It's been a while, since our last update. To be honest, we have wanted to write since our return to the USA, but it's been a whirlwind in may ways. As you all have no doubt also experienced, COVID 19 has had a great effect on many aspects of life for us and our work. It has definitely had a drastic impact on international travel. As a result of this, from the outset of the pandemic, there has been a great deal of uncertainty about the future of the medical work in Togo, especially due to the challenges for short term volunteers to come. Initially, it was unclear whether or not flights would continue to depart from Togo. They stopped from some of the other countries in our area, but they never did stop completely from Togo. However, passengers were no longer allowed to come to Togo from the USA. As a result, our teammates were unable to return as planned in April. This lead us to consider delaying further our return to the USA. Ultimately we kept our return flights which were purchased preCOVID. Our teammates were able to return to Togo about 3 weeks later, which was a huge answer to prayer for us and our team. The border to Togo has now reopened to returning passengers with some modifications like COVID testing on arrival. Please continue to pray with us for our teammates, especially our surgical team pictured below.
Our last several weeks, ended up being very full with packing up our home and working until just before our departure. However, we had some special times saying goodbyes to many of our friends. It was interesting seeing this part of the culture, which is a bit different than our culture of origin. We first visited them in their homes, and then they would come visit us in our home up until the day we left. We are thankful for these relationships that God has allowed us to develop over the past 3 years.
Since arriving here in the states, we spent a couple of weeks quarantining in SC, before we moved into our home for the year. This was a nice time to rest and decompress a little. We had a few days to move into our home in Greenville, SC, and then we hit the road for variety of trips to see as many of our friends, family, and supporting churches as we could before school started. This was a special time which included meeting two new nephews. Natasha was able to be in VA for the birth of a 3rd nephew. After helping with some training at our mission's headquarters in PA, we headed to OH to reconnect with our sending church. We greatly enjoyed meeting the new staff and many new members of our home church, UBC, in Beavercreek, OH.
We have been extremely excited to catch up with so many over the past few months. We could probably even say we have been in a state of euphoria. However, with the arrival of a new school year with many changes due to COVID, I'm starting to wonder if we are going through a little reverse culture shock. It's hard to know if everyone is struggling to figure out what their kids are supposed to be doing while e-learning or if it's just us, but this has been a significant challenge while trying to get settled. We've noticed how technologically behind we are.
Prayer Requests
Our family - Please pray for our family, as we readjust to life here in the USA for the next year. This may not be news to some of you but, our family is excited to announce that we are expecting our sixth child, a boy! Both the boys and the girls are excited for arrival one more boy in the family. Please pray for Natasha and a healthy last trimester of her pregnancy. She is due the beginning of December.
Our stateside ministry - With the current pandemic and school starting, we are trying to find a healthy way to share about what God is doing in Togo. We have a few events planned in the Fall, but we will probably wait until the Spring for a big trip to visit a number of churches in Southern Illinois and the Peoria area. If you would be interested in having us come and share with your church and small group, please contact us at bnnattier@abwe.cc.
Our team - Our surgical team recently welcomed another new surgeon and family- the Chmil Family. Please pray for them as they get settled and begin ministry in Mango. Please pray with us for our medical providers as well. They have a serious shortage until the arrival of two families early next year. If you are a medical doctor and would be available around a month or more, please let us know. The current quarantine in Togo, makes shorter trips too challenging for the moment, but we hope this will change in the near future.
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