Greater Portland Baptist Church

Jesse and Tiffany Shanks: November 2009

First of all, I must apologize for the lateness of this update. I had every intention of getting it out 10 days ago, but following our trip to Ghana I came down with a bad case of malaria. I was bed-ridden for four days, with several days of recovery after that. I don't want to complain, but it was NOT at all a plesant experience! Many, many people were praying for me, and I surely do appreciate that!

Our trip to Ghana was very good. The primary reason for the trip was to drop off Jim, our friend and fellow missionary, at the airport. He has been here for three years and is taking his first furlough. We then stayed for a couple extra days to do some shopping and other errands in Accra, which is one of the most developed cities in West Africa.

Since our last update I have started taking lessons in the local dialect in the Kara region, which is Kabiye (KAH-bee-yay). It is a really difficult and chalenging language, but I am very determined to learn it so that I may communicate more effectively, since our focus will be on reaching the Kabiye people.

While our primary focus in Togo is to evangelise the lost, plant churches, and disciple believers, it is impossible (and unbiblical) to ignore all the physical and material needs around us. While there are thousands of stories to tell, I'd like to focus on one young man who goes to our church named Bienvenue, which you may know translates as "welcome." His parents are so poor they cannot take care of their kids. His brothers and sisters have resorted to theivery to support themselves. Bienvenue trusted Christ and decided not to follow their example, but instead moved out of the house, rented a small room from a friend, and decided to work his way through school to get an education and hopefully a job someday. He literally lives off whatever food and money he can scrape together each week. Lately I have been employing him on the weekends to help support him a little. I also payed his way to an upcoming Christian camp that he would otherwise have no chance to attend. He is thrilled about the opportunity to go! To me, Bievenue is a perfect example of the many trials Christians go through here in Togo when they decide to follow and obey Christ, but he's also a great example of the joy that comes with it!

Also, we've posted a new family picutre you can download. [from Jesse & Tiffany's website]

Thank you for all your prayer and support!