Tuesday, Nov 12, 2013
Dear Friends,
The subject line does not in any way mean that we are in danger here in Togo! Really – there are no bullets flying over my head while I sit here writing a prayer update!!! But this letter hits so many things that are happening here – so I hope you don’t mind somewhat of a bulleted list. If I tried to describe everything in detail, reading this prayer update would seem rather daunting (I am sure it will be long enough even with what I call a “bulleted list”)! Here goes:
**Hospital Finances: The most recent letter I sent was one that featured the incredible ministry (spiritually and physically) of our hospital, HBB (Hopital Baptiste Biblique) and told about some huge financial needs. How I thank God for the way He touches hearts — and how I thank Him for people who respond when their hearts are touched!! There have been some wonderful gifts sent for these immediate financial needs. We are thrilled with the way that God has provided through His people. Would you please pray that the needed regular monthly support for our hospital would also be provided? I cannot imagine supporting a more exciting and spiritually-profitable ministry!
**Like Christmas!! A container arrived about two weeks ago — what fun! On the container were five used laptop computers, donated by friends in the US. You cannot imagine the joy in being able to provide these for some of our Togolese who will have the ability to access resources, do word processing, improve communication, etc. Last week one of our hospital employees came to the house. His name was the first on my “laptop reception” list. He has been praying for probably close to a year that God would provide a laptop. He walked in and saw the laptops that I had set out on the kitchen table. His eyes were so wide; he was amazed that God had allowed him the privilege of choosing his own laptop! Talk about a “kid in a candy shop . . .”!
In addition to the computers, there was an absolutely beautiful refurbished guitar in a brand new case. That has just been given to one of our churches — what an addition it will be to their worship of our God!!
And someone graciously purchased two water filters (ones that are especially designed for use in areas where clean water is hard to come by!). One of these will be given to a pastor and his family who are currently drinking river water that is totally filthy! We are entering dry season — and the water they drink will get worse and worse. I realize that a filter will not be effective when the river becomes more mud-like. A well is what is ultimately needed. But at least during the rainy season and partial rains this water filter will be a huge help!
**Partnering with giants!! I am frequently humbled by the spiritual lives of our Togolese and their devotion to serving our Lord. One of these Togolese is Pastor Martouka. His passion is to see people in villages come to Christ! He currently pastors/oversees at least five village churches. He would love to be able to leave his fields completely and be in full-time ministry. But that is not possible financially since he has a wife and three children. In addition to overseeing the churches, Pastor Martouka has also returned to school to try and get his high school diploma. That will take another two years — so there he is, 30-some years old, attending classes with much younger students! What fascinates me is that he has already started Bible studies among the students — he came by the other day and bought a bunch of tracts from our literature ministry. I don’t think he is ever without some type of literature that he can hand to people as he explains God’s wonderful plan of salvation! Please pray for this pastor and his family! By the way, he does not know it yet — but one of the laptops was donated specifically for him — a laptop that belonged to a missionary who is now with the Lord!
**Chief at Salamba-Kope: God continues to open doors for our Community Health Evangelism (CHE) ministry. One of the newer villages in which our CHE members work is Salamba-Kope. Our CHE team returned the other day just delighted — the chief in that village had asked them to do a study with him and the other leaders on Biblical principles for families and for raising children ! Wow what an opportunity!
**In Port!! Praise the Lord, our vehicle for the CHE ministry has arrived at the Lome port!! Wow, I am thrilled — even without having seen it! It is completely paid for thanks to so many people who donated for this ministry vehicle! I transferred more money yesterday to cover the cost of insurance, registration, license, getting it out of port, etc. Please pray that all goes well over the next 2-3 weeks as one of our Togolese men in Lome takes care of all the paper work. We hope to have the vehicle delivered sometime in December! Expect photos!!!!
**Hit Hard: Our ministries here in Togo, our Togolese, and we missionaries have been hit hard lately with some very difficult situations. This past Saturday we buried one of our hospital employees – 36 years old, married, with two small children. He had a cardiac dysrhythmia that caused his sudden death. He is with our Lord; he is rejoicing. But what a huge emptiness he leaves — in the laboratory where he worked most recently, among friends, in his church where he served so faithfully! Our employees (and all of us!) have been reeling from the loss!
Our nursing students have been hit hard too: Beni and his wife lost their “adopted” son — a 10-year-old boy from Beni’s wife’s family. Both of the boy’s parents had died a couple of years ago; Beni and his wife do not have children; they took this boy in and treated him as their son. About six weeks ago, he was sick, losing weight. He tested positive for HIV. About three weeks later, he died. He very clearly had a love for God and had apparently given his young life to Him. Again, that means that we are rejoicing! But how difficult to sit next to Beni’s wife, Enyonam, hold her hand as she wept, and try to comfort this young lady who would love to have children of her own — and has now lost the child that God had given them.
One of our other students, Esther, lost her uncle who was essentially her father. She lost her father at a very young age and her uncle raised her as his child. Her uncle died a week ago. There is no evidence hat he had a personal relationship with God – although he heard the wonderful news of salvation numerous times. We hope that he responded to that message!
Yesterday morning one of our students, Julie, was at my doorstep about 7:30 AM. She had received word the night before that her younger brother had been in an accident; that morning she received a telephone call saying that he had died. She sat and wept! This was a young man who attended a church — but who learned in that church that he could earn his way to heaven by the good things he did in life. Sadly, that is the complete opposite of what God’s Word teaches. Again, our hope is that this young man listened to his sister as she, through the years, told him how he could have eternal life through faith alone in Jesus Christ’s death for him.
The daughter of one of our dear pastors got involved in pornography and it was just recently found out that she has been involved with several young men, some of them in the same church. You can imagine the devastation for the pastor, his wife, the church, all of us who know and love them. Please pray for true sorrow for sin — and for a changed life!
**Graduation!! We are very excited to announce the date for the graduation of this class of twenty nursing students!! They will graduate on Saturday, May 31, 2014!! Wow is that exciting news!! Please pray much for them as they complete course work, do a four-month internship working almost full-time at the hospital, and then graduate and start work as nurses at our hospital. Please pray especially for those who are a little weaker clinically and academically — that we faculty would have God’s wisdom in knowing how to help them — with the goal that they will be excellent nurses by the time they graduate!
**Critical Care: As you pray for the nursing program and for me, would you please pray for the upcoming Critical Care course (starting Monday, Nov 18th and continuing for three weeks). I will have the privilege of team teaching that course with Tabitha Groeneveld, an excellent ICU nurse. Please pray for both of us — for time and wisdom in preparation! For ability and clarity and creativity in teaching! And for understanding on the part of each of our students. The next few weeks look a bit overwhelming — yet exciting. Thanks for standing with me in your prayers!
**French!! The joys of praying in a second language — what a humbling experience that can be. While sitting in Beni and Enyonam’s home, comforting them on the loss of their adopted son, I was asked to pray for them. I Corinthians 15 was on my mind — and I prayed part of that passage of Scripture. The part that talks about “mortality being swallowed up by immortality”! Well, being a tongue-tied French speaker, I started to pray that “morality would be swallowed up by immorality”! Thankfully, I corrected that quickly, I think!! And went on, after praying, to share with them exactly what those verses really say — ending with the verse of victory, “Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory (over death and sin!) through our Lord Jesus Christ”!!
Thanks for letting me share each of these “bullets” with you – even though it might not have shortened the prayer update! Thank you for partnering with me in this wonderful ministry. Thank you for praying; thank you for supporting; thank you for encouraging!
**Addendum Bullet: Well, all that is above has already been written. But now I need to ask you to pray specifically for me. I just finished a three-hour meeting that involved lots of questions/answers. And some very difficult things being suggested. Not with any intention to hurt – but I find that I am saddened by some attitudes. Truthfully, tonight I am discouraged, disheartened, disappointed. Just about every “dis” I can think of right now. Without going into any details, would you please pray that I would allow myself to be encouraged in the Lord; that I would know how to respond tomorrow and in the next few days; that I would have God’s wisdom and walk in faith and trust in Him; and that I would let love and patience show in everything that I do and say. I need your prayers.
Thankful to be serving our Lord together!
Sharon
rahillys@abwe.cc or rahillys@yahoo.com
Blog site: http://rahillysharon.blogspot.com/
Phone Numbers in Togo: 011-228-2449-7025 (home) or 011-228-9006-3220 (cell)
ABWE Account number: #013787.
Address: ABWE, Missionary Finance, P.O. Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585
