40, and Counting

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260718 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

July 19, 1986

One blessing of staying in a relationship or a town for a long time is the joint layers of connection woven through the years. This thought comes to mind for multiple reasons this week. First, tomorrow is our 40th wedding anniversary! When a shy MK from Africa and a city extrovert from Michigan met the first day of Old Testament Survey in college, we never imagined the places we would go or the people we would see! (Props to reading Dr. Seuss to children/grands.) Only the Lord orchestrates opportunities such as ours to see Jesus engage others through Community Health Evangelism (CHE) and bring life-giving transformation to thousands of communities. We treasure the connections that began with a simple “I do” in 1986, and the gift of three talented children, one DIL, two granddaughters, and a life partner.

Longevity has other benefits, too, as Verlin enjoyed last Sunday. After church, sitting down to meet with another on developments for an agricultural project, he joined the courtyard conversation at a neighbor’s house. The neighborly men of differing faiths regularly discuss family, politics, theology, and the status of their religion in our town. God orchestrated the opportunity to share some practical truths of health (shalom) we offer other communities, and the men agreed their families also needed to hear such helpful information in the area. One of the men, who heads up the town's youth/single adults’ organization, used to play with our son Corbin after school years ago! They reconnected again yesterday and plan to exchange on agricultural and husbandry topics that God has already used in Côte d’Ivoire, through Verlin’s encouragement, to build incomes and churches in two different regions. Praise God for the open doors He continues to provide!

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Stormwater culvert

Verlin plans a busy week of calling and bookwork followed by travel and retrieval of our Toyota Hilux. This week, he obtained a tax document confirming for Ivorian law enforcement that no special permit is required to drive the truck or to pull a trailer with it. While it will save time at police and gendarme stops, it may limit the witness he regularly does along the way. The road repair crew completed the small concrete culvert in front of our rental as part of the drainage project on our street! Verlin hopes to have the vehicle parked at the home office next weekend.

Debbie’s MRI revealed that the adrenal growth is benign, thankfully. She meets with an endocrinologist on Monday to explore treatment options. Surgery removal seems likely to Verlin; more bloodwork is expected to rule out two adrenal syndromes

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Ask for planning and travel mercies, as Verlin hopes to get our truck and appliances, too.
   
• 🙏 Pray for Verlin’s interactions to speed use of CHE in the region. He hopes to connect with the youth leader who operates a pig farm and used to play with our younger son, Corbin, years ago.
   
• 🙏 Thank the Lord that Debbie’s adrenal growth is not cancerous, according to the MRI. Pray she has a good first meeting with the endocrinologist on Monday to evaluate her/our next steps.
  

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: Small Spaces
        - 260711 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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Small Spaces

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260711 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

It only takes a small space to lay our heads down to sleep. Jesus regularly sought small spaces for himself and his disciples as they wandered the country sharing the gospel of the kingdom. Most of us eagerly return home to familiar haunts after just a few days of travel. Imagine depending on others daily for necessities for three years! Even the tomb where Jesus lay for three days was not his own. His poignant comment to the scribe who claimed he would follow Jesus wherever He went is a crucial encouragement for us today: Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head—Matt. 8:20.

Nothing is wrong with using spacious homes and nice vehicles should the Lord so bless us as stewards that serve Him. Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, and Solomon are biblical figures who became extremely wealthy and influential during their lifetimes. However, most Christ-followers around the world match the description of God’s people as sheep prepared for slaughter quoted to describe Jesus’ experience (Ps.44:27; Ro.8:36). It’s common to suffer and struggle to have small spaces for self-care. It is a disservice to potential believers to promise blessings on demand. Experiencing saving grace, spiritually and physically, without personal sacrifice is a promise Jesus never made.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Porch cooking

Verlin gives thanks for the wherewithal to safely create a small space on the porch for cooking meals and preparing tree-leaf infusions. It makes do until he finds a gas stove that operates safely with an oven that maintains a temperature. Hired and assistive hands make repairs to the home and furnishings. He connects with ministry partners using CHE across the nation most days, and plans visits to several locations.

On Wednesday, Debbie stayed in the small space of an MRI machine without a blood pressure spike or any other problems. Nashville friends helped with lodging and transport to ease the experience. When she returned to Cookeville on Thursday, a sickeningly sweet smell greeted her as she entered our single-wide. With phone help from a technician, she realized it was a leak of refrigeration gas. She followed Verlin’s advice to open the doors and windows, then, the next day, found a replacement on sale at Lowe's to fit in the allotted small space. The Igloo cooler will be exchanged for the new refrigerator on Monday! We thank God for better material resources at this stage of life, due to lessons learned from nearly going bankrupt in the early years of marriage. The U.S. price she paid is 20% of what the unit costs in Côte d’Ivoire! It will take us a couple of months or longer to confidently locate a less expensive replacement unit for our Ivorian refrigerator, which is not cooling sufficiently to maintain anything but fermenting foods safely. It can no longer lower interior temperatures below 4°C / 39°F after local repairs were done. Formerly trustworthy suppliers can no longer provide adequate after-sales service.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Praise God that Debbie was able to complete the MRI this time with no problems, with the help of Nashville friends. She expects the imaging results and further instructions next week.
   
• 🙏 Thank the Lord that it should only be about another two weeks before Verlin can use the driveway at our rented home to park the vehicle and trailer.
   
• 🙏 Begin praying for upcoming visits to sites where CHE approaches are implemented that Verlin expects to undertake while recruiting trainers to teach at the university in September.
  

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: Foundations
        - 260704 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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Foundations

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260704 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?—Psalm 11:3

As has been the case for the past decade, flooding, landslides, and deaths are occurring in Abidjan again. Water-related disasters increase as Abidjan expands. Long-term infrastructure planning or code enforcement remains inadequate for managing the rains, though it has improved. People who feel too poor to live elsewhere suffer the consequences. A friend recently pointed out a building that is being rebuilt a 5th time. Water surges endanger hundreds of thousands of people living in low-lying areas.

No vehicular entry or exit

Even smaller projects, like widening the water drainage system on our road in Bondoukou, pose challenges. We were not informed about the project or its length; the workers do not project a termination date. As a result, Verlin does not park our truck on our enclosed drive. At first, a church friend let him park in her nearby yard 10 days ago. Then, on returning two appliances to the registered Haier service provider in Abidjan for repair or replacement, he left the HiLux with a mechanic friend. After the tires are changed and a few other details are taken care of, he plans to visit communities using CHE from there. Blessedly, we keep a 50 cc motorbike for local errands that fits through the courtyard’s unobstructed pedestrian entrance.

To say we have been blessed in the USA is a monumental understatement, as our families now enjoy hard-won liberty and provision by trusting God over 250 years! Our forefathers thought and fought long and hard, risking much to provide the great privileges we have. May our generation reinforce the foundations being dismissed and destroyed by ungodly belief and policy! May we leave a country able to progress with godliness leading to abundant life in generations to come!

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

In addition to the parking issue, Verlin cooks on a locally made single butane burner on the porch. (It came with a leaky gas tube that he corrected to use safely.) About 10 days ago, he purchased a new “commercial” gas stove in Abidjan at half price ($525)! The one inherited from others who left in the 1990s finally gave up the ghost; half its burners and the oven do not work. He arrived home only to find that the new oven did not hold a temperature under 300 ℉ and that the wrong knobs were included. Also, the “repaired” small freezer did not freeze ice cubes! This is not a complaint, just typical African life issues. When delays occur, Verlin takes the opportunity to share Truth with the people placed in his path and pushes forward with the listed alternative plans.

Debbie has an MRI rescheduled for this Wednesday, on July 8th. Friends will kindly help that day so that she can take a sedative and not have to drive. She enjoyed having our granddaughter, Chelsea, in Cookeville for a few days this week!

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Pray for infrastructure development in Abidjan to prevent yearly landslides and deaths.
   
• 🙏 Pray that the second effort on Debbie’s MRI this Wednesday is successful.
   
• 🙏 Ask for good resolutions to the appliance replacement and repairs, so that Verlin’s ministry travels do not take additional time. Meanwhile, there’s furniture to repair or renew.
  

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: Come and See
        - 260627 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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page