Read eNews from: Murphy, Christine, Marty, Louise

~ Transition to Rwanda ~

Thank you SOOOOO much for covering our families in prayer these past few months. God is richly blessing our transition from Togo to Rwanda in answer to your prayers! (pictured right, our two families just before we flew to Rwanda.)

Specifically we want to tell you about these answered prayers:

We praise God for His blessings and thank you for so faithfully lifting our names up in prayer for so many years.

This is the last Tabligbo Times (post-dated 12-31-2008). The first Tabligbo Times was sent out on May 10th, 1995 and has continued until now. All issues, from 1995 through 2008, are archived on our web site as a testimony to future generations of all that the Lord has done.

On behalf of all of the missionaries, teachers and Watchi Christians, we want to say THANK YOU!

Your persistent and faithful prayers have produced a harvest in southern Togo that will continue to produce fruit for generations to come until the Lord returns. And on that day, we will join our Watchi brothers and sisters in a great celebration around the throne of our Creator. May His Name be praised!

Much ground has been won for the Kingdom and we need to continue on in prayer asking the Lord to hold all that has been gained and continue to bless the Watchi Christians so that His Kingdom can continue to expand.

We will continue to send prayer updates with news from Togo in our new eNewsletter "A Healing Hope" from Rwanda.

Thank you, and may the Lord richly bless you for the prayers, giving and sacrifices that you have made to bring salvation and hope to the Watchi!

Sign up for "A Healing Hope," our Rwandan eNewsletter and keep up with our new ministry!

Now is the time to sign up for our new newsletter! It's easy!

Just visit our web site and sign up!

~ Marty and Louise Koonce ~ Blogs: Marty, Louise, 4T's

From Marty - I have lived in our house in Tabligbo, Togo longer than any other house in my entire life. I have experienced the most productive years, so far, working among the Watchi people. So, it is with some sadness that I said “goodbye” to Tabligbo in December.

I am also full of joy and hope. I have great joy at having been invited to join in such a wonderful work and having been privileged to do so for eleven years. I have great joy from all of the memories that we have and all the prayers that were answered as well as all the lessons God taught me over the years there. As well, I am full of hope for what God will do in our absence as our Watchi brothers and sisters come to rely on the ever faithful God.

In addition to this I am hopeful that God has taken us on to an even more productive work in Rwanda.

I cannot say “thank you” enough for all of the prayers, love, and physical support you have shown us over the last eleven years of work in Tabligbo, Togo. It has been incredible and we have witnessed a great victory for Jesus there.

Remember, though, in one way the Watchi need you now, more than ever. We need you to labor for them in prayer asking God to strengthen them as they learn to depend on Him. Thank you for sharing in this work with us and continuing on as we begin in Rwanda.

From Louise - As I write this last entry for Tabligbo Times, I am, once again in awe of God’s faithfulness. In many ways, our lives here have been about this day. Since our team came to build a work that would be nationally sustained and propelled, we have been working to this end.

Finally the time has come that we have all been waiting for. The house is empty, the boxes and furniture have been packed, tagged and shipped. The last words have been said, the teaching has been completed and the goodbyes have been said through tears.

Our last Sunday was a joyous event. We had invited all the Christians from all our villages to come to Tabligbo. There was a great turnout. They blessed us with parting gifts and we, in turn, offered them a fine meal, that God blessed to be more than enough. There was less said about the loss of the missionary influence and much more celebration of what God has done and hopes for what he is yet to do. There were many tears, but many reminders that our relationships are not over. A fitting end, I thought.

We journeyed to Ghana for a little rest and relaxation at our favorite team holiday spot. The days spent at the Grove were exactly that, restful and relaxing. We followed that time up with a few days in Accra. We were joined and sent off by the Emerson family from Kara. We all spent Christmas day together, eating at one of the favorites - “Frankie’s”.

On December 27, we boarded the plane and headed east, bound for a new land, people and life.

Thanks so much for the eleven years, three months and fifteen days that you carried us in prayer to the Father. Our work, our family, our team could not have done it without God’s power that you called on to sustain us.

~ Murphy and Christine Crowson ~ Crowson's Blog

From Murphy - The last few months in Togo were filled with lots of "Goodbye" Sundays. Pictured left is a picture of Marty and I with all of the Adangbe leaders. It has been such a pleasure and honor to walk with these guys as they grew in their faith these past seven years. From one church this cluster grew to five churches and when we left were evangelizing in two new villages. I know that the Lord has great things in store for them as they continue to hold out the word of light.

Our last Sunday in Batoe was a great celebration. On the bench and ground in this picture are all of the gifts that they gave us! Included was over 50 lbs. of gali (roasted casava that Stephen and Matthew just love). We packed 25 lbs on our container for Rwanda. This church was begun by the Sedome church five years ago. Since then they planted the Agodoke church and are working on planting a church in the village of Lakata.

What a joy it has been to see Denni, Daniel, Komlavi and Nledzi come to faith in Jesus! Even more, it's been an honor to disciple them into leaders and see them bring others to faith! Two are Aja and two Watchi but all live in close proximity to each other and are responsible for bringing over 120 people to Christ. I'm excited to see what all God has in store for them in the years to come!

Join us in praising God for FULLY meeting our transition needs! May His named be praised for He is trustworthy, faithful and powerfully answered our prayers! You can find a list of our Rwanda Transition Needs that were met on our blog. You can find out more about our developing ministry in Rwanda by visiting our Musanze Team's web site.

The new year has begun and we are settling into our new life and ministry in Rwanda. We praise God for 10 wonderful years in West Africa. He has walked by our side at every step and used us in our weakness to bless others. Lives have been saved, the Good News proclaimed, prayers answered, churches planted, leaders trained, and a solid foundation for future Kingdom growth established. We are so thankful for your partnership in all of this. Your financial and spiritual support has and will continue to produce an abundant harvest to the glory of God.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, be glory, honor and praise forevermore!

From Christine - Although we have been talking and preparing for years to leave Togo, it is hard for me to believe that the time has come. Saying goodbye to friends was more difficult than I could have imagined. I praise God for the friendships that we developed over the years. During all of the good-byes, we never said "good-bye" but rather, "we will meet again". We praise God that even though there were lots of tears there was not despair. There is confidence among the Christians that God will sustain them and provide what they need.

Before coming to Rwanda, we spent a couple of weeks in Ghana. We had a wonderful and relaxing week at the Coconut Grove. Then we spent Christmas week in Accra. It was good for our family to have a time to decompress and be in a familiar place for the holidays.

We praise God and thank Him for all of you and your prayers and support over the years. We are so thankful for the role you play in God's work among the Watchi.