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!