Our Blog

We’ve moved

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:52:07 -0500

Instead of keeping up these two websites, for now, go over to www.waterfortogo.org to check out blog updates. I’m sure we’re not done with this site but for now it’s going to stand still until we get a game plan. Thanks!

The Village of Hope

Mon, 16 May 2011 12:09:56 -0500

We’re always excited to hear about work that Churches of Christ are doing here in West Africa, namely, because sometimes we get tired of answering “what church?” or “oooh, that one with the commercial” or better yet “you’re those guys who think you’re the only ones going to heaven.” That’s the tip of the iceberg for the excitement we felt when Water4 asked us if we could come help Caleb, (one of the two employees of the NGO, and a member of Memorial Road Church of Christ and a graduate of Oklahoma Christian College) start a well project at the Village of Hope, a CoC sponsored school, orphanage, and health clinic 35 miles outside of Accra Ghana. There would be a group of 20 college students from OCC and we’d be partnering with local churches to train a team there.
Finding materials in Ghana was more difficult than I thought it’d be. I actually thought it’d be the place to go to find things. It turns out we couldn’t even find basic materials required for drilling. After some hard work, searching, and getting people to stop saying it was for boreholes, we found the right stuff. We went around to survey locations, met the team, and got materials out to the locations. The soil was nothing but sand and after a little practice, two wells had been drilled. We had to leave but Caleb will spend 2.5 weeks there training local Christians in the gift of finding and giving clean water in Jesus’ name.
This trip coincided with our teammates, the Stoffs, needing to go to Accra to check on and make decisions about their broken-down car and get an ultrasound done on their baby-on-the-way. They’ve had their share of “welcome to Africa” events and we’re always happy to have them with us on trips. It was also a good opportunity for me to replace the rear window of my truck, which had gotten busted out moving work-out equipment in my truck. I was grateful to find one for $150 there instead of the $400 price in Togo.
Accra is always a nice treat because of a coffee shop, a quazi-Apple store, high speed internet, and fast food. It’s a great way to treat each other to comforts and date night opportunities including our favorite place to eat Champs, where you get a full tummy of food and no dysentery to follow.
It was a nice change of pace and a great trip to be encouraged by the group from Memorial Road. The Stoff’s had a clear health check up on their baby and started important progress on the repair of their truck. Thanks for your prayers!

I don’t know what to say.

Mon, 16 May 2011 05:39:37 -0500

I’m rarely speechless but I found myself in a situation that left me that way several weeks back. This will get graphic later on, so don’t read this aloud to your Sunday School class.
As you know, I’ve been investing myself with local people through the well work as a way of both bettering the physical lives of themselves and others as well as granting myself opportunities to join in what God might be doing in their lives, seeking opportunities to share my faith and train others to do the same. One team that I’ve been pouring into is the team from Atchambade. That team started three years ago when Dave Reeves (our former teammate) started teaching the first well drilling method (those of you who have been keeping up with us for a while now know that it was a rope-pulling method that hammered the earth) in Tchvengda (1 mile east of Atchambade). They tried drilling several times and eventually were successful in getting two wells in place. The team had tons of problems, mostly arguing amongst themselves, and was constantly falling apart. This wasn’t due to Dave’s leadership, it’s the nature of the village and the relationship Tchvengda has with Atchambade. When the Lassa Tchou team began to shake apart last fall I decided to give those who wanted a chance from the old Atchambade/Tchvengda team the opportunity to be trained. I told them it’d be an apprenticeship, not a job, and when they were done being trained I’d hand them over the equipment and help them become a business. The old method required 12 men but the new method only required 5 so I told them to pick out the most serious and to let me know. Initially there was Sobo, (the chiefs son), Daniel (an older former-polieceman from Atchambade), Awe (tall in red shorts), Me (Awe’s brother, shorter, white shirt green stripe), Dodgy (shirtless, yellow du-rag), and Babanam (Sobo’s half-brother, far right). Tchozo helped me train them (second from right) after doing two with me in other locations.
I quickly learned that Sobo and Babanam were not there to work, they were looking for stuff and money. It’s about this time that Sobo, who I’d been having bible-studies with got a girl pregnant and announced his marriage. He lied to me about it and then I found out he’d stolen a radio and some vegetable seeds from my home. Tchozo also asked Sobo about evangelism and Sobo replied that he didn’t have time to do so and unless we came and built them a church building it would never work anyway. Not having time and church buildings being the answer are about the most opposite things ever to what we’d been studying. I also had been for months confronting their family about the animal sacrifices they had in their home and fields, made so that ancestral spirits would give them blessing. Each time there was another excuse and a better hidden one the next, either way there were serious faith issues at play. By character and actions I knew it was time to put some space between he and I. At this phase in Sobo’s training there was no reason why he’d be doing these things innocently. Babanam was also causing a ton of quarreling on the team and was never on time. As soon as Sobo dropped out because he didn’t want to walk 1 mile to do the next well Babanam was out as well. I sensed the frustration of the team and asked them what they wanted to do. Sensing some fear, I told them that I hadn’t come for Sobo alone and even though he wasn’t there, I still wanted to train them and invest in their lives. With some relief, they said that if they didn’t come for that job then they would be off the team. And that was that, Sobo and I have stayed in touch but he’s yet to repent or show any awareness of wrongdoing on his part. He asks for loans and gifts but that’s been it.
That left Daniel (a Catholic), Awe and Me (animists), Dodgy ( a Muslim), and we then added Abiyo (animist). Daniel showed promise and he became prayer leader of the group and dedicated the wells to God each time. I was frequently impressed with his responses to difficult faith questions. Awe began to grow and show interest through his relationship with Tchozo, who is of similar stature and work ethic. I’ve watched him mature immensively over the last 6 months and pray he’ll be a formidable force for the Kingdom. The team voted Me president of the group, going against culture, electing him over Daniel, his senior of 25 years. Me is a pessimist and lacks trust. He’s critical and complains and therefore a lot like me. He feels like he can’t change “religions” and even though I’ve tried to explain the difference he can’t seem to change. Take all of Me’s weaknesses, add 6 inches of height and you’ve got Abiyo. That leaves Dodgy, a guy who’s name brings a smile to my face. He’s come a tremendous way, is now treasurer of the group, and brings honesty and vulnerability to the group. He’s a rarely practicing Muslim but has told Tchozo he’s willing to begin studies with him. Pray for these men.
Now, to what made me speechless.
I showed up to Daniel’s house to pick up some materials I’d stored there and learned that he wasn’t there, he was at the police station. A few days passed and I learned that he’d been arrested for raping an 8 year old girl. Not minutes after I learned, he called me and told me he’d been arrested and would be in touch. Not sensing any gravity in his tone I assumed he’d been falsely accused. As time went on I learned from the team that it was indeed true. Daniel, married with children, had lured a young girl to his home with fruit and raped her. The girl had arrived home, bleeding, and was unable to walk for several days. This story ran chills through my bones. How do I react, do I go with anger? sympathy for his family? sympathy for the family of the victim? I don’t know.
I decided just to stay away. Today will be my first visit to the village since two weeks ago when I learned of all this. I’ve know Daniel’s wife, children, and even his deceased parents since I arrived here in Togo but I’m not sure what to do. He was a goofy, story telling man who seemed so normal. I’ve learned that normal in Togo isn’t at all so normal to me. I found out in conversations that whenever you need to get the favor of certain spirits in the traditional religion you commit the act of rape. The more evil it is the more favor you receive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say “he should have just gone out to find a crazy woman to rape instead” with a sort nonchalantness that blows my mind. People say he’d made an agreement with a witch-doctor and the only thing that got him caught was doing this outside his bedroom, because if it’d been inside the bedroom it’d all been here-say. Traditionally he’d have to kill a goat as an offering and make 5 gallons of beer to offer to the community.
Imagine a culture so messed up it’s ok to rape a crazy person.
Imagine a goat and beer being what brought justice to the raping of your daughter.
I guess this is what happened. He’d had financial problems, needed money and wasn’t getting it so he turned to what people turn to here when times are tough... their traditional religious beliefs. Even “christians” have laid foundations on those beliefs and when push comes to shove, when the rains are late and you just can’t seem to get well, it’s those ancestors and spirits who get called on instead of God. I’ll let you draw your own parallels into our culture there.
Daniel thought his brother, a wealthy public figure, would bail him out but it seems like that isn’t happening. So he’s got $100 to find or 5 years in jail ahead of him. As it turns out, the family would have even pardoned him if he would have asked for it. Can you imagine? I can’t imagine, even after living here, that it could be taken so lightly and I can’t imagine a man, so stubborn, to face trial and public humiliation rather than asking forgiveness. If it were my daughter I can’t imagine what I’d do, I know there’d be fire and lightning falling from the sky and a lot of questions about appropriate violence. (By the way, I retyped that about 8 times trying to find out what I’d actually want read instead of what I actually thought).
A professing Christian, father, retired policeman, child rapist.
And i’d trusted him.
And I try to imagine how God must be grieving.
Life is so messy isn’t it. I won’t go on to talk about how sins are sins and something about how I understand this whole thing. I don’t and maybe never will. I’m not sure if he will fully understand the consequences of what he’s done in this life either but i’ll sure be praying he’ll do so. I’m glad, also, that his story with Him doesn’t revolve around me and feel at peace with trusting the guys in the drill team to pass on my sentiments to his family and to encourage his wife and children by continuing to support the kids education through the purchase of pea-gravel we use for the wells. I guess I’ve said a lot about not having anything to say, so I’ll leave you with words from Paul:
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteous evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:28-32

April ... Finally some showers!

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:18:28 -0500

Well it’s almost the end of April and I’d like to tell you something... I’m feeling better about being here. God’s granted us some rejuvenation and hope and we’re incredibly thankful for that.
This month has been a big one. The church in Alibi 1 baptized 17 people in Kitangoli, a village 9 km to the South of them. The Atchambade team and Kader have now come together, are forming statutes, official roles (President, Treasure, etc.), working out their price and planning for their future. They’ve left the fields for this work and want to give this their all. Jean Mari and Christine had an official marriage and I conducted the ceremony, and last but not least, our teammates the Miller family, after almost 12 years, has left Togo for good.
This month I started running and lifting weights again. I bought some workout equipment from someone in town and turned the roof of our house into the best gym in the region. We had temperatures over 110 degrees and some of the best farmer’s tans we’ve ever had. We had three visitors, Becky who works for Wycliffe Togo, May who is a teacher for missionary kids in Lome, and Trent who is a Peace Corp volunteer three hours South in Sotobua. We really enjoyed having guests and a time to be hospitable.
In Uganda I realized we needed to connect our water project with NGOs, Non-Profits, and the Government. I drove out to Kabou to meet with Kader, who’s been working with us, because of his experience working with the Peace Corps and the Government with water projects. We hashed out some plans and made plans to speak with the Director of the Peace Corps for Togo to exchange ideas. Kader is a visionary and has amazing wisdom into how people feel and what they need to do to work together. Kader’s what he calls “a modern Muslim” but with a heart of gold. I’m not sure of his future but I know he’s certainly in my prayers and vision for our work here. Meeting with Peace Corps we decided to begin a relationship with volunteers on the ground here and hope to expand our projects and reach through them. Working with them should help us to gain validity with the government and a stable future for the team for the future.
We headed down to Lome to pick up the Stoff family, who had gone down to Accra for an ultrasound of their in-the-womb-baby. They had taken the Miller’s truck, which they had plans of buying, but before arriving in Accra had the engine blow out on them. It ended up being a cracked piston. They had to spend a week in Accra without a car, finding mechanics, organizing transportation, and entertaining a 10 month old... a lot of experiences for their first 6 months in Africa. We volunteered to drive down to Lome to pick them up there so that they wouldn’t have to take a bus back to Kara, an experience no pregnant woman should ever have to endure. While there we had our meeting with the Peace Corps Director and one more with the Steel Manufacture (who finally told us we’d never get the material we need in Togo).
On the 11th we started drilling in a nearby village called Bebeda. The team was hired by a Baptist missionary to drill there and had success, and more importantly, was finally paid for their work! They’ve done 8 wells and 18 attempts but were only fully paid before this for one well. Since receiving payment they’ve felt empowered to go back and insist on payment for past jobs and are excited and confident for the lively hood they can gain for the future.
On the 12th I had the pleasure of going back to Alibi 1, where the church and Tchozo had just drilled 6 wells, to see baptisms and participate in worship with them. 17 people from a neighboring village publicly gave their lives to Jesus in baptism there. The water was awful, the darkest mud you’d ever seen, and it hit me how awful it was to be baptized in that, much less to have been drinking it. Awɛ, a Christian in Alibi 1, has been traveling the 9km once a week to help share the gospel and teach people how to read and write their language there, in the village of Kitangoli. All the teaching has been done there in our absence and for nearly everyone there it was their first time to meet us. What a blessing to see God at work in their lives!
We were in Alibi 1 to place 6 pumps in the wells drilled there this month and look forward to seeing how the church there decides to share the gift of water with their neighbors.
We had the blessing of helping the Millers pack their 20’ shipping container to send their belongings back to Birmingham, where they’ll store their things before buying a 40’ container to fill to ship belongings to Rwanda, where they plan on serving long term for the years to come. It was bittersweet to see them leave but we have peace knowing that their calling there is sure. Matt has been such a cornerstone of the movement here it’ll be good for the Church leaders and ourselves to move on to do things without him. As Solomon said, “theres a time to build up and tear down...a time to laugh and a time to weep..” and I believe a time for missionaries to come as well as to leave, promoting the growth and independence of those they’ve trained.
The weekend of Easter the churches of the movement here gathered together for what they call “The All Church Retreat.” They take time to share stories from their churches, of faith, healing, and loss. They teach one another songs they’ve written and how their group is growing or shrinking. They watched “the Jesus Film” in Kabiye on Friday and on Saturday had a wedding scheduled for Jean Mari and Christine.
The two of them had never been married before God and realized that no one else in our church movement had a Christian marriage either. They decided to set an example and have a ceremony. What I didn’t know is that they had planned for one person to do this ceremony, and when he didn’t show, I was the guy they were counting on to do it. I showed up at 2pm, the time they’d scheduled it to start, and after going round and round with different leaders realized I’d need to show them how to do it, just that once, and they’d adapt and make it their own for the future. The Stoffs helped us work up a general program that included lots of community and family involvement/participation. We read scripture aloud, prayed a lot, talked about love, and Jean Mari even crossed a cultural barrier by hugging Christine as a way of “kissing the bride.” In Kabiye weddings it’s only the female that has to say vows as well, leaving the man to do as he pleases. JM did his part and promised, among other things, his fidelity to her before God. It was really a beautiful event and although I’d wished to have empowered another to do it, I have to admit I loved having the honor of facilitating such a sacred event.
We had a lovely Resurrection day here in Kara and enjoyed an afternoon BBQ with our friends and teammates the Stoffs. We’ve spent the rest of the time working with Christians and non-yet Christians either by installing pumps or sharing a new vision for what denominational-less Christianity can look like here. Just yesterday we hauled materials for three wells to be drilled to the far West in Guerin Kouka. The drill team, now seven, has four in it willing to be trained as Church planters, even though we’ll have to start back at the beginning with nearly all of them, they’ll be teaching each step as the take it. Please be praying for me to know when the trainable moments are and to make the time to start this process soon, as our furlough approaches.
Oh yeah! We got tickets for furlough too this month! We’re planning on 3.5 months back in the States. While we’re feeling better, we both think it’s important to come back recharged this time. We’ve had three families from our team leave in the last year, launched a huge project, and are in need of some family and friends time back home. We’ll arrive August 16 and fly out November 30. Lots of stuff to do between now and then so please be in prayer for us. Please continue to pray for our hope for the work here too, that God would renew His vision in our minds and that we’d have the energy to play our part in His story here. Enjoy the pics below and God’s blessings in the coming weeks!

What the water looked like they were drinking before our well.

A finished well in Alibi 1

Testing a pump for the first time in Alibi 1

Jean Mari (facing us with white paper on his head) and Christine (facing us to left of Jean with necklace)on the day of their wedding.

March Madness

Wed, 6 Apr 2011 04:50:34 -0500

March was quite the month! After a huge push in February, resulting in Grace and I spending 18 of 28 nights in a tent, March was madness, in a good way.
We left for Alibi 1(a village where we’ve been able to be part of the birthing of a church)on March 3, my 28th birthday, to drop off tools and Tchozo and meet with the excited christians there. We brought sufficient materials for 4 wells, with the idea they’d finish 3 in the month. We met with the Christians there and were immensely encouraged by their enthusiasm. We’d already scouted out locations, gone over sanitation teaching, prepared them with a video demonstration of the technique, and assured them this was water for their entire community, not just members of “our churches” (I hate even saying that since by claiming ownership you claim Lordship). We set up the tripod and drilled the first meter with them and instead of the “woe is me” we received in Kovie we were overhearing laughing, shouts of joy, and excitement. God be praised! Ayɛ (A-yay), a leader there said “no, this will work! We’re strong enough and have a real desire for clean water!”. After seeing and hearing this we decided instead of spending the night there, (which would have been night 19 in a tent :) ) we decided to push South toward Lome’ where we’d be flying out of for our trip to Uganda. We ended up finding a small, but clean, air-conditioned room for $17 next to a small restaurant where we had coke and french fries for birthday dinner. A/C is a big deal in March since temperatures average over 100 degrees, so it was a night of good sleep and a perfect birthday gift.
The Atchambade team was being overseen by our teammate, Andrew Stoff, and when we left was 50% finished with one well and had plans for another. Their location is incredibly difficult to work in and before leaving they told me they may take a few months off to farm, understandably, because of the hardship they’ve encountered. My prayers and sympathies certainly lie with them.
Kader,my enthusiastic new friend from Gueren Kouka also contacted me to ask if he could replace another pump in Bapure, to the far West. We fabricated another steel adapter plate and brought it to him before leaving.
We arrived in Uganda on March 6, after spending one night in Ethiopia as a layover. There we were met by Chris Cotner of Water4. Chris had rented a Rav4 for our time there and the following day we headed South to Ishaka, in the South-Western corner of Uganda. There we met with a Ugandan-Christian woman who has started nearly a dozen mid-wifery clinics in remote villages, bringing teaching on basic hygiene and sanitation as well as training one or two women there in the desperately needed skill of mid-wifery. They’ve built a child-birthing hospital in one location and have drilled a well with the Water4 technique there, providing potable water for the patients there. While we were with them they found out that a Rotary club in the U.S. had now financed 7 more wells to be drilled at their satellite centers. It was inspiring to see such passion and determination from a national and to see such a strong woman rising above cultures that tend to undervalue and oppress female leadership. It’s rare for us to see that type of thing in Togo and gave us an image to pray for there.
From Ishaka we went to Rukengeri, about an hours drive to the South, where a group from the UK called MissionDirect, started working with the village there to build a beautiful, modern, school. They partnered with the local church to establish needs, developed committees built of nationals, and later partnered with Water4 to build a water committee and drill 5 wells. The team consists of and is led by nationals primarily from a technical school there in town. I picked up a few tricks from these guys and got to see the superior materials available in Uganda. The pipe and square tubing they have is easily two times better than what we have available in Togo. I began dreaming of smuggling pieces even back in checked luggage. They were shocked by what we’d done any after telling them what we’d been using. We were able to meet with the committee over the water projects. It is made up of “high ups” in the local church, water board, schools, and enterprises. They started from a “top-down” approach whereas we’ve started from a completely “bottom-up” approach. It was really good to see the strengths and weakness of their approach and to shine light on some of our own strengths and weaknesses.
From Rukengeri we headed north, passing through Fort Portal, on our way to Maabale, a small city in the far West-Central of Uganda. There Francis, a Ugandan Christian, has planted numerous churches who have “small group” studies in their homes during the week. To be honest, I’d always heard “small group” studies couldn’t work in Africa because of the difference in views on being in someones home, namely that it’s too private a setting to have a group. Even though Africans tend to be incredibly communally minded, the inside of their homes is viewed differently than the way we view ours. Nonetheless, Francis’s groups are flourishing and he’s training evangelists, has built a Christian school, and drilled several wells with a team. I’ve met a lot of pastors here, but none lived up to what I sensed in this man. He and I had great conversations about the vision we’ve received here, concentrating on the right people, and modeling compassion before speaking of it. I was thoroughly encouraged by Francis and what God is doing through him there.
After Maabale we headed north to Murchison’s Falls, a game park. Water4 decided to put us up in Para Lodge there, treat us to a game drive in a hired car, and go on a boat ride to the falls. It was shear comfort and relaxation. When Grace and I usually take our yearly Safari trip, we sleep in a tent and eat ravioli from a can; total cost might be $150-$200. I can’t even imagine us staying at this place on our own. We had a room overlooking the river which really felt and looked like all those typical colonial period movies about Africa. A big plus for us was seeing 5 lions and a leopard on this trip, not to mention giraffes, which we don’t have in West Africa. We spent two nights there before heading further North to Gulu.
Gulu is a city in Northern Uganda where many of the atrocities of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) were committed. In 2006 I saw their handiwork in IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) Camps further to the East but dreamed about visiting Gulu. Our planned trip had failed in 2006 because of a cholera outbreak and upon leaving that summer I was sure I’d come back to Uganda and live in Gulu to work with the war-shattered people there. At the time there was reconstruction in the area but not much; now you could hardly see the scars of war. Not only were the buildings new (a sort of positive scaring), the people seemed unscathed. I heard a man speaking of it as “those hard times” and I remarked to go the resilience of his children there. NGO vehicles seemed to abound and there was even a fast-food restaurant called ZOE Foodland, which made us laugh because one of our good friends in Montgomery loves a “chicky” restaurant there called ZOE’S that even have the same color scheme. The first guy we met there was Blake Gaskill, who is one of the guys running Restore Academy there. Restore is a school dedicated to the rehabilitation of former child soldiers, emphasizing leadership and Jesus. I’ll start out by saying that Blake’s a modern day prophet if I ever saw one. Within minutes of knowing him, in typical prophetic style, he was spewing forth with things God was wanting me to hear, pouring out things that had come deep from his heart to total strangers. Blake’s “tallish” (it’s a tough adjective to use when you’re 6’3”) and skinny, from what I can tell, wears practically the same black on black clothes everyday, and cares for little other than the kids at Restore and Jesus. I quickly learned he has the tendency to miss meals by being so involved in people and the work of building a school. It’s the kind of thing that you might find as “odd” if you didn’t know how to spot, what Michael Frost and the early church call, a “Holy Fool”. I’ll always have an appreciation and connection for that guy I think, and am glad to have had our lives cross in that distant place. Blake, his cousin Shane, and friend Jon all share a house in Gulu, have a love for dirt bikes like me, and have serious love and vision for the people there.
The Restore guys have trained a team of well drillers who’ve put in 4-5 wells in their area. We drove out to the site of the school construction and met with the team there, who made us dinner, and showed us two of the wells they’ve drilled on the property for the school. Our role, as the Pros for Africa group arrived, would be to help the team start up another well so that when the Pros arrived they could punch through into water, seeing the drilling process, and experiencing the joy of finding water. Pros for Africa came in partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to provide hearing aids, to work with Sister Rosemary’s school ( a tiny woman who stood down the LRA, refusing to allow them to enter the walls of her school for young girls (see video below), saving the lives of her students), and Restore Academy. Some of the Pros that came were Santonio Holmes (Jets) Derrick Morgan (Titans), Gerald McCoy (Bucs), Roy Williams (Bengals), Tommie Harris(former Bear), Vernon Davis (Niners), Vontae Davis (Dolphins), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals),Bryant McKinnie (Vikings) and Adrian Peterson (Vikings). The trip, in turn, gave the players perspective on the situation back home and their celebrity brings notice to the needs in Africa.
Drilling a well with Bryant McKinnie, 6’8”, 335lbs was something I wish with all my heart my guys in Togo could have done. All of the players were at least 6’2” 220lbs , giants among Ugandans. It was so much fun for us to be with the players, have them cut up, and see them working with guys like Christmas, the 5 foot tall Ugandan who has a passion for finding clean water. We walked them all through the process and Grace took Santonio for a walk to the spring where people were getting water. It was fun being pros for the Pros.
As our time in Gulu was ending, I was thankful for what God is doing there. It was a huge hug from God in many ways, to see that I didn’t have to be there for Him to do what He’d planned, even though I’d thought in 2006 that I was part of that plan. And I guess in some ways maybe I was...I still went to the IDP camps, shared the love of Jesus, and fed the bellies of the starving; such deeds always cause ripples in this world. It was just important for me to know that there in Uganda, nor here in Togo, I did not have to be there for it to happen. I could join in the story, but the story wasn’t about me.
We decided to steal the rental car and head to M’bale, where I’d interned in 2006, for our last two days in Uganda. We wanted to meet with some of the young guys I’d bonded with in 2006, a fellow intern who now lives there, and the missionaries who put up with me back then. Driving in I was able to show Grace where I’d written her during my internship, during a time where our relationship became serious. This time led to me proposing a month after leaving Uganda in Kenya, where she and I spent a month in Meru that same summer. It was neat being able to show her the place’s I’d tried so hard to describe in word so many years ago. We ended up being able to have dinner and breakfast with Patrick, my young friend who’s still giving himself to God, lunch with Jennifer my fellow intern, breakfast with Dennis Okoth, former director of the Nariobi Great Commission School. Dennis, good friends of my former teachers and friends the Trulls, found me lying on the curb of his school in 2006 after a crazy 12 hour night bus ride. He and his wife Mary took me in and we shared struggles of ministry and visions of servant based Christianity 5 years earlier. He and Mary are now in Mbale to start up Livingstone Christian University in Uganda.. Livingstone is the long term vision of the Mbale team. We enjoyed a traditional East African breakfast with them and shared our love for the Trulls with each other and what God was doing in the vastly different places we now live. Everyone seemed to realize the difficulties of Togo, like Dennis, who’d gone to school with a Togolese, and instantly new of the hardships climatically and with mentalities we face here.
It was Grace’s birthday, the 19th, so we had asked if we could go to a waterfall with the Tylers, missionaries for now 30 years in East Africa. It was a place I’d been in 2006 and a place Grace’d seen pictures of from then. Grace was able to swing out over the cliff that overlooks the waterfall and we enjoyed some time to reconnect with the Tylers. Having interns really gives you perspective on being an intern, so I had my share of explaining to do as well :). We ate lunch with the Tylers and Jennifer before heading North, towards Kampala (the capital), where we’d reconnect with Chris from Water4. On the way up we decided to stop in Jinja to see if Bobby and Candice Gardner were there. They’d hosted us in there home in Sercy in 2007 and work with Kibo and CoC missionaries there. In Jinja they’ve set up an internet cafe, a coffee cafe, and a gift shop called The Source Cafe. Behind all this is an open air place for worship and some rooms for a bible school. The place is beautiful, serves it’s own blend of local coffee, and is a great place to stop. We got Bobby’s phone number from the cashier at The Source only to find out he was just heading back from Kampala. We’d pass them on the road but not be able to say hello.
Arriving in Kampala we met Chris at Le Bouganviller hotel, a beautiful place that made you forget what continent you were on. Grace and I enjoyed two nights there before heading back to Togo. We’re thankful for all the people we met in Uganda and especially for Water4, who deemed us worth us such a trip, and our supporters and sending Church back home for allowing us to go. It certainly was a filling time for us. We were able to meet with five different groups in our profession, all using water as outreach, which allowed us to gain new ideas and models for our work in Togo. We were inspired by incredible believers, people giving their lives for greater causes, and given hope for nationals. It was a time we needed for God to give us clarity and to be out of Togo in a time where we were hitting bottom. I’d say we’re still on the bottom in some ways even now, but somewhat at peace with that. I’d be happy to share that more, if you care to hear, just let me know.