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
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