Vickie’s Medical Journey

God’s grace was sufficient as we found ourselves recently going through a medical emergency. On the 25th of January, 2012 Vickie started having pain in her abdomen and chest. After a visit to the emergency care hospital here in Togo it was decided, with consultation with our mission’s board, that South Africa was the best place for treatment.

We arrived in South Africa and Vickie was immediately put in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit where she was suffering from dehydration, her lungs were filling with fluid and she had a host of other serious heart related health issues. Vickie was a very sick lady. A second week was spent in ICU in a second hospital and a surgery was done to drain over 2 liters of fluid from her lung and a drain was left in her back for several days. By the end of our stay in South Africa we had seen 8 different specialists and there were many highs and some lows but God’s grace and Vickie’s sweet spirit brought her through this time of challenge.

We are back in Togo and Vickie is recuperating here at home. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE PRAYERS! What a blessing it was to receive so many wonderful thoughts and prayers by way of email and Facebook from all over the world. You are ALL loved and appreciated.

Difficult Roads to Difficult Places

        65 miles from the “almost paved” road, five hours, one way. Then back again in one day. As I drove over the moonscape road toward the distant and remote villages in Togo, West Africa I thought about how this very difficult road typified the life the people in this region live. We drove through deep canyon-like ruts, over and around large rocks that nearly blocked the road, deep mud holes and deep sand in other places. And it just seemed to go on and on. In villages along the way we saw so many people living just as their ancestors have lived for centuries. Standing near a mud puddle in the road  a woman is bathing; children are playing in the dirt with sticks and rocks. Simple houses of mud, sticks and grass are deteriorating. And yet, in village after village we see simple buildings with simple signs that indicate an Assembly of God church; and equally as present in this region are mosques. If there is a well the pump is locked so only those who attend the mosque may use it. The Christ-followers are driven away from any local source of water, even if the water is unclean. The pastors tell stories of having to walk great distances to find water that causes cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, and even yellow fever. There is nowhere to go for medical help or medicine because of the roads and the distance. The national leadership of the Assemblies of God in Togo has asked the AFRICA OASIS PROJECT to provide fresh water wells in the four villages of Séiboudè, Tindjassi-Sara Kawa, Guerin Kouka and Agbawilika. In one village the Chief, who is a believer,  is suffering from yellow fever as we write this. The Chief asked his pastor “please pray to find someone to come and drill a fresh water well in our village to help relieve the sickness”. With your help the AFRICA OASIS PROJECT can meet that great need.
        In the villages the churches are accused of being corrupt and taking things from the village and giving nothing back. People are told to stay away from the church. “You are Christians but you don’t do anything to help us.”
        But there is more…. In the villages of Kadjale, Bonagana-sada and Mazada, in the same region, the AFRICA OASIS PROJECT was able to put in a deep well and a pump near the Assembly of God church in each village. The attitude of the people in the village and the reputation of the church has completely changed. The chief in Kadjale told the people that they must not destroy the church anymore and to leave the people of the church alone. The Chief said “the people of the church brought the clean water well to the village and if we bother them they will take away the water”. (Of course we would never do that.) Where the AFRICA OASIS PROJECT wells have been placed there has been a complete change of attitude in the village. Now the church is seen as a “good thing”.  The churches are growing and the village knows that they are there to stay and to help them. PRAISE THE LORD!
        WE NEED YOUR HELP… to alleviate the sickness and to show the love of Christ to the thirsty people in these villages  in Togo. Because of the remoteness of the area the wells are going to cost over $13,000 each. Please prayerfully consider giving financially and being a part of this great project to bring fresh, healthy water to fight back the diseases. And help us bring the Living Water of Jesus Christ to these wonderful, yet spiritually thirsty people … who live at the end of the difficult road in a difficult place. But that is where our God lives too.

Your missionary servants,

Mark and Vickie Alexander

“Why Have You Become a Wife?”

     That is the question that the men of the village would ask Pastor Sampson SOLMA, the pastor of the Assemblies of God Church in the remote village of Waria, Benin.
     Waria is located on the Benin/Nigeria border where they are constantly troubled by bandits and thieves.
     Black market gasoline, guns and drugs constantly flow through the Waria area.
     Because of the danger to his wife Pastor Sampson would do the work that is usually reserved for the women of the village. He would walk the two kilometers to the small river to collect the filthy water that would probably make his family sick with cholera, diarrhea, parasites, worms or other health issues.
     Some of the men will smoke the local marijuana to make them brave so that as vigilantes they fight the criminals, and then they become as much a danger to the local people as the criminals.
     This is why Pastor Sampson is carrying the water, doing his wife’s work.
     Today Pastor Sampson does not carry the water, doing his wife’s work. Today he and his wife, and the people of the Assembly of God church and the village of Waria walk a short distance to the fresh water well that is conveniently located to all of them.
    That is the well the Africa Oasis Project drilled just a few weeks ago. Fresh water and the Living Water of Jesus Christ are flowing in Waria, Benin today because of people like you who gave so that others might be blessed.

NOT WELL ENOUGH

Okay, so that was an attempted play on words. Actually, what I am referring to is that we took on a project that is not about a water well. Let me explain.

We had a group of pastors from Kansas come to visit us and we took them to see the Africa Oasis Project well in the village of Tsito, Togo. While we were there a rain storm came through and we took refuge in the humble Assembly of God church facility there. During the storm a salvation message was given to the gathered people of the village and 12 people accepted Christ as their Savior. PTL! As we left the village the Kansas pastors agreed that the village of Tsito needed a permanent church structure and thus the idea was born.

Back in Kansas funds were raised and we were asked to oversee the erection of a tabernacle building. In the last few weeks we worked together with our dear friends and missionary colleagues Berry and Tracey Brown, and many others as we put up the tabernacle structure you see in the accompanying pictures. It was a joy to work with the pastor, the village chief and many others from the village to make this project happen. The women and children also worked bringing stones and sand to help with the concrete. It was truly a cooperative effort and the result is greatly appreciated in the village. The church graciously gave us and the Browns chickens in appreciation.

		Tsito Tabernacle VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We want to thank all those in Kansas whose financial giving and continued prayers are making such a difference in this remote village. It is truly a testimony of the love of Christ. Very near the church, voodoo animal sacrifices are made exhibiting the darkness of Satan in the area. This church and building are a light in this dark world.

Matthew 5:16 (New International Version)
¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

So, wells are not enough. We also serve in any way that presents itself. Now it is back to drilling the much needed water wells and providing fresh water and the Living Water.

Your missionary servants,

Mark and Vickie Alexander
Africa Oasis Project

2011 April Update

Greetings to all our blog friends. 

What a whirlwind these last few months have been.  Wells, travel, speaking, and much more.

We have been able to complete well projects in Dekandje, Togo and also in Tokpevia, Togo in the last few months.  Each of the wells were greatly needed. 

In Dekandje we experienced the greatest difficulty in putting in a well that we have ever had.  The chosen drilling company started but did not complete project.  After hiring a different company we continued but found that the drilling was very difficult.  Drilling through clay and also looking for a quite small reservoir of water was a challenge.  The ultimate water flow from the pump is not as much as we would like to have had but it is better than the mile and a half walk for dirty water that they had before.  Life does not always give us the 100% we ask for.  We pray that more water will come.

In Tokpevia we found that the new well in the center of the village produced a good supply of clean water.  The people of the village danced with joy all as the water began to flow.  No more walking over four miles to another village to get clean water.

Vickie and I also took part in a one-day conference in Dallas, TX called the Long African Day.  This event was wonderfully produced by our own Assemblies of God – Africa office.  The Long African Day event was an opportunity for five different compassion ministries to be highlighted.  We were asked to return to the States to coordinate the Africa Oasis Project portion of the event. The response was great and we believe the results will be long lasting. 

Since we last blogged, we had the opportunity to visit our daughter Cristi in Cardiff, Wales for Christmas.  Our son Ryan was also able to join us so we had a delightful Christmas and New Years.

We have exciting things ahead in the next few weeks and months so we will try to give you an update soon.

Your Water Warriors
Mark and Vickie

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Greetings Friends,

“Long time no see.” I am sorry that we have not updated this blog for a while. You know how time flies when you are busy. Well, then our time has been at warp speed. We have hosted three teams since we last communicated. We have put in many village wells and made numerous assessment trips to several countries preparing for future well projects. Not to mention all the activities of daily life in Togo.

WELLS, WELLS, WELLS! So far this year we have had the opportunity to put in ten much needed wells in at least five countries.

We had the joy of putting wells in Bonagana-Sada, Kadjale and Mazada, Togo. These three remote villages all had no water source in the village. The people in each village were walking great distances to find water that was unclean and very unhealthy. In Bonagana-Sada the local pastor told us “We walk a long way to drink with the cows.” How tragic. But now, all three villages have a new well near the local church and the people of the entire village have easy access to an unlimited supply of clean, fresh and healthy water. “THANK YOU” to each of you who have given to make these wells a reality. Wells have also become a reality in Camaroon, Senegal, Ghana and even Timbuktu, Mali.

Earlier this year the Africa Oasis Project was approached with the needs of two villages in mid Togo that have Assembly of God primary schools and they desperately needed a well for each school and the surrounding villages. As of this writing we have installed one well in Abodjegan and we are currently working on the second well in Dekandje, Togo.

ALSO, by the grace of God and many wonderful donors and friends we were able to minister in the villages in other ways as well. Missionary friends Berry and Tracey Brown collaborated with us and provided a tremendous amount of labor and also corn, rice and beans from the Convoy of Hope which they helped distribute in both villages. Laté and Minen Lawson, our local colleagues and friends, were such a blessing as we worked together to coordinate and carry out the feeding schemes and so much more. Thanks to a ministry team from Kansas we were able to distribute the grain, notebooks, pens, chalk, cups, BGMC buckets, literature, soap, wash cloths, towels and more to the schools, the students, and their families. It was such a joy to see the smiling faces as they received such blessings as gifts from the Lord.

TEAMS, TEAMS TEAMS! We have the joy of hosting three teams just since our last posting.

In July we started with an AIM (Ambassadors in Missions) team from Kansas. This team was made up of six high school and college age ladies and their leaders Pastor Darin and Marleen Stoud. This team worked with us in many locations holding very successful children’s programs. Hundreds of children and adults would gather in each location to receive the gospel message.

In August the second team was an exciting group of 12 young adults from Scotch Plains, New Jersey. The group from Evangel Church is called THE WELL. We took them further north in Togo and they had the opportunity to minister in villages where their group has provided the funds for much needed wells. This group performed impactful presentations that will never be forgotten in each location.

In October the third group was a mixed ministry team from Kansas that consisted of eight ladies and two men. What wonderful ministry and fellowship they provided. At a local deaf school one of the ladies ministered in sign language and the students and teachers were so excited. The team also worked joyfully under the hot sun as we did distributions in several locations. Children’s and ladies programs and ladies teas were just some of the ministries they shared with us.

KIDS, KIDS, KIDS! Okay, so they are not “kids” anymore, but our son Ryan and our daughter Cristi will always be our “kids”.

We were thrilled to host our son Ryan as he came to visit us and see our world and our work. Ryan jumped right in and traveled with us as we went to drilling sights and other places of ministry. He enjoyed being back in Africa. It has been over ten years since Ryan was in Africa and it was great to have him come home.

Also we had the joy of hosting our daughter Cristi. She will soon be in Wales as an AGWM missionary, but as she waited for her visa for the United Kingdom she came to spend some time with us here in Africa. Cristi also jumped into ministry as she helped us host two of the teams. We know that God is sending Cristi to Wales, but Mom and Dad could sure offer God a plan B in Africa.☺

Well, this blog entry should catch you up on some of our comings and goings here in West Africa.

We are honored to serve as “Water Warriors” and missionaries here in this fascinating and challenging part of the world. Please continue to pray for us as we serve God as representatives of the Africa Oasis Project here in West and Central Africa.

Your missionary servants,

Mark and Vickie

Light Defeats Darkness in Benin

 

 

In the West African Country of Benin the darkness of Voodoo is being defeated by the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Historically, Benin has taken pride in claiming to be the birthplace and the center of the Voodoo religion. But this is a new day in Benin with a national President who is a follower of Jesus Christ and it is a country where Bible believing and Bible preaching churches are being planted across the country. My colleague Laté Lawson and I went to Dassa-Zoume, Benin for the dedication of an Africa Oasis Project well at the Bible School there. Many gracious thanks and much celebration was given to the Lord for the fresh, plentiful water that now flows on the campus. This was also a time of celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Bible School and the graduation festivities.

 

After the big events at the Bible school it was my honor to spend three days with Pastor David Mensah, the national President of the Assemblies of God Church in Benin.  Laté and I traveled with Pastor Mensah to see three villages that are each in desperate need of a fresh water well.

 

Even though the story is repetitive across Africa, the need is just as great in the villages of Warya, Tchamhoum, and Kissamey, Benin. Walking great distances to a watering hole that they share with the cattle. Or buying water that costs one forth of a day’s wages for just one 20 liter (about 5 gallons) pan of unclean water. Because of the long lines the people are only allowed to come once a day. Believers and non-believers alike need clean, plentiful water and the Africa Oasis Project well is there to service the entire village as a demonstration of the Love of God. Clean and healthy water is a wonderful tool used to fight the darkness and the sickness that is prevalent across Benin.

You can help us fight the darkness of Voodoo and disease in three Benin villages by giving financially to help the Africa Oasis Project put in wells near our churches that will meet the need of thousands of people in Benin. Check this blog site to see how you can give.

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” Luke 12:48

Will you give to help those in need?

Your “Water Bearers”,      

Mark and Vickie