Our church has had a long-standing relationship with West Africa. In 1991 our church decided to partner in the work to share the gospel with a particular people group called the Mandinka. This people group is estimated to be approximately 11 million people who had limited access to the gospel and not only practiced Islam or African Traditional Religion but also lived in the second poorest country in the world. In those years, we supported missionaries and agencies working in the country as they focused on translating scripture. Then in 2007, a group of leaders from our church traveled to Guinea to see what would become the Compassion Evangelical Hospital (CEH). The charge of this hospital is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ while providing compassionate, quality, culturally appropriate healthcare and education. In a place like Guinea, what CEH offers is the difference in life and death, both literally and spiritually, for many people.
This year a team consisting of Dr. Steve Merry, Dr. John Park, Dr. Shawn O’Driscoll, Dr. Jonathan Morasse, Dr. Dwight Slater, Chantal O’Driscoll, Jean-Claude Richerd, Clayton Geno, Alex Mickouiza Ganga (MDiv), Pastor Rick, Pastor Emmanuel Mustapha and I traveled together to Guinea to participate in various activities over the week. During this time, we would be involved in training medical professionals, performing procedures, upgrading systems at the hospital and the guest house, encouraging hospital and school workers, visiting villages, leading devotions, praying, and counseling. Alongside all those things, a major part of this trip was the biannual medical education conference that teaches nurses, doctors, community health workers, and administrators about the best medical practices in the regions. It was a great time to watch those in our congregation and from around the world train those that will be on the front lines of medicine in Guinea and all over West Africa. These workers are now educated in the best practices of medicine while also learning how to share their faith with patients and family members. This is of utmost importance because one of the primary ways to evangelize followers of Islam is through medical missions.
Every day, Pastor Rick opened the conference with a devotional moment, working through the book of the First Peter. It was such a great experience to watch the attendees lean into the teaching of Peter and apply it to their days at the conference. I can’t wait to see and hear how each of you are blessed by the study of First Peter.
As the conference continued with various medical professionals teaching about their area of medicine, Pastor Rick, Chaplain Alex, Pastor Mustapha, and I prayed with and counseled those in need. With the help of the local chaplain for the hospital, school, and the senior pastor of the church, Pastor Moïse, we saw God move in miraculous ways. This same group visited the communities around the church to expand the community-building work near the hospital. As you can imagine, our days were filled with each of us focusing on teaching, translating, praying, and encouraging those around us. In the evening, we gathered for dinner, shared stories from the day, and prepared for the next. After dinner, I had the pleasure of leading a devotion time around the idea of mission: how we describe it in our everyday lives, how God defines his mission, and how we apply his mission in our everyday lives. Every night’s devotion time was challenging and enlightening for each of us as we continue to grow in our journey to be fully devoted followers of Jesus.
Seeing the hospital in person that we support through your giving was such a fantastic thing. Spending time at the hospital, the school, and the community set my mind ablaze with ways for our church to engage in the work God is doing there.
If you are wondering if this mission is only for medical staff and pastors, nothing could be further from the truth. Clayton Geno worked to upgrade the video security at the hospital and the Wi-Fi capabilities at the guest house. Jean Richerd worked to upgrade the equipment at the hospital. In addition to translating for the non-French speakers, Chantal O’Driscoll spent time with the leaders of the school and evangelism center.
What is clear is that there are a great many ways for us to be part of what God is doing at CEH. There is work with the school and its teachers and students. There is work in the newly finished evangelism center, and work to be done in the community, building relationships with the villages around the hospital.
If you are willing to share your gifts and talents, be open about your relationship with Jesus, give freely of your resources, and be willing to be an encouragement to the workers at the school, the hospital, and the community, there is a place for you on our future visits to Guinea.
