Friday, May 30, 2008

Today I heard the giggles of our little girl! What joy filled my heart. We called Todd's cell phone and he placed it near Gabbie's ear, "Bon Jour, Bebe! Hello Sweatheart!" Oh that sweet giggle on the other side of the line, the other side of the world!



Here are a few facts about our daughter's homeland...


Location: Togo lies in Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana

Land Boundaries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, and Ghana 877 km.

Geography: Togo is 54,385 sq km , slightly smaller than West Virginia, US. Togo's terrain consists of a gently rolling savanna in the north; hilly in the center; plateau in the south and a low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes. Togo's climate is tropical; hot and humid in the south and semiarid in the north Togo's lowest point is at the Atlantic Ocean (sea level); its highest point is Mont Agou which stands at 986 m . The length of Togo allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions where the climate varies from tropical to savanna.

Population: 5.5 million people live in Togo. Life expectancy is around 57 years. Birth rate is on average 5 children per woman. Literacy rate is just over 60%.

Languages: French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north).

Ethnic Groups: 99% of Togo is Native African with over 37 different tribes. The largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre. European and Syrian-Lebanese make up less than 1% of the population.

Religion: Indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, and Muslim 20%.


We are continuing to pray for the country and their adoption procedures. Right now, Todd is learning more and more of the country, it's people and our new friends. Please continue to pray for favor with people he is meeting with.


Sunday he travels to a village to preach. What an amazing time he is having. He is doing a great job of communicating back to us. We KNOW he is doing a great job loving on Gabbie!

Gabrielle means, "God is my strength. Heroine of God."

Oh how God is going to use this little girl. When we have prayed over her, we have sensed a destiny like Moses and Esther...both deliverers of their people. Wow!


One day in intercession, while we were praying for Gabbie, one of our staff saw this picture of the playground game, "Red Rover! Red Rover!" In the picture, they saw Gabbie being called over. She breaks through the boundries, and she keeps running, with her whole team in tow! We really believe that God wants to set many Togolese orphans in loving, forever families.


Please pray with us. Pray that God would make a way for Gabbie to come "home" and for many others to follow suit.

2 comments:

James said...

Hey. Great blog! Very inspiring and uplifting. What an awesome little girl! It has been very rewarding your blog. The hearts that you all have for God is incredible as well. Keep us up to date on any developments. We are hoping and praying for a yes answer soon. The invitation for tag alongs are still there anytime you find something out. Also I was reading about all your appliance issues. I spent a couple of years with hhgregg and can get you a great deal on any appliances or anything for that matter if you ever need anything. Just wanted to share that input! I am not much of a fix-it type person either. Have a great blessed weekend.

Amy Reece Spahr said...

wow, vickie.. thats so powerful! i cant wait to check your blog everyday, i wait oh so patiently as our sloooow dial up brings up your page.. and there it is! the update ive been waiting for all day.
the hairs on my arms stood up as i read.. and i just see Gabbie as a forerunner, a history maker.. God is going to use her to change a law that will set free an entire nation of children just waiting to be held and loved and kissed.. and introduced to Jesus. oh this is awesome!!