half which were kids, rushed to accept Jesus. We went into a time of prayer for the generation of youth to rise up in their faith, for the women to know their worth, and for the young men to become leaders in their communities. We didn't get home until nearly midnight, but it was worth it! I get so excited seeing Jesus answer prayers as we interact in new communities and meet so many new people. With so many amazing relationships cultivated, it makes it so much harder to leave this beautiful country. Togo is in desperate need for truth and love. God has lead us to some pretty radical opportunities. Your prayers have meant so much to me, and you were involved in bringing Jesus to Togo!! Thank you a million to my supporters for making this trip possible. God is so gracious and faithful! There are still many stories to be told, but I'd much rather go out to coffee when i get home. :) See you on the 11th, Olympia!!!
2 Corinthians 4:5, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord, And ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake."
