The windows of Heaven have opened

In July, I decided that I need to actively begin searching for a vehicle. I had been saving for some time but hadn’t purchases anything up till then. I had been blessed with the Aldermans being home on furlough for nearly 10 months. This freed up a vehicle for me and gave me extra time to save a bit more. Around the first week of July, after the Aldermans had returned from the States, I discovered that a nice heavy duty, well kept vehicle was up for sale. I had been told that a missionary couple in their mid 70’s were leaving Togo for good and the Southern Baptists were interested in selling off their Toyota Prado (Landcruiser) ‘01. When, I initially enquired about the price of the vehicle I was told that they wanted 8,000,000 Francs for it. It’s crazy to think that anything would cost 8 million anything. However, this vehicle with the current exchange rate at the time was listed at just around 20,000 US dollars. I analyzed my budget and prayed but just didn’t have that kind of cash for a vehicle.

A bit disappointed, I went back to the drawing board and began to save with my new plan; being that in the beginning of October Randy and I would head down to the Port of Lomé and search for something with whatever I had in hand. However, I started speaking to my father and he had encouraged me to have more faith, believe that God was bigger than this and give Him time to work. He encouraged me to wait another two months till the end of November or the beginning of December. So I did.
The end of November was rolling around and by this time I had 6,000,000 CFA (Francs) saved up for a vehicle. My plan was to take this money to the port with Randy and find something suitable. Honestly, it’s difficult for anyone to fathom the “den of thieves” at the port. Buying vehicles here isn’t like Stateside where it’s an easy transition, the dealers are brokering and banks are willing to lend cash. Here you have to have all the cash up front, there are all sorts of hidden fees, and the price is never fixed. This society thrives off of bartering!

Randy was prepared to head down to Lome with me on the first of December but first challenged me to follow up on some possible leads. One of the leads was to re-contact the Southern Baptist about the vehicle that up for sale five months earlier. At this juncture, I wasn’t sure of its situation. I was assuming it had sold and even if it hadn’t I wasn’t sure she was willing to lower the price to something I could afford. I emailed the broker the day after Thanksgiving to inform her that if the vehicle was still up for sale then I would be interested in purchasing it. If she would be willing to lower price about 2 million CFA. Surprisingly, she wrote back the next morning. Not only was the vehicle still on the market but she was willing to agree on my price.


Randy and I moved around our schedules a bit and came down to Lome on the second week of December and just a few days ago I picked up the vehicle! I think one of the most amazing things about how God has worked out this situation is that, I really liked and wanted this it. But the 20,000 dollar price tag back in July was just too much. However, through God answering my prayers and that of so many others, His leading and encouraging through godly folks like my father, I was able to buy it at only 12,000 dollars thanks to the broker’s new price and the fact that the value of the dollar has climbed nearly 33% in the last five months.

This vehicle isn’t new but it’s absolutely the perfect vehicle that God wanted me to have. He tested me all the way and in the end proved Himself faithful as He always does. God is good and I’m so thankful that I have such a Great God!

The Evangelistic Campaign at Lama Fin

This past Friday and Saturday nights I went over to Lama Fin, where I attend church. Pastor Phillip and I hosted two nights of evangelistic Films. Our church is two and half years old and is averaging about 50-60 each Sunday morning. However, films are a great way to attract many that would never step foot in the church building on Sundays.

Each night I would arrive just moments before dark and set up the projector, the generator, lights, amplifier and DVD player. We used the white wall on the side of the church to project the film and it worked out great. Around 7 p.m. each evening we started with a time of prayer, then sang some songs before starting into the films. The first night we showed the Jesus Film which is about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It’s very salvation oriented, giving a 10 minute recap of the gospel plan at the end. The second night we showed a film entitled “La Lumière” (The Light). It’s an animated film published by Chick Publishing. It was fantastic as well.

Each evening about half way through the film we would pause the film and Pastor Phillip would stand and preach in Kaybe, which is the African tribal language in the area. He would present the gospel and challenge the folks to make a profession of faith. After about 10 or 15 minutes we would start up the film again and the when it was finished the folks would slowly leave for their respective houses.

In talking to Pastor Phillip we conservatively estimated that there hundreds each night in attendance. The crowd would start out small but built as the film passed. Some folks brought their own chairs, others sat on benches from the church while yet others stood in the background or next to the near by road just to catch a glimps.

I recall listening to Phillips message as his voice echoed off the near by mountain and I later said to him, wouldn’t it be something if one day we got to heaven and you meet someone who said, “I’m saved today because I was sitting at my home one night on the side of the mountain and I heard your message on Christ sacrifice.” It was just a neat thought.

Only the Lord knows truly how many folks heard the gospel over this past weekend but it was an honor to be able to serve the Lord and to see so many come out to hear the message of Christ redemptive plan for their lives.