Dear friends and partners in the work of CEH for Christ,
We just came through the season of holiday celebrations for the three main monotheistic religions in our world.
Muslims celebrated Ramadan commemorating their religious tradition that Mohamed was given inspiration of the Koran by Michael the angel over the period of one month. They continue this observance by fasting and humility during each day of a complete month and then feasting during the night. Through this and other actions they hope to merit the favor of God.
The Jewish people celebrate their deliverance from Egypt and slavery by the power of God. The final plague on Egypt caused the loss of life of all firstborn not covered by the blood on the doorways of God’s chosen people. Today they eat a meal purified from leaven and eaten in haste symbolic of the rapid flight toward the promised land. It is a remembrance of what God did and can still do for His people.
Christians celebrate Good Friday when Jesus was recognized as Son of David and King. His crucifixion as the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God took away the sin of all those in the world that would believe in Him. This was followed by the resurrection of Easter. These celebrations demonstrate His ultimate power over death, the hope we have of eternal life with Him, and His approval by God the Father as the redeemer of the world.
While respectful of the holiday practices of each group, I am personally and deeply grateful for the peace and hope our Christian celebrations display to this world that God so loves.
Your brother in Christ,
Dwight E. Slater, MD
CEO of CEH
In scripture God often tells us to remember what He has done.
So we take time to remember what God has done in the brief life of CEH.
On April 19, 2004, now 20 years ago, a group of individual supporters and representatives of four of our churches affirmed with us and for us that we believed it was the will of God that our Slater family go to Guinea. We searched for its spiritual and medical needs and to see whether we would be welcome and have the collaboration of other evangelical missions and churches already ministering there. God opened each door and that group approved the creation of CEH on October 9, 2004. Within one year we were incorporated in the state of Michigan, approved as a 501c3 by the IRS and purchased 75 acres of land on the outskirts of the town of Mamou near the crossroad of the nation. We then began to build the first buildings for the garage and hospital. Afterword received the formal contractual approval to construct and open the hospital. The outpatient clinic began serving patients on November 28, 2007. For all of this we continuously praise God, and celebrate 20 years of God’s grace, blessing, and provision. Rejoice with us!
In these years we also developed good relationships with government leaders in Guinea and Mamou. In 2006 we were granted the “convention” to create and operate the hospital by the Ministry of Health. In 2010 we were granted the “convention” to function as a religious mission by the Ministry of Decentralization of Administrative Affairs. In 2023 we were granted the “convention” to create and open the nursing school now known as CIHI, Compassion International Health Institute by the Ministry of Professional and Technical Education. These three conventions are foundational to official legal recognition and collaboration. We are also members of the two Christian organizations (L’AEMEG and RECOSAC) that represent all the Evangelical Christian organizations before the government in the area of missions and medical ministries respectively.
God allowed us to develop the infrastructure, buildings, equipment, and initial personnel to function as a 54-bed hospital in this very poor land. Of the original plan, 60% of the capital development is complete. Staff and missionaries have been made up of Christians from Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, USA, Canada, and Denmark. We support the continuing development which can be seen on the website. The current map of the hospital is shown in this update. We still have a long way to go to improve the quality of the medical care, and this is our current focus. Pray for us in these current endeavors to the glory of our God in Guinea.
Continued attention to quality improvement measures include training in Christian work ethic through the nursing school and on-the-job training within the hospital as well as staff academic/medical training. CEH facilitated the travel, orientation, and logistics of hundreds of short-term construction and medical missionaries in these first 20 years. Academic and current medical knowledge is communicated by short-term medical visitors at the biennial Medical Evangelism Conferences shared with other medical institutions across six nations of West Africa. We actively seek ongoing partnerships with Samaritan’s Purse/WMM primarily sending from the U.S., and with Philafricaine in Switzerland for Europeans to facilitate professional missionaries from those regions serving with us. Mentoring is done by western medical missionaries both by recurrent visits of short-term doctors and nurses—this is more an impact ministry than a long-term developmental influence. We have a goal of developing a team of longer-term professionals to mentor and train African professionals for the long-term ministry purposes at CEH. We developed seconding relationships with several larger evangelical missions to help recruit and administer longer term missionaries who can be seconded to CEH for the on-site ministry. We ultimately hope to join with PACCS (Pan African College of Christian Surgeons) and CAAP (Christian Academy of African Physicians) to train African doctors through residencies in Surgery and Family Practice respectively.
Dr. Steve M. supervised two U.S. medical students, Margaret and Tom, both of whom were former Peace Corps workers in Guinea. They worked with Dr. Paul at CEH to develop a research project regarding the use of Sign Nail orthopedic surgery for their arm and leg long bone fractures. Dr. Paul endeavors to collaborate with traditional healers in Guinea to help refer patients for earlier care and better results. This was a very effective retrospective interview process with patients and traditional healers analyzing results, costs, reluctances, etc. Hospital records were reviewed, and staff, especially Lamirana, helped with Pular translation and many societal connections. Please see their post on our CEH Facebook for more information.
The economic challenges stemming from the December 2023 explosion of fuel tanks at the Conakry port set back the transportation sector and limited the electrical production for almost every town and city in the nation. It is reported that without these resources of energy the nation was set back economically by at least 15 years. The government had major transitions from a civilian to military administration in 2021 and a total restructuring again this year in February of 2024 which slowed government decisions for redevelopment. Our patients have challenges with transportation getting to and from the hospital and worsening poverty making it much harder to serve them well. Our goals of progressive autonomous financial self-sufficiency of the hospital operations are challenged. Pray earnestly for these areas with us!
On the capital development side, we completed the construction of the Surgical and Trauma Ward F this February and it is now operational, bringing the total bed count to 54, with an additional 10 beds available for overflow in our Welcome Center. We also are completing the internal fencing around the central hospital buildings at the request of our national staff. This improves sanitation by removing animals and their droppings, as well as better control of numbers of visitors to patients during daily medical rounds. We are currently refocusing on the Clinic Extension to complete outpatient area of care for patients. We also received funding to purchase a new X-ray machine to improve that aspect of quality of care. It was ordered and we hope to be able to report on its installation and use in our next update! Please keep praying!
To those who partner with us financially or are considering doing so, here is some information to help facilitate your donation. The CEH website contains a Support Page showing many ways to give including: Check or Money Order, Text2Give, and Online options. It also shows the progress in funding of each current Major Project. Use link below to visit our Website for more details. God accomplishes great things through your faithful giving, thank you!
Some donors asked if it’s possible for CEH to accept Donor Advised Funds (DAF) and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) directly from an IRA. This could reduce Required Minimal Distributions (RMD), potentially reducing one’s taxable income level. Yes, we are able to assist with these items. If you have questions, please contact us at 1-877-948-8729 or gmoody14@gmail.com.
May God continue to bless each of you who give joyfully!
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