Housemates

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 230225 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

One fantastic community truth about following Jesus is how Peter describes us in I Peter 2:4-10. We are considered living stones getting built into a spiritual house designed to announce and accomplish the designs of the One who calls us. Believers abandon walking in shadows of sin with uncertainty to living intentionally for doing good revealed by His marvelous light! Our praise puts Him on display for others. Those reborn of His Word (I Peter 1:22-24) transcribe it into living acts of virtue for others to see God at work (I Peter 2:9).

In that sense, we are housemates with every believer. We get hewn and fitted together individually for shared purposes by Jesus. We use our various gifts and service to accomplish God's will. If He's at work, He gets the lion's share of glory for the gains. No brick forming a house is essential to the structure by itself. In other words, no individual carries greater importance than another. Joining together in alignment with Jesus, our Living Cornerstone, keeps us purposefully united. It's the group impact that counts, but everything falls apart if enough individuals absent themeselves. Letting that reality of life in Christ sink deeply into our spirits stabilizes each relationship with fellow witnesses.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Debbie with Mom A.

Debbie enjoyed the blessing of being with many housemates this past week in Michigan. She loves any opportunity to spend time with Verlin's family. His mother graciously gives her a home for as long as needed while in the Mitten State. Other spiritual housemates

Norma with Debbie

with whom she shared and fellowshipped are some Women Active for Christ groups who have faithfully helped and encouraged our family for 25 years! In addition, she visited individuals who partner with us almost every day, too. Working together with these living stones as the spiritual house of the Lord is an indescribable joy and privilege.

This week Verlin had expected to receive a housemate CHE trainer at our Bondoukou home office to work on editing university CHE lessons. But the Lord had other ideas. Instead, he and the trainer contracted malaria (or typhoid) and stayed apart. Verlin also had the privilege of seeing God initiate through him connections between a medical missionary couple newly arrived on the field and a departing missionary who needed to connect with a Malawi ministry doing church planting. During the week, he continued preparing to travel to Ghana for the CHE Internship while working with a consistent low-grade fever.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Thank the Lord that Debbie made it safely to Michigan, fulfilled her three speaking engagements, and met with many friends and ministry supporters. We are so grateful for so many housemates' generous support and kindness!
  
  
• 🙏 Verlin fell ill with some febrile illness, likely malaria, last Sunday. He has slowly improved throughout the week. He also fights off a painful infection of the skin over his left knee generated from crawling exercises and whose swelling impedes movement. Pray for the CHE trainer similarly slowed by his known bout of malaria.
  
  
• 🙏 Pray for CHE-trained individuals who minister to lepers in western Cote d'Ivoire. Also, continue to lift up preparations for the upcoming CHE Internship in Ghana.

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 - specifying Verlin and Debbie Anderson in the optional Memo.

Prior: Anxious Thoughts
        - 230218 PDF
Prior Videos: Reflect and Rejoice
        - The Great Story

2022 Q3 & Q4 Reports: Reckon
  -  3Q|4Q 2022 Report 230121 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

Anxious Thoughts

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 230218 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comfort delights my soul.

- Psalm 94:19 (NASB)

Twenty-four-hour “what bleeds leads” news reporting takes a toll of the human soul when not engaged with a prayerful, trusting spirit. Anxious thoughts abound among many these days, even the young. Ancient yet effective disciplines get maligned and neglected as those created in God’s image get inundated daily with alarms like the thousands dead from earthquakes, spy balloons sent to menace nations, toxic wastes intentionally let to permeate soil, water, and air, and threatened escalations of war. Carrying the weight of the world’s woe every hour, every day, overwhelms the unequipped soul (see Ep.6). If we start and end our day with only broadcast and rumor-milled news, anxious thoughts plague us and create long-term stresses.

When Verlin began nursing studies, we noticed how rapidly thoughts from Christian and secular perspectives now converge about better ways to start and end each day. We refer to such convergences as the Word of God revealed in Creation (i.e., General Revelation). [The meeting of minds gets validated for life choices by matching up to God’s revealed Word through history, the Bible, and affirmed by experiences within the church body built together in the Holy Ghost appointed to speak truth (1 Ptr 1-2)]. Secularists now recommend that we not reach for the cell phone or begin the day with news but rather spend time meditating and mentally rehearsing attitudes to exemplify and actions to accomplish during the day. Then, before sleep, 2:1 breathing combined with ten minutes of mindfully giving thanks encourages restful recovery.

Hibiscus, moringa, and papaya leaf teas
with cinnamon, cloves, and lime juice
are part of our dietary changes made.

When the misled who know not or reject God’s ways adapt ancient Christian habits by force of evidence from the Creation, believers can confidently claim historical precedent and grow God’s kingdom by demonstrating the changes brought in using these habits. We’ve an advantage since we're enabled by the Holy Spirit. When meditating upon His Word and effectively communing in prayer for regular and focused periods, anxious thoughts fail to gain footholds, let alone establish any strongholds leading to psychiatric crises (though we know by experience that dietary habits must get addressed too to evade the latter, usually). We’ve tried several approaches to integrate Biblical meditation and deep breathing. Suppose you would like help establishing a Christ-focused daily morning and evening routine that incorporates some perspectives from church history; in that case, you might enjoy a free site or app like Lectio 365 that we presently evaluate to share in Cote d'Ivoire. It facilitates deep breathing during an orally shared meditation with foci for morning and evening meditations. Scriptures used reflect a different Biblical theme for disciples each week. While not replacing our separate times to read or hear the Word and pray, it does help us calm and gather scattered thoughts to leave them with Jesus and increase our mindful thankfulness.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

As the time for the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) Internship in Ghana approaches, anxious thoughts can trouble Ivorian CHE trainers we send. What will others think? How can I afford this time away? Will it be worth my time? Neither of the two we have discipled speak English. The prospect of some courses being in English while in English-speaking Ghana for several weeks is daunting. While these have a long day’s travel to arrive, several other participants will have longer, less comfortable routes to arrive at the training center.

Debbie had a few anxious thoughts this week as she pulled a muscle in her lower back and spent three days in bed. She has three speaking engagements in Michigan this upcoming week and wants to attend them. Thankfully, with home remedies and a muscle relaxer as a nighttime backup, she finishes driving the ten to twelve or so hours north as you receive this update Saturday afternoon or evening.

While resupplying before traveling to Ghana, Verlin met with newly arrived missionaries who are charged with responsibilities in their two separate denominations within which we have discipled church leaders to use Community Health Evangelism (CHE) strategies like Discovery Bible Studies (DBS). Both couples, with 9 children between them, verbalized appreciation for the experience and context Verlin provided them to live and minister in Cote d’Ivoire.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Ask that Debbie’s back heals fully and that the pain will not hinder her visits to friends and ministry partners.
  
  

• 🙏 Keep Verlin in prayer as he hosts and prepares exchanges with CHE leaders. In a correction to last week’s update on leprosy, 58 rather than 56 of 60 village committees form and integrate believers while using CHE to promote the Zero Tolerance for leprosy campaign. Pray these called succeed accomplishing more than one set goal.

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 - specifying Verlin and Debbie Anderson in the optional Memo.

Prior: Zero Tolerance
        - 230211 PDF
Prior Videos: Reflect and Rejoice
        - The Great Story

2022 Q3 & Q4 Reports: Reckon
  -  3Q|4Q 2022 Report 230121 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

Zero Tolerance

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 230211 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

The government of Cote d'Ivoire has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for leprosy. Together with international partners, they developed a plan (1 y.o. video) to eradicate this devastating disease in the nation by 2030. We have mentioned in past updates that our Ivorian Community Health Evangelism (CHE) network has become involved. Impressed by the CHE strategy's capacity to permeate entire communities, leaders of the Raoul Follereau Foundation (a French member of the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy) connected with Ivorian CHE leadership due to relationships with RESCOF and the university training program. They wanted local people in sixty village areas equipped with CHE for outreach to combat leprosy. We trained a director in Level Two this year during the 9th annual UFHB training; Verlin gets politely consulted and informed, though less so than those he's trained! (Hallelujah!) He recently understood from oral reports that local actors now act in all but four of sixty targeted areas! Experienced CHE leaders who oversee the effort recently told Verlin that numerous churches and their members volunteer to train to help lepers and their families in targeted areas.

Similarly, the Ivorian Department of Transportation launched another zero-tolerance campaign to reduce accidents and reckless driving. Kudos! As of March 1, vehicle drivers get 12 points on their computerized driving record. Each driving infraction noted by officers or identified via a camera results in varying quantities of points automatically applied to reduce the twelve, depending on the severity of the offense. Once the points dissipate, that person cannot drive legally. Verlin received notice of 12 points attributed to his driver's license number this week.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Considering Jesus' time with the twelve disciples, He expressed zero-tolerance concerning any human pride that limits the demonstration of God's love from a disciple for another made in God's image. Imagine the change that could happen in different spheres of influence should followers of Jesus unite in effort and resources to attain some Biblical, zero-tolerance campaigns! Our first vote would be for zero-tolerance of any people group failing to see and understand how Gospel Truth brings life. CHE enables stupendous change only attributable to God in our generation. In communities worldwide, up to 100% of local populations change due to CHE due to Jesus. We still share Stories of Transformation (The link is to an update where a 33' YouTube video shared in English is linked.) The newly trained get a taste in French (PPT) of what God enabled others to overcome in ways they can imitate! Seeking zero disobedience in ourselves is why we do what we do. It perhaps is why you feel called to follow or partner with us. Thank you for helping us share the message. Jesus does not want anyone to perish but that each come to repentance and reclaim life! (See 2 Peter 3:9.)

Koffi with example of rice shared with four  families, over 15 people, who collaborate in securing their and our courtyards since 2016.

Verlin continued overseeing some
overdo annual maintenance of our household furnishings while making progress on reports and civil responsibilities. He managed to connect with five CHE trainers during the week, two preparing for the internship in Ghana. Unfortunately, he could not participate in meetings via Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The replacement Internet connection remains insufficient for securing the conversations. Debbie drives to Michigan Thursday or Friday for a two to three-week stay in the state. She anticipates busy days visiting ministry partners and enjoying time with Verlin's family. She will stay with his mother and sister.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Pray for Debbie as she travels to Michigan. She looks forward to sharing with individual ministry partners, at least one women's group, and churches that partner with us. A bonus will be spending time with Verlin's family, as well. Please get in touch by responding to this email or via Facebook if you want to hear from her about CHE strategies we encourage for use in Cote d'Ivoire while she's in Michigan. (Link via Debbie Payne Anderson or scroll to the bottom)
  
  

• 🙏 Pray for the March 1-7 attempt to facilitate a CHE training by Zoom in Cote d'Ivoire. These provide for more frequent refreshing and reporting, though Internet connectivity currently continues to limit such tools.
  
  

• 🙏 Praise God that all but 4 of 60 villages have an outreach beginning to touch lepers in W Cote d'Ivoire using CHE approaches! Pray for the successful treatment of lepers and their eternal salvation along with neighbors.

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 - specifying Verlin and Debbie Anderson in the optional Memo.

Prior: House of Prayer
        - 230204 PDF
Prior Videos: Reflect and Rejoice
        - The Great Story

2022 Q3 & Q4 Reports: Reckon
  -  3Q|4Q 2022 Report 230121 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

House of Prayer

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 230204 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all people (nations)

from Is 56:7 and Mk 11:17

Debbie enjoyed a delightful experience last Sunday. The church in Nashville, where we have been members for over 30 years, recently added a service in a third language. In addition to a Spanish congregation that meets at 1:00 p.m. after English services, a group of Swahili brothers and sisters meet on the lower level to worship the Lord. Debbie had stopped off in a room on the main floor and could clearly hear voices in Spanish and singing in Swahili simultaneously. Imagine what worshiping the Lamb around the throne of God will be like with all the nations of the earth represented! We have attended services in Cote d'Ivoire with singing in five languages. Still, there was something uniquely satisfying about hearing these contrasting cultures praising Jesus in the middle of America. Truly a house of prayer for all nations!

When American churches open their doors to work with other cultures in sharing facilities, it can be a challenging experience, even when the relationship is clearly defined. Differences in culture frequently surface, and the upkeep of the buildings may become problematic. We know of a few American churches that tried and threw up their hands in defeat after a few months of conflict. Yet how can our Lord's house become a house of prayer for all nations if His children do not persevere in situations like this? The thought reminds us to thank again the faithful ministry partners who pray, encourage, and give so reached and unreached people groups of Cote d'Ivoire hear and accept the Gospel!

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

As hinted above, ministering in multiple languages remains the norm in Cote d'Ivoire. Some with whom we work speak up to seven languages out of two or three different language families. Several Indo-European languages are spoken in the nation beyond the more than 90 tribal languages stemming from more than eight African language families. Effective ministry necessitates working from French, the chosen national language, into heart languages if the population is to experience transformation by the Gospel. Such has happened continuously as the Church of Jesus Christ grew. (Even the first-century church went from Aramaic and Greek and fifteen others present at Pentecost into more than thirty other known languages, not to mention the expansion from Latin, Germanic, and language families of the Orient happening later.) A couple of Ivorians ministering in French and English dropped by to see Verlin this week. One who used our formerly unlimited ADSL Internet connection dropped by to update a new computer he uses to research material for the Discovery Bible Studies (DBS) he does with students and peers. (ADSL service stopped this week, and obliged Verlin to switch to the less consistent connection of pre-paid city-wide WiFi on the very day of a scheduled W. Africa Internship meeting he thereby failed to join.) The young man we encouraged to lead DBS with peers visited on request, and Verlin gave him the English grammar manual that Debbie printed for him to use.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Pray that we all learn to freely give our time, talents, and treasures so that all peoples or nations of the earth can know our wonderful Savior. Of course, it will require various types of sacrifice, but the impact will last for eternity!
  
  

• 🙏 Our Ivorian pastor's wife with ulcers continues to improve slowly! Pray for complete healing and her ability to pick up household and church activities.

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 - specifying Verlin and Debbie Anderson in the optional Memo.

Prior: Patient Waiting
        - 230128 PDF
Prior Videos: Reflect and Rejoice
        - The Great Story

2022 Q3 & Q4 Reports: Reckon
  -  3Q|4Q 2022 Report 230121 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