From Tears to Smiles and Laughter

We were driving to say goodbye to Clarisse. She was getting ready to leave for her teaching job in the north of Togo. We were meeting her at the Christian school in Amou Oblo, back where it all started, back where I first met Jonas. Memories came flooding back as we pulled up to the school. I could picture Jonas and the other students running up to the car to greet us. I opened my eyes and saw Clarisse waving at us. We laughed about memories and talked for a while. As we were getting ready to leave, we prayed together. What a special time together remembering what God has done and is doing.

Ariana and I started going to a local school for the deaf twice a week. The school is in a village called Tsiko. The first time that we went, a few of the first graders were terrified of us. They had never seen a "yevu" (white person) before. One of the girls ran out of the classroom crying and refused to come back in. I had wondered if this was going to work. However, two days later we returned. Ariana and I prayed that there wouldn’t be any crying children. I was a little nervous walking towards the school. But when we walked into the classroom, we were greeted with smiles and hugs! What a relief! As we were getting ready to leave, the girl who cried and ran

out of the classroom during our last visit wanted to come with us! The directrice had to carry her away so we could get into my truck.

Our visits to the school are going well. We are working with the students on vocabulary. The students and teachers are enjoying the different activities that we use for teaching. The students are always excited when I pull out crayons. One day we had the students draw a family portrait. It was interesting the different hairstyles the students gave their family members. One of the students laughed when they accidently gave their family pointy ears. The teachers thought it was funny too! Please continue to pray for wisdom on how we can best help the school and develop this ministry.

We learned about a family with two deaf sons that attend an Awana program at a local church. The pastor’s wife leads the program. She wants to be able to communicate with them and share the Gospel with them, but she doesn’t know how. We have started going to Awana and encouraging the leaders and the deaf brothers. I grew up going to Awana. It was cool seeing Awana in a different setting. Although in a different language, they were playing some of the same games that I had played as child. Instead of the Awana circle, they drew an Awana square in the dirt that the kids ran around. It was fun to watch and cheer the kids on! Please pray for wisdom on how we can best help. We have noticed an inconsistency in language development between the schools. It can be difficult to know where to start. The brothers’ language development is low. Please pray for them and their family. You can remember them as the “K” brothers.

Last January, I went with my mom to Lansing where I loaded several boxes onto a shipping container heading to Togo. Ten months later the container arrived in Togo! Praise the Lord! It felt great setting up the things in my house. Thank you everyone who bought stuff to make my house into a home. I am grateful for each of you! Thank you for joining me on this journey and partnering in this ministry. God is at work here.

God bless,

Liz

Prayer Requests:

 Pray for the Bible study with the blind students that Hannah and I lead on Monday evenings.
 Pray for visits to the school for the deaf to continue to go well.
 Pray that we can develop good relationships within the school.
 Pray for my ability to communicate. I desire to grow in my confidence in speaking French and signing. The difference in accent and vocabulary can be a bit overwhelming at times.
 Please pray that I would not be overwhelmed in French or sign language and that I would be able to understand and be understood in the language.
 Please pray for wisdom as I develop the ministry.