Jeff traveled to Togo in west Africa with EXO between Christmas and New Year's for two concerts in the capital city of Lome.
Situated between Ghana and Benin, this beautiful country welcomed us with open arms during concerts at the Palais des Congres and an outdoor soccer stadium.
We ate lunch at a Catholic church near a river one day.
For more Togo photos, see our photo gallery on the left.
A group of creative Christians in Paris launched a counter-attack on France's fascination with 'Halloween' by organizing an event called 'Holywin's ' on October 31. EXO was invited to sing at the event which took place at the Pantheon square in central Paris. Here are a few great photos from the event. To see more photos of Paris on Halloween night click on the photo gallery at left.
One thing we discovered on our French Carribean tour is that the church in some of these islands is very divided. The quote from the Renassiance philosopher John Donne came to mind: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." Really, you could say the same about every church. No church is an island - every church is a piece of the continent (the body of Christ)..." As we close this tour, remember with us to pray for the islands of the world - that the church of Jesus Christ would be united and stand as together.
We're here with EXO on the island of Guadeloupe for the final leg of our French Carribean tour. EXO's fourth album - one of the most popular ever recorded by the group - was recorded here in 2000. We're finding the people here as warm as the temperature and have seen more sun here than French Guiana where it rained a lot. 
Factoids: On his second trip to the Americas in 1493, Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on this island. Comprised of five separate islands, the primary two islands join together to form the shape of a butterfly (see map). Our concert here was on the Saturday night before Easter. Some 2,000 folks came out for the three-hour concert that started with a gospel choir and ended with Chris and Laura Christensen (EXO founders) receiving keys to the city from the Mayor of Guadeloupe. What a cool way to end the tour!
Bonjour from French Guiana, one of 26 overseas departments of France. Located on the northeastern coast of South America, I’m here with the worship music group ‘EXO’ on a nine-day tour of the French Carribean. Last night we enjoyed a wonderful time of worship in the presence of God with those who attended the concert. Tonight is our second concert in the capital city of Cayenne. Tomorrow we fly to Guadeloupe for concerts Friday and Saturday. The people of French Guiana are a fascinating mixture of Mulattos (mixed race), French, Asians from Thailand and China, as well as American Indians. The country is home to the French space program which comprises 25 percent of the gross domestic product and is the largest employer at 1700 workers. One interesting fact: the country was the site of French penal settlements for almost 100 years and was the inspiration behind the book and movie, “Papillion” (butterfly), a story about a prisoner’s escape from captivity. We would ask for your continued prayers for spiritual breakthroughs for countries like French Guiana, where, like France, many are Catholic by culture and not by conviction. Please pray that God reveals Himself to the needy 200,000 people of these small coastal country and that they see that they need a Saviour in Jesus Christ.
Greetings from the French Carribean where I am writing to you on the island of Martinque. We just completed two concerts here and leave for French Guyane today. (Guyane is located on the northeastern tip of South America - just north of Venezuela and Brazil.) On Thursday, we travel to the French Carribean island of Guadeloupe. After two concerts there we head home. Please pray for our team of 14 during the week and for the people who come to the concerts. It's not uncommon for unbelievers to attend the concerts; for them, it may the first time they've heard the gospel proclaimed. Also, please pray for the Christians in these departments of France. The concerts are always times of refreshing and encouragement for weary pastors and church members and they need our prayers.
Some 1,500 attended an EXO concert in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels Saturday, November 4. It was cold, but a lot of fun to minister in Brussels to a crowd of excited people from all over Europe who were here to participate in an evangelistic event called, "Come & See." (To enlarge the photos at left, just click on them.) We're in Marseille on November 11 and then have concerts in Paris December 23 and Lourdes, France December 31. Meanwhile, Nick is learning songs from the first two EXO albums and will be participating in a recording on December 9-10 for an EXO children's series.
In April, 2006 we returned to the west African nation of Ivory Coast with EXO for four worship concerts in Abidjan and Yamoussoukro. This time, Kayleigh was invited to go as part of a team of dancers. One of the highlights of Kayleigh's trip was visiting the President's Palace and having lunch with the wife of the President. During this tour, we also recorded a new live album, "Eclat Afrique" (which literally means, "a bursts of Africa"!), to be released in November.
