Scotto's 5th Birthday

Scotto's 5th Birthday
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Danielle the Co-pilot

Danielle the Co-pilot
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Our adventure to Togo started with the captain in the flight deck and me on the wing. Shelley was more studious than me; She read her book all the way but I had to sleep a little.

I learned a lot about the workings of the instruments in the cockpit. It was very interesting. The pilots even answered all my questions.

I really liked wearing the headset!!!

Danielle the Co-pilot

Danielle the Co-pilot
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Me in Togo

Me in Togo
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

I like these flowers. They're called Frangipanies, right?

They smell great. Kinda like Plumeria

Togo Streets

Togo Streets
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is new culture that I have been experiencing these three weeks. We went to the beach today and wore ourselves out. It was technically a "singles beach outing" which really only means lots of fun! We played football, volleyball, threw the frisbees and had tons of fun wave-jumping. The waves here are huge!!

We also had some time on these streets shopping and experiencing the cultures. I bought some gifts for my friends in Niger and maybe even some for those back home... We'll see in September.

Togo

No picture to spice up this blog, I apologize. I am in Togo, a country 18 hours away from my home along dusty bumpy road that is sometimes filled with potholes. We were blessed to come on a chartered, six seater plane on a trip that took just over three hours. Eight of my fellow missionaries and I are attending two seminary courses as part of the MATSIL program at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

It has been challenging! Imagine it! 45 hours of class crammed into 5 intense days. Our first class was Survey of the New Testament. I learned so much and took so many notes! I am excited to reread them and internalize all that we covered. 

A highlight of last week was the moto-taxi ride that we took to the bakery to buy croissants and other goodies.  I was with two of my friends in a white person parade of motos. It was so much fun though. Togo is very different from Niger. The cultures are completely different, the languages are miles apart and the climate is amazing. 

It has rained three times since we have been here!!!

This week our class is Biblical Hermeneutics, or interpretation of the Bible. We are studying rules of Biblical interpretation and then how to put it into practice. I am excited for the chance to exercise some of the skills I learned last week as well as new material. 

The highlight of this week has been an unfortunate incident with the projector. It started when my friend offered to help and I snidely remarked that I had it under control. Already feeling slightly like a prideful jerk I apologized, thanked him for the offer and went to work setting up the movie. We plugged in all the cords and I handed the power cord to someone to plug in. The projector did not light up so I started to check it but everyone said it was just warming up. Knowing that that was the case, I joked with my friend Carrie as we waited.

Then, without warning smoke filled the room! The projector was fried. Everyone was surprised, but we immediately knew that the 110 v projector was sizzled to oblivion by the 220 v electricity here. I, being the one setting it up felt horrible because this projector cost over $9,000 when they purchased it. Luckily for me, the projector was 12 years old and basically a dinosaur. They were actually surprised that it was working at all. My supervisor was very understanding. He was tempted to come in an ream me out but held back the urge to cause me tears. 

So, as you can see we have been busy and our weeks have been filled with fun events. I am enjoying getting to know some of my coworkers better as we delve into God's word.

Please pray that I would be diligent in my work and that I would grow in knowledge "to be prepared for every good work"

Thanks guys! I'd love to hear from you!

Kiro and Ketcho

Kiro and Ketcho
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

These are my favorite boys in Konni! They, along with their parents and baby brother have a house built in the yard. Altine, the father, is my nightguard and helps out with pretty much everything else during the day. His wife, Aicha, is one of my best friends. They are such a great family. While I was back in the states I could not help but buy them some cute matching clothes. Thanks Walmart for making these great outfits! Aren't my babies super cute?!?! Their favorite game to play with me is Jenga, but we don't play it right :) We simply use the wooden pieces as blocks and the boys build to their heart's content. It is so fun to watch them be extremely creative; something they do not get to do often enough. Sometimes even their parents get in on the fun!

4th of July

4th of July
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

You know, not many pictures say "Happy 4th of July" better than this one. She is my friend here, one of our missionary kids in Niger. We had some great burgers and potluck potato salad, water games, ice cream cake (Thanks Theresa) and lots of fun fellowship. It was great to be with my missionary family again!