Ministry Update from 12/13/2009

Merry Christmas from Bondoukou, Cote d’Ivoire! While we were gone from home for 22 days on mission business, the dry season arrived. Now our nights are cold (well, 65-70 degrees SEEMS cold), and the air, trees, and furniture are laden with dust, our African version of snow.

During this festive season, we express our heartfelt thanks for your helping us share Christ year-round. Tinsel and toys crowd shop shelves in Cote d’Ivoire. Children throughout the country anticipate gifts. We mourn that most Ivorians have acquired the material trappings of Christmas without knowing the wonder of experiencing Emmanuel, God with us, who made all the material. May the presence of Jesus fill ALL your holiday activities this year!

Joyfully His and yours,
Verlin, Debbie, and Corbin Anderson

LOOKING BACK (Since last writing, we have….)
• Gratefully welcomed Alice Smith, our missionary Community Health Evangelism (CHE) partner, back to the field and together completed the Ivorian labyrinth of paperwork to accommodate our presence here.
• Attended a very informative Transition Workshop in Spain, prepared by International Missions, to answer questions and facilitate our changed financial structure for 2010. We were graciously received and hosted by our Spanish missionaries, and were blessed to worship in the Alpedrete church on Sunday.
• Passed many good times of conversation with our Regional Director, Clint Morgan, about the transformation God is doing here, and our participation in it. We were thankful to share in person during four hours while in Spain.
• Shared a Thanksgiving meal and service in Abidjan with other missionaries, including one FWBBC graduate here with another mission.
• Completed many repairs of our two FWB properties in Abidjan for their maintenance and appraisal.
• Treated 3 bouts with malaria (Verlin 2; Debbie 1), and Deb took an imposed 10 day slowdown due to her back.
• Visited the new 4th FWB church in Abidjan, this one in the Koumassi quarter, where Verlin preached, and we worshipped, with another 7 - 8 believers who gathered in a rented classroom.
• Began meeting with Ivorians who anticipate attending the National Association in Oklahoma City in 2010.
• Continued strategic planning meetings with Ivorian church leadership at four different times, places, and of varied responsibility.
• Restarted with good success the translation and data entry process for CHE lessons and other documents (excepting a hard drive we’ve yet to restore)

LOOKING FORWARD (Upcoming activities include…)
• Ordination Committee meeting at our house on December 19.
• Verlin leaves December 19 (or early the 20th) for a remote village, Taoudi, to discuss with believers the logistics and date for a first CHE training session. They hope to plant and expand the Church using CHE in the region.
• Christmas services with the Goumere FWB Church.
• Week after Christmas, hopefully we will take 3 or 4 days of vacation, but not travel. This will be an experiment, since we normally have to leave home to rest. We do not want to further weary ourselves planning & traveling!
• Jan: ramp up CHE activities in Goumere with meetings and training.
• Jan: begin American embassy paperwork process with Ivorians going to National.

LOOKING UP (Pray with us for….)
• A Muslim man to whom Verlin witnessed during an hour on the flight from Spain while Debbie prayed. His heart and mind were very open to talk. Pray that other believers will water the planted seed of God’s Word.
• Ange, a gendarme who called recently to say he was saved after getting a Bible from us at the Ghana/Cote d’Ivoire border about 2 years ago. Verlin hopes to have lunch with him the next time he’s in Abidjan. Ask the Lord to help Ange realize the importance of attending church, accountability, and prayer.
• Our children in college, Cason and Cara. (This will be Cara’s first Christmas away).
• Charismatic tendency and influence in our church to continue being identified and treated by Ivorian believers and us. Pray for our wisdom to speak and act well as counsel for pastors and lay leaders alike. Cason, Corbin, Cara 11/08
• Serious financial needs of International Missions. Many charitable organizations suffer because of the economy. Our hearts yearn for ministries to continue unhindered. Ask the Lord to guide our government’s fiscal policy and the financial changes at IM in 2010 so that real Good News will spread to even more people and places.

Ministry Update from 09/13/2009

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

The weather in Bondoukou during rain season is extremely humid, but oh, the beautiful flowers! Our yard is a feast for the eyes: pink roses and hibiscus; white gardenias; yellow bells; fiery orange ixoras and irises; purple, pink, and peach bougainvilleas; and tiny red blossoms on the Thorns of Christ lining our gateway.

Verlin returned to Cote d’Ivoire July 1; Debbie and Corbin followed on July 13. We begin this 4-year term with a sense of great anticipation and some trepidation. Alice Smith and our family are the FWB missionaries remaining here, so the workload is enormous and the days short. Yet we know that our Father controls these circumstances for the advancement of His work. He does not give more than we can bear, and we pray for what Asher received in Deuteronomy 33:23, “as our days, so shall our strength be.”

Our first few weeks were hectic with unpacking barrels and repairing everything that was malfunctioning: the car, the freezer, the stove, the Internet, 2 toilets, 2 sinks, a water heater, the generator, voltage regulators, light sockets, and so on. Verlin did not sleep much with the long to-do list to complete, and Debbie rushed to get the house unpacked before Corbin’s school began on August 10th. During those frantic days, visits and visitors happened regularly, as well.

In mid-August, Verlin set out on a small motorbike for the national Pastor’s Retreat, which was a 5-hour drive north to the small village of Tehini. He slept on the floor among the pastors for 5 days, took bucket baths, and ate mystery meats in the sauces including agouti (rat), gazelle, calf’s feet, and hedgehog. It was a blessed time for the pastors to be together. Despite no electricity, it was providential that he was able to share a video message from Robert West, former missionary to Cote d’Ivoire, who since has gone to be with the Lord after a valiant fight against cancer.

Next he participated at the National Association meeting at Bouna for another week. Much business transpired during the 5 days, and the 4th class of pastors from the Bible Institute received their diplomas during one session. BERECA, the NGO now responsible for the Doropo clinic, presented their plans for the future.

Verlin preached several times while he was north, but spoke consecutive Sundays in a remote village about 60 kilometers from Bouna. The first Sunday, 3 people were saved after the service and one rededicated his life to the Lord. Pastor Jerome Kambou, who translated for Verlin into Lobi, believes one of the converts was a former fetisher, witch doctor. Pray for the Lord to call leaders for fledging flocks of believers such as this one in numerous villages. They need someone regularly shepherding them to understand and apply the Word of God.

We have already met once with the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) team at the Goumere church. That work of training resumes in September. Another church in a very remote region has already requested CHE training, and we expect to hear from a 3rd in a few weeks. Another organization introduces CHE strategy among some of our other churches. Please pray that the mundane stresses of life in Africa do not prevent us from accomplishing the tasks the Lord has set before us.

Thank you for helping make our presence here possible. We treasure you as partners in ministry, and have never needed your prayers more. May the name of Jesus be lifted high here in Cote d’Ivoire, and there, as you serve Him!

Gratefully and prayerfully,
Verlin, Debbie, and Corbin Anderson

Prayer Requests:

• Cason and Cara happily pursue collegiate studies in Nashville. Corbin faces his first year alone on the mission field. African playmates are at our house five days a week, but he does miss his siblings.
• Serious thefts have occurred recently in our neighborhood. One street over, armed robbers stole a new vehicle from an NGO in August. This past Sunday a neighbor’s home was emptied of belongings while she was out. We never leave our yard unattended for even one hour, and keep at least one ferocious-looking dog. The situation requires constant vigilance; still, we know our true Protector and sleep in peace.
• Many groups of believers in remote villages receive little spiritual instruction. African pastors of larger FWB churches visit and preach when possible, but their time and resources are limited.
• Pray for the CHE team at Goumere, as they seek to train more people in the church to work in CHE, and reach out at the village of Karako. CHE multiplies teachers.

Ministry Update from 06/13/2009

Hello, dear friends.

Services, 2 state meetings, speaking in WV, OH, FL, MI, OK, and TN, other in-the-trench missionary work, 5 days of vacation, and packing—our last 6 weeks in a nutshell. Our plane tickets have been purchased—our visas granted. Lord willing, Verlin returns to Cote d’Ivoire on June 29. Debbie and Corbin follow July 13. Before leaving, we will participate at the MI Youth Camp, June 22 – 26. Pray for Bro. Steve Connor, the camp director and owner of U.S. Made Leaders (www.usmadeleaders.com), the evangelist Rev. Frank Owen, and our participation with the all-volunteer staff.

Thanks again to the wonderful people (our families included) who hosted Verlin or us in their homes this past year. The fellowship was a blessing and the cost savings significant, at least $400 better per month when compared to our last stateside assignment. With those savings, and the consistent financial sacrifices and special offerings made on behalf of this ministry, we return encouraged in the Lord. We anticipate seeing HIM do great things. While our general account has not reached the $15,000 mark, the balance was well over half that amount on our last report.

We continue our field responsibilities from afar, but look forward to successfully transferring many of these duties to Ivorians this term. In May, a video greeting and testament of Robert and Pam West was made to help Ivorians and the village of Kafalo settle a property dispute in non-government controlled territory. To help the Abidjan church-planting efforts in that very expensive city, we continued the dialogue to develop a transparent revolving loan fund. We've assisted the Education Committee, the Bible Institute director, and the Theological Education by Extension director with accounting. A no-fee means to transfer money to the field was established and used last month, which will save us $70 to $150 monthly. After numerous calls, we also were able to re-establish water service at one property.

Prayer Points:
· Pray for Salomon, a Bible Institute student recently run over by a motorcycle while waiting for public transport. He was traveling to obtain a marriage certificate, but has been unconscious and shown signs of internal bleeding at points. A brain scan 450 miles away is needed to know the extent of the injury.
· Pray for M, the Muslim convert we have mentioned often. Her family has eased up on persecution, allowing her to have a private Bible study and prayer time with a Christian. She still does not attend church apart from that small group.
· Pray for Kolo, a government official formerly involved in CHE lesson translation. He was transferred to a city in western Cote d'Ivoire and will need follow-up with discipleship.
· Pray for safe travels and wisdom. There's much pressure on our time as we pack, relocate, unpack, and make numerous repairs, while also endeavoring to meet former and newly established mission objectives. Ask for grace as we leave 2 children in college this time.

Grateful to serve the King in communion with you,
Verlin, Debbie, and Corbin Anderson

Ministry Update from 04/08/2009

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

To paraphrase an old song, "Spring is bustin' out all over" in Nashville. What a glorious time to celebrate our Lord's resurrection. Because He lives forever, we have HOPE to share with the nations! Here is our good news from the past few weeks.

* We have been approved to return to Cote d?Ivoire this summer, hopefully in early July! Verlin will probably precede Debbie and Corbin by 14 days, as visas are approved.

Our account balance climbed from $28,000.00 in the red, and right now hovers around 0. Please pray with us that a remaining $16,000.00 in cash will come in before our departure date. That additional cash and $1,500.00 still needed per month is not fluff, but will be truly necessary for us to minister effectively because of exchange rates. The approval to go is based on the planned 2010 implementation of the Global Evangelization Fund, not the account balance.

* A huge thank you to the people of Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, and Tennessee who welcomed us. Some saw people saved and rededicated, all seemed encouraged by what God is doing through Community Health Evangelism (CHE) in West Africa. In upcoming months, we have services, state meetings, and a camp scheduled as one or both of us travel in Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, West Virginia, and Ohio.

* The Christian teen converted from the Muslim family has been going by our house to have a Bible study and pray. Praise God that the persecution from her family has lifted a bit to make this possible! She is still not attending church. For her safety from now on, we will not use her name.

* In March, an evangelistic campaign was held in Bouake. Pastor George and his family labor to re-establish the Free Will Baptist church that disbanded when they and others had to flee during the civil war. There are now 19 new people attending the church in response to the outreach, bringing the average attendance to 42.

In closing, have you ever wondered if missionaries are still necessary in Africa? Attached is an eye-opening article by an atheist who grew up there. It's a testimony to the truly life-changing faith we hold and practice. He observed in other places what our mission has faithfully done in Cote d'Ivoire for more than 50 years. May it encourage you to steadfast prayer and giving to International Missions, as well as help deal with atheists here. Like us, you may also be touched to pray for the author who rubbed shoulders with the truth, and yet walked away.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece

Thank you for all you do. May your family enjoy a precious season rejoicing in our Savior.

He is risen indeed! Verlin, Debbie, and Corbin Anderson