The Ward Family to Togo

Last summer we asked for donations for Bible curriculum for the Christian schools.  We received several boxes of new Bible flashcards for the teachers to use as visuals.  We laminated them all so they will last as long as possible in the heat, humidity, and harmattan dust winds of our West African home of Togo.




When the schools were started, Bea Ward and her team of teacher-trainers worked grade by grade, starting with 1st grade.  And because 1st grade was the first to receive the Bible curriculum, theirs is the most used and in need of replacement.  With the opening of new schools and the constant use of old curriculum we're seeing the need to ship more out on a container to Togo this Summer.

Are you interested in helping us purchase more Bible Curriculum for the Christian schools?
Please email us at andrewandmary@abwe.cc for the list of curriculum we need purchased or CLICK HERE to give to this project (please mark your gift for "Bible curriculum").

Seems like time has been running in fast forward since we started the big road trip at the end of February.   We visited individual partners and 7 partnering churches and reconnected with lots of extended family in Florida.  We also got to have some fun along the way (an aquarium, zoo, Wycliffe center, manatee watching, swamp boating, and even got to spend a day in the Magic Kingdom).  We'll call them field trips, since not much other schoolwork was accomplished while we were on the road.  :-)
Since we've been back in Chattanooga our time has been consumed by packing tubs to ship to Togo. We're sending supplies for the Christian schools, laptops for local pastors, homeschool materials, and other various vital life sustaining items, like battery operated fans and contact lens solution.

Our partner, Christy, plugs away working with the Christian schools. One day as she observed classes, she heard the question of the day in 8th grade bible class: What good works are needed to g…

We miss being in Togo. We’re glad to be Stateside for a while, but it’s so cold. Can it please get warmer? We’re happy to be headed to Florida for the month of March.








Our partner Christy Sopcisak has kept us updated on how the Christian schools are doing. We’re thankful for her endless energy and enthusiasm for the school ministry. This past Sunday we learned that the Kindergarten teacher at La Lumière was baptized. The church does not have a baptism pool so they use a little water hole about half a mile from the church. The church walked together to the site, there were 5 women baptized, including Victoire.
The Village of Light School for the Blind has done some repairs on their campus since we’ve been gone. They’ve put a new roof on the girls’ dorm, replaced broken window screens and are looking at making repairs in our home before we return. When we left, the floor was chipping up in places and Alethia (who was crawling at the time) was putting the chipped pieces in her mout…

Merry Christmas, dear friends!

Having spent the past 3 Christmases in Togo, we’re pleased to have already had one
snowy day in Tennessee. The kids were thrilled, of course, but Andrew was just glad that it wasn’t enough to make him get out and shovel us out like he was used to doing while we were in French school in Canada!

Since arriving in the States in October we’ve had a chance to settle into a mission house our sending church provided us. We’re so thankful for the warm welcome they’ve shown us.

Despite the look on the boys’ faces, they haven’t actually been strapped in the car for very many road trips. We participated in our sending church’s missions conference a few days after arriving. Just a walk across the parking lot. We’ve visited some family in Greenville, SC and a partner church about 2 hours away. We do have many long road trips kicking off at the end of January, though.

One of our goals while we’re Stateside is to meet our financial support requirements. We’re cur…

We partner with 15 schools across Togo so that children will be able to hear the gospel in their classes.  These joy filled, adorable kids are just a few of the over 3,000 students who attend the Bible Baptist schools each year.



Unfortunately, the school fees (although minimal) exclude the poorest families from sending their children to our schools, but the desire is there because they know their children would receive a good education in a good environment.


Many other families enroll their kids, but struggle to make the payments, but the schools do not have the heart to turn these children away.  For several of the schools, this results in the inability to regularly pay teacher salaries.  We've brainstormed about how to help these teachers, but we do not want to create dependency by paying salaries.  They are employed by their schools which are run by the churches who have a responsibility to support their teachers.


So, as a way to allow more needy families to send their childr…

Six months after we moved to Togo, La Lumière middle school moved into their newly constructed building.




The middle school teachers have shown spiritual growth over the past few years and are discipling their students.  Here's a link to a video of one of our middle school teachers sharing his testimony.
Now they’re ready to expand into their new high school building as well!  We are so thankful for the three CWE teams who came out over the last month to build the high school.

Please pray for the school board as they work to hire godly teachers and set school policy.   The 2017-'18 school year is scheduled to begin at the end of September, but because of strikes the 2016-'17 school year has been extended through July.  Please pray for the short summer we have been given, that it will be productive with the teacher seminars we have planned and that they can have a good start to their next school year. Especially for the high school as they start for the first time!
And just f…