Children everywhere... and 225 kool-aid cups

It turns out Sunday afternoons have been a good time for reflection... they are nice and quiet, and usually the hardest decision is whether to take a nap or go to the pool! (yes, they have a pool here... it was donated by a US pool company, and in heat like this it is wonderful)

This past week has been eventful. For one thing, the hospital has had so many deaths – and too many of them children. There's been a lot of malaria (especially cerebral malaria), a lot of stillbirths, and a lot of trauma. On a normal month they average 12-13 deaths here, but we have topped that just in the past week. I won't forget standing with one young mother, trying to comfort her in some way as her 1 yr old baby lay dying from malaria. I knew the baby would die before the mother had figured it out (based on the babies blown pupils, low pulse ox and heart rate, and the futility of bagging a baby like that indefinitely). At first I was amazed at her composure, but when she realized the baby was really dying she fell apart. I helped hold the mother until the chaplain came and walked her away. Death may be common place here, but they love their children just as much in Togo as anywhere. In fact, in some ways perhaps more – the commitment and care families show to their loved ones is something I often only wish for at my hospital back home.

Yesterday there were 5 births – all of them by c-section. Stephen and I were present for 2 of them. In the first one we received the baby, and together got to suction her, dry her, cut her cord, do her exam, etc. I'm no labor and delivery nurse but that has become one of my favorite things to do here! The second delivery was twins. Dr. Ebersole (the pediatrician) told me “you take baby A, and I'll take baby B – baby B is always in worse shape”. Famous last words. Well, it turned out Dr. Ebersole couldn't be there so while Stephen did the delivery with Todd, the surgical physician's assistant here, Jeff (the other medical student) took baby B while I took baby A. Of course it was baby A who decided to be blue while baby B was perfectly fine! Jeff helped me out with her, and though it took her awhile eventually she did figure out how to breath and the mama had two healthy little girls. Nothing makes you appreciate God's handiwork more than seeing it so closely in newborn life!

Every Wednesday the Ebbersole family has a kid's Bible club in their home. So I think to myself “Ah, that's familiar ground. I've done lots of those!” Right? Ha! This club started with one little boy from Adeta (one of the larger villages a couple of miles away) who was brought to the Lord by this family. They started having him over weekly to disciple him. Of course he invited his cousins, who invited their friends... long story short, there were 225 children who came to the club this week! This family single handedly buses most of these children over to their house from Adeta every week, where they invite them inside (though now they are of course spilling out the doors), single Bible songs, play games and have kool-aid and cookies, and of course are taught the Bible. The classes are divided into little kids, big kids, and those who have accepted Christ and are now being discipled. While of course some of these kids just come in order to get inside a “yovo” house and get a “yovo” snack, so many young lives have really and truly been changed by meeting Jesus Christ at this club. Most of the afternoon I spent just in awe at the sheer volume of children, and as I poured kool-aid into 225 cups and in the process flooded Mrs. Ebersole's kitchen with red and purple punch, I could not help but think of the kids clubs I had done at home and feel humbled. What a difference in response!!! And I confess that a good part of me was wondering if it was really necessary to serve every child kool-aid, but I realized later they did it because they were determined to make a gesture of hospitality and generosity that would be meaningful to these kids. I was also humbled by Mrs. Ebbersole opening her home and life like this. It would be so difficult for me to open my life to that kind of chaos, and here she was willing to do it week after week because she loves Jesus and loves children.

Along those same lines, one of the best things about being here has been getting to pick the brains of the missionaries. All the families here are so different, yet what a pool of wisdom that we get to glean from for a little while! I was able to spend Tuesday driving to Lome with Jennifer, Beth (fellow short termer, nurse, and doctor's wife) and 2 of Jennifer's kids. Jennifer's husband is a surgical physician's assistant, and they are about to move up north to where ABWE is building a new hospital in a Muslim area. I learned so much from her- about being a wife and mom here, about reaching out to women, about learning a language and supporting your husband's ministry. And yesterday the Ebersoles took us and Jeff to the market in Kpalime, and then out to dinner. I respect this family so much for their continual sacrificial giving! Perhaps more than anyone else, their home is continually open – it seems there are always Togolese going in and out of their home. In so many ways this place is a model for us- a model of evangelism, a model of compassionate ministry, of giving. We want to emulate this – whether back at home or wherever in the world we end up – perhaps even here!

New Friends (Pt 3)

One exciting experience has been working with the national believers in clinic. One of the physician’s assistant is also a pastor at a local church. Pastor Gaglo has been at the hospital since its conception. He started working as a mason when the hospital was built. He later became a believer and started helping out with the clinic. Because of his hard work, he later became a translator. Then, in 1996-2000, he was trained as a physician assistant at the hospital. One of the missionaries said that he is one of the best PAs at the hospital and also a very godly man. “I’ve learned a lot from him – some medical and much spiritual” this missionary related. Several years ago, he began serving as a pastor and hopes to gradually work less as a PA so he can focus more on his church ministry.

Another hospital worker is the translator Aquele. Not only does she help translate for me in clinic, but she has a passion for evangelism. Many times, I have asked her to see if a patient is a believer, and she is quickly sharing the gospel with them. One patient we saw has bad liver disease, and likely will not live very long. However, after hearing Aquele’s witness, he asked if he could pray to receive Christ. How exciting to know that even though this young man’s physical outlook is grim, he has received eternal life. What a blessing to be there for that prayer and know that while I cannot speak the language, I can be a part of God’s plan to reach the people of Togo. It reminds me of I Cor 12…that we are all part of the body and each has its own unique part in extending the kingdom of God.

Finally, we have had the pleasure of meeting many short term missionaries like ourselves serving at the hospital. One couple, Josh and Beth are here for a rotation as part of Josh's surgical residency. Beth is a pediatric nurse like Lisa. They both desire to serve in missions. At the missionary church service, the just shared how during this trip they have felt God's calling to serve at a new hospital being started in northern Togo at the city of Mango. Their passion for missions is infectious, and it is exciting to see God's leading in their lives. Another medical student, Jeff, is also doing a rotation like I am. His passion for missions can also be seen, whether through his recounting growing up in Paraguay as a missionary kid or talking of his desire to pursue medical missions in the future.

In all of the relationships, we have been challenged be the desire we see in others to honor God through their lives. We have been encouraged by their friendship and hope that we can be a blessing to them. I hope hearing these snapshots of the friends we are making can also challenge you who are keeping up with our blog as they have us. Living for Christ requires sacrifice, but the joy given in return far outweighs anything given up. We are seeing others daily learn to live this out, and I pray that we all grow in our service for Him.

New Friends (Pt 2)

(cont from yesterday)

Pastor Jeremie is a Toglese believer who helped plant the church the Gayles serve at. We first met him when taking his family (he has a wife and two children, including a cute 5 year-old boy named Jean) to the Tsavie church. Only on our ride back did we learn that he spoke English...he had been hiding it the whole ride up. Talking with him, I have grown to appreciate his passion for evangelism. Not only does he serve at the Tsavie church, but works as a chaplain in the hospital and will go preach at the hospital's Mobile Medical Clinics. It is so encouraging to see that, in a place where the gospel was hardly present half a century ago, God growing up mature leaders within His church who are spreading His work among the people here.

Another missionary we have gotten to know is Jesse, an 79 year-old lady who works providing teacher training for Togolese Christian school teachers. Not only does she always seem to have a smile on her face, but her story of coming to Togo could challenge us all. At the age of 74, she felt God call her to Togo for a year to help serve at the school. She told us over dinner last night how when she made the decision, a great peace swept over her. “I only asked Him that if I were to go, He would keep me from encountering any snakes,” she told me. “So far he's answered that.” During Jesse's first 10 months here, she enjoyed it so much that she decided to keep coming each year for 9-10 months to help at the school. Most people in their 70's think it's time to retire. Jesse decided that it was time to serve God by serving in missions. What a challenge this can be to us, that each moment of our lives is a gift that we can give to the Lord's service. We are always useful if we give ourselves humbly to Him.

On Saturday, Lisa and I hiked to a nearby waterfall and swimming hole with a group from the hospital. Hiking through the midst of the forest/jungle as we continued to come upon different houses and farms of the local village made the trip memorable, as did the incredible view of the valley and mountains as we hiked up to the falls. Along the way, I got to talk with Mawuli, a Togolese believer who is a close friends with some of the older missionary kids. He told me of the impact of the gospel upon his family, and how he became a believer as a teenager in the Awana program that his mom ran. Now, he hopes that he can be a missionary within Togo either as a pilot or mechanic, because he desires to share Christ's love with those in his country.

New Friends (Pt 1)

A week has gone by in Togo, and already God is bringing new friends into our lives to encourage and challenge us. What a blessing Christian fellowship is, and how great to see on a daily basis that the bond we have in Christ extends beyond continent and culture. Many of these new friends are missionaries here. We have also made friends with several of the Togolese believers, though the language barrier often limits us to befriending those who speak English. If we could have one thing different , both Lisa and I wish we could speak French or Ewe so we could develop relationships with the dear brothers and sisters here as well as reach out to the many who do not know Christ. Still, this is where God has us these 6 weeks, and we are thankful for the friends we can make. And we are convinced that investment in language training in the future is a vital skill as God leads us towards full time missions.

While time does not permit us to share about all our new relationships, I wanted to highlight a few of the people we have befriended to give you a picture of our life and hopefully challenge you.

The first week, Lisa and I stayed with Michael and Cheryl Gayle (we just moved into the guest house yesterday). Michael is a Family Medicine doctor, and one of the main people who influenced me into pursuing Family Medicine. He and his wife Cheryl sold their practice in West Virginia about 8 years ago to begin a second career, this time serving God in Togo. While Michael works mainly in the hospital and clinic (though he wishes he had more time for evangelistic mobile medical clinics), Cheryl overseas logistics for the short term people staying in the guest house and helps with translation work in the Christian Resource Center. They both serve at a church in Tsavie (pronounced “Cha-vee-ay”) about 30 minutes from the hospital, where they have been involved in since its conception. Whether sharing meals or just chatting, we were encouraged by their heart for God's glory and the Togolese people and thankful to learn from their wisdom. Our time together is showing us that missionaries aren't supersaints nor are they perfect (Michael is a Yankees fan), but are normal people who love the Lord and sacrifice other pursuits to build Christ's kingdom.

Pastor Jeremie is a Toglese believer who helped plant the church the Gayles serve at. We first met him when taking his family (he has a wife and two children, including a cute 5 year-old boy named Jean) to the Tsavie church. Only on our ride back did we learn that he spoke English...he had been hiding it the whole ride up. Talking with him, I have grown to appreciate his passion for evangelism. Not only does he serve at the Tsavie church, but works as a chaplain in the hospital and will go preach at the hospital's Mobile Medical Clinics. It is so encouraging to see that, in a place where the gospel was hardly present half a century ago, God growing up mature leaders within His church who are spreading His work among the people here.

(Check back in the next day or two for the second part of this post.)

Life is worth the living just because He lives

I’ve been meaning to update this blog every day this week, and I think I could write a long post on each day and still not be able to really fill you in on all we are doing and seeing. But… I’ll try to fill in the highlights!

On Sunday we worshiped at a little church in a village about 20 minutes away. The whole service was in French and Ewe (pronounced Eh-vay), so we understood… um… about 2 words. Cheryl Gayle was kind enough to translate a little for us now and then, so we at least knew a bit of what they were talking about. But it is still beautiful to hear the Word of God preached in other languages, and to look down at our own English Bible and know it is the same thing! I’ve found one of the most touching things is to hear them sing. Some of the songs are familiar ones to us, because they are English songs translated into French or Ewe. I love that, because our hearts can sing along =-) But I also love hearing their own songs in their own tribal languages. It almost brings tears to my eyes, as I can easily imagine I am hearing a little bit of heaven where people from every tribe and every tongue sing praises to our common Savior. Of course, maybe then we will understand Ewe?

We started in the hospital (Hopital Baptiste Biblique, or HBB) on Monday morning. The hospital has about 35 beds, and though advanced for Togo it operates like medicine in the US about 30+ years ago. Some of the patients have conditions that are quite familiar to us, but much of what we’ve seen is either completely different (for instance, I’ve never seen malaria or TB before). Most often the patients are much sicker than you’d ever see at home, because they come in much later. HBB is a tertiary care hospital, meaning a lot of people have already brought their loved ones to a government clinic or fetish priest before they come here as a last resort. I could write pages and pages on what we’ve seen, as the needs are tremendous and the patients (for me, especially the children!) are heart wrenching, but I don’t know where to start or where I would end with that. But this is what I come back to: every human being born on this planet will suffer and die, at one time or another. The whole reason this hospital exists in this place is so that we can use medicine as a means to share the love and compassion of Christ, and that by doing so the people may have a chance to know their Savior and understand the gospel before they (one day) die. Please pray for the medical staff here, that Christ’s love will be made obvious through their actions. Pray for the chaplains and missionaries (the ones who are here all the time and can speak the language), that they will be able to use the medicine as a platform to share the gospel and impact the community. Pray for the church planters (both national and American), that churches will be planted and grown from those who come to know Christ. And above all, pray for the hearts of these people. They are so open and friendly, but so gripped by darkness.

Most days Stephen has spent in the hospital, while I’ve been able to come and go. I am mostly observing and occasionally participating (this is because they have trained Togolese to do the bedside nursing here, and therefore those roles are filled). Because of that I’ve had the opportunity to do other things such as going to the market, visiting people, playing with the kids, etc – which has been great! Yesterday we went to the Village of Light, a school for blind children they’ve started in nearby Kpalime.

One more thing before I need to go… a few nights ago after dinner we began to hear the sound of drums and faint chanting, coming from the village just outside the hospital wall. For a few second I was enjoying the sound, until I was told that was the beginning of some kind of fetish ceremony (fetish means spirit worship – think witch doctors, animism, etc.). That made me sad, and also brought home the reality of the darkness and fear most of the people here still live in. Last night we were at an African “barbeque”, put on by one of the missionary couples for all of us short termers that are here right now (which, by the way – Stephen and I both ate snake last night!). At the end of the night a couple of the Africans that were there picked up a guitar and then a couple small drums and began singing. Beautiful sound, singing praise songs to our God. Some of the songs we could sing along with in English – like “Amazing Grace” or “I’m Forever Grateful”, sung simultaneously by us yovos in English and the Africans in Ewe. But my favorite was “Because He Lives… because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives”. What a contrast between darkness and light, between fear and hope! That is the key to why it is worth it for us to be here.

P.s... Stephen is going to try to post sometime this weekend, so you can read his thoughts too!

We are officially "yovos"!

It is hard to believe that I am sitting here in a little hospital compound in the middle of a tropical forest in Africa, but I am. We arrived in Kpele Tsiko, Togo this afternoon… and I have to say, we have absolutely no horror stories from our 2 days of traveling. We made all our flights by a long shot (including our bags!) and everything worked the way it was supposed to. A few interesting things from our travels so far…

1.) At our gate at BWI they kept paging a “Mr. Harry Merican”. If you don’t find that funny, you are no good at Mad Gab… we have been cracking up about it ever since. Of course, we are nerds and therefore easily amused ;-)

2.) When we were waiting at Heathrow, Stephen took out his Bible to read. A couple of Indian men came over and asked if he was a pastor. It turns out they were pastors themselves, one from PA and one from India. The one from India spoke very little English, but from what we could gather he had suffered greatly for Christ. He kept asking me to pray for him and his ministry, and gave me his business card. If you think of it, pray for Bishop Majji – I don’t know many details, but God does. And besides, I promised I would tell my friends to pray for him too!

3.) Stephen was able to share the gospel with a man on our flight from London to Ghana (the man had nowhere to run!). He was from Ghana – very friendly, and loved to talk. But he had very firm opinions that the Bible was in no way literal and therefore “religion” was of no real use – unless of course you happened to like it, then it was ok for you. You can pray for him too – his name is Barry. And we seem to be good at collecting business cards… he wanted to give us one too!

So after absolutely no hardship, a few fun adventures, and a lot of bored sleepless hours (well, for me! Stephen drugged himself with Benadryl and slept like a baby), we arrived in Accra, Ghana last night. A missionary couple (the Gayles) met us at the airport and took us to a missionary guest house where we spent the night. This morning we headed out in a rickety old van with no shocks, over roads that were mostly not paved, among cars and people who followed no rules. I actually loved it! Once we left the city we drove through some coastal plains and then eventually tropical forests, passing through many little villages. It is beautiful here, but the part I really loved was watching the people – especially the children. I wish I could relay to you the many mental pictures I have from today – the colorful women with gigantic baskets on their heads and cute little babies tied to their backs, the shanty houses and grass huts, and the children with huge smiles. When some people saw our van with “Hopital Baptiste Biblique” emblazoned on the side and us nosy white people peering out, they responded in one of two ways. They either stared stony-faced with an expression I could not read, or (more often) their faces lit up with a huge smile (especially the kids!) and they shouted “Yovo!” and “Bonjour!”. Yovo means white person, and it is so strange to stick out so utterly and completely, and to be at such a loss for a way to communicate. It kind of makes a strange impression on you, and makes you feel rather small. But smiles work in all languages, and I especially loved smiling and waving at the children.

After about 6 hours and several stops later (at a hotel, a French restaurant with excellent food, and the market in Kpalime), we finally made it to the hospital. We are staying with the Gayles for our first week, until there is room for us in the Guest House. Don’t feel sorry for us – we are not roughing it at all! All the buildings are quite nice, made out of stone and plaster with many of the conveniences of home. We settled in a little bit and then got a quick tour of the compound before heading over to the hospital… which I am going to have to save for another post. Our introduction to the hospital made quite an impression, but this post is already too long and we have not fully processed or absorbed all that we saw there this afternoon.

Tomorrow morning we will go with the Gayles to their church in a little village a few miles away – which we are super excited about! Please pray for us as we settle in here and learn to serve. There is so much to process and learn, so many attitudes and impressions to form – and we want them to be God-honoring ones! Thank you brothers and sisters for your prayers. We will try to keep you updated as much as possible, and maybe post some pictures too… as soon as we have the chance to take them! ;-)

Arrived safely in Ghana

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived safely in Ghana (bags included). We're staying in a missionary guest house tonight and will be driving to Togo tomorrow. Thanks you for all of you prayers! We will try to update more soon.

About Our Trip, the Hospital in Togo and How You Can Pray

Praise God for the gift of His Son, as we remember this Easter that Jesus in His mercy died to bring us salvation. We owe everything to Him, and because He is of such great worth it is a privilege for all believers to be ambassadors for His gospel.

Lisa and I are excited that we leave for Togo in less than a week. There are still some details to take care of, but praise God that the majority of the needed preparation has come together.

Having recently learned more about the hospital and it's ministry, we wanted to share about it with you, so you might be encouraged by God's work in Togo and know what we will be doing there. Hopefully, this will enable you to better pray for us.

On April 8th, we leave this USA, fly to Ghana via London, and from there travel by land to Togo. We will be serving at Karolyn Kempton Memorial Christian Hospital (aka Hospital Baptiste Biblique or HBB) until we return on May 25th. This hospital opened 25 years ago and is located in the southern region of Togo. Today it is the 3rd busiest hospital in the country. The hospital has 35 beds, with 3 full time doctors, one full time physician assistant, and other short term volunteers. The hospital has many outpatient visits a day, takes care of adult, OB, and pediatric patients who stay in the hospital, and also performs many surgeries. There is a school that trains Togolese nurses at the hospital. In addition to the ministry directly at the hospital, there are many mobile clinics serving in nearby villages where local pastors can provide follow up with those who show spiritual interest.

Yet the hospital is much more than this series of facts we have related; it is a work God is using to spread the gospel in Togo. HBB was born out of the prayers of missionaries who saw a significant medical need in Togo and realized that showing compassion through caring for the sick was an incredible way by which God opens people's hearts to His gospel. Today, in the midst of many medical demands, the hospital staff (including doctors, nurses and chaplains) is committed to sharing the gospel of Christ with their patients. Evangelistic video tapes are played in the clinic waiting room. At an ABWE medical missions conference Lisa and I attended recently, one missionary shared that 2000 professions of faith had been mad during the last year. Obviously, it would be naive to assume that all of these are genuine, yet the fruit of the work at the hospital has been undeniable. This has lead to the planting of new churches across Togo in areas that would have been reached much later (and many would have died without hearing of Christ) if they had to wait for missionaries to come first to deliver the gospel. One missionary, Kay Washer, who with her husband was the first missionary into Togo from ABWE, attests in her book One Candle to Burn: "More people receive Christ by means of a hospital stay than through any other missionary endeavor in Togo. Many who come to Christ at the hospital return to their villages eager for their neighbors to hear the good news." Today, there is even a Bible Institute in the same town as the hospital to help train future church leaders. Additionally, having seen the work of the hospital in Togo, the Muslim elders of Mango, a city in northern Togo, asked that the missionaries start a similar hospital in Mango. Already, construction work has begun in Mango, and in a few years this hospital will be caring for people's needs and sharing Christ as they reach out to this area.

During our time in Togo, we will be staying at the guest house at the hospital. Stephen will be taking care of patients and assisting with surgeries and deliveries. This will be quite an adventure, including nights were he is on call and has to (with supervision) make decisions about patient care. Lisa hopes to help with teaching of the Togolese nurses as well as assist with mobile clinics. Yet we see missions as more than providing medical care; through all of this, we desire to be a light for our beloved Savior by sharing His gospel and showing His love to open up doors for the missionaries and national believers that work at the hospital. Ultimately, we are all part of Christ's work, so whether we see someone saved directly by our witness or open up doors for others to share by prayer and love, Christ is the the one glorified. There are other areas where we will be serving. We plan to be part of one of the Togolese churches during the 6-7 Sundays we are there to worship with, fellowship with, and encourage the believers there. We also pray that we can serve and encourage the missionaries serving at the hospital. There are other ministries active in Togo, such as a school for the blind, the printing of Christian literature, community health outreach, and pastoral training. Through all of this, we look forward to God using this time to prepare us for medical missions in the future, should He continue to lead us down that path. It will be especially exciting to see faithful men and women using their gifts in medicine to provide spiritual as well as physical healing.

We know we have shared a lot of details, but we hope that it enables you to praise God for the work He is doing in Togo and better pray for us during our trip. Above all, pray that we would be humble and faithful to serve Christ. This trip is not about us. With all the challenges of being in a new place and culture, it will be easy to focus on ourselves...what a waste that would be! Pray that we would keep our eyes on Christ, trust fully in His strength, daily die to self, and through it all bring honor to Him.

To our Blessed Savior be the glory!