Jon

I, for one, welcome our new computer overlords. I am the lead editor and site administrator for ElusiveTangent.com.

Merry Christmas (2024)

Merry Christmas (2024) Uncategorized Comments Off

Dec 232024

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

It’s hard to believe we’ve now been in Florida almost three years. As we spend Christmas with family in Ohio, we are realizing just how acclimated all of us have become to the Sunshine State’s climate. We have grown to love this area where God has planted us. Our relationships here have deepened, our church here feels more and more like home, and Jonathan’s gardening efforts in our yard are blossoming beautifully.

Jonathan’s health, although not where it was before Togo, has improved somewhat. Having a consistent routine, getting adequate rest, and just living in a less stressful environment daily seem to have contributed to this improvement. We are thankful for some progress, even if he is not where we had hoped he’d be by now. Just in the last week, he has begun trialing a new medication. We would appreciate your prayers through this process — we are hopeful it will improve his fatigue, aches, and other symptoms.

He has been working constantly to improve the IT at the ITEC office and enjoys the challenge. He has also gotten involved to a lesser extent with their aviation, engineering, and farming projects.

In mid-July Jonathan and Bethany had the unique privilege of going on ITEC’s WAO Trip together. (A big thank you to Bethany’s mom, sister, & brother-in-law for staying with Caleb & Sélah so we could go!) It was an incredible, memorable experience. We listened to jungle rain thrum the roofs of skillfully fashioned longhouses as we nestled in handwoven hammocks; we fished from canoes on the beautiful Amazon; we planted banana and cassava starts in a clearing; and we feasted on jungle chicken and plantains. We met some of the Waodani tribe and heard firsthand accounts of their violent spearing days, how Christ was introduced to them, and how He changed their lives and culture completely. It was exciting to see up close how ITEC got its start.

Bethany has enjoyed getting back into piano lessons once a week from a lady in our Sunday School class. Unfortunately for us, our babysitter started college, so Bible study has been put on hold during this season. She misses the good teaching and fellowship, but is focusing on growing other relationships, managing our home, and training and homeschooling the children.

Caleb, five-and-a-half this month, is obsessed with all things aviation. We joke that his brain is shaped like an airplane, the way he can turn any stick, drawing, or toy into some sort of flying machine. His drawing skills have really taken off the last few months (No pun intended, but airplanes are his favorite thing to sketch). He has enjoyed starting more formal school with Mama this past year, and has made lots of progress in his handwriting and sounding out short words. His favorite place to be, though, is outside climbing trees, digging, and going off on some new adventure with “Little Fishy,” as he calls his sister in their latest imaginary game.

Sélah, three-and-a-half, refers to her brother as “Alligator” in their game, but even though she’s smaller she is often the one taking the lead in their antics. She is learning her letter sounds this year, and loves doing school like brother. She can spot something pink from a mile away, but is also quick to climb a tree all the way to the top or to wrestle her brother to the ground. Some of her other favorite things are squirrels, babies, dancing and singing (especially to the Baby Shark song), reading, and organizing (Yes, she gets that one from her Mama). She keeps us on our toes with her knack for mischief and her quick sense of humor.

We apologize for how long it has been since we got our last update out. Hopefully we will be able to stick to getting you updated every quarter from now on. And, Lord willing, our next update will bring news of a new addition! We are all excited to meet “Bump” around the beginning of March. We have enjoyed feeling his/her kicks and anticipating what sort of personality she/he will add to our family. We are thankful for this blessing!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for us. It can feel very different, and sometimes less impactful, not being “frontline missionaries” anymore, but the Lord reminds us that He sees each behind-the-scenes moment of internet-repairing and child-training and laundry-folding just as much as he saw us having church under a baobab tree in a West African village. So even though we still miss our friends and ministries in Togo, we rejoice to see the Lord’s provision and direction right here as well. He is always faithful; always with us, our kind and lowly Emmanuel. May you take time this season to slow down and draw near to Him.

Serving Him Together,

Jonathan & Bethany, Caleb, Sélah, and Baby Edwards

Catching Fish and Cutting Cookie

Catching Fish and Cutting Cookie Uncategorized Comments Off

Dec 122022

Grace to you, and peace from (still) warm Florida. We hope this newsletter find you all relatively well (we know that there are lots of sicknesses going around right now!) and absolutely grateful (because our joy is based on the truth of His mercy and not on our circumstances).

And where has the time gone! We are nearing a year since we committed to joining ITEC. First, we apologize for forgetting to send out an update for so long. It’s easy sometimes to forget in the mundane of the day-to-day that you all want to hear from us.

It has been encouraging to read back over journal entries from a year ago, remembering our confusion of what we should be doing and where. All the waiting and ups and downs brought us to what God had been preparing us for all along. We are thankful for His faithful provision and guidance and are joyful in seeing the fruition of the plans of “Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. (Eph)”

In our last update we said we had likely found a church home. But, after several months it became clear that was not where God wanted us. After more consideration and plenty of visiting we are now members at College Road Baptist in Ocala, We are thankful for a church home that is faithfully growing in teaching and living out God’s Word together – something that is rare in this area of Florida. We’re looking into starting a small home-group and hope, as God wills, that it can also be an outreach to our neighbors as well.

So what has been keeping us occupied these last months?

Christmas cookies anyone? You’d better hurry or there might not be any left with this kitchen crew.

Bethany is enjoying having days with some of the other mamas from ITEC and their children. Their most recent adventure involved all of the children making Christmas cookies (and messes) and creating God-focused memories and friends for the children and other mothers. She also enjoys fellowshiping at MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) meetings and get-togethers, getting to know our neighbors and other friends better.

The kids have found their “ministry” in being spoiled by our older neighbors who have made them as grandchildren. Caleb is learning how to ride a “big boy” bike and Selah enjoys cruising with him on the balance bike. They both love to play outside barefoot in the grass (You can do that during the winter months in Florida!) and especially love playing in the dirt. The moles in our neighborhood kindly provide fresh dirt mounds for them to topple almost every day so there is never any lack of fun.

Jonathan enjoys working at ITEC, with their amazing crew, and knowing that it is more than just a job – it’s a calling and helps to fulfill the great commission with training (and technology work) aimed at making disciple-making disciples by equipping the saints with the tools they need to reach to every nation. He has ups and downs as with any work; the monotony of repetitive everyday tasks and failures of plans, projects, and relationships, and the constant fatigue can veil the beauty of the successes and the grander plans that are being worked out. If you want to find out more about what goes on specifically at ITEC every month, we highly recommend subscribing to that newsletter as we won’t often repeat those events in ours.

His first fish. That whopper of a fish was bigger than he was, at least 5 feet long, and fed our family for days. In fact, it was probably set a new size record but we forgot to measure it in all the excitement.

Our family enjoyed ITEC’s recent family day – Caleb was thrilled to finally get to fish for real with his Papa even if he didn’t enjoy sitting and waiting for the fish to bite or touching it once it was out of the water. He wrinkled his nose and asked Papa to get it. Selah enjoyed being around all of the people and being “the baby” for the other girls. The rest of the family fellowshipped with the team members and showed off our Bocci Ball skills.

On special weekends we might hike nearby or Kayak or take a boat out on the Rainbow or Withlacoochee Rivers. Both are relaxing ways to enjoy the unique creation around here. Surprisingly (or not so much so if you know us well) we don’t get to the beach all that often. But there is no lack of activities to do here.

Soon, (as the Lord wills) we will be visiting our family and friends in North Carolina for Christmas before, again Lord willing, making a return trip to Togo in January to say official goodbyes and wrap up details our belongings that are left. When we packed up to come back to the US, we believed our medical furlough would be, at the most, 3 months. And now, exactly two months shy of three years later, we hope to finally be back, if only for a short bitter-sweet few weeks. We left with a 9 month old baby and will be returning with a 3.5 year old and a 21-month old.

Pray for safe travels over Christmas and New Year’s as we visit family and friends in North Carolina.
Please pray that all the details of our trip to Mango will work out – visa, COVID tests, etc. We will be gone for three weeks. Pray for health both Stateside and in Togo. If you recall our planned trip last year was cancelled because one of us had COVID. But also, we don’t want to get Malaria (or anything else) while we’re there.
Pray for moment-by-moment wisdom as we seek to train our children well – pray especially that God would draw Caleb and Selah’s hearts to His, that we can help them to carry out Kingdom work and seek His glory.
Pray for the salvation of our neighbors as well as friends we’ve met at MOPS and parks, etc. – we have found there is so much opportunity for ministry here, but we need wisdom to know where/who to focus on and how to not take on too much at once.

For those wanting to send holiday or birthday cards or gifts, the address is 13535 SW 113^TH LN Dunnellon FL 34432

Next Stop

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Jan 142022

Blessed; the word that best describes our lives. Not in the sense that we would claim to be prosperous in the way this world measures prosperity, but in the sense that God, in keeping His good promises (and He faithfully does) has not left us wanting for anything. We have not had a formal income for almost four months now and yet, through the generous love from you, our partners in ministry, have not lacked. Many of you continued to give even after our stepping down from ABWE. We thank you immensely for your willingness to continue and for the encouragement that these gifts brought during this transition.

Our trip to Togo didn’t go as planned. We had planned to be there for about two weeks (a three week trip with travel included) before moving to start our new ministry at ITEC headquarters in Florida. But God ordained that the trip not happen. Two days before we were to board the plane, Sélah tested positive for COVID19, meaning that with the quarantine period, we would not be able to reschedule the trip until late January and that did not work with our move. For those who gave toward our return trip, we are setting those funds aside until such time as we are able to go and say, “until the day when we meet again,” to our friends and co-laborers in Christ.

At the end of this month, January 2022, we will be moving to Florida to start new ministry at ITEC. We have already stated some of what this will look like: advising administration on how technology can help aid the organization, help set future plans, train staff, and also develop training for nationals. We are joyful that God has allowed us to work directly in missions.

This is a supported position which means that we will raise $1350 per month toward our salary and expenses. That’s quite a bit lower than the $6500+ each month that we previously needed while in Togo. This lower number is because of the difference in how ITEC does support compared to other mission organizations. Previously, we had asked you to suspend your giving until we were able to reorient to a new organization and ministry. That time has now come. We understand that not everyone will continue as the reasons and focus of what God lays upon the hearts of His children for giving are varied. There is no obligation to continue partnering with us, though to God there is always obligation in Love to partner one with another. If God has asked you to continue to partnering with us in giving to missions then please visit our partnering page and follow the instructions. If you have questions or would like more details, feel free to message, email, or call us.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for us during the past two years of uncertainty, and now once again as we prepare to move and resettle into a new community. We know this step will bring another big adjustment, but we are excited about following God’s clear leading.

Everything… all at once.

Everything… all at once. Uncategorized Comments Off

Dec 272021

ITEC

Jonathan has been searching for a job for about three months now and recently God pointed us toward a small mission in central Florida called ITEC (Indigenous peoples Training and Education Center; itecusa.org). Their focus is to partner with other like-minded missions and Christian nationals around the world to provide technical skills through which they can share the gospel – mechanical, dentistry, community health, sustainable farming, and many other areas. This gives the nationals both an inroad by which to form relationships and teach the gospel and make disciples, but also a practical means of income. This idea came to fruition after the nationals with whom the founding missionaries ministered continued to make requests for such a program. Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a meal. Teach a man to fish and he and his family and their families will eat for a lifetime and can teach others how to fish so they can also eat all the while sharing the gospel with those they are teaching & feeding.

Jonathan will work there to maintain and upgrade technology, advise the directors on how best to use technology to accommodate future needs and economize available technology, and train staff and missionaries. This will be a missionary position and we will need to raise some amount of monthly support. But that is in the near future and we’ll let you know more about it later.

Mango or Bust

We’ve finalized plans for our return trip to Mango in the first weeks of January to say our goodbyes and finish up some things that were left undone when we hastily left. This will not be an easy trip. Traveling this far and for so long is always a struggle, more so with two energetic young ones. Add to that the complications of Jonathan’s condition and additional requirements for COVID19 and it’s easy to see that this will be quite the trip.

It will be an emotional trip too. We miss Mango. We miss our friends there and the fellowship. We miss the labored striving and the joy of teaching in the village. (Sure there are things we don’t miss like going days without a shower or hand-sized, furry, eight-legged critters scurrying across the floor at night.) The sacrifices paled next to joy of striving for the kingdom in a place that was ripe for harvest. Now we will go and say farewell and close a chapter of our lives that ended before we were ready.

Please pray for us as we prepare and go that God would bless this time and that He would be glorified in it all. Pray also for the parents and the children as we travel. Pray that none of us, especially Jonathan, would not get malaria and that we would have energy. Pray that we would all have negative COVID19 tests throughout the journey, that our flights would not be cancelled, again due to COVID19, and that there would be no other complications.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Oh, and a belated Merry Christmas from our family to yours. May the God of all hope be the light of hope into your life that you might “be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you.” And a happy new year to you all.

Jonathan, Bethany, Caleb, and Sélah Edwards

(re)orientation

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Apr 212021

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It was the morning of December 31^st, 2019 and Jonathan woke up feeling exhausted. He had returned from a business trip for radiology integration training in the US only a few days before and had enjoyed an exciting Christmas celebration with friends from the village bible study. This was not a new feeling. In fact he had experienced it many times before. In less than 48 hours he had gone from feeling upbeat and energetic to what you might describe as the worst flu you’ve ever had, with every muscle in your body rebelling in pain. Another bout of malaria, he thought, and so he made the decision to visit the clinic that afternoon before the New Year’s celebrations kicked off and everything closed for a few days.

But at the clinic they found nothing wrong. In fact, they found nothing abnormal at all. He was in great physical shape. Thinking it was a virus, they sent him home with a memo to call if it didn’t go away. It didn’t. Visit after visit went the same way. Tests, results, healthy. We tried keeping a rigid schedule thinking maybe it was the first signs of burnout. No go. In fact, the longer this went on the worse it became. Soon not only was there exhaustion but he was showing signs of major depression.

It was at this point around the end of Feb 2020 that the doctors, team, and we decided that returning to the US was the only real option. So we packed our house up and got on the plane. Many of you will recall this journey and we thank you for your consistent prayers during that time. Of course, little did we expect that while we were flying, COVID would strike and whole continents go on lockdown.

In the US we visited doctors. They confirmed what the doctors at Hospital of Hope already had confirmed. Physically there seemed to be nothing wrong. The exhaustion remained. Some depression remained – though this was slowly vanishing in part with the help of medications. But visit after visit revealed the same nothing… and we slowly began to realize as the year went on that this wasn’t going to be an easy fix.

Today, many of the symptoms remain still. The depression, so far as we can tell, has passed. But the medications are still needed and for the most part seem to be what is boosting his energy such that he is at least functional. But he still becomes easily exhausted even over seemingly simple things and the pain still comes and goes. On the best days he is able to get 7 or 8 good hours each day with 9-11 hours of sleep each night and a 2 – 3 hour rest required after lunch.

All of this, after a year of searching for answers, brought us and the doctors to one conclusion – that returning for more than a few weeks at a time to Togo – or any mission field with malaria – was out of the question. Beyond that, the stressors of everyday living in a foreign culture demand that you be at 100% and Jonathan is far from 100%.

We mourned at the news even if it wasn’t unexpected. We missed our friends. We strove for Togo for years and were ready live out our days there. Then God intervened. He declared loudly and clearly that His plan for us was elsewhere. We questioned why God would do this: send us through the entire preparation process, to get us there for a year and then bring us back to the US. We had just begun to really get our footing and begin developing our ministries further. From a resource perspective it made no sense.

We know that God’s plans are not ours and His ways are not ours. And when you “own the cattle on a thousand hills,” when you can literally speak anything into existence, the material becomes trivial. God has been teaching us many things through this. As He speaks through Paul,

“’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ [2Cor 12:9-10]”

As we stare at the the ripped up pieces of the letter of expectation we sent to God, we rejoice at the new prospects that have been laid before us. It is our desire to continue to reach the nations as missionaries; In this God has so far made it clear that He would like us to remain in His work in that capacity here in north-central North Carolina. Following that lead, we’ve begun looking into and praying about the opportunity to start a ministry for college age young adults both for evangelism and discipleship. Our hope is that they will, upon receiving the Good News, take it to every people and tribe – reaching those peoples despite our inability to go ourselves. Right now we don’t know much about what this would look like and that is one of our biggest prayer requests: that God would make clear His leading, work out the details, create the relationships, and provide the resources. Would you please pray with us about this?

Bethany, Baby, & Caleb

Bethany has been praying and seeking God’s will for our future alongside Jonathan, and attending occasional meetings in-person and virtually as we go about this slow and hazy process. As previously mentioned, it has been difficult to see the whole trajectory of our ministry lives change, but God is opening our eyes to the potential here in North Carolina and teaching us again to trust His unchanging character in the midst of what seem like big life changes to us.

Bethany has enjoyed getting involved in a weekly women’s Bible study on Philippians and getting to know some of the ladies from the church here better.

The warmer spring weather has made it a lot easier to get outside – whether it’s to walk, take Caleb to the park, plant flowers and hang bird-feeders, or hang clothes on the line.

We are two weeks away from Baby Edwards #2’s due date, so a big focus of Bethany’s has been preparing our nest for his/her arrival. Bags are packed, labor playlist edited, house-cleaning in process, and baby stuff organized and waiting. We are so thankful to still be staying in a local mission house for the time being and to have a place of our own to bring Baby home to.

Caleb is not so eager for Baby to come. The last few weeks he has sensed a change coming, and has been considerably more fussy and clingy. Please pray for him as he transitions into his soon-to-be role of big brother. We are not expecting it to be easy for him (or us!).

His verbal skills have really leveled up the last month as he’s mastered subjects from basic colors to construction vehicles. He is now attempting whole sentences and singing. A couple of his favorites are “His Mercy is More” and ”Country Roads.” He absolutely loves books – especially when they are read to him, but he also occasionally reads them to himself and his (stuffed) friends. He surprises us with how emotionally invested he becomes in what happens to the characters. It is fun to watch his personality and interests grow.

The immediate future

We are currently working on the beginnings of furlough and are available to visit nearby NC churches and can visit more distant churches within a month or two (Baby Edwards and Mama need some time). We would love to share with you all what God has done and what He continues to do in and through our lives. If you would like us to visit you or your church, then let’s set up a time. We’ve also entertained the idea of an e-visit. If that’s something that interests you then please let us know and we’ll try to work something out.

Those pesky numbers

21%; that represents $1391 per month we’re below on our support level. We are praising God that through this trial for over a year now we have not last a single supporter due to being in the US or because of the pandemic. It is a true blessing that we have such faithful, giving partners and a faithful God. The deficit represents the increase in costs, mostly insurance premiums and cost-of-living inflation. We aren’t asking you to cough up more funds, although we would never turn them down, but we would ask that you pray for more partners to fill this gap as it is eating at our limited reserves. Please pray with us that God would fill this need.

Will you come?

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Jun 102019

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Will you come? The man beside the road had flagged us down just a few kilometers from a village where we and another missionary couple hold a bible group one morning each week. He had heard from someone in that village what we were doing there and wanted us to come and host a study at his village… and he didn’t want to take no for an answer. It’s the sort of question that every missionary dreams about, being tracked down to come and do the very thing that you want to be doing. But there was a problem. When could we come? All of our time was committed. Everyone else is busy as well. Truly, this was a case of Jesus’ prophecy that, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” After about 10 minutes of discussion it was decided that we could use our two trucks to haul anyone who wanted to attend from that village to the village where we hold the study so that they too could participate. It wasn’t an ideal solution; The meeting place in the other village is already standing room only and we would double that number, but it was a start. So we ask, would you “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest?” (Matt 9:38) We need laborers. Maybe this man’s question was not pointed just at us but to you. Will YOU come? This is one of a dozen villages that have asked for us to start teaching God’s Word but our team in cooperation with local churches cannot for lack of teachers. While you consider and pray about that, would you pray that God would provide the words, the energy, the attentiveness, the courage to continue to proclaim His Good News?

Maybe you caught the detail that we are planning to use our pickup to transport people to the bible study. We have it! In what seems like forever ago (in reality less than a month and a half) we were able to finalize the paperwork on our truck and drive it to Mango. It is far nicer than we imagined. We knew it was a very nice pickup truck but WOW, God provided a fine gift. The heated seats are our favorite feature! We are thankful for the generosity of the family who sacrificed as well as to everyone who sacrificed to help us with shipping, port costs, and taxes. We and our team in Mango go to great lengths to distance ourselves from the heresy that is the Prosperity Gospel by trying not to flaunt our relative and/or perceived wealth. And in a God-ordained twist, He turns around and reminds us that, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11) All the more because of this we are careful to point to the provision of God and give Him praise for it whenever someone asks about it. It comes at a good time too as rainy season fast approaches. And getting to and from the village will become a challenge. Puddles the size of small lakes threaten to bog down most transportation but so far we have had no trouble getting where we need to go whether fording creek beds or wading puddles… all this to the frustration of our guard who cleans it to a sparkling sheen every night.

Baby is growing fast and momma is just about ready for him or her to vacate. And there is less than a month left before the estimated due date. And with that approaching date, Bethany has moved to full time nest making and preparation, as well as relationship-building with our house help and other women in our neighborhood. As the bump grew so grew the challenges of continuing to work on the hospital floor and so she has taken maternity leave.

Pray with us …

… that we would grow in our walk with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

… for energy and boldness as we continue the work to advance His kingdom.

… that we would be a light to our Togolese, Ghanaian, and Burkinabé neighbors.

… for continued growth in our cultural and lingual understanding.

… as we form relationships with guards, house help, co-workers, and others in the community.

… that God would give us a clear idea of how we should focus and prioritize our ministries.

… for the growing situation in Burkina and other North-Eastern West African countries, and that the Muslims in northern Togo, Benin, and Ghana would continue to reject extremist ideology and not permit it to be taught

… that the restrictions caused by this situation to travel on us as well as to the nationals would not hinder ministries

…that Christians in affected areas would continue to stand firm in their faith despite ever increasing persecution.

__________________________________________________________________________

Many have asked about care-packages. You can click here to see the list of things that are good and not so good to send to us and where.

Current Support Level
92% (-$450.49/mo)

This shortfall was created almost exclusively by an increase in medical insurance costs, both a rate increase and the number of dependents. Are you willing to help us make up the difference with a monthly gift of any amount?

http://www.elusivetangent.com/give

Edwards’ Care Package Info

Edwards’ Care Package Info Uncategorized Comments Off

Jun 102019

Note: The declared value of the package means nothing so for customs/duties you can declare $0. If you want to send something specific, ask first and we can tell you if there is a better way to get it to us. Anything spillable or meltable should be placed in separate sealed bags.

Edwards
BP10
Mango, Togo

Things to send

Notes and cards – We love hearing from you. Hopefully we can send something back.
Ziploc bags (1qt & 1 gallon) – You can also use them to put other things in for organization and to keep them dry.
Saran Wrap, Aluminum Foil, baking/parchment paper
Spices/seasonings/Flavorings, – Basil, Chili powder, Black pepper, cinnamon, cream of tartar, cumin, thyme, paprika, cilantro, ground cloves, bay leaves, parsley, oregano, curry powder, vegetable bouillon, packets of chili and taco seasoning, parmesan cheese, Extracts (maple, vanilla, etc), unflavored gelatin, drink mixes (lemonade, energy drinks)
Dried goods – Black beans, Red beans, dehydrated fruits, almonds
Chocolate and candy – Sweet treats are always nice. Keep in mind that these will melt in the heat here and will get smashed, tumbled, and probably wet on their journey so be sure to package it accordingly. Semi-sweet chocolate chips or unsweetened bars for baking, M&Ms, sour patch kids, hot tamales, lemonheads, and jolly ranchers are a favorite.
Pepperoni for pizza – Impossible to find here.
USPS Forever Stamps – These are great for sending letters to people. We send the letters back with returning missionaries who can then simply slip the envelope into the mailbox.
Oreo Cookies and Nutter Butters – Because we love milk and cookies. Our neighbor has the fresh milk but getting the cookies to go with it is harder.
Womens’ Multivitamin – Strangely hard to find and expensive when you do find them.
Contact lens solution, conditioner, shampoos, deodorant, womens’ razors
Party supplies/decor – food coloring and other cake decorating supplies, candles, sprinkles, holiday specific napkins and/or disposable plates.

Things not to send
(or that might need special coordination)

Quickly perishable items (ie. fruits, cookies, bread, ice cream) – Packages can take 3 weeks to 6 months to reach us. They wouldn’t be good when they arrive. But seriously, if you can figure out how to keep ice cream frozen, send us some.
Anything with significant value or importance – things regularly go missing from packages.
Breakable items (unless packaged extremely well, ask yourself will this survive a drop from an airplane)
Hard currency and checks – Hard currency is almost certain to grow legs and checks cannot be easily cashed here.
Liquids (Unless specifically requested above.)
Items with flags or red clothing unless specifically requested. (Exception for decoration items such as for the July 4^th Independence Day holiday)
Semi-realistic looking toy weapons
Anything with a snowman. Some have associated them with fetishism and demon worship.
Anything with Santa Claus. We’re promoting the true meaning of Christmas.

Ham and Thanksgiving

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Nov 072018

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Hospital of Hope (foreground), the city of Mango, background, and the flooded Oti river (left) Credit: Judy Bowen

We’ve been on the field for ten months now and one thing continues to grasp the strings of our hearts. That so many people believe in Christ’s calling us to the peoples of Togo and are willing to sacrifice consistently for that cause. We could not be here without the churches and families who faithfully partner with us. And we want to say a huge thank you! Thank you from us and thank you from those whom we reach every day because of your partnerships. Only eternity will tell the impact that your efforts have and continue to make. We know that it is as much a sacrifice for those sending as those who are sent. We are all part of the same body and joyfully share in the same sacrifice.

In less than seven weeks, with God’s blessing, we will be in Togo. Plans have been made and tickets bought. And there is so much that needs to happen before then and start then. Our truck needs to ship still. We have arranged for it to be taken to port but it won’t be available in Togo until at least a month after we get there. We will need to find (or build) a house, get furnishings, move in – all while adjusting to a new culture, in a freshly learned language, far from the familiar. It’s exciting. It’s scary. It’s intimidating. It’s what we’ve been preparing for. In many ways it’s like anticipation of an inevitable battle. You acknowledge the fear as a reminder that you are merely human and then take courage affirming that the Word has proclaimed, “‘My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in [our] weakness.’ Therefore [we] will boast all the more gladly in [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on [us].”

Language Learning Progress

Our most recent language test results show Jonathan was at A2 and Bethany at B1. Now Jonathan is at B1 and Bethany is just short of B2! We will have one final test in December to tell where we are and are hoping and planning to continue formal language learning, to a lesser extent, in Mango.

HAM

Radio started out as a casual interest, and grew until one day at a church in New Jersey a couple of guys gave a small transmitter radio to us. These HAMs encouraged Jonathan to pursue the hobby more and Jonathan used the opportunity during a recent visit to the US for a wedding (for Bethany’s sister) to attain his general HAM license. So if ever you’re on the airwaves, keep your ears open for him. This hobby not only provides a great pastime, but also a great ministry tool in allowing a way to set up high powered wireless networks and can be used as a education and training tool and emergency communication if ever all other forms of communication are unavailable.

The Elephant in the Room

There’s also the elephant in the room. It’s the one bit of housekeeping that every missionary must talk about and everyone hates to bring up. At the end of the year, we an estimate being $150.00 per month below the 100% level of partnership. So far, we have been able to mitigate most of the shortfall with a surplus created by a strong US dollar but that is temporary at best and looks to be on the way out already. This shortfall is mostly made up of growing costs of US-base health insurance (as required by the AHCA). It might not seem like much, but this normal, slow attrition makes ministry just a little bit less efficient. It is also difficult to make up these differences when we are far removed from the relationships that God uses to fill these needs. Would you please pray for God to raise up several new partners to fill this need?

We continue to pray for you and thank God for your faithfulness in the same.

Serving Him Together,

Jonathan & Bethany

Six Months

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Jul 052018

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Six months. That’s how long it’s been since we arrived in France… and if our schedule holds, that’s how long until we depart for Togo. On days we feel like we’ve mastered the language enough to take on the world and others we struggle to get a simple “Bonjour” out correctly… and some days we want to give up, throw in the towel, and go “home,” beckoned back to the USA by the quiet whisper of comfort, familiarity, friends, and family. Continue reading »

Learning to Walk

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Feb 032018

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“You’ll learn how to walk,” our friend Mike said as he helped us find our way in the new city. We were fresh off the train from the Paris airport and fighting off the haze of jet lag and lack of sleep as we walked through a dreary drizzle on our way to our new apartment located at the school where we would soon be learning to speak French. He had no idea how true his words were.

We had just finished a whirlwind holiday of family followed by a dizzying change of plans after our flight was cancelled and another delayed because of bad weather along the entire East coast of the US. The first day there wasn’t a jet flying to our destination. Day two, try two, and we were able to make the connection to our flight. Only by the grace of God was it delayed, allowing us to sprint (literally) from one end of the airport to the other to make our connection only minutes before the doors closed… only to find out on the other side that our checked bags weren’t as good as us at sprinting.

Just days before that, we were still unsure how God planned to allow us to get clearance to leave. Two days before Christmas we were feeling confused and depressed that the funds to receive clearance were still over $20,000 short. It was the cost of a vehicle. That was a huge gap. We doubted. Had we been misunderstood God’s leading when we applied for language school, bought plane tickets, and packed everything, that God wanted us to leave in January?

Then we received a message that someone was willing to donate a vehicle. We were overjoyed. But some details still remained such as how to pay for shipping and tax. But God… He knew beforehand and had already planned not just for the vehicle but also for these costs. The amount generously given by so many of our partners covered the estimated cost of these expenses. The day after Christmas we received our clearance to leave. We had doubted, but God had already gone before us and prepared all of the details. He waited until the last few moments because He wanted us to learn trust Him… to learn to walk in faith.

Now we are four weeks into learning French and feeling like babies. It’s a new culture, a new language, a new way of, well, everything. When you go to the store you don’t know where anything is and you don’t know how to ask for it. Even simple tasks like mailing a letter become complicated. It’s like having to learn to walk again.

So now as we walk around this new city learning a new language and new skills, we are learning to walk more by faith day by day in the One who has called us to this mission to fulfill this task. And we trust that He will be the one to go before us and work out all of the details for now and for our future and we must learn to trust Him and do our part even when the circumstances seem hopeless and we become discouraged and begin to doubt.

Please pray for us as we continue to learn French effectively so as to be good stewards and ministers of His gospel, that we will stay focused and not become disheartened by the immensity of the task.

Please pray for all of the details of logistics so that when the time comes our vehicle and house container will arrive undamaged, expediently, and not be caught in customs or incur unreasonable costs.

Please pray for our spiritual well-being, that we would continue to grow and fellowship in a place where the church services are in a language we don’t speak well.

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