Cultural Experience

Another great day in Togo. The weather was a little cooler today with a nice light breeze.

Our first stop this morning was a visit to what is called the slave house. It was a clandestine building hidden behind a grove of trees where slaves were held, sold and then taken on a ship to another other parts of the world. It is a building where where the traders stayed as they bargained for the slaves. Under the wooden plank floor of this house was where the slaves stayed. It was about four feet deep so everyone had to kneel, squat or sit. There were typically about 150 men and women crowded into this area. They had to crawl into this space through a two foot hole and they stayed in there for up to 3 weeks. They were fed through an opening in the wood floor. There of course were no toilet or bathing facilities. We were able to go into this area under the house to get a sense of what the slaves might have felt. We were only one of 10 people in that hole and we were in there maybe 5 minutes, we were so ready to be out of there. It was a truly humbling experience.

We then visited a well that was on the way to where the slaves boarded their ship. The slaves were washed with water that was supposed to make them forget their past life to make them ready for what was ahead. A lot of slaves died in that hole, on the walk to the ship or on the ship as they sailed to their new life. This particular house was in operation for maybe fifty years in the mid 1800's. This was an experience we won't soon forget.

Next we visited the site of the new guest house that is under construction that the missionary's will use for future short term teams. It is a work in progress and they are hoping to complete it by the end of 2023.

We got to visit their vocational center where Mike and Jerry have been helping out their mechanic to repair some equipment. The were able to get a generator up and running today.

The ladies were able to participate in the missionary ladies Monday afternoon team meeting and enjoyed popcorn and smoothies. After that we had some wonderful time of fellowship with 4 of the women we have been working with and our team. We spent several hours sharing and praying, it was a very special time for us all.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting the local market, doing a prayer walk through on of the villages most heavily influenced by Voodoo, and planting some trees. Thanks for all the prayers and please continue those so we can finish strong.

~Pam