Greater Portland Baptist Church

Jesse and Tiffany Shanks: August 2006

To open a printable copy of the prayer letter on our letterhead, please [go to http://www.lightoftogo.com].

We failed to mention in our last prayer letter that our son, Joshua, had been extremely ill. The effects of his sickness were starting to take a toll on his little mind and body, and for a few weeks we had no idea what could be wrong. We were beginning to get very concerned, when suddenly on July 17th he made a complete and miraculous recovery. This just so happened to be the day we returned from an extended period of meetings away from home. After a large prescription dose of grandparent hugs and kisses, and a rehabilitation program consisting of goat feeding, chicken egg collecting, cat petting, and grandpa-fixing-the-truck-helping, he was feeling 100% better. The sickness I am referring to, of course, is homesickness. Joshua is quite a little trooper when it comes to living on the road, but occasionally he just wants nothing else but to be home.

Since mid-July we have been home more than usual, but we have still stayed busy with meetings on most weekends within a few hour's drive. This has allowed us to be home for most of the week to catch up on work, rest, and time with family.

We have had several great meetings in August, and a few more churches recently have pledged their financial support. Once some of the commitments start coming in, we will be giving you an official update on our support level.

At one church in Vancouver, B.C., we met a man named Joshua who was overflowing with joy that we are going to Togo to reach people with the good news of salvation. This is because his mother is from Togo, and his father is from the neighboring country of Ghana. He has spent much time in Togo, and he reminded us of how great a need there is for missionaries to take the gospel to his people. His entire families history would have been drastically different if it were not for missionaries. During the slave trading era, his descendants were brought to America and sold as slaves. After many years of this terrible bondage, some missionaries purchased his entire family and brought them back to West Africa and set them free. They shared with them the story of true spiritual freedom through the gospel, and the entire family believed on Jesus Christ. That was over 100 years ago, but from that day until now his family has had a great Christian heritage all because of some missionaries who were willing to do whatever it took to free people from bondage.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

In His Grace,
Jesse, Tiffany, and Joshua Shanks