Yesterday, as it was Easter Sunday, the team was invited to attend, not only an Easter service, but a baptismal service for three children. The church was large to accommodate a choirs of 80, a brass band and and djembe drums of 30 and about 700 people in the congregation. We were so warmly welcomed and the fact that the service was held in Ewe (pronounced, Evey - the local African dialect) was an added bonus. BUT - the music was what made it SO spectacular. The African rhythms for the hymns, choir solos and the procession that led to the giving of the collection, had everyone, including us, "dancing in the aisles". So wonderful to be accepted as a part of the Togolese culture...
Afterwards we went down to the Atlantic Ocean; Ghana to the west, us in Togo in the middle and Benin to the east. We had thunderous breakers on the beach and shrieks of laughter as we got soaked with the incoming waves. We then went back up to the main road and saw a bicycle race sponsored by the local beer company, Castel. 10 ks. per lap and 10 laps for the course. It was hot ( "It's always hot in Africa!") and to see these young men working so hard was exhausting!
National Independence Day is coming and all of downtown Lome is preparing for this very important day. The republic of Togo was formed in 1960 when they gained independence from France. A special treat for us was to be invited into the House of Parliament and were able to see the history of Togo through displays of photos, artifacts, costumes and jewelry. We finished up by actually sitting where President Faure Gnassingbe will be sitting at the celebrations!
Bon Soirée, Team Togo
Post your comments here:
