Heartbeats

CHSC LINK: Heartbeats
PDF Version: AWA Weekly 220625 PDF

Come and See (Psalm 34:8)

Remembering sounds of little heartbeats brings us joy this week. Praise God for the good U.S. judicial news for the unborn! However, for those who follow Jesus, the announcement is just a launching point for loving the heartbeats of every soul on earth. Early FWB missionaries to Cote d’Ivoire, like Jimmy and Janie Aldridge, sometimes rescued infants as an example that still builds church communities today. The Church needs a renewed passion for showing the world again – as in early Rome - that God changes us so loving adults can legally embrace little ones who need homes. Although we seldom quote others’ published work, we find the information below relevant and helpful.

In a recent survey of 1,000 post-abortive women, 76 percent said they would have preferred to parent had their circumstances been different. The vast majority of women do not want to end the life of the child in their womb, but often feel they have no other realistic option based on their challenging circumstances...As the church applies a robust ethic of each person’s dignity, it requires us to care for individuals holistically. The church’s involvement in adoption and foster care are good examples. Contrary to the criticism that Christians only care about the issues of life up until the moment of birth, a recent study concluded believers are nearly three times more likely to adopt than the general public. Believers are more likely to be generous with their time and finances for those in poverty. And it’s almost exclusively people of faith who run the pregnancy care centers in our country. Still, more must be done.
– Lauren Green McAfee |
– Article @ The Gospel Coalition

Say Yes, Step Out

McAfee then proceeds to list many ways individuals and churches can better participate in creating a culture of life in our nation. The support we scratch together for other ministries includes crisis pregnancy centers. Along with our family, we strive to always match deeds to the prayers we utter with intentions like those shared in our lead pastor’s latest congregational letter. Let us not lose sight of each incredible opportunity God grants us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in action!

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Other heartbeats are in our thoughts, too. Debbie’s mother, Sandra Payne, ended up in the ER this week with atrial fibrillation (A.Fib) and low serum sodium. Thankfully, she is back home now, although this new health issue will likely take some time to regulate. Debbie was glad she could help her parents some during the week. Added news for rejoicing is that our son Corbin started his move back to the family property in Cookeville this week. We will enjoy more time with him as he searches for an engineering job in this region. (However, we will probably crowd him in our 1066 sq. foot homestead office/home we use when stateside.) Finally, Verlin put greater than 80 hours into prepping for CHE training in Cote d’Ivoire, calling overseas, and handling financial reports.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Praise God for the judicial good news this week! Pray protection over US Supreme Court justices, organizations providing help for those who choose life, and police forces. Pray an awakened sense of calling seizes families and churches to support pregnant women and find homes for unwanted babies.

• 🙏 Continue praying for upcoming CHE training in Cote d’Ivoire and newly trained workers. Also, ask for wisdom and strength for CHE ministries working diligently nationwide.

• 🙏 Debbie was thankful to be with her parents part of the week. Ask the Lord to give doctors wisdom in getting her mother’s hearts’ Atrial Fibrillation under control.

Your Partners in the Gospel,

Verlin and Debbie

Christian Health Service Corps (CHSC) is a mission of dedicated medical professionals who participate in the CHE Global Network. Together, in a loose affiliation of individuals, churches, denominational, and nondenominational agencies, we share God's Light and Truth through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Verlin and Debbie accept donor partners to contribute as led to provide support as we maintain residential ministry to expand CHE ministries in Cote d'Ivoire under the auspices of CHSC & Ivorian partners. Tax-deductible contributions by check are to be made payable to the CHSC with Andersons #0118 written on the memo line. Mail to CHSC - PO Box 132 - Fruitvale, TX 75127. Give online via the CHSC @ www.che4a.org (3% fee) or TDF (0% fee).

Prior: Papas on Loan
        - 220618 PDF
Prior Videos: The Great Story
        - Lasting Footrints

2022 1Q Report: The Persevering
  -  2022 1Q Anderson Report 220521 PDF

2022 Budget Info:
CHSC-0118_ANDERSON-2022-Budget.pdf
 
  Something to ask? Write updates@verlindeb.org

AWA represents
Andersons Witness in Africa.
It is also a brand of bottled water in Cote d'Ivoire where we serve.

GIVEONLINE to support these ministries
                                   www.che4a.org

Debbie's Facebook Page

Verlin's Facebook Page

Papas on Loan

CHSC LINK: Papas on Loans
PDF Version: AWA Weekly 220618 PDF

Come and See (Psalm 34:8)

This Father's Day weekend, Eric Liddell's heroic life and death remind us of papas on loan. The story of Liddell's impressive Olympic victory while honoring God's Sabbath in the movie Chariots of Fire never gets old. Nevertheless, many do not know the more moving story of his being a missionary in China some years later. When the tensions of World War II mounted, he sent his pregnant wife with their two little girls to Canada while he moved to a remote, precarious Chinese village. He took his family's safety very seriously; their separation was a grievous loss. Not long after they left, he became one of the papas on loan, to children and youth in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, where he spent the last months of his life. Years later, when grown daughters still grieved the loss of their beloved father, stories told by their dad's fellow prisoners helped the girls cope. They gained comfort from hearing how their dad selflessly taught classes, refereed sports games, repaired broken toys, influenced moral behavior, preached every Sunday, and tirelessly brought laughter and joy to other prisoners, especially the young. The fatherly love and concern Eric could not lavish on his girls in those months, he poured into the lives of very needy young prisoners.

Often, a missionary's lifestyle includes repetitive family separations. Although such times apart may not be as heart-rending as the Liddell's experience, they still hurt. For example, Debbie remembers not having her parents available to give permission for emergency surgery when she was a minor in college. Similarly, our children kindly never fault us for missionary service but accept us as counseling parents on loan to others when unavailable for them. Thankfully, the Lord graciously provides papas on loan (and mamas) during our absences and their crises. Our loving Lord created and fully understands this deep human need for a father.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

CHE Vision Seminar in Guinea

Before leaving Cote d'Ivoire in May, Verlin was asked to lead a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) Vision Seminar in Guinea, West Africa. The goal was to further coach a participant he met at the CHE Internship in Ghana in February and enlarge the witness of the medical clinic he began. Unfortunately, the timing clashed with Verlin's already scheduled hernia surgery in the States. The Ivorian CHE team leader, Emmanuel, took up the mantle despite his busy schedule. This week they completed the CHE Vision Seminar in Conakry, Guinea. The picture shows some of the more than 40 attendees. The excited participants plan a whole week of training in November. Join us in praying for Pierre Haba and his team as they seek to bring transformation to many communities using CHE's holistic approach to ministry. He also seeks a surgeon to join the medical ministry.

As Emmanuel emphasized the importance of fathers using Discovery Bible Studies for the spiritual growth of families and themselves, Verlin had opportunities on Wednesday and Saturday to do likewise. God inspires and informs a new generation of parents to correct errant ways. Even populist messengers now trace missteps in U.S. history like this Father's Day reading we purchase to read, Battle for the American Mind.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Pray for an outpouring of wisdom, strength, and grace upon fathers. Perhaps there is no group whose role and importance get more maligned as patriarchal and mischaracterized as fearmongering. Pray that Godly men will also embrace roles as papas on loan to hurting children and youth in their sphere of influence.

• 🙏 Thank the Lord for the CHE Vision Seminar recently completed in Guinea. Pray that participants engage quickly with what they learned and that arrangements for a November training come to fruition.

• 🙏 Pray Verlin experiences pain relief and healing of the "dry socket" symptoms after his last week's dental surgery. It has been a week of not much eating or sleeping with chronic pain that has started to subside.

Your Partners in the Gospel,

Verlin and Debbie

Christian Health Service Corps (CHSC) is a mission of dedicated medical professionals who participate in the CHE Global Network. Together, in a loose affiliation of individuals, churches, denominational, and nondenominational agencies, we share God's Light and Truth through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Verlin and Debbie accept donor partners to contribute as led to provide support as we maintain residential ministry to expand CHE ministries in Cote d'Ivoire under the auspices of CHSC & Ivorian partners. Tax-deductible contributions by check are to be made payable to the CHSC with Andersons #0118 written on the memo line. Mail to CHSC - PO Box 132 - Fruitvale, TX 75127. Give online via the CHSC @ www.che4a.org (3% fee) or TDF (0% fee).

Prior: Badges and Bites
        - 220611 PDF
Prior Videos: The Great Story
        - Lasting Footrints

2022 1Q Report: The Persevering
  -  2022 1Q Anderson Report 220521 PDF

2022 Budget Info:
CHSC-0118_ANDERSON-2022-Budget.pdf
 
  Something to ask? Write updates@verlindeb.org

AWA represents
Andersons Witness in Africa.
It is also a brand of bottled water in Cote d'Ivoire where we serve.

GIVEONLINE to support these ministries
                                   www.che4a.org

Debbie's Facebook Page

Verlin's Facebook Page

Badges and Bites

CHSC LINK: Badges and Bites
PDF Version: AWA Weekly 220611 PDF

While we dealt with badges and bites in Tennessee this week, Ivoirian Community Health Evangelism (CHE) partners continued to plan, train, and engage in greater than 70 communities within Cote d’Ivoire! On Friday, around 5 a.m., Verlin tried to join a CHE university team planning meeting by video conferencing to no avail. Interaction is needed during some weekly sessions to help plan the September university CHE event. We expect to establish virtual connections that work correctly in the coming weeks. On this side of the Atlantic, part of June and July will be occupied with revising and distributing CHE lessons for the university program. We weave that arduous process around medical appointments and visits with ministry partners.

As a review, below is a list of various ways that Ivorian CHE partners with whom we coordinate plant churches and impact communities. They foster personal and group transformation by following God’s lead to obediently help shift participants to live by Biblical beliefs. We strengthen . . . 

• Discovery Bible Studies
• pig and goat production
• Farming God's Way
• forestry projects
• moringa oleifera plantations
• bee-keeping
• family gardens
• literacy
• well-digging
• health and hygiene lessons
• building churches and schools
• AIDS intervention programs
• and training nurses
• --OF WHICH WE KNOW!

We continue to encourage adding children’s CHE and school programs to the number of CHE strategies used. Faces and ministries of partners there stay in our hearts and minds as we handle business requiring U.S.-based records. Our plan is to return to them in August, able to work better.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Suzanne and Chelsea
with patches and badges

Now, more about those badges and bites! Monday night, we joyfully witnessed our granddaughter, Chelsea, receive badges as she finished her first year in a local American Heritage Girls program. We are grateful for a denominational church family that teaches our girl to love God, care for herself, cherish family, serve community, and honor country. Later that evening, Verlin was playfully nipped by a friendly dog during a delightful visit. That left a bruise but little else added to healing chigger bites. On Friday, his hearing checked out with little change despite seven prior months of recurrent infection and drainage. Yesterday’s removal of a 2nd molar means little talking or biting as the swollen left jowl heals. One surprise blessing related to the extraction and clearing an infected tooth socket is that his left ear hearing improved! All of this is good progress on the self-care front.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Thank the Lord with us for our opportunities to enjoy family activities together, like our granddaughter’s badge ceremony. These happy occasions help fortify us for the long separations.

• 🙏 Corbin, our younger son, continues looking for a suitable engineering job. He resigned from his Alabama position for reasons of conscience that are Biblically clear. We ask the Lord for a position that leaves him within a three-hour drive of his brother and sister in Tennessee.

• 🙏 Praise the Lord that our CHE partner, who was in an accident right before we left Cote d’Ivoire, is healing nicely. Pray that his agricultural project sees progress despite his physical limitations.

Your Partners in the Gospel,

Verlin and Debbie

Christian Health Service Corps (CHSC) is a mission of dedicated medical professionals who participate in the CHE Global Network. Together, in a loose affiliation of individuals, churches, denominational, and nondenominational agencies, we share God's Light and Truth through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Verlin and Debbie accept donor partners to contribute as led to provide support as we maintain residential ministry to expand CHE ministries in Cote d'Ivoire under the auspices of CHSC & Ivorian partners. Tax-deductible contributions by check are to be made payable to the CHSC with Andersons #0118 written on the memo line. Mail to CHSC - PO Box 132 - Fruitvale, TX 75127. Give online via the CHSC @ www.che4a.org (3% fee) or TDF (0% fee).

Prior: Stones of Remembrance
        - 220604 PDF
Prior Videos: The Great Story
        - Lasting Footrints

2022 1Q Report: The Persevering
  -  2022 1Q Anderson Report 220521 PDF

2022 Budget Info:
CHSC-0118_ANDERSON-2022-Budget.pdf
 
  Something to ask? Write updates@verlindeb.org

AWA represents
Andersons Witness in Africa.
It is also a brand of bottled water in Cote d'Ivoire where we serve.

GIVEONLINE to support these ministries
                                   www.che4a.org

Debbie's Facebook Page

Verlin's Facebook Page

Stones of Remembrance

CHSC LINK: Stones of Remembrance
PDF Version: AWA Weekly 220604 PDF

Traveling home from Texas on Monday, we gladly saw our children, granddaughter, Debbie’s parents, her sister, and a niece. Though we did not commemorate the fallen heroes of our nation with a ceremony that day, we did in heart and speech. Memorial Day reminds us of the stones of remembrance that the Lord commanded Israel to gather after crossing the Jordan River. Representatives of the twelve tribes took stones from the middle of the river and placed them together as a solemn and joyful display of the Lord’s deliverance. Notably, the stones were intended to teach future generations about the miraculous event demonstrating the faithfulness of God at that time. The object lesson also taught surrounding nations that the hand of the Lord is mighty to save; it reminded Israelites to “fear the Lord their God forever” (Josh. 4:24).

Yet to use storied foundation stones 
of 1800s Anderson homestead

Similarly, it remains vital for families to keep stones of remembrance that enable speaking of our Father’s faithfulness across generations. Whether written, verbal, or perhaps some physical symbol that equips storying, our descendants need past voices to call them forward to declare God’s glory. In turn, our heirs must disciple progeny to follow Jesus and erect reinforcing stones of remembrance from their generation. This habit equips a fundamental principle of transferability regularly shared through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Reminders of God’s character and deeds in memorials, even if only a tombstone visit, reinforce the ongoing testimony transmitted from witnesses gone on before us.

#KingdomMenRising

After this update was mostly prepared, Debbie found this sermon on YouTube by Tony Evans on the exact topic. On occasion, his voice remains an encouraging Sunday evening messenger for us. When many Protestant churches dropped evening services because of other priorities, we developed the habit of listening to a variety of sermons after morning services.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

The Lord gave us a safe passage from Texas to Cookeville on Sunday and Monday. Since then, we both briefly succumbed to a respiratory illness with some fever going but the timing still allowed us to complete four more doctor visits. On Friday, Verlin learned from the oral surgeon that he may not need an implant. As we resettled into one location for the month, Debbie continued working on an MK project (links to CT article on MK care); Verlin followed up and set up for more office work.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Thank the Lord with us for a safe return to Cookeville and the good start in checkups with doctors. Per Friday’s visit, Verlin may NOT need a dental bone graft or implant to continue limiting the drainage from his left ear once the causative broken tooth is removed.

• 🙏 Thanks to an Ivoirian co-worker, one more Discovery Bible Study occurred with one of the young men that Debbie met with before our departure. Since students are now on summer break, pray that the group restarts when school resumes in the fall.

• 🙏 Pray for sufficient monthly funds to cover our ministry expenses in Cote d’Ivoire. Monthly giving during 2022 to our missionary account remains lower than in the past few years. Ask the Lord for one-time gifts and new donors to replace some faithful partners who can no longer give.

Your Partners in the Gospel,

Verlin and Debbie

Christian Health Service Corps (CHSC) is a mission of dedicated medical professionals who participate in the CHE Global Network. Together, in a loose affiliation of individuals, churches, denominational, and nondenominational agencies, we share God's Light and Truth through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). Verlin and Debbie accept donor partners to contribute as led to provide support as we maintain residential ministry to expand CHE ministries in Cote d'Ivoire under the auspices of CHSC & Ivorian partners. Tax-deductible contributions by check are to be made payable to the CHSC with Andersons #0118 written on the memo line. Mail to CHSC - PO Box 132 - Fruitvale, TX 75127. Give online via the CHSC @ www.che4a.org (3% fee) or TDF (0% fee).

Prior: Cherish the Treasure
        - 220528 PDF
Prior Videos: The Great Story
        - Lasting Footrints

2022 1Q Report: The Persevering
  -  2022 1Q Anderson Report 220521 PDF

2022 Budget Info:
CHSC-0118_ANDERSON-2022-Budget.pdf
 
  Something to ask? Write updates@verlindeb.org

AWA represents
Andersons Witness in Africa.
It is also a brand of bottled water in Cote d'Ivoire where we serve.

GIVEONLINE to support these ministries
                                   www.che4a.org

Debbie's Facebook Page

Verlin's Facebook Page