Greetings from Togo

Hello Everyone!

Sunday, we played four songs for church. After church, we learned from the pastor that two families that we had visited in Sémé are going to be baptized. We were happy to hear that our ministry is making a difference. Sunday afternoon, we went door to door in Zopah.

Monday, we got up early to come to Togo. We met with the pastor and gave him some things that we will be leaving in Cotonou until we fly out--our drums. Now, the team has a total of seven drums!! I bought myself a very nice djembé. We visited a very neat tourist area of Cotonou, where they sold many beautiful arts and crafts from Bénin, including drums. I also got some cloth with designs on it. After saying our good-byes to the pastor, we rode in turbo turtle to the border of Bénin and Togo.

On the way to Togo, we stopped in Ouidah, which was the only port in Bénin until 1908. Therefore, Ouidah was the port where slaves from Bénin were exported. We went to Ouidah's Museum of History, while the car was being fixed--again! The tour was very interesting. The building was a fort that was rebuild by the Portuguese. The Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, English, and French all came to Bénin to trade for slaves; they traded with the Dahomey kings. We saw a model of a fort, where they held slaves until they were shipped to Brasil and the Caribbean. The forts had cannons and churches in them. The French fort was surrounded by a moat full of crocodiles. If the slaves were bad, they were thrown into the moat. The museum held two copies of "At Last," a book used to guide the Portuguese to Africa. There were also many artifacts found by archeologists. There were pots, pipes, iron, porcelain, beads, shackles, bullets, and Venetian glass. There were two large pots that were used by Dahomey kings as drums to communicate. The Dahomey kings had anywhere from 40 to 40,000 wives, who would parade around him until he chose ten to come in his bedroom, and one for his bed. There was a quote in the museum that said, "The Dahomey kings didn't start the slave trade, but they benefitted from it." The ships took three months to get to Brasil. There was art showing work that slaves did and how packed the slaves were on the ships. Sadly, the women were held in a separate part of the ship, where they were raped. There were pictures of slaves in Cuba and Haiti. Also, there was art of slaves who came back to Bénin after slavery was abolished; it showed about how they brought Brazilian culture back with them--especially religion. There was a large Basilica built in Ouidah. However, Ouidah is also a large center for voodoo, which started in Bénin. The Basilica is near the python temple, where voodoo cermonies are held. Every year there is a large voodoo festival in Ouidah. Tslave traders were Catholic and forced the slaves to be do. There were several sticks that voodoo practicers use to heal or curse others. Also, some have wooden statues in front of their homes to ward of disease and evil spirits. We saw several neat quilts that had pictures that told stories.

After the museum, we travelled on to the border. Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to get through customs--we just didn't always know what we were supposed to be doing. We met Pastor Michael at the border. He picked us up in his nice air-conditioned Jeep. We drove from the border to Lomé, the capital of Togo. After eating a late lunch, we did a program for the first time in a long time. Pastor Michael is great! He speaks English and went to the LCMS seminary in St. Louis. We are staying in the extra buildings at the soceity where they translate the Bible into local languages. Tuesday, we shopped and exchanged money--which took a long time. In the evening, we did another program, but it was kid-focused with sing alongs and a puppet show. It was really fun! We have had the pleasure of eating several meals with families from the church, which helps YE save money. Today, I bought an outfit for myself.

Tomorrow, we will be heading north to Kara, Togo. We will be there two nights, before spending two weeks in Dapaong. After that, we will go to Burkina Faso.


Peace,

Tiffany