Please God, not Africa!

 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, ...

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 th...

This has been a crazy month.  I can hardly believe that April starts next week. It's been a month of ups and downs and this little graphic describes it best... The month started out with the return of Lassa Fever to our region of West Africa.  At first we had only a couple of patients in our hospital that had come from neighbouring countries.  Let me just say that our medical team, having experienced Lassa Fever last year, was prepared. They had guidelines all set out for what we needed to do, as a team, to avoid contracting it as best we could. Lassa fever is a contagious illness that is passed through bodily fluids. It doesn't often kill the person who gets it, but it can and it has and it did. So once it was confirmed that we did indeed have a Lassa case in the hospital, we were required to follow some simple guidelines including taking our temperatures, avoiding public places and washing with bleach water upon entering our homes.  The hospital shut down ...