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Building Health

Building Hope
 
Operating rooms ready
Giving the best medical and surgical care possible according to the means that God provides, with compassion, and  sharing the gospel of Christ clearly with everyone who comes.
 
In This Issue
December 2018

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 (KJV)


Dear Friends and Prayer Partners of CEH,

The words of John 3:16 are truth and light - and bring hope to our world. May you and your family be filled with God's presence and peace as you celebrate during this holiday season.

Our year-end update comes with thankfulness for all God has done and much to look forward to in the New Year ahead. Thank you, again, for your partnership in the gospel as we reach Guinea for God.

Your fellow servant,
Dr. Dwight E. Slater, MD
CEO of CEH
Spiritual Warfare and Fruit

On November 28, 2018 our CEH staff celebrated 11 years of service to the Guinean People. Historically, we served 110,000 patients. Over 200 of these made professions of faith in Christ Jesus during this time. Of the 5,200,000 Pular people in Guinea there were approximately 150 known believers in 2003 before we started. At least 80 more were added through the ministry of the hospital. Also, of the 4,000,000 Malinka people, there were approximately 150 known believers and at least 50 more were converted through our ministry. At least one of the 17 people groups with no known believers in Guinea has had one come to faith. God does this work and we are His instruments together for His Glory. Those of you who pray and give, along with those who serve and witness are each an important part of the total team that God built there at CEH. In this season, I sincerely thank each one of you.

In addition to these new believers we have a responsibility to disciple our staff of 48 workers and 10 Muslim construction workers. Maintaining our unity in obedience to Christ is constantly challenged in this battle against principalities and powers. Issues of marital faithfulness, adultery, divorce, work load challenges, interpersonal tensions, materialism, and influences of a prosperity gospel rampant throughout Africa are some of the issues we face. Pray for us in all of these, as we put on God's armor to face each one.
Volunteer Help
George, Dan and John

George W., Dan K., Rob U. (not pictured) and John C. are the Fall construction team serving for 16 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are working on the electrical and plumbing of the six new patient showers, two staff locker rooms and showers and Ophthalmology-Dental offices. An electrical run to the Fraiche Rosée School, preparation for a computer assisted bar code inventory system for the medical supplies warehouse, and general maintenance of the electrical, water and mechanical machinery essential to the hospital operations are also on the project list. We need about $20,000 to complete these projects. In each of these construction team visits there are opportunities for evangelism with patients, the non-Christian construction staff members and the surrounding community which always has its eye on us. Thank you for those who support them and are praying for their effective work. We generally send two construction teams per year. Some of you may want to prayerfully consider joining the next team!
 
Debbie S., Susan W. and Pam W. recently updated our orientation manual to help our many short-term missionaries be more effective in their work for our Lord. We greatly appreciate their efforts. 
Capital Development
      

Above is a layout of the overall existing structure and prospective future plan of the hospital. We are approaching the 60% completion mark of the original planned construction. We praise God for His faithfulness! The priorities of the next year will be:
 
These are our dreams of what we believe God would have us do next year. We will only accomplish these as the revenues are given. We are committed to not borrowing to cover expenses or expansion. All  capital development and major equipment are contributed by U.S. Christians. These are funded only after monthly operations are covered.
Salary Issues        

There is a constant tone of political unrest and desire for material advancement in Africa; which lags well behind the developed nations of the world. In Guinea this led to significant strikes immobilizing the total economy. Last spring the government made concessions to their salaried government workers including 40% raises in wages. They have mining contracts with western nations and private companies who desire to buy their natural resources: aluminum, iron, gold and diamonds. The government can also print money, but this leads to inflation. Eighty percent of the population are farmers, herders, service sector workers, commercial vendors and artisans. These do not have a government salary and are hurt the most. Our CEH medical national staff requested we keep pace with the raises the government hospitals granted. We were about 10% ahead of the government last spring, but staff is now requesting the additional 30%. This will be a challenge we can only accomplish by increasing the volume of patients we are serving  ̶  which we believe we have the capacity for with our current staff. The verbal grapevine is the major advertisement path in Africa, fed by the reputation of good quality work, compassionate care, warm reception, and reasonable prices. We hope that with the arrival of the surgeon in January the hospital reputation will continue to rise and the hospital revenues will expand to cover a portion of the normal operations we previously subsidized from the USA. We desire to develop the hospital to a position of self-sufficiency where it is no longer dependent on continual outside subsidies. Currently we pay all our medical and administrative staff from revenues generated by services rendered there. Pharmacy medications, laboratory reagents, and purchased medical supplies are also bought with those revenues. Only the 12 MIAPE missionaries and the 14-construction staff are paid from the USA contributions as a prioritized operational subsidy. For 2019 we anticipate this will be $105,600.  
Homegoing/Graduation
     
Bev Bruner
Bev Bruner, one of our faithful prayer warriors and our second volunteer secretary at CEH,  graduated into the presence of God on November 6th. Bev was a co-author of Our Prayer Guide for the People of Guinea. She was also a constant encourager of the work, standing behind her husband Wayne as one of our early construction leaders and the pioneer of the electrical installation at the hospital as he traveled there six times. Together they recruited many of our early short-term construction missionaries. In Wayne's home drafting office he faithfully worked on the initial layouts and later transmitted these to the other electricians and builders who served us. They prayed diligently for and discipled several of the construction workers. We are
so grateful to Bev and Wayne.

Carolyn Donnan
Carolyn Donnan, also one of our very first supporters, graduated to the presence of the Lord on July 22nd. Carolyn and her husband, Tom, worked with us in the Highland Park Baptist Church 4th grade Sunday School classes in 1978-80, when we were both young married couples. They became friends and then faithful supporters for all our years of ministry in Africa from 1985 to present. At church Carolyn constantly questioned me for news to fuel their prayers.

Faithful  supporters like this are the financial and prayer backbone of the CEH ministry. Without them the hospital would not have been built, nor have the resources to hire our African staff or function from month to month.

Please join us in prayer for God's comfort  to Wayne and Tom and their families. Their loved ones have gone on to their reward in the presence of our Father.

Fourth Medical Evangelism Conference      

2017 Medical Conference teaching team
 
We are privileged to sponsor our fourth Medical Evangelism Conference in just a few weeks!  It is scheduled for January 7-14, 2019.
We anticipate over 160 doctors, nurses, medical administrators and students from five West African nations will attend. Autumn Ridge Church sponsors this each time and sends Mayo doctors and pastors to help teach alongside leading national professionals; mutually sharing their experiences. This is a unique educational opportunity we love to share with these African professional care givers. This year we invited the Dean of the national medical school.  
 
Pray for God's rich blessing on all who come.
 
 
2017 Medical Conference plenary session showing some of the many attendees

 

"Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,  

will praise you forever;  

from generation to generation  

we will recount your praise." (Psalm 79:13)

 

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To make a financial contribution, mail your check to: 
Compassion Evangelical Hospital
P.O. Box 870
Southfield, MI   48037 

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  Wrap-up your holiday shopping at smile.amazon.com/ch/14-1917687  and Amazon donates to Compassion Evangelical Hospital Of The Guinean Mountains.