Well, we arrived in Togo on Monday night. We stayed with the Southern team monday night and then drove to Kara on Tuesday morning. I am still learning adjust to everything here. It has been a huge struggle, and I think will continue to be for some while. Culture shock takes on a whole new meaning when you are actually going through it. Kara is a pretty big town. Nothing like Accra but still is a good size. I have been extremely home sick. I don't think that will pass but I have been taking "small" walks up and down the dirt road in front of my compound in order to get out and see things more. I am not used to living alone, which has also be a hard thing for me. I live in an apartment above the school house. My bedroom is a redish pink. I actually think it was red at one time but with a mixture of the dust and just "life" I would say it is starting to fade. The rest of the apt. is all white. I have not be able to sleep much because of all the new sounds and the fact that the sun is up at 6:30am every morning, like clockwork. I drink about a gallon of water a day here. The dust is really bad, and it just makes you thirsty. I talk to mom and dad quite a bit, and I'm working on not crying everytime. Diane and I e-mail probably 4 times a day although I think that will change once school starts for her.
The first day of school was Friday of last week. The school week is Tuesday-Saturday here, so we only had 2 days of school last week. The first day, as you can imagine...was just working out all the unknowns and getting to know one another. I would say we'll be doing some of that everyday for quite a while. We do all the basic subjects. I am teaching the 3rd graders. There are two students, Hannah and Isaac. They are full of energy and keep me on my toes. They are very bright, and I do enjoy teaching them. Tracey, one of the moms, teaches the 1st graders and also the preschoolers twice a week. French is the official language of Togo so the students have french class twice a week. I have been working on my French as well, which when you put that in the mix of culture shock and homesickness...things are tough. I am learning how to depend on God which until now, I truely had not ever in my life. I guess I never have had to soley depend on him and it is difficult. I pray for you all you back home, and I think of you all the time. Please keep me in your prayers and I look forward to hearing from you. Please e-mail me if you get a chance. I'd love to hear from you!!! rlphillips@harding.edu.
P.S. We went to one of the villages for worship this morning. I didn't understand a word of it but it was really good. It is one of the smaller churches and needs lots of encouragement!
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