Saturday, August 3rd: Services in Akoumape and Tchekpo

**I hesitate when considering what should be shared here and how.  Every country and people are different, yet each has a beauty and a story that comes with it.  It is my hope and desire that these posts would be read with a respect and love for the people that are in these stories.  I find the people here to be incredibly hard working and perservere, even in adverse conditions.  They have been friendly, welcoming, and loving.  They have taught me much during my time here.  **

It felt good to rest after a long day of travelling.  We enjoyed breakfast out in the courtyard this morning.  A pleasant breeze accompanied us.  Thankfully, we will be visiting during the cool season here. For breakfast, we ate a thin omelet with a croissant & bread and some orange juice.

Our hotel

We travel in a rented minivan, driven by a hired driver, Uncle.  The people here fondly refer to him as Uncle - I never did learn his given name.  He has been driving the mission speakers for many years now, and at some point received the grace of repentance.  He is a gentle, soft-spoken man and was a joy to have travel with us on our trip.

After breakfast this morning, we drove maybe 1.5 - 2 hours to the Akumape congregation, where we gathered under the mango tree.  It was a small gathering as many of the believers were at a funeral.  We learned that funerals are usually held on Saturdays here.

The hostess was a sweet lady named Ama.  She captured a spot in my heart.

The courtyard where services were held was beautiful.  There was again a pleasant breeze blowing and birds cooing.  A pair of dogs settled in nicely under Dad's chair.

The kids all just steal my heart with their beautiful eyes and shy grins.  I learned some of the kids' names and ages after church, but I haven't figured out how to remember them.

These teenage boys were excited to get a new football.  When I went out to the road to get the ball from the van, another lady was slowly walking by.  She smiled and said:  I just wanted to see you!  She was maybe feeling shy as she continued on before I could think to visit more.  It is rare to find someone that speaks English here (most speak French or Ewe), so I was surprised by her use of it!

One view from the drive.. I've found it really hard to capture the journey that is involved in getting from a to b.  The pictures from a moving car just can't quite capture it.  Every roadside scene is so interesting and amazing to me!

Douglas and Orland also traveled with us today.  

 

Our next stop was in Tchekpo.
Uncle wasn't sure if he could get the van right up to the church, so we walked up the sandy trail.  As we stepped out of the van, we could hear the believers singing as they waited for us to arrive.  It was so amazing to hear!  They had a teenage girl that was the song leader - she would sing the first line of the song and then count to two before the rest of the congregation would join in.

I didn't know they have a songbook in Ewe!  I was able to download a copy.

Dad taught Sunday school and Orland translated.

Tero served us and Emmanuel translated.

These were the Tchekpo believers that were able to join us today.  Most of the men were at work and unable to join us.

We stopped here for lunch.  In early trips here, the visitors often ate local food and they found that too many of them were ending up sick.  They have found that chicken ("well cooked") is best tolerated by the foreign visitors and so that is what is usually ordered for us.  It is accompanied with a side of rice or French fries and a tomato based sauce.  This is what we had today. Our African friends enjoyed the fish.  (I did try the fish once, but it didn't settle well with my stomach, so I stuck with the chicken after that.)