Dear Friends,
“O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” Isaiah 25:1
Our faithful God did it again. He brought us through last year, 2023, by His grace. GLORY TO HIS NAME!!
We are in the dry season called Harmattan. Harmattan is a wind that blows in from the Sahara Desert and brings all kinds of dust and sand. It gets cold during the night, but it is still hot during the day.
Last month was another busy one in the ministry.
From December 15th – 17th, we were in Lome, the capital city, with all of the pastors and some of their wives. We had time together, especially around the Word of God, and we had prayer time. We shared the blessings and the struggles we had in each field. Paul taught and we debated some questions.
When we came back from Lome, we had Christmas with some of the school kids and church children. It was a time of questions, celebration, and distribution of some gifts. The children loved it when we had “Father Christmas” with us. This was the first time some of the children saw this.
Eight people went through the baptismal class and seven were baptized on December 24th. It was a wonderful day in the life of the church, Temple Shalom.
We had two nights of open evangelistic campaigns on December 27th and 28th. During the day, Timothy’s team went to the village for door-to-door evangelisms and gave out tracts and invited people to the evening events.
In the morning on the 27th, around 10 AM to 12 PM, Timothy’s team, my wife, Nicole, and some church members of Temple Shalom went to one of the hospitals and gave some soaps and cloves to the newborn babies. The mothers were so happy to receive these gifts. The soaps and cloves were donated by members of Temple Shalom. The director of the hospital was so glad and wrote a nice thank you letter to the church. He asked us to include some food items in the gifts next time because some mothers and children in the hospital could not get anything to eat while they were hospitalized.
Our orphans are doing well. As usual, they received their monthly packages and this time, the packages were for the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Four of the orphans are living with us in our home. Two of the orphans were among those baptized on the 24th.
The widows were also not forgotten at Temple Shalom.
Please, continue praying for more souls to come to the personal knowledge of our Lord and Savior, for spiritual growth for the believers, and for safety on the road.
The Lord provided for the land and foundation for some of the churches when we were in the States last time. So please, pray for the provision for the construction of concrete buildings for two churches and foundations for the other two. And pray for the continuation and the finishing of the main church building for Temple Shalom.
We are praying and planning to visit the States this year 2024 if the Lord permits. Please, pray for all the preparations regarding this visit. We will be happy to share in small groups, too, if we are invited.
We celebrate God’s faithfulness and His work of redemption around the world, especially in Togo, and we are filled with gratitude for you. Thank you for your prayers and support through the years and in 2023.
May the Lord bless you in the New Year and surround you and your loved ones with His presence as you help proclaim His Name and make His mighty deeds known among the nations.
WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!
In the Name of the King of Kings,
Pastor Paul and Nicole Assignon