House Work
I've come to believe that basically both Nate and I are here for one simple task: house work. At least of one kind or another. Between building houses, working at the guest house and then our own personal home, there is definitely a theme of housework going on. To be honest, most days the tasks seem anything but simple!
Each of the three types of House Work are so different and provide a variety of funny stories, interesting people and an abundance of prayer requests and praises. Here's each one with some detail:
House Construction:
House 1 and 2 are coming along beautifully. It has been so encouraging to see the changes from week to week. Even more exciting however, is to see how Nate's relationships with the Togolese workers continue to grow and change. With every step forward in building relationships, there also seems to be a struggle. Which is a sure sign that Satan is not happy with the relationships that are being built.
As for the actual houses, here are some photos of House #1 in progress:
Nate's co-worker and friend, Bruce, left to return to the USA last week. He will be missed greatly. And now Nate is the only person on site that understands him! That's not easy. He works so hard at building into the lives of the workers as they build the homes together.
The other day he drove a bunch of the workers home when the work day was done. Before he dropped them all off, they popped in to visit one of the construction guys who was sick. Just before they all left, they asked Nate to pray over this particular worker and he was so pleased to be able to do so. He has such interesting conversations with his "guys" and shares the Truth with them as often as he can.
The work continues on House #2 as well. They recently poured all the concrete floors and are working now on building all the interior walls.
Guest House:
As of this week, the Guest House is now my responsibility. Yikes. Below is a photo of the main Guest House. We have a kitchen, dining room and four hotel-style rooms, plus an apartment. Then there are several other homes both on-site and in town that are considered guest house accommodations as well.
There are six ladies that work in the kitchen and do all the cooking and cleaning and laundry. I just "oversee" their work (they're amazing, they don't need me checking up on them) but also pay the bills, help purchase groceries in Kara, take care of the bookings, welcome guests, etc. It keeps me very busy!
One of the highlights of the week is a Bible study with our six ladies every Friday afternoon. Two of them are new believers and it is so exciting to watch them grow! Just this morning I received a text from one of them, sending me a note and a Bible verse to encourage me. There is such joy in seeing a new believer grow and seek to know God and His word in deeper ways.
Our own home:
It has been such a blessing that we have been able to move onto the compound. I'm not sure how I could do my job at the Guest House if we were living off-site. We're so thankful to be able to live right there in such a lovely home with filtered water and a generator for when the power goes out - which still happens daily.
The boys are loving school at the MK school. They have about 5 weeks left and they're done for the year. Their teachers are amazing women who have served so faithfully. We're super grateful for all the work they've done with our boys and freeing me up to serve in other capacities. Nolan and Kylie continue to do school at home and both of them help me immensely with the guest house responsibilities. It's a whole family affair!
Here's a photo of our place so you know where we are!
A very amazing story:
Why not finish with an amazing story of how God is working out here. This one is super cool.
So, there's a little 5 month old baby who has a serious heart condition. Her father is a marabout in town, meaning that he is a fetish/witch doctor/religious leader. He is supposed to have the ability to heal people. And of course, he has been unable to heal his own baby girl.
The family came to the hospital and discovered that the baby is in need of a major surgery only available overseas. Amazingly, God ordained that a hospital in Indiana would be willing to do this surgery. In the meantime, mom and dad have been both amazed at the love and care their daughter is receiving through the hospital.
It was decided that mom would go to the the USA with the baby and with our friend and co-worker, Anna. Anna would help her in the travel but also help her with the adjustments required. Can you even imagine having NEVER left Mango in your life, traveling to the capital, getting on an airplane, landing in the USA, going to a major children's hospital, living at Ronald McDonald house and all without a single word of English, let alone an understanding of all that is around you? It's so crazy!
While preparations were being made, there were glitches in the system. At one point, Anna was able get a ticket to travel with mom and baby but the cost was $8000.00 for her ticket alone. The Lord had provided $3300 in donations towards her trip costs, and after a series of amazing miracles, Anna was able to book her ticket, plus the mom and the baby, for $3316.00 total. Act of God.
They left yesterday on this adventure - so please, please be praying for Anna as she tries to guide this mom through all the overwhelming stuff ahead (Anna doesn't speak Mom's heart-language and Mom barely speaks French. Oh dear.). Also be praying for mom and the baby, both of their names start with S. Pray for the dad too, as he has totally seen the Lord act on behalf of his family and is so close to deciding to follow Jesus. It would be so amazing if a local marabout (also considered a major leader in the M-faith) came to Christ -- think of the impact that would have on the people in Mango!
This is just one snippet of many amazing stories that are happening out here. It is so exciting to see God at work in the lives of the Togolese and what He is doing to bring them to a knowledge of His Son.
Please continue to pray for us - our family, the ministries, the hospital (it's seriously under-staffed but God is providing!!), the radio ministry (another whole story how a major storm blew the roof off the radio building that Nate and others had put on, then took out the radio tower...they are in major need of funds and encouragement to begin rebuilding) and the health and safety of all those working out here. We're so grateful for your love and your prayers for Mango!
Each of the three types of House Work are so different and provide a variety of funny stories, interesting people and an abundance of prayer requests and praises. Here's each one with some detail:
House Construction:
House 1 and 2 are coming along beautifully. It has been so encouraging to see the changes from week to week. Even more exciting however, is to see how Nate's relationships with the Togolese workers continue to grow and change. With every step forward in building relationships, there also seems to be a struggle. Which is a sure sign that Satan is not happy with the relationships that are being built.
As for the actual houses, here are some photos of House #1 in progress:
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| Mary, Kylie and I priming the bedrooms of House 2 |
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| House 1 getting the outdoor finish: half stone and half painted "stucco" |
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| Here's the front up close looking in the front door. You can see the beautiful stone work. The house will be painted the same as the other's on the compound: "Bagel", a favourite shade of brown. |
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| Inside the front door looking into the living room and dining area. It is such a nice home! Just this past weekend, another missionary family helped us prime the house. A shout out to the Farver family for working hard in the crazy heat to get it done! |
Nate's co-worker and friend, Bruce, left to return to the USA last week. He will be missed greatly. And now Nate is the only person on site that understands him! That's not easy. He works so hard at building into the lives of the workers as they build the homes together.
The other day he drove a bunch of the workers home when the work day was done. Before he dropped them all off, they popped in to visit one of the construction guys who was sick. Just before they all left, they asked Nate to pray over this particular worker and he was so pleased to be able to do so. He has such interesting conversations with his "guys" and shares the Truth with them as often as he can.
The work continues on House #2 as well. They recently poured all the concrete floors and are working now on building all the interior walls.
Guest House:
As of this week, the Guest House is now my responsibility. Yikes. Below is a photo of the main Guest House. We have a kitchen, dining room and four hotel-style rooms, plus an apartment. Then there are several other homes both on-site and in town that are considered guest house accommodations as well.
There are six ladies that work in the kitchen and do all the cooking and cleaning and laundry. I just "oversee" their work (they're amazing, they don't need me checking up on them) but also pay the bills, help purchase groceries in Kara, take care of the bookings, welcome guests, etc. It keeps me very busy!
One of the highlights of the week is a Bible study with our six ladies every Friday afternoon. Two of them are new believers and it is so exciting to watch them grow! Just this morning I received a text from one of them, sending me a note and a Bible verse to encourage me. There is such joy in seeing a new believer grow and seek to know God and His word in deeper ways.
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| The Guest House: The first door on the right is the laundry room, then the door in the corner is the entrance to the dining room. The three doors on the left are doors to the "hotel" rooms. |
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| At Easter, we celebrated at our Bible study by making "Resurrection Rolls". For two of the women above, this was their very first Easter celebration and they were so excited to celebrate the Risen Christ together with us! |
It has been such a blessing that we have been able to move onto the compound. I'm not sure how I could do my job at the Guest House if we were living off-site. We're so thankful to be able to live right there in such a lovely home with filtered water and a generator for when the power goes out - which still happens daily.
The boys are loving school at the MK school. They have about 5 weeks left and they're done for the year. Their teachers are amazing women who have served so faithfully. We're super grateful for all the work they've done with our boys and freeing me up to serve in other capacities. Nolan and Kylie continue to do school at home and both of them help me immensely with the guest house responsibilities. It's a whole family affair!
Here's a photo of our place so you know where we are!
 |
| Here's our little house! |
A very amazing story:
Why not finish with an amazing story of how God is working out here. This one is super cool.
So, there's a little 5 month old baby who has a serious heart condition. Her father is a marabout in town, meaning that he is a fetish/witch doctor/religious leader. He is supposed to have the ability to heal people. And of course, he has been unable to heal his own baby girl.
 |
| Sweet baby "S" - now on her to way to America! |
The family came to the hospital and discovered that the baby is in need of a major surgery only available overseas. Amazingly, God ordained that a hospital in Indiana would be willing to do this surgery. In the meantime, mom and dad have been both amazed at the love and care their daughter is receiving through the hospital.
It was decided that mom would go to the the USA with the baby and with our friend and co-worker, Anna. Anna would help her in the travel but also help her with the adjustments required. Can you even imagine having NEVER left Mango in your life, traveling to the capital, getting on an airplane, landing in the USA, going to a major children's hospital, living at Ronald McDonald house and all without a single word of English, let alone an understanding of all that is around you? It's so crazy!
While preparations were being made, there were glitches in the system. At one point, Anna was able get a ticket to travel with mom and baby but the cost was $8000.00 for her ticket alone. The Lord had provided $3300 in donations towards her trip costs, and after a series of amazing miracles, Anna was able to book her ticket, plus the mom and the baby, for $3316.00 total. Act of God.
They left yesterday on this adventure - so please, please be praying for Anna as she tries to guide this mom through all the overwhelming stuff ahead (Anna doesn't speak Mom's heart-language and Mom barely speaks French. Oh dear.). Also be praying for mom and the baby, both of their names start with S. Pray for the dad too, as he has totally seen the Lord act on behalf of his family and is so close to deciding to follow Jesus. It would be so amazing if a local marabout (also considered a major leader in the M-faith) came to Christ -- think of the impact that would have on the people in Mango!
This is just one snippet of many amazing stories that are happening out here. It is so exciting to see God at work in the lives of the Togolese and what He is doing to bring them to a knowledge of His Son.
Please continue to pray for us - our family, the ministries, the hospital (it's seriously under-staffed but God is providing!!), the radio ministry (another whole story how a major storm blew the roof off the radio building that Nate and others had put on, then took out the radio tower...they are in major need of funds and encouragement to begin rebuilding) and the health and safety of all those working out here. We're so grateful for your love and your prayers for Mango!
So good to hear from you. You are certainly busy. Hope you are able to carve a out a quiet nich of time for your own maintenance :-)You are missed and certainly not forgotten.
ReplyDeletei love reading your updates, erin!
ReplyDeleteI would love to connect with you about helping build houses there in Mango. I've talked to Alain and trying to figure out if I can bring a team and when would be the best time. It seems like the houses are far along and that you will be needing plumbers and electricians and carpenters.
ReplyDelete