Ministry in Togo, Ghana, and Books to Read

Hi Everyone,

Monday, we went to the village of Tambimnoug. We did an hour and a half program for about 150 people under two mango trees. The church choir there sang us some songs before and after our program. The chief of the village really appreciated our message of unity. We ate lunch at the church. After lunch, they gave us some mangoes and beans. We were one kilometer from Ghana, so we decided to go there for awhile. We went to the market in Ghana for about 25 minutes. At customs, they had no problem with us going as long as we didn't stay. In Ghana, the main language is English, but their accent is hard to understand. At first, we didn't even realize that it was English.

Tuesday, Valerie, a missionary here, took us to a high-school here. There are over 1000 students at the school, with classes sizes around 80. When we arrived the kids were rowdy and were watching a skit to teach them about AIDS. There are many billboards here in Togo encouraging abstinence. Over 100,000 of Togo's 5.1 million people have AIDS. There are many orphans due to AIDS. We did an hour and half program for the high-schoolers. Many of them were not paying attention during our program, some were making fun of us, others made fun of Prosper because Cameroon lost a soccer match against Togo. However, in the midst of this here were several kids that really connected with us. After singing, we had a question and answer time. They asked good questions like why are you on team, why are there so many Christian denominations, and why is there suffering. We all took turns answering. Some seemed really interested and we encouraged them to keep searching for answers to their questions. Valerie fed us a delicious lunch, then we went to the seminary and had some rehearsal. We took some time to discuss how programs have been going. We ironed out some problems have been having. I have become way more flexible with programming, but I still need some work.

I'm reading "The Shack" and "The Irresistible Revolution." They are both really good. "The Shack," by William P. Young, is based on a true story of a man who encounters God and has many of life's tough questions answered. "The Irresistible Revolution," by Shane Claiborne, is about being a Christian activist and a revolution towards being truly Christian by serving our broken world. I highly recommend that you read both.

Monday, we will be going to Burkina Faso!! Before then, we will be doing programs everyday in villages around Dapaong. In Burkina, we will be going to Fada N'Gourma and Ouagadougou.

I hope you all have a great Easter!! I will miss being home for Easter. We've heard that they don't celebrate here much.


Peace,

Tiffany