Togo Full Report

The team saw 1231 people come through the medical clinic and pharmacy, about 750 additional people received worm pills and either vitamins or aspirin, and another 1023 people receive glasses.

The Smile Says It All

Togo Eyeglass Clinic

The eyeglass clinic is always a phenomenal success when we do these mission projects. Imagine people who've NEVER had access or ability to have their vision checked or to receive glasses. The results and the joy is immediate! Many people in their 50's, 60's, 70's, and older have struggled with the daily tasks for years and accepted their situation. Many children of these poor families who live a subsistence lifestyle struggle with little hope of acquiring a luxury like a pair of glasses. Imagine suddenly being able to read, or thread a needle, or see a face at a distance. The results are immediate and profound. A small everyday miracle for us perhaps, though for much of the world it is a transformational moment when someone receives a pair of glasses.

Idol or Protector

This is an idol in the village of Aklakou in Togo. It's at the outskirts of town. Once they'd had a Roman Catholic crucifix in the center of town, but they moved that out claiming it had brought them bad luck. I couldn't imagine how anything could have been any worse in that primitive, isolated, 19th century location. I'm trying to use harsh language because it really is even worse than you can imagine, even by Togolese standards! The crucifix sits further outside town with it's back to town. This idol sits between the crucifix and the village.

Further into town their is another idol, and then around town there are many "babies" which are small stones. It's all pretty foreign to Western sensibilities and thinking. But there was some revelation in all this for me a couple of years ago in my first visit to the village. The local people don't call these idols. Instead, they refer to them as the "protectors."

Now that's an interesting, new way for me to tackle this. Turns out there are many "protectors" in my life which I rely on. These are monuments I set up in my world which give me a sense of stability, priority, safety, protection. These aren't rough stones, but polished weapons, agencies, governments, entities. I won't enumerate them for you. Chances are it's a rather lengthy list if we are honest.

Hmmm, maybe I'm not so different from the villagers in Togo after all.

Shifting Gears

So I've returned from west Africa, spent a few days eating my regular food, sleeping in my own bed, and enjoying my family, and it's time to go again.

I leave this morning at 6 AM with a team headed to New Orleans to do Hurricane Katrina relief work. Yeh, I know it's been awhile, but the work still continues.

I'd signed up since I'd heard the guys would be working inside. After all, who would want to be on a roof in New Orleans in July. Guess what?! A few of us, including me I'm afraid, have been volunteered to help some teenagers from TN do roof repairs.

Shift gears, keep taking the malaria medicine, and now eat gumbo in a different locale!

Togo- Luke Dancing with Blessing

We enjoyed having a mixed group of ages on this recent mission experience. That really is the best way to do it! We had teenagers, young adults, and adults of all stages. Part of the children's ministry had teenage workers, and they gave the energy and enthusiasm which adults would loose by mid afternoon in the African sun! Check out Luke dancing with a little girl named Blessing. Note the music is missing, & the sound was so distorted with so many other voices that I muted it as it detracted from the beauty of the video. Just imagine the music and put yourself in the shoes of one dancing with Blessing.

Difference Between a Vacation and a Short Term Mission

I really liked this article in the Washington Post on the difference between short term missionaries and "vacationaries." Strong points to be considered!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402233.html?hpid=topnews

Pya, Togo Worm Pill Line

So many strange, unusual things happen during a mission experience in a foreign country it's often hard to know where to start or what to say. And it takes some time to settle into your life so that the emotion and the experience of it all match up. Sometimes those don't ever match up. About all you can do is tell the story.

At end of the Tuesday med clinic when we ran out of time to see everyone in line we gave out worm pills and vitamins or aspirin. Check out the previous posts to get an idea of how large the crowd had been ALL day. Add the noise level. Include English, French, and a couple of ethnic/tribal dialects like Ewe & Mina but multiply times 200. For me this video offers a strange contrast with Michael James playing keyboard and singing in background as the large crowd receives a "parting gift."

Another Day, Another Crowd

This was from our Tuesday medical clinic in Pya, Togo. It stayed like this all day. Even though we saw many people many more would come to take a place in line. The whole med team wore scrubs no matter what our duty or specialty might be. I had the experience of walking through the crowd and people trying to show their problems and get a diagnosis even though this guy in scrubs isn't a medical doctor!

Togo Med Clinic Crowd

I'm still readjusting to my "normal" life.

I'm still feeling like I'm in another time zone, maybe on another continent.

This is the crowd I was in one week ago today.