A year and some change

The 23^rd of December marked one full year living in Mango for our family. A lot has happened in that year, and we’ve changed in more ways than we had realized. (Warning: most of the photos in this post are of Caleb — guess that’s what happens when you become parents ; )

We’ve experienced a full year of Togo weather – harmattan/dry season, hot season, rainy season. Now the harmattan is dying down and it’s hot again. We sometimes miss the four US seasons, but we are learning to find beauty in these new ones. We’ve even acclimated so much we would wear jackets some mornings in December and January and reach for a blanket as the coolness of night crept in. But even the Togolese confirm with us that it is HOT right now, and we are thankful for the refreshment our compound pool provides on the especially rough days.

We’ve had all sorts of new cultural experiences. We’ve adjusted (somewhat – it’s hard to take all the task-oriented American out of us!) to the slower pace of daily life here; to the bustle and layout of the local market; to the familiar shouts of “batoulé” wherever we go; to the usual French and Anufo greetings; to the donkey brays, guinea hen cackles, and cries of neighbor children around our home. God has grown our love for this town and the people in it.  

We’ve transitioned to life as a family of three. Having your first child is an adjustment no matter what country you live in. God continues to grow us as parents and teach us to depend on Him for the strength and wisdom we need to train up our Caleb in the way he should go. Our dinner table is not as quiet and clean as it used to be, but sometimes joy is found in the messiness. The last few weeks have posed a new challenge as we’re already dealing with bumps and scrapes that come with new mobility skills (or lack thereof  😉 ). Sometimes these accidents are harder on Maman and Papa than on him.

We’ve begun ministry in the hospital and elsewhere. Jonathan has dealt with server emergencies, … We spent a week and a half at the southern hospital so that he could receive training working on the phone systems as well. He has also done preliminary preparation for the mobile computer labs he hopes to start up.

Bethany worked in the maternity ward before Caleb was born, and has just started to get back to working at the main hospital station. She has also been blessed as she does a chronological Bible study with R, one of the ladies who cleans for us. This past week we read through Isaiah 53 and came to the end of our Old Testament overview. Seeing her reaction and hearing her heart as she understands what she is reading has been a joy.

We’ve had the privilege of helping start a church plant in a nearby village. It has been a joy to teach (Jonathan) and witness the work of God in the hearts of these villagers as they hear stories of His love and grace for the first time.

We’ve rented our first (non-apartment) home. We had been praying for our future Togo home since before we left for France, and it has been special to see how God has answered those prayers, even down to the details we asked. We’ve slowly made this house a home – a place where we can show loving hospitality but also relax comfortably just as a family.

In December Jonathan took a trip to the US for 3 weeks for training on the integration of new digital X-ray system that HBB (Hopital Baptiste Biblique, in the south) will be utilizing. While he was there he got to visit with his side of the family for a while. Caleb and Maman missed him a lot, but the welcome home was sweet (once Caleb got over the initial surprise ;).

Last year we arrived in Mango just 2 days before Christmas, so it was fun this year to have more time to focus on to decorating and preparing our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ birth. The cooler weather was almost reminiscent of wintertime. We put up a tree that we’d gotten from departing missionaries and listened to lots of advent music. We only wish Jonathan had been able to be in Togo for more of the season.

We’ve all experienced malaria at least once. It’s no picnic, but we are thankful for effective and quick-acting medication. Allergies and GI bugs have also been occasional, but un-fun visitors. We are thankful that despite the many times he is held and touched and –yes, even – kissed on a regular basis, Caleb has not gotten any serious illnesses.

This brings us to our most recent developments. As we’ve mentioned in our group Facebook updates, Jonathan has been experiencing health issues for the last few months, with no explanation that we have yet found. After several checkups and repeated testing, it has been decided that we will spend some time back in the US to hopefully get some answers as to what is going on. We are sad to leave even temporarily, especially since we have no idea how long it will be before we are back, but we are praying and hoping that God will provide the answers and healing we are seeking. Will you please join us in praying for safe travels, divine appointments, and wisdom for the doctors we will see? Pray for us as we say “au revoir” to our friends. Pray that God will grow us more like Him and strengthen our marriage and family through this time. Pray that we would trust His timing and plans.

Serving Him Together,

Jonathan, Bethany, and Caleb

Reginald: A Cultural Tale

One late afternoon, S, a neighbor whom we have been trying to get to know came over for a visit. As she arrived, she presented a gift “for Caleb” – a rooster. Bethany – not having received a gift of this kind before and not being sure quite how to respond – invited her in and they chatted through the typical greetings about family, the weather, etc. After a little while, S motioned that Bethany should take the gift from her, so Bethany got a plastic bag, delicately placed him inside, then promptly set the bag on the kitchen counter.

The two women continued talking for several minutes in the living room until S took her leave. At this point, Bethany had forgotten about the gift until she walked into the kitchen and heard unfamiliar noises. Being the naïve missionary that she is, she had assumed that the rooster – who had been quite dazed when S carried him in by his feet – was, well, not very alive. So you can imagine her surprise when Reginald (yes, we later named him) greeted her standing up on the bag beside the sink.

In a bit of a daze herself, Bethany went to seek the aid of her fearless husband, who had been working in his office this whole time. “Jonathan, I need your help with something.” He was more than a little surprised by this “something” he found as he came in the kitchen door, but took matters into his own hands, as Bethany had been hoping he would do. Long story shorter, we talked about keeping Reginald as a pet to help keep bugs down, but he stayed in our yard for less than 24 hours before his middle-of-the-night crowing and sabotaging of our plants gave us no choice but to have another neighbor prepare him for our dinner.