Greater Portland Baptist Church

Jesse and Tiffany Shanks: March 2009

Even though we've only been in Togo for six weeks now, there's been a lot going on here lately. What we are quickly learning, however, is just how much patience will be required in order to live here! Nothing; such as the container shipping, vehicle search, moving in to our own house, and communication with the States, seems to be going according to "our schedule." We have no doubt though that God has a reason for all of it, even if that reason is just to teach us patience! We realize that learning to slow down is just one of many ways in which we'll have to change our lives in order to live here.

A couple weeks ago I started teaching a New Testament Survey course in the Bible Institute to a man named Yélé, who is just getting started in the institute. So far it has gone very well and has been a great experience for me.

I've also begun meeting on a regular basis with the pastor of the church we're working in, pastor Nicodème. We have been praying together and discussing ways in which we can help the church grow and eventually become independent missionary assistance. Please pray that God will give direction to Pastor Nicodeme as he leads this church, and pray that God would use me to be an encouragement to him as well as a temporary help to the chuch.

Tiffany is doing really great. She is really adjusting well to the differences of opperating a home in Africa. Like most things here, everything is a much longer process when compared to America. Cooking is one thing that she really enjoys doing, and she has already had the chance to get creative with the different ingredients that are found here. She has gone "exploring" at the market a few times with our coworker, Lisa Lewis, and they have found several new things that we didn't think existed here in Kara.

Joshua is also doing very well. Even though we have explained to him a few times that we are going to be here for a very long time, it doesn't seem to bother him much. That either means that he's adjusting very well, or that he has absolutely no concept of "a very long time." Either way, he's loving his new life here. He especially enjoys the newest addition to our family, Cami. Cami is a chameleon that Joshua's friend caught for him a few weeks ago. We keep him in a cage at night, and put him on a small tree during the day where he catches bugs and enjoys the sunshine. I'll put some pictures of Joshua and Cami on the website when I get a chance.

Speaking of the website, we've been having some problems with it, and I'm still working on getting it resolved. If you have problems with it, one thing that may help is updating your browser to its latest version, especially if you are using Internet Explorer.

Thank you for your prayers and support!
In His Grace,
Jesse, Tiffany, and Joshua Shanks