Road Notes: Photos from faith-filled Africa

Wives of the newly appointed elders sing during the installation celebration at the Nukafu Church of Christ in Lome, Togo. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

Blogging from Lome, Togo

I have a hard time staying away from Africa. 

Since joining The Christian Chronicle’s staff in 2001, I’ve been blessed to visit Churches of Christ in more than a dozen countries on this great continent. My spiritual batteries get recharged here — in a place that’s alive with the Gospel.

My visit to Togo is no exception. On Sunday I watched as one of the congregations here — the Eglise du Christ a Nukafu — appointed the first elders and deacons in its history. Churches of Christ have existed on the continent for more than a century, and many of them have elders. However, most of those churches are in former British colonies. In Africa’s French-speaking nations — including tiny Togo, sandwiched next to Benin between Ghana and Nigeria — elders and deacons are rare.

Last year I was privileged to witness the graduation at a ministry training school in Benin, and now I’m getting to see some of that school’s graduates in action. At the celebration on Sunday, I also was thrilled finally to meet, in person, Worlanyo Bor, a Ghanaian who has labored to plant churches in the troubled Central African Republic. See our recent coverage of the troubles there.

And please enjoy a sampling of photos from my visit so far.

Members of the Kouve Church of Christ in rural Togo prepare “fu-fu,” a mashed root, for visitors. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

A mother and son arrive for Sunday worship at the Nukafu Church of Christ. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

A pew in the meeting place of the Kouve Church of Christ. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

A kindergarten student at a Christian school overseen by the Nukafu Church of Christ practices French. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

Young women from the Nukafu Church of Christ youth group sing before the installation of the church’s first elders. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)

Basile Kpeto and Akpene Koudanou, members of the Nukafu Church of Christ youth group, perform a skit about an elder who declares himself “head elder” and attempts to take over the church. The skit was a “cautionary tale” for the new elders and the congregation, church members said. (PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD)