Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
As the year 2006 closes, we pause to magnify the Lord and thank you for partnering in the work here in Cote d’Ivoire. Because you prayed and gave, lives have been touched. Some received Christ, some grew in their faith, some heard the gospel for the first time, and others received training or counsel in spiritual, financial, and medical areas. Come with us on a whirlwind tour of a few people whose lives were individually changed, and some jobs accomplished for HIS glory.
Ministry
1. Romeo met Jesus Christ as his personal Savior while completing the Bible study “Experiencing God” and tutoring Corbin in French. The Lord continues to work in his life, as he faces problems brought by past sins and as he challenges friends and family to know Christ as more than a religious icon.
2. Mai, a teen girl, received witness from our family and many others, and over the summer made the enormous step of faith to abandon Islam and follow Jesus. She is being encouraged to stand firm and given help with food and clothes, as she withstands persecution from her furious mother and grandmother. 3. Thirteen prisoners in the Bondoukou jail have been touched in several ways, as they meet for Bible study and worship.
4. Miriam, a girl about 12, can now walk, run, and play without pain because Verlin gave her desperate parents medical advice and helped them buy medicine. For over two years, doctors and blood exams failed to expose her problem, filaria. After a one-day treatment, her life was revolutionized, and her Muslim father was very amazed that a missionary would take time to help his daughter.
5. On several occasions Debbie counseled a desperate teen boy, who was preparing to help his ex-girlfriend get an abortion. She confronted him with his sins of premarital sex and planning to take a human life, and pleaded with him to be reconciled to God. He later decided not to give money for the abortion, and acknowledged that he needed to change friends and return to the Lord and church.
6. The Goumere CHE team grew in their faith as they continue down the path to establish a Community Health Evangelism ministry in the village of Krako. The people of Krako are eager, despite the death of their chief and the long funeral process, and now hope to start the regular town meetings in January.
7. Over 1,000 hours were spent this fall translating CHE lessons (spiritual, medical, and Muslim Bible study) into French, inputting, formatting, and editing them in the computer. These will later become part of a database of lessons available for any CHE project ministering in French-speaking countries.
8. Time lacks to speak of sermons preached, lessons taught, hospitality offered, neighbors met, services rendered to the national FWB Church, NGOs, or Bibles and tracts distributed. Every FWB missionary account in Cote d’Ivoire also invests yearly in training pastors and lay workers, evangelistic outreaches, and putting roofs on new church buildings or parsonages, among other things.
Family
1. Debbie resolved a long-standing health problem by having surgery in October and working through a complicated recovery. 2. Cason has led a Bible study through school this semester, served as secretary of the student council, completed our webpage design, and helped train Romeo to use the computer in more ways than data entry. 3. Cara had the privilege to serve on E-Team France this summer, and she and Debbie look forward to beginning an English/Bible study for teen girls in January. 4. For the first time since 2001, our family has lived in the same house for almost a year. Frequent moves for evacuations and relocation in Cote d’Ivoire have been stressful, but we have finally sorted through most of the debris. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we don’t think it is a train!
Please pray with us that 2007 will be a year of increased peace and harvest in Cote d’Ivoire. We do not just want to be busy with activity and so-called ministry, but to draw closer to Jesus individually and to produce “fruit that will last” for eternity.
Learning to abide in Him for a fruitful life,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Ministry Update from 11/30/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
What a difference 40 days can make! Here are some highlights of our past 6 weeks.
Two days before our CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team was to conduct the town meeting in Krako, the chief of the village unexpectedly died. That immediately delayed our plans, as the village began the traditional 40 days of mourning and rituals common among Kulangos when a leader dies. Actually, for the first few weeks, they did not even say he had died, but that his “tooth hurt.” It was only right around burial time, about a month later, that they began to use the word “died.”
The Goumere CHE team continued to make visits, offering their sympathy and taking a gift for the funeral. It is just now time for the village to consider CHE again. The death of the chief who does not seem to have dampened their desire for this outreach. We pray that the next chief will become a great advocate of CHE.
During this same period, Debbie unexpectedly had surgery to remove an ovary on October 16. The following 6 weeks were a time of slow healing, and Verlin and the children have had to pick up many duties as she recovers. We thank the Lord that the tests for cancer came back negative.
The past 40 days have been very difficult for Mai, the recently converted Muslim teenager. She returned here to Bondoukou for high school, but is being lodged in a Muslim home, and told not to ever go to church, visit Christian homes, or receive Christian friends at home. She has hidden her Bible at a Christian neighbor's house, where she can hopefully slip away at times to read. Although Mai has lost some weight from food deprivation and stress, her faith is strong. Last Saturday, she went to Christian youth group, which meets at a reading center, not at church, and gave her testimony. She still is hopeful that her family will weary of their tactics, and allow her to worship Jesus, yet it is possible that her relationship with her family will have to be severed.
In a recent letter to a Christian friend, Mai spoke of how the persecution keeps her under constant stress. To demonstrate how she felt, she drew a girl crying, but holding tight to the cross in one hand.
High school has started almost 2 months late because of the presidential election that was supposed to occur in October, but which was delayed until next year. Cara and Debbie had hoped to have an English/Bible class outreach already going, but it now looks like January is the earliest time they can begin.
In May, 2007, we will have been missionaries with Free Will Baptist International Missions for 10 years. Time has flown. What a privilege to serve Christ in Cote d'Ivoire ! For the first time in almost a decade, though, we need to report that our mission account is barely in the black. It is our desire to complete this term without plunging into a deep deficit or interrupting ministry due to a strong Euro. In light of Debbie's illness and busy field ministries, we have not been able to communicate this need more than this byline. Our stateside assignment is scheduled for the summer of 2008.
Our hearts are full of thanksgiving this season, as we reflect on the Lord's goodness. How blessed we are to serve the ever Faithful One, and to have you as ministry partners!
Blessed to pass the blessing on,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
PRAYER REQUESTS
What a difference 40 days can make! Here are some highlights of our past 6 weeks.
Two days before our CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team was to conduct the town meeting in Krako, the chief of the village unexpectedly died. That immediately delayed our plans, as the village began the traditional 40 days of mourning and rituals common among Kulangos when a leader dies. Actually, for the first few weeks, they did not even say he had died, but that his “tooth hurt.” It was only right around burial time, about a month later, that they began to use the word “died.”
The Goumere CHE team continued to make visits, offering their sympathy and taking a gift for the funeral. It is just now time for the village to consider CHE again. The death of the chief who does not seem to have dampened their desire for this outreach. We pray that the next chief will become a great advocate of CHE.
During this same period, Debbie unexpectedly had surgery to remove an ovary on October 16. The following 6 weeks were a time of slow healing, and Verlin and the children have had to pick up many duties as she recovers. We thank the Lord that the tests for cancer came back negative.
The past 40 days have been very difficult for Mai, the recently converted Muslim teenager. She returned here to Bondoukou for high school, but is being lodged in a Muslim home, and told not to ever go to church, visit Christian homes, or receive Christian friends at home. She has hidden her Bible at a Christian neighbor's house, where she can hopefully slip away at times to read. Although Mai has lost some weight from food deprivation and stress, her faith is strong. Last Saturday, she went to Christian youth group, which meets at a reading center, not at church, and gave her testimony. She still is hopeful that her family will weary of their tactics, and allow her to worship Jesus, yet it is possible that her relationship with her family will have to be severed.
In a recent letter to a Christian friend, Mai spoke of how the persecution keeps her under constant stress. To demonstrate how she felt, she drew a girl crying, but holding tight to the cross in one hand.
High school has started almost 2 months late because of the presidential election that was supposed to occur in October, but which was delayed until next year. Cara and Debbie had hoped to have an English/Bible class outreach already going, but it now looks like January is the earliest time they can begin.
In May, 2007, we will have been missionaries with Free Will Baptist International Missions for 10 years. Time has flown. What a privilege to serve Christ in Cote d'Ivoire ! For the first time in almost a decade, though, we need to report that our mission account is barely in the black. It is our desire to complete this term without plunging into a deep deficit or interrupting ministry due to a strong Euro. In light of Debbie's illness and busy field ministries, we have not been able to communicate this need more than this byline. Our stateside assignment is scheduled for the summer of 2008.
Our hearts are full of thanksgiving this season, as we reflect on the Lord's goodness. How blessed we are to serve the ever Faithful One, and to have you as ministry partners!
Blessed to pass the blessing on,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
PRAYER REQUESTS
- The village of Krako : that the newly chosen chief will allow CHE to proceed, and that the entire community will unite to work.
- Debbie's continued healing after surgery. She is having some blood pressure fluctuations and some other symptoms probably related to hormone changes.
- Mai: for physical protection (some Muslim families here try to poison their children who want to follow Christ), and for spiritual encouragement, since she has been told to have no contact with Christians.
- English/Bible study that Cara and Debbie hope to start in January.
- Financial needs for our mission account.
Ministry Update from 10/4/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
We missed sending you an update in September. Sorry for the delay. It has been a busy month!
Many of you emailed to say you were praying for Mai, the recently converted Muslim girl. Thank you. The spiritual battle is on, so continue to intercede for her steadfastness and safety. She has not been beaten since August, but often her family hinders her going to church by making her work in the fields on Sunday morning.
Christians have advised Mai to respect and obey her family in every way possible, only refusing if it means something like offering sacrifices or praying to Allah. She goes to the fields when told to, and tries to see Christian friends during the week for encouragement. Her hope is that when high school starts back in mid-October, she will be allowed to return from Goumere to Bondoukou. Away from her immediate family, she can worship at church freely. Pray earnestly that she will not be sent to Ghana where her Muslim father lives, apart from all familiar Christian influence.
This Friday is a big day for the CHE team in the village of Krako . Up until now, the team has spoken regularly but informally with various groups and leaders in the community, all who say they want CHE (Community Health Evangelism). October 6, though, is the first joint meeting with the whole village and the CHE team.
Romeo, Corbin's French tutor, is growing in his newfound faith in Christ. September was a difficult month. His parents divorced, and this leaves him even more isolated from his family. His time tutoring Corbin is over, and now he helps input and format lessons for CHE. With something close to an associate's degree in computer science, he is a great asset. Cason and Verlin are further training him on the computer.
Cason also is designing a website for our family. Within two months, or so, we hope to have a site where you can learn detailed information about our family, ministry, and locale. This has been a goal of ours for some time, and we are grateful to have a son who took a high school class in Webpage Design. He is doing a great job, and the rest of us are learning a lot along the way!
While many of you enjoy the beauty and chill of autumn, our rented house has transformed into a penicillin factory. As we near the end of rain season, mold appears in the most undesirable places. Our clothes and books grow the green and black stuff; our closets, shelves, walls, and dressers smell like a swimming pool since we clean every possible surface with bleach and water. In addition to regular laundry, stored clothing and linens have to be washed and hung out in the occasional sunshine. Our family, who suffers from allergies and asthma, much prefers the dry season that usually begins in October.
It is always true that when people are saved and ministry moves forward, the enemy sends situations to try to hinder the gospel or discourage the laborers. Thank you for battling with us on your knees. Our strength is nil against the flaming arrows of the evil one, but “greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.”
Cinching our spiritual armor tighter,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin
Prayer Request Summary
We missed sending you an update in September. Sorry for the delay. It has been a busy month!
Many of you emailed to say you were praying for Mai, the recently converted Muslim girl. Thank you. The spiritual battle is on, so continue to intercede for her steadfastness and safety. She has not been beaten since August, but often her family hinders her going to church by making her work in the fields on Sunday morning.
Christians have advised Mai to respect and obey her family in every way possible, only refusing if it means something like offering sacrifices or praying to Allah. She goes to the fields when told to, and tries to see Christian friends during the week for encouragement. Her hope is that when high school starts back in mid-October, she will be allowed to return from Goumere to Bondoukou. Away from her immediate family, she can worship at church freely. Pray earnestly that she will not be sent to Ghana where her Muslim father lives, apart from all familiar Christian influence.
This Friday is a big day for the CHE team in the village of Krako . Up until now, the team has spoken regularly but informally with various groups and leaders in the community, all who say they want CHE (Community Health Evangelism). October 6, though, is the first joint meeting with the whole village and the CHE team.
Romeo, Corbin's French tutor, is growing in his newfound faith in Christ. September was a difficult month. His parents divorced, and this leaves him even more isolated from his family. His time tutoring Corbin is over, and now he helps input and format lessons for CHE. With something close to an associate's degree in computer science, he is a great asset. Cason and Verlin are further training him on the computer.
Cason also is designing a website for our family. Within two months, or so, we hope to have a site where you can learn detailed information about our family, ministry, and locale. This has been a goal of ours for some time, and we are grateful to have a son who took a high school class in Webpage Design. He is doing a great job, and the rest of us are learning a lot along the way!
While many of you enjoy the beauty and chill of autumn, our rented house has transformed into a penicillin factory. As we near the end of rain season, mold appears in the most undesirable places. Our clothes and books grow the green and black stuff; our closets, shelves, walls, and dressers smell like a swimming pool since we clean every possible surface with bleach and water. In addition to regular laundry, stored clothing and linens have to be washed and hung out in the occasional sunshine. Our family, who suffers from allergies and asthma, much prefers the dry season that usually begins in October.
It is always true that when people are saved and ministry moves forward, the enemy sends situations to try to hinder the gospel or discourage the laborers. Thank you for battling with us on your knees. Our strength is nil against the flaming arrows of the evil one, but “greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.”
Cinching our spiritual armor tighter,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin
Prayer Request Summary
- Mai: new convert from a Muslim family (steadfastness and safety)
- CHE village meeting in Krako on October 6
- Romeo's spiritual growth and adjustment to job transfer
- The Anderson family: pray that each of us will stand firm (Eph. 6) in whatever battles come our way
Ministry Update from 8/29/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
Have you ever wondered how many people in America would go to church, if they knew they would be locked in a room without food for a day or two for making that choice?
Mai (Mah-ee), the recently converted Muslim girl that we mentioned in our last update, faced persecution this month for trying to go to church. About 10 days ago she arrived at our house near tears. She had run away from her mother's household in Goumere. Her mother had repeatedly hit her for wearing a skirt with Christian words on it, had locked her in a room a day and a half without food when she tried to go to church, and a distant uncle threatened to beat her if she went to church. A family council convened to interrogate her, to see if she had truly decided to follow Jesus, or if Christians had forced her to go to church. She stood firm in declaring it was her choice. Quite remarkable for a teen of 17.
Things are better now. Many people are praying and others have approached her family to seek a peaceable solution. About 5 days ago, her mother said she could go to church. Pray with us that this positive decision was sincere, and that Mai can follow Christ, while still having a relationship with her family. She was at church yesterday, although an uncle threatened to whip her when she got home. Things will be better when she returns to Bondoukou in October for high school, because the man who provides her housing and food here is a Christian.
Today will you remember in prayer the many people around the world like Mai, who pay a high price to call Jesus, “Lord.”
PRAISE
PRAYER
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Have you ever wondered how many people in America would go to church, if they knew they would be locked in a room without food for a day or two for making that choice?
Mai (Mah-ee), the recently converted Muslim girl that we mentioned in our last update, faced persecution this month for trying to go to church. About 10 days ago she arrived at our house near tears. She had run away from her mother's household in Goumere. Her mother had repeatedly hit her for wearing a skirt with Christian words on it, had locked her in a room a day and a half without food when she tried to go to church, and a distant uncle threatened to beat her if she went to church. A family council convened to interrogate her, to see if she had truly decided to follow Jesus, or if Christians had forced her to go to church. She stood firm in declaring it was her choice. Quite remarkable for a teen of 17.
Things are better now. Many people are praying and others have approached her family to seek a peaceable solution. About 5 days ago, her mother said she could go to church. Pray with us that this positive decision was sincere, and that Mai can follow Christ, while still having a relationship with her family. She was at church yesterday, although an uncle threatened to whip her when she got home. Things will be better when she returns to Bondoukou in October for high school, because the man who provides her housing and food here is a Christian.
Today will you remember in prayer the many people around the world like Mai, who pay a high price to call Jesus, “Lord.”
PRAISE
- Cara arrived home safely from a meaningful E-Team experience.
- Our vacation in Ghana was spiritually, emotionally, and physically refreshing. With dear missionary friends, we feasted on the Word and good food, sang together, played tennis, football, chess, and other games, and soaked up the beauty of God's creation.
- The National Association and National Youth Convention this month were well-attended and spiritually uplifting. Pastor TAH, George and his family were approved to return to the Bouake Free Will Baptist church-planting endeavor as soon as enough funds are pledged.
- Our coworker Alice Smith had the basal cancer successfully removed from her scalp and hopes to return to Cote d'Ivoire soon, pending doctor approval.
PRAYER
- The Goumere CHE team is excited about the ministry opportunities in the village of Krako . Their weekly visits are eagerly received by the people. Next week a date should be set for an important meeting with all the villagers in early September. Pray for continued good will and wisdom as the seed project to enter the village is discussed.
- Our family has numerous opportunities to lead children's Bible clubs, Bible studies for teens, and English classes, as school starts in October. Pray that we will have wisdom to select effective ways to share the gospel, while leaving ample time for all the facets of CHE, too.
- Pray for one of our pastors-in-training, Daniel, recovering from tuberculosis. Yesterday he attended church for the first time in over a year, having been too weak to get out of bed for many months until his illness was correctly diagnosed. His medical treatment will last at least 6 months.
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Ministry Update from 7/18/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
CHE NEWS
The Goumere CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team has chosen a village for their outreach! After months of collecting information on 4 villages, and then narrowing the focus on the two most promising areas, they have selected the village of Krako (Krah-koe). As they prayed and deliberated over the material gathered, the Lord made the selection process rather easy. One village scored 5 points, but Krako more than doubled that, with 12 evaluation tool points. It's believed the best location for a beginning CHE outreach in their region.
Last week, Verlin took 3 members of our team to Bébou (Bay-boo), a village region of more than 4000 people around 4 hours south of here. Another evangelical CHE Team located in the city of Abengourou has two CHE outreaches that are a few steps ahead of us in process. As a blessing, our team was able to see a seed project done in one of their chosen villages. Our team members observed, participated, and asked questions as members of the village worked together to clean their market place, move trash further from the market via a new path to decrease transmission of typhoid, and fix the market road, all in 7 hours of time organized by the local CHE trained Christians.
Our Goumere team now must decide what seed project to use as an entrance into Krako. Seed projects plant seeds of Gospel witness as Christians coordinate different people from different walks of life into following Christ directed self-service. A project puts the spotlight on significant need or needs in the community. Trained CHE Teams then ask villagers what they intend to do about their self-discovered problems and the seed project is born. Following its successful completion, a local committee of villagers is formed to oversee the village work and select people living there to be trained as household trainers. These villagers then regularly visit each household in the community, teaching biblically based health and spiritual lessons.
Each step to enter a village takes much lesson preparation, training, and prayer. We will try to give the context in each email so that you can see at what point we are along the way. Keep in mind, too, that we American missionaries are not the visible faces doing each step, and that the Goumere church is the one who funds most ongoing CHE cost. We train the team of African Christians at each step and then THEY do it. This takes much more time, but will result in them being able to repeat the process in the future and train others, even if we are not here, once they have successfully walked through the whole CHE process.
AUGUST ACTIVITIES
August is the time for National Youth Camp, the Ivorian National Association of FWB, and 10 days of vacation for the Anderson family. All these events will put CHE on pause for a short time, but they are necessary. Pray for good meetings, and that our family will be renewed physically and emotionally. It is truthful to say that for numerous months we have been running on fumes, or better put, the perseverance that the Holy Spirit gives when our strength wanes. Climate and daily stressors in Africa are notorious for zapping energy. A one-week break in June helped us, and we pray this last period of vacation will energize us for a very busy fall. It is our first “entire family” vacation since November 2004.
PRAISE
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
CHE NEWS
The Goumere CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team has chosen a village for their outreach! After months of collecting information on 4 villages, and then narrowing the focus on the two most promising areas, they have selected the village of Krako (Krah-koe). As they prayed and deliberated over the material gathered, the Lord made the selection process rather easy. One village scored 5 points, but Krako more than doubled that, with 12 evaluation tool points. It's believed the best location for a beginning CHE outreach in their region.
Last week, Verlin took 3 members of our team to Bébou (Bay-boo), a village region of more than 4000 people around 4 hours south of here. Another evangelical CHE Team located in the city of Abengourou has two CHE outreaches that are a few steps ahead of us in process. As a blessing, our team was able to see a seed project done in one of their chosen villages. Our team members observed, participated, and asked questions as members of the village worked together to clean their market place, move trash further from the market via a new path to decrease transmission of typhoid, and fix the market road, all in 7 hours of time organized by the local CHE trained Christians.
Our Goumere team now must decide what seed project to use as an entrance into Krako. Seed projects plant seeds of Gospel witness as Christians coordinate different people from different walks of life into following Christ directed self-service. A project puts the spotlight on significant need or needs in the community. Trained CHE Teams then ask villagers what they intend to do about their self-discovered problems and the seed project is born. Following its successful completion, a local committee of villagers is formed to oversee the village work and select people living there to be trained as household trainers. These villagers then regularly visit each household in the community, teaching biblically based health and spiritual lessons.
Each step to enter a village takes much lesson preparation, training, and prayer. We will try to give the context in each email so that you can see at what point we are along the way. Keep in mind, too, that we American missionaries are not the visible faces doing each step, and that the Goumere church is the one who funds most ongoing CHE cost. We train the team of African Christians at each step and then THEY do it. This takes much more time, but will result in them being able to repeat the process in the future and train others, even if we are not here, once they have successfully walked through the whole CHE process.
AUGUST ACTIVITIES
August is the time for National Youth Camp, the Ivorian National Association of FWB, and 10 days of vacation for the Anderson family. All these events will put CHE on pause for a short time, but they are necessary. Pray for good meetings, and that our family will be renewed physically and emotionally. It is truthful to say that for numerous months we have been running on fumes, or better put, the perseverance that the Holy Spirit gives when our strength wanes. Climate and daily stressors in Africa are notorious for zapping energy. A one-week break in June helped us, and we pray this last period of vacation will energize us for a very busy fall. It is our first “entire family” vacation since November 2004.
PRAISE
- The CHE team is clearly making steady progress.
- Verlin's ear has improved with no pain now, and missionary friends gave us the name of a good ophthalmologist to see in Abidjan , if necessary.
- Cara is back in the USA with family after E-Team France, and we hear that the team was well received and a blessing. We are EAGER for her return to Cote d'Ivoire next week.
- Pray for the many details of developing the seed project in Krako, and for a successful entry into the community by CHE.
- Romeo has made progress in his Christian faith this past month, but still has many obstacles to overcome, particularly because of his background.
- Maya is a teen girl from a Muslim family. She prayed to receive Christ two weeks ago. Debbie and many others counseled and prayed with her before she returned to her Muslim family in Goumere for summer vacation recently. Please pray that her faith will be strong, in spite of family opposition, and that her testimony will eventually win them over. It is possible she will be kicked out of her family for this choice.
- Cara returns to Cote d'Ivoire next week. Pray with us that it will be an uneventful flight, unlike the storm delays and overnight layover going to the States.
- Alice Smith, our CHE team member has a second skin cancer on her scalp. This lesion appears less serious than the first one, thank the Lord. Humanly speaking, the timing could not be worse, as she just settled in Bondoukou and the CHE team is entering a busier phase. Yet we know the Lord's ways are perfect. We ask Him to give Alice a speedy procedure, recovery, and return to ministry here.
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Ministry Update from 5/27/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
Where did the past month go? We hope it was a fruitful time for you, in service to the Lord. For us, it was exceedingly full of “busy” work, not our favorite kind of activity, but necessary. Nonetheless, there are answers to prayer and progress to report.
Answered Prayer
Three Funerals and a Wedding
The CHE team in Goumere had a slow month because of 3 funerals and a wedding, but will hopefully be back on target this upcoming month. One of the discouragements for American missionaries in the African culture is how much time funerals and weddings take up for all the church members, not just the immediate family and close friends.
In the case of the wedding, the Goumere church assisted a young Christian couple from a nearby village with only a few believers. They took the couple under their wing and helped with everything, since there is no pastor in the village. For those of you interested in African culture, at the very end of this email we have two paragraphs about Christian weddings and how we participate.
Tool Time
The 40 days of work on the house of our CHE partner, Alice Smith, are coming to a close. The workers will finish on time or even a couple of days early, a near miracle! Verlin has supervised the work on average from 3 to 6 hours daily, six days a week. “Monsieur, I broke a drill bit. Madame, we are out of soap to scrub the floors.” It is a HUGE blessing to live so close to Alice 's house, allowing Verlin to “pop” in at any time to check on progress. We are happy to help, and look forward to our American CHE team being together in the same town for ministry. Alice hopes to move to Bondoukou the first week of June.
Every repair project also affords opportunity to share Christ by word and lifestyle. Most of the masons, carpenters, metal workers, painters, plumbers, and electricians in our part of Cote d'Ivoire are Muslim. Some on this job site are new to us; others, like Yaya, have heard missionaries witness for years. We earnestly pray that Christ's gift of salvation will penetrate their hearts before they pass into eternity.
Our family has been burdened for the Muslims in northern Cote d'Ivoire since we arrived in July, 2000. Pray with us that a CHE team will develop to reach Muslims, as well as the one we are training to reach Koulango and Lobi villages. The need for Christ among Muslims is as great now as when our mission first came to Cote d'Ivoire in 1958. Some individual Muslims have been saved occasionally through witness, but not one church has been established among them in our northeast region. Only one other American mission group has one couple working among Muslims in our whole quadrant of the country. We know of no African Christians making a unified effort in this area, and yet Bondoukou is a town filled with mosques.
Heave Ho, and Where did the Water go?
In the past 3 weeks, Verlin has also spent over 40 hours getting a mission house in Goumere (20 minutes south of Bondoukou) ready to donate to the African National Association of Free Will Baptists on June 1st. Our field council received stateside permission to do this, so the property had to be cleared of mission items and paperwork transferred. A leak in the water main was found in the process, and so that had to be addressed. And of course, several times the government workers who were needed to handle the paperwork were not in their offices. WAWA ( West Africa Wins Again).
Other activities this past month included our missionary field council meeting, the ordination service of Pastor Adou at the Bondoukou church, CHE meetings, preaching, visiting neighbors, and investigating the school situation for a possible Bible class in the elementary school down our street.
On the Construction Crew
We have listed hours spent doing different jobs in this email, not to complain or boast, but because many people do not realize how time-consuming daily life is here. If you need a screen door for a home, you do not run down to Home Depot and buy it. You find a metal worker of good reputation, provide him the metal, screen, and pattern, and he builds it for you, hopefully within a week or two. If you want hamburgers up country where we live, you bake the bread, buy the beef at market, clean it, grind it, fry it, and clean the lettuce and tomatoes in diluted bleach water before eating.
On rare occasions, life and ministry seem to crawl, but usually the pace is so fast that we can hardly catch our breath. The important thing is that Jesus is building His church, and we are blessed to be on the construction crew! Thank you for helping send us to His work site in Cote d'Ivoire .
Hammering and sawing at His command,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
PRAISE
Where did the past month go? We hope it was a fruitful time for you, in service to the Lord. For us, it was exceedingly full of “busy” work, not our favorite kind of activity, but necessary. Nonetheless, there are answers to prayer and progress to report.
Answered Prayer
- In our last update, we asked you to pray for Romeo, Corbin's French tutor, who had begun a Bible study. He has since made a profession of faith in Christ, praise God, and declares he wants to do whatever the Lord wants him to do. On the other hand, he is struggling to make his decision public and reluctant to break unhealthy ties from his past life. Keep praying.
- Cara has received ALL the funds for her E-Team trip, is finishing her school year early, and flies to the States on June first. It takes a bit of courage to send our sixteen-year-old daughter on international flights alone ( Cote d'Ivoire , Belgium , New York , Tennessee ), but she is a sensible young lady and in the final analysis, we are not the One who keeps her safe, anyway.
Three Funerals and a Wedding
The CHE team in Goumere had a slow month because of 3 funerals and a wedding, but will hopefully be back on target this upcoming month. One of the discouragements for American missionaries in the African culture is how much time funerals and weddings take up for all the church members, not just the immediate family and close friends.
In the case of the wedding, the Goumere church assisted a young Christian couple from a nearby village with only a few believers. They took the couple under their wing and helped with everything, since there is no pastor in the village. For those of you interested in African culture, at the very end of this email we have two paragraphs about Christian weddings and how we participate.
Tool Time
The 40 days of work on the house of our CHE partner, Alice Smith, are coming to a close. The workers will finish on time or even a couple of days early, a near miracle! Verlin has supervised the work on average from 3 to 6 hours daily, six days a week. “Monsieur, I broke a drill bit. Madame, we are out of soap to scrub the floors.” It is a HUGE blessing to live so close to Alice 's house, allowing Verlin to “pop” in at any time to check on progress. We are happy to help, and look forward to our American CHE team being together in the same town for ministry. Alice hopes to move to Bondoukou the first week of June.
Every repair project also affords opportunity to share Christ by word and lifestyle. Most of the masons, carpenters, metal workers, painters, plumbers, and electricians in our part of Cote d'Ivoire are Muslim. Some on this job site are new to us; others, like Yaya, have heard missionaries witness for years. We earnestly pray that Christ's gift of salvation will penetrate their hearts before they pass into eternity.
Our family has been burdened for the Muslims in northern Cote d'Ivoire since we arrived in July, 2000. Pray with us that a CHE team will develop to reach Muslims, as well as the one we are training to reach Koulango and Lobi villages. The need for Christ among Muslims is as great now as when our mission first came to Cote d'Ivoire in 1958. Some individual Muslims have been saved occasionally through witness, but not one church has been established among them in our northeast region. Only one other American mission group has one couple working among Muslims in our whole quadrant of the country. We know of no African Christians making a unified effort in this area, and yet Bondoukou is a town filled with mosques.
Heave Ho, and Where did the Water go?
In the past 3 weeks, Verlin has also spent over 40 hours getting a mission house in Goumere (20 minutes south of Bondoukou) ready to donate to the African National Association of Free Will Baptists on June 1st. Our field council received stateside permission to do this, so the property had to be cleared of mission items and paperwork transferred. A leak in the water main was found in the process, and so that had to be addressed. And of course, several times the government workers who were needed to handle the paperwork were not in their offices. WAWA ( West Africa Wins Again).
Other activities this past month included our missionary field council meeting, the ordination service of Pastor Adou at the Bondoukou church, CHE meetings, preaching, visiting neighbors, and investigating the school situation for a possible Bible class in the elementary school down our street.
On the Construction Crew
We have listed hours spent doing different jobs in this email, not to complain or boast, but because many people do not realize how time-consuming daily life is here. If you need a screen door for a home, you do not run down to Home Depot and buy it. You find a metal worker of good reputation, provide him the metal, screen, and pattern, and he builds it for you, hopefully within a week or two. If you want hamburgers up country where we live, you bake the bread, buy the beef at market, clean it, grind it, fry it, and clean the lettuce and tomatoes in diluted bleach water before eating.
On rare occasions, life and ministry seem to crawl, but usually the pace is so fast that we can hardly catch our breath. The important thing is that Jesus is building His church, and we are blessed to be on the construction crew! Thank you for helping send us to His work site in Cote d'Ivoire .
Hammering and sawing at His command,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
PRAISE
- Romeo made a profession of faith, but still has numerous barriers to living the Christian life. Pray for courage.
- Cara's funds are raised and she has met her school goal.
- Peace in Cote d'Ivoire . Elections are supposedly to be held this October again, but many are saying it cannot be done. Things are very calm locally, for the moment.
- The CHE team in Goumere, that they will be able to complete their village research this upcoming month and move on to choosing a village.
- Missionaries (teams of American and/or Africans) to minister to Muslims in Cote d'Ivoire .
- Safe journey for Cara as she travels alone to the USA next week.
- Healing for Verlin's left ear. An infection keeps recurring, causing pain and fatigue. We are trying the home treatment an ear specialist in Nashville recommended, hoping that will be enough. Verlin had several major surgeries on that ear in his youth.
Ministry Update from 4/14/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
During this most joyous of weeks as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we have many other things for which to thank the Lord, too. Rejoice with us!
• It is an immeasurable blessing that our 3 children know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and understand that Easter is not about bunnies and eggs, but about His great love and the power of His resurrection in our lives. We never want to neglect the important ministry of helping them grow in their faith year by year.
• Our coworker Alice Smith made it safely back to Cote d'Ivoire . We met her in Abidjan on March 29, and this week she was able to come to Bondoukou to see the house we had put on hold for her. She will take the house, and after Verlin supervises the workers who will repair it, we hope she can move in just a few hundred yards from us in 6 to 8 weeks.
• Romeo (yes, you read that name right!), the young man who tutors Corbin in French 6 days a week, is deeply interested in spiritual matters. Verlin has begun the Bible study “Experiencing God” with him, and he already has had many questions and expressed a hunger to know God personally. Pray that he will clearly understand what it means to receive Christ as Savior and walk by faith.
• The CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team continues to work hard collecting information and nears the point of being able to choose their village. They have eliminated 2 of the 5 potential villages, and feel drawn to a particular one. Pray that they will follow the Lord's leadership during this critical phase. Their work is on pause during Easter week.
• In late March our African pastors had their first pastoral retreat since 2001, before the political crisis. Verlin spoke once, and Samuel, who pastors in Abidjan , spoke the second time. It was encouraging to hear the ministry report of each pastor, Verlin noted. Particularly it was touching to know the depth of hardship of many pastors, especially those behind rebel lines, and yet see their continued perseverance.
• Cara lacks only about $1,200 in funds for the E-Team trip this summer. She has everything necessary for the trip to France and the training in Nashville , but is still raising funds for the ticket to and from Cote d'Ivoire . Thanks to so many of you who helped!
Please pray for:
• Stamina. Our family is tired. Because of our evacuation last fall, we missed a long vacation planned for October, and changing continents twice during one school year has taken its toll. We need supernatural strength to continue this pace during the next two months, and extra patience with one another.
• In addition to Romeo, pray for Nasir, a young Lebanese Muslim, who has openly spoken with Verlin. He is trying to break an addictive habit in his life, and has allowed Verlin to share about Christ.
• Madame Adou, the pastor's wife here in Bondoukou, had an appendectomy last Saturday. Pray that she will recover quickly with no infections. If you could see the dirty conditions of the hospital, you would believe with us that it is practically a miracle every time an African recovers from surgery without complications.
• Join us in asking the Lord to bless Free Will Baptist International Missions with an offering this April that will surpass the many needs that it must cover. Pray that ministries will not have to be curtailed from lacking funds, but that we all can move forward together to accomplish even more for His sake this upcoming year.
From all of our family to each of you, a very blessed Easter! After our signature is a sonnet appropriate for this season that Cara wrote for 10 th grade English. May Jesus always have the exalted place in our lives!
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Love Hated
by Cara Anderson
From the ancient time of Cain and Abel
This truth has been shown: those who deeply love
Are, by those entirely incapable,
Hated, though they are just like harmless doves.
Sad was the mighty suffering that chased
The star-crossed lovers of Verona , or
Caught the resolute patriot who faced
Death, that liberty ring forevermore.
Steadfastly these loves admonish us, yet
May Christ's passion exalted ever be.
Dear Lamb of God, in blood and sweat You kept
The covenant to save sinners like me.
Hate does not accept true love as it grows,
But hate cannot sway the Best Love we know.
During this most joyous of weeks as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we have many other things for which to thank the Lord, too. Rejoice with us!
• It is an immeasurable blessing that our 3 children know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and understand that Easter is not about bunnies and eggs, but about His great love and the power of His resurrection in our lives. We never want to neglect the important ministry of helping them grow in their faith year by year.
• Our coworker Alice Smith made it safely back to Cote d'Ivoire . We met her in Abidjan on March 29, and this week she was able to come to Bondoukou to see the house we had put on hold for her. She will take the house, and after Verlin supervises the workers who will repair it, we hope she can move in just a few hundred yards from us in 6 to 8 weeks.
• Romeo (yes, you read that name right!), the young man who tutors Corbin in French 6 days a week, is deeply interested in spiritual matters. Verlin has begun the Bible study “Experiencing God” with him, and he already has had many questions and expressed a hunger to know God personally. Pray that he will clearly understand what it means to receive Christ as Savior and walk by faith.
• The CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team continues to work hard collecting information and nears the point of being able to choose their village. They have eliminated 2 of the 5 potential villages, and feel drawn to a particular one. Pray that they will follow the Lord's leadership during this critical phase. Their work is on pause during Easter week.
• In late March our African pastors had their first pastoral retreat since 2001, before the political crisis. Verlin spoke once, and Samuel, who pastors in Abidjan , spoke the second time. It was encouraging to hear the ministry report of each pastor, Verlin noted. Particularly it was touching to know the depth of hardship of many pastors, especially those behind rebel lines, and yet see their continued perseverance.
• Cara lacks only about $1,200 in funds for the E-Team trip this summer. She has everything necessary for the trip to France and the training in Nashville , but is still raising funds for the ticket to and from Cote d'Ivoire . Thanks to so many of you who helped!
Please pray for:
• Stamina. Our family is tired. Because of our evacuation last fall, we missed a long vacation planned for October, and changing continents twice during one school year has taken its toll. We need supernatural strength to continue this pace during the next two months, and extra patience with one another.
• In addition to Romeo, pray for Nasir, a young Lebanese Muslim, who has openly spoken with Verlin. He is trying to break an addictive habit in his life, and has allowed Verlin to share about Christ.
• Madame Adou, the pastor's wife here in Bondoukou, had an appendectomy last Saturday. Pray that she will recover quickly with no infections. If you could see the dirty conditions of the hospital, you would believe with us that it is practically a miracle every time an African recovers from surgery without complications.
• Join us in asking the Lord to bless Free Will Baptist International Missions with an offering this April that will surpass the many needs that it must cover. Pray that ministries will not have to be curtailed from lacking funds, but that we all can move forward together to accomplish even more for His sake this upcoming year.
From all of our family to each of you, a very blessed Easter! After our signature is a sonnet appropriate for this season that Cara wrote for 10 th grade English. May Jesus always have the exalted place in our lives!
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Love Hated
by Cara Anderson
From the ancient time of Cain and Abel
This truth has been shown: those who deeply love
Are, by those entirely incapable,
Hated, though they are just like harmless doves.
Sad was the mighty suffering that chased
The star-crossed lovers of Verona , or
Caught the resolute patriot who faced
Death, that liberty ring forevermore.
Steadfastly these loves admonish us, yet
May Christ's passion exalted ever be.
Dear Lamb of God, in blood and sweat You kept
The covenant to save sinners like me.
Hate does not accept true love as it grows,
But hate cannot sway the Best Love we know.
Ministry Update from 3/3/06
Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
Here are some highlights from a very productive first six weeks back on the field.
The African CHE team in Goumere is encouraged and working hard. Last time we asked you to pray for their visits to regional government leadership. Those visits were well received. The suprefect of the region gave his hearty approval, and the doctor of the tiny hospital in Goumere even offered to help the team, should they need vaccinations done in a village, or medical screening for school children.
Now the team is collecting data on 3-5 villages. Two are begun, and a third will probably be started this week. They have a list of questions that need to be answered by informal survey. These include such things as: What is the spiritual openness of the community? What resources are in and around the village? Has the village ever cooperated successfully on a project before?
Once the team has collected, discussed, and prayed over their findings, they will choose the village they believe they can most effectively help. If you were to visit ANY of these villages, you would see huge spiritual, medical, and economic needs, but the team must start with the one that they feel will most likely succeed. If they reach one village effectively, other villages will see and want to have a team, too.
Pray for our Goumere CHE team. They all volunteer their time, and the church helps with transport costs. Included on the team are one pastor, a shop owner, a refrigerator repairman, a schoolteacher, a newlywed who does woodwork and raises chickens, a mason, and a student. These men are determined to spread the gospel and improve life in a village through CHE. Their hard work in this ministry with no pay is an example to all. Most of them are seasoned Christians who have been faithful witnesses and workers in the church. On the missionary side, you have our family and our partner Alice Smith. For now, Verlin and Debbie meet with the team usually at least once a week and help them think through each step, answer questions, and make sure they have the materials to continue.
Perhaps you are surprised to see no medical personnel on the African team, since this is called Community Health Evangelism. Verlin is an RN and Alice has medical exposure from years working in a clinic, but the emphasis of this outreach is on prevention, not curative care. Specialists in medicine and agriculture can and will be called in as needed, but most of the transformation happens teaching simple spiritual lessons and health lessons regularly in every household in the community.
February 7-12, a regional CHE conference occurred in Kumasi , Ghana . Verlin and one member of the Goumere CHE team were able to attend for 3 days. It was a great encouragement to Kobenan (the pastor on the team), as he met the CHE coordinators for Africa and observed people from many West African countries ministering through CHE. Pray that the things learned there will be implemented on our team.
On the home front, our family is healthy and happy. Debbie only has about 4 barrels left to unpack (Verlin a few more of tools and such) and over 50 boxes of books now have homes. Each book had to be wiped down with a mixture of water and bleach to kill mold and remove dust. For a few days our house looked like a library that a tornado had torn through, with books strewn everywhere.
Our greatest hindrance now is that we often do not have water for half the day. Since Debbie has about 30 loads of dusty, moldy linens and old clothes to wash, in addition to regular laundry, the lack of water slows things considerably. Many families in Bondoukou have a water tower to store water for the dry season months, and our Christian landlord has recommended we build one, too (he has one in his courtyard). We may have to do that for the next dry season, but for the moment we are trying to let our mission account recover from our move and house set-up. A water tower would probably cost $600.00 or so.
We are befriending neighbors and shopkeepers, and most seem very open to spiritual matters. Corbin has started with his French tutor again, and has made HUGE progress even in the last 2 weeks. We think within 3 or 4 months, he will be jabbering in French without problem. Cason and Cara are working hard to catch up in high school classes. Moving twice during one school year was difficult. Cara is also trying to raise money for her E-Team summer mission trip to France . She is excited about that.
It was a joy to welcome into our home the Hanna Project medical team for one meal and then, a week later, sandwiches and snacks. They came to give meningitis vaccinations and do surgeries in the Doropo area. How exciting to hear how the Lord used them!
Please pray for our dear missionary coworker Carol Pinkerton. She was deathly ill with cerebral malaria last week. That seems cured, but to check out some other possible medical problems, she and her husband Jerry flew out of Abidjan last night, March 1, for the States. We hope and expect to see them back in Abidjan soon.
Alice has been given medical permission to return to the field after her skin cancer was removed. We also praise the Lord that we have been able to put a house on hold for her about 150 yards from our own. This would put us close for work and security concerns, a huge answer to prayer.
Thank you for being such great ministry partners! Pray for a bountiful harvest for His glory. Pray especially that the CHE team will be so well-equipped that they can repeat the outreach many times in the future and train others to reach out with CHE, too.
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
Here are some highlights from a very productive first six weeks back on the field.
The African CHE team in Goumere is encouraged and working hard. Last time we asked you to pray for their visits to regional government leadership. Those visits were well received. The suprefect of the region gave his hearty approval, and the doctor of the tiny hospital in Goumere even offered to help the team, should they need vaccinations done in a village, or medical screening for school children.
Now the team is collecting data on 3-5 villages. Two are begun, and a third will probably be started this week. They have a list of questions that need to be answered by informal survey. These include such things as: What is the spiritual openness of the community? What resources are in and around the village? Has the village ever cooperated successfully on a project before?
Once the team has collected, discussed, and prayed over their findings, they will choose the village they believe they can most effectively help. If you were to visit ANY of these villages, you would see huge spiritual, medical, and economic needs, but the team must start with the one that they feel will most likely succeed. If they reach one village effectively, other villages will see and want to have a team, too.
Pray for our Goumere CHE team. They all volunteer their time, and the church helps with transport costs. Included on the team are one pastor, a shop owner, a refrigerator repairman, a schoolteacher, a newlywed who does woodwork and raises chickens, a mason, and a student. These men are determined to spread the gospel and improve life in a village through CHE. Their hard work in this ministry with no pay is an example to all. Most of them are seasoned Christians who have been faithful witnesses and workers in the church. On the missionary side, you have our family and our partner Alice Smith. For now, Verlin and Debbie meet with the team usually at least once a week and help them think through each step, answer questions, and make sure they have the materials to continue.
Perhaps you are surprised to see no medical personnel on the African team, since this is called Community Health Evangelism. Verlin is an RN and Alice has medical exposure from years working in a clinic, but the emphasis of this outreach is on prevention, not curative care. Specialists in medicine and agriculture can and will be called in as needed, but most of the transformation happens teaching simple spiritual lessons and health lessons regularly in every household in the community.
February 7-12, a regional CHE conference occurred in Kumasi , Ghana . Verlin and one member of the Goumere CHE team were able to attend for 3 days. It was a great encouragement to Kobenan (the pastor on the team), as he met the CHE coordinators for Africa and observed people from many West African countries ministering through CHE. Pray that the things learned there will be implemented on our team.
On the home front, our family is healthy and happy. Debbie only has about 4 barrels left to unpack (Verlin a few more of tools and such) and over 50 boxes of books now have homes. Each book had to be wiped down with a mixture of water and bleach to kill mold and remove dust. For a few days our house looked like a library that a tornado had torn through, with books strewn everywhere.
Our greatest hindrance now is that we often do not have water for half the day. Since Debbie has about 30 loads of dusty, moldy linens and old clothes to wash, in addition to regular laundry, the lack of water slows things considerably. Many families in Bondoukou have a water tower to store water for the dry season months, and our Christian landlord has recommended we build one, too (he has one in his courtyard). We may have to do that for the next dry season, but for the moment we are trying to let our mission account recover from our move and house set-up. A water tower would probably cost $600.00 or so.
We are befriending neighbors and shopkeepers, and most seem very open to spiritual matters. Corbin has started with his French tutor again, and has made HUGE progress even in the last 2 weeks. We think within 3 or 4 months, he will be jabbering in French without problem. Cason and Cara are working hard to catch up in high school classes. Moving twice during one school year was difficult. Cara is also trying to raise money for her E-Team summer mission trip to France . She is excited about that.
It was a joy to welcome into our home the Hanna Project medical team for one meal and then, a week later, sandwiches and snacks. They came to give meningitis vaccinations and do surgeries in the Doropo area. How exciting to hear how the Lord used them!
Please pray for our dear missionary coworker Carol Pinkerton. She was deathly ill with cerebral malaria last week. That seems cured, but to check out some other possible medical problems, she and her husband Jerry flew out of Abidjan last night, March 1, for the States. We hope and expect to see them back in Abidjan soon.
Alice has been given medical permission to return to the field after her skin cancer was removed. We also praise the Lord that we have been able to put a house on hold for her about 150 yards from our own. This would put us close for work and security concerns, a huge answer to prayer.
Thank you for being such great ministry partners! Pray for a bountiful harvest for His glory. Pray especially that the CHE team will be so well-equipped that they can repeat the outreach many times in the future and train others to reach out with CHE, too.
Gladly serving Him here,
Verlin, Debbie, Cason, Cara, and Corbin Anderson
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