A Simple Letter and the Power of Partnerships

By Koffi Soke Kpomgbe

“A cat in a bag or a basket cannot be haggled over,” says a proverb in my own home-town.

I was recently asked by a church in Missouri, United States, to carry a letter on their behalf to several villages in Togo where daily life and existence is far from easy. Together with Pastor Robert Adrackey of the Akepe Baptist Church, we were able to visit four Baptist congregations in four different villages. At each of the four locations the message was the same: sharing and reading this letter from a church in Missouri followed by a short prayer.

I lack the words to convey the joy and satisfaction that was expressed by these four churches. The simple fact to hear that friends on the other side of the ocean were thinking of us, praying for us and announcing an upcoming mission trip to our area, was enough to quench the thirst of these brothers and sisters in the rural villages.

To return to the above proverb. One would not purchase a cat in the market until it has been personally seen and touched. In other words, it is impossible to express the depth of meaning and encouragement that such partnerships mean in areas that are otherwise often isolated.

This joy stemmed from the reading of a simple letter.

And how can I read something if no one wrote down anything for them? And how can one write to another, unless you have the love of people in your heart? And how can you send missionaries, value partnerships or have a love of people in your heart, unless you understand the Great Commission and a common Lord and Savior who desires that all enter into a relationship with Him?

On behalf of all the villages that exist at the end of bumpy and dusty roads, thank you.

To the many who actively seek to build international community and pray for brothers and sisters around the world whom they may never even meet, thank you.

Even in the sharing of a simple letter; it is the power of partnership, a power that all of us can extend to one another. You may never know the joy you have brought and the strength you have increased.

Let us be people who actively practice the power of partnership.

** Click on the facebook link on the right for pictures from several churches in Togo.