July 26

26 Jul 2009 – Sunday, Day 46

Hello friends and family. We thank God every time we remember you. Our internet has been down for four days but is back on!!! Yeah!!!

The compound is quieting down. The Briggs left for a year’s furlough yesterday. They’ve been here for two years. There were lots of tearful goodbyes from Togolese and American friends. It was neat. Dr. Martin leaves tomorrow and the Ebersoles head back next weekend. Our busiest two weeks have just begun.

I wanted to remind everyone how important your support is to us. We truly appreciate everyone who prays for us and for those who’ve blessed us through financial support. My last night on call two pregnant women arrived in labor. One had a prolapsed cord and lost the baby. The other had shoulder dystocia and was a very difficult delivery. Fortunately, Dr. Martin rushed in and helped with both, so I’m praising God for his assistance. I’m also looking to the next couple weeks with no OB-GYN backup and asking for your prayers! So many times patients come in with difficult diseases and we need providential wisdom and discernment (to cover my huge gap in knowledge of adult conditions). We need to decide quickly if they have a problem we can help with medicine, or if they have an untreatable condition and need to hear the gospel and then be sent home to die. It’s much better for the family if we can make decisions quickly before exhausting their meager resources on futile care.

There are joys to share as well. Your support helps us bless the Togolese if many small ways. Cari brings the boys up every Friday and we sing songs in Eve and English, then pass out small treats (Hershey’s kisses, tennis balls, coloring books, stickers, stuffed animals, etc..). The patients and their families love the boys and really appreciate even the smallest gifts. Also this week we were able to share some eggs and coca-cola with boy who drank lye and is on a G-tube. He desperately needs protein to build up his strength (one of the best sources of protein but very expensive) and the coca-cola actually cleans the sludge and debris out of his G-tube to keep it working. Such a small gift, a bottle of soda, but the mom has been thanking me every day for the past three days and I’m overwhelmed at her gratitude. I have to keep reminding her “akpe na Mawu” (thanks be to God, not Andy) - and explaining about all of my friends and family back home in the States who made the gift possible (you guys!). Again, just another soda to me, but Wow……

Come to Africa! Missionary advantage #4: You become part of the missionary family and suddenly everyone is an Aunt or an Uncle. The kids have relatives all over the place!

May you seek the LORD while he may yet be found. And may you love him more than anything else in your life (hammocks and air conditioning included). And mawu ne no kpuli wo (May God go with you).

Yours in the service of our LORD,

CADT (The Robertsons)