The ministry in Togo was recently compared to a Triatholon which has 3 very different components that are all part of the race: the swim, the bike and the run. In order to open a new hospital in Mango, Togo 5.5 million dollars had to be raised - The swim. Then the hospital and supporting buildings had to be built, which required about 6 years of construction to complete - The bike. Well this Monday, March 2, the marathon of operating a mission hospital in a 3rd world country officially began. On the first day around 200 patients were seen, the clinic visits for the rest of the week were filled before lunch, 9 patients were admitted to the hospital and 2 patients needed urgent operations. We are already hearing exciting stories from our teammates of the amazing ways that God is working through the hospital ministry.
Here is a picture of some of our teammates American and Togolese that were working diligently to make all the preparations needed to get the hospital running and now operate it day to day.
Here is a picture of the Togolese hospital staff in their clothes made of the Hospital of Hope fabric for the opening ceremony.
Our journey to start meeting the physical and spiritual needs in Togo is progressing as well. We are a little earlier in the process with the triathlon analogy. We are still in part 1 of 3, which entails raising funds to cover the costs of living and working in Togo. There have been many new people partner with us on the journey, and we are now around 90% of our monthly support. We continue to be amazed at those of you who are joining our team and those who continue to faithfully give. All the funds that are given now continue to accumulate towards our one time expenses.
The second part of our race will involve moving to France to study French. The national language of Togo is French. It is spoken by the educated half of Togo and will allow us to communicate. There are a number of tribal languages spoken as well, but we will wait to learn those to some extent in Togo. After we complete an intermediate level of French training we will head to Togo to begin this journey of ministering in Togo. We have really enjoyed answering questions like these as we have been with our sending church, University Baptist Church, this past week. If you have other questions please feel free to email us. If we see a recurring question, it will help us to share it in a format like this with others who may be interested.
Prayer Requests:
1. Our Family - We have had a brief break in our travel that was much needed, but we are hitting the road again in the next few months. We will also be separated from our kids for a number of weeks for training. Please pray for us, our kids, and our parents during this time. Please pray for good health as we've recently battled some colds that is even more challenging with traveling and being away from kids.
2. Our Ministry - We are praising God for many new partners. Please continue to pray for us as we share the needs in Togo. Our team is still in need of teachers, nurses, surgeons and anesthesiologists to name a few. If you know people that are interested in short or long term service in Togo contact us or check out the link for Hospital of Hope's website here http://hospitalofhopemango.org/.
3. Our Team - We are praising God for the success of the opening ceremony which included a visit from the President of Togo. The opening of the hospital seems to have occurred with great success as well. Please continue to pray for our team as they begin the grueling task of meeting the great medical and physical needs of the area.
Upcoming Events:
March 15 - Ten Mile Baptist Church
April 1 – Woodland Baptist Church
April 27 – May 7 - Field Prep Seminar in Harrisburg, PA
May 30 – June 6 – Crescent Project in Minneapolis, MN
