The past few months have been nothing short of amazing! So many incredible things have happened and we are so blessed to have been part of them. One of the many blessings has been our new church building. The roof is on, the air blocks are in the window openings, the first coat of paint is up and the metal doors have been hung. Everyone has been excited and chipping in to help with the construction. We have only been in the new building for about six weeks but our church is still in awe at how God has given us such a wonderful gift—a permanent sanctuary!
December 1st, Adie and I marked five months of marriage. It is crazy to think that we left for Togo only six weeks after being married! She is slowly adjusting to her new life here. French now seems to be the big challenge for her. She has been meeting with our French professor, Mr. Batcho a couple times a week. If you would, please pray that she will continue to improve in her French and for me as I continue my Kabiye language studies.
This past week, Adie and I had an interesting ministry opportunity. We went to a local orphanage where, with a very generous donation from a kind lady back in the US, we were able to purchase 48 new mattresses for the children to sleep on. We decided that we wanted to do more than just deliver some much needed mattresses so we created a special evangelistic dedication service. The orphanage is without a TV and most children have never seen a “movie” of any kind here. So, we packed up our projector, generator and other supplies to show a film about a man and his family who gave up their Voodoo fetishes and decided to follow Christ. It is a very pertinent topic for the Togolese who struggle with the subject of Voodoo even to this day. After the service we were able to clearly present the gospel, give out tracts and bibles, as well as some t-shirts. Please pray that God's word will not return void and that through these efforts and future follow up by the local church many of these young folks will come to Christ.
One of our dear friends, Mrs. Phillippe, is in critical condition and could use your prayer. She is a national pastor's wife, who on Thanksgiving day gave birth to her fourth child. Shortly afterwards she started hemorraging. To date she has had 3 major surgeries and 9 units worth of blood transfusions. One week after giving birth, she was mercy flighted by Randy in his airplane to the ABWE missionary hospital which is about 6 hours away by vehicle. The American doctors down south believe that they have stabilized her health but her kidney function is minimal—within failure levels. This has been a very trying time for her family, friends and of course their church. She is a godly woman, great mother of three daughters and now a son and wonderful wife. It is our prayer that she will recover fully and be able to return home soon.
Our church at Lassa Bas is doing well. One of our ladies led her widowed sister to the Lord and then Adie and I found out that she lives just up the road from us. It would take Madame Donga and her five girls over 2 hours one way to walk to church so each Sunday morning at about 6:50 am we head to their place to pick them up for church. It's such a joy as we fill our little truck with 12-15 riders each week from around our neighborhood and bring them to church with us.
Please keep the church in your prayers. We are still going through the final stages of construction on the church building. We have several young folks working through discipleship material right now. It is our goal to see all these new converts grow in the Lord. Also, we are still without a prospect of a national pastor to take the work from me. It is our hope and prayer that God will raise up someone to take the work sometime in the next couple years.
Thank you so much for being such a part of our ministry through your prayers and gifts. We are so honored to call you our friends and partners! Adie and I both wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!
Jim and Adie White
