Bench Runs

The other morning, I got up about 4:30-ish and began gathering items that I would need for my long day. When ready, I packed everything into the small truck and headed over to the Alderman’s house where I picked up Pastor Koffi who has been up here in Kara while Randy has been teaching him through week long courses in the Bible Institute. Koffi and I were on the road by about 5:30 A.M. and drove the three plus hours north to Dapaong. When we arrived we were able to visit with Pastor Soapa and his wife before having to load benches into the truck and begin the hour drive round trip the villages for deliveries.

About a month prior to us leaving, Rand and I had transported 25 benches north on a semi-truck for Dapaong but the truck couldn’t deliver them out to the village. So they were all deposited at Pastor Soapa’s house for the duration until they could be moved permanently. That’s were we came into play. Having the pick up truck we loaded it three separate times and using straps we secured the benches in place before runningthem out to two churches. Both churches were the building projects that we had finished about a year ago but now are just awaiting all the benches. Yesterday with the delivery of the 25 benches and were able to make it home before dark. It really was a long but great experience.

Containers Galore

When prioritizing things you would like to purchase for a move to Togo you seemingly end up categorizing things into three groupings. First are the items you absolutely cannot find in Togo. Then there are the items you can find but it’s more financially viable to purchase and ship these items then to actually purchase them in Togo. Finally there are the items that you can find in Togo and so you won’t want to waste the time, effort or funds on shipping them from the US.


That beings said and now understanding a piece of the thought process, two containers arrived this month here in Togo. The process is a long and usually drawn out one but one that to a missionary brings much joy and satisfaction. For me, I like to describe it as a “Christmas day” feeling. You know the feeling you had as a child when you would run down the stairs out to the tree and see all the gifts that your parents had wrapped for you? Well that’s kind of the same elation that fills your soul when you finally cut off the tempered steal locks and crack the double steal reinforced doors after they had been closed for so many months!

These two containers had been packed over a period of a few days but preliminary preparations had surpassed months in time. The containers had both been out to sea for weeks and traversed many continents before finally reaching their destination in Lomé, the capital of Togo and its sole port. From there they were x-rayed, taxes where paid and they made the long and treacherous ten hour trip by truck through the mountains to Kara.

On the big days, with excitement in the air, we all gathered. Among us were: Randy, Mrs. Alderman, Lisa, me and a handful of faithful church members. We diligently worked towards unload each container as quickly and efficiently as possible. Randy had a 40’-er arrive and Lisa just weeks later had her very first container every which measured 20 feet in length arrive. While a plethora of items inside were of personal nature, we do praise the Lord for the Bibles and other literature that were shipped and arrived safely here for the ministry.

New garage under construction

This past month we dedicated some time to building a small garage outside Randy’s Hangar at Sarakowa. Its location will be right next to my 40 feet container that I had shipped back when I first arrived. Till now, the MF utility tractor which was brought over to aid in construction endeavors has been stored inside the container. However, each year during the hot season the temperature for a couple months will soar to nearly 120 plus degrees in the sun and the container could seemingly surpass that temperature. With the protection of the tractor in mind and the future uses for it in ministry we decided to start this project. It has about three phases and currently we are on the foundation and wall phase.