Kabiye Team News
July 18, 2001

Dear Family and Friends, 

Hello from Togo! We wanted to take this opportunity to send out an update during a small break in our event-filled summer. Much has happened since our last review in May. We are in the midst of our busiest time of the year. Beginning in June we took a family vacation to a Beach Resort in Ghana and visited the capitol city of Accra. We were in need of a vacation and couldn't have traveled to a better place. We were even able to tour Elmina castle on the Ghana coast, which was used to hold and sell slaves during the slave trade. It was very moving to tour such a place (See attached picture). It was very relaxing and refreshing once we arrived, although the trip there, especially our border crossing experience, can be tallied up as one of the worst experiences we've had since coming to Togo. However, the vacation was worth all the trouble. After returning from Ghana, summer interns from Harding University traveled up to Kara after spending a month with the mission team in Southern Togo. They left the following day on a survey trip to Burkina Faso, which rests on Togo's northern border. Dave, Matt and Mark accompanied them for 8 days as they drove around the country, principally surveying the Bisa people and collecting information for future missionaries who will be called to this receptive people group. Once again, they saw elephants, and came back with some pictures that made me glad Dave has such knowledge of submissive positions and the zigzag run to flee from charging elephants. After their return to Kara, the eleven Harding interns spent 5 days with our team before returning once again to Tabligbo, in the South of Togo. We had a wonderful time with the 3 guys that stayed with our family and really enjoyed getting to know the other interns. It was a very encouraging time for us as we shared together, and especially helped us to be assured once again of our calling to be here to be used by God, as we shared with them the things He has taught us in our lives, up to this point.

After the interns left, we tried to recover for a week (I have never spent that much time in the kitchen in my life!) and then left for the West African Missionary Retreat in Tamale, Ghana. Once again, we had a less-than-desirable border crossing experience, but finally made it there after 10 hours and were very encouraged by the other missionaries we met from Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. Gailyn and Becky Van Rheenan flew over from the States to be with and encourage us and their presence was both assuring and motivating to us in our work. We returned two days ago to Togo and are preparing for a visit from an elder from our sponsoring congregation. Hayden and Barbara Smith will arrive on Friday and my parents will arrive the day after they leave, July 29th and will be visiting for 3 weeks. We are so encouraged by all of the visitors we have (and will have) and praise God for His timing as we feel so uplifted and encouraged after such a low point in culture shock.

Hannah and Elijah are both doing very well. They are wonderful travelers and have enjoyed both of our long journeys to Ghana over the last two months. Hannah is practically potty-trained during the day, as of two weeks ago, and gave our trip to Ghana this last time an interesting twist! We brought her potty chair along with us and every time she would have to go, we'd stop the car, get the potty chair out and place it alongside the car where she would go potty and jump up shouting "I did it!" She enjoyed this part of our trip so much that when we pulled into our garage at the end of our trip, Hannah said, "I need to go potty." "Wait just a second, Honey," responded Dave. "You can go inside in a minute." "No!" she cried. "I want to sit on my potty by the road and look at the sky!" Dave and I exchanged the knowing glance that has come to occur more frequently between us that says, "Our child would never be saying this if we didn't live in Africa." Elijah is up on his hands and knees rocking vigorously as he prepares for the soon-coming event of crawling. He is still as smiley and affectionate as ever and makes me wish he'd never grow up. I've begun taking weekly walks with Hannah and Elijah around our "block". (My mom laughed at this term!) It gives me a good opportunity to practice some Kabiye and to build some relationships with our neighbors. Elijah loves the fresh air and women that dote over him and Hannah especially loves all of the animals. Yesterday, Dave came with us and I was thankful as Hannah went belly-laughing down the road chasing 3 baby goats trying to pet them. Some typical "wildlife" that we see on our block walk are goats, dogs, sheep, chickens, pigs, and ducks. We also see a monkey that is tied up in the compound across from our house, but don't visit him as he is ill-tempered. What a blessing our children are in our lives. We can never thank God enough for them.

We are beginning to get excited about the work here. Up to this point, to be honest, much of our work has been dutiful and difficult. I'm sure those aspects will always be present, but we're both getting to a point in language where we can hear some things people are saying in conversations and being able to carry on very short conversations with others. I've begun making village visits to practice language and have learned (somewhat) how to plant corn Kabiye-style. There's a lot of technique in this process, even though the only tools are a broken-off branch and a hand full of corn dipped in pink fertilizer powder. I hope the first couple of rows that I planted sprout something as it took me awhile to get the process down! Dave is continuing his village visits twice a week to practice language and is hoping to someday develop a taste for the local drink, solum, which the men sit about drinking much of the day. His language partner, Tchalla, usually accompanies him on one of his weekly visits and has been a great help to him.

We covet all of your prayers for our teammates: Bryan, Tracey, Isaac, and Graham Ries. They are in the states visiting doctors because of a seizure disorder that was recently discovered in Graham. Please pray for God to give them a clear message in determining what He wants them to do to meet his needs. We also ask for your continued prayers for us and the hearts of the Kabiye people. We are anticipating the point at which we will begin preaching in the almost 200 villages where the message hasn't been heard. Please pray fervently for their hearts to be opened and for God to prepare them now, more than ever, for the good news of Jesus. We love you and give thanks to God for the blessings He has, and will, pour out upon you.

In His Love,
Becky, David, Hannah, and Elijah