February 2015

January began with our Togo Palms' pastor's conference. This year our keynote speaker was Pastor Tom Messer, the lead pastor of our sending church in Florida. The Lord used him in a great way to teach about doing ministry in light of the gospel. This has become a highlight of each year for the pastors that are scattered throughout Togo.

  

For the entire past year, we have been praying that God would give  us clarity as to where we need to plant the next church.We have identified the community and are in the process of learning about the community.  It is about 3 miles from the first Aneho church plant, yet very needed since most walk or ride a bike to church. Will you pray with us that God gives us great direction and insight. In the coming weeks, we will do surveys in the community to get a better grasp of the growth before we starting looking for land. 

  

On the Tuesday before Christmas I was in a mechanic's shop and struck up a conversation that went for just shy of two hours. At the end of the conversation the gentleman bowed his head and trusted Jesus as his Savior. He thanked me repeatedly before we parted ways. The next time I saw Emmanual on the side of the road, he hugged me like a long lost brother. 

  

On Christmas eve I had the opportunity to speak in a church in northern Togo. After the service I engaged in a conversation about the gospel with a college student from the far north.  I told Ismael that he could go home and make a decision before he went to sleep, but he wanted to accept this perfect gift before he walked home.  He told the missionary up north that his whole life has changed in the past few weeks.

 Upon arrival back home to the south I sat down with a carpenter who is very well connected in the community. It was the first time in five years that I have been able to share the gospel with him. At the end of the conversation he told me that he wanted to continue talking about the things of God. 

  

The gospel still radically transforms lives. It is still the greatest story ever told. We must continue to share life every time that we have an opportunity. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share the light in such a spiritually dark place. 

  

Thank you for your prayers and continued support.

  

November 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

The Togo Palms Institute semester will be coming to a close in a few weeks. Our first student will be preaching his first sermon in New Life Church next week. This is the church where he was saved, and discipled during the past four years . This is truly a testimony of the gospel’s work in his life. 

Victor, a young man that trusted Christ because of the basketball outreach, has been helping me to disciple two young men, Loui and Davi. Loui is the son of the Muslim couple that lives down the road from us. He is starting to get some resistance and pressure from his family about his faith in Jesus. Please pray for him that he stays bold and courageous in his faith. Davi is a young man who recently trusted Christ as well.  After two hours of discipleship time together, Davi told me that he wanted to keep learning about the Bible for the rest of the day. He has shared the gospel with both of his parents in the past few weeks and is praying for their salvation.

I have been to Kara twice in the last month to work with my dad on a tractor that has had some fuel (mechanical) issues. Now that it is up and running, we will move the 52 hp Massey Fergusen tractor from northern Togo next week. It will be a great help for the construction projects here, in the south.

A grandmother in the church in Aneho, Dede, stood up and thanked the Lord publicly for answering her prayers for her grandson, Gerrard. Gerrard was walking across his courtyard about 18 months ago and fell to the ground paralyzed. He could not walk for 18 months. She prayed fervently and this week was the first time that he came to church by his own strength. One of the core beliefs of the church is to have audacious faith in our omnipotent God. This young boy has seen God’s healing in his life. Please continue to pray for Dede and Gerrard as the grow in their walk with the Lord, and also for the other family members that they might come to have a relationship with Christ through this testimony.

We thank you for allowing us the privilege to share the greatest story ever told with the Togolese people. 

JJ, Melissa, Mia, and Aubrey Alderman

March 2013

I was greeted by two great hugs from Melissa and Mia in the Wichita airport. We had been separated for ninety days while Melissa helped her mom recover from open heart surgery. It was great to be back together again.

After having spent a week together in Kansas, I will be flying out tomorrow to Jacksonville, FL. I will spend most of this week buying more supplies for the ministry in Togo.

On Wednesday night, I will get to spend some time with a youth group from our home church. They will bring a missions trip over in late June of this year. One of the highlights of their trip will be a youth event at Eglise Nouvelle Vie in Aneho. This will be a 2013 highlight for the youth group in Togo.

This weekend I will head down to Orlando to pick up a boat motor. Last year, a very generous church bought us a 14 ft Jon boat. Just recently, a gentleman in Orlando helped me buy a 25 HP outboard to run on the Jon boat. It will be a great help to travel from the south to the north side of Lake Togo.

I will be headed to Macon, GA the week of March 18th in order to help pack a container. A new missionary couple will be moving to the northern part of Togo in April. I will help load the container for about two days.

On my drive home, I look forward to getting together with another missionary who is currently raising support to come to Togo full-time. I am looking forward to a great conversation to talk about vision and ministry in Togo.

I will drive back to Kansas in about two weeks, in time to welcome our second daughter into our family. This is a picture of our Mia, while out to lunch. She is 10 months old. We feel so blessed with the family has given us!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support! 

Togo Palms Institute

This morning we had the privilege of launching Togo Palms Institute. Jonas (a Togolese pastor) and I are the main teachers. Ben, our first student, graduated from high school last year. He believes that God would have him to be a pastor and was looking to be trained. He was reached through Eglise Nouvelle Vie in Aneho and has been faithful over the past 3 years. He regularly translates for the Sunday morning service and teaches a discipleship class on Sunday afternoons.

We are expecting a few more students in the near future. A few prospective students are in high school and will enroll in the institute as soon as they finish.

The training will take three years to complete. Each summer, the students will have hands on training in the youth camp. By the end of their studies, each student should be ready to help plant a church in the surrounding area. Our goal is to see 25 churches planted in the southeastern part of Togo.

Institute Course Guide

French 1

OT Survey

Marriage and family

Missions/Evangelism

French 2

NT Survey

Hermeneutics

Leadership 1

French 3

Doctrines 1

Discipleship

Poetic Books

Leadership 2

English 1

Homeletics

Doctrines 2

Counseling

English 2

Church Governance 1

Finances

OT Prophets

Church Governance 2

Pastoral Epistles

Acts

Life of Christ/Gospels

Fast Tracks

Survey of Revelations

Christian Disciplines

Cults/Other Religions

Genesis/Pentateuch

Church History

Computer

Hebrews

And then there were two....

Melissa and I found out that we are having another little girl. Mia is going to have her very own best friend. They are going to be one year apart and this little one will be born in April of 2013. We are planning to have her in Kansas, where Melissa’s parents live. I know that I made jokes about Mia changing my life, but this will be at a whole nother level. We are both very excited.

Amelia Capri Alderman

Amelia "Mia" Capri came into our lives on Friday evening, April 27th. I tell everyone that she is a great  Togolese, because she was born on Togo's independence day. We waited in the Kansas for Mia's six week vaccinations, per doctor's orders, before returning to Togo. 

The flight home was uneventful, in a very good way. It took us twenty-six hours from start to finish. We were greeted at home with a warm welcome from the church family. They brought gifts which included two stuffed animals, disposable diapers, and a loaf of bread. It was extremely kind and generous.

Our first few days back in Togo have been excellent. Mia has done very well in her new home. It won’t be long until she is making all kinds of new friends.

Troare the Muslim Night Guard

My night guard named Troare and I have had a few really good conversations about God for the last month. I could tell that he has been counting the cost of become a Christian for the last two weeks or so.

When he arrived at work earlier this week, he told me that he had 5 questions for me.

1.What is faith and how can I have it?

2.Why did Solomon have so much wisdom?

3. How did Saul become Paul?

4. Can I be baptized (if I convert from Islam)?

5. How can I leave Islam to become a Christian?

It was a true privilege to explain to him the grace that God has given in the free gift of salvation. He bowed his head in my gazebo and asked Jesus to save him.

Over the last few days we have had short conversations each evening. Here are a few comments he has made to me.

1. "My dad mislead me in Islam, but I forgive him."

2. "I notice so much about faith and I want more of it."

3. "I wake up every day and have a desire to talk to God."

4. "I have started thanking God for my food before every meal and praying for those that do not have anything to eat today. I know God can provide for them."

5. "I want my whole family to become Christians"

He is headed to church with me in the morning. It will be the first time that he has ever attended church in his life. Please be in prayer for the salvation of his family. Thanks for all that have had a part in his life.