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Philippines Relief Information... Brother Danao tells us the immediate needs have been taken care of and while it may be that more help is needed at some point, for the moment things are well. The Filipino brethren are amazingly resilient and resourceful. This undoubtedly contributed to the short duration of this terrible situation. They will be a long time returning to normal but at least they are good right now. Much thanks, and God bless everyone who contributed.
From Around the World ... We are pleased this month to begin a new column designed to inform and engage your interest and participation in mission work. In 1952, faithful congregations of the churches of Christ began a fledgling work in Africa, in the country of Malawi. From that small beginning, there are now thousands of churches around the world in at least 27 countries! The Lord has blessed us richly in this effort, and for 55 years every 4 days (on average) the New Testament pattern of work and worship has been established in a new place. This tremendous work consumes a lot of money and manpower, and we need your help. The work highlighted this month is a relatively new one in Togo, West Africa. The Harrisonville, Missouri congregation has shouldered this work and over the last four years has spent about $400,000. This work is a successful, viable one that has spread to neighboring countries. Please consider the following article and contribute directly to this wonderful work if you possibly can.
The Church in Togo, West Africa The truth has been preached on the continent of Africa for well over 50 years. Long established works have been in place and supported by U.S. congregations in eastern Africa--in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and more recently in Zambia and Mozambique. The work in West Africa is newer, relatively speaking. Today West African congregations meet in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Mali. All of these are good works that you will be reading about in future columns. This article focuses specifically on the church in Togo, West Africa. The work in Togo began in 2001 as an outgrowth of the work in neighboring Ghana. Four congregations were established in Togo at that time by two native preachers from Ghana working with Brother Joe Norton. Since then the work has quickly grown to over 40 congregations located almost entirely in the southern third of this very small country. As a direct result of the work in Togo, congregations have already been started in Benin to the east, and from there north to the Saharan country of Mali. Souls have been converted in Togo from Voodoo and other forms of idolatry, Pentecostalism and other denominations, and from the cups/classes churches of Christ. Even idolatrous Priests have been converted. They burn their idols publicly so that all will know. To God be all the glory! The brethren are sincere in their belief in the Lord, many having proven it time and again. The country of Togo has been ruled by dictatorship for almost 50 years. Two years ago the death of the president of the country (who had gained leadership by military coup in the 1960’s) was marked by violence throughout the nation. During the transition of leadership to his son at least two of our brethren were pulled from their homes and murdered by government vigilantes. Others of our brethren fled to the nation of Benin to avoid the conflict. At the Lebanon meeting (July 2007) you were told of another recent situation where a brother and sister were robbed, beaten, and violated severely, and our sister lost her unborn child. Days later we heard that this sister died from her injuries. This is just a taste of the difficulties brethren face in Togo every day. Some have been threatened and beaten for their Christian beliefs; others have had their properties destroyed and have been offered bribes to leave the faith. Yet in the face of all of this, the word continues to be preached and the church continues to grow. Some here have said “we are not persecuted physically as the apostles were.” They are wrong – “we” are persecuted today, in places outside of the U.S. The congregation at Harrisonville has been supporting this work since 2002. We maintain communication with the native preachers and make visits every 9 to 12 months. During our last visit in January 2007 we held a study with 65 preachers and leaders of local congregations and worshipped with 14 congregations. We focus a portion of our teaching and training on the need for the Togolese congregations to be as financially independent as possible. Although the congregations are becoming more independent from year to year, they are still in need of some financial support from other places. The congregation at Harrisonville is searching for congregations who will assist us in carrying this work into the future. Can your congregation help by supporting at least one or two preachers? In addition, other items requiring support include the cost of local radio programs (very important to spreading the gospel in Togo), worship facilities, benches, songbooks, bibles, and other written materials. Can you send a one-time amount in support of one of these items? Please feel free to contact any of us for additional information regarding the work, where to send support, how support is transmitted, etc. Each of us has traveled to Togo and seen the results of the work first hand. Additional information may also be found at the congregation’s website, www.harrisonvillecofc.org. Please consider this work as part of the evangelism your congregation will support in the future.
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