Africa through my eyes.

Please pray for our trip

2011-03-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will be leaving our home for a little while to go back to the States for Furlough and for the birth of our little miracle.

Our schedule is:

Leave Kara the 25th at 5:00am

Arrive in Accra, Ghana sometime on the 25th

(Please pray for this part of the trip, the roads in Togo are not the safest and not the smoothest, it will be a 12 hour drive for us)

We will be staying in Accra, Ghana till the 28th

We are flying out of Ghana on the evening of the 28th at 10:45

We will be stopping in London for 5 hours

And in Dallas, TX for 5 hours

And on to Portland, Oregon on the 29th at 10:45 where we will be greeted by the best parents and sister in the world and the greatest friends also, and some yummy Tillamook Cheese.

We can't wait!

What we eat.

2011-01-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

This past Friday I was visiting some neighbors and one of my friends was going down to the mill to get her corn ground, so I decided to go with her. As we were walking I started to think about all of the different kinds of meals I make and how we rarely eat the same thing twice in one week.

After that thought I asked my friend how long this bucket of corn would last her. She said about a week if they do not have anything else to eat like rice or fufu. You see, they eat corn for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As I was standing at the little mill I began to realize how fortunate I am. The Lord has given me enough money to buy different vegetables and meats to make wonderful healthy meals for my family.

We are all very blessed in so many ways. But I want to say this, the lady I am speaking of has never complained to me about food, or the lack of it. She is a single mom with four kids who is raising them for God. She says she is blessed beyond measure and that is so true, even while eating corn 3 times a day she is blessed.

I am sure you know!

2011-01-24T05:36:00.001-08:00

This December I discovered that I was pregnant. This came as a really big shock because we have been praying for a baby for 7 years, along with many other people. I had often asked God just to give me a yes or no answer, but I never got one, only "wait." So that is what I did.

God's timing is perfect in our lives with everything. I was just speaking to a lady the other day who was, I believe, 7 months pregnant when she lost her baby. I was sharing with her that I was pregnant and that I have been waiting 7 years. At times I have not understood why God did not give us a baby, but I did not understand His plan in my life.

I told her that sometimes His plan is hard to accept and hard to understand but you can rest in the fact that His plan is perfect and He will sustain you and lift you up; just completely rely on Him. God has blessed this lady with two beautiful boys and she is so thankful for them.

I am also thankful for my wonderful son that God has blessed me with and I can't wait for our new addition to meet him.

Adorable Children and Strange Smells

2010-10-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

I think that children in Togo are some of the most beautiful children in the world. God has given me the opportunity to minister to these children and their mothers in my neighborhood, for which I am so thankful. This past Saturday during Bible Hour as we sang songs I started looking around at the children. Some were so dirty, some had no pants on, some had just underwear on, some had holes in their clothes, but they were so happy to be singing songs about God. After the verses, review questions, and the story, the kids got to color a picture. I don't do this often but when I do they LOVE it. They all lay down on the tile floor and color their pictures. For some of them it is the first time they have ever done it. As I was helping Backie, a little girl that lives next door, I noticed that every where she went about five flies would follow her. This is a very common thing with her, but despite the smell and flies she is so very lovable. Another little boy who often comes to Bible Hour loves to hold my hand. He never speaks, he just stands by me. While we were coloring I noticed that he came and sat by me to watch me color. He wanted to show me his picture and did so at least another five times. I think he just liked my reaction! Despite the smells and flies these children are adorable.

A HOT Saturday and lots of kids.

2010-10-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today at Bible hour the kids learned about David and Goliath, the toy sword and the sling shot were a big hit, the kids love to hear about what God did in the lives of the people in the Bible. They really enjoyed the part about David walking around the city with the head of Goliath, they became very excited. When they were asked who gave him strength to kill Goliath they all yelled out together “C’EST DIEU” it was God. It is exciting to see the children understand that it was not the man but it was God. After cutting the head of Goliath (just in the story) the children memorized Psalm 119:2. Soon the children became restless because it was to hot. I had an IDEA: hot kids, hose, water. The children had so much fun playing in the hose I squirted them with water for about 10 min and loved every minute of it.

I just found this blog entry I had forgotten to post it, so it is a little old, forgive me.

A strange smell

2010-10-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

The other day I came out of our house and was hit by a strange smell, I didn't think any thing of it because this is Africa, Africa is filled with strange smells. When I stepped out of our outside gate I discovered the source of strange smell. It was the fur of a cat, two guys were burning the fur off of a cat, they were getting it ready to cook and eat. Yummy yummy.

An exciting day

2010-10-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Friday was an exciting day for me, I learned that our next door neighbor had her baby, a little boy. I was going to be able to be the baby taxi. I was able to bring home a precious little baby. The mother had no complications and the baby and mom are doing great. Tuesday I am going to go to the market and buy some soap for her and some clothes for the baby. I hope you enjoy the picture of the new life that God has given to this wonderful lady and her husband.

God is so good.

2010-09-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Lately Jesse and I have been teaching Joshua about humility and making wise decisions. Just last night I had to talk to Joshua about being humble when he talks about himself and to not be boastful. Joshua's response to this was "mom I can't" I said why not? He looked at me and said "mom only God can help me to be humble" wow what a great example to me, I can not be humble or make wise decisions with out Him. I am truly blessed with a wonderful son, who is learning so much.

What life is like in Africa.

2010-09-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

What life is like for an American living in Africa.

-I get to suck ice cream out of a plastic bag

-Because I am white I am always noticed (I feel like a movie star) :)

-I never go to the grocery store I go to the market to buy our foods (I love it)

-I squeeze oranges and suck the juice out

-I have to filter my water to drink it

-I get to see some great insects in my yard

-I get to have some wonderful African friends

-I can have anything made in Africa, all I have to do is show them a picture

-I get to eat yummy bananas, mangos, papayas, oranges, avocados, guavas, and pineapples

-I get to teach Joshua school

-I get to teach people around me about God's grace

-I get to have a wonderful garden

-I am able to buy so many wonderful foods

-I get to hold sweet little African children

-I get to love African children

-I get to go on safaris

-I get to ride on bumpy roads any time I want :)

-I can call any older woman mama

-I get to make my own bread, tortillas, english muffins, and noodles

-I have to wash the lettuce and spinach in bleach water, and clean all veggies and fruit

-I get to speak in another language

Others.

2010-08-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

Living in Africa has changed me in many ways, but in one way that I have changed happens to everyone that visits or lives in a third world country. What I am speaking of is the needs of others. Hear in Togo we are surrounded by people who need help.

I thought of something today, have I helped someone outside of my family today not just by giving them money or food but by an encouraging word or some other deed? It also made me think of how selfish I and we can become when we do not stop to think and help others in need. I realized today how self absorbed I can become, I do not ever want to become desensitized to others needs around me.

Time is flying by

2010-08-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

This month has been a great one, packed full of many things. I have seen the Lord work in many ways.

One very large incident that really sticks out in my mind happened about 2 weeks ago. We got a phone call from a missionary down south that had some team mates that were in an accident, and they were wondering if we could help in any way. The missionaries rolled the truck two times, and one of them did not have his seat belt on. When we arrived at the scene and saw the truck we could not believe the man who did not have his seat belt on was not hurt worse then he was.

We thank the Lord for His protection in the lives of these missionaries. We are also very thankful for our protection going to and from Dapaong.

Jesse and I are striving to get more involved in our neighborhood. Our goal is to start Bible studies with our neighbors in the near future. We are also looking at other needs also, such as clean water for them to drink. Jesse has discovered a way that they can purify water for very cheap and all they need to buy is plastic or glass bottles. We have been sharing this method with many of them.

We have also started a garden in our back yard, and have been speaking about it with people around us. They are amazed that we can grow carrots, onions, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, green peppers, spinach, zucchini, green beans, peanuts and squash in our back yard. We have been talking to many of them about starting little gardens. One lady (Mama Chris) told me that onions would not work in her yard. When I asked why she said, "They just won't." Well, that was not a good enough answer for me so I showed her my onions. I gave her a few onions to try and guess what, they are doing great in her yard! She is now planting sweet potatoes also. Another two neighbors have also planted sweet potatoes. We are very excited to see them plant other things instead of just corn, which is what everyone seems to plant every year.

We are in the middle of rainy season and it is great, it has been so cool. We have been sleeping under a blanket, I love it. It is great tea weather. Can you tell I love tea?

Joshua just finished his first week break in school. We decided to do his school schedule differently than the normal American schedule. We started 2nd grade early, we work for 20 days, then take off a whole week. I love it this way and he loves it too. Unfortunately, I got nothing done in the house during the break. I guess it will have to wait another 20 days!

This past month Jesse had malaria, but it was a very light case of it and he started treatment right away. I also forced liquids down him which I think helped a lot. We both also had some stomach problems, but I we seem to be getting over it now.

This month I started reading a book called Brokenness, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is a wonderful book I am now reading Surrender by the same author, and I am really enjoying it. The Lord has really used these books in my life and I am so thankful.

It has been a wonderful month and I am so thankful that we are able to be in Togo, sharing with people what He has done for us in our lives.

Things are getting busy again

2010-07-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Life in Kara, Togo is great we are in the rainy season, so we are not having those ridiculously hot days anymore. We are getting down to the 70's, today I have been drinking hot tea all day and I have been chilled.

Recently we have planted a garden we planted tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, spinach, green peppers, squash, zucchini, peanuts, pineapple and potatoes. Unfortunately today we had a really hard rain and the garden looked like a lake. I think everything will be okay, I understand now why they plant everything in mounds of dirt.

Today while driving down the main road we saw a donkey walking down the middle of the road with a rope tied to his leg, Joshua said we should stop and cut off the rope. My question was how would we catch him? He was not sure about that.

I had to go to the market today with Joshua to pick up some coffee. It is always interesting to me what people say and what they do when they see a little blond boy. They all want to touch him, and give him stuff for free all the time.

I have started school again with Joshua he is doing great. It amazes me how much he can forget in just three weeks. He is excited about what we are going to be doing.

Just this week we had a science lesson on seeds, so we and some friends of ours talked about seeds and how they grow and we planted some peanuts. I am praying they grow.

Jesse is going to be talking with some of our neighbors about water and purifying it please pray that we can get closer to these families and start up bible study with them.

Well that is a little of my life right now, we are having fun, enjoying the cool weather and having a wonderful time working along side of the Kabye people. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Some cute pics of Joshua

2010-06-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

What a great day.

2010-06-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

Today I was able to go across the street and talk to one of our neighbors Mama Miré. I have learned so much from her about the culture. Today, I saw how rice looks when it comes from the field. Just to get the rice out of the shells takes hours. It made me very thankful for the bags of rice that are available to buy in the store. I am so thankful for great neighbors who are willing to sit with you and chat.

I was also able to make pot-stickers with Jesse and Ravioli with Joshua, what a fun day. Also our garden is almost ready, I was able to work in it a little today, I can't wait to pull out a large carrot from the garden. So far we have sweet potatoes planted, pineapples, carrots, and onions. Tomorrow I hope to plant tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and squash. Oh yes we are going to try and plant some peanuts fun fun fun. I will keep you all posted on how those are going.

New land for Yvette

2010-06-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my friend Yvette who helps me out in the house, started praying about buying some land to put a house on. She is a single mother with 4 children who is willing to do what ever it takes to take care of her family. She has scrubbed floors, sold food on the side of the road, washed clothes, to provide for her family.

Because of her situation she is not able to put money aside to buy land. A few weeks ago she came to us and asked us for a loan to buy land. Jesse discussed with her the details of the loan. She decided to pay extra on the loan each month to pay it off quickly. She bought a wonderful piece of property and we are so happy for her. This is such a great opportunity for her and we are so happy that she has a chance to have her own land and someday build a mud brick house on the land.

Yesterday we all went out to see the land she has bought. She has planted corn on the land for now since she is not able to build on it yet.

I praise the Lord for a friend like her, she is such a great example to me. Her love for the Lord grows daily and we stand amazed at how many wonderful things the Lord is doing in her life.

Children's camp

2010-06-13T03:43:00.001-07:00

This past Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I was able to tell a missionary story to some children at a day camp at Lomé 2 (one of the churches in Kara). I decided to tell the story of Saul's life. What a great example of a missionary, I was able to teach the kids how God was glorified through the life of Saul. I ended the story with Saul (Paul) and Silas in the prison, they loved that story and so do I. It was a great example of God's power. My prayer is that the children will remember how great God is and was, and that they will live their lives for Christ. Please pray the children in Lomé 2.

We went back to Lomé 2

2010-06-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to go and visit the church that we worked in for a year. Even though we have only been gone for a few months it was still fun going back and seeing all of the wonderful people at Lomé 2. I have missed all the children and the woman so much. It is a blessing to see the people and see them growing in the Lord.

I decided to do it.

2010-06-13T03:37:00.000-07:00

I decided to start the blog "From Scratch" the address is

http://fromscratchbytiffany.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy it.

What do you think?

2010-06-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about starting another blog in the future. The blog would be named From Scratch. I would show people how to make things from scratch again, things like English Muffins, Tortillas, Ricotta cheese, you get the point. So what do you think? Let me know if you would be interested.

Please pray for our neighbors

2010-06-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Please be praying for Jesse and I as we take the next step with our neighbors. The Lord has given Jesse and I both a burden to help and reach our neighbors for Him. We already know our neighbors very well and we praise the Lord for such wonderful friends. We are praying the Lord would show us what direction He would like us to go. Thank you for your prayers.

Update on this month.

2010-05-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Jesse is still going strong on learning the Kabiye language. He has added 2 more days a week with another teacher. He is enjoying it and he loves speaking to people in Kabiye and they love it also. Jesse has also been learning about gardening. This is one thing that is very important in a Togolese's life. We are in the process of starting a garden in our yard and we are both very excited about it.

We have a new pet his name is Bear, he is our German Shepherd puppy, he is very sweet. We got him when he was just 3 to 4 weeks old, he had many problems and we saved his little life. We are very thankful for Bear.

Joshua started French classes this month. He has class for 45 min a week and he is doing very very well. He now knows many of the colors in French and he is learning to count, and many more things. Joshua's teacher is a great encourager and Joshua talks about her often during the week.

This month has been an interesting month with Joshua and his health. First thing was he had a strange spot on his thigh, that looked like ringworm, that would not go away. Finally with some triple antibiotic (can you buy that stuff in bulk like 1 gallon size lol?) it went away. I think I need a tube of antibiotic and some hydrogen peroxide just for his room, so I can just smear it all over him every night. After that problem cleared up, some more appeared on his bum. I knew how to take care of them so they cleared up fast. We had few more issues with some cuts and a bad cough. Soon after that I noticed something on his leg that looked like a mosquito bite, he said it itched but nothing more. Well, by the next morning it was a full blown infection. I sprayed it and put antibiotic on it, but it seemed to get worse. One of my greatest fear is Staff infection I am terrified of them. He had one. It finally cleared up after many tears on his part. While that was clearing up he said his elbow hurt. I thought to myself hear we go again. It was a strange thing on his elbow, it looked horrible. I believe he got something from the dirt and it started a infection in his elbow. Can you believe it, that Joshua would get something from the dirt. If you do not know Joshua, he loves dirt, he loves outside, by 10 in the morning he normally needs another shower because he is so dirty lol. I thought I would have to start him on another antibiotic because of the staff infection. But, thanks to hydrogen peroxide (my best friend in Africa) the problem is solved. Let me see anymore things? I think that is it.

He is doing great now, you would have never known he was sick.

Now for me, well I have started some French classes also with the same tutor, she has been a great encouragement to me. I am working on some French Grammar that I have forgotten or never learned. I have been learning a lot about the culture and have been spending a lot of time with our neighbors. I have been trying out a lot of new recipes. Every night Joshua comes in the kitchen and asks "Mom what are we having for dinner? Is it something I have tried, or is it a new recipe? Do I like it?" I have such a great kid, and a wonderful husband.

God has given me such a wonderful man and I am so thankful for him. Just recently I asked Jesse if we were allowed to still be this much in love. YES.

Another wonderful thing that happened in my life, I was able to bring home baby Ester from the hospital. Our next door neighbor had a baby and I went to visit her and she asked if I could bring her home. So I have decided our vehicle is the official vehicle for bringing home babies.

Interesting fact about Togo : Most older Togolese do not know how old they are. An older lady that I was speaking to was trying to discover how old she was. She was clapping her hands, and for every clap it was ten years, but she still could not discover what age she was. They start counting how old they are when they turn of age. This lady I believe is about 80 years old and has asked me for my hair, she wants me to shave it off for her so she can make a wig. Oh I wish I had a blond wig for her. I will try and get a picture of her to put on the blog.

Thank you for reading my ramblings about our life in Togo. I will try and write more often.

Keeping your eyes on God

2010-05-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Why is it during some difficult times we seem to take our eyes of God? The One who keeps the universe in order, the One who has given us life. Why did Peter take his eyes off Jesus when he was walking on the water? Like Peter I am so thankful for that loving hand that reaches out to me when I am falling and calling out His name. I truly serve an amazing God. I am so thankful for His mercy, grace and unconditional LOVE.

Back to work

2010-05-04T04:08:00.001-07:00

Jesse and I decided that we would give Joshua a short break from school rather then a long summer break. He finished in the middle of April and had the rest of the month off.

We have just restarted school the 3rd of May. He was so excited because he is now in 2nd grade. He will have a break next month for 3 weeks so he can play with his best friend David. He will then start school again, do 20 days, and have a week break. I think this schedule will help Joshua and me also. We will continue to do it this way all year. Joshua really liked the idea and so did I. I think this will help him not to forget things he has just learned.

Joshua has now started French lessons also. Yesterday was his first lesson. His tutor taught him for 30 minutes, but when the time was up he wanted to do more! He thinks she is great because she knows all the French words for animals like whales and sharks, which is right down his alley.

Joshua does get to play a lot. Believe me, he does not study from morning to night! He is very busy making things out of mud, breaking up rocks, catching lizards, chasing pigs, and playing with David. We are very thankful that we can give him a life like this in Togo.

Please pray as Jesse and I raise Joshua for the Lord and that his life will glorify Him.

The Welcome

2010-04-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

When we came home from our trip to Lomé we had a welcoming committee. A few kids in our neighborhood came running when they heard our truck. One little girl in particular who normally never has clothes on came running with open arms to me wanting a hug, Bryce another little boy was jumping up and down saying white person white person and the minute I stepped from the truck came and gave me a big hug, what a welcome. I love being home with all the familiar sounds and smells and people I love this place.

God's protection

2010-04-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while we need to go down south about 6 hours to purchase things like Cheese, meat, milk, and other food items. Each time we go we ask the Lord to bless the trip and guide our car, and protect us, and that His will be done in all of our lives. The reason why I say this is the roads in Togo are not the best, many accidents take place going down and up the mountain. Not a trip goes by that we do not see many horrible accidents with big trucks. This past trip was no different we saw accidents, but we were blessed we arrived safely. We know God is in control and that He holds our lives in His hands and His will is perfect.

I thank the Lord for His protection.

French Lessons

2010-04-22T03:30:00.001-07:00

This week I talked with a lady who teaches French to children, and I set up a schedule for Joshua to start taking French lessons. I will be taking some also just to brush up on some grammar and conjugations. Please pray for Joshua, he already is doing a great job in speaking French and I know he will do a great job. He is very excited, when she came over for our meeting I could not find Joshua, I called for him and when he came around the corner he told me that he wanted to brush his teeth and wash his face before he talked to her. How cute, he thought he was taking lessons that day.

I could have eaten tons of these

2010-04-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

Just the other day I made some Kabobs for dinner using a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, it was a really big hit. Jesse, when he was finished said I could have eaten a tons of those. Through the entire meal all I heard was ohh this is so good oh this is so yummy, and to my surprise Joshua ate big chunks of onion and green pepper and tomato just becuase of this wonderful marinade. This is a must try, it will make your tastebuds come alive and it will make you want to eat ALL of your vegetables.

Beef Marinade (The recipe said you could use this on a chuck roast or Kabobs)

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 Worcestershire sauce

2 T. ground dry mustard

2 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 T. ground black pepper

1 1/2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 T. ground cloves (I have never put cloves in it).

The instructions say that you need to marinade the meat for three days, but I have found that the marinade is very strong and it is not needed for the little pieces of meat, it might be different with a big chuck roast.

Also, this is a really big recipe you might want to cut it in half if you are making kabobs.

Japaanese potstickers

2010-04-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided to make potstickers, if you have never had them before they are wonderful. I found a great recipe online and with the help of my pasta maker and Jesse we made potstickers together they were delicious.

Potstickers

½ lb ground pork (1 cup)

¾ cup shredded Napa cabbage

1 green onion, diced

2 teasp minced ginger

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp soy sauce

¼ teasp hot chili oil, or to taste

¼ teasp sesame oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying, or as needed

30 gyoza wrappers, or as needed I used a different recipe for the wrappers, I used this wonton recipe.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the shredded cabbage until it is tender but still crisp. Plunge into ice cold water, remove, and drain thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, cooked cabbage, green onion, minced ginger, egg, soy sauce, chili oil and sesame oil.

Lay a gyoza wrapper in front of you. Wet all the edges with water. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the sides up to form a semicircle, and then pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the rest of the gyoza wrappers until the filling is gone.

To cook, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 12 - 15 of the gyoza and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.

Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the dumplings and cook until the water is absorbed (5 to 7 minutes). Repeat with the remainder of the gyoza dumplings..]

Wonton Wrappers

1 egg

¾ teasp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

⅓ to ½ cup water, as needed

Extra flour as needed

Preparation:

Lightly beat the egg with the salt. Add 1/4 cup water.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg and water mixture. Mix in with the flour. Add as much of the remaining water as necessary to form a dough. (Add more water than the recipe calls for if the dough is too dry).

Form the dough into a ball and knead for about 5 minutes, or until it forms a smooth, workable dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out until very thin, and cut into 3 1/2-inch squares. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

"This recipe worked perfectly for me. I did modify a few things. I ended up using (probably) close to 1/2 cup of water. The dough was still very, very dry and unkneadable. Much dryer than you would think it should be. I left it covered for 15 minutes, then kneaded it (by which time it had relaxed a bit), then left it for another half hour (covered).

It was beautiful. I rolled it out using a hand-cranked pasta machine, using half of the dough each time. The pasta machine made it 6 inches wide, which fit 2 three inch cut-outs side-by-side. I used a lot of flour, folded the rolled dough over itself so it was in 4 layers, then cut out with the biscuit cutter. I left it under a damp paper towel for about 1 1/2 hours and had no trouble with sticking, except around the edges where the biscuit cutter had kind of smooshed the layers together a bit. Next time I wouldn't do more than 2 layers.

I am very blessed

2010-04-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past week I heard about a friend who just lost one of her children to SIDS. As you can imagine she is grieving for her little girl. This made me start thinking about my own family and how blessed I am, I live in Africa exactly where God wants me, with my best friend Jesse, and we have together a wonderful son who brings us much joy. I live in a wonderful house with electricity and water, this is a big deal seeing I live in Africa, I could go on and on. I love my life that God has given to me, and I am truly blessed. We all are blessed, if we stop and think about who and what we have we will consider ourselves very blessed, and the only reason why we are blessed is because of God.

Counting the days

2010-04-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Everyday Joshua has asked me how many more days do we have left of school. He is anxiously waiting for the day he is finished with 1st grade, he has done a great job, only three days left.

He just learned Roman Numerals this week and loved them, he told me that he has been wanting to learn these so he can read Lisa's (a missionary in Kara) clock. He makes me laugh he caught on real quick. He is anxiously waiting for THE BIG BREAK.

Almost done with school

2010-03-25T04:10:00.000-07:00

Joshua is very close to finishing another year of school, the 1st grade. He has done so well this year. In his favorite subject, math, he has learned his subtraction tables and addition tables. He can add three digit numbers together, which is his favorite. He has also learned about fractions and all different kinds of measurements. He loves it when we have "Thinking Caps," because they are questions which make him analyze and he loves trying to figure them out. I am very proud of him!

He has done very well with reading. He has read nine books in total and enjoys reading all of the different stories. He started writing in cursive this year and has done very well with that as well.

He learned about many famous men including George Washington, who I believe was his favorite. Currently we are learning about Martin Luther King Jr, and when we are finished learning about him Joshua wants to draw a picture of him. If I can I will scan it and put it on the blog.

Like I said earlier I am very proud of Joshua. He has done very well and enjoys learning. We have had our battles but with God we have overcome them. Joshua is anxious to learn new things in second grade, but he is first looking forward to a break so he can play with his best friend David.

Two precious miracles

2010-03-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the hospital to visit my friend who just had a precious baby today. The baby was so tiny and cute and my friend looked wonderful, especially after just having had a baby. I saw anther lady in the room with a small little bundle close to her. It was another little miracle. After a few minutes I discovered that they did not have any water at the hospital, so my friend decided she wanted to go home. Okay, at that moment I was thinking "no way, you just had this baby at 11:00 it is only 4:00, are you crazy??" But I managed to keep my shock to myself and agreed to take them home. As we were packing things up in the truck the family members of the other lady in the room came to me and asked if I would take the baby and the grandma home for them. I asked how the mother was getting home and they said she'd be taking a motor cycle. I said no, that I would wait for her and she could come with me in the truck. Can you imagine having just given birth to a baby and the same day hopping up on on a motorcycle in Togo?

If you have never been to a third world country let me draw you a picture: the roads, especially the one that the hospital is on, is like a dirt biking track in the woods. The road is like a dried up river bed with ruts and rocks in the ground. You can imagine that it would make it very painful for the new mother. So, I became the taxi for two precious little miracles today and the mommas. I hope to visit the other momma since I know where she lives and bring her some soap. I thank the Lord for situations like this. I know it was not mistake. Please pray for my friend, Esther, that I may share with her the truth about Christ and His love.

Bones

2010-03-10T02:52:00.000-08:00

We have a neighbor across the street that is retired and who wanders the street because he has nothing to do. Every time he would see us he would ask if we had any work for him to do. We continued to tell him we will let you know if we have any. (Just to let everyone know every week we have people come by asking for work because they need money). One day I had a idea for a job for our little friend. We have a trash mound at the end of our street from all of our neighbors, I asked Jesse if we could give him the job of taking care of the mound each week to keep it off the road. Turned out to be a great thing, no more trash, it gives the man something to do and he keeps the whole road clean, and provides money for him. He is a poor man, but always has a smile on his face, he is so thankful for anything.
Hear in Togo and many other places around the world nothing goes to waste, I never throw out old bread someone will always take it, I never throw out the outside of a pineapple they use it to make medicine, I never throw away chicken bones they will cook them in a sauce and suck the marrow out of them. For dinner other night we had a type of bird it is a guinea fowl it is very yummy, after dinner I put the bones and some meat in a bag with some rice, and brought them over to our little friend. When I told him what it was he bowed almost to the ground and took the bags, he was so thankful for BONES. I have learned many things from this man, he has been a great lesson for our family.
I thank the Lord for His blessings, so that we may help other people.

A fun Sunday

2010-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

We all had a blast this Sunday. Jimmy and Joshua played for hours while Jesse and I sat on the porch enjoying being dry. Thank you Jimmy for making this day fun for Joshua, he will never ever forget it.

A great place to buy beautiful pictures

2010-03-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

Jesse is a wonderful photographer and he loves taking pictures of Gods creations. He is currently selling his photos on www.day6images.com
I am trying to tell more people about this wonderful site. Please go check it out and see what you think.

Three little hoots

2010-03-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun doing this page, Joshua had a
lot of fun watching me.
This is Asher, Joshua and David.

Very very thankful

2010-02-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

I am very thankful for Joshua's health, the Lord has blessed in many ways. His neck is almost back to normal and he is feeling great. He has a lot of energy and has no fever. We thank the Lord for His guidance in choosing the medicine and for His healing.
I want to thank you all for praying for Joshua and us as we went through this. We give all of the glory to Him.

Faith in God not in doctors is sometimes difficult.

2010-02-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago Joshua came to me with a swollen neck, I thought he might have pulled a muscle, but it never went down. We took him to the doctors and he said it was a virus. He prescribed a few medicines and we went on our way, we were not impressed. So we went to another doctor who felt Joshua's neck and looked in his mouth and said it is an infection "I will give you a antibiotic" he said. We had to demand a blood test and a throat culture from the doctor.
The blood test came back showing that his white blood cells were normal and that his blood count was down. The throat culture came back saying that he has a rare bacterial virus in his body.

After hearing this I thought, wonderful now we know what it is, now what do we do? One doctor is saying put him on antibiotics another person is saying do not use the antibiotics, do another treatment. I am so confused.
Being in Africa away from big hospitals relying just on 3rd world country doctors (please understand I am very thankful for them, but they have not been trained the way others have been trained) and talking to doctors over the phone. This is definitely a growing experience for my faith. God is the greatest doctor and He knows what is best for Joshua. I am so glad that God has placed in our lives doctors who have given themselves to practice in Togo. I am very thankful for all of the help we have received from them.
Please pray that my faith stays in Christ.

Ice Tea and a little friend

2010-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

Today before I started Bible Hour I made myself a glass of ice tea. When I went out side I was amazed at how many children came for Bible Hour. I was not paying attention to a little boy who was fascinated by my cold cup of ice tea which had ice floating around in it. As I was talking to the children I noticed this little boy he continued to touch the cup and look at me as if to say can I have a sip? I knew it was not possible but I wanted to. The rest of the time with the kids he kept a eye on that cup and so did I, I think if I turned my head the tea would have been gone. I think most of all he was fascinated with the ice cubes.
It was a wonderful day at Bible Hour we saw 5 new children come and a mom she said she would come back next week. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve Him.

Bible Hour Kids singing

2010-02-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

Very Blessed

2010-02-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

Today I was thinking about my life and how good God has been to me. I officially have no complaints about my life. God has given me a family and a home and a place where I can serve Him and I am so blessed to have all of these things. I want to thank the Lord for all of the many blessings.

Decisions

2010-02-02T02:35:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like you are completely incapable of making a sound decision? I despise making a decision, well not all decisions, I don't mind the little ones but big ones I really am not a big fan of. Recently, I have been put to the test a few times and I realize more and more that God is in complete control and really it is Him that is making the decision and I rest in that. As Joshua says "Mom God must be really strong if He holds the world in place" yes He is really strong and He knows all of my problems little and small, and I rest in the fact that He is in control.

Joshua's birthday

2010-01-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

Joshua's birthday is coming up we are all excited. Joshua wants to have a peanut butter fight, I must explain. When you buy peanut butter in Kara it comes in little bags, they take all of the air out of the bags so they look like they are going to pop, Joshua wants to squeeze one so bad and have a peanut butter fight. I am not to sure about this. Maybe we should just stick with water balloons. If anyone has any ideas for games for a 7 year old birthday party just let me know.

A wonderful time with the ladies

2010-01-20T06:22:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday I was given the opportunity to speak to some ladies at our church. I spoke on Genesis and the creation. I had a wonderful time and I pray that the Lord receives the glory for it.

After the meeting ended I told the ladies that I had something special for them. Now, I must explain something first; you must understand that these ladies are poor and the things that they can buy in Togo are usually very poor quality. I had two packages of ladies underwear that I was not going to be using so I gave each of them a pair. When I pulled the packages out of my purse a squeal came out from all of the woman, they were so excited! One of the oldest woman in the church told me she was going to try them on and show me! lol!

How much joy they received by getting just one pair of underwear. I spoke to one of the ladies today and she said she wore them yesterday and she said they fit great and that they are wonderful quality. Another chance to give and a great opportunity to receive joy.

Busted lip, infected ankle, fever, bruised bum......................

2010-01-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

Busted lip, infected ankle, fever, bruised bum, all of things have happened to Joshua this week I hope this week ends quick or else I think we might need to put him in a bubble so he can not hurt himself anymore.

Busted lip - He fell out of chair right on his face on cement, he could not catch himself because his hands were in his pockets.

Infected ankle- A door hit his ankle and became infected this week.

Fever- Sunday morning he was not feeling good, by the end of the day he was so lethargic, and was running a high temperature and we thought he had malaria. We found out the next day he did not have malaria, praise the Lord.

Bruised bum- Tonight he was standing on a wooden stool, and he was to close to the edge and he fell right on the leg part of the stool ouch.

This was not a good week for Joshua. I hope he has a better one next week.

I am truly amazed

2010-01-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

I do not know how many times I have read Genesis chapter 1 and 2, but something happened today while I was studying, I thought of something that amazed me. Right now stop to think how our bodies work. God gave us woman the ability to give life to a child to provide food for the child, to walk down the street to pick up an object. All of these things and many many more He created in one day. This might sound foolish to many but I am amazed at the power and abilities He has. I praise God for the ability to take my next breath, the ability to glorify Him, He gives me the ability to do all of this, and He alone deserves the glory.

Giving is a wonderful thing

2010-01-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine gave me some girls clothes for my neighbor, so I went over her house today and gave her some clothes for her nieces. When I arrived at her house the girls were so excited about the clothes, they started trying on the clothes and got so excited about it. One of the little girls started dancing and saying ya ya, she was so excited about the new clothes, she did not want to take the clothes off.
It was such a joy to see them try the clothes on and to see the smiles on their faces. I believe that giving is such a wonderful gift.

Safari in Pendjari

2009-12-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

We went on a Safari right before Christmas, we had a wonderful time. While on the safari we saw many kinds of Antelope and many different kinds of birds, one of my favorite was the saddle billed stork. We also saw some Hippos and Crocodiles, and Baboons. While driving we saw a large group of Elephants and they started to walk toward the road, they were walking close to our truck it was an amazing feeling, it was a group of 10-12 elephants. One was so big it was about 15 feet high. We had so much fun, it was a great experience. One of the greatest thing we saw was 2 lions, one was walking on the road in front of us, I must admit I freaked out when we saw the large groups of elephants and lions, I was so excited to see them. We were so blessed to see all of those animals.

Update on Fernard

2009-12-30T11:12:00.000-08:00

Fernard is doing 100% better he is crazy as ever, his mom told me that his life was saved, I am very thankful that God has given us the money to help others. His family is very thankful and has said so many times. Thank you all for your prayers.

Little Fernard

2009-12-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

This morning some ridiculous birds woke me up around 6:15, but I am very thankful for them because I was awake to hear the door bell ring. At first I thought I am not going to get that it is 6:20, but I decided other wise. As I opened the door to tell whoever it was that us Americans sleep in so please do not come before 7:00, I saw it was my next door neighbor, she had a panic look on her face, she asked if she could talk to me. She began to explain that Fernard has been sick since Sunday and has been having diarrhea and vomiting since Sunday, she said he has not been eating and did not sleep all night last night. When I looked at little Fenard who is 1 1/2 I could not believe how lethargic he was, he could hardly keep his head up and his breathing was very irregular.
I told her I would take her to the hospital, we left about 5 min later.
When we arrived at the hospital it was to early, not everyone had arrived, no one knew what to do, so we found our self going up and down 5 flights of stairs about 5 times, what fun in a very hot hospital. Finally once we told them that he had been sick since Sunday they started to do something. They brought us to a room where we sat for about 45 min until some men came to take his blood. Little Fernard was so dehydrated that they could not get any blood out of him, they continued to prick him and squeeze his arm, the third time they went right into his vein and took the blood. I had to step out side I could not stand it, he was screaming, I could hear it in the hallway. When I was able to go back in the room they had taken enough blood for the analysis. After all of that Fernard just went to sleep and slept for a few hours. They will be receiving the response from the analysis around 2:00. Please be praying for this little ones body to recover quickly.

The Best granola ever.

2009-12-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

Coconut and Cashew Granola

*Makes about 7 cups of granola
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures by slowly pouring the liquid over the oatmeal mixture and stirring well. Divide in half and pour onto two 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets, spreading out into an even layer on each sheet. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer into a large bowl, slightly breaking up the clumps. Add the raisins and gently mix until even distributed.

The hug of a muslim friend

2009-12-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived in Kara I met a special woman in the market and quickly became friends with her. Since then I have been trying to cultivate this friendship. I make a point to go talk with her each time I am in the market.
Today when I made a trip to the market she was not at her table. This saddened me because I have not been able to see her for two weeks. I had many things to do so I had to leave. While walking down the road, just next to me were speakers blaring out the daily Muslim prayers. To my right was a Muslim store with many Muslim people standing around. Suddenly I spotted her; my friend was walking down the road with her arms open wide, ready to give me a hug. Do you still have the mental picture I just drew for you? All of those people standing around and here is a Christan walking down the street toward a Muslim lady with her arms open wide ready for a hug. At that moment I thanked the Lord for this opportunity to serve Him and thanked Him for this relationship, and maybe someday I will have the opportunity to show her the true way.

Things I love about my life.

2009-12-04T01:03:00.000-08:00

I love that God is my Savior
I love that God gave me the opportunity to serve Him in Togo
I love that God gave me a wonderful husband
I love that God gave me a wonderful son
I love having the opportunity to praise the Lord
I love that I get to live in Africa
I love having Bible Hour every Saturday
I love teaching school to Joshua, okay sometimes
I love having the opportunity to raise Joshua in Africa
I love having wonderful friends in Africa and in America
I love being able to scrapbook
I love being able to cook for my family
I love my life that God has given me.
Thank you Lord.

A very special lady has passed away this week

2009-12-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

I think one of the hardest things being in Africa is, when something happens in the States and I can not be their to comfort or help or give a hug. Today, I have just learned of the death of a very special friend in Oregon. I have known this lady for many many years and she is like a grandmother to me. She is the one person I would always seak out when I went to church to make sure she got a hug, and see how she was doing. She has been such a help and encouragement to me and I will miss her dearly. Mrs Spady was a wonderful woman and she will be missed.

Making FUFU

2009-12-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

Joshua has been asking me for about 2 months to prepare fufu for him, the only problem is I have no idea how to prepare it. This past Saturday I asked my friend Yvette if she would help me make fufu and sauce. Of course Joshua wanted to help with this process, so last night we made fufu together. We all had a wonderful time.

FUFU: Is a staple in Togo. They always eat it with a sauce. It comes from a root called manioc. To prepare it, they will peel the manioc and cut it up like you do when making mashed potatoes. It's then cooked like you would for mashed potatoes, then they pound them like you see in the picture.

This is a video of Joshua making and eating fufu. http://www.vimeo.com/7940011

Very sick with Malaria

2009-11-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

After arriving home from Accra Jesse said he was not feeling well. When Monday arrived he had a fever and the chills, welcome malaria. He started taking some medicine, but was not able to keep it down. His fever continued to go up and down and he really was not doing well. On Wed he stood up quickly and was starting to walk back to bed, I asked him how he was doing and he said he was very dizzy, at that point he passed out in my arms. It took everything in me to get him to the bed. I don't think I have ever been so scared. After that episode I gave him some new medicine and he began to feel better soon after he started the medicine, by Thursday night he was about 80% better. I had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
He is 100% better now and I am so thankful, I praise the Lord for his health. Thank you all for your prayers.

Traveling to Ghana from Togo

2009-11-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

We left Togo at 4:00 am on our way to Ghana. Because of the roads and the border crossing it took us 12 hours. While on the road we saw many funny things. We saw two cows laying down in a small bed of a pickup truck, they were laying down tied in by a rope. We all thought they were dead but, this is the way they transfer cattle lol. We also saw a van driving down a road with a goat on top of it standing, I wish I got a picture it was so funny.
We made it to Accra safely. I enjoyed a latte last night that was so yummy, and I ate broccoli for the second time since we have been in Africa it was delicious. What a treat.

Movie night with Bible Hour kids

2009-11-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I decided to have a movie night for the kids in the neighborhood. We decided to show Jungle Book. It was so great seeing the reactions of the kids and even the adults. When they saw the snake in the movie they all gasped and began to make noises that are impossible to describe. It was a great night, and the kids and parents loved it.

Spiderman was at our house yesterday

2009-11-11T14:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we had a fall festival for all of the missionary kids in the area. All of the parents took on the responsibility of producing a fun activity for the kids, like little carnival booths. Jesse and I did bobbing for water balloons, and the children loved it. Other parents did a ring toss, and orange throw, flour sac races, a cup cake walk, and an obstacle coarse. All of the children loved it. Joshua was very excited because the lady who was doing the face painting said she could paint a spiderman mask. Joshua turned into spiderman for a day and loved it. When we walked outside their gate to leave we saw some Togolese kids that were passing by. They started shouting and laughing since they had never seen spiderman up close before! It was a great response. When we arrived home one of our friends looked at him, and in broken English said "Spiderman". Yvette, my friend, looked at him and said "you should keep your face like this always; this is who you are, 'SPIDERMAN'". Joshua loved being Spiderman for a day.
It is so wonderful to have friends hear in Africa. We are blessed, and I am blessed to have Spiderman in my home.

My two favorite men

2009-11-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

Treat others as you would want to be treated

2009-11-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at Bible Hour I noticed something that is very common with children here in Togo is that they hit each other all the time. Even a young child will hit an older child. As I was sitting in the middle of these children I was very bothered by this. After Bible hour I talked to the children about treating others as you want them to treat you. It was almost as if the children did not understand the concept. I pray they will soon understand as will be talking about it, "for the next few weeks".

Does white skin feel different.

2009-11-08T03:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday during Bible Time a little girl was sitting next to me, she was looking at my toes and my feet. After looking at my feet she started touching my legs pinching my skin and rubbing it, then she touched her skin, at this point realizing that my skin felt very different then hers. After doing this she looked up at me and smiled.

Raining sweet potatoes

2009-10-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, I was walking to the market and I saw a lady that I know from a church so I sat down to talk with her. She asked how I was and my family, and after a few minutes she asked me if I wanted to buy some food that she was selling. The only problem was that I did not like what she was selling. I told her on my way back from the market that I would buy some of her food for a friend at our house.

While there at the market I bought a few things and I wanted some sweet potatoes, but without thinking I used all my money buying the sweet potatoes. The lady that sold me the potatoes gave some extra. While I was walking back from the market I realized what I had done; I had no money to buy the food from my friend, so I immediately thought of the sweet potatoes. I explained to my friend the situation and told her that I wanted to give her a gift and gave her some sweet potatoes. She was so happy to receive them, she was so thankful, and I was happy to give them.

On Saturday I met a girl walking down our street I found out she lives next to us and that she sells sweet potatoes. I was able to buy a very large amount of potatoes for less than a dollar. We had a guy working for us that day who's family does not have a lot of money, so we gave him some sweet potatoes. He also was so thankful and I was very glad to give them to him.

Then on Sunday at church the pastor's son gave gave us a bag of sweet potatoes for a gift. What a blessing! Then when we got home one of our night guards came with a big bag. Jesse told me that his family gave us sweet potatoes and peanuts.

As I was walking into the house I realized what was happening, I stopped and thanked the Lord for what He was doing. He was providing food for our family, and using us to provide food for other people. I want to praise the Lord for everything even down to the last sweet potato, I felt like it was raining sweet potatoes today.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Suffer the little children........

2009-10-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is a little girl that lives on our street, if I walk around to see our neighbors she
is with me in my arms, we do not understand what each other are saying, but we do
undertand one thing LOVE.

I am trying something out

2009-10-21T07:09:00.001-07:00

I am trying to figure something out on my blog I am sorry.

Going to church with Bubble Gum.

2009-10-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is Bubble Gum, I have given him this name.
This past Sunday I walked to church with some kids and a new friend of mine. While we were walking Bubble Gum and another little boy were holding my hand, now you must understand Bubble Gum does not speak French yet only Kabiye. As we were walking he was saying something but no one was listening to him, I asked my friend what he was saying, she started to laugh she said that he was wondering if I get tired when I walk because I take so many steps. If you know me you know why he has said this, I have short legs and small feet. He thought if I took bigger steps I would not be as tired. I thought this was so funny I started laughing because of this cute comment but also because he is only 3 and he noticed this.

At church all of the other children went to a childrens class but not Bubble Gum, he would not leave my side, my friend told me that he said he wanted to stay with his friend, all through church he was tucked up under my arm playing with my fingers, after a while he crawled up on my lap and went to sleep. I pray that I will always have a little friend like Bubble Gum. I thank the Lord for my little Bubble Gum.

By the way I call him Bubble Gum, because he loves bubble gum. One day I taught him the word bubble gum, so every time he would see me he would say that, and so we started to sing a song about it and that is how he became Bubble Gum.

Wonderful Friends

2009-10-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

Friends in Africa make life easier. I am very thankful for the people that God has put in our life. Just this week we have celebrated some birthdays, and have had some parties, it was so nice to talk to people that are going through and doing the same things that I am going through and doing. I thank the Lord for the wonderful friends in my life.

My sweet little friend Chris

2009-10-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

This is Chris, he is the one with the infection on his leg, I checked his leg yesterday and it does not look any better, he has liquid coming out of it. I put him on a antibiotic I am beginning to think I should have been a nurse and a school teacher. I am continuing to put medicine on the wound, and am praying that it will get better. It is starting to look like a staff infection, this is very common hear, because it is so dirty. Yesterday when I checked his wound it had flies all over the bandage, and when I took it off I felt sick to my stomach. To answer the question about what Chris said about it moving, I think what he was saying was that it was throbbing, because of the infection.

A new page for David's book.

2009-10-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

This is some of Joshua's friends having fun acting like they are Spiderman, they thought they were so cool.

The Slave Castle in Ghana.

2009-10-15T15:21:00.001-07:00

To much love?

2009-10-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw a girl that had been burnt just recently, it was her shoulder. Her mom had put some kind of medicine on it and it looked horrible, it made me sick to my stomach to look at it. She had 4 different spots that were burned. Also, I talked to one of my neighbors that has had diarrhea for days and has blood mixed with it, she has an amoeba, she has had it for a while. Another neighbor has spots all over her body she has a fungus. So yesterday I had a really busy day taking care of the people I care about with the help of my friend Lisa she is a nurse.
This morning we had some children come to church with us, one of the boys said that his leg hurt, he pulled up his pant leg and he had a sore about the size of a nickle that is raised and I could tell it was infected. When we arrived home I sprayed some hydrogen peroxide on it 4 times it would not stop bubbling, he said it hurts and it feels like it is moving, he has a infected leg I am praying that it does not turn into a staff infection, we will see tomorrow how it is doing.
When I arrived home today after taking care of the little boys leg I thought to myself why are these parents not taking care of there children? these children are precious to me I love them dearly, the children are hurting and the parents seem to not care WHY, do I have to much love? impossible, I than realized God loves them more and maybe this is an opportunity to show the parents that I care about them and that they will see the Love of God through me. Please pray with me that the Lord will give me many opportunities to talk with them. The lady that has the amoeba is Muslim please pray that the Lord will show me what to do to help her and also to give me the opportunity to share with her the TRUTH. Thank you in advance for all of your prayers.

Some beautiful faces.

2009-10-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

New flip flops, and a new friend

2009-10-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today I was outside our gate talking to a neighbor, and I saw some children coming down the road, I knew the children and were excited to talk to them. One little boy I saw was carrying his shoes, but he only had one in his hands so I went to look for the other one on the path and found it. I was helping him put them on and noticed they would nor could not fit on his feet, I felt so bad I thought of how many pairs of flip flops and shoes I have in my house. My friend asked him if he has any other shoes at his house he said no. I thought to my self what am I going to do now, I then remembered that a lady next door to us sells things outside of her door, I asked her if she had children's flip flops and she did. For just a few cents I was able to put shoes on this little boys feet and gain a new friend my next door neighbor. We have spoken to her before but I believe this has opened a new door, I believe she is Catholic. I will get her name soon to put it on the blog so you can be praying for her.

Canopy walk in Ghana.

2009-10-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Two boys who love Spiderman

2009-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Lizard page.

2009-09-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

The front page of the scrapbook for David.

2009-09-25T04:27:00.001-07:00

This is the front page of the book. They were playing with darts this day having lots of fun, they love it when I take pictures.

Joshua and David

2009-09-25T04:21:00.001-07:00

David gave Joshua a chicken as a gift, we just ate it the other day it was wonderful. Joshua thought it was great, he watched Honoré take care of the chicken and loved it.

A wonderful welcome and a prayer request.

2009-09-24T15:16:00.001-07:00

While driving home last night Jesse and I saw our neighbor, we stopped and I was able to talk to her, she was on her way to sell eggs on the street. While walking home I saw some of the children on our road that have been gone to another village during the school break. I suddenly heard loud screaming and three boys running toward me through the corn field and the mother telling me to come come, what a wonderful welcome, the children want me to stay they never want me to leave, they are precious children especially my Bubble gum boy.

Please be praying for Momma Romeo she has had malaria for 1 week, I have given her some medicine, but she is very week. She told me that she can not keep food or water down. Please pray that her body will recover quickly.

Little girl with the infected ears

2009-09-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Her name is Ange, we took her to the doctors this past Monday and the doctor said it was not serious, and they gave her some medicine and sent her home, they want her to come back on Friday for a checkup. Please continue to pray for her. We are going on three months now since she first became sick.

Best Friends

2009-09-24T14:55:00.001-07:00

I am making a scrapbook for David for Christmas, and I am having lots of fun doing it.

A new scrapbook page.

2009-09-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

School with Joshua

2009-09-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

The honest truth about school with Joshua. I am having a little bit of a hard time, he does not want to be in school, he has to many distractions and he would rather be playing, me too I would rather be out talking with people or doing scrapbooking, something besides sitting in the school room. But, his schooling is very important to me and Jesse and I take it seriously. He is doing well in school, he is reading wonderfully and he is doing very well in Math also, he loves Science it is his favorite subject, he looks forward to that everyday.
Does anyone have any ideas for memorizing addition tables, not for me heee for Joshua, I would greatly appreciate it.

Update on the seriously infected ears

2009-09-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

The little girl that I was helping has gone through two kinds of antibiotics and she still has the infection, I mean she still has green stuff coming out of her ears. I have been trying to take her to the hospital but it just has not worked out. Hopefully she will go today with Honoré, or tomorrow depending on if the mom is available. Please pray that the doctors can find the problem, hopefully this infection has not damaged her eardrum. I will keep you up to date on the situation.

Update on Rebekah

2009-09-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

She is doing fantastic, the doctor gave her medicine and she is doing great. The momma is doing fine now also. Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

Shucking corn, lots of it.

2009-09-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

My egg lady the one I gave the bowl to is harvesting her corn, so I decided I was going to go over and help her. Well Saturday I heard a knock on the door and it was Ester, she told me she was going to start shucking the corn, and wanted to know if I was ready. Off I went to shuck corn with the best of them. Ohhhh I had a grand ol time my toenails were black from mud and I had insects crawling up my skirt, but I had so much fun sitting shucking corn with them, they are wonderful people and I am so honored to be in Togo with them. I thank God for them and the opportunity that I have to work along side of them. Please continue to pray for her and her husband, as far as I know they are unsaved.
Also another prayer request his brother's little child of 2 years just died, the child fell down a well that was not covered. Please pray for the family as they morn for this child, the family lives in a village, so please pray for the opportunity to share with them the gospel.

Please pray for little Rebekah

2009-09-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

Little Rebekah has malaria, she is a little over a month old. I have a picture of her on the blog her daddy is Honoré, the mom also has malaria and a infection in her stomach. I will keep you posted on what is going on with the little one.

Bubble Gum

2009-08-31T14:53:00.002-07:00

I have this little boy that comes every Sat to the Bible hour, he loves getting bubble gum and singing not so much the story, he is only three, he tries but to no avail he becomes distracted. Well he has attached himself to me and we sing a song about bubble gum. The word for Bubble gum in French is Chewing gum but they pronounce it different. So this little boy who I call Bubble gum sing this song together "Bubble gum bubble gum bubble gum, bubble gum pour moi (for me) bubble gum bubble gum bubble gum bubble gum (pour moi)" it is so cute. Every Sat he sits and tells me in Kabeya to come to his house and cries when I say I can not. I think I will try and go this week to visit Bubble gum.

Mr Honoré's new baby Rebekah

2009-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

This is Rebekah our gardener's little girl. They are a wonderful couple.

Bubble Gum

2009-08-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

VERY VERY BUSY

2009-08-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I just started school with Joshua about 6 weeks ago so you can understand why the title of this blog is "VERY VERY BUSY". Also we have had a wonderful family staying with us, the Huffs for about a month and half. They are a new missionary couple in Togo we know them from college and we were in Québec together also. A few weeks ago Heidi found out she is pregnant, she has been sick a dizzy and just feeling really bad, I completely understand. So my life has been on speed for a while now. It has been a wonderful time having them stay at our house, and we have really enjoyed the company.
So my life right now is very busy, but I will tell you a few things that have been going on lately in my life. Right now I am teaching the book of Daniel to the kids in French, last Sunday was my first day teaching the whole lesson, I loved it. I am excited about next week. Ester my next door neighbor is going to teach me how to take the corn off the cob this week, if the rain stops long enough.
In my quiet time I have been reading through Daniel, and have been amazed how much glory God received from the life of Daniel. I just pray that the Lord will receive the glory for everything I do, it really makes me question what I do and why I do it, He will receive the glory.

On a funny note, today I came back from the market with Yvette to find Joshua and his friend soaking wet, and they had different clothes on, I asked them whey they were so wet, they said Mr Honoré got us wet, it was are gardener/guard during the day, he was working in the yard and the boys started getting him wet with squirt guns, so he got the hose, well you can imagine what happened next. After I went inside I saw Honré running for his life with David and Joshua behind him with the hose. I love all of the people we work with they are such a blessing.

Seriously infected ears.

2009-08-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

One week from this past Sat, at Bible time with the neighborhood kids I saw a little girl that I thought was a boy, because she only had shorts on. As I was sitting with the children I saw this little girl, as I was looking at her she turned her head I saw something coming out of her ear, it was slim coming out of her ear, her ear was so infected that the infection was seeping out of her ear. Through a translator I was able to ask her to bring her mom to our house. She did not come that day or the rest of the week I was so worried about this little girl. A whole week went by and she did not come, finally the door bell rang Sat morning early, it was her with her mom, I was so happy to see her, I was able to speak to her and find out a little more about the situation. I looked into her ear and saw all of the infection coming out of her ear. I cleaned her ear out with some q-tips, I had a glove on, just to let you know. I am very careful. The infection coming out of her ear was like glue, it continued to come out of her ear. She said she can hardly hear right now, no wonder. We got some medicine for her and she has taken it two days now and I am already starting to see a difference. Praise the Lord she came to our Bible hour, it did not seem to me that her mom was going to buy her any medicine. Please pray that maybe through this we will see her family become children of God. I need to get her name, I will get it tonight when she comes to take her medicine. Thank you for your prayers. I will give a update at the end of her medicine.

The biggest moth I have ever seen.

2009-08-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

We saw this moth outside in our yard, it is like we live in Africa or something heeee. We had lots of fun looking at it and talking about how amazing it is, and how God made it the way He did.

Joshua's first real cut.

2009-08-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today I came home and found Joshua sitting on the recliner looking like he was guilty, I asked him what was wrong, he told me he cut his hand. Today he was trying to make a gun with some wood and he cut his hand. Jesse told me the story and how it happened, I am sure glad I was not at home. Jesse said he came into the kitchen with blood all over his two hands, Jesse said he even freaked out for about 3 seconds I know I would have for about 10 min.
He is doing fine he is a real trouper, he even tolerated hydrogen peroxide, he told me he was brave. We are keeping it very clean and well bandaged because cuts in Togo become infected very quickly. Please pray that it heals fast and no infection sets in.

Water at our house is better.

2009-08-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

As I was trying to prepare dinner, I heard a knock on the door, it was our gardener he was asking if it was okay to give someone some water that asking for water, I said of coarse give him some water. I asked him before I gave him the bottle who it was that was asking he said it is the man from across the street, okay let me stop right now and give you some history.

I met this man a few months ago he lives across the street in a little one room house, it is very similar to a duplex. He asked me why we hired other people to be our guards, when we have people right across the street that could guard for you, at that moment I smelled the alcohol on his breath, okay no point in talking to this man he is drunk. Since our greeting he has asked just me for work 5 times, he has asked our gardener Honoré many many times, matter fact every time he sees Honoré he asks for work.
Okay now you know the history of this little friend of ours.
Back to the story, I found out this is the man who was asking for water, the only problem is he has access to a well, I told Honoré I do not understand why he needs our water, I know his well is not dry we are in the rainy season. Honoré started laughing, I told him to find out why he wants our water. I found out later he wanted our water because it will make him stronger, because he has bad water, Honoré and I had a great laugh on this one, what is this man thinking, I told Honoré this is the last time if he wants clean water he needs to boil his water for ten min before he drinks it, that will clean his water. I asked Honoré if he smelled alcohol on him, he said yes, so our little drunk friend across the street thinks we have the greatest water in town. So I wanted everyone to know we have water that will make you strong. Haaaaaaa come to Togo and get strong.

Update on Etienne the twins daddy

2009-08-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Etienne is the father who has the twins, his wife died 3 months ago, the Lord made our paths cross a few weeks ago.
I gave Pastor Mousa a pastor in Kara Etienne's phone number and he contacted him and they have been meeting every Monday night, I have not received a update this week, but please continue to pray for him and the family.

A simple mixing bowl.

2009-08-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I was buying some eggs from a lady named Ester across the street. While I was talking to her she said she really liked my mixing bowl, it was just a simple medal mixing bowl, I said thank you and left. A few weeks ago I started looking around at all of the mixing bowls that I have, and I came to the realization that I do not need all of these, so I decided to give one to her today. I could hardly wait, now I am not telling you this to make me look good I wanted to tell you this because of her reaction.
When I went to her house today to buy some eggs, I told her I had a surprise for her, I handed her the bowl, it looked like I handed her $500, her face lit up and she hugged me repeatedly 4 times each time saying thank you, thank you, thank you. She said over and over how pretty it is. It was just a medal mixing bowl, I received such a blessing from that single bowl, I wish I had 500 of them to give away. She said she could not wait to use it.
Please pray for Ester she is not saved to my knowledge, she is catholic, we have started to speak of religion a little but please pray that our friendship will grow and that I will have the opportunity to talk with her, I am a little nervous about giving the gospel in French, it is one thing to hand out a track it is a little different telling them about Christ. I am praying she will see Him in my life, and know that I am different because of Him.

Lunch with our neighbors.

2009-07-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I went to say hi to some neighbors, it was not the first time that I had talked with them, but they asked me to eat with them, I accepted and ate pot and sauce and beans, it was wonderful, I enjoyed my time spent with the ladies. The two ladies that I am speaking of are Mama Romeo and Mama Christian, Mama Christian is Catholic and Mama Romeo says she is Baptist, but I am not sure if she is saved or not. Please be praying for them both and families.

About a week ago I invited the two families to come and eat with us during the noon meal, yesterday at 1:00 they came all dressed up, it was wonderful, we ate spaghetti under our gazebo and had a great time. They ate tons of food and tons of bread, after lunch I served the ladies some hot tea because it was a cool day, they loved the sugar and milk that I gave them for the tea, they never buy liquid milk so they were really excited when they saw that.

Please pray for these ladies to see Christ in my life and that they would be willing to hear the gospel and become children of God. Also please pray that the Lord will give me more opportunities to share the Love of Christ with these wonderful people around me.

A funny story: after we finished our lunch everyone left accept the two ladies and some children. The ladies and I were talking when I saw one of the little girls start descending the stairs of the gazebo pulling her panties down, I know what that means she is going to go pee-pee in our yard, I could not stop her, neither could the ladies, they had a frantic look on their faces and I just told them ça va (no problem do not worry about it) I just laughed it off, it is not everyday that you have a little girl pee-pee right by the steps of your house. Life in Africa is great. I did clean it up just to let you know, thank you Lord it was just pee-pee.

Twin babies with out a mommy.

2009-07-21T03:28:00.000-07:00

While in the pharmacy the other day I saw a older lady with a baby on her back, only the lady was to old to have a baby, I was talking to her and she told me the mommy died after she gave birth to the baby, and that they are staying at sos the hospital in Kara, I said good bye and left, I thought of the baby a few times during the week.
When Jesse had Malaria we went to have him tested to see if he had it and I saw the same lady at sos hospital, I asked her how the baby was doing and she said come with me and you can see her, but to my amazement when I arrived I saw two babies laying on the bed, the mom had twins one boy and one girl, my heart dropped I could not believe two babies have lost there momma.
I returned to the hospital yesterday to hold the babies, I was able to hold the little boy and Heidi a missionary friend was able to hold the little girl, Beni the boy was smiling at me every time I talked to him, I was loving it. I was able to meet the father of the little twins, he also has a little boy who is 5 years old, I asked the father how he was doing and he said he continues to ask about his mother, and he tells him she went to the village, I am not sure if that is what they tell children if a parent dies, the little boy snuggled right up to Heidi, you could tell he needed some loving on. Please be praying for the father and the twins and this little boy who does not have his mother anymore. The fathers name is Etienne.

Malaria in the Shanks house

2009-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jesse said he was not feeling well, by the time he went to bed last night he had a temp of 102, this morning he was down to 100, he is feeling better now but we are waiting it out. He is taking some med. but we are not sure how well it works, because it is the first time we have personally used it for malaria. Please be praying for Jesse, and wisdom in what we should do.