Family Portrait

We took family portraits this morning. After a while Sydney didn't cooperate anymore. We were all getting hot and sweaty. I lost my patience and got on to her for not smiling. As I hug her at the end I tell her that we sometimes need to do things, even if we don't feel like it. And she gives me this heart-wrenching responds: "Its hard to smile when you are crying inside". :-(

two full weeks in September

As I'm leaning back into my favorite thinking chair in my office, I am reflecting on the last two weeks and the impact they have had.

The time started with the Africa by Radio meeting here in Lomé. Representatives of local and international radio ministries came together to strategize and plan how to use radio most effectively to reach the remaining unreached people in Africa. These two days were followed by the annual meeting of the African Media Trainers. Together we identified major media training needs on the continent and ways of meeting them.


Kathy did a lot of work hosting as many guest as we have beds in our house. The rest of the visitors, from South Africa, UK, Canada, Sweden and Ghana stayed at a local hotel. However, they all had a chance to taste her culinary delights one evening, as Kathy, with the the help of many others, organised a BBQ for 30 people! For me it was definitely the highlight of all our meetings and get-togethers.


Just as the majority of delegates left Lomé, we welcomed the participants to a one-week Training of Trainers course. One of our strategies to tackle the immense training needs on the continent is to equipping African media practitioners to be able to pass on their skill and knowledge. So, finally, after many month of planning we held the first "Formation de Formateurs" in West Africa. We had 12 participants, from almost as many countries. It was a big challenge for me, since I was determined to teach in French. It went okay, but now my head is very tired. I really hope that these men and woman will pick up the task and improve the quantity and quality of Christian witness in the media in francophone Africa.


Finally, Sydney saved the day as our ministry leaders, Danny and AnnMarie Isenring, left from the airport in Lomé. We saw that they had problems at check-in. So, I tried to text Danny's mobile phone, but it wouldn't go through. As I was wondering how to contact them otherwise, Sydney had the idea to write something on my notebook and show it to them through the glass window that they had to pass on their way to the passport control. It worked! They saw us and we were able to find out that everything was okay. On our way out, Sydney said to me, 'Ain't I a saver-the-dayer'? Yes Sydney, you saved the day! :-)

Simply Fiona

Fiona is a lot of fun. She is always thinking of funny things to do and say. In the last few weeks, we've had a number of things going on and I'm dedicating this post to her way of looking at things.


Fiona has wanted to learn the violin for a long time. We bought one and Mae brought it as well as her ability to teach it.


Fiona's friend, Miriam, spent 10 days with us at the end of August. She and Fiona had a wonderful time together.




Elena braided Fiona's hair. However, they started shortly before bed one night so only half was finished until after school the next day.


This is what it looked like afterward.


The other day, we went thru the girls' clothes and got rid of things that didn't fit or that we didn't need. Fiona decided she wanted to sell them and, with Papa and Sydney's help, she set up a "shop" just outside our front gate. People from all round flocked to her shop and she actually made around $20! Now we see little kids walking past our gate in clothes we recognize.

Mae is here!

This year, our home school will be different. While we were in the USA, Mae Jennings wrote saying she was interested in doing a short term mission, preferably working with children. Since we had a great fit--with our girls and all--we suggested it and she came. We are all very excited to start school this year (we'll start Monday). The girls are ready to have someone besides Mama as teacher and I'm ready for some help. I know there will be great things in store for all of us. Please pray with us that all goes well and that we thoroughly enjoy each other this year.

Girl Power!!

Yesterday, Roger flew to Chad for a 2 week training course. As is usually the case, something that doesn’t usually go wrong when Roger is here, went wrong today.

We had been invited to the Mission to Seamen where our German friends live. He is a pastor and holds periodic services at the mission in German and French. Today was one of those. We were also invited to stay for lunch afterward and maybe a swim. We were excited and Elena had made cake to bring as well.

As I was backing the car out of the garage, Elena, who was holding the door open, shouted that a tire was flat. I put it in forward and went right back into the building. My initial reaction was to get upset, however, I knew, from previous experience that getting angry wasn’t going to help. I calmly called our friends and told them what was up and that we certainly weren’t going to make it to the church service.

Today happens to be one of the warmest we’ve had lately. Most days have been cloudy and windy which almost makes Lome pleasant! However, today is bright and sunny with NO wind. I was not looking forward to changing—or trying to change—a flat tire. I sat in my room with the a/c on for a bit and then put on my grubbiest clothes and started looking for all the tools. Elena came out and helped. It took a while to find out how to lower the tire from up under the truck (I only vaguely knew it had to be done with some long tool). Once that was done, we tried to figure out the jack. It was wedged in it’s place and I couldn’t get it out, but Elena figured it out and we were ready to change the thing. It was a miracle that we were able to loosen the lugnuts and we finally got the thing changed. Now, we’re clean again (you wouldn’t believe how dirty our garage is, as well as the spare tire—which, by the way, is actually holding air!) and waiting for Julia to call.

So now it’s Girls 1, car 0 in the game we call life in Togo. I only have to find the number of the mechanic so I can have him help me fix the tire—and have him put it back on and return the spare to it’s rightful place under the car.

Thank you Lord, for helping us do this! As I prayed before beginning, “Lord, only you can help me get this tire changed,” and He did, too!

PS I was going to post a photo as well but the internet isn't working well and I can't seem to do it just now. It wasn't all that good anyway since I made it with my phone.

A new Guinnes Book Record?

Is this not the worlds amazing hairstyle?

Take a look:

www.thestollgirlssuperblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-hair.html

We made it!

It’s hard to believe it’s only been just over a week since we got back to Togo. We’ve fallen back into life here pretty easily. It’s one of the only times since we’ve been married that we’ve gone from a place for any length of time, and come back to it. It was really nice to walk into a house we recognized, be able to shop for essentials—like food—without wondering where to go and how to get there, etc. The girls were, for the most part, glad to see their beds and things as well.

Having said all that, we also had a hard time leaving the US. We had a great time there and saying good-bye doesn’t seem to get any easier! However, the pull of knowing we were to see Papa after 2 months, helped.

Our trip was probably the least eventful of any I have ever undertaken. My mother accompanied us as far as JFK. Since we knew it wouldn’t be easy getting thru that airport with all our luggage, we welcomed another “trolley pusher”. As it turned out, we didn’t need any others (but it was still nice to have Grandma along!). I believe God sent another angel. This time in the form of a man who worked there. As we “girls” stood there by the baggage carousel trying to decide how best to fit all the boxes and suitcases onto the fewest number of trolleys—at $5 each, we wanted to use as few as possible—a man came up and asked us where we were headed. We told him and he said, “Follow me, I’ll help you.” We did just that and he did just that as well. It was incredibly easy. He even knew how to conquer the doors on the tram as they tried to shut on him (we had been intimidated by them the last time and didn’t all get onto the tram together. You can refresh your memory on our June 16, 2008 entry, entitled Moving Right Along--can't figure out how to link you there.) From there on it was “easy-peasy”. We even got a hotel room with 2 meals in Casablanca to break up our 16 hr layover. It was great. It really helped with jet-lag as we got a chance to sleep a good deal.

Now we are back and the rains are here. It isn’t as hot as it would normally be—a good thing—and it’s nice to see our friends whom we missed while in the USA.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers for our travels and for all of us as we were separated for 2 months. It was great in the US but we are glad to be together again, as well.

~kathy

Kansas

It's already been nearly 2 months since we arrived in the US. We are having a great time. The girls are thoroughly enjoying school and being with friends and family. I (Kathy) am also enjoying them being in "real" school and with friends and family.

It's been pretty relaxing and just plain fun. It was nearly 90 degrees the other day and, although I was hot, I didn't even break a sweat! What a difference. We've also been to see various doctors, etc. I have been to see a cardioloist and my extra heartbeat seems to be something I just need to learn to live with (something I really already knew, but dared to hope might change).

We miss Papa, though, even if it is nice here. He went back to Togo 3 weeks ago. He was worried that he might starve since he didn't know what to cook, but has lovely friends who are taking care of him and feeding him.

something random but kinda cool

When we first arrived here in the US this time, we spent a few days with my brother and family. It was great to "get out feet under us again" and spend time with family. Mom, Elena and I went to Hutchinson one morning. On our way out of town, we passed Central Christian College (one of the 2 colleges in McPherson, KS where Rob and fam. live). I have either never passed there before, or just never noticed the name of one of the dorms.



Cool, huh?

God loves to be trusted

Now we’ve both been to the specialist and got some kind of treatment. But (his) story and (her) story are not over, yet.

On Tuesday the 6th I (Roger) received the treatment for my right eye. Considering our lowly estate, the doctor somehow managed to get me the medicine for free (we are talking about the price of a flat screen TV). Now that is amazing! However, I have not yet seen any improvements in my sight. I’m not sure how quickly I’m supposed to. I’ll find out when I’ll do a follow-up visit next week.
Using the laser to activate the dye that had been injected into my veins only took 83 seconds. But for 3 more days (a total of 5), I have to dress up like a Christmas tree when I go outside, because I am photosensitive. If I wouldn’t, I could get 3rd-degree burns, just from being in the sunlight. I was shocked yesterday, when at least a dozen children surrounded me in the school playground and chanted: “You’re a girl! You’re a girl!”. I must admit I do look rather “gorgeous” in that straw hat, big sunglasses, gloves and pink scarf.

To see the heart specialist, Kathy, had to go to Wichita, too. Her appointment was on Thursday the 8th. So, she and her mom did the 350-mile round trip yesterday. For several months now Kathy has been feeling an extra heartbeat, which often takes her breath away or keeps her from sleeping. She’s been worried about it, but was able to control it with Beta-blockers. Surprisingly, all that the doctor prescribed was a higher dosage of the medicine she’s already taking. If there aren’t any changes in a few weeks she’ll have to come back for more examinations and tests.

So, nothing has really changed. Kathy is still broken-hearted, I’m still half blind and God still has everything under control.

"Now I see", said the blind man

I'm just back from the retina specialist in Wichita, Kansas. He put a name to my problem: Central Serous Retinopathy. In plain English: a fluid blister on the back of the right eye. He thinks that it could go away by itself in 3-6 months.
However, since there is no eye specialist in Togo, who could treat it, he wants to see me again in 2 weeks. If it hasn't diminished by then, he wants to do laser treatment. Can you pray with me that the blister goes away so that I don't have to have treatment, and save more than $1000. Merci!

Surprise, surprise...

Now that we’ve sufficiently surprised our family in Kansas, we can let you know what’s going on in our lives at the moment.

You are probably aware that Kathy has been troubled with heart problems the last three months. She has irregular heartbeats and often has sleepless nights. She has been taking beta-blockers for several months now, which help, but don't solve the situation. We are certain that much of the problem is due to stress.

Since we believe that Kathy's main stress is related to home schooling, we have come home to Kansas. Once this week of Spring break is over, the children will go to the public school in Burdett. Kathy and the girls are going to stay there till the end of the school year. Roger, however, is going back to Togo shortly after Easter, since the media school will start on the 19th of April. God willing, Kathy and the girls return to Lome in June. That means, that we'll be separated for 10 weeks! Which in itself is a huge stress factor for all of us, but we don't have a better solution at the moment.

We have decided, together with Elena, that she will go to boarding school after the summer holidays. We have contacted Dakar Academy in Senegal and Rift Valley Academy in Kenya, and are waiting to hear from them. Both schools offer an American curriculum, which is what we want our kids to follow. Elena's preferred choice would be RVA, but it would be a miracle to get in there, since they usually have very long waiting lists. Please pray with us for that miracle.

Please pray also for me (Roger). Ever since I came back from Egypt (I went there for a week-long conference in February) I’ve had problems with my right eye. I see horizontal lines slightly distorted and it feels as if there is a cloud on the lens. I went to see two different eye doctors in Ghana, but there's nothing they can do for me, since they don’t have the equipment to examine the eye sufficiently.

So, if you are surprised by the recent developments, so are we. Please keep uplifting us. Thanks

W-A-W-A

No, we aren’t crying, tho it might have been an option today. It actually stands for “West Africa Wins Again”. Today, Roger’s sister, Helga, was to have left for home. She had already begun to think cool thoughts and adjust herself to being cold again. We took a taxi to the airport—here in Ghana—and prepared to say good-bye.

We walked into the check-in area of the airport and looked in vain for the Emirates desk. We finally asked the information clerks who told us the plane had already left. Since we just knew that was impossible, we kept looking. I asked again and found that their main office was in the “next building”. I went over there, found them and asked when they would open their check-in desk. The man informed me the plane had indeed already left. I told him that wasn’t possible, because my sister-in-law’s ticket said it was to leave at 6:30pm.

To make a long story short: Ghana has a shortage of jet-A1 fuel and airlines are making adjustments (exactly what that has to do with them leaving 12 hours earlier than stated on the ticket is still unclear, but I just took it at face value. Had they gotten rid of a flight or 2 all together, I would have understood a bit more, but…). And, the airline supposedly tried to contact Helga but had no way to do so. This is either the fault of the travel agent in Germany, not having given the information to Emirate Air or because they never actually tired to get hold of her. This was also unclear as the man showed us a copy of the email Emirates sent out to travel agencies, making it their responsibility to contact the clients.

Anyway, we are all back home here at the WEC guesthouse. We’ve eaten and the girls, Helga and I are going to watch a movie in the bedroom with a/c! We need a break from the heat.

Praise God that the girls and I went with Helga to the airport—she might still be sitting there (enjoying the a/c) and that they changed her ticket to tomorrow at the same time as the one stated for today.

My quote of the day: Helga said, “An to think, I was just thinking that I was actually leaving Africa and nothing had to be changed or adjusted.” Guess that’s what she gets for thinking!

"I want to see your Jesus!"

It was his eye that captivated me from the moment we looked at each other. I was probably one of the few white people that he had seen in his lifetime, but I immediately felt a bond with the man, who is a living testimony of the effectiveness of Christian media.

Now in his eighties, Papa Djato Makaai used to be a pagan farmer in Northern Togo. Most of his life he lived under the power of malicious spirits. To ensure a sufficient harvest he would bring sacrifices to the idols. To protect himself and his family he was obliged to appease the spirits in his world. His life was governed by fear. Until one day, when he heard about Jesus Christ.

No evangelist had visited his homestead. No church had reached out to him, and no pastor had lost his way into this remote part of the country. It was through the radio that Papa Djato heard of One, who was more powerful than the spirits who were oppressing him. He simply believed the message, which had come to him in his native language. As a result of his decision, he contacted a pastor in a neighboring village and demanded: “I want to see your Jesus.”

But that was only the beginning of his troubles. His family did not share his newfound faith. When he decided to no longer pay homage to the spirits who had ruled his life for over 70 years, his family was upset. When he went so far as to burn his idols, the people were certain that the old man would not live through the night. Nobody could protect him now from the deadly power of the voodoo. When Papa Djato emerged from his house the next morning, everybody was astonished. There was a power more powerful than their demonic taskmasters. In fact, the testimony of Jesus’ power over the spirit world was what convinced other villagers to put their trust in the Son of God.




Papa Djato continues to listen to Radio Reveil, the radio station that introduced him to Jesus Christ. Over the years, the radio has helped him to grow in his faith. Even Mr. Agba, the director of the radio station is touched. When asking what Jesus has been doing in the village, since he arrived here some years ago, Papa Djato looks me in the eyes and declares that Jesus has brought him peace: “When Jesus leads me into the fire I will follow him. When the Son of God leads me into the deep waters, I will not hesitate to follow him there, too. Because, since neither fire nor water will harm Jesus, neither will they harm me.”

Full House

Wow! Time has certainly flown. Christmas is only a vague memory and we're back into our routines. We had a really nice holiday with friends. It was very international with folks who work in Benin but come from Germany and Switzerland as well as a couple from France. From the 22nd of December to the 2nd of January, we had a full house. At times, we had 13 people sharing 4 toilets, 3 showers and 2 dining tables (or at least 1 dining table and 1 borrowed card table). Fortunately, Roger's students had already graduated and gone home so we could borrow beds from the training school. Everyone was nice and comfy and our house, though not terribly big, was roomy enough.

I (Kathy) was a bit stressed at times trying to cook for that many but the other ladies pitched in nicely and we "got 'er done". Everyone was happy and satisfied.

Of course, the day after everyone arrived, Sydney had her birthday. Our baby is now 6 years old. It's hard to believe she's growing so fast. She really prides herself on being our "best Christmas present, ever" and makes the most of her cuteness as well.


Our birthday tradition is for the birthday person to get breakfast in bed. This is Sydney's breakfast in bed.

Sydney and Miriam Stahl (whose birthday was only 2 days earlier). The cake was a German and a Swiss flag


Sydney with Patrick and Marie-Françoise from France. Sydney prays almost everyday for them.

The Stahl family who live in Benin. We've been to visit them twice. They are a lot of fun to be with--for the whole family.