Togo Winter Trip

We just returned from another trip to Togo and it was a great one!  On this trip we focused on two areas: 1) business development, and 2) researching the unreached Anii people of central Togo.  

Our main objective in Togo is to see people won to Christ.  Why then do we teach business classes? Because we believe that strong business create jobs and wealth, which in turn increases the resources necessary to plant new churches, which in turn win more people to Christ.  We partner with a church in Mision Tove, Togo in a church planting strategy that desperately needs resources to plant new churches.  While we as a church could simply send them money, that is not sustainable and is not the best method of church planting.  We really want the local church to spearhead these efforts with minimal funding coming from the US.  Most every missions agency agrees that the method with the greatest long term sustainability is to have active local involvement and buy-in.  

Therefore, we are trying to do what we can to get the resources necessary from within Togo to plant these new churches.  We believe that strong businesses owned by members of the church will do just that.  They already have a heart for that.  We have seen our partner church plant five churches on their own and we want to put more fuel on that fire. 

The team taught business classes in two villages, Mission Tove, and Atsave with 41 and 27 business owners attending, respectively, The topics taught were: How to analyze profitability, how to set yourself apart from the competition, and how to set up record keeping for management decisions.  The members asked a lot of great questions which we tried to answer thoroughly.  While this took a lot of time, many of the questions applied to everyone there so it was beneficial for almost everyone.  

Stay tuned to hear more about the Anii people group!  Kevin Ginnings led that trip and we hope to hear more when he gets home from Togo in a few days.

We would love to answer any questions you may have about the trip, so please let us know!  Keep in mind, we have two more trips this year if you feel God calling you to serve internationally.  The dates will be July 12-23rd and October 2-15th.

--Dennis

Pray for Pastor Daniel's Family and Those Traveling to the Funeral

As many of you may have heard on Sunday, Pastor Daniel's wife, Comfort, passed away.  Pastor Daniel is one our main national partners in Togo.  Please remember to be in prayer for Pastor Daniel and thier four children:  John Mark, Emmanuel, Sunday, and Blessing.

Dennis R. and Kevin G. will be traveling to Togo on Thursday in order to be there for Comfort's funeral. Please be in prayer for them as they travel there and then travel back to Missouri following the funeral.

Togo Team is Finally Home

After many hours of delay, including a missed flight, and several more hours on stand-by, the Togo team finally all arrived home safe and sound late last night...except for those who took a side trip in Paris!  Praise The Lord!

Just a reminder, that the following are the people who went, so if you happen to see them on Sunday or before, you might want to ask them for some great stories of what God did during their time there!

Jennifer B.

Janel D.

Shawn G.

Audrey G.

Elizabeth G.

Hannah G.

Jacob G.

Gary J.

Lara J. 

Tony J. 

Mikki M. 

Jason R.

Karen R.

Dennis R. 

Howard S.

Thank you so much for your prayers while the team was there!  All the stories you heard and have yet to hear would not have been possible without you standing in the gap and interceding for them and the hearts of the Togolese people.

Togo Team in the Air Now

Please be praying for the Togo team as they are traveling home.  Below is their travel schedule.  Thank you for your prayers.

                                                      Departure city       Arrival city          Dept. time  Arrival time

They will be back in Kansas City August 5 at 2:53 pm!!

Togo Team Update with Pictures and Video

The women's ministry night was far greater than we ever expected. There were 50 women from the church and 50 unchurched. 13 of them were at church this morning!  Five of them prayed to receive Christ after being led to by the local ladies that invited them. New believers lead to Christ by locals is what we prayed for and God did it!

The church ladies we so excited by the end of the night. It was a huge success!  Thank you all for praying for this and the work we are attempting. God is good!

Today after the third church service we were lead by the church drummers and singers through the streets of Legbassito. The purpose was to share with the community that the church is alive and growing. Although I'm not sure how that would work in the USA it certainly seemed to draw attention here. Many people started the dance procession with us. It has been a great day!

--Dennis R.

Preparing for women's ministry night

Pastors Training Class

At church Sunday morning

Parading through the village after church

Updates from the Last Two Days in Togo

Saturday

Today we spent time at the two Compassion International projects and are about to meet with pastors.  Compassion continues to be an impressive program. All are well!

Sunday

Sitting in our third service today already at Pastor Daniel's church.  Mikki presented an award to graduating students at the church and Gary preached.  Later on today we will be going through the village doing some evangelism.  All are well.

Sunday a few hours later

Being  lead now after church through the streets like a parade led by the drums. What a memory! We will meet with pastors soon before ending the day.

--Togo team via text

Thank you for your prayers!  Please continue to pray!

Latest from Togo

Today, we held a banquet for the women in the village. Our men served 100 women dinner and our ladies taught Bible stories and did crafts with them. Fifty churched women attended and were asked to bring a non-believer. Then these women will follow up and invite them to church. It was very rewarding. 

Staying in the village has been very nice and has allowed us to form deeper relationships. The new accommodations are even better than we had predicted.

Dennis is meeting with his Pastor Training students tomorrow and Sunday. All are feeling well and eager for worship with Daniel's church on Sunday.

--Togo Team via text

Thank you for all the prayers!  Please keep them coming!

Update and Photos from Togo

We are all doing well and really enjoying this trip. So far we've spent one day in Agoudja and Vongba and one day in Apissito. Way more kids than we expected, but I need to adjust my expectations because it is always that way. In the two villages we have ministered to over 400 kids.  Gary has had a tremendous impact on the church leaders and pastors.

Today we completed the first half of our cultural exchange by spending the day doing the things that women in Togo do:  making food, husking corn, and shelling corn we were a part of today. 

More updates and pictures as soon as we can. 

--Dennis R.

Preparing the corn with the women

Their new home in Mission Tove, the place they've been staying.

Togo Updates

Update from Tuesday Night:

Today they had VBS for 309 kids in Appasitto and will be doing another tomorrow. Gary spoke to several pastors and they were receptive and encouraged. Daniel's wife, Comfort, who has been sick, is feeling better but still needs prayer for healing.  The team is feeling well and rested.

Update from Wednesday morning:

In Agoudja today and may go to Vongba if roads allow.100+ kids today and Gary teaching 8 more pastors. Agoudja church is getting stronger from last time. 

Togo Team Made It There

The Togo team arrived in Togo around 6:00 pm last night their time (1 pm MO time). All of their luggage arrived. Dennis said it was one of the smoothest travel trips thus far. 

Please pray for them as they adjust to the 5 hour time difference and other cultural differences. 

Also pray for them as they begin to minister to the people in Togo. Pray that hearts would be touched and changed my the message of Jesus. 

Togo Team Goals and Plans

The Togo team leaves for Togo on Saturday, July 26.  Their trip will focus on three different ministries:  pastor training, women's ministry, and children's ministry.  The goals and plans for each ministry are described below, as well as some ways you can pray for them.  As is almost always the case with misson trip plans, plans are made on this side of the water knowing that when touchdown happens on the other side of the water, the plans may change depending on multiple factors, most importantly because God may direct their time and plans differently.

Pastor Training--written by Dennis R.

Our missional focus has always been on education in Togo, whether that be in health and hygiene, agricultural, leadership, or theological. The pastors training class is obviously focused on the theological education for those who live in rural areas and have no access to theological education.  Now in its third year, we will be seeing our first graduates soon. I am very excited that this year several of us  will be spending time teaching the students on a variety of subjects centered around the role of pastor and leadership development.  We will be meeting with the students as many times as possible to share with them the things we have learned in leadership positions.  This year Gary Jones will be leading this effort.  Gary is a urban pastor from Kansas City and has a lot of great practical experience to share with the students.

Due to time restraints, we will not have an organized program for the agricultural education.  We normally use the trip in January to focus on farming techniques and agricultural business development.  They will be nearing harvest when we arrive so we will be evaluating this years production while we are there and plan for our next ag training in January.

Women's Ministry--written by Jennifer B.

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In Togo this year we are starting Women’s Ministry.  Our goal is to show these women their value in the eyes of Christ.  It is our heart that they know how they were created, that they are beautiful, and they have a Savior who sees them, hears them, and loves them.  We will talk about how we were created by Him and for Him.   During the women’s ministry the Togo team will be immersed in the culture of Togo by shadowing a woman during her daily routine.   This enables us to see the needs for future ministry and how we can best serve these women.

The second part to the women’s ministry is serving the women during a banquet. Our culture will be shared with the women through a meal and worship. The team will prepare a banquet meal and serve these women dinner. The actual serving the women is an integral part of this ministry. This will allow us to impart some understanding of their value in Christ.    The message of the Gospel will be shared at this time and also a time of Worship, both American and Togolese (there will be some chicken dancing going on).  We are encouraging those who already attend the church at Mission Tove to bring a friend and we are planning on 100 women.  The banquet will allow us to share some scripture and testimonies with these women.  We will also leave them with a picture of themselves to hang, cards of scripture to encourage them, and each woman will receive a T-shirt that says Be-You-tiful with Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” on it.  

Please pray:

For woman who will be attending, that her heart is open to the message

That the team would be an encouragement to these women

For boldness for the women who are inviting friends who are unbelievers

That the women would understand the Gospel and see God as the One True God.

That the team would be able to communicate effectively with the women through the translators and that even without the translators, the message of Jesus shines through.

For those giving their testimonies, that the words that He would have us speak would come through.

For protection from any health issues for those going

For spiritual awakening for those going and the Togolese people.

Children's Ministry--written by Janel D.

Tuesday, July 29 we will be doing a one day VBS in Appissito.

Wednesday, July 30 we will be doing a one day VBS in Adgouja Baja and possibly in Vongba.

Saturday, August 2 we will be visiting Compassion International Sites

In the evenings while we are in Mission Tove we will be flying kites, blowing bubbles, and having fun with the kids!

Thank you for praying for this team!  Prayer from us on this side of the water is key and instrumental to what happens on that side of the water.  Check back on the blog as the team is in Togo for updates and possibly pictures!

 

Togo Mission Team 2014

The following people are going to Togo, leaving in less than two weeks on July 26.  Please be in specific prayer for them as they prepare to go, finalize plans to meet the needs of those they will touch in Togo, and for open receptive hearts of those who will hear the Good News.

Jennifer B.

Janel D.

Shawn G.

Audrey G.

Elizabeth G.

Hannah G.

Jacob G.

Gary J.

Lara J. 

Tony J.

Mikki M.

Jason R.

Karen R.

Dennis R.

Howard S.

Summer 2014 Mission Trips

In a little less than a month, teams from our church will be on the ground in Togo and Taiwan.  Please be in prayer for these teams as they prepare to go.  Also, please be in prayer for the individuals they will have the opportunity to meet and interact with.  Ask that God would be moving in their hearts even now!

These are the dates of the upcoming trips:
Taiwan:  July 24-August 10
Togo:  July 26-August 5