Carolyn Thorson is a CCC international worker who, while home in Omaha on furlough from her work in Gabon, fell and broke her left wrist and tore up her left knee. Here is the latest update from Carolyn.

Dear Family and Friends,

Last Friday afternoon I moved into my new apartment and have enjoyed being on my own again instead of the two months I was in the hospital or skilled nursing care center. I have home health care so still have had a nurse, therapists and a blood drawer come right to my apartment.

Last evening I joined in on a Thursday evening Bible study here in my apartment building. They were just starting a study of the book of Acts. This morning there is a “Wellness Clinic” in the community room with coffee, rolls, blood pressures taken and announcements. Perhaps a speaker. I’ll go down to that and then my Occupational Therapist is supposed to be here at 11am. Friends are coming to visit this afternoon.

On April 18th I had surgery to take off the external metal fixater that went from almost to my ankle to well above my knee. After the fixater was off a series of Xrays were taken of my knee. Last Monday, May 1st I saw one of my orthopedic surgeons. Xrays were again taken of my left knee. What a difference!!  My knee had begun to slip out of position again, particularly one bone had slipped backwards and outwards. This is because two of my knee ligaments had been torn when my knee went out of joint on March 5th. That day I was sent immediately to a brace store to get a new metal brace for my left leg. It allows my knee to bend but it is necessary to prevent my knee from going out of joint again. I wear it day and night.

I do not have much news from Gabon since I last wrote other than that the Nursing School continues and students are doing well. Please pray that many new candidates apply to the Bongolo Nursing School and that they take the entrance exam that will be held in August.

Thanks for your continued prayers, cards, calls and visits.

In Christ’s love,

Carolyn

Below is an update from Craig Hanscome, the Administrator at the Hospital for Women and Children in Mali.

Greetings from quiet peaceful Koutiala where life is not always easy but we are thankful to be here.  There are currently 10 of us back for the hospital. One challenge is that the power is cut in town for about 12 hours each day, which is a bit hard since this is the hot season and life in 90-100 degree weather without even a fan is not always pretty. Fortunately the power has not been cut as often at the hospital and even when it is we have a back-up generator.  Our nursing staff is stretched right now as we have 5 western nurses, two who will go on home assignment from May to July, then two more go from September to December, so please pray for them.

Politically things have settled down into a sort of power struggle with the existing political class and the group that staged the coup. Those groups have been assigned the job of restoring democracy to Mali through an interim government.  So far we have a new temporary president with a prime minister who worked with NASA in the past that are trying to put something together.  But the captain who lead the coup is still involved and there are maneuvers for power going on all the time.  There are negotiations going on with the rebels in the north and also some small signs of divisions and infighting among those rebels and the African regional bodies are also talking about military intervention.  So all in all we have kind of a status quo with a partially functioning government that is able to maintain only the most basic services. It could blow up at any time or go forward towards stability.  We are waiting and working while we can.

We have one huge prayer need to place before you all.  It concerns Dr. John, an OBGYN and fertility specialist who in his 50′s felt led to sell his practice and their dream home and go to France to learn French and then move to Mali and work at the hospital.  He was recently placed in charge of the Maternity side of the hospital and has been working on a program to let us train OBGYN’s with a USA degree.  His wife Carol has been starting our dental department.  They are key players at the hospital, but last month while on a short home assignment John found that he has brain cancer.  He had the tumor removed and the diagnosis is that apart from a touch of God on his body he may have only 1-2 years to live.  Would you please pray with us for a touch on his Body?  Thank you!

Isn’t it amazing how life can go on pretty steadily and then suddenly things happen that create total changes in a short time! Well as you know we had such an event in Mali just a few short weeks ago.

From March 22 until present we have seen a coup d’état that toppled a 20 year old democracy, the almost total inability of the Malian army to function in the wake of the coup and a rebel movement that has taken control of over half of the country of Mali, declaring it an independent country.  The rebels are an Islamic group with ties to Al Qaida and are imposing Islamic law in parts of the rebel territory and declaring their goal to see all of Mali under Islamic law.

There was widespread looting in the north including of many charitable organizations who were there fighting the famine, so this has put a huge number of people at risk of starvation.  Though things have been quiet in Koutiala (the city with our hospital), with the potential problems and lack of mobility, there have been two different evacuations of Christian & Missionary Alliance personnel from Koutiala (and other towns) that has left just six workers at the hospital as the only C&MA missionaries left in the country.

Craig Hanscome, the hospital administrator, emailed and provided a list of strange things he found himself doing in these last weeks.

Going the bank every day to draw out the $4,000 max that the mission could take from the bank.  (Before the banks finally closed)

Emptying three of our 55 gal storage barrels and filling them with Diesel for the hospital generators,(at 9:30 pm because we were afraid of fuel shortages.)

Buying 2000 liters (over 500 gallons) of Diesel over the 4 day time period. This will allow us to run the hospital on generator for over 10 days.

Establishing a web of contacts in northern towns so we would have early warning if the rebels were heading towards Koutiala.

Using back up UPS power to do internet in the middle of our daily 12 hour power cuts.

Recently, the news is looking better, the Junta has agreed to turn power over to the head of the Parliament.  The ex-President has stepped down and now they have to figure out how to hold elections in a country split in two.  So there is still tons of need for prayer.  The C&MA will be talking in the next week about when and if workers who have left the country can come back.

There is talk of sending in troops from the W African countries (which has its own set of complications) to either fight the rebels or protect the borders. The people on the street are very discouraged with their government, leaders, army, court system, etc.  The feeling is that no one cares for the country but that those in power are only interested in taking advantage of their position to gain money and power.

So pray for Mali, pray that this will be a time when Jesus’ light shines very strongly. Pray for people to begin asking questions of their own beliefs as they see things done that are not in conformity with what they are taught. Pray for believers in the rebel north who are at the least being persecuted and at the worst threatened with death.

Carolyn Thorson is a CCC international worker who, while home in Omaha on furlough from her work in Gabon, fell and broke her left wrist and tore up her left knee. Here is the latest update from Carolyn.

Dear Family and Friends,

Yesterday I moved over to the Immanuel Fontenelle Home, room 167. I am in the Skilled Nursing Center. It is ranked one of the best in town.  My room phone is 402-717-6201. I have had the occupational therapist here already this morning but the physical therapist has not yet been here to give me a walker or get me into a wheel chair. I’ve not been down to the dining area yet since I can’t get there without a wheelchair so my meals have been brought to me. I will meet the Physical Therapist after lunch.

I do not have internet in my room but when I can get to the lobby I will connect my little Netbook computer up to the internet so I’ll be able to send emails I’ve written. I’m glad that at least I’ll be able to use my own computer with the internet instead of using only the hallway group computer. I told the Recreational Therapist who walked through my room that without having wireless they really didn’t meet the recreational needs of some of their patients. She said that they are working on it. It just hasn’t happened yet. I’m just glad I’ll at least be able to connect, when I get a walker and wheelchair and can get around.

I slept very well last night. Was comfortable as long as I took the pain medicines. Right now I’m hurting and waiting for my pills to work so I can eat lunch in comfort. My last leg surgery was only Monday so it has not been all that long since surgery.

I don’t really see a schedule here so don’t know from day to day when I’ll have therapy. When I can get up to meals they are also kind of come and go I’m thinking, nothing that I have to be there at a certain time but yet I need to make sure I’m done eating for when I have therapies, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy.

Visiting Hours are “Open Access” during Weekdays from 8am to 7pm and on the Weekends from 8am to 6pm.

Everyone seems nice here. I’m amazed at how many Africans work in the hospital and home situations. Some are nurses, some auxiliary helpers. They come from many countries in Africa so we have nice chats. I have two photo albums here with me and many people stop by and look at my photos.  Let’s just say that I never finished my Alliance speaking tour…(missed three churches in Kansas) but I’m still doing a lot of speaking!!!!

I appreciated a daily visit from a Pastor or full time person from my Omaha Christ Community Church so I’ve met some new people by their good visitation system. Thank you CCC. I even got to “Attend” church last Sunday through their online service. That won’t be possible here at this center because it requires wireless.

I can’t possibly thank everyone for all your support  but I can thank you for your prayers. I continue to need prayers as I strengthen my right leg and right arm that need to do the work for my other side. I will need surgery again in one month to take off the external fixater that is holding my left knee in place. Until those bars are taken off in a month, I will be doing NO rehabilitation on that knee/leg. It just needs to heel. After the fixater gets surgically removed sometime towards the third week in April, then I’ll start rehab on that leg.

I do not know how long I will be here at this skilled center. I might be here for the whole month before my next surgery or I might go “home”, wherever that is” and then go from there. All depends on many facteurs, including how well I can maneuver around from bed to walker to chair and back again. Absolutely no stepping down on my right leg though for a bout 3 months. At least that was the latest I heard.

Since i don’t know anything else to report at this time, I’ll sign off and get this sent later this afternoon when I’m able to branch my computer to the internet. Feel free to call and or visit.

Have a great day.

In Christ,
Carolyn

If you were here on Global Summit Sunday you might remember how we told you about a CCC medical outreach team in Mali who was ministering in the village of Soun. This is the same village that the recent Alliance Life magazine called attention too in their article about a Muslim Imam’s son who recently came to Christ. Well, here is an update on that medical team and the impact of their mission and the amazing Kingdom results in the village of Soon and others.

The following was written by Craig Hanscome, the administrator of the hospital for women and children in Mali.
We had the joy of having a team of 7 come from Omaha to minister to Mali using their professional skills as health workers.  These doctors and nurses joined with other visitors, our missionary and Malian medical staff and pastors to reach out into two villages where there is no church.  In one of the villages, there are no known believers and in the other village, there is just one man who came to the Lord only a few months ago.

We drove in a convoy of 6 heavily loaded vans and SUV’s out to the village of Soun (pronounced “Soon”) where the son of the chief of the village was the only believer.   We unpacked, put up tarps to provide some shade and then tried to organize the 500 + men women and children who came to see the Doctors or to have our dentist pull rotted teeth.  The consultations slowed by late afternoon.  During the day, one of the men asked the pastors how he could become a believer.  Praise!!

After a meal shared around the common bowl (five eating with their hands from a large metal pan) we set up the projection equipment in the chief’s courtyard and showed an evangelistic film.  At the end the chief’s son, who has taken the name of Emmanuel, stood with the pastor as people were invited to become believers.  Over 20 children and youth responded to the call. 

Afterwards we learned that before we came to the village Emmanuel had had a dream in which Jesus appeared to him and asked him to take care of his lambs.  He realized when the children came forward that this is what Jesus was asking him to do.  The next Sunday the man who had accepted Christ was in church which is in the next village but not all the kids were allowed to come.  So Emmanuel and Pastor George are having a weekly meeting with them in their own village to disciple them.

The team spent the next two days seeing the Bible School families and getting ready for the next outreach.   Saturday found us once again on the road at 7am.  At the village of Pogosso we found an even larger crowd waiting for health care.  This time we were a bit better organized but ended up working until about 5 pm to see close to 800 people.  One case of meningitis and two malnourished preemies were evacuated to the hospital and the pharmacy stayed busy giving out meds while the doctors examined a seemingly never ending line of people.

In the evening meeting in the town square there were three women and two children who came forward to give their lives to the Lord.  They are the first believers in this village.  Pray for them and for Pastor Job who will come from the next village over to disciple them.  As we were packing up a man came to Marilyn and told her that in the days ahead many others would come to put their faith in Jesus. May he be one of the first.   We arrived home that night at 1 am, worn out in body but rejoicing in spirit.

I have found over the last year that many people at CCC have heard the name “Compass”, but they are not sure what Compass does or how Compass is supported. Since Compass will be our featured ministry project at Global Summit starting on March 4th, I thought it would be a good idea to lay some ground work now.

So here are a few important nuggets about Compass that everyone should know:

• Compass is an after-school program held in the Village One neighborhood of North Omaha since 1990. Young people from the ages of kindergarten through 5th grade show up after school from Monday through Thursday from about 4:00 to 6:00 PM. They get help with their homework, read, play games, have a snack, receive a Bible lesson, do some fun crafts, and then share prayer requests. All of this is part of the vision at Compass to invest in these young people both academically and spiritually.

• Compass needs volunteers to be effective. While there are several people on staff at Compass to plan and organize, the real heart of the ministry happens through volunteers. Compass would love to have enough volunteers each day to ensure each child has one-on-one assistance with their homework and reading. Some days that happens, but many days it doesn’t. Volunteers can come once a week, twice a week, twice a month, or whatever works for their schedule.

• Compass is funded by donors, not by Christ Community Church. While CCC provides oversight and direction to Compass, the entire ministry is funded by generous donations. Because we talk about Compass a lot at CCC many people think that Compass is simply funded by CCC but this is not the case.

• Finally, Compass brings life to children growing up in poverty. The truth is, Village One is a part of our city where poverty is the way of life. Few homes have fathers, single moms are overworked, and guns and gangs and crime are a way of life. Compass provides a safe place for young people to gather, to grow, to experience the life-giving truth of Jesus.

How can you get involved at Compass?

First, on Sunday, March 4th during the first day of our 2012 Global Summit, CCC will take a special offering for Compass.

Second, we need volunteers. Right now Compass has 29 children involved in the program on a weekly basis and the only thing keeping it from growing larger is the need for more committed volunteers. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering, contact Jenny Burg at (402) 558-8646 / jenny@compass.omhcoxmail.com. You can also read Jenny’s blog about Compass at http://compassomaha.wordpress.com.

Craig Walter, Missions Pastor

As we go about our life and ministry here at CCC we must never forget that we are part of something bigger – something started way back in the 1880′s by a guy named A.B. Simpson – a denomination called the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA).

Last week I was blessed to gather together with about 45 other mission leaders and Pastors from all over the country that are part of the C&MA. We get together annually to share ideas, success, and failures. Its encouraging because we all share the same value – “Lost people matter to God and he wants them found.”

Yet what is really encouraging is that we are not a denomination that happens to do missions – we are a denomination that is first and foremost focused on missions. This was illustrated recently in a report by Christianity Today magazine that indicated that for every $1 given in a C&MA church, 11 cents goes to missions. That doesn’t seem like a lot until you realize that was more than double the denomination in second place.

In America most evangelical churches see it as great success if even 5% of their giving goes to missions, yet in 2010 at CCC our missions giving was over 30% and I suspect in 2011 the results were similar. That passion for giving to missions comes from being a part of a denomination that passionately cares about reaching people all over the world with the hope of Jesus Christ. That passion comes from the many years of leadership at CCC that have given energy and focus to missions. That passion comes from serving a God who desperately wants people all over the world to trust in his son Jesus.

We are blessed to be a part of what God started through A.B. Simpson about 125 years ago. May our denomination and our church never lose their passion for missions.

This past summer CCC provided Bethel Bible College through Double-Your-Impact with nearly $64,000 as an investment into enhancing their facilities. This money went towards three projects:

(1) We helped them improve their solar electrical system so they could go from 6 hours to 24 hours of electricity per day. This means that the students are no longer having to study at night under streetlights. This means their Christian radio station located at Bethel can now broadcast all day instead of just a few hours. This means that when a student goes to the Library to work on a computer the computers will work.

(2) We helped double the capacity of their water tower so they can support more students and double the size of their garden. Not only did CCC fund this but we also sent a short-term team to assist with adding the second tank to their water tower. The students are not only overjoyed, they are amazed because they did not think they could grow corn during the dry season. If you have ever been to Mali, you will understand how amazing this picture of corn is! Having gardens such as this are so important because the students bring their families to live with them when they are at Bethel and they bring all of their own food. If they run out of food they have to leave school early. Now they can stay the entire 6 months that school is in session.

(3) We helped replace the roofs on 4 of their main classrooms. The previous roofs were made of tin and had lots and lots of holes in them. The new roofs were sent from Europe and are supposed to last up to 50 years. The picture to the left gives you a glimpse of a new roof on one of the classrooms.

There is still much work to be done at Bethel to reach their goal of 100 students per year by the year 2015, but this has been a great start. In the 2010-2011 school year Bethel had 22 students but that number has increased to 37 for this school year, so we are well on our way.

Thanks to all of you who have given and prayed for the ministry at Bethel.

Craig Walter, Missions Pastor

Note: As part of the Double-Your-Impact vision CCC is investing in the training of Malian Pastors at Bethel Bible College in Mali. In 2010 Bethel had 22 students and CCC has partnered with them to help them reach the goal of sustaining 100 students per year by the year 2015.

Do you know how many verses in the Bible encourage us to remember and celebrate Christ’s birth each year?  The answer – none.

Do you know how many times the early church follower’s celebrated Christ’s birthday after he was gone? The answer – none. Celebrating birthday’s was a pagan tradition and not one followed by Jews or Christians.

Ok, I’m not trying to be a bummer just a few days before Christmas, but I do want to encourage you to ponder the question, “What is important to God during this Christmas season?” Put it this way, if Jesus were here talking with you right now, what would he say is the most important thing to focus on during his birthday? The answer might surprise you.

In Isaiah chapter 58 God chastises his people for shallow and self-serving activity. He says that on the outside they look like they are doing all the right things, and so they ask God:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ (NIV)

In response, God really lets them have it. He basically tells them that if you really want to follow after my heart, if you really want to do stuff that will get me excited, then…

This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. (The Message)

I’ve noticed several news stories this last week about how people are taking Christ out of Christmas. In Lincoln a school took down a sign that said “Remember the reason for the season” because it might offend people. And sometimes we get uptight when we leave a store and they say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

Based on Isaiah 58, I can’t help but think that if Jesus were here in the flesh he would encourage us to stop being concerned this Christmas season with the lack of respect his birthday gets in our culture. Instead, he would probably want to know why our hearts are not breaking for the poor and needy, the homeless, broken families, single moms, orphans, and widows.

I just find it interesting that we are encouraged over and over in the Bible to care for the least of these but we are never encouraged to celebrate Christmas.

I’ve been very encouraged by the outpouring of time, energy, and resources by the people of CCC over the last year for the least of these in our city and around the world. May God do even greater things through us in 2012.

Craig Walter, Missions Pastor

I’m often asked by CCC people how things are going in Mali. Hopefully you remember that through our Double-Your-Impact vision we are investing heavily into Bethel Bible College in Mali, a Christian & Missionary Alliance school that trains new Malian Pastors and Missionaries. The goal is to increase the number of active students from 22 in the year 2010 to around 100 by the year 2015.

CCC partnered with the leadership of Bethel and determined there are two key factors to make this happen:

(1) We must provide student grants to assist with tuition, which will allow the school to recruit the best and brightest leaders in Malian churches.

(2) We must upgrade the Bethel school facilities, providing more electricity and water, and improving classrooms and living quarters.

Starting in the summer of 2010 CCC has done just that, providing funds for new solar panels to increase their electricity from 6 hours per day to 24 hours per day. We provided funds to put new roofs on 4 classrooms that were in desperate need. We sent a team and funds to add a second water tank to their water tower, doubling their water capacity. And we are providing up to $300 per student in grants per year so the students can focus on school and not have to worry about how to feed their families.

In November of 2011 Bethel started their 2011-2012 school year which lasts for 6 months. I am thrilled to say that they have increased their number of students from 22 last year to 37 this year.

Daniel Diallo, the schools Director, believes next year they will reach 50 students but that will be their maximum until they improve their student housing, enhance their library, and find more instructors. CCC will be involved with these on-going needs as well in the years to come, yet we are blessed to see the progress that God has allowed us to be a part of.

Craig Walter, Missions Pastor