Advent & Pineapple

Emmanuel has come to us
The Christ is born, Hallelujah!
Our God made low to raise us up
Emmanuel, has come to us”
– God Made Low by Hansen/Kauflin

Joyeux Noël à tous!

We hope this update finds you and your family well and growing in your love for and knowledge of our Emmanuel, God-With-Us, during this Advent season.

This year once again we are in the midst of preparing to transition from one country to another. It is a bittersweet time as we pack to leave this community that has become special to us these 11+ months. But at the same time we are ready to finally be in Togo, to begin serving there and to settle into a ‘more permanent tent,’ as Jonathan refers to it. It is hard for us to believe we have just finished out final exams and are in our last two weeks of class. The three of us fly to Togo on the 22nd, the day after our last class! Yes, you read that right — we found out during our time in the US that we had a little stowaway tagging along! We praise God for this wonderfully-made gift and look forward to meeting him or her around the beginning of July.

Here are some other ways you can be praising God and with us, and continuing to pray:

• If you have not already heard, our truck made it to port! We are so thankful for the assistance of some friends who drove it down to Texas for us, and now we are excited to receive it hopefully sometime in February.
• Please pray that God will provide a temporary means of transportation during the time before the truck arrives in Togo.
• Praise God for a fruitful year of French training! It can be easy to get discouraged when we think about the progress we still want to make to minister effectively, but we have come a long way since January.
• Pray as we continue our language studies in Togo, and as we refine our vocabulary to fit what we will need most in our everyday lives and what will most effectively communicate the good news of Emmanuel with the Togolese.
• We are thankful that we have a temporary place to stay when we first arrive in Mango. Please pray as we begin searching for a longer-term home, whether it is one that is already built or needs work. Pray that God will provide one that works well for our family and allows us to show hospitality well to those around us.
• Pray as we settle in and adjust to a very different culture and climate. Pray for guidance as we begin serving in the hospital and elsewhere. All the anticipated changes can seem pretty overwhelming at times, but we are thankful for a God who is always with us and who will equip us for the work to which He has called us.

Serving Him Together,
Jonathan, Bethany, and the littlest Edwards