Togo Bethel
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2009
1
7
9
Trip End
Mar 31, 2009
Lome, Togo
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The well designed Togo bethel, co-ordinates the distribution of spiritual food to two country's and through the HLC maintains Togo's best equipped theater for bloodless surgery. Expertly trained Doctor's from Europe who are also brother's, often volunteer there skills to assist many of the procedure's. There where 138 operations this past year and 135 the year before. All carried out in the locally famous hospital of Br. Aseimpa
Literature order's are taken from dozens of congregations in this country and Burkinafaso to the north. Sent electronically to France. There the Bethel requests material from several different country's;
Cd's and Dvd's are produced in and sent from the U.S,
Km's , booklets and magazines are printed in either Britain, Germany or Finland. Arriving at France the orders are re-assembled into one container and sent by ship to the port of Lomé. From the port to bethel , where local orders are filled and two brothers begin there 2 day drive for Burkinafaso. Shipments arrive once a month.
30 bethelites serve here, with most living in ''Annex" house's nearby. Bethel life here is similar to that back home, morning worship,daily duties, periodic Hepatitis vaccination, laundry sorting, ect.
A south-african security expert suggested a dog as the best prevention and alarm to the bethelite's. So the trusty guard Chica roams freely on the grounds at night.
After the tour i had the honor of sharing lunch with the bethel family. It was a dish from Ivory Coast, made with cous-cous, a really tasty tomato sauce, sliced onion and green pepper's. To my home food deprived pallet and psyche it resembled a do-it-yourself pizza. Unfortunately the main portion passed around to me was fried fish which i gratefully skipped. Here, fish day is almost everyday.
Now for fresh, juicy pineapple. The kind served for dessert was different then anything i have tasted in Canada. It had a much lighter colored flesh, a pearlesque beige almost. It had far less acid per-slice , allowing for a real enjoyment of the flavor with no risk of getting a tongue blister. I asked if there was anymore left and the cook surprised us with a plateful, which the table shared with gusto.
Post-lunch my friend and i chatted with a very comical and energetic brother who i later learned is my cousin.
Leaving Togo bethel i feel very blessed to be part of an organization that goes far beyond any-other to spiritually Feed and physically Care for its member's. Knowing about the effort undertaken for just this tiny part of west Africa, I strugle to imagine what is needed for the rest of world. It reminded me of how Joseph sent grains and cereals without charge to those far away from him in Ca'naan. Donations given in Canada are far reaching and I really want to give more when i go back to work.
