Dec 2014 -April 2015 Report

Hello Friends and Family!  This blog is to update you quickly on what has happened since Christmas.  I do want to remind you that you can give online from this blog.  Just look to your right.  Please read the full report.  Lots of news!

  We had such a great Christmas, both for our school and at home, it’s better to show pictures.  We did a fun merit sale and food for the students and they also enjoyed doing skits and a quiz game.  For the New Year we had a night of prayer, singing, testimonies, and dancing.  We praise God for seeing us through 2014!!

We decided this year to start the year 2015 with prayer and praise to our Lord who carried us through 2014  and to thank Him for all the amazing things he has done through the ministry.  The Vogan church, Nyitaveglo church, Tchadome Church, Avadjime church, and the Djagbley church (Lome) all assembled together.  Our 5 churches had an amazing time of dancing, singing, fellowshipping and taking the Lord’s supper together.  At the end of the service, one of my Bible study contacts gave his life to Christ and was baptized.

  By mid-January we received news that my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer.  This seemed to be a fast spreading cancer and the doctors said without treatment he would only have 5-6 months.  So my wife and I left on Feb. 23^rdto come to the States and see him and family.  He is now going through chemo treatment which has caused him to lose a lot of weight and has weakened him some.  We will soon find out whether he is responding well to the treatment.  We know some of you have heard this and have prayed for him but please continue to pray for we believe that the Lord is able to heal him completely.  Watching him going through severe pain with a great attitude is a tangible sign to us that he completely puts his hope in Jesus, the Deliverer, and is certainly a source of great encouragement and inspiration to us.

Five days before we left Togo, we found out that my wife is pregnant.  Praise God!!!  For many of you who know us well and what we have been through, you know very well that this is indeed great news!!  So, while we are here, we decided that my wife will stay in the USA throughout her pregnancy and have the baby here.  We did a sonogram and we heard a perfect, strong heartbeat of our 9 weeks old baby!  Our due date is October 20^th.  What an amazing God we serve!  We are now at 15 weeks.  Amy is considered a high risk pregnancy because of her age and previous miscarriages.  So while you rejoice with us, please pray for my wife and me and that the miracle she now carries will be safe and go to full term!! 

  I am now back in Togo.  I still have classes to teach and I will be here for our students final exams and their closing program.  Also, we have two interns, Sarah and Jacob Scott, who are coming to Togo for 7 weeks.  Pray for them.  Prayerfully, I will be back in the USA by the 3^rd or 4^th week of July.  When I return, I or we (depending on how my wife is doing during her 3^rd trimester) would like to visit you and the churches.  So let us know if you want me to come and preach and/or do a presentation about Shining In Togo Mission.

Thank you everyone for your constant prayers and encouragement!