Please God, not Africa!

Yesterday we were able to attend a traditional wedding for one of Nate's guys, Omar.  Unlike weddings at home, yesterday was only day one of the four days of celebration.  We're supposed to be returning this afternoon for more festivities, then on Saturday for more, and finally on Sunday afternoon when the groom participates in his traditional tribal dancing.  One of the fun parts of a Togo wedding is that the guests all wear the same pattern of fabric.  The groom selects the wedding fabric, orders loads of it and then sells it to the guests to wear for the events. Nate, the boys and I purchased the fabric and here we are - in all our orange and yellow and green and black glory: The wedding began at Omar's home at 7 am.  Yes, in the morning.  We gathered with him and his family as guests arrived to greet him. The groom and the boys The family brought in some rice and beef sauce, candy and dates for us to eat.  Around 8:30 am, it was time to start movin...

Miracles happen, friend.  We have just been witness to a big one. I told you all about Little Leah.  Her abandonment.  Her smallness.  Her medical needs.  Her lack of family. But what joy I have to tell you that God saw all that.  And He took what was hard and unfair and wrong and He made it right. On October 12, Leah was discharged from the hospital.  Since she had no home or family, we decided to foster her until a forever family could be found. We knew we would be tired  exhausted from caring for a newborn with some very specific needs.  We knew we would be overwhelmed and under-qualified.  What we didn't expect was how easily/quickly the four of us would come to love this precious little girl. Nate, the boys and I just fell in love with this baby.  But before I go any further, the answer is no, we are not the ones adopting her.  We were the ones praying and praying for a Christian, Togolese family for her.  And God did...

Almost four weeks ago a tiny premie baby girl was brought into our hospital on the brink of death.  She was born at 32 weeks and a neighbour brought her in because her mother had abandoned her.  When she arrived, she was in terrible shape.  One of our doctors, Elizabeth along with her medical team, worked very hard to save this little life.   God saw this baby girl.  And she is alive and well today. Sleepy little angel. This is our baby girl. She has no parents.  She has no home. She lives in a bassinet at the nurses station in our hospital and a variety of people, both medical staff and people like me, take turns feeding, holding and loving this little one. After the first week in the hospital, one of our nurses decided it was time to give this baby a name.  So she named her Leah, which means "God sees me."  After hearing that Leah was her first name, I decided she needed a middle name!  Elizabeth was the obvious choice.  Not only ...

The process of getting a long-term visa in this country is easy for some, but not for Canadians.  In fact, it's a long expensive exercise where frustration abounds.  This process has a name:  Carte de Sejour (CdS). Because we only received a three-month visa when we first arrived and the CdS process requires about 15 different documents which can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to get, I started collecting the paperwork basically upon our arrival. If I took the time to explain the entire process this post would be long and you would be bored.  So let me highlight a few of our better moments. A teammate of ours has kindly created a CdS file that we can all share. It clearly explains the documents required and how to get them.  The list has 17 items on it, in a lovely order of how and where to get each piece of paper. However there are tips and tricks along the way that can make things go smoother.  Like knowing that a blue pen makes all the difference when fill...

 Here's a story you might find interesting.... Just outside the hospital compound runs Hospital Road.  On this road, several boutiques have opened up selling essential items like food, charcoal, gas, fruit etc to the employees.  The newest boutique is a little barber shop. (A quick aside. Nate got his hair cut and beard trimmed at this shop the first week we moved here.  The barber had an apprentice who cut Nate's hair but got a little carried away with his beard.  Nate left the shop looking a little too much like a certain German historical figure with a tiny moustache, so he ran home and shaved it off.  Now he looks more like Abe Lincoln, but it's still a better option.) The Barber Shop A man from a nearby city recently plopped himself down outside the barber shop and intends to stick around for a while.  But not for a good reason. He's here to intervene.  Our hospital has too much Light. This man has come from Dapaong, a bigger town than Mango ...

 We're here!  And we've been here a whole week. How did that happen already? We left last Wednesday just around noon, made it to the Toronto airport, unloaded all our luggage (17 pieces of checked luggage!) and boarded the plane for Paris.  Once in Paris, we had a quick lay-over and were on the next flight to Niamey, Niger.  From there we flew to Lomé, the capital of Togo! Nate and the boys in line with our stuff It was a miracle to discover that all our luggage arrived and in good condition.  We had our arrival COVID tests done right in the airport and then we were greeted by the heat and humidity of Lomé as we exited the airport!  However our friends who were supposed to pick us up were not there yet - so we waiting outside the airport, sitting on a curb for about an hour before a taxi brought us to our hotel.  C'est la vie! The following day we did our grocery shopping in the capital, had real ice cream one last time, and enjoyed a burger and a milk...

  Can you even believe it?  We are officially at 98% of our support needs to get to Togo!  We just have the tongue of the snake to colour it and we're done.  I can't even believe it - in this year of uncertainty and craziness, God has been so faithful to us.  More proof that He is a faithful and loving Father.  What He desires to accomplish in us, He will fulfill. 

Just wanted to let you know the update on the school situation.  Jack and I had a meeting with the school administration on Thursday.  It was quite the education for both of us.  The ladies we met with were so kind and tried to be very accommodating for our family.  Such an answer to prayer!! During the meeting, we found out that Jack would be placed in the Welcome Program at the high-school.  The government of Quebec has put a lot of resources into creating a program where non-French speaking kids can work at their French as well as their high-school credits.  Our guide took us to the classroom and introduced Jack to his classmates and teacher.  There are only about 15 kids in the class and most of them come from non-French and non-English speaking countries.  They are immersed in French from day one, but school itself is at a slower pace. There was a girl from Iran (who only spoke Persian) starting in the Welcome Program that day.  I can't ...

  We made it!  It is so hard to believe that we are actually here and doing this!! There were so many times over the past few months that I really wasn't sure that we'd even be able to come to Quebec to study French - but here we are.  With all the lockdowns, restrictions and curfews happening in Ontario and Quebec, it seemed that coming here was just not going to happen.  But God has been so faithful - both in providing the funds and in allowing us to move here in person to take classes - it's truly a miracle.   We moved to Sherbrooke last weekend, so we have just completed our first week of classes.  Day one was pretty easy - orientation.  But for me, the second day was tough.  Six hours of French class for my teensy weensy brain.  SIX. HOURS. OF. FRENCH.   My brain was about to explode by the time I got home. Speaking of home, you're maybe wondering where we live?  We live in a small two-bedroom apartment right on the s...

 It's been a long time since I have posted ( how many times have I written that line? ).  But there has been so little to say lately. Until now! When we decided to return to Mango, one of the "Must Do" things on our list was language school.  We've lived in Togo for more than three years and without a doubt, our greatest frustration has been our lack of language.  So we decided that this time, before we left, we should get some language training. About three weeks ago, we applied to an immersion French language school in Quebec.  And about two weeks ago, we were accepted!  This is so exciting and so, so scary.  Our training starts in January - so we have less than four months to prepare to leave for Sherbrooke, Quebec.  We have only signed up for one term, which means we'll be done by May 1st.  If all goes well in terms of support raising, our hope is that we'll get back home by May 1 and leaving for Mango in June.  That would be amazing...

 Is it really August? Could we have a re-do of July?  Can we re-install it and restart?  I feel like I just didn't squeeze enough out of it. But here we are.  The seventh of August and I feel like summer is slipping away.  Like most summers, the routine of the September to June schedule has slipped away and we have had a more difficult time accomplishing the list of requirements our mission agency has assigned.  I am hoping that the return to school (whatever that looks like) and regular routines will help us regain focus and move forward.  It's not that we haven't done a thing, but before summer we committed to working at our list on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  By the time the middle of July hit, we didn't even know which night was Tuesday or Saturday.  Oh the deep joys of summer evenings where the sun doesn't set until late and you can squeeze just a little more time in the back yard until you realize it's almost 11 pm and you NEED to go ...

Last Sunday, June 7, 2020, we had a family wedding!  Our son, Ethan, was married to the beautiful Christina.  It was an amazing day.  Due to COVID, it was held in our very own back yard with a very small group of guests. Our five just before the ceremony Waiting for his bride... Teddy giving Ethan the ring  Big joy-filled smiles Nolan signing as Best Man Hitched! This was such an amazing day for all of us.  We are absolutely so grateful to the Lord for bringing these two together and adding a new Weston to our family. 

Yup, it's true.  We are doing it. Actually let's be totally honest:  we're attempting to do it. Again. Round three, anyone? Here's the news in a nutshell: We returned to Togo in November of 2019 for a short term (2 week) trip with our church. It was a great trip.  We took Jack and Teddy with us (which is a whole other story because we hid it from them until a week before we left and they were SO surprised and excited). During that time, God laid upon our hearts (again) the great, great need for help in Mango. When we got home in December we decided to pursue returning to Mango.  January came and we met with the leadership of our missions agency, ABWE Canada.  By the first of February we had signed up to do something totally new: rather than go as "short term" we would attempt to become "mid-term".  What does that mean, you ask?  It means that we can stay longer in Mango and that we would be required to do some different training including l...

Yes, I have internet today.  I'm actually sitting at a missionary's home on the front porch (and I mean right on the porch, not on a chair) with a rubbermaid tub turned upside down as my desk and typing as fast as I can because the internet is good enough here to load photos.  So here's a little photo journal of what's been going on lately.   TRIP TO LOME FOR VISAS: We stayed at this great hotel on the beach and the kids got to try coconut milk straight from the coconut. Jack enjoyed it; Kylie was less than impressed. Look at how we suffered in Lome. This is the pool at our hotel.  Palm trees, sunny skies, and the beach was just a few steps away.... The beach!  The waves were big and we had loads  of fun in the salty Atlantic. Adam drinking 2 coconuts at once.  Not only can he speak perfect French and guide us through the crazy visa process, he knows how to have a good time! Togo is french culture and when in France, on...

Ack!  The internet is just terrible out here and I feel so badly that I can't keep you up-to-date on what's happening.  So much to say, so I'm jumping right in! Anna and the Baby: If you remember last time I wrote, I told you about Anna heading over to Indianapolis with a Mango mom and baby to have heart surgery on the little 6 month old girl, "S".   Well, they made it to the USA without any major glitches and within just a few days, the surgery was performed.  It went amazingly well and the heart-condition of the baby was totally repaired.  Anna was overwhelmed with the response of a local church and missionary friends and family that visited them, encouraged them, took them out to dinner, loaned a car, and prayed with her and Mom and baby.  The mom, "S", was so moved by all the love and kindness that she was receiving from all these strangers.  Anna and the mom were able to have some really great talks about life in Mango, her religious beliefs, ...