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Togo Mission 2007with Kipuke Ministries
Day 3 Road to Kara
I must write this now before I forget the details.
This morning we actually slept until 0900, I in the living room on a mattress and Mary in the bedroom. Electricity came on early this AM after I went to bed when battery died, go figure. It never did rain more than a mist, I could have stayed on roof, C’est Dammage/\.
We awakened about 0900 and got ready for Church. The service had already started and eve though I did not understand much more than Hallelujah and praise the Lord, it was good. They asked Mary and I to speak and asked me to pray for the tithe. They take 3 different offerings. 1st the tithers come up, then the general offering comes up and places their offering in the box. Then they have an offering to help them purchase the land that they are renting for the church.
Sidebar, I just took my first African shower. It was a trickle of cold water here at the guest house in Kara, more on that later.
It was a powerful service with the preacher speaking in French and his wife interpreting into the local native language. The pulpit alter area had a back drop of purple cloth wrapped from one corner pole to the next. I have shot some video and still photos. They asked for prayer and support because Africa id deeply rooted on witchcraft. Physically they have a need for the purchase of the property and for a keyboard. They have a sound system. We met many members of the congregation, women were the most open, but we sat with the men. At the end of the service they demonstrated a traditional worship of Our Lord and Savior they dance, I have this on film including Mary’s dancing with them.
We prayed over young women we were told about yesterday who lost the use of her legs in a dream and now cannot walk. Esahu gave the the money to transport her to the hospital tomorrow. Prayerfully she can be healed. It sounds like a slipped disk or pinched nerve. She is a lovely young woman who teaches Sunday school there to the little ones.
It is quite beautiful seeing the women dressed up in their colorful African Garb. They carry l’enfants on their back like they do in the far east and they use no diapers. I suspect a mother must be very much intoned with l’enfant. As we left we were asked individually for various help and I did my best to explain they needed to go thru the missionary – their preacher to Esahu. The preacher wants to give us letters to take, but Esahu thinks this is best not done. Go thru him. But, this is a sponsorship possibility for church’s at home. Maybe a keyboard or bibles. It is best to buy those things here to avoid customs unless a musical group were coming over and were to leave their instrument.
After church, we went home, changed and packed for Kara about 300-400 miles to the north... We were taking a motorcycle, more luggage that the car would hold and 2 bicycles. We had to go to the bus deport to ship the 1 extra bag that wouldn’t go in the car, the motor cycle and the bikes.
Now I am continually reminded and remember the line from the “Blood diamond”,
THIS IS AFRICA!
What do you see in your mind when I say bus station? Trailways, Greyhound, private busses, school buses, 15 passenger church buses…..NO…THIS IS AFRICA!
Imagine a very large and very used clay and sand parking lot with potholes, litter everywhere ( every were you see little pieces of black plastic that I thought at first was carbon paper. It is black plastic bags. People are everywhere. Loading old Toyota Vans for the most part, waiting to mount the bus and disembark. Women, children everywhere, carrying their shops on their heads without dropping anything, selling bread , peanuts water or drink in collapsible plastic bags, flashlights, radios, cd players etc, etc etc . Men selling watches, cigars, perfumes. People begging. And Men loading the bus.
Everyone’s possessions are loaded onto the roof of the bus including our motorcycle which Esahu made the reload, “if we lose it, it is no good to us and we will have paid to ship it, if you don’t supervise them they will do it wrong”. The load sits at least 4-5 feet above the bus. You can now imagine why bus accidents happen in the 3rd world. We have seen trucks loaded even higher grossly changing the center of gravity. Somebody’s goat was even tied up onto the roof.
Well with this done we struck out for Kara, the 2nd largest city in Togo. Now if driving, or riding in Lome was exciting, nerve-racking etc.. have you ever been on an African Highway at 120 kph ( no speedlimit ) and you only slow down a little in villages because of congestion. You honk at bicyclists and scooters and motorcycles, missing them by what seems like inches sometimes. You must have very good brakes in Togo. “Driving like a bat out of hell!”
I had some misconceptions about Africa. 1st I expected the streets in the city to be paved and the road to Kara to be a path …just the opposite. Until we got to the mountains there were constantly people walking on both sides of the road. We stopped for a pee at a station in a village where the Mango Market is. Some Mangos as big as your head, and a lot sweeter too! Almost like Candy. Here we bought some peanuts, they were different, hard to say how, and they just were, but tasty.
We arrived Kara after dark and Esahu always takes visitors to dine in Kara for chicken, they were out so we had beef, “anything cooked in fire is OK to eat, do not eat salads and such unless you prepare it yourself”-ESAHU.
There was a small room outside with plastic dining chairs and tables, Patio type. They doubled Esau’s chair because he always breaks one.
They brought 2 bowls of water for us to wash our hinds in as a community, one with soap, the other to rinse and a towel to share and dry.
The dinner was excellent but, doesn’t necessarily sound so by the description.
It was French fried potatoes (frits) with pan sautéed beef and onion and tomatoes served on top, and some bread and water. Mary and I had coffee (Nescafe) served in a bowl. They did not wish to serve it with the meal, but were finally convinced to do so. American and French easy listening music played in the background. Now please don’t envision an American Restaurant. This is Africa.
With went to the bus station in Kara, a paved service station parking lot and hired a taxi man to take the bicycles and bad, Esahu wouldn’t let me drive to motorcycle because of the rain, so I drove the car and we arrived at another walled compound owned by a Govt. Man in Lome that is friendly to the mission. He rents on half of the house to the school teacher and Esahu when he is here. He rented the other side to us for $20 a night. Esahu wanted us to have AC and the bedroom has AC.
The house is a compound as I have said before, as you leave the garage and enter the compound there is a large gazebo in front of the house with white chairs and table. There is no grass but there are trees growing and landscaped dirt as in Lome. The front porch is huge and out part of the house consists of a huge LR DR with 3 tables, LR furniture, a bedroom and bathroom. I guess I would call it old world French colonial yada yada.
It is beautiful and charming, but remember This is Africa! We have marble tile floors except in bathroom which is old world French, you get the picture, Have you been in a house with 50 y/o Bathroom ceramic tile and a shower with just a trickle of water. I say these things not to make fun but to describe. I do love it!
Saw a phrase on a back of a truck and the best they could interpret for me was. “The pencil of God has no eraser. Think about it.
Not quite sure what tomorrow holds.
Grace and Peace
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