Togo is located east of Ghana and west of Benin in western Africa

Togo is located east of Ghana and west of Benin in western Africa
clipart provided by: www.worldatlas.com

Sunday, January 26, 2014

First of Many Goodbyes

While I was laying in bed with a 100 degree fever tonight, I decided to start a blog of our transition to Togo.  I was going to wait until we were in Togo to start blogging, but while I was thinking about this morning and saying goodbye to our church family in Milwaukee, I decided our transition has already begun, so shall the blog.  Disclosure:  I’m not a writer, but I want to share what moving to and living in Africa is like!  If anyone would like to volunteer to be my editor, we can work out the details!

Brief back story-
Our journey began this past summer, when it was suggested that we apply to International Missions.  After praying and discussing it, we decided to apply.  We didn’t know what to expect, but we were open to the idea of moving overseas to be missionaries.  So the process began with lots of paperwork, evaluations, and interviews.  We had heard they had us slated for Dapaong, Togo in Africa.  Wow!  Never would have guessed that one.  Dapaong is 10 degrees north of the equator.  My first thought, “I’m going to burn!”  Right before Thanksgiving, Micah received the official call to be a theological educator at the seminary in Dapaong, Togo.  Micah decided to wait until after Christmas to make the decision, “To go” or not “to go”.  Micah announced at Hope Lutheran, on December 29, that we would be accepting the call “to go” to Togo.  Our last Sunday at Hope Lutheran Church was today, January 26.  Micah will be working through the end of the month at Hope Lutheran and will then begin with International Missions on Feb 1.  We will be going to orientation in St. Louis the first 2 weeks of February.  After orientation, the raising of funds will commence.  We’ll be in Milwaukee until our house sells and that’s all we know until after orientation.  

Micah talking about Togo during the farewell reception.  Sporting his African shirt he was given years ago.

Today was a sad day.  I didn’t really have a chance to think about it much, while taking care of two munchkins.  When we were saying goodbye to everyone, I made the comment to Sam, “You need to be patient and wait before getting a sweet treat today.  We are saying goodbye to everyone, b/c we won’t be coming back to Hope again.”  I don’t think Sam comprehended what I said to him, but that’s when it hit me that we wouldn’t be coming back.  I almost broke down.  I made it through, but wow, to think we wouldn’t be going back to Hope again was so strange.  It’s real, we are really leaving.  We may not be moving tomorrow, but our everyday life will be completely different.  

Samuel with his Sunday School friends at Hope Lutheran.  Sporting his African shirt he was given a year ago.

We didn’t just go to church on Sunday.  We also went to Food Pantry on Thursdays (so Sam could help pass out and collect tickets, of course) and we’d randomly walk or drive to church through out the week to work in the clothing bank or help Dadio with this or that.  We’d made Hope our home.  Samuel loved going over to church.  He ran around like it was his home.  He’s only 3, but he knows exactly how to get to church, 8 blocks away, via walking (pushing Liza in the stroller all by himself), driving or even sledding.  He loved being the acolyte (with help of course) and saying “Good Morning” to everyone while handing out bulletins and hymnals for service.  

Sam’s gone from giving high fives as a baby to shaking members’ hands and saying hello to them by name.  It seems he’s always known everyone by name, before he could even talk.  I could ask him to give so and so a high five and he’d walk up to them and give them a high five.  It’s hard to imagine, we may never see some of our Hope family this side of heaven again.  We have been blessed to be apart of their lives and they a huge part of ours.  We will truly miss our family here in Milwaukee.  

After Bethlehem closed this past summer, Sam would, for a month or two, randomly say to himself and us, “Bethlehem Lutheran Church is closed, we go to Hope Lutheran Church now.”  I can’t imagine what his little mind is going to think when he starts to realize we’re no longer going to Hope Lutheran Church.

As hard as it is to say goodbye to what we’ve come accustomed to and love, we are looking forward to serving our Lord in Dapaong, Togo.  So starts a new chapter in our lives.