The Edwards FamilyUsing IT and nursing to spread the gospel to every nation, tribe, and language.

Aug 16th We Do – Now to Get There

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     Well, it happened just as planned. We were married just after 2:50pm on August 6^th. Thank you all for being there in support of our union whether in person or in spirit and prayer.  We’re settling in to our new abode and discovering our new routines – as much as there is such a thing on this missionary journey.
Bethany was accepted as a missionary to ABWE (officially) just two weeks before. Praise the Lord for these good gifts in the whirlwind that was this past month.

 So now what?  We are starting to build contacts with the churches in our general area of Virginia and North Carolina.  Our hope is to start language school in France in August 2017.  For us to meet that goal we need to be at 50% support by Oct 15^th  and then 100% monthly + 100% setup costs by March 31^st, 2017. This coincides with the training schedule needed for us to get onto the field.  Isn’t it exciting to think that in a year we could be learning French and just a few semesters away from ministering in Togo!  Please pray with us that we would be able to meet these goals and not need to delay ministering to the people of Togo.

From our family to yours,

Jonathan and Bethany Edwards

Why Mango? – Here are over 1.5 million reasons.

Mango has over 1.5 million unreached people coupled with almost nonexistent gospel access and churches served by too few and mostly poorly equipped leaders. Here are the top 5 unreached people groups within 100 miles of Mango.

Unreached defined as evangelical population < 2% and little to no access to gospel. Statistics from joshuaproject.net, 15 Aug 2016

Jun 15th June 2016 Newsletter

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     In February I announced that I had asked Bethany to marry me and she accepted.  While we’re not married yet (as the name above might suggest)– that will come in early August – we are making preparations accordingly. What an exciting time!

Bethany will be I are planning to attend the training seminar together in July. (For those keeping track, this will be my 3rd time through training.)

Additional life transitions will see us be relocating to central Virginia where we will live and work until we are able to leave for language school.  We have started building contacts with church and family partners there and in the surrounding areas into North Carolina.  Pray that God would raise many partners from these areas. So… if you are in the Ohio-Michigan area and want to meet with us, please let us know soon because we won’t be able to visit nearly as often as before.

The ministry focus has not changed. I will continue to manage and build IT related ministries and Bethany, an RN, will minister at home and at the hospital.

We thank you for your continued prayers as we continue to seek partners for God’s work in Togo. We have increased our financial support by over 7% in the last few months to over 33% and at this rate hope to be ready to leave for language school before the beginning of 2018. Praise the Lord that He provides abundantly.

Mar 2nd Churches, Changes, and a Heavy Metal Band

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The month of February was has been nonstop presentations and seeking support. Some of the highlights are talking with many of the Mango team members who are in the USA on furlough or prefield, meeting a conspiracy theorist from Roswell, implying during a presentation that I wasn’t a Baptist, and (more…)

Jan 11th A Year Full of Opportunities

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After a getting back to the US from a short trip to South East Asia advising another hospital about setting up a digital system I have settle in to the not so normal life of deputation.

The work at the hospitals is never far away. A few days ago I received news of a major problem at HBB, the southern hospital.  The server had experienced a hardware failure that brought the entire system down.  The medical staff scrambled to revert to a paper system while the IT techs worked out what was wrong. Many frantic emails and phone calls later the on-site techs were able to nurse the server back to a usable state (A failure of two physical drives, and probably part of the motherboard were the root cause.)

The situation was not over however even though the hospital systems were functioning again.  The system is running at limited, slowed capacity until replacement parts can be delivered and installed.  I am thankful for Tim, a short-term IT missionary, who could respond in this critical situation. Short-term people are vital to fill the gaps when long-term missionaries are away.

I have many upcoming events and prayers are appreciate as I travel throughout February and into the first week of March visiting supporters and speaking at churches. I leave at the begin of February to Seattle for a few days and then on to Boise for a multi church missions conference for the rest of the month to present at six (and maybe more) churches. Please pray that during this time individuals would also be burdened to help financially, materially, or by volunteering time. Also pray that God would use this to encourage and burden others toward becoming missionaries. Truly the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. (Luke 10:2)

I am excited to see what God has planned for this next year!

Sep 2nd Technology Labs

In previous updates I had made brief reference to starting computer labs – called Mobile Educational Technology Labs. While I have been Stateside preparing and organizing, visiting and presenting, and raising partners the teams in Togo have been helping with a trial run of the first of these labs. This first lab has 14 laptop computers and was allocated to the Christian schools partnering with ABWE Togo.
First, a big thank you again to everyone who helped to make this possible.

Most of West Africa’s computer literacy is comparable or worse than that of Western countries during the late 80’s and early 90’s but it’s reliance on technology is quickly become as heavy as in any other place in the world. (more…)

Jun 8th Just getting started!

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“I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” –Psalm 63

Dry season here lasts for eight months.  The wells go dry and the Oti River runs low.  The Hospital of Hope and city of Mango both depend on the river for water. As that source dries up water supply becomes an issue as has been the case several times already. We are searching for long-term solution for water problem. Recently the team tried drilling two more wells – both dry. We trust that God will provide despite our disappointment and frustration in diligently searching for a solution. Thank you to all who have been praying. Please continue to pray for a long-term answer.

This area is dry spiritually. Islam, Fetishism, and false Christianity are everywhere. The gospel message is like clean, cool, refreshing spring water. (more…)

Aug 4th August 2014 Newsletter

Here’s the newsletter for August.

Click here to read the  August newsletter (pdf).

Unable to open a PDF? Get the Word 2007 Document instead.

Jun 22nd June 2014 Newsletter

Here’s the newsletter for June.

Click here to read the  June newsletter (pdf).

Unable to open a PDF? Get the Word 2007 Document instead.

May 2nd Mar – Apr 2014 Newsletter

Here’s the newsletter for March and April.

Click here to read the Mar-Apr Newsletter (pdf)

Unable to open a PDF? Get the Word 2007 Document instead.