Hink and Kaylene Smidderks are serving across Africa, with a primary focus on West Africa, and are based in Lomé, Togo. Hink serves as director of leadership development, overseeing the training and equipping of new leaders for ordination and church leadership. Kaylene leads communication efforts for the Africa Area through social media and print publications. Both are learning French and engaging deeply with West African culture.
Pray For
- progress in French-language learning
- safety while traveling throughout Africa
- curriculum-development teams as they create new courses
- growth and strengthening of social and video media teams
- establishment of redemptive relationships with church leaders and unchurched friends
Recent Newsletters
Lord, Here I Am!
“Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and see this strange sight — why the bush does not burn up.’ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And...
Power and Potential in Community
Picture a circle of young Togolese women. They are gathered for the Thrive/Wunders training. Yvonne, the Thrive Kenya leader conducting the training, said, “OK, pretend you are a teacher … and ‘you,’ you are an Auntie from church. Bella, pretend you are the nurse.”...
Finding the Open Door
Mamoud Koroma is his name. He joined us after serving with another church. The pastor of this church had died, and young Koroma was unsure what he should do next. He started praying. Then he met Pastor Emmanuel Mbawa. Mbawa had returned to Sierra Leone after years of...
Ask Around
When looking for informal input from others, we “ask around.” What would you think if, at your baptismal service, your pastor “asked around” regarding whether your life had changed? That is just what happened recently in Mali. I was making a regular missionary visit...