Weekend wanderings...

This past weekend, we had time to get out and about a bit. On Saturday, we took some Swiss visitors to the beach, because they "wanted to dip their feet in the Atlantic Ocean." It was windy, though, and we had underestimated the size and strength of the waves, so we all got rather soaked in the process.

On Sunday, Reine and Geneviève took me for a drive, two hours inland, on roads that were full of huge potholes, but which were bordered on either side by vegetation that was lush and green after the recent rainy season. They were taking me to see the Youth with a Mission centre in Agou, where YWAM and King's Kids first started in Togo. Built to last, by German missionaries, the base was "lent" to Youth with a Mission in the 1980s and has been a YWAM training centre ever since. It sits on the slope of Togo's highest mountain, Mount Agou (which, at just under a thousand metres, is not really very high at all.) Previous PCYM schools were held in Agou, before the KKI ministry moved south to the city of Lomé about six years ago.

Fufu, fruits and farewells

Last night, after I had spoken on the radio (the PCYM students were all huddled round their radios in the afternoon, to hear how I sounded "on air") we had a special meal to say goodbye to someone who was leaving. The dish - fufu - is made from yams and takes quite a while to prepare, so the students all took turns pounding the fufu until it reached the right consistency. There was also a delicious fruit salad made with some of the fruits that are in season at the moment. This weekend won't be quite as busy as last week - I don't have any meetings or church services to speak at - but I'll be preparing powerpoints for the PCYM and the discipleship group on Monday and Tuesday. Then, also on Tuesday, I'll have an overnight flight back to France (7 hours), followed by a morning flight (2 ½ hours) from Paris back to Malaga. I'll be back in Alhaurín by  Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for your prayers for these last few days of teaching in Togo.

News from Africa

Things have been going well here - both in the PCYM school, and also at other venues where I've been asked to speak. The students have been very open, the participation in class has been good, and we've had encouraging feedback about how they plan to apply what they've been learning. I also taught this week (and again next Tuesday before I leave for the airport) at a discipleship class that a local YWAMer is running for young people aged 20 - 30. Most of them are university students, so we've been covering topics like how to discern God's will for your life and how to be faithful in implementing vision. Today, Friday, I'll also be interviewed on the radio. It's the largest Christian station in Togo and the broadcasts are picked up even across the border in Ghana, so it's quite a privilege to have the opportunity to share with a large audience about the character and faithfulness of God.

My French was a bit rusty in the beginning. I kept putting Spanish words into my sentences, and asking questions that ended with también instead of aussi! But it's warmed up a bit now, and I've surprised myself by being able to do big chunks of the teaching in French, with only occasional recourse to my translator for the more specialised vocabulary. (One of my topics this week was Biblical Christian Worldview.)

My parents just got news that my Dad has to go back to the hospital next Tuesday; they want to check that his heart is strong enough for the surgery, so he'll have to have his heart monitored while he's on an exercise bike. If everything is okay, that probably means that his surgery will happen shortly after that - when I am back in Spain again.

Togo Update

The weekend went well. I spoke at a gathering of young people who'd been on a NIKO-style summer camp for emerging leaders, and who were getting ready to go back to school and university. With parents and some brothers and sisters too, it was a group of around 50 people. Then I also shared at a worship service that's held once a month at the little YWAM centre in Lomé.... and I'll be teaching these next two Tuesday afternoons at a discipleship class for young adults (aged 22 - 30), most of whom are university students. 

Apart from that, my time will be given to teaching on the PCYM. Genevieve and I took time at the weekend to finish putting some of my powerpoint presentations into French, and I found this morning that this was a real help when it came to teaching in French rather than English. Thanks for your ongoing prayers for the week ahead.

The latest news....

I've arrived safely in Togo, and am now back in the capital city of Lomé, after spending a couple of days in another town, Kpalimé, where we have just finished a seminar with around 50 participants - on the topic of how to plan and run creative programmes for reaching unchurched kids. Those who attended the seminar learned a lot, and actually prepared a full programme of workshops, games, songs, memory verse, stories, application, etc, that they presented one afternoon in a local neighbourhood. Around 160 children and a good number of curious parents turned up that afternoon - even though the event had not been announced in any way. (They just heard the music when we started up.) As is common in Africa, we had all ages present: from tiny preschoolers to young teenagers. 


Internet access has been almost non-existent, so you may not hear much from me over the next week. I couldn't access the internet at all from Kpalimé, and had to phone home to Scotland to find out how things had gone with my Dad at the hospital on Thursday. Everything had gone smoothly and now they are waiting to hear the date for his surgery (see previous posting) which is likely to be fairly soon. Thanks for your continued prayers.

This Sunday, I'll be speaking at a special meeting for King's Kids (15 - 21 year olds) who were on a camp together in the summer and who are getting ready to go back to school and college, and also at a monthly worship service that is held at the YWAM centre in Lomé and attended by people from different local churches.

Then on Monday, we'll start up with the PCYM school again. I'll be teaching on different subjects about how to see children and teenagers from God's perspective, and how to be more effective in motivating and discipling them. I'll be teaching every morning, and some afternoons and evenings too, so it's going to be a full week. As mentioned above, I may not be able to be in touch much... but thank you for your prayers.

Of timing and trusting...

My parents got news yesterday that my Dad's hospital appointment with the anaesthetist will be next Thursday, 8th September. He go in for around three hours of different tests which will assess his suitability for the surgery which would remove the part of his intestine where the cancer is. All being well, the operation will be scheduled for sometime fairly soon after that.
This, of course, is the day after I leave for my ministry trip to Africa. I had so much been hoping that Dad would go into hospital when I was still in Europe, and not when I was further away, in Africa. But I know that many of you have been joining me in trusting for God's perfect timing (both for my Dad's hospital appointment there in Scotland, and for my own appointment, here in Spain) and so I can only leave the timing of these things in God's hands. Perhaps Dad's surgery will only happen after I return to Spain again. Please would you pray that my whole family will know God's peace at this time. Thank you.

Games for growth...

Many of our KKI staff around the world are working with poor and needy young people - such as street kids, orphans, or children in disadvantaged situations. We do not only share the gospel with these young people; we usually help meet their physical needs - for food and clothing, for example - and often we also offer support with their educational needs. In many parts of the developing world, less than 60% of the population can read and write. Helping a child or teenager with his schooling can be part of helping him to make a better future for himself and his family. In Cape Town, we taught computer skills to disadvantaged young people, and many of our KKI workers in other parts of Africa, Asia and South America are also involved in literacy programmes as well as feeding programmes.

Our Fabricants de Joie (KKI) workers in Togo welcome dozens of children after school every day to help them with different aspects of their homework. So I wasn't surprised when "educational games" was one of the things they asked me to bring with me when I travel down to West Africa in just a few days' time. However, when I went out to look in the shops, I simply couldn't find anything at all. There didn't seem to be any educational toys or games (except for very small children) and the only educational puzzle books I could find were in Spanish, of course. I realised it was time to draw on my background as a teacher, get creative, and make up some games of my own.

The ones I just finished making this morning are designed to help children practise mathematics - more specifically, their multiplication or what we sometimes call their "times tables." I made up a variety of different worksheets and puzzles, but I also made a game based on the concept of the dice game, Yahtzee. (Perhaps you know it: you have to throw as many ones as possible, as many twos as possible, etc.) By putting more dice than usual into each box, I've come up with a game where the children can have fun at the same time as practising their multiplication (and also their addition, when it comes to adding up the points at the end of the game!)

My next challenge will be to create some word search puzzles which will help the children with their reading and spelling - in French, of course!