Greetings to friends of ACTS!
The first movement of the Togo medical mission trip “Public Health Seminar” was well received with much encouragement. Thank you all for your continued support of ACTS! It was also through this seminar that ACTS was invited to partner with the Togolese government task force for COVID-19 prevention. Praise God for opening up this wonderful opportunity for ACTS!We look forward to bringing more of God’s love and blessings to the people of Togo through our ministry.
This time we will share the second movement of the Togo medical mission trip announcement in February, which was also the primary purpose of the trip: “Village Medical Clinic”. Togo is a nation that is deficient in medical resources and overall public health. Many people have never seen a doctor in their lifetime, and the mortality rate for children under the age of 2 is as high as 50% in several villages. Since there are very limited job opportunities for doctors, many Togolese medical students choose to stay and work abroad after two years of internship and residency overseas. In France, Togolese doctors outnumber homegrown French doctors. Due to the severe outflow of medical labor in Togo, the doctor-population ratio is 1:25,000 (1:350 in America, 1:900 in China, 1:1,700 in India). One cannot help but feel the plight of the Togolese people in the face of illness, caused by the lack of medical manpower.
Through years of short-term, mission trip experiences, ACTS came to deeply understand the severity of Togo’s medical dilemma, so we went on our first medical mission trip in 2018. Each year, we provide medical services at clinics and hold seminars, helping Togolese receive medical assistance and bolstering their knowledge in health care .
This time around, we had a very strong lineup of medical professionals, including .six specialized doctors and three nurses. The medical team served on 2/19, 20, and 22, dividing into a Taiwanese and American team each day.. The teams served at Agbessia, Watchidome, Kohe, and Djidjole, hosting six free medical clinics. The patient visits followed a four-step process of registration → doctor consultation → prescribing medicine → prayer.. On top of being seen by a doctor, every patient had their personal needs prayed for and the gospel shared with them by the short-term mission team. Because of the large number of people visiting the clinic, many people did not have an opportunity to see a doctor. We prepared vitamins and energy bars for them,and prayed for them individually. This reminds me of Matthew 9:35-38, which says “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”.
The clinics were held in small, simple huts with thatched roofs, with no air conditioning. The doctors only had stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors for equipment. Watching the doctors and nurses patiently and closely attend to each patient in such a difficult environment, I could not help but admire their outpouring of love. The other members of our mission team came from different fields and professions, but were willing to humbly set aside their qualifications to follow God’s calling. They assisted in areas such as registration, taking blood pressure, giving out medication, counseling patients, praying, etc. What awesome teamwork! “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” -2 Corinthians 8:12.
Medical work needs to be well-thought out and planned. We thank the medical mission team who planned out and prepared the necessary equipment and medicine months in advance. Who also thank River of Life Clinic and Church in Togo who handled the site preparations, promotion of the clinics, traffic coordination, and translation of all the materials into English, Chinese, French, and Ewe All of this hard work allowed the events to run very efficiently. We especially give thanks to God for moving Pastor Lin of the French Chinese and Wendy Yip to join our team.Their ability to translate back and forth between Chinese and French allowed for smooth communication throughout the whole trip!
This trip’s other purpose was the establishment of “Health Station”. Due to the lack of health education, hospitals, and clinics, many Togolese, especially villagers, often lose their lives to minor diseases because of failure to receive timely treatment. In light of this, Chiayi Christian Hospital’s Dr. Kuo proposed the establishment of “Health Stations” in March 2019 , hoping to promote public health education to the masses. He hopes that through basic diagnosis and medication, people may be immediately treated or referred, preserving precious lives from timely responses.
Two Health Stations were established during this trip at the ROLCC daughter churches in Agbessia and Watchidome. Along with River of Life Medical Clinic personnel, the team helped train locals to be responsible for medical services and promoting public health education. We hope to establish Health Stations at the 18 ROLCC daughter churches in Togo to build up the people both physically and spiritually with the love of Jesus. Another great news is that as we “Give and it will be given to [us]” as it says in Luke 6:38. This time, the governor and chief of Greater Lome generously gave ACTS a two acre plot of land to use for medical ministry. As we stood on that land, we could only feel a sense of both excitement and thankfulness! This unexpected gesture again reminded us of God’s sovereignty and our need to trust in His faithfulness. We hope that we can establish a nursing school and train up nurses so that there will be more medical personnel to help with people’s health and wellness.
Thank God, this time around, the team had served over 600 people, and led many to receive Christ. The mission team was deeply moved, and many of us grew closer to God. We were not just given a piece of land, but even more so God has filled our hearts with a greater love for Him and people as well as abundant grace!
We look forward to sharing another exciting edition with you next time!
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