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
