Summer 2025 Greetings in Christ!
- Dr. Dwight Slater, MD & CEO of CEH
- Aug 5
- 7 min read
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Dear Friends and Partners,
Debbie and I were able to come alongside our African staff at Compassion Evangelical Hospital (CEH) during our May 15–29th visit. It was truly a blessing to see the work of God being accomplished in this spiritually needy land of Guinea.
The nation has grown to 14,500,000 people, and that increase of population can especially be seen and felt in the intensely crowded, expanding capital of Conakry. The country remains 85% Muslim, 4% Catholic, and 1.4% Evangelical, with animism broadly overlapping all these religious groups. Unfortunately, poverty and sanitation issues remain deplorable.
Some major roads have improved, but others are rarely maintained and suffer from continuous potholes, ruts, and collapsing roadways. Travel times often take two to five times longer than they once did. Yet all of this effort is made to reach the people we serve in His name.
Strengthening Community Ties
During our visit, twelve local village leaders and twelve local government officials made time to meet with us. We were warmly received and heard numerous expressions of appreciation for the services CEH and Fresh Rosée Christian School offer the Mamou community.
In each of these encounters, we communicated our mission’s purpose: to serve them through giving the best medical care we can with the means God provides and sharing the Gospel of Christ with those who come for our services.
Alongside the medical work, the education offered to 425 students at Fresh Rosée Christian School (FR) continues to produce the best outcomes of any regional school. The children are now eagerly beginning their summer vacations. Parents are appreciative of their children’s academic success, although collecting tuition fees and transportation costs remains a significant challenge for the administrators each year. Please pray for improvement in this area.
A Thriving MIAPE Chapel
The MIAPE Chapel is thriving, with close to 100 adults now attending and 120–130 children participating in the Sunday school program at three age levels.
During our first Sunday afternoon there, the children held a sports day with about 80 children participating in three hours of soccer, relays, Bible quizzing, and dancing. Commentators broadcast the event over a loudspeaker, making the children feel important. Many parents were spectators and part-time participants. It was a joyful day!
On the following Sunday, the 130 children, aged 2 to 18, divided into three age groups, led the morning service with songs, dances, and instructional skits from each group. Each group then presented a second round of songs and skits.
There was an excellent homiletical exhortation by an 11th grader on “Our Identity in Christ,” which was the theme of the day.
The greatest thrill was witnessing a procession of 43 children, one after another, coming to the microphone to recite from memory one verse or passage of Scripture to the whole church. For each child coming forward, it meant that others in their age group also learned the same verses and, Lord willing, could personally learn to apply them.
It was a 2.5-hour service that thrilled our hearts. We never saw such a program in any church on any of the three continents where we lived.
Expanding Ministry Facilities
CEH was requested to assist in renovating the FR school/chapel campus to host a Christian Summer Camp for children and other conferences.
In just one month, toilets, showers, sinks, screens on windows and doors, night-time courtyard lighting were miraculously constructed and installed, and basic sleeping materials and food were purchased.
Since our return, we’re informed that they opened their first summer camp hosting 165 students.
Currently, the church is preparing to expand their building by about 50% through their own internal giving. Praise God!
Calling Medical Professionals: A Top Priority
Improving the quality of medical care requires professionals from outside Guinea to come alongside nationals to train them to higher levels than what is currently available in-country.
We are searching for African and/or western doctors, nurses, and para-medical professionals to participate in this vital ministry of serving while training for God’s sake.
This is a VERY HIGH PRIORITY for us this year.
Please pray and consider being involved!
Cleanliness: A Pressing Need
Cleanliness is a high priority, especially given the extreme dust carried by high winds and rain during the early seasonal storms which we experienced this trip.
We are sending four shop-vacs along with other medical equipment to help throughout the hospital. Developing people gifted in organizing and cleanliness who are also honest is an essential need within CEH.
Those who possess these qualities are extremely stretched. Pray for more such workers. Some short-term western missionaries might also effectively come alongside nationals in a training role in this area.
A Detailed Look at CEH’s Medical Work
In the medical realm, we were able to interview staff in each department and visit every service area, including:
• Reception
• Emergency Room
• Laundry services
• Consultation
• Hospital wards (with 54 beds)
• Patient kitchen and staff cafeteria
• Laboratory
• Nursing station
• CIHI nursing school
• Pharmacy
• Surgery
• Medical and accounting archive
• X-ray
• Sterilization
• Chaplaincy services
• Ultrasound
• Medical supplies
• Accounting services
• EKGs
• Biomedical maintenance
• IT networking and administration
• Dental
• Water and sewage infrastructure
• Electrical infrastructure with solar
• Ophthalmology
• Garage for maintenance and construction panels and diesel generators
We visited each one! Many of the African workers suggested ways they could improve their services. We encouraged them in these ideas. Some improvements will depend on upgrades in equipment, furnishings, or maintenance protocols, while others are personnel and training related.
We are currently preparing a 40-foot container of medical and construction supplies in Michigan at a cost of $30,000 for purchases, shipping, and customs.
Our mission used U.S. facilitators to advance many of these departments through ongoing communication with the nationals serving there.
If you are trained and gifted in any of these areas, and would like to get more involved, please email us at ddsvslater@gmail.com.
Stories from Our Trip
A Young Girl Battling AIDS
One of the patients I helped care for during this brief trip was a young girl who contracted AIDS at birth. She is now 7 years old and under long-term treatment. National and international funding for her medications is at risk, so we continued using what was on hand.
She suffered from severe skin peeling dermatitis and had recently contracted measles, putting her at risk of deadly pneumonia as a complication. Thankfully, antibiotics staved off pneumonia.
Christ was moved with compassion when he encountered similar cases during His life on earth. Could I reflect a little of His compassion into her life? I prayed for her and gave her my own shampoo to help treat her dermatitis.
Motorcycle Accident Trauma Care
On our last day, another patient arrived after a motorcycle accident where he and his friend were hit by a car. Tragically, his friend was killed instantly.
He traveled from 40 miles away by taxi. Both bones of his left lower leg were open fractures, and his foot was crushed. His left femur and both bones of his left forearm also had closed fractures. He lost one finger and suffered a head laceration but did not lose consciousness.
He received saline IVs and two units of blood for stabilization. Wounds were cleansed and closed; fractures reduced and splinted. Dr. Paul managed his care and stabilized him as 20 family members waited on the hospital porch.
I was called in to give a second exam and opinion and prayed with him and his family. Although Dr. Paul was capable of completing his care, the family elected to evacuate him to the capital for what they hoped would be the most optimal care in the country. We deferred to the family’s decision.
Without our stabilization, he certainly would have died. We pray that our conscientious care and love reflected Christ to the patient and his family. One of our local village elders is his senior relative and expressed their family’s gratitude.
Investing in Marriages
Before our trip, we asked CEH leadership what they wanted us to teach. Our CEH director and MIAPE pastor shared that Christian marital relationships are among the most difficult areas challenging the lives of CEH staff.
Debbie and I went through a marital counseling program/Bible study three times with our HPBC church and led two small groups. The materials weren’t yet in French, so Debbie contacted the publisher for permission to translate key principles, verses, and passages into French for the hospital staff. We received permission, and she led the translation of the first six lessons with two MIAPE leaders, condensing them from 90-minute group sessions to six 20-minute sessions with skits to fit the African culture.
We shared this with the full hospital staff, and it was gratefully received and appreciated. We pray the other eight lessons may also be completed in the future.
Three local evangelical churches requested the printed notes to share these lessons with their congregations. Please pray for the marriages within our staff and the African churches.
Evenings of Fellowship
A final aspect of our ministry was sharing evening hospitality, facilitated by Paulette’s and Debora’s wonderful cooking each night, with each of the five MIAPE couples and five key couples of the Guinean staff.
We listened to their testimonies, thoughts, dreams, and struggles, exchanging bits of wisdom and advice over meals. Having Debbie with me opened doors of insight into the women’s perspectives that I previously wasn't able to explore.
What a wealth of information, insight, and potentially fruitful plans we could mutually share and present to our Lord together in prayer!
We praise Him and continue to pray for growth and maturity in the CEH ministries. Please continue to pray for this as well.
With love and gratitude,
Your Brother and Sister in Christ,
Dwight and Debbie Slater
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Financial goals/wish list for 2025:
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. |