Whose Will?

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

God’s plan will continue on God’s schedule.—A.W. Tozer

All of us have occasions when we need Tozer’s reminder, especially when delays abound. We have had a week like that; praise God we can rest in His timing, not our own. Verlin found that what he hoped would be a half-day of paperwork to transfer funds for our series of large expenses in a short period, including a ministry purchase, turned into a three-day marathon of phone calls, emails, and contradictory advice. Debbie had an unexpected check engine light that cost two days; then she had a small parking-lot accident yesterday, which was her fault. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the insurance claim is registered. All reminds us of a principle we have read in many sources, summarized best in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (ESV) We trust the slowdowns will prove beneficial.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

261017-Medical-consult
Medical advice

Assuming Verlin’s efforts bring funds to where we can access them quickly when needed, he plans to travel toward the end of the week to check the condition of the brick-making machine on site. That trip to southwestern Côte d’Ivoire took over 11 hours in 2024. After he evaluates the situation, he will transfer the funds to the missionary selling the equipment, then load and block the equipment for transport while arranging transportation. His week also included neighborhood interactions related to several health problems.

On Wednesday, Debbie met with the endocrine surgeon who would perform an adrenalectomy if that becomes the best alternative next year or later. The nodule's location would require removing the entire left adrenal gland, not just the growth. He patiently and thoroughly explained the surgical process and expected recovery times. She informed him about the three-week water fast and other efforts she will try to prevent surgery. He was supportive of her desire to avoid surgery and gave practical advice, while they both acknowledged that surgery might be needed eventually. As he put it, if Debbie does later have to have surgery, she will know she tried everything possible naturally before going the surgical route

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Verlin anticipates traveling to western Côte d’Ivoire at the end of the week to evaluate the status of the brick-making machine and make plans to pay the mission owner for it. Ask for a safe journey, good transport arrangements, and a smooth transfer of funds without banking hiccups.
     
  • 🙏 Pray that the insurance proceeds smoothly for the small accident Debbie had Friday, with no surprises or paperwork needed while she is gone for a month in California.
     
  • 🙏 Debbie travels to Santa Rosa, CA, on Tuesday to begin her month-long fasting experience at TrueNorth Health Center. She particularly requests prayer for ongoing good blood labs that will allow her to complete a long fast without complications.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: Practice Perfected
        - 261010 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

Practice Perfected

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

Excellence is the result of consistent practice and humility.--Ikechukwu Joseph

The video conference meeting initiated Tuesday by the CHE university team had some great takeaways, besides Verlin and others learning to use Google Meet! One was the trainers' consensus that they need more experience facilitating CHE discussions beyond academic and university settings. They also self-discovered the importance of having team meetings to practice teaching before the next training. We have mentioned these aspects to them for years, but aside from the planning meetings that guide ongoing research, they failed to step up participation and oversight during the year. This gap in understanding closes as Verlin and the founding professor retreat. CHE network trainers encouraged them to use the techniques in classrooms and family life, and planning relaunches to involve them more in village and church CHE trainings not affiliated with university research. This will require extraordinary planning to coordinate around busy schedules, but it is gratifying to see their humble recognition and desire to improve through practice.

241019-brick-making-equipment
Brick-maker

Verlin also met with stakeholders of the NE regional agricultural project to demonstrate CHE-instructed techniques such as Farming God’s Way and Farmer Managed Natural Reforestation while integrating husbandry concerns to also address mortal conflict risks between feuding farmers and cattlemen. Step one is to purchase the brick-making machine and transport it to the nearby host village. The machine is expected to pay for itself and generate revenue. A truck-driving member of a local FWB church is researching quotes to transport the equipment using a side-loader trailer. Plans include building a cement pad and arbor to receive it. Today Verlin will speak with the machine's current mission owner to finalize the re-evaluation and purchase details. It is thrilling to see circumstances unfold to get this ministry outreach underway after almost a decade of waiting for legal paperwork to indicate the path forward!

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Verlin returned to our rented house in Bondoukou last Saturday. The electricity cut out several times due to neighborhood construction. Midweek, after 20 hours without power, he packed a suitcase and computer to move to a local hotel to work from there and keep finances and comms running – THEN the electrical service returned! He has felt especially fatigued in the past few weeks from late-night work and hasn't been sleeping well. With the added regular noise pollution of the area, like last night’s extra noise from two funerals and wakes held the same night and several nearby mosques’ calls to prayer, sleep seems quite ephemeral for everyone in the neighborhood! Pray that he finds an adequate replacement for failing earplugs until new ear pads for his noise-canceling headphones arrive from the USA, or that he finds additional lifestyle changes to address provoked insomnia.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Thank the Lord for Verlin’s good meeting on Tuesday with the university team. Pray they move forward to form a team to oversee lesson development and meet to pre-plan the 2027 training.
     
  • 🙏 Verlin is not sleeping well; staying tired. Pray for local solutions to improve sleep – FOR ALL.
     
  • 🙏 Plans move forward for the ag project. Pray for safe and cost-effective solutions to several issues.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: Water, Please
        - 261003 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

Water, Please

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

It is a good rule for each of us to practice what we preach. In using CHE, that means encouraging wholistic approaches to life, including using simple, readily available remedies. For some time, we have researched lifestyle changes and dietary interventions while prayerfully seeking that Debbie might evade another surgery, this time one that would partially or fully remove her left adrenal gland. Choosing surgery might result in her taking oral steroids for the rest of her life. While no other approach guarantees results, she has decided to try a centuries-old method that has proven extremely beneficial for many health issues.

Deb's destination
Deb's destination
On Oct. 20th, she will fly to Santa Rosa, CA, to stay at the TrueNorth Health Center for an extended, medically supervised water-only fast. For over 40 years, this organization has supervised over 25,000 people who choose to fast for health reasons. No patient has ever died under their care. Fasting will likely address other factors influencing Debbie’s blood pressure and glucose spikes. There is no certainty that it will shrink the adrenal growth releasing too much cortisol. However, it may heal her body as it has others, leaving the surgery to become a second- or third-tier option. We trust the Lord in any outcome. She expects to join Verlin in Côte d’Ivoire soon after returning to Tennessee on Nov. 21st. If cortisol symptoms persist or get worse over time, she may accept adrenal surgery in the summer of 2027 or later.

Thank you for praying with us about this decision. We will not use funds from our mission account to cover the trip and treatment. It already pays for our insurance, which does not cover this supervised alternative approach. Instead, we will dip into retirement funds, viewing this as an investment to restore Debbie’s health and limit future medical expenses as we continue the work the Lord has given us.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Verlin returned home to Bondoukou late today (Saturday). This week in Abidjan was exhausting, including a mid-week car repair. A wrap-up and initial pedagogical planning meeting with the CHE university team will be this Tuesday, likely via Zoom.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Pray that Debbie’s challenging but potentially healing long-term fast facilitates lasting lifestyle change. She hopes for results that enable her to avoid surgery, if it’s the Lord’s will. Sometimes this is a repeated experience, with pauses between fasts to check on results
     
  • 🙏 Praise God for amazing, exceptional gifts that have put our mission account on solid ground for now! We still must replace several long-time donors who were promoted to heaven (or who have retired) and seek one-time gifts for the agricultural project getting under way. However, Verlin will not have to return immediately to the States to raise funds because of the generous donations we recently received!
     
  • 🙏 Pray for the details of getting the brick-making machine paid for and moved to our part of Côte d’Ivoire.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: WITH not FOR
        - 260926 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

WITH not FOR

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

This week's update offers a different inspiration. The speech below, translated by DEEPL® with grammatical review by Grammarly ®, officially opened the university CHE program on Sept. 7th. The unbiased translation captures the hope and direction that CHE strategies bring to Public Health and Community Health projects in Côte d’Ivoire and beyond. It also encapsulates our understanding of how Jesus uses the Church in every generation as the body of Christ-sharing community. Actual disciple-making movements engender the same!

Opening Remarks for the Training Seminar on Health and Community Engagement

Ladies and gentlemen, dear participants, dear partners, and community development stakeholders:

It is my pleasure to speak on behalf of Professor Mahama Ouattara, Dean of the UFR SPB, at the opening of this training seminar on health and community engagement, under the theme: “Participatory Development and Community Empowerment.”

First, allow me to welcome you and acknowledge your presence, which demonstrates your interest in and commitment to the well-being of our communities. The theme chosen for this seminar is not merely a slogan, but a matter of survival for our communities.

For far too long, health care has been provided FOR communities. We arrived with ready- made projects—solutions already devised by scientists and donors—to implement in villages and neighborhoods. But the outcome has always been the same in the end… Projects stop when funding runs out. Health centers empty out. Best practices are abandoned.

Why? Because we forgot a fundamental principle: You cannot develop someone against their will, nor without their understanding. Participatory development means changing our approach. It’s no longer, “I know what you need.” It’s, “You know what you’re going through; I know what the science says—let us build together,” and community empowerment is the ultimate goal.

260926-CHE-participants-2026
CHE university participants 2026
A community that is self-reliant in health matters is not a community that no longer needs a doctor. It is a community that knows how to: 1. Identify its own health problems, 2. Find its own resources and solutions, 3. Demand quality services for itself when it needs them.


It means moving from a passive recipient to an active decision-maker. This topic is of paramount importance today for three reasons: • First, without participation, there is no trust. And without trust, there is no health. We’ve seen this with COVID and with vaccination. Even the most effective medication fails if the community does not trust it. • Second, without empowerment, there is no sustainability. The true measure of this seminar’s success will not be the number of people trained here. It will be the number of initiatives still ongoing a year from now, without us. • Third, it is a matter of dignity. A community that participates and empowers itself regains its dignity. It no longer holds out its hand; instead, it reaches out to its neighbors.

During this seminar, we will have the opportunity to share experiences, gain new knowledge, and reflect together on the most effective strategies for strengthening citizen participation and community empowerment. I invite all of us to demonstrate openness, active listening, and a spirit of collaboration so that these exchanges may serve as a source of learning and concrete action…” (She continued with closing thanks).

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Praise God for the way applying Biblical principles changes how public health gets done in Côte d’Ivoire! Praise God that churches apply the same truths to let Jesus save souls more effectively in their locales!
     
  • 🙏 Verlin plans to return to Bondoukou next weekend. Pray that, before he departs, meetings with CHE-using partners in Abidjan set up a needed lesson-review process and inspire more trainings.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: 3 Spiritual R's
        - 260919 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

3 Spiritual R's

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

Today, it is quite popular to see couples renew their marriage vows. This practice echoes what early churches were encouraged to do to strengthen commitment by following the Lord’s instructions to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:4-5. In response to their sin of having spiritually lost their first love, He commanded them to remember how they had fallen, repent, and redo the works they had done at first. Every Christian, indeed, every couple, too, does well to engage in these 3 R’s regularly. The principle applies to ministry using Community Health Evangelism (CHE), too. Remembering, repenting, and returning to basics is often necessary.

The first CHE program to gain public and international acclaim for its successes in Côte d’Ivoire has been relatively dormant for 13 years because of political wrangling within the church movement, which we perceive as related to outside funding that influenced its priorities. Other groups have since achieved many successes despite the absence of witnesses from this movement's early experiences. However, our God is patient, and the denominations' pastors gather next week to reconsider how to use CHE in their outreaches. Pray that they experience revival using the 3 R’s.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Verlin made progress on his meetings and tasks in Abidjan but didn't finish them, partly because a 2018 filling made here fell out on Sunday. Much of Monday’s and Tuesday’s time was spent filling the painless hole. Next week, he plans to continue the large project of consolidating materials for the university CHE lessons for pedagogical review in committee, and he has yet to follow up with the university team. He met with three other collaborating teams this week but still has over 800 direct and group messages to review and possibly address from the trainings. Video closed-captioning and attaching pictures to participants’ names in the 14 year ongoing database are on hold. Debbie obtained a consultation appointment with the endocrine surgeon for October 14. She is trying to get an earlier appointment by joining a waiting list. She has many questions before agreeing to the surgery that several endocrinologists have recommended.

260828-side-entry-Bkou
Cement bridge

At our rented home in Bondoukou, the reinforced concrete bridge installed to cross a ditch is dry, allowing people to knock on our gate again to visit. We paid for it to be wide enough for a vehicle to enter, should the owner decide that returning the gated entrance to that side of the property, as when we arrived, is a good idea. Traffic circulation has increased significantly on the other side.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Pray for the church-based CHE training seeking to revive some early labors happening next week.
     
  • 🙏 After finishing follow-up work in Abidjan, Verlin intends to take several steps in the CHE agricultural program in the Bondoukou region during October. Pray for the acquisition and transport of a brick-making machine to reduce building costs and help get the project rolling, meeting the needs of the seller and buyer. Ask that the open hearts in the village where they will demonstrate the building and farming techniques grow more obedient to the Gospel.
     
  • 🙏 Pray with us that Debbie gets the information she needs during her consultation with the surgeon on October 14. She is on a waiting list for an earlier appointment time.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: Profoundly Simple
        - 260912 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

Profoundly Simple

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

The twelfth CHE university training is in the books! Rejoice with us that 126 leaders were equipped to use CHE (Community Health Engagement) in their various settings. One retired community health professor from the city of Bouake was effusive in his enthusiasm and praise. He plans to bring his wife to next year’s training, and declared that the heads of all government ministries, health leaders, and others in authority should enroll in CHE. Several experienced government and collegiate attendees in the first-year courses initially expressed surprise at the approach's simplicity. By midweek, all had realized that the simple approach contained profound methods that provide the key to opening the doors to what is most often missing from their community endeavors: community ownership and leadership. The farmer and the educated professor can learn to work together, putting into practice the principles Jesus taught that yield abundant life, which CHE inculcates and mentors people to adopt in deed and word.
260912-CHE university 2026
Getting prepared

It was a thrill to see that the mayor of the commune of Cocody in Abidjan sent a deputy mayor (municipal counselor) to learn CHE's strategy. Mr. Guibony Roland is pictured here. He will be the boots-on-the-ground representative working to get CHE implemented in the Cocody area, with a population of around 700,000. This is the first time we have heard of an Ivory Coast mayor taking the initiative to use CHE in his town. Praise God! Hopefully, a video recap of the week’s activities will be available next week with English subtitles. It is available here in French, but it will take Verlin some hours to prepare English closed captions. He intends to work on it as time allows during the week.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Verlin will remain in Abidjan for one to two weeks. He preps the lessons and handouts for pedagogical reviews, completes debriefing sessions with all participating trainers, communicates with many attendees, meets with the university team to wrap up the details, and takes the pulse of the classes with some he asked to follow in the classrooms. Debbie heard back from her endocrinologist after the group consult about her situation. They all agreed that, given where we work, surgery seems the safest option. She was referred to a surgeon who specializes in adrenal surgery for a consultation. She should know her appointment time to discuss options next week.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Thank the Lord for a week of CHE training with great impact! Pray for safe travels home for trainers and attendees. The university team continues to absorb more and more responsibilities each year. Pray that we will participate by training, observing, and encouraging in a few years rather than managing any of the diminishing administrative details.
     
  • 🙏 Pray for those who attended the training. Many recognized that the way they previously learned to enter communities led to projects and ministries failing. In CHE, they see practical solutions for community engagement, but now join the numbers who realize change will take time and effort.
     
  • 🙏 Debbie was advised to consult with a surgeon about possible surgical solutions for her adrenal problem. Continue to pray for wisdom.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: Group Greatness
        - 260905 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

Group Greatness

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.—Prov. 15:22 (ESV) Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.—Prov. 11:14

On Friday, Debbie had her endocrinology appointment to discuss test results. Both tests showed her adrenal gland producing too much cortisol. The level is not life-threatening, as it would be in severe cases. Still, long-term excess cortisol can spike blood pressure, raise blood sugar, and cause significant long-term damage. Taking cortisol-reducing medication sometimes works as a first intervention, but living in rural Africa complicates that option. The regimen requires careful monitoring with regular blood work. Debbie was surprised but pleased when the doctor told her a plan to present her situation this upcoming week to a group of Nashville endocrinologists who regularly interact with their cases. He will recommend a course of action after consulting with them. One possibility may be surgery that would remove the growth, but not the entire left adrenal gland. Whatever the decision, she felt blessed to know her doctor values an “abundance of counselors,” as Proverbs suggest.

Similarly, group consultation remains key to Community Health Evangelism (CHE) training. Every facilitator works to draw each student’s experience into classroom discussions. Attendees realize with fascination that a farmer or housewife often has as much or more practical input for identifying solutions to local problems than college-trained professors and researchers. The CHE trainers also mentor and counsel one another. Newbies gain insight and help from trainers who have presented materials for years. Experienced trainers gain updated techniques and can be reinvigorated by more recently engaged trainers. It is tag-team teaching. We never recommend doing CHE projects in isolation. Trainers train teams. The experience parallels and replicates the body of Christ at work.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

The university CHE training expo is Monday through Friday of next week! Days start at five in the morning and continue until near midnight. We covet your prayers for coordination, healthy trainers, clear teaching, and many opportunities for spiritual input. Five or six training sessions will occur concomitantly, involving 22 CHE trainers. It is a massive endeavor where over 3,000 pages of material will be shared. The plan is for 140 to attend. The impact now touches all of French sub-Saharan West Africa.

Ready to go!
The picture displays a conference room at the Auberge where CHE lessons and handouts are set out for next week. Trainers gather there before and after class to study for the next day, ask each other questions, and encourage one another.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Several CHE trainers will not arrive until Sunday. Classes start Monday morning. Pray for their safe travel and clear thinking, despite fatigue. Three will miss the meet-and-greet Sunday 2 PM meeting.
     
  • 🙏 Pray that each CHE trainer will be well prepared and confident, as they share in the public university setting. It initially intimidates some who have never been to college to facilitate lessons for doctors and other science-based learners. This is one of the Lord’s blessings on CHE worldwide—the beneficial intertwining of different levels of society to find solutions that work for communities and the nation.
     
  • 🙏 Pray for good decisions in the next few weeks regarding Debbie’s adrenal problem.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
TN_Homestead-VerlinDeb-20191214_103927.jpg
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: Wading War Stories
        - 260829 PDF

Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 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

Wading War Stories

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

One semester in college, Debbie made the mistake of taking piano as an elective. It had nothing to do with her major and was not a good choice for her. Most students taking instruments were in the music department with advanced skills. She only had about one year of formal piano lessons before college, and could rightly picture her GPA plummeting over botched-up Bach. After one particularly humiliating lesson, her professor remarked, “Well, that was a bit like wading through mud.” Since then, Debbie has worked to improve her piano skills, but never for a grade that would appear on a college transcript!

That teacher’s response brought smiles over the decades, especially since getting things done in a third-world country often feels like “wading through mud.” Rushing in the African heat with less-than-stellar resources is a good recipe for frustration (at the least), or a mental breakdown (at the worst). Neither is unusual for missionaries in various settings! Learning that most of the world operates at less than American speed is important. In most places, productivity measures matter less than relationships. That said, the Father’s work is often done better on foot or bicycle rather than by car or jetting across continents. Jesus’ pace of life and the daily challenges on earth He surmounted and had recorded for us demonstrate this. Sometimes, having a day when all you accomplish is offering a clean cup of water in His name is enough.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

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Coming soon!
Verlin will arrive in Abidjan this weekend, after a week of packing time-packed with errands and preparations to be there for a month. Getting lessons to the twenty+ CHE trainers who will participate at the university expo showcasing three or four levels of training was a challenge, as always. Some had trouble opening files from MS OneDrive via a link sent to their phones via WhatsApp; some only wanted the link. He hired an Ivorian to spend six hours copying and pasting the lesson files into separate WhatsApp groups for each training level as arranged in the OneDrive folder. It seems everyone can access the materials now. He also verified the price and agreement to build a second cement bridge over the second water drainage ditch surrounding half our rental home/office, creating the potential for a moat! 😊. The second bridge will let people enter through our smaller gate without jumping or walking a plank and, later, let a vehicle enter on that side once again.

Debbie is thankful for two Cookeville brothers in Christ who advised and installed a water pressure reducer at our home this week. One more project complete! She has not yet received her endocrinologist's final recommendation. The last blood test result became available late this week.

Prayer & Praise

  • 🙏 Pray that the missionaries you know adapt as the Lord intends. Some must adjust to the pace of life and resourcing where they work; others must lovingly model change so that abundant life via cultural exchange gains witnesses. Ask the Lord to teach us to be content and thrive in all circumstances.
     
  • 🙏 This year, the university CHE team does not have a photocopier available on campus that they have used in the past eight of the prior eleven training expos. Pray Verlin successfully integrates a volunteer from AISEC (national CHE org.) and another from the UFHB (university) as he evaluates and supervises printing several thousand pages of handouts correctly next week at a new location. The out-of-town trainers and the organizing UFHB team develop a new lodging relationship with an auberge for future guest trainers.
     
  • 🙏 CHE trainers will travel from central and eastern Côte d’Ivoire while others arrive from Togo and Ghana to lead sessions during the university training being held Sept. 7-11. Pray for safe journeys, good health, and spiritual awareness as they interact with attendees.
Your partners in the Gospel,
Verlin & Debbie
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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: Press on
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Prior Videos: Among So Many
        - Worth

 
2024 Q1 Q2 Report: First Resort
  -  2024 Q1 Q2 Report 250906 PDF
2022 Budget COMPLETED:
CHSC-0118_ANDERSON-2022-Budget.pdf
 

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AWA represents
Andersons Witness in Africa.
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