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| A group of our missionary family enjoying a local waterfall. |
50th Anniversary Visit
I was able to get home in early September for a surprise visit, rudely interrupting the start of my parents' 50th anniversary party. No one, save for four adults, knew of my plan. It worked out great and I was blessed to be able to spend a bit of time with many friends and with family, as well. My sisters put a lot of work into the planning and execution of the party. It was a great evening! And 50 years married... Awesome!
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| Paul & Gwen and their kids. |
Back To School
In early September school began here on the compound for the missionary kids. This year we are very blessed (and thankful) for a second teacher. Diana is teaching the older grades which frees up the parents to do more of their work, and in the case of our boys, gives them a better education than we can offer with home schooling!
Logan started high school. How many 14 year-olds get to drive a moto to their first day of school - and most days following?? He's doing pretty well, but is needing a bit of help with math, and generally giving as much effort to school as he does to play. But that could be said for many guys his age.
Keenan is in Grade 6. He's a tireless reader and is doing well despite being the youngest of all the kids in the higher class. He's learning some Grade 9 material as it's hard to prepare and teach curriculum for four different grades each day.
Hudson is enjoying school. It's essentially an 'attendance required' party. All his friends are there, and he's a social creature.
Mango Nursing School
Christine was again asked to teach a section for the nursing school up at the Hospital of Hope in Mango. We all made the trip up and got to visit friends up there - although we all missed the presence of the Weston family while we were there!
We arrived at the Hospital of Hope compound just in time for Sunday afternoon game time. Soccer teams were being chosen so we joined in. Everyone had fun - and played through the rain storm that blew in.
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| When we saw this bank of clouds blow in we knew we were going to get wet! |
Christine taught on critical care concerning the respiratory system, and I tried to keep the boys focused on their school work before losing them to play with their friends up there. She was successful. I can't claim the same for myself and the boys.
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| Students practicing fitting each other for masks. |
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| Lacking true commitment, none of them volunteered for the tracheotomy... |
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| The last bit of the drive north to Mango. I love the wide open Savanna |
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| Maybe I don't love the rutted roads that the rainy season brings |
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| Followed this car through the toll booth. Extra points for the goat (they travel for free). |
Hope Radio
Our time in Mango coincided with the dedication / grand opening of Hope Radio, the radio station the mission is using to reach the widespread community. It was nice to be able to attend that event and support our friends working on programming, translation and technical aspects of the station.
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| Many community representatives were in attendance - in the shade. |
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| Many others finding shade wherever possible! |
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| Stoney Creek Baptist Church supports the Drakes. Here Adam is giving a brief speech during the ceremony. |
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| Leaving the dedication, we had extra passengers join us on the way back to the hospital compound. We ran out of seats inside so we had some up on the roof rack |
On the way back south to our home, we spent some time with the Drake and Farver families at a secluded spot way back in the hills. The Kpossoli River winds through the hills and drops about 60' to continue it's way. There are several pools and small cascades that we were able to enjoy playing around in. What great scenery, hidden from so many people. We were glad to be shown the way to this gem of a spot!
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| The main falls |
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| Faith and Christine taking in the view from near the edge. |
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| A couple of the smaller cascades we could wade through. |
A few other photos of the sights and scenery in the northern part of Togo...
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| See, crazy overloaded vehicles are not just where we are in the south! |
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| A couple of canoes tucked in along the edge of the flooded Oti River |
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| Cattle Egrets heading for a safe spot to wait out the storm that was closing in. Logan and I were on a moto ride with Dr. John and we just barely got home before the worst of the storm hit the area. We got wet, not soaked. |
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| Cows. Just standing in the middle of the road, not a care in the world, and definitely not in a rush to move out of the way! |
After Dinner Surgery
(Note: For my sister - no gory stuff shown. You can keep reading and looking at the pictures.)
Normally Christine gets called to go to the hospital. That's where she can be used much better than I can. However, one night we had a couple of the visiting medical people over for dinner. As we were finishing up dinner, the OB doctor got called about a patient that might need a C-section. I asked if I could come along since there wasn't anything else happening. She was kind and said that was no problem.
How cool to see the team doing what they're supposed to, providing excellent care to the local people. I'd never get to attend anything like this back home, so I enjoy the opportunity whenever it arises!
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| Before everything started, a photo with Ephrem. |
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| Baby is out, now time to close things up. |
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| The baby. Happy to hear that first cry! |
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| A cute, healthy baby girl! |
The Leftovers...
Here are some photos that we don't have big stories for. We just want to share them with you, as they represent some of what living here is like.
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| A valley Logan and I found on a moto ride. What a view! |
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| This waterfall is also providing some hydro-electricity to the local community. |
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| A green mamba that we killed in our yard. This one was 5'11" long. |
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| Avery, in true MK Style, shows off the snake. |
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| That time of year again here, as the rains give way to the dry season. Lots of leaves to rake, but most of ours will be burned. |
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| A young girl who came in seizing due to cerebral malaria. Christine and Kekeli worked for hours to stabilize her. Two days later she was well enough to be discharged home. |
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| This mama was nearly comatose when Christine got called. She was dying, hardly breathing and had very low blood pressure. Over the next few days she improved with the use of non-invasive ventilation and later, just CPAP. She returned home with her own CPAP machine to use. A big thank-you to friends who donated CPAP machines to our hospital! |
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| When your monkey is just so tired... |
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| Helping the guest house ladies clean up after our Canadian Thanksgiving potluck dinner. |
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