A team of four from Impact LA went to Lome, Togo for a short term mission trip from 10/28 – 11/7.
Our Amazing Team Members
Jack – Our great leader at all time!
Billy – CEO/ ATM/ big brother
Jenny – CFO/ iphone 11 professional photographer
Sherry – Cheerleader (!)
Our Fabulous Local Leaders
Pastor Justin
Pastor Mawudigun
Siitso – our translator (English to Ewé)
The Togo Style of Worship
is a really stress releasing process to me where I can shout very loud and make joyful noises to heaven wholeheartedly! It is really really loud and I think I did a wonderful job blending in.
身為一個算是有點壓抑的人來說，多哥的歌舞敬拜風格實在是良藥！雖然處於一陣混亂中，我跳了什麼也不會有人太在意，不過也許我不協調的手舞足道，能博您一笑也不錯。
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The Song of “We le do gi”
7 years ago, a team from River of Life Church and some of our current Impact LA members went to Togo and recorded a bunch of local worship songs. After editing and polishing, they produced a “Love Togo” album that fundraised good amount of money for kick starting an internet cafe which can sustain as a self-supportive local business. And it has now become a career training center that raises up young people to have professional skills to work. A significant song from the album – We le do gi song (Your mighty hand is working) was a very engaging song that was sung in Ewé. Therefore, our team decided to add this song to our evening seminar in the morning on the same day which was just a couple hours apart (!) If you know me a little bit, you might know that I struggle with perfectionism just a little bit. And it is a little hard for me to learn something right on the spot without a noticeable timeline of practice. However, even without having enough practice, when I was on the stage leading worship, I learned right away that it’s really not about how good I can sing or pronounce. I realized Holy Spirit was with me touching hearts through the melody and lyrics.
The Teamwork
As what I expected, my sharing for the evening seminar was really really short. I ended my sharing with more than an hour to be filled, so the team decided to start a spontaneous Q&A section. It’s very exciting to see that Billy and especially Jenny voluntarily stepped out to add-on what’s on their hearts after I finished answering what I have. And I can just easily sneak away.. That’s the best part of teamwork!
The Hope
其實去到這些物資比較缺乏的國家，我心裡總是時不時帶有那麼一絲的憂慮。想到自己幾天後，就會回到平時優渥的生活環境，然而，我這幾天的拜訪，到底帶給他們多少的幫助或改變呢？
我耳邊正進行著一些從珍妮、比哥和當地牧者閒聊中所穿插的多哥基本生活現況。由於不確定自己對這個現實的接受度會在哪裡，雪莉的耳朵會不自覺的魂遊一番，但是又因為放不下心，總會時不時的把耳朵抓回來認真聽一聽。就在這個矛盾的拉扯中，雪莉突然發現怎麼現場只剩下我和賈斯丁（！）我回過神來，大概看了他兩秒中，先給了個大微笑，化解一下尷尬。而接下來，他對我說的話，讓我對這裡有了新的想法。
Justin: Hey, did you remember what Jack described about Togo 7 years ago? Togo is growing. It’s good.
Sherry: (keep smiling) Yes, I agree!!!
I saw so much hope and joy in this person who’s sitting in front of me. And I quickly realized that this hope is taking over my worries and doubts. Therefore, I can stand firm in faith again.
並不是我再也沒有任何問題和困難需要解決和面對，只是，當我心裡再次有了盼望，我知道我為了什麼而站立、前進，然後拿下目標。
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Anmericano 