Thrivers not Survivors

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 250628 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

When we share in churches about the ministry the Lord has given us in Cote d’Ivoire, it is common for someone to express admiration for what we do and add, “I could never do that.” That happened last week after Verlin spoke in Cookeville. However, this precious sister had the great insight to immediately correct herself and say, “Well, I guess I could if the Lord asked me to.” Yes, exactly.

Debbie smiled. She frequently makes a similar comment when people express doubt about being a missionary. As someone else put it, “God does not call the equipped; instead, He equips the called.” Or as Peter, the brash fisherman, most eloquently explains in 2 Peter 1:3, God has given us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness. There is nothing our Lord asks us to do that is impossible. The process of learning to trust and take HIS provision is not easy, but it is doable. With His strength in us, we can learn to thrive in life and ministry, not just survive. (Enjoy this spiritual truth expressed in the song “Thrive” by Casting Crowns.) May we rethink the next time we are tempted to tell the Lord, “No, I can’t.”

Come and See (Psalm 34:8)

We learned this week that American passports can be renewed entirely online. The experience promises to be a time and money saver, praise the Lord, but it also comes with a caveat. The applicant cannot use the new passport until six weeks after the application date. That means the earliest Verlin can get a ticket back to Côte d’Ivoire is after August 7th. There remains a ramp to build and gutters to install amidst visits to ministry partners on an impromptu basis, and a forthcoming visit to celebrate his mother’s ninetieth birthday. Nonetheless, it does change his projected return date a little. There also remains a meeting of minds with the mission staff to clarify our interim objectives during this time of transition for Deb’s dad, Eddie. We continue to think that it may be a month or two later than Verlin before Debbie will be free to return to Africa, based on the remaining tasks to be completed. Ivorian friends and coworkers continue to call us, sharing ministry updates and checking in on how we are.

Sharing in Cookeville

You can view and hear Verlin share in a message during a local church visit with longtime Michigan family and friends in ministry relocated to Mid-TN, the Roger Cooper family. Click here.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 As you pray for a peaceful presidential election cycle in Côte d’Ivoire, would you also include a fellow-missionary who works in Ukraine? Drone and missile attacks in her small town have been fierce during June. She oversees the training of staff in physical therapy that she practices, too.
   
• 🙏 Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction in the lives of friends we have who adhere to another religion in Côte d’Ivoire. As the decades roll by, we realize that their opportunities to respond to the Gospel grow fewer. One of these friends made a call to Verlin last week for some medical advice.
   
• 🙏 Debbie’s father is grateful to be out of rehab and in a home environment. Pray that the family succeeds in assembling a team of people around him who can readily assist with various needs.
  

Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie

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: Never Again
        - 250621 PDF
Prior Videos: Worth
        - Reflect & Rejoice
 

2023 Q2 Report: Pruning Priorities
  -  2nd Q 2023 Report 230722 PDF

2022 Budget COMPLETED:
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

Never Again

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 250621 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

Jonas Brou, image courtesy of 
© Fondation Raoul Follereau

When families suffer tragic, preventable losses, loved ones and friends often vow, “never again.” So began some organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This week, a Community Health Evangelism (CHE) coworker sent us a report from The Raoul Follereau Foundation, the secular entity that funded the leprosy treatment outreach using CHE in western Côte d’Ivoire. One of the trainers, Jonas Brou, shared why he became involved in the highly successful project. He reported, “Neglected tropical diseases, such as leprosy and Buruli ulcer, have a significant impact on the population. My son had Buruli ulcer and had his leg amputated last year at the age of 31…That’s why I got involved in the project. I never want to see that again!” During this initial, publicly and privately funded joint effort, 185,749 people were registered and screened for leprosy. Instead of finding about 1 case per 10,000 inhabitants, the screenings found one case of leprosy per 1,000 residents—a much higher rate than expected. Overall, CHE visits found 175 cases of leprosy, 4 cases of Buruli ulcer, 136 cases of yaws, 2,113 cases of scabies, and 74,128 other skin diseases. Besides treating the actual leprosy victims who continue to be monitored, 5,490 family and friends in contact with the patients also received preventive medications.

Because CHE teams were the vehicle used to enter these 60+ villages, they addressed other wholistic health issues, as well. The foundation shared that women’s groups began sweeping their village streets and marketplaces, also learning to make local soap. Men built new classrooms for an overcrowded school. Children learned that washing their hands faithfully meant no more stomachaches that plagued them. As our CHE trainer friend Emmanuel Konan explained in the Follereau report, “At the beginning of the project, when we arrived in the community, people told us, ‘We have nothing here.’ Today, they see that they are capable of taking action with their own resources.” Thank you for participating in this wonderful endeavor through your prayers and donations to CHE ministries! We have played an integral part in this development of Ivorians ministering to other Ivorians. When Verlin visited the Gagnoa team last October, he met two pastors leading project committees and affiliated Bible studies. Many villagers heard the Gospel during house visits from Ivorian CHE workers and now continue working together to address other problems in their communities. In some locations, CHE committee members or trainers introduced Discovery Bible Studies.

Come and See (Psalm 34:8)

For the first time in ten years, you did not hear from us for two weeks in a row! We did not write while moving Eddie from the rehab facility to a new town to live with Laura, Deb’s sister. Debbie still assists with doctor visits, arranges senior home services, unpacks, handles financial matters, and works to clear a storage unit while overcoming an intestinal bug. She expects to help her father through the end of July. Verlin moved two loads of Eddie’s belongings with friends, cleared fallen trees, and planned the ramp. He stays connected, preaches locally, and plans to visit family so that a return to Côte d’Ivoire is possible at the end of summer.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Thank the Lord, Debbie’s dad, Eddie, was released from the rehab center. The entire family now works together to settle him into his new home with Deb’s sister. Debbie spends half weeks helping with the move, doctor appointments, unpacking, and getting home health services set up.
   
• 🙏 Pray for Ivorian villages to continue laboring to bring community transformation through CHE, as program leaders change. Ask for wisdom and grace for volunteer CHE trainers who supervise multiple sites.
   
• 🙏 Ask the Lord to help Debbie find ways to evade knee injury. Pray Verlin’s timing coordinates with God’s, so that groups and individuals who have offered to help with materials or labor to build the ramp can.
  

Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie

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: Let Prevention Prevail!
        - 250531 PDF
Prior Videos: Worth
        - Reflect & Rejoice
 

2023 Q2 Report: Pruning Priorities
  -  2nd Q 2023 Report 230722 PDF

2022 Budget COMPLETED:
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