Anthony and Maureen Parker
This week we've welcomed our long-time friends, Alan and Lanita Henderson, along with their children, Levi and Josiah to West Africa. Next week we'll be traveling with them up to Burkina Faso before they catch their flight out of Accra on April 7. It promises to be a long,fun road trip. Alan has agreed to write this week's entry in the Times to share his first impressions of West Africa.

"Eighty-two percent humidity. Eighty-six degree temperature. And that's inside the house! No wonder my body feels a bit droopy! The warmth of the temperature inside, however, is more than matched by the warmth of the people outside. Firm handshakes, welcoming smiles, scampering children, friendly greetings in both French and Ewe--all these things combine to make for indelible memories. Sights, sounds. and smells of the marketplace. Wood smoke curling skyward. Goats and sheep wandering through side streets. Chickens running. Vendors trading. I can't wait to get to heaven when I'll finally be able to fully understand my Togolese brothers and sisters even as I am fully understood. But for now I wait patiently, smiling, nodding, and learning as a child in a new and intriguing culture.

"The mix of ancient and future here confounds me. To see a mother walking down the street in dust-covered sandals, small child securely strapped to her back with colorful cloth, a heavy load of dishpans and firewood on her fabric-wrapped head, supported by one hand, talking on a cell phone with the other. (Perhaps the strangest disconnect for me has been that Lanita's American cell phone receives a signal and works here in this remote place...when it often can't receive a signal ten miles from our house in Atlanta!)

"The blending of culture and faith humbles me. This morning we greeted an old "papa"--Emmanuel--who lives just next door to Anthony and Maureen. He is sightless, leprous, and physically wasting away--one of those whom Jesus touched and healed while he was here--and yet, before we left, he prayed a prayer of blessing over me and my family. He may be blind, but he is a blessing. He may be leprous, but he demonstrates Christ's love. He may be physically wasting away, but inwardly he is being renewed.

"Tomorrow we will worship with a local village church. We anticipate what GOD will teach us there...in worship...as He joins us by His Spirit."

Josh and Kyleen Bontrager
Josh, Marty, Jeff, and Jeremy played football on Saturday afternoon. Josh had forgotten how much he missed playing football and how out of shape he is. Josh is still feeling soreness in his hamstrings. We went to a cluster worship service at Attitogon with Marty. We enjoyed a wonderful worship service. The singing was really uplifting. There were also three children who were baptized. It is so neat that they are second generation Christians who will hopefully lead the church in the future. For lunch, we ate at a hotel in Bleta which had good chicken.

Recently, we have enjoyed having company for dinner. We have had the Parker's and Koonce's the past two weeks. We are so thankful that the missionaries have us over every week for a wonderful meal and great company. Wednesday Josh worked on his Mark study. With the help of Foligan, he has translated three chapters already. He will finish this project before we leave.

Kyleen's class has started a "trip" across America seeing famous sites such as Washington D.C., Mount Rushmore, and Plymouth Rock. The boys have loved putting on their imaginary cameras and using poster board suitcases to document their journey with patches. We are both healthy and doing well. We praise God for the blessings he is giving us!

Jeremy and Rae Newlin
Jeremy and I have had a great week. We have had several rains, which have made cooler evenings and mornings. We have been very thankful for them!

As this school week comes to an end, the teachers and students are looking forward to Spring Break next week. We are going to be going to northern Togo with Josh and Kyleen. We look forward to going to a game park and seeing a few waterfalls! We really are excited about seeing newer parts of Togo!

Jeff and Brenda Holland
Things in the Holland home are still fast and furious. Brenda is really looking forward to finishing training literacy workers in the next couple of weeks. Keep praying that those trained will actually take the step of teaching others to read. Pray for Brenda's health. She had another virus or bout with malaria this week, but is doing better. She is ready to get to the USA and enjoy some cooler weather; however, she rejoiced when God sent some rain this week to cool things down a little.

Jeff is still enjoying leadership training. In February, the Kpetsou church leaders were irregular in their attendance, but things seem to be going well now. The Nyinoume and Gafeme leaders are trying to devise better ways to oversee the new church in Gbleta as the current evangelist is needing some guidance. We are excited that in the next couple of weeks, some of the regions of Watchi churches will begin having leaders meet to help transition leadership from the missionaries to the nationals. These regional groups will be assisted by the missionaries over the next year so that even before the missionaries leave Togo, the groups are capable of organizing activities and managing regional affairs.

We also ask you to pray for Josiah. He has been having headaches and high fevers this week (particularly in the night after his medicine wears off). We are treating him for malaria, but it may be a virus. Ellianna is doing great. We sometimes forget that she has never been to the USA. So, not only will we be introducing a new baby, we'll be introducing many of you to Ellianna for the first time.

Teachers Needed for Tabligbo MK School!
They're waiting for you!  The Watchi team is looking for teachers for the children on the team for the 2005-2006 school year.  If you or someone you know would be willing to dedicate a semester or more to serving our team in this way, please contact us. For more information, check out the MK School section of the Watchi Harvest web site (click here)