August Ministry Update

Your Story is Important

I like stories. I like to hear personal stories. I like to ask questions about the thoughts and the mindset of the people as they tell their stories. From this I learn a lot.

This is what the Bible is for me. It is God’s and our story as told by God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is not a promise of an easy, uncomplicated life without challenges in this broken world. It shows us, instead, the effects of our decision to live separate from God and the joys and struggles of those who follow after Him while connecting us to something beyond ourselves. Through it I learn how to live in a more meaningful way.

I wish we could-would share our personal stories mores. I think we could learn a lot from each other’s stories. I know I do. But I think it is hard for us to tell our story for a couple of reasons. First, often we do not feel we have a story to tell and/or we feel it will make us “less” than what we should be. Second, we do not know how to take time to learn other people’s stories. Our culture has taught us how to work, network, and keep occupied, but it does not teach us how to truly spend time with each other. In this something is lost; there is no connection made beyond ourselves.

I believe that God gave us each other and as such I think we should take time to not only tell our personal story more but learn the stories of others.

Sherbrooke

French Studies: We passed our conversational course! Thus, we started level B2 French on August 27^th. (Interesting fact: for Canadian residency status in Quebec, you have to pass the B2 level in French.)

Mazda: Our Mazda 6 has been revived! (From previous newsletter, you may recall that we were told that it was non-salvageable.) While looking into towing the Mazda across the border to a salvage yard, we were told to try a “mom and pop” shop three minutes from where we lived. We did, and five hours later they called to say the car was fixed! Not only that, but they changed out the “new Mazda part” with the “old Mazda part” because it did not work. Thus, I was able to return the “new Mazda part” for a refund. Now I am working on getting the rear end of the Mazda repaired that was “rear ended” in Indiana in November 2024. Oh what fun!

4,200 Miles: We had to leave Canada on June 30^th because of Lydia’s visa expiring. We returned to Sherbrooke on August 4^th. During this time, we traveled by van, covered about 4,200 miles and visited the following states/provinces: New York, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Ontario. Highlights: friends and supporters; a day at Seabreeze amusement-waterslide park; 4 days in a cabin on Lake Michigan with Family N; 4 days with Grandma who changed out our old van with a newer van (thank you Grandma); Headwaters VBS; presentation of ABWE’s Togo mission field to the sewing ladies at Headwaters who have put together multiple totes of infant hats, blankets, etc.; ABWE missions conference in TN; Noah’s Ark in KY; Niagara Falls (Canadian side); visited with family in Windsor ON and Christian Lake ON; and go-cart racing. Challenges: Noemi developed a rash and Bell’s palsy as a result of Lyme’s disease. As such we had to visit an ER in Ontario. She has since recovered. (Thank you, Lord!)

Kids going back to school: The kids still really miss their school in Fort Wayne, but they are okay to be starting school again here. Their first day of school was August 28^th and it went all right. The kids are hoping to be involved in some school sports here in the fall (cross-country and soccer). (Interesting fact: the government of Quebec has banned all cell phones in school starting this year.)

HBB – “more than just a Hospital”

Updates: From the newsletters of multiple missionaries: OB (Obstetrics) –> The OB volume is picking up; they did suffer a maternal death and a baby death (which is tough!); and there have been some manpower issues which has place a bit more strain on the staff at HBB. On the upside: they were able to participate in the care of a set of twins, who were born outside the hospital, and all went well; and the monthly Bible study with the OB nurses is progressing. Building relationships –> a state side church which is considering a long-term relationship with HBB and has some medical ties, is planning a vision trip to HBB in the near future; during the month of July HBB’s Evangelistic Mobile Medical Clinic spent time in a Togolese prison and a Togolese village building relationships through medicine. Baptisms –> an ABWE Togolese church plant has recently baptized 7 new members! Lansing MI –> HBB & HOH (the 2 Togolese mission hospitals) have lost the use of a shipping warehouse to pack and send containers secondary to the business being sold.

Ultrasound –> Ultrasound machines are game changers in resource limited settings where CT scans and MRIs do not exist and/or are out of reach financially or because of travel for the average person. As such the ultrasound plays a huge role as an imagine diagnosing tool. At HBB, along with an x-ray machine, the two ultrasound machines play an important role in OB and newborn care and in the diagnosing of heart, lung, abdominal and extremity pathology. One of HBB’s two ultrasound machines (both of which date back to 2015) has become unrepairable. A new one has been sourced, and its price has been reduced from $45,000 to $9,150 through a global grant program. If you feel lead to contribute to this new Ultrasound Machine you can donate through: https://give.abwe.org/projects/karolyn-kempton-memorial-hospital-hbb (PLEASE note “Ultrasound” in the comments).

Beautiful Feet: While in TN we were able to reconnect with Beautiful Feet, an ABWE ministry whose focus is to empower national churches to lead pregnancy care ministries. Currently they exist in 26 countries, including Togo. More specifically, in Togo they have 14 locations. We had a great discussion centered on how we as a hospital-centered OB service could support them in providing safe home-based pre-natal services and deliveries.

Preparing to go to Togo: In preparing to go to Togo, we have four more necessary steps: vaccinations, 8 weeks of B2 language, airline tickets, and Togo visas. Currently we are proceeding through the vaccinations stage that includes rabies, typhoid, cholera, malaria, yellow fever and meningitis. We can honestly say the vaccination stage is not our most favorite, but we are progressing through it with the help of ice cream!

School Kits for Togo: As some of you may remember, we had the opportunity to participate in a VBS (Vacation Bible School) fund-raising program for school kits for Togo in July. The result: $2,275. And thanks to the project leaders in Togo (K & C) and some saving as a result of bulk buying, the final tally was not 91 school kits, BUT 140 school kits (for K through middle school). Thank you to everyone who gave!

A quick revision from our last newsletter: We have just received a second bill for Noll’s pediatric cardiology visit on April 1^st. The total cost for the visit is now 1,000 USD compared to 3,500 USD in the USA. Oh, the hassle of delayed billing (lol).

Prayers and Praise for:

Kids

Prayers: good start to school, for making & reconnecting with friends
Praise: for the friendships that they have formed locally and the reconnections they made in Fort Wayne in July; for Noemi’s healing from Lyme’s disease

Fred and Lydia

Prayers: to be able to continue to learn French well; wisdom needed in relationships (spousal & parenting); wisdom needed to prepare to do medicine/OB in the new year in Togo
Praise: passing conversational language course, safe travel during July, no border issues in entering & leaving Canada

Togo, Hôpital Baptiste Biblique

Prayers:
for the team, the vision project (expansion from 50 to 75+ beds)
the growth of the OB service, managing increasing costs (increased electricity costs, unexpected tax bill)
needing a new site (in the US) for packing and shipping containers with supplies for the missionaries & hospital
some national concerns (search African news)
Praises: for the response to the Gospel through the multiple ministries

People of Sherbrooke (& Quebec)

Prayers: for the ministry of Parole de Vie (our language & the Bible school)and the local churches in sharing the message of Christ.
Praises: successful summer Chrisitan youth/family camps – in July

Other

Prayers: Our friends and colleagues who are going through very challenging situations (cancer, family complications)
for wisdom and responses as we look for opportunities to present our ministry.
Praise: that our financial needs are being met