December Nattier News

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

 

 

Have you ever had an aha moment?  As I have been reflecting on Christmas this year, I have had a few.  First off, it is so easy to forget about the gift of Christ during all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  Second, Christ coming to earth was a model for Missions.  Listen to what Jesus said in his prayer in John 17:18, "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world."  Jesus came and he changed everything.  He left perfect Heaven to come to earth as the incarnate Christ, and he delivered from the father "the words you gave me" John 17:8.  Some of these most important words include the Great Commandment (to first love God and to second love others) and the Great Commission (to go tell this good news and make disciples).  As disciples of Christ we are to always be about this mission.  So this Christmas as you remember the gift of Christ coming to earth, let's also consider the mission that He started and that He sent us into the world to do!

We were blessed to have the opportunity speak at Harmony Baptist Church in Frankfurt Indiana last Sunday.  We are excited to be at Valier First Baptist Church in Valier, IL this coming Sunday December 28.  We still have lots of open Sundays, and we are looking for churches who would like to know more about what God is doing in Togo.  If you would be interested, please contact us soon because our schedule is filling up!

We are so thankful to report we are up to 82% of our monthly funding.  Thank you to all of you who have helped us get this far.  We are only 1300 dollars per month from being completely funded.  Would you consider partnering with us as a monthly financial supporter to help us meet the physical and spiritual needs of the people of northern Togo and West Africa?  We also have a large need for our one time expenses.  We are at 52% of the needed funds.  This will cover our language school, our plane tickets for round trip, a vehicle, a house, and a container with shipping to deliver our household goods.  All of the money you are contributing now goes to meet those needs.  However, with just the current giving from our monthly support we will be waiting until 2016 before being fully funded in our one time expenses.  Would you consider giving a one time gift?  If you mail or process electronically before December 31, you can still get tax credit for the 2014 calendar year.  The link to give is http://www.abwe.org/give and our id/account number is 0135751.

Prayer requests:

1)  Our Family - We still have many things to be done in preparation.  Please pray that we would be able to be efficient and glorify God in completing the sometimes daunting list of necessary tasks to prepare to leave.

2)  Our Ministry - We have been amazed at how God provides and we want to praise him for this.  Please continue to pray for open doors and opportunities to share about the ministry in Togo.  Would you pray that churches and individuals would partner with us financially, in prayer, and with their time to bring the hope found in Jesus to Togo.

3)  Our Team - The opening of the Hospital of Hope on March 2, 2015 is quickly approaching.  Praise God that a group of short term American nurses have arrived, which is a huge boost in manpower.  There is still a lot of work to be done in sorting and organizing supplies.  There is also a lot of training to be done for the nursing aides and ancillary staff.  Please pray for them as they make these necessary but not always enjoyable preparatory steps.

4)  Ebola - Please pray that the current epidemic would come to an end.  Pray also that God will use it to move in amazing ways in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Upcoming Events:
December 28 - Valier First Baptist Church
February 22 - Oak Street Baptist Church
March 1 - University Baptist Church
April 27 - May 7 - Field Prep Seminar, Harrisburg, PA

 

 

November Nattier News

The past several months have been extremely eventful in this journey the Lord is leading us on.  We left the military, moved out of our house, traveled to Togo, moved to a new city (Lafayette, Indiana), and started a new job.  While it has been exhausting mentally and physically, we are so thankful for our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has protected and sustained us throughout the constant change. 
We are also thankful to all of you who are supporting us through your prayers and financial gifts which helped us to travel to Togo.

God worked greatly during our trip this summer. We had a chance to work with the new anesthetists, nurses and surgical techs that are preparing for the Hospital of Hope in Mango, Togo. They are a great group of young Togolese Christians, and we are so excited to minister to them and with them in the future. The opening of the hospital had to be delayed from January 8th to March 2nd, due to a combination of challenges to include delayed arrival of necessary equipment and work teams canceling in response to the Ebola epidemic.

 

This picture was taken just outside the gates in front of the Hospital of Hope (Hopital de l'Esperance).  The hospital construction continues to progress despite the delayed opening.  Here is a couple of pictures from the center of the hospital building.

 

 

 

The nurses station will be centered where you see the work benches in this last picture.  Since this picture the ceilings have been placed and the nurses station has at least been started.  Please continue to pray with us for the many people that are laboring on all the tasks it takes to open a new hospital.  There is still much work to be done before the March opening.

 

Our monthly support is up to 76%.  That means we are only 24% from being fully funded.  Many of you have asked us what we have left before we leave for our language training in France en route to Togo.  We have a couple more required trainings in the spring.  Our next financial deadline for training is 85% support before March, 2015.  The current Ebola epidemic has brought to the public eye the great medical needs of West Africa.  Will you help us, so we can begin to meet the great physical and spiritual needs in Togo?  You can learn more about how to partner with us in meeting these needs at the following link http://www.nattiers.blogspot.com/p/give-now.html

 

If you or your church would be interested in hearing more about what is going on in Togo, please contact us at nattierstotogo@gmail.com.  We will begin listing our upcoming speaking events at the bottom of our posts.

 

Prayer requests:

 

1) Our family - Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare to go.  We are spending a lot of time in the car on the road.  Please pray for safe travels and wise parenting within the confines of our van. 

 

2) Our ministry - Will you please pray with us that God would lead people to provide the remaining monthly support?  We know that God has called us to go, and he has called people that will help us go through their financial support.  Please pray that we would share the great needs of Togo clearly and appropriately with individuals and churches.

 

3) Our team -  They are in the final few months of construction and preparations before the grand opening March 2, 2015.  Please pray for the arrival of the remaining equipment and teams to finish the physical plant.  Please pray for all of the new Togolese employees as they will be moving their families 10 hours north from the current hospital in Tsiko to Mango.  Please pray for the setup as they begin putting all of the equipment and donated supplies in place to start providing medical care. Please pray for this preparation and their unity throughout the many stresses.

 

4) Ebola - Please pray with us for the 3 countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which are battling this horrible virus.  We were just at a medical missions conference in Louisville, KY last week.  We heard stories from the Brantly's and others about the harsh conditions and fear in treating this disease.  Their is great fear of Ebola in this country even though we've had only a few isolated cases. Imagine the reality of living in the three effected countries who are witnessing the devastation of Ebola in family, friends, and neighbors daily.  Please pray with us for these people who are truly suffering.  Please pray for the healthcare workers that are trying to provide much needed medical care.  We recently learned that a Christian surgeon who was trained in one of the PAACS surgery training programs and returned to his home country of Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola.  Please pray specifically for Dr. Martin Salia. 

 

Upcoming events:

November 16 - Shandon Baptist Church, Columbia, SC

February 22 - Oak Street Baptist Church, Flora IL

March 1 - University Baptist Church, Beavercreek OH

 

 

 



Togo Photo Diary Day 15

Here is Natasha with Lydia Pfenniger and the OB nursing staff.  It has been very hard as we say goodbye to the wonderful team here!  We start the road back home today as we head back to Lome, the capital of Togo to spend some time with our Regional director.

Togo Photo Diary Day 14

Finished up my last day in the operating room today.  Then I had a very special treat.  Eric Miller and I were able to take out all of the surgical techs and Anesthetists (except David and Pataka who held down the fort at the hospital) for burgers in Kpalime.  It was a great time of fellowship.  The van ride with 16 people was full of craziness.  Everyone in the first picture will be leaving Tsiko for Mango in the next few months.  I have really enjoyed getting to know my future Mango team!

 

This is Dr. Eric Miller the full time general surgeon here in Tsiko with the whole crew (Missing David Dagadou and Bataka).

Togo Photo Diary Day 13

Natasha took this photo while she was waiting to receive the baby from a C-section.  Fred Pfenniger in the blue and his wife Lydia, sent with Samaritan Purse's post residency program, have been helping me to become proficient with C-sections.  Moussa the surgical tech on the right will be working in Mango!

Togo Photo Diary Day 12

Natasha has been working on the OB ward and with the newborns there.  She has enjoyed it, and the staff and patients seem to enjoy working with her as well!

Togo Photo Diary Day 11

This is Moussa, a Fulani man who recently presented in the middle of the night when I was on call.  When he arrived he was unresponsive with almost no blood pressure.  He had been hit by a car while riding his moto (motorcycle), and his leg was fractured and nearly amputated.  As a result he lost a lot of blood.  He initially went to a hospital about 1 hour away, but after being there for about 5 hours there was still no doctor.  They had applied a tourniquet made out of rubber gloves.  When he arrived 7 hours after the injury he was still bleeding.  We applied a tourniquet and gave him blood.  He improved, but still required an below knee amputation.  He is now doing very well. 

The Fulani are known for being nomadic cattle herdsmen.  Though now many of them own stores and work in other trades.  They have a reputation for being mean and dangerous.  They are almost all Muslim.  There are many Fulani in Mango, as well as, here in Tsiko.  We had a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to this Fulani man.  Unfortunately we will not be staying here long enough to build a relationship that might allow me to study the Bible with him. 

Togo Photo Diary Day 10

We have been very busy the past few days and unable to post.  Today I would like to introduce you to a few of the Togolese staff here.  The Anesthetists took some selfies during our last Sign nail for a femur and tibia fracture. 

 

 Dieudonne worked at the hospital in Mango prior to joining our team. 

 

 

Cherry (pronounced like Sherry) recently finished his Anesthesia training in Lome.   Both of these guys are excellent at what they do, and a pleasure to work with.

 

Finally here is some evidence that I have been working.  This is a picture of Dr. Briggs and I working on a Sign nail.  Kofi one of the most experienced surgical techs is in the red hat and Sam one of our techs for Mango in the yellow hat. 

 

 

Togo Photo Diary Day 9

Coffee beans along the path to the waterfall.  The red beans are ready for harvest.  They have been cutting all of the underbrush with machettes (coup coup) to prepare for the upcoming harvest.

Koku harvested a cacoa from a tree for us to suck on the seeds.  The seeds can be used to make cocoa powder, but the seeds taste very sour when they are fresh.

Papaya trees.

In the upper part of the picture you can see the top of the waterfall and the bottom is in the lower left.  We were only able to see the a little bit at the bottom, because the foliage was very thick at this time of the year (the rainy season). 

Togo Photo Diary Day 8

 

 

These are pictures from the HBB soccer teams' game against Kpalime in the regional championship.  They won the week before against a greatly favored team, and they won the orange jerseys they are wearing.  Unfortunately they loss this game 1-0 on a corner kick that our player headed in for them.

Togo Photo Diary Day 7

The kids in genuine batik African fabric made from wax molds.  It was taylored right here in Tsiko.

Togo Photo Diary Day 6

A few of the OR crew I've been working with.  Many of them will be joining me in Mango.  From right to left, Bataka one of the most senior OR techs and staying in Tsiko.  Next Mousa and Sambione two guys who helped build the hospital in Mango and are now trained to be surgical techs. Next Cherry one of the Anesthetists for Mango.  Dr Eric Miller the full time surgeon here in Tsiko.  Luke also a future Mango surgical tech.  Komi one of the surgical techs staying here in Tsiko.  He spent a lot of time sharing the gospel with me to a patient with terminal breast cancer.  An excellent representation of the amazing team of people we have been working with.

Togo Photo Diary Day 5

 

Ahnilyse enjoys riding around on the back held with a Ponia of fabric on Florence's back.  Sofia never would ride like this.

 

 

Natasha and Elli are getting pretty comfortable with this technique too!

Togo Photo Diary Day 4

Elli and Sofia helping Florence pound fufu.  It ends up looking like bread dough.  It's made from cassava root, which is a staple of the diets here in Togo.

 

This was a pile of cassava roots on the side of a road.

Togo Photo Diary day 3

A rhinoceros beetle, one of the many exciting creatures the kids have discovered here.

Togo Photo Diary Day 2

 

A mountain pass south of Kara on the main Togo highway.  It's about 3-4 hours south of Mango.

Togo Photo Diary Day 1

Since making my last post the internet has been down.  Our IT expert, Jon Edwards, returned today and its now working again.  Thank you Jon!

 

Additional seating Mango, Togo style.  Thanks to Josh and Jenny Farver for their hospitality!

Nattier News September 2014

We have a had a very busy and enjoyable few weeks.  Last week we had meetings Monday through Wednesday to discuss the reasons for and potential impact of a surgical training program, ie PAACS in Togo.  It was a great time to meet many teammates and learn about what God is doing in Togo.  We were given the go ahead to begin making a proposal of how it could work at the hospitals here in Togo.  Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's guidance in how to use surgical training as a way of preparing Christian surgeons to be leaders and to someday take our place. 

The following day we set off on a 10 hour car ride with 15 people to our future home, Mango Togo.  The route was full of interesting sites.  It was also very clear that progress was being made in the form of road improvements.  The first two hours was spent on a dirt road with deep potholes.  The next 8 hours was a mixture of paved roads with scattered potholes, mountain passes, and newly paved roads.   When we finally arrived in Mango we were immediately amazed at the sight of the hospital.

We had some ideas of what Mango might look like from pictures and what others had told us.  In spite of that, I was completely amazed by the hospital and especially the operating rooms.  This will be an amazing facility for this area and we pray that God will use it to do great things.  You enter the surgery building through the outpatient holding area and recovery room, a significant upgrade from the facility in southern Togo.  Then there are 5 operating rooms that are very modestly sized.  All in all it would pass for an outpatient surgery center in the USA, which says a lot when you consider Togo is a third world country.

We greatly enjoyed spending time with some of our teammates.  Unfortunately about half of the team was home on furlough or taking a short break before the hospital opens.  There is still a lot of work to be done before the hospital opens.  Due to the Ebola situation, some of the work teams coming have canceled further complicating things.  Please be in prayer for those who continue to labor diligently on the hospital.  Please pray for our team that continues the hard work and many preparations to start a hospital in this very challenging environment. 



One of our goals for our trip was to figure out our housing situation.  We were able to stay in one of the houses on compound.  Most of the providers who will be taking call live on the compound.  We were also able to visit several of our teammates houses in the community.  There are upsides and downsides to each.  Right now there are no other houses suitable for a family of six on the compound, so we will have to wait on God's timing to figure this out. 

We are almost half way through our time here in Togo.  So far it's been a great time of fellowship, and yet we have done almost everything we were hoping to accomplish.  Natasha has been busy working in the hospital, so she is getting the hours she needs for recertification.  I have also spent time in the operating room, and it continues to amaze me at how much I have to learn.  The practice of medicine and surgery in Africa is quite different than in America.

Thank you for your continued support, and we continue to rely on your prayers!  We are excited to announce we are now at 71% of our monthly support.  We continue to be amazed out how God provides.  When we return we will be looking for churches to share about the work in Togo.  Please be in prayer for open doors with churches and individuals.  We still need to reach 85% by March for our next training.  If you want to hear more about the ministry in Togo, please contact us.  As always, we love to hear from you!  I'm going to try and post a picture from our trip every day for the next few weeks as the internet permits, so check back frequently.

Nattier News August 2014

Our family and all of our bags have arrived safely in Togo!!  Thank you all for your prayers.  It's been 1 week today, and we are finally starting to get over jet lag. 

The kids have found lots of friends here to play with.  They have been chasing lizards, playing soccer, and attended a birthday party this week.  The older two started school Thursday.  My mom has been a huge help, because Natasha and I have both been busy at the hospital. 

The hospital and clinics have been booming, and the wards were completely full until yesterday afternoon.  It's busier than I remember from our trip three years ago.  The full time general Surgeon here, Dr. Eric Miller has fixed 4 femur fractures with Sign nails just this week.  I was able to help with two, and hopefully I will be proficient at this procedure by the time I leave. 

While the medical interventions do help to improve the lives of most, the stark realities of poor preventive healthcare and people presenting very late is everywhere.  As a result, one of the other short termers relayed, he has had at least 1 person die every day for the two weeks he has been here.  Almost everyone sees death all around.  One patient's brother relayed that this reality helped him make the decision to place his faith in Christ!

Ebola has still not entered Togo or it's neighbor's borders.  However, there is lots of false information going around on the radio.  One of these myths is that drinking hot salt water with onions may somehow prevent Ebola.  Several patients have come in sick from trying this home remedy.  Our chief of staff had educational meetings with the  hospital staff this week to try dispel these myths.  Please continue to pray for the affected countries, and the rest of West Africa during this Ebola epidemic.

The weather here has been very nice.  It's actually been unseasonably cool!  Highs in the low 80s, lows in the 60s with mist or rain every other day or so.  I still feel like it's hot in the hospital and operating room though it could certainly be worse. 

Today it's cool and raining.  In this picture you can see the mountain in the background has clouds and mist around the top of it.  In the front of the screen is a small termite hill.  There are some 3 and 4 times this tall around the area.    In the middle is the newest guesthouse.  We are staying in one that is very similar. 

Many of you have asked what we will be eating here in Togo.  This was our Friday night cuisine, Pizza.  The kitchen staff here are amazing cooks.  We do get some Togolese cuisine mixed in as well. 

There are a lot of teammates traveling for the meetings starting Monday - Wednesday August 25-27.  Please be in prayer for safe traveling and for a productive meeting.  It's very exciting to have so many teammates together and we want to seek God's direction for the medical ministries in Togo.  Please pray for wisdom and unity to be gained during our time together.

The day after the meeting we will be traveling to Mango.  Please pray for us to make the most of the 5 days we have there.  We are excited tell you all about Mango, our future home, very soon. 

We are so grateful for your continued partnership!

Nattier News July 2014

Will the current Ebola epidemic effect your upcoming trip to Togo?  This has been a common question we have received lately.  I will address this question, but first let me update you on our past month.  

It's now been two weeks since I separated from the USAF.  This has a lot of implications.  The most obvious, we no longer have the many benefits of military service like income, great health insurance, and amazing colleagues!  However, this also gives us a lot more flexibility and we are now able to travel to Togo.  We are planning to leave in less than 1 week.  Another implication is we have moved.  Where is complicated, but currently we are staying with family and friends until we leave for Togo.  When we return we will be living and working in Lafayette, Indiana as we make the remainder of the preparations to serve in Togo long term. 

This past week we were in Harrisburg, PA, ABWE's home office, for a very good training on Church planting, called EMC.  It was great and helped us think through what a church would look like in Mango, Togo.  In case you wondered, it would probably look different than what we typically think of when we look at our own church.  We would love to tell you more, so please call or email us with any questions you may have in this area!

Now to our current trip.  I attached a map of Togo, to show the cities where we will be traveling.  We are flying into Lome the capitol of Togo.  From there we will be traveling to Tsiko, where the current ABWE hospital, HBB, is located.  We will be staying there for the majority of our trip.  Mid way through our trip will be a strategy meeting to discuss some of the questions about what the work in Togo will look like in the coming years, and we are excited to meet many of or teammates and learn about a lot about the current work.  After the meeting we will be traveling to Mango our future home.  We will be spending about 1week there.  This will be our first glimpse of Mango in person.  We will also get to see the progress in the hospital which is scheduled to open January 2014.  We are scheduled to be in Togo for 7 weeks total.

 

Now back to Ebola, let me start by letting you know Togo is in West Africa.  Its still separated by two countries and about 800 miles from Liberia.  However, there was a passenger from Liberia who stopped in Lome, Togo before later getting off in Nigeria, where he died of Ebola.  This raises the possibility that someone on the plane may have been exposed to Ebola, got off the plane in Togo, and could develop the disease.  In fact, the team there is preparing for just that scenario. 

So how do we deal with this scenario.  Honestly, our initial reaction was fear.  Why?  Well we feared for the safety of ourselves, our children, and parents who we are going with us.  Our next reaction was to ponder the various scenarios, and based on this try to calculate the risk involved.  Was this the right way to react?

Honestly, I don't think so, and it's been a great test for us that will be invaluable in the future.  You might wonder what I think was wrong.  Was it Ok to have fear?  Yes, that's a natural response, and I don't think it's avoidable. So what was wrong.....   How should I deal differently with fear and tough decisions when they arise in the future?

My first reaction should have been to ask for God's help through prayer, reading scripture and seeking wise counsel.  I believe that even in all of the earthly knowledge that I may gain or possess, my creator has infinitely more wisdom than me or any man on this earth.  Job 38:4 gives God's response to Job's questions: "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations?"  This verse and the rest of the chapter gives us but a glimpse of the difference in our knowledge vs the wisdom of our all knowing God. Recently I've been praying for wisdom to make the right decision on whether to cancel our trip or to go. 

 In the past few weeks prior to learning about the risk of Ebola in Togo, I read Risk is Right: Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It by John Piper.  If anyone is interested it's very short and very profound.  I've started doing his daily devotional on desiring God.  Yesterday the title of the devotion was Afraid of Death No More.  Its based on Hebrews 2:14-15 and discussed how Jesus has destroyed the power of death, and can "deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery."  In reality, I was scared of the possibility that one of my family members could die of Ebola.  I was afraid of the possibility of death.  Today the verse was 1 Corinthians 6:20, "For you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body."  The way we live in our body should glorify God in all we do. 

Through all of this, God has once again amazed me!  Phillipians 4:6-7 says don't be anxious but pray about everything and the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds.  In the past few days, we now have peace that at this point we are to continue on our trip to Togo.  To some this might not make sense.  My answer to this, it makes perfect sense to follow an all knowing God wherever he leads.  In case any of you are really worried about us, the risk of getting Ebola is probably extremely low.  Only God knows what that risk is, and at this point we feel he wants us to go!

Please pray for us and our trip.  Please pray that we would continue to rely on God for guidance in all that we do.  Please pray for our family's safety.  Please pray that the meeting in Togo would be led by God.  Please pray for our trip to Mango that we would be able to gather important information to prepare to return in the future.

Thank you all for your partnership through prayer and support!

Nattier News June 2014

Have you ever experienced God working through the events and happenings of your life?  Many times I take for granted the gifts and good things God sends our way.  Our recent experiences have absolutely blown us away and been a confirmation for us of God's calling.  We started sharing with people about 6 months ago the monetary needs we had in order to begin serving in Togo.  Our first church presentation was only 4 months ago.  In march we had less than 10% of our required monthly support.  We needed to have 50% of our monthly support by June 30th to attend the next required training.  To be honest, I had serious doubts whether we would reach that goal.  In the past month through the help of many of you, we have reached and exceeded 50%.  We have also been working hard to complete the other assignments.  Yesterday we got the official invitation to register for the EMC conference July 28 - August 1!!!!

This is not something that was accomplished through our hard work, though we have been working.  It was through God moving and meeting this need!  We are so grateful to our Lord and to those of you who are making the monetary sacrifice to partner with us. 

The past few months have been a learning experience for us.  We are gradually learning more and more to rely on God to provide.  He is Jehovah Jireh, and He will provide as we follow Him.

 

In just over 6 weeks we will be leaving to travel to Togo once again.  We will be spending 7 weeks there this time.  Please pray for us as we take our 4 kids, and my parents who have never been out of North America to remote West Africa. 

During the trip Natasha and I will be working at the hospital for the first few weeks.  Then we will be joining many of the missionaries there and some of the Doctors who are preparing to go for a Missions Summit.  We will be discussing the ministries of the two hospitals in Togo, vision, and strategies for the future.  We are very excited to meet other members of the team both missionaries and Togolese leaders and hear how God is already working in Togo.  Following that meeting we will be traveling to our future home in Mango.  We have never actually been there, so this is exciting for us.  Pictures can only show you so much, and we are ready to see Mango and the hospital with our own eyes.   We recently saw a picture of the hospital and were amazed with the progress.  

 

Please continue to pray for the construction team that they would be able to put the finishing touches on the facilities in time for the opening in January.  Please pray for the medical team who is working to get all the medical equipment to Mango and then setup.  Pray for our trip in August and September for safe travels, effective ministry, and for God to guide the strategy meeting. 

 

After July, our last required training is offered in April and November of 2015.  We must be at 85% in order to attend this training.  After that we will have met all of the training requirements and be ready to leave for language school after reaching 100%.  We are hoping to be ready to start language school in France at the beginning of the school year (September 2015).  For this to happen we must reach the 85% mark before the April training.  Please pray about whether God is leading you to partner with us as we take the Gospel to the unreached people groups in Northern Togo, Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso.  We know that God is already working in Togo, and we will be there full time whenever He is ready for us to start. 

 

Thank you for all your prayers and the encouragement we have received thus far.  We love to hear from you.  Our new ministry email is nattierstotogo@gmail.com.  Please send us emails with any questions you may have about us, our ministry or Togo.  We are beginning to schedule church visits for after we return from Togo in October.  If you or your church would be interested in learning more about how to partner with us in ministry, we would love you tell you more in person.

Nattier News April 2014

"God is good all the time. All the time, God is good." This line, taken from the recent hit movie God's Not Dead, has greatly impacted our thoughts lately. In doing a little research on this quote, we discovered that it actually originated in West Africa amongst Christian facing horrible persecution. It is incredible to see God at work all the time and a blessing to be able to join Him where He is working. As our excitement to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the people of West Africa is growing, the preparation that must be done often seems daunting. But even through the tedious endeavors God is continuing to reveal Himself and is teaching us to fully rely on Him.

At the time of our last post, we were at 18% of our required monthly support. In the past month, the Lord has increased this to 46%. He has done this through the faithfulness of many of you. God is good!

We count ourselves very blessed to have such great people partnering with us each step of the way. We couldn't do this without those of you whom God has called to share in this journey. We want to specifically thank our friend, Zach Santmier, who designed our prayer card (see updated back of card below). We would most certainly still be working on this without his help.

 

Since we last wrote, we celebrated the birthdays of our oldest two, Elli and Andrew (8 & 6). We all strapped on a pair of roller skates and had a blast just trying to stay on our feet. Their birthdays were a reminder of just how fast our time on earth goes... a good reminder to make our time here count. 

 

During spring break, we traveled to South Carolina and Georgia and were able to spend some time with family, friends, and Togo teammates. We came home from the trip physically tired but very spiritually recharged. We enjoyed reconnecting with close friends from our days in residency and an opportunity to speak at Edgefield First Baptist Church in Edgefield, SC. We were so warmly welcomed by all and feel very blessed by the chance to share about what God is doing. Our last stop on our trip was to see the Kendall's, our dear friends who will be serving with us in Togo. Our children (9 of them between our two families- all very close in age) were able to meet for the first time. How precious to see them all interact so sweetly and to become close friends so quickly.

 

 

 

 

Praise: Safe traveling and growth in monthly support

 

 

Prayer Requests

Please be in prayer for our teammates in Mango.  They are working hard to try and have everything ready for the hospital to open January 2015.  This is still not a guarantee.  We learned recently that they send about 15 patients every two week to the ABWE hospital 6 hours south who have urgent medical needs.  These are patients who can afford the trip.  They also relayed there are at least that many people just in the local area who can't afford the trip and are dying of treatable problems.  It is heartbreaking to hear this news, but it's taking a toll on them seeing the needs and not having the capabilities to intervene. 

 

Please pray for our trip to Togo in August.  We will be meeting many of our future team members and having a meeting to discuss goals for the medical ministries.  Please pray for us to see how God is directing rather than make plans from our limited human perspective. 

 

Continue to pray that we could reach 50% by July to attend the next training.

 

 





Nattier News February/March 2014

The past 4 weeks have been very productive in our preparations for Togo.  We were blessed with the opportunity to present at two churches.  Our sending church, University Baptist Church, was extremely supportive.  Some of you may not know this, but I (Bryce) am very fearful of public speaking.  We were able to do a question and answer format which was not nearly as stressful.  Among other things our pastoral staff also helped us get prayer cards designed.  You can see the front below. 

This past weekend we visited Woodland Baptist Church.  It had been almost 8 years since we had seen many of this amazing church family.  What a warm welcome, and outpouring of love we experienced.  It was so wonderful to catch up with many dear friends.

We have been amazed at the six new financial partners in just the past two weeks.  You can see from our thermometer, our monthly support is definitely growing.  Just as a reminder, our goal is to reach 50% before July, so we can attend the next required training.  The number we need to reach is 3750 committed per month.  This is well within reach.  At the time of writing this, we are almost to 20%.   We want to say thank you to each of you who have partnered with us thus far.

After this training in July, we are excited to visit Togo for 2 months.  During our trip, we have several things on the itinerary.  We will be visiting Mango, our future home.  On our first trip we were unable to make the 7 hour trip to the north.  This time we will be spending about a week there.  We will meet some of our future teammates.  We will also hope to gain a better understanding of the housing situation and things we should plan to bring with us when we return.  We are so excited to see the hospital site and the progress that has been made.  It should be nearing completion when we visit, so they can open the doors in January 2015.  Please continue to pray for the construction team, and the teammates who are already on the ground working.   This is the most recent picture we could find of the hospital building which was in phase 2 of construction. 

 

The remaining weeks will be spent in southern Togo working at the hospital.  Natasha and I are excited to put our skills to work.  My parents will be traveling with us, which will help free us up to work in the hospital.  They will also be doing ministry with the skills God has given them.  Please pray that they will be blessed and will have wisdom on how to spend their retirement years - maybe a large chunk in Togo:-)

Praise: Huge amount of support and encouragement we experienced recently.

Prayer: We are looking for more churches to share about the work in Togo.  Please pray for open doors to speak.  If your church would be willing to host us, please email me.
Pray that we could reach 50% by July.
Pray for the Hospital of Hope construction team and our team already in Mango.
Pray for our trip to Togo this summer

January News

Nattier News – January 2014

As many of you can relate, the last year has been a whirlwind for us.  Bryce returned from a deployment in March.  In May we enjoyed a family vacation to Disney World and learned we were expecting our 4^th child.  July brought us to candidate classes with ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) and an official appointment to serve overseas.  August, September and October were filled with studying, soccer and weekend trips to visit family and share about ABWE and our call to foreign missions.  Andrew had an impressive bike crash in September resulting in the loss of several teeth and a jaw fractured in 3 places.  Miraculously he has healed well, although he has a lot less teeth. In November Bryce passed his oral boards (Praise the Lord).  December brought a trip to Charleston for a family wedding, lots of holiday festivities, and wonderful time spent with family.  Now here we are in January and we just welcomed Ahnilyse Caroline on 1/18/2014!  Whew 2013 was exhausting even in recap.  2014 is shaping up to be just as momentous. 

     

     

Bryce will separate from the military in July, and for this first time in 10 years we will have a choice on where we go.  We are seeking the Lord’s direction as to what comes next. 

Both of us have felt God’s call to use our skills to serve on foreign soil.  Until recently we did not know where the Lord would lead us.  We now know that he is directing us to Togo which is a small country in West Africa.    There is a hospital being built in the Northern part of the country in the city of Mango.  It is an amazing opportunity, because the local tribal/religious leaders have invited ABWE to take over the medical work for this region.  Wow!!!  This is nothing other than a miracle from God. 

In July we attended candidate classes in Harrisburg, PA with ABWE.  We met an amazing group of people in the home office who make it possible for missionaries to go.  We were very blessed to be appointed as missionaries.  We are also very excited to join the team God is bringing together in Mango, but we have a lot of work to do before we can actually begin long term ministry in Togo.  We are currently in “Prefield” which means we are building a prayer team, raising monetary support and completing a long list of tasks which will help prepare us for ministry in Togo.   The next training that we need is called Essential Mission Components, and it is offered in July 2014.  It’s a 1 week course on cross cultural church planting.  In order to attend the course, we must complete a number of reading tasks.  Additionally we need commitments for 50% of our required monthly support.  Despite our busy schedule and only a few opportunities to share about Togo, God has already provided 12%. 


If you would be interested in partnering with us in ministering to the spiritually and physically poor in Togo, we would love to tell you more about this amazing ministry that God is doing.   To join the prayer team, please email us at bnattier@gmail.com.  To help us reach the financial support needed, you can commit to be a monthly supporter at www.abwe.org/give.  On the left you will click on automatic support program to give electronically.  Alternatively you can click on “Commit to support a Missionary or project” to give by check.  Our account number is 0135751.  Additionally, you can check out our website which is a work in progress www.nattiers.blogspot.com, and you can register there to continue receiving our blog/prayer letters.

As we begin this amazing journey please pray for us!  Specifically:

Praise:  Thank God for a healthy baby Ahnilyse Caroline and Andrew’s miraculous recovery from his injury.

Prayer: We have a lot of preparation to do in the coming months to include: reading several books, completing seminary classes, raising the needed monetary support, and figuring out the location where we will move to while we are preparing for Togo.  Pray for us to have wisdom on how to allot our time between work, church, prefield, and family so we can accomplish the needed preparation.

Protection for our family physically and mentally as we begin the great transitions that will come with separating from the military, finding new short term jobs (for both Bryce and Natasha), and moving.

That we would fully rely on God’s provision for the remaining support and have peace that this will occur in his timing.  Is He leading you to partner in His ministry to heal the spiritual and physical suffering in Togo?

We will be traveling to Togo again in August – more to come in our next blog!

TO TOGO

Hello all,

This is our family's blog as we make our way toward Mango, Togo in West Africa.

You can check back here periodically for updates and direct people here if they are interested in hearing about how God is working in Togo!

Thanks for your support!

More to come!

Bryce Nattier