Togo

Fishermen Outside Their Village--Togo

Today we drove across Benin and Togo to Lome. Words can not describe these countries. You just have to be here to understand. The best part is the border crossing--this took us about an hour to go through--its utter chaos. We were happy to be with President Weed (Benin Cotonou mission was just created in July and he is the mission president). The AP's  (assistants to the president) just walked us through every point along the way--they took our passports, disappeared down a long tunnel and came out the other side with the stamp and we were on our way.

Fisherman Outside of Lome

Togo is a water country. Villages seem to just float on water. Fishermen everywhere. Its a beautiful site.



Floating Village in Togo

 We had a great visit in Lome. We were able to attend the ground-breaking ceremony for the first church owned chapel in the country of Togo. History in the making. Here in the Africa West Area, there are about 1100 members (the equivalent of one stake) each month. Its great to be here in the middle of this great work. There has not been such explosive growth in the church since the apostles were teaching in England in the 1840s.

Ground-Breaking: the First Chapel in Togo (Lome)

We were able to meet with several of the younger missionaries during the training in Lome. One incidence in particular is worth mentioning so I don't forget. We met with a struggling Elder for about an hour while the members were having a devotional. He has been struggling with depression--pretty severe for the last few months and has been praying for some help, but non available really in Lome. His family has been praying as well and visiting the temple with his name on the prayer rolls etc. He is struggling in a big way. We had a great visit and he was excited when I asked if we could start medicine and get him hooked up (via phone) for consultation with a specialist. I contacted his family and got a very wonderful response--essentially this was the answer to the prayers they had been wanting and expecting. I will be able to send medications when we get back to Accra, and am very positive about his health and keeping him on his mission. I look forward to working with him. This whole experience gave me a big ol spiritual boost--its feels good to be needed. It's hard to describe, but that night I had an overwhelming feeling that I was being used in a good way to serve this young man. To me this was the whole purpose of our trip--so that our paths would cross with this young Elder. I look forward to seeing his mental and spiritual health surge as we start the treatment.

...From the Beautiful Country of Togo

Elder and Sister Fife