Liz Ortiz

It becomes strangely quiet. The dark clouds roll in. The wind begins to wrestle. The leaves stir. There’s a rumble of thunder. And then…rain. Rain like it has never rained before! The rain hits the tin roof so hard that I can barely hear myself think. But then as quickly as the rain came, it was gone. Back in the states, I looked at rain as more of an inconvenience than anything else, but I’ve learned to praise God for the rain here. It had been two months since the last rain

“I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back! Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back!” Today was a day of celebration. 16 people were coming forward to get baptized. There was clapping. There was dancing. There was rejoicing as the men and women formed a line to the baptistery. The church’s walls were bursting with song as the Togolese sang in their native tongue. Although I don’t know the language, I recognized the tune. It was to the song, “I have

December is usually a busy month in the States, with lots of holiday celebrating. Togo is no exception, and this month has been filled with celebrating the birth of Christ. The last two years the woman who was living in the house that I live in now hosted a Christmas Day brunch. Shortly after I arrived, I was asked if I would be willing to host, since it had become something of a tradition. When I said yes, little did I know what I had signed up for. On Christmas Day, I had n