Dominique reviewed the settings with anticipation. Long tables lined the outdoor courtyard, and a string of light bulbs stretching above the tables offered a pleasant glow. Soon the executives of Atakpame, Togo, began arriving. It was just one small city in a continent riddled with problems and corruption, but Dominique believed these executives could make significant changes in Togo.

With nearly 60 people seated, including the town's army officer and a prominent local chief, a pastor welcomed the group and announced the three-course meal. Then suddenly, everything went pitch black.

The entire city of 73,800 had lost power.

This wasn't the first difficulty Dominique Gamedah and the other Campus Crusade for Christ staff members encountered as they attempted a two-week evangelistic outreach in Atakpame. And it wouldn't be the last. Dominique's trust in God would be tested over the next week as he sought God in the midst of adversity.

As guests pulled out their cell phones to provide light, Dominique waited for the hotel's generator to illuminate the courtyard again; but he soon learned it was broken, and the hotel employees had no solution. This is terrible, thought Dominique, and he began to pray for help.

Atakpame isn't his home—Dominique and his wife, Dorothee (pictured above), along with many other Campus Crusade staff members, live in the capital, Lome. But they had come to Atakpame for a campaign they called Operation Jericho. Although not surrounded by walls like ancient Jericho, the city of Atakpame is surrounded by seven hills, which some residents believe have magical powers. Many inhabitants practice voodoo or traditional witchcraft.

In two previous years, Dominique's team had journeyed to other parts of Togo for similar evangelistic campaigns. The operations served as a way to spread the gospel to places without Campus Crusade staff members, and to establish new partnerships with local churches. This executive dinner was supposed to be a highlight of the campaign. And yet without light, how could they continue?

	The JESUS film has been recorded in nine Togolese languages, and is repeatedly shown by teams all over the country.

Then Dominique had an idea. He had someone fetch a generator used for the JESUS film, an evangelistic tool they would show multiple times during the next two weeks. And 20 minutes later, the evening's special speaker began his talk.

"How does the world understand happiness and security?" asked Pierce Agbetome, a prominent judge. "Good health, peace and prosperity." A few executives nodded in the dim light. "But even if you have millions in the bank, there are some things money can't buy." He then told them his own story of becoming a Christian, and explained how they could accept Christ.

And with the power still out, the executives departed.

Dominique could easily have been disappointed with the evening. But instead, he chose to trust God. "Our goal was accomplished," he said. "We gave the executives the opportunity to come and hear the gospel."

From his own life, Dominique has learned that God often has better plans than he can dream up. Dominique's father died when Dominique was just three months old, and he grew up in a village in western Togo without a father figure. "I always had a need to call somebody 'Father,'" he says. Although born into a religious family, he didn't understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with Christ. But at a university in Lome, Dominique met some students who explained to him what it meant to have a heavenly Father and to live for Christ.

He became the director of Campus Crusade in Togo 18 years later, leading the current team of 16 staff members.

The morning after the executive dinner, Dominique arrived at the Djamatomegbe region of town. It was hot, and Dominique carried a hand towel to wipe the sweat from his face.

Dominique and the team had previously trained several hundred local church members to talk to people about Christ, especially following the showings of the JESUS film. But that morning, only a dozen church members showed up. Again, Dominique could have been disappointed. But he chose to trust that God had bigger plans for them.

They split up in groups of two or three, and soon Dominique and staff member Emile Aglago greeted a group of women. Sitting in the shade of their mud-brick houses, the five women listened intently as Dominique used a picture-only version of the Four Spiritual Laws booklet to explain the gospel. At the end, Dominique invited the women to accept Christ, and all five of them said yes and bowed their heads to pray. One woman confessed she was previously a voodoo priestess, but had stopped practicing several years ago.

As part of the outreach in Atakpame, Dominique talks to a group of women about Jesus.

Dominique is encouraged as the day ends. He hears that several of the church members also saw people indicate decisions to receive Christ. Even after Dominique returns to Lome, the church members can help these new believers grow in their faith. "That is why we are working with the body of Christ," says Dominique. "When people come to know the Lord, they will be changed."

But other setbacks hindered Operation Jericho.

Although Togo's dry season had begun and would last for five months, a few nights later a torrential downpour rained out all 12 of the JESUS film showings—meaning thousands would not hear a presentation of the gospel.

Then at the end of the campaign, they had planned to march through the town, almost like the Jericho march of old, singing and inviting people to join them in the walk as a pledge to let Christ reign in their lives. But it was cancelled because of denied permits and other bureaucracy.

Dominique's biggest test was not about adjusting plans; it was his attitude. He could easily have lost his passion because of the discouraging events, yet he chose to trust God that his enthusiasm for this outreach was not in vain.

It was most evident on the last Sunday of Operation Jericho, when Dominique spoke to a packed congregation at the Pentecostal Church of Togo, a tin-roofed building with straw walls. Standing just 5 feet 4 inches tall, he spoke with fervor and assurance about submitting to God: "The will has the power to destroy or the power to restore. If our will is submitted to the will of God, He can make a way. In everything we do, we have to put God first."

At the end of the outreach, Dominique saw that God did indeed make a way. From the two-week operation, 5,388 people indicated decisions for Christ. And from the executive outreach, 42 people indicated decisions to receive Christ, including the village chief, Sodjadan Ogbone III.

Dominique is excited by the results, but he knows that the city of Atakpame will only be changed if the people let Christ fully control their lives—if they learn to trust Him beyond circumstances.

It's a truth Dominique has learned, that in spite of adversities like bad weather or even personal tragedy, God is in control and will somehow make good come out of a situation, as in the case of the executive outreach. In the midst of a power outage, Dominique found there was a Light in the darkness.

Contact the writer at becky.hill@ccci.org.

ACTION POINT - The Next Step >Where are you facing adversity in your life? What does it look like for you to trust God through it? What are some possible ways God is bringing good out of it? Read James 1:2-4 or the story of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:27) for encouragement.