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.