New Country, New Team!

Hello Friends and Family!

I can’t believe I’m already half way done my trip! It does not feel like I have been here for almost 4 weeks – time is going so fast!

I wanted to give an update on my time here so far…I flew by myself so it was good to see some familiar faces at the Togo Airport when I arrived. I met another Canadian DRIME member and some DRIME Benin members (who I know from my past visits there) who were already here planting the DRIME Togo base. One of my suitcases was lost somewhere between Brussels and Togo but it arrived a week later with everything in it. I didn’t have a towel for that week :)…but that was the only essential that was missing. 

Soon after arriving, I was able to meet the new DRIME Togo leaders! Like I mentioned above, there were already a couple people here to start the base plant. They had already done a lot of promotion and sharing about DRIME, and they had held interviews and chosen leaders for the new team. I joined them for the last couple of months of the base plant to help train these new leaders and start the first DRIME Togo team! We meet with our leaders 2-3 times a week for DRIME training in dramas, evangelism, leadership, and everything else they need to know on how to lead a team. Also over the last 2 weeks, we have been accepting applications from people who want to be members and having interviews with them. Next weekend (Aug 17-19) will be the official start of the first DRIME Togo team! We will have a couple days of training and then go out to do ministry on the Sunday evening. 

I have LOVED getting to know these new leaders! Their passion for God and the ministry is so inspiring! It has been very exciting to see them share the vision of the ministry with others and interact with people who are interested in membership. That is one of my favorite parts of a base plant – seeing the new leaders really catch the vision and pass it on! And these leaders love to have fun! I can’t even count how many games of Dutch Blitz and Uno we have played, and how many times our sides have hurt from laughing so hard. They are not just our new leaders – they are friends and it is a pleasure to get to know them more and more! 

I have also loved spending time with my Benin friends who are here planting the base with me. It is amazing to think that just 2 years ago I was teaching them how to lead a DRIME team, and now they are teaching what they have learned to other leaders. It’s such a perfect picture of the vision of DRIME to see all our bases multiplying around the world. Here is a link to a video that explains this story in more detail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7O7-E8Xmvc

Here are a few of my current prayer requests:

·         Health – all of us base planters have been sick in the last week. A couple of us are feeling better but there are still lingering symptoms. Please pray for complete healing and energy for these busy last 2 weeks of the base plant.

·         The Start of the Team – Please pray for committed and passionate members, and that the first weekend of training would go smoothly and be successful in equipping and inspiring the new members!

·         My Translating Ability – With team members that speak two different languages, I am doing a lot of translating and sometimes the French doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as I would like it to. Pray that this would improve and that communication between all of us would continue to go well. 

Thank you for praying for me!