The Edwards FamilyUsing IT and nursing to spread the gospel to every nation, tribe, and language.

Nov 27th (No Title)

Thank you for being patient with us as this update is long overdue! Even in Togo, everyday life has a way of pushing non-urgent tasks to the back-burner. Let’s tell you a little bit about what we’re up to these days…

Caleb: At five months old, I am such a big distraction that Mom has decided she can’t take me with her to language lessons anymore. She says my big brown eyes are really hard to say no to, and that she and Daddy are going to have a hard time when I get a little older… not sure why I would ever need to be told no? I have an adorable smile that our Togolese friends and neighbors love. And I generally prefer being spoken to in French than in English. I am rolling over, laughing, and trying to talk — Mom & Dad don’t always understand me though, so I’m trying to go slow until they’ve learned a little more. It has also recently come to my attention that those two people do not eat in the same manner I do… while they expect me to be content with the same manna-milk each feeding, they consume all sorts of funny-looking and smelling things, and they have yet to offer me any. Again, guess that will have to wait until their comprehension has improved a bit — they don’t seem to realize that I’ve been asking politely for them to share. Maybe they’ll learn that skill soon.

Bethany: My ministry has shifted slightly and is now more home-centered. Since having Caleb, I’ve been focusing on relationship-building and language-learning. As I think we’ve mentioned before, Caleb has made it easy to create new friendships and deepen the ones we already have. The Togolese women love seeing that I feed my baby exactly the same way they do and they enjoy holding him and commenting on his chubbiness. Although they do still think I’m silly for carrying him in the front while they all wrap their babies on their backs. 😉

In addition to continuing French lessons, I have just begun to learn Anufo, one of the more common tribal languages in Mango. While grasping the pronunciation of this tonal language is often difficult, I’m enjoying the opportunity to be able to communicate more with the ladies at market, in our neighborhood, and at the village we visit on Sundays.

A few weeks ago I was excited to get to start a Bible study with the woman who helps clean our house each week. Please pray for R as she has expressed the desire to “start” Christianity and that the Islam her husband practices “does not please [her].” Pray that God would continue to work in her heart through His Word and give me wisdom to know the words to speak to her as well. Our first two times of study together seemed to go well.

Last month I got to spend an hour each Friday in our MK (missionary kid) school. It was a joy to get to know our MKs better and work on some fun 3-D art projects together.

Jonathan: Starting in early September our main server at the hospital began experiencing small problems, and then only a few days later suffered a complete system failure and the near-loss of all of the information on it including — well, everything. The backups, somehow, were corrupt and only by the grace of God was the data recovered after about a week of sleepless nights. One of the soon-to-arrive short-term workers rushed a new server out to us in less than a week – it was a minor miracle that one was set up and ready to go and within driving distance of our courier. After two very long months, the system is almost restored to where it was before. We discovered the cause of all of this mess was an electrical issue that bypassed all of the safeguards.

Not long after that I contracted Malaria again for the 3rd or 7th time this year. This is probably because I was outside so much at night due to the server issues. It took four weeks and three tries to get rid of it the last time (hence why it depends how you count) and by the end of it I had become silly, useless tired all the time. As treatment was wrapping up, we took a small vacation to the southern hospital where it is much cooler, greener, and generally quieter. This was much needed rest for both myself and Bethany. However, as seems always the case, the staff there asked me to join in on some of the IT projects they have for the ongoing renewal of that facility… so much for vacation.

The village study has been proceeding well with the participants increasing in their curiosity and their questions getting more complex. Their understanding ranges from complete ignorance to having heard many different (mostly false) gospels. Having spent about six months laying foundational groundwork, we will be covering the betrayal, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection either just before or just after Christmas. They’ve begun to take up a collection to put on a Christmas feast customary in churches… despite the fact that it is too soon to count this as a church. We won’t break the news to them that we don’t technically consider them a church but we will instead let their passion for celebrating what God has done through Jesus continue to grow while discipling them in the truth. The end of this foundational work also means that we missionaries are trying to step back from the direct teaching role and have a Christian national whom we can work alongside and disciple as the primary teacher. Please pray that God would raise up someone who can take the lead in teaching these people in His truth. Pray for us as we work through how best we can continue to support and grow in His truth.

Recap of how you can be praying:

• Our physical health; rainy season has ended, and we are hoping this also means the end of malaria for our family for a while!
• Wisdom for Bethany to know when to start adding in some time to work at the hospital and for both Jonathan and Bethany in finding a healthy home/outside ministry balance.
• Continued relationship-building with the Togolese — particularly with our guards, house help, neighbors, and coworkers.
• Bible study with R
• Village Bible study
• That God would raise up a Christian national teacher whom we can support and work along side to lead the village study.
• For God’s provision of additional or increased partnerships to make up what we are currently lacking in support, about $500/month.

Thank you for your faithful prayers!

Jun 10th Will you come?

Will you come?  The man beside the road had flagged us down just a few kilometers from a village where we and another missionary couple hold a bible group one morning each week.  He had heard from someone in that village what we were doing there and wanted us to come and host a study at his village… and he didn’t want to take no for an answer. It’s the sort of question that every missionary dreams about, being tracked down to come and do the very thing that you want to be doing. But there was a problem. When could we come?  All of our time was committed. Everyone else is busy as well. Truly, this was a case of Jesus’ prophecy that, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  After about 10 minutes of discussion it was decided that we could use our two trucks to haul anyone who wanted to attend from that village to the village where we hold the study so that they too could participate.  It wasn’t an ideal solution; The meeting place in the other village is already standing room only and we would double that number, but it was a start.  So we ask, would you “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest?” (Matt 9:38) We need laborers. Maybe this man’s question was not pointed just at us but to you. Will YOU come?  This is one of a dozen villages that have asked for us to start teaching God’s Word but our team in cooperation with local churches cannot for lack of teachers. While you consider and pray about that, would you pray that God would provide the words, the energy, the attentiveness, the courage to continue to proclaim His Good News?

Maybe you caught the detail that we are planning to use our pickup to transport people to the bible study.  We have it!  In what seems like forever ago (in reality less than a month and a half) we were able to finalize the paperwork on our truck and drive it to Mango. It is far nicer than we imagined. We knew it was a very nice pickup truck but WOW, God provided a fine gift. The heated seats are our favorite feature! We are thankful for the generosity of the family who sacrificed as well as to everyone who sacrificed to help us with shipping, port costs, and taxes. We and our team in Mango go to great lengths to distance ourselves from the heresy that is the Prosperity Gospel by trying not to flaunt our relative and/or perceived wealth.  And in a God-ordained twist, He turns around and reminds us that, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11) All the more because of this we are careful to point to the provision of God and give Him praise for it whenever someone asks about it.  It comes at a good time too as rainy season fast approaches. And getting to and from the village will become a challenge.  Puddles the size of small lakes threaten to bog down most transportation but so far we have had no trouble getting where we need to go whether fording creek beds or wading puddles… all this to the frustration of our guard who cleans it to a sparkling sheen every night.

Baby is growing fast and momma is just about ready for him or her to vacate.  And there is less than a month left before the estimated due date.  And with that approaching date, Bethany has moved to full time nest making and preparation, as well as relationship-building with our house help and other women in our neighborhood.  As the bump grew so grew the challenges of continuing to work on the hospital floor and so she has taken maternity leave.

Pray with us …

     … that we would grow in our walk with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

     … for energy and boldness as we continue the work to advance His kingdom.

     … that we would be a light to our Togolese, Ghanaian, and Burkinabé neighbors.

     … for continued growth in our cultural and lingual understanding.

     … as we form relationships with guards, house help, co-workers, and others in the community.

     … that God would give us a clear idea of how we should focus and prioritize our ministries.

     … for the growing situation in Burkina and other North-Eastern West African countries, and that the Muslims in northern Togo, Benin, and Ghana would continue to reject extremist ideology and not permit it to be taught

     … that the restrictions caused by this situation to travel on us as well as to the nationals would not hinder ministries

     …that Christians in affected areas would continue to stand firm in their faith despite ever increasing persecution.

__________________________________________________________________________

Many have asked about care-packages. You can click here to see the list of things that are good and not so good to send to us and where.

Current Support Level
92%  (-$450.49/mo)

This shortfall was created almost exclusively by an increase in medical insurance costs, both a rate increase and the number of dependents.  Are you willing to help us make up the difference with a monthly gift of any amount?

https://www.elusivetangent.com/give

Jun 10th Edwards’ Care Package Info

Note: The declared value of the package means nothing so for customs/duties you can declare $0. If you want to send something specific, ask first and we can tell you if there is a better way to get it to us. Anything spillable or meltable should be placed in separate sealed bags.

Edwards
BP10
Mango, Togo

Things to send

• Notes and cards – We love hearing from you.  Hopefully we can send something back.
• Ziploc bags (1qt & 1 gallon) – You can also use them to put other things in for organization and to keep them dry.
• Saran Wrap, Aluminum Foil, baking/parchment paper
• Spices/seasonings/Flavorings, – Basil, Chili powder, Black pepper, cinnamon, cream of tartar, cumin, thyme, paprika, cilantro, ground cloves, bay leaves, parsley, oregano, curry powder,  vegetable bouillon,  packets of chili and taco seasoning, parmesan cheese, Extracts (maple, vanilla, etc), unflavored gelatin, drink mixes (lemonade, energy drinks)
• Dried goods – Black beans, Red beans, dehydrated fruits, almonds
• Chocolate and candy – Sweet treats are always nice.  Keep in mind that these will melt in the heat here and will get smashed, tumbled, and probably wet on their journey so be sure to package it accordingly. Semi-sweet chocolate chips or unsweetened bars for baking, M&Ms, sour patch kids, hot tamales, lemonheads, and jolly ranchers are a favorite.
• Pepperoni for pizza – Impossible to find here.
• USPS Forever Stamps – These are great for sending letters to people.  We send the letters back with returning missionaries who can then simply slip the envelope into the mailbox.
• Oreo Cookies and Nutter Butters – Because we love milk and cookies.  Our neighbor has the fresh milk but getting the cookies to go with it is harder.
• Womens’ Multivitamin – Strangely hard to find and expensive when you do find them.
• Contact lens solution, conditioner, shampoos, deodorant, womens’ razors
• Party supplies/decor – food coloring and other cake decorating supplies, candles, sprinkles, holiday specific napkins and/or disposable plates.

Things not to send
(or that might need special coordination)

• Quickly perishable items (ie. fruits, cookies, bread, ice cream) – Packages can take 3 weeks to 6 months to reach us.  They wouldn’t be good when they arrive. But seriously, if you can figure out how to keep ice cream frozen, send us some.
• Anything with significant value or importance – things regularly go missing from packages.
• Breakable items (unless packaged extremely well, ask yourself will this survive a drop from an airplane)
• Hard currency and checks – Hard currency is almost certain to grow legs and checks cannot be easily cashed here.
• Liquids (Unless specifically requested above.)
• Items with flags or red clothing unless specifically requested. (Exception for decoration items such as for the July 4^th Independence Day holiday)
• Semi-realistic looking toy weapons
• Anything with a snowman.  Some have associated them with fetishism and demon worship.
• Anything with Santa Claus.  We’re promoting the true meaning of Christmas.

Nov 7th Ham and Thanksgiving

Printable Version

Hospital of Hope (foreground), the city of Mango, background, and the flooded Oti river (left)                                 Credit: Judy Bowen

We’ve been on the field for ten months now and one thing continues to grasp the strings of our hearts.  That so many people believe in Christ’s calling us to the peoples of Togo and are willing to sacrifice consistently for that cause.  We could not be here without the churches and families who faithfully partner with us. And we want to say a huge thank you!  Thank you from us and thank you from those whom we reach every day because of your partnerships. Only eternity will tell the impact that your efforts have and continue to make.  We know that it is as much a sacrifice for those sending as those who are sent.  We are all part of the same body and joyfully share in the same sacrifice.

In less than seven weeks, with God’s blessing, we will be in Togo.  Plans have been made and tickets bought. And there is so much that needs to happen before then and start then. Our truck needs to ship still.  We have arranged for it to be taken to port but it won’t be available in Togo until at least a month after we get there.  We will need to find (or build) a house, get furnishings, move in – all while adjusting to a new culture, in a freshly learned language, far from the familiar.  It’s exciting. It’s scary. It’s intimidating. It’s what we’ve been preparing for.  In many ways it’s like anticipation of an inevitable battle. You acknowledge the fear as a reminder that you are merely human and then take courage affirming that the Word has proclaimed, “‘My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in [our] weakness.’ Therefore [we] will boast all the more gladly in [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on [us].”

Language Learning Progress

Our most recent language test results show Jonathan was at A2 and Bethany at B1.  Now Jonathan is at B1 and Bethany is just short of B2!  We will have one final test in December to tell where we are and are hoping and planning to continue formal language learning, to a lesser extent, in Mango.

HAM

Radio started out as a casual interest, and grew until one day at a church in New Jersey a couple of guys gave a small transmitter radio to us. These HAMs encouraged Jonathan to pursue the hobby more and Jonathan used the opportunity during a recent visit to the US for a wedding (for Bethany’s sister) to attain his general HAM license.  So if ever you’re on the airwaves, keep your ears open for him. This hobby not only provides a great pastime, but also a great ministry tool in allowing a way to set up high powered wireless networks and can be used as a education and training tool and emergency communication if ever all other forms of communication are unavailable.

The Elephant in the Room

There’s also the elephant in the room.  It’s the one bit of housekeeping that every missionary must talk about and everyone hates to bring up.  At the end of the year, we an estimate being $150.00 per month below the 100% level of partnership. So far, we have been able to mitigate most of the shortfall with a surplus created by a strong US dollar but that is temporary at best and looks to be on the way out already.  This shortfall is mostly made up of growing costs of US-base health insurance (as required by the AHCA).  It might not seem like much, but this normal, slow attrition makes ministry just a little bit less efficient. It is also difficult to make up these differences when we are far removed from the relationships that God uses to fill these needs. Would you please pray for God to raise up several new partners to fill this need?

We continue to pray for you and thank God for your faithfulness in the same.

Serving Him Together,

Jonathan & Bethany

Jul 5th Six Months

Get the print-friendly version

Six months.  That’s how long it’s been since we arrived in France… and if our schedule holds, that’s how long until we depart for Togo.  On days we feel like we’ve mastered the language enough to take on the world and others we struggle to get a simple “Bonjour” out correctly… and some days we want to give up, throw in the towel, and go “home,” beckoned back to the USA by the quiet whisper of comfort, familiarity, friends, and family.  (more…)

Feb 3rd Learning to Walk

Click here for the printable version.

“You’ll learn how to walk,” our friend Mike said as he helped us find our way in the new city. We were fresh off the train from the Paris airport and fighting off the haze of jet lag and lack of sleep as we walked through a dreary drizzle on our way to our new apartment located at the school where we would soon be learning to speak French. He had no idea how true his words were.

We had just finished a whirlwind holiday of family followed by a dizzying change of plans after our flight was cancelled and another delayed because of bad weather along the entire East coast of the US.  The first day there wasn’t a jet flying to our destination.  Day two, try two, and we were able to make the connection to our flight. Only by the grace of God was it delayed, allowing us to sprint (literally) from one end of the airport to the other to make our connection only minutes before the doors closed… only to find out on the other side that our checked bags weren’t as good as us at sprinting.

Just days before that, we were still unsure how God planned to allow us to get clearance to leave.  Two days before Christmas we were feeling confused and depressed that the funds to receive clearance were still over $20,000 short.  It was the cost of a vehicle.  That was a huge gap. We doubted. Had we been misunderstood God’s leading when we applied for language school, bought plane tickets, and packed everything, that God wanted us to leave in January?

Then we received a message that someone was willing to donate a vehicle. We were overjoyed.  But some details still remained such as how to pay for shipping and tax.  But God… He knew beforehand and had already planned not just for the vehicle but also for these costs.  The amount generously given by so many of our partners covered the estimated cost of these expenses.   The day after Christmas we received our clearance to leave.  We had doubted, but God had already gone before us and prepared all of the details. He waited until the last few moments because He wanted us to learn trust Him… to learn to walk in faith.

Now we are four weeks into learning French and feeling like babies.  It’s a new culture, a new language, a new way of, well, everything.  When you go to the store you don’t know where anything is and you don’t know how to ask for it.  Even simple tasks like mailing a letter become complicated. It’s like having to learn to walk again.

So now as we walk around this new city learning a new language and new skills, we are learning to walk more by faith day by day in the One who has called us to this mission to fulfill this task. And we trust that He will be the one to go before us and work out all of the details for now and for our future and we must learn to trust Him and do our part even when the circumstances seem hopeless and we become discouraged and begin to doubt.

Please pray for us as we continue to learn French effectively so as to be good stewards and ministers of His gospel, that we will stay focused and not become disheartened by the immensity of the task.

Please pray for all of the details of logistics so that when the time comes our vehicle and house container will arrive undamaged, expediently, and not be caught in customs or incur unreasonable costs.

Please pray for our spiritual well-being, that we would continue to grow and fellowship in a place where the church services are in a language we don’t speak well.

Dec 28th Alléluia!

Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?

You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

(Psalm 89:8)

These last few days have been a whirlwind – not the typical whirlwind, but one that has swirled us in deep uncertainty, swooped us up and carried us atop mountains, only to drop us again without warning into valleys, and then soar us up to the clouds.

As we looked forward to sharing the Christmas season with Bethany’s family, we also hoped and prayed that God would soon confirm His plan for the timing of our departure for France. Ever since July, we had sensed Him leading us to aim for January and to trust Him to take care of the money and other details needed to make that happen. But as our hopeful departure date neared, we questioned whether we had heard Him correctly. A deficit of $22,000 still remained.  Had we been naïve to think we could leave so soon? Would we need to change our plans yet again? After several conversations with knowledgeable individuals, we slowly, yet disappointedly, began to shift our mindset and pray about what another few months would look like here in the States.

But on Christmas Eve morning, we unexpectedly received overwhelming and welcome news. We were being gifted a truck! With this generous donation, we would only need to make sure we had enough funds to ship the vehicle to Togo – thankfully we already had a huge start on meeting this need because of the generosity of those who have given toward a vehicle in the last several months.

After additional important conversations about details and more prayer, we are overjoyed to share that we have been granted final clearance to leave for the field! We will depart for France on January 4^th and begin language school on the 8^th.

We are so grateful for God’s provision in bringing us to this long-awaited place. After praying and working toward this goal for many months, it still seems surreal that we are actually leaving!

Please pray for us as we work on accomplishing all the details that need to be taken care of before we go. Pray as we say our final bittersweet goodbyes to family here. Pray as we begin studying French, that we would learn quickly and thoroughly so that we can share Jesus clearly with the Togolese.

Most of all, please join us in praising Jehovah-Jireh with us for His great faithfulness! We have learned so much about trusting Him through this journey, and we look forward to continuing to grow in Him during this next season. We hope that in whatever season you find yourself, that you trust God also, because He is indeed “… able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us … to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Sep 18th The Not so Distant Horizon.

Enjoying the view of a distant horizon from atop the steep slopes Devil’s Marble Yard.

Click here  for the printable version

This last month could be easily said to be one of doing the leg-work to get everything ready.   We set the goal to reach 85% of our monthly support by the end of August. And we’re happy, relieved to announce that God provided in a big way by propelling us past that goal all the way to 93%!  That’s enough to allow us to go to the next and last training sessions starting at the end of October.  That also means that we’re less than $350/month away from full monthly support.  The goal is in sight. God is amazing! We’re praying that God will bring us to the final goal of 100% before the end of October so that we can focus on setup costs and logistics. We’re proceeding in faith that we will be cleared to leave at the end of the year.

Along with that comes a lot of work.  Perhaps we had  forgotten or perhaps it really is so much more than before but it seems that the to-do list is long and time is short.  Even in that God has provided.  Each of us has started and is nearly half-way with our Story of Hope bible study training. We have applied for our visas to France and were granted interview slots with plenty of time to spare.  Others have had to wait months to get in.  We go to the French consulate in DC on October 10th. … and God be praised, a friend who lives near DC offered to put us up for the night so that we didn’t need to leave at 4:45 in the morning to drive there.  Imagine someone who is not a morning person trying to interview after getting up that early and driving for over six hours in heavy traffic trying have a clear mind to answer important questions.

But God has provided even more… someone gifted us enough to purchase our plane tickets to France!  That means that we now have a departure date – January 4th. The pieces are coming together.  We’re working with another missionary family in our area headed to Togo (Archers) on sharing a sea shipping container. We are starting to look into the different things that need to be shipped.  Some items it is only possible to get in the US or it cost/quality effective to purchase here.  We have created a detailed list which you can see at the bottom including a registry and details about other items that we are seeking.

Prayer Requests

For contacts old and new to be willing to partner with us to be fully support by the end of October and have our setup costs by the end of November.

For God’s provision in working out all of the details required in starting a life overseas.

Support Levels

Here are some ways to help out in tangibly way without donating money. Please let us know about or order before October 27 if you can help with:

• Household items: See our registry on Amazon. We will be purchasing these in the US before we leave. If you would like to purchase one or more of these items and have it sent to us, that will  count toward setup costs and help us reach our goal.   (Note: Some of the small kitchen items are not set in stone and are recommendations.  If you find similar items cheaper then send us a link and we can let you know if that meets the need.)
• Primary transport: We are raising the funds to buy an SUV in Togo or but donation of an actual vehicle would go a long way. We need a suitable SUV reliable and in good condition with automatic transmission of brand Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, or Mitsubishi to handle the rough, dusty roads. It must have A/C. This vehicle will make regular long-haul road trips where getting stranded is not an option; reliability is important and good gas mileage is a plus. (Note: parts, service, and cultural factors limits us to these brands.)
• Alternate transport: Utility 4-wheeler in good working condition with a manual transmission (preferred) sized for an adult. Used primarily for around-town and easier to maneuver through crowded, narrow streets than a full-sized vehicle.

Nov 5th Praises & Changes

Get the printable version here.

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! 
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand….”

Psalm 95:1-7

Happy November! We hope you’re enjoying the autumn beauty around you as much as we are here in the Roanoke valley. We are thankful for our Lord’s blessings that are as abundant as those colorfully-changing leaves and His faithfulness to us in the transitions.

October was a busy month for us. (more…)