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