WITH not FOR

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260926 PDF

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.

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

3 Spiritual R's

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260919 PDF

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.

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Profoundly Simple

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260912 PDF

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.

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Group Greatness

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 260905 PDF

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page