Dear friends of CEH,

We want to tell you about all that the Lord is doing through CEH.  We need your prayers and involvement as we seek to glorify Christ in all things.  We are a fledgling hospital located in the midst of the poorest nations of the world; and we are amazed at what God is doing.  We are thankful for our God who is control of ALL things.  We continue to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers.  In answer to your prayers, He is doing that.

This spring Rachel Porter from Spring Lake, MI worked at CEH in Mamou organizing the medical supplies, helping with the financial review, and touching up the Guesthouse.  Doug Staples from Lawrence, MI went to Guinea to photograph people, places, and things for a promotional DVD, pictures for the website, and other publications.

I, also, visited Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) this Spring. While in Mamou, I tried to encourage the workers and saw a few patients. In Cote d’Ivoire, I was able to attend the ministry ordination of a good friend and visit many others.

Later this month an electrical crew of five from MN and MI will be going to CEH to finish wiring the nurses’ station and the first two ward buildings. They will also be doing electrical work in missionary Pediatrician Dr. Kristen Schmaltz’s home and M. and Mme Etienne and Paulette Ouattara’s home.  Later this year a second team will go out to focus on the larger electrical infrastructure issues.

Beth Beacom, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Mayo Clinic and Autumn Ridge Church (ARC) in MN will be going to Guinea in the late Fall to serve a six month term at CEH.  Dr Haris (General Practice) and Maria Macris were appointed by Hellenic Ministries and seconded to CEH for long-term service at in Guinea.  They are in Greece discovering their support at this time. They currently have 45% of their support raised. The Macrises have three children.

Our current CEH medical staff consists of 12 Guineans, 1 American, and 7 African missionaries from Ivory Coast.  With the opening of the medical and pediatric inpatient wards, we will need additional staff.  Please pray for the 18 new Christian Guinean staff who must be hired for the hospital in the coming weeks.  So far, we have hired 2 more doctors, 2 lab techs, and 1 RN.  Pray that the remaining positions will be filled with high quality medical staff with a heart for God!

God has continued to provide for us materially in ways we had not imagined.  An organization which is interested in supporting humanitarian projects in Guinea has committed to donating 2 containers of supplies from a mobile hospital, a truck which will be used for construction purposes, and a vehicle for administrative travel.  They have also offered financial help with our next ward building, and would like to drill a second well for us in 2010!

Despite all of this assistance, we need your financial support.  We do anticipate that revenue particularly from the eventual surgical and obstetrical services at the hospital in addition to inpatient pediatric and medical care and increased patient volumes in the outpatient clinic will eventually cover the majority of operating expenses.  But, we are and will for some years be unable to meet our monthly clinic and hospital operating costs without additional donor support.  For the past four months, our expenses have surpassed our donations, so we have depleted our reserves. Each month we send out $5,500 which pays for the salaries of the African missionaries from Cote d’Ivoire, the construction crew salaries, and the essential construction contract costs that contribute to our capital development. In addition, a small amount is needed to subsidize other operational expenses. The fees for services rendered to patients nearly equal these other operational expenses. The fees also cover all of the Guinean medical staff salaries (non-missionary) and the cost of replacing locally purchased pharmaceuticals. 

We would like to challenge churches and individual donors (YOU!) to consider adopting one month of our operational expenses ($5,500). Two individual donors have already pledged to cover the next two months. Beyond this, the next two most crucial financial areas are the electrical infrastructure and shipment of the container for these supplies (about $35,000) as well as the purchase of the next large stock of discounted generic medications from IDA/Holland (about $20,000) which will serve our patients into 2010.  We believe God will continue to supply all our need.  We want to thank you all of you who have financially partnered with us as God has led you.

In our Michigan office, we see God orchestrating and rearranging our administrative personnel.  Lois Richardson who has faithfully served CEH as administrative assistant for these first 5 years of our existence is stepping down.  Her dedication and care for this ministry will be missed greatly.  Jim Brightwell who has served as our accountant since our inception in 2004 is also stepping down.  His personal integrity has opened the doors of churches in southeast Michigan to support CEH.  His wise counsel has been my chief aid in financial areas during these initial years.  The office work will be covered by volunteers; Gail Moody will be serving as our accountant and Ulli Jonen as our COO.  These are key roles; please pray for them as they freely give of their time to selflessly serve in this way.

Some of you have asked about the structure of CEH.  As noted above, most of our US-based work is done by volunteers.  We have five committees, as follows: 

The Personnel Committee is led by my wife, Debbie Slater.  This committee interviews and approves those wanting to serve at CEH in Guinea and helps with the process of getting folks ready to leave for Africa. 

The Procurement Committee is led by Kim Couture.  This committee oversees the gathering of equipment and materials needed in Mamou at CEH and organizes the packing and shipping process.

The Finance Committee is chaired by Ulli Jonen. They are responsible for audits and financial policies, development, financial planning, etc.  Ulli also tries to meet regularly with each committee.

The Communications and Promotions Committee has recently been formed and will be led by Krysta Baughman.  She will give oversight to our publications which seek to acquaint people with the mission.

We praise God for each of these leaders and ask that you pray for them with us. 

The medical work is advancing well.  At present, CEH is operating only as an outpatient clinic.  We anticipate opening the medical and pediatric inpatient wards in the Fall.  The daily patient load is currently 54 and some mornings over 100 people are waiting to be seen. The staff envisions growing the daily patient load to 65 in July, and perhaps to 90 by the fall.  Having more personnel come on board will allow for this growth.  The reputation for quality care of chronic wounds has brought patients from as far as Senegal to the north and Sierra Leona to the South.  Patients are hearing the Gospel daily as they wait to be seen in the clinic and from the staff who care for them.  Pray that the Spirit of God will work in hearts during that time.  Already we are seeing the fruit of this witness.

The Ivory Coast nationals, serving as missionaries to Guinea through their national missions organization MIAPE have formed a cell group with the intent of starting another church outside of Mamou. Currently about 20 people attend this group meeting. They were recently invited to a nearby village where, to our knowledge, the Gospel has never been shared.  They did a day of free medical care there, preached the Gospel, and showed a film.  Pray that God will speak to the hearts of those who heard their message.  A second village will be cared for with a similar medical and evangelistic outreach next month.  Because new believers are sometimes ostracized from the community, the MIAPE missionaries are envisioning a welcome and training center near the hospital which could help disciple new believers and equip them with technical skills so they can become independent and earn a living as Christians. The MIAPE group is taking initiative on their own to get these believers trained and productive in their community. Praise God for all of this.

We thank God for allowing us to have a small part in His work. He is bringing glory to Himself through CEH and we stand amazed at all He is doing.  Thank you for being partners with us in this ministry.  May our Lord bless you richly during these summer months.

Your fellow servant,

Dwight E. Slater, M.D.

Executive Director and Founder