The Ward Family

The past month has been a kind of blur. A couple of us took turns being laid up sick in bed. We started school hardcore, attended team meetings, witnessed a baptism and a wedding, and celebrated the completion of the Blind School kitchen which was rebuilt after the devastating fire in March.


Togolese schools started mid-September, so we've been visiting local schools and a few schools in Lome. Mary walked the Kindergarten teachers through their new Bible curriculum.  She even had a cute model demonstrate one lesson's activity.


Some of the Kindergarten class sizes are overwhelming. Can you imagine being responsible for a class of 57 three and four year olds? We sure do admire the teachers' commitment and good attitudes. Would you pray for them please?

Recently, I’ve seen several articles from famous theologians asking questions like, “What makes a good Biblical scholar?” Naturally, I’ve been anxiously waiting for a famous missionary to explain what makes a good missionary. But I realized that I might be waiting till Jesus returns. So I thought I’d take a stab at it myself. Of course, I’m certainly not a famous missionary. I’ve been blessed to work with dozens of missionaries and have known hundreds of missionaries in my short lifetime. I’ve been a member of a church that is heavily involved in missions and has sent out many missionaries. I’ve also been an MK, missionary, and field team leader in Togo, West Africa. I can’t claim to be a great missionary myself, but I know for sure that I’ve met and worked with some great ones. So—what makes a faithful missionary? 1. DEDICATION TO THE WORD OF GOD How can missionaries make disciples, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20), unless we are personally dedicated …

John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it's given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I've been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom's voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:27-30 CSB)
John was calling people repent and follow the coming Messiah. He recognized that he wasn’t sent to build up his own little kingdom or fiefdom. John beamed with pride and joy when people began following the true Messiah rather than himself. John’s humility is an example to us all, especially to pastors and missionaries proclaiming the good news of Christ’s kingdom. Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. (John 1:35-37 CSB) Whe…

I must confess that I don’t really like hospitals—even though I serve on a team that focuses on hospital ministry.
Although I’ve visited several church members and friends in hospitals, I never enjoy being there, and I don’t stay long. Maybe it’s the smell of disinfectant; I’m not sure. Hospitals just make me feel uncomfortable. But an interesting thing happens whenever a loved one gets sick or injured. I forget my distaste for hospitals, and I happily enter in to spend time with those I care about. I’ve also needed hospital care multiple times, and my aversion to them hasn’t prevented me from utilizing their services. What’s this got to do with missions?

Just recently, I was admitted to our local ABWE hospital in Tsiko, Togo, which is located about 40 minutes north my home in Kpalimé. I was very sick and needed IV fluids and some strong antibiotics. Having lived in West Africa for about six years as both an MK and an adult missionary, I’ve been treated numerous times and admitted at …

“Waiting with a good attitude”—that is the typical, bland definition that comes to my mind when I think of patience or read about it in Scripture.
It’s certainly an accurate idea, based on Romans 8:25: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience” (ESV). James 5:7 conveys a similar idea: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” But perhaps we equate patience with waiting a bit too much. Patience is more than that. When we define patience in this narrow way, we forget about the distinct fruit of the spirit also called patience. Patience, as a fruit of the spirit, also includes the idea of being gracious with others. In relating with our Christian brothers and sisters, we must ask if we are ever guilty of saying, “If she criticizes me one more time, I’m going to… (blank),” or, “If he looks down his n…

Today is June 9th. It was 5 years ago today that we arrived and started to call Togo "home."  Crazy how fast 5 years can go!

Looking back, there are places where we've seen God working.  We've participated in a lot of big ministry events during our time here, but we know that faithfulness in the everyday makes a stronger impact than big one-time events.  Because of the everyday:Roger and Koudjodji are taking more and more responsibility for the Christian school ministryTeachers slowly adapt the way they interact with their studentsChristian curriculum is developed and adoptedNew pastors receive training and plant churchesNational partners are integrated into the running of the Bible Institute programThe kids are happy to have ALMOST finished Math. We're looking forward to meeting some MK teachers who want come out in the Fall.  Praying that God will provide their needed financial support and other details that need to fall into place.  One family needs to finalize…