It's been a minute since our last newsletter. The past several months have been full of changes and a wide range of emotions. In May, we said goodbye for a while to our team, our coworkers, and our many friends in Mango. We are so thankful for our teammates and for the ways we have seen the Lord work there over the past 8 years as we have served at the Hospital of Hope.
It was a challenging decision in many ways, but we had sensed the Lord clearly leading us to step away from the ministry in Togo for now. This will be more than a 1 year furlough and probably better described as a sabbatical.
In June we were able to attend a medical ministry debriefing course at Alongside ministries in Michigan. This was extremely useful as we processed the wide variety of experiences over the past several years. We were able to celebrate many mountain tops, but it also helped us to begin working through some of the valleys as well. We had recently begun asking ourselves if the schedule for ministry and furloughs demanded by our mission to be full time were workable for us, given the demands of the ministry and changes in our family. We hoped to use this time away at the center to begin thinking about what our next 5-10 years of ministry might look like. We have been praying for the past year for the Lord to reconfirm where and how he would have us serve with the time, talents, and children He has entrusted to us and to guide our steps in the direction He would have us to go.
As many of you have experienced, our kids are growing up very quickly. Our oldest Elliahna recently started her first semester at Anderson University in South Carolina. This has been a big transition, and it has also confirmed to us that we are exactly where we need to be right now. She is settling in well, but it's also been important for her to know she can come home for a little family time whenever she desires. We are living in Greenville, SC, so she is just about an hour away.
Andrew has begun his senior year, and is applying to colleges. Sofia started her Freshman year in high school at a charter school across town. Ahni started middle school at a different charter school. Mélyna and Josiah round things out with our local elementary school and K4 at a church in town respectively. Yes you read that correctly-4 different schools and it has been a challenge to say the least. We are thankful for an extra driver in Andrew, but Natasha has been a busy taxi service. And, we are thankful to have family near by who can help us out in a pinch.
As we had prayed about what we should do with at least a year stateside, Bryce considered doing a surgical fellowship that would last for 1 year while we got our oldest two started in college. Over the past few years we have tried to start offering laparoscopic surgery in Togo. It is greatly beneficial to our patients to have less pain and return to their work or provide for their family much quicker than with open surgery. This past year we were able to perform about 10 operations laparoscopically, and it was clearly very beneficial. We have heard it said, that the population in Africa, in some ways, could benefit even more than us in the West from the shorter recovery times of minimally invasive surgery (MIS). This is because they don't have insurance, medical leave, nor a safety net. Unfortunately, there is less access to surgery let alone laparoscopic/minimally invasive surgery.
For that reason, Bryce decided to apply for MIS fellowships and, by God's provision, was able to match in Greenville, SC where we already have community, family, and a place to stay. He started fellowship August 1st, and it will last until July 31, 2026. He has been learning a lot and growing greatly in surgical skills in just under 2 months.
We are very thankful for many of you who have faithfully supported us for the past 10 years through language school and our time in Togo. You probably have questions for us, and we are happy to answer those questions on a 1 on 1 bases if that would help.
For now, we have changed our status with ABWE from Full time to Associate status. What that means, is that we are no longer drawing a salary or other monthly benefits like insurance. Over the past few years, we have become under-supported in monthly giving and our account was essentially depleted. We hope that during this time, those who give will help us have funds for one time expenses like returning to Togo and traveling to conferences to share about the work being done and the needs that exist. We will continue to have access to these funds for ministry expenses. This will be for things like supporting the ministry through recruiting, speaking engagements and travel related to the ministry. Additionally, we will use some of these funds to support the ministry in Togo in a few ways. For example, we recently learned our first head and neck patient, Nafi, needs to return to Kenya due to a recurrence of her tumor. We are also hoping to use funds to purchase laparoscopic equipment and supporting the PAACS training and discipleship program to name a few.
We also want to update you on our dear friend, our most recent head and neck patient. God, in his divine intervention, saw fit to allow her to begin a sewing training program with a very talented local tailor about a year ago. Before having her mass removed, Afi went through a sewing training program in a neighboring country. She had passion and talent but her certificate did not allow her to work as a seamstress in Togo. She has been working very diligently this past year to grow greatly in her skills and has continued to faithfully attend a weekly Bible study. A few weeks ago, she underwent a full week of intensive testing and was able to pass, gaining her official certificate to begin working as a seamstress in Togo. While she must continue training under her mentor for probably another year, the most challenging part of taking the exam in now behind her. Some of you have given financially specifically to support her. These funds have helped provide her with safe housing, food, and necessities while she is training and unable to earn money, have covered the costs of her training, and were used to provide her with a new sewing machine (presented to her in celebration upon passing her exam). Thank you for investing in this precious woman. Please continue to pray that the truth of who God is and what He has done for her would penetrate her heart and that after counting the many costs, she would find him worthy and submit her life to Him.
Since we will be a bit more occupied with our current engagements, we are not planning to write updates over the next several months.
Prayer
Our family: Please pray with us for the Lord's wisdom and guidance for us and our family after Bryce finishes fellowship and Andrew starts college in August 2026.
Our Team: Our Togo north team has been without a team leader since April of this year. There is currently no-one clearly ready to take this role. Please pray with us for the Lord to direct the right person to take on this important role.
PAACS Team: We are praising the Lord that all 3 residents passed their MCS written exam this year. They still have an oral exam next month, before they will be cleared to advance to the last 3 years of FCS under our certifying organization COSECSA. Also please pray for the Togo PAACS leaders, Dr. Enock Mupepe the new site director at HOH, and Dr. Jack Kehl who has taken over as the PAACS program director. Additionally, there were 2 new residents who were selected to start in in the 2026 class. Please pray for them as they transition to Togo.
