Goodbyes... and gifts to go

Well, true to the name of this blog, I am now "back in Europe" again, having arrived in Spain just a couple of hours ago. My last few days of ministry in Togo seemed to go by very fast, even despite the fact that we added an extra class on Monday evening in order to squeeze in a time of story telling. (I told stories and testimonies of early King's Kids "adventures" that illustrated the Biblical values and principles I'd been teaching over the previous ten days.) 

I felt suitably "spoiled" with tastes of Africa before the time came to leave: one day, the guys cut all the coconuts down from the palm tree in the garden, which meant that we could drink the fresh "juice" and enjoy coconut flavoured ice cream. Reine (her name in French means "queen") was really the juice queen during my two weeks in Lomé. She regularly squeezed me fresh grapefruit or orange juice; this week she made me grenadilla (passion fruit) juice - which was always my favourite when I lived in South Africa - and on the last day she made me something typically West African: bisap juice. Bisap is a flower, rather like hibiscus; the juice is made by boiling the flowers in water and then adding spearmint and a little sugar. Delicious!

I wasn't only spoiled with delicious drinks, though. I also enjoyed amazing meals that are African favourites - things like fonio, fufu, couscous and pap - and lots of tasty grilled fish like in the photo above. For snack time, we also had crisps, but these weren't potato chips or corn chips like we buy in our supermarkets; they were crisps made from plantain bananas or from manioc (also known as yuca or cassava.)

The PCYM staff didn't only bless me with wonderful hospitality while I was with them, they also gave me a variety of "thank you" gifts to bring back to Europe with me. They invited me to go out and buy a couple of pagnes (those large rectangles of brightly coloured African material) which they then hired a seamstress to make into clothes for me. So I chose a purple coloured pagne to make a dress (see photo) and blue coloured pagnes for a skirt and top. While we were shopping at the "material market," I also bought some pencil cases in bright African colours - which will make good gifts for children and young people that I know. 

Right up to the last minute, my African friends were keen to give me a "taste" of Africa to bring back to Europe with me: bags of banana chips, two long Togo-grown pineapples, a couple of avocados, and lots of different chillies for making spicy sauce (I had told them that Ada is South American and enjoys spicy food too) - these were some of the goodies that were squeezed into my luggage just as we were getting ready to leave for the airport.

It is always a privilege to serve God by teaching and training Christian workers in Africa.... and every time I'm invited to an African PCYM, I experience all over again that I am not only there to give,  but I am also abundantly blessed and I receive so much in return - materially as well as spiritually. Thanks for your prayers during my two weeks in Togo, and thanks for remembering the students and staff during the remaining weeks of their school, which finishes at the end of October.

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.