Even if...

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 261031 PDF

Taste and See ( Psalm 34:8 )

This week, Debbie was reminded how much perspective matters. Anxiety asks, “What if?” Faith answers, “Even if.” Some studies suggest that about 90% of what we worry about never happens. That’s a good reason to be mindful of where we let our thoughts linger. Even when what we fear does happen, we can still choose to find our stability in God.

Consider the three Hebrew children in Daniel 3. They famously refused to bow to the image King Nebuchadnezzar had made. Their courage and trust were remarkable: God rescued them from the king’s wrath—but even if He had not, they would not bow to an idol. Their example reminds us that faith rests not only in what God may do, but in trusting who He is.

Come and See ( Psalm 66:5 )

Ongoing repairs of pest damage needed due to extended absences

After writing last week's update, Verlin’s week was full, as usual, with the demands of daily life and ministry. Besides keeping others busy learning and doing maintenance, and checking in with CHE partners, he spent much time talking with principals on both sides of the Atlantic about the sale of the hydraulic GéoBéton brick press and preparing for travel.

Travel is planned for November 10–13 to re-inspect the machines, last seen in 2024, and confirm that they can be reloaded. Before we make payment, we will verify the equipment is viable, secure the sale and transport contracts, and confirm the paperwork permits us to move it. A team member has located a container side-loader in Bondoukou; finding one at the other end remains a challenge. The seller must provide original receipts and authorized port-entry and exit documents so it can be transported legally. Late Thursday night, Verlin received scanned copies of the documents found so far and is yet to review them with our partners. Many involved pray they will be sufficient.

Meanwhile, we fast to address health issues. Debbie is in day 10 of a strict water-only fast, having passed through ups and downs, as expected with the adrenal issue, including a period of dehydration despite drinking plenty of water. The TrueNorth Health Center, in operation for over 40 years, is equipped to handle these kinds of issues. Verlin is 7 days into a restricted-calorie fiber fast to train his abdominal microbiome to keep fasting blood sugars between 75 and 85 mg/dL, rather than the 95-105 range he's been at since childhood. He also renewed his Ivorian commercial-grade driver’s permit. Drivers over 60 renew yearly.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Pray the business of the hydraulic GéoBéton brick press concludes within November. Site prep and transport arrangements are the next challenges if the paperwork is in order.
• 🙏 Continue to pray for Debbie as she delves into new territory in long-term water fasting.
• 🙏 Trust the Lord with us that all things work together for the good of those called for His purpose, including this stage in our lives and the U.S. elections that impact our world.

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 at www.che4a.org (3% fee) or TDF - specifying Verlin and Debbie Anderson in the optional Memo.

Prior: Soteriological Safety
— 261024 PDF

Prior Videos: Profoundly Simple
— 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

Soteriological Safety

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 261024 PDF

Taste and See (Psalm 34:8)

And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming (Jo. 14:10-11). Caleb’s strength in old age came from trusting God’s word over decades of wilderness and warfare. He did not merely survive; he advanced because he believed the promise and acted on it.

That same pattern appears at the beginning of Scripture. God told Adam and Eve, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food (Genesis 1:29). The earth itself was designed as provision for body, soul, and spirit. Salvation, or soteriology—the study of how God saves—is not limited to the spirit’s eternal rescue of individuals. Scripture presents whole-person redemption: body, soul, and spirit under Christ’s lordship. The abundant life Jesus' life initiated for us today is the byproduct of understanding that relationship correctly as one that leads redeemed individuals to live in communities that share salvation.

This week two women of childbearing age illustrated the difference in life here. One came to our coworkers’ courtyard with back pain and blurred vision. She gathered Moringa leaves by faith, prepared them, and by her next morning visit both the pain and the blurred were gone. A childbearing woman, she discovered the practical virtues God had already placed in the plant. Another woman of similar age, seven months pregnant, knew about Moringa but did not use it. She died of preeclampsia after multiple tonic-clonic seizures; the hospital lacked both the medication and the expertise to treat her. Magnesium and calcium deficiencies, common in West African diets, yet can be readily addressed by ordinary foods—sardines and Moringa leaves among them. Verlin regularly instructs women in their third trimester of pregnancy to eat sardines and leafy greens, or even moringa leaf powder when nutritional deficits are evident. What one woman received as a provision, the other treated as optional. The result was life versus burial.

Many cultures have rejected what God revealed in creation and Scripture, only to be destroyed by the very things they dismissed, convinced they knew better. Far fewer have retained that knowledge unchanged across generations and made God’s word the rule of life in their society. Community Health Evangelism in Côte d’Ivoire continues to draw attention. A society that ministers similarly on every continent recently asked us to share the earlier update published here because they want to stimulate similar results elsewhere. God’s Word is being lifted as the means to sustain life, and the fruit is spreading.

Come and See (Psalm 66:5)

Debbie settled into the True North Center this week. Thank you for continued prayer that her benign adrenal tumor will shrink. Verlin's departure from northeastern for southwestern Cote d'Ivoiire is delayed into next week or the following. (It's not like there's little to do in Bondoukou!) The final financial transfer has not yet been deposited so that we can purchase the brick machine. Also, a team member coordinating the purchase and transfer fell ill to malaria this week; he and his wife have now learned the benefits of papaya-leaf tea for malaria and urinary retention, and a funeral prohibits his travel to inspect and, if possible, load the press for transport until at least the first week of November.

Prayer & Praise

• 🙏 Praise God for the woman who used Moringa and saw immediate relief. Pray for the family of the woman who died and for local teaching that prevents similar losses. She left behind a widower with three small children.
   
• 🙏 Thank the Lord for Debbie’s safe settling at True North in Santa Rosa, CA; pray the benign yet symptomatic adrenal tumor shrinks. So far, so good! No TN auto insurer has requested further paperwork for last week's parking lot fender scraper.
   
• 🙏 Pray the remaining funds arrive and transport gets arranged without great complications so we can complete and transfer the automated hydraulic brick press.
  

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: Whose Will?
        - 261017 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

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: Whose Will?
        - 261017 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

Whose Will?

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 261017 PDF

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)

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Practice Perfected

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 261010 PDF

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.

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page

Water, Please

PDF Version:
AWA Weekly 261003 PDF

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

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

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

Debbie's Facebook Page

 

Verlin's Facebook Page