Living Stones

A flat tire.

A traffic ticket violation by our taxi driver as we went to breakfast.

These two incidents delayed our arrival at Toeghin. When we finally arrived at the clinic, we observed a short line of stones and a plastic bottle. This, we were told, marked somebody's place among the many people standing in line or, in queue.

This temporal substitution of stones for a flesh and blood being immediately brought to mind 1 Peter 2:4-5:

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. “(ESV)

Our living stones (patients) were wisely waiting in the shade.

The day had begun with our minds preoccupied with details, and patients and organization. Later though, I was struck by the “Living Stones” that built our spiritual day into an acceptable sacrifice.

Our interpreter, Karim, echoed the theme as he shared with us his story. When he was young his mother became very sick with a problem with her ears. His Muslim family encountered a Christian who prayed for her and she was miraculously healed. Karim’s father, while remaining a Muslim himself, insisted that his wife and children become Christians in order to assure their health and safety. The fruit of this is Karim himself, who has selflessly served our doctors and nurses tirelessly throughout the day. And the light in his eyes testifies of Jesus.

At times I think our African brothers know more worship songs in English than I do. Rarely does a half hour pass without some songs, hymns or spiritual songs echoing across the clinic, many times by our interpreters who learned the songs during their English studies.

Doctor Dora Leon is walking out her own living sacrifice today. Feeling ill and dizzy, possibly from her malaria prevention medicine, she pressed on throughout the day. She, Dr. Steve Nelson and Dr. Xavier Sanchez treated 115 patients, despite our late start.

The colorful parachute flapped with the joy of the children’s smiles. As we walked through the area, we found our partners praying and chatting with local Muslims about Jesus. It only takes a small imagination, great partners and the Power of the Kingdom to see a line of stones flowing out the gate of the clinic at Toeghin and across the Sahel of Burkina Faso into eternity.

As one of the songs echoing today said:

Let it be, Lord Jesus, let it be.

Kindness and Gentleness in Toeghin

Today was our second day in the village of Toeghin. However, the first day we saw very few patients because of an important political rally in the area. On Day One, Jessica McMillan treated 179 school kids for parasitic worms. We were able to take our time and see the village chief and organize everything for the next day.

The gentleness of the Burkina people has been very apparent. While working in the pharmacy, we noticed one woman patiently waiting for more than an hour. We realized that her prescription was setting unnoticed on a box of medicine, overlooked for a long time. Even when Jessica spoke to her through a translator and apologized profusely the women responded only with a gentle smile as she walked away.

Eight-four patients that came through our small clinic. No pushing or shoving. No aggressive demands. I was amazed at the lack of chaos (I have had different experience in other medical clinics I´ve helped with. We needed to put up rope barriers and exercise crowd control.)

But here in Burkina, one of the poorest countries in Africa, the gracious people simply wait patiently and quietly.


Now kids -- they're are the same everywhere. When the face paints were retrieved from the suitcase, a circle of young black faces quickly tightened around Becka and Dorothy. There was some shuffling as each tried to be next for a flower,a butterfly or a fish painted on their cheek.

The children are also very excited to color pictures and play games with our ladies. But a keen eye can still spot the signs of poverty and malnutrition amongst the smiling faces. Sheila commented that she saw more children without shoes in this village than anywhere else she has been in Africa.

Indeed the desolation of the village resembles a war zone more than a place to scratch out a subsistence farm. And yet they tell us that most of the patients from today have no source of income and spend their days raising maize and millet to eat.

Organized for Clinics at Komsilga Region

Tomorrow is our first day of seeing patients so today was a time for organization and planning. The team dug into the boxes of medicines purchased by our partners in Burkina Faso as well as the supplies transported from Ecuador.

Dorothy and Becka smiled with glee as they unpacked the colorful supplies for the kids’ ministry gathered so generously from HCJB Global offices in Colorado Springs.

We took stock of what we have and what we need. The doctors conferred about which medicines to use for various illnesses based on our inventory and the local knowledge from new friend David Zampou, who oversees many of the health workers in the region of Komsilga.

We are going south of Ouagadougou. Apparently, about 32 villages populate the region known as Komsilga and there is also a town by that name. Seven small government clinics serve some 52,000 inhabitants. (These are not all verified numbers and statistics, but it gives us a better picture of what we are getting into.)

We will be spending most of our time in two specific villages, but will likely see patients from many of the nearby communities. David told us we are likely to see a lot of coughs (resulting from the recent change from rainy season to dry), skin lesions, diarrheal illnesses and lots and lots of malaria. In fact, he told us that recent studies indicated that 70% of their patients who have fevers have malaria.

Interestingly, the rate of HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso is very low for Africa and we will likely not see many cases with those complications.

Surprise visitors to our dinner table were HCJB Global´s Andy and Linda Braio, who led the team that first introduced me to Burkina Faso about three years ago. They are in Burkina Faso helping with ACTS Burkina and their long-time friend Joanna Illboudou, who started that ministry for widows and orphans. The Braios helped plant a large garden to help grow vegetables for the children in the orphanage.

High Heels and Motorcycles

Throughout Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, women in beautiful dresses and shiny high heeled shoes ride motorcycles for transportation. Many times they ride double with a friend or family member and additional cargo or children.

Dresses and high heels may not be the ideal clothing for motorcycling, but it works. Three-inch heels locked over the pegs on a motorbike don’t tend to slip, and somehow the women gracefully straddle the bikes without hiking up their skirts.

This, I think, may be a great metaphor for ministry in Africa. My cultural eyes look and see an unlikely mix of dress clothes and motorcycles. But Africans, in this case the Burkinabe (the name for the people of Burkina Faso), make it work with grace and ease.

This is just like ministry partnership at its finest. Our HCJB Global Hands team wanders in jet- lagged and in a cultural daze, yet with hearts to help and serve. Surely, we stick out like high heels on a motorcycle. Yet our African partner steers us in the right direction, connects us with the right helpers and surrounds us with great people and puts us in great places. All of this is done with the same grace and ease and surprising agility that allows the women here to climb on a motorcycle with a dress on.

And away we go…

Burkina Bound

As some of you know, I was asked to join a medical team working in the West African country of Burkina Faso, which is an inland nation just north of Ghana and just a bit larger than Colorado. Burkina Faso is a former French colony that is one of the poorest countries in Africa. The majority of the people are subsistence farmers and the country has few natural resources to build the economy. You can learn more at this link: Burkina Faso

I join several missionaries I've traveled with previously: Doctor Steve Nelson and his wife Dorothy (long-time missionaries in Ecuador and around the world. Steve is an amazing village doctor and the ever-young Dorothy is gifted at connecting with children of any culture), Sheila Leech (HCJB Global Hands missionary nurse and the VP of Healthcare within HCJB Global), Jessica McMillan (HCJB Global Missionary nurse with vast experience in Malawi and Ghana that belies her youth), Emily Martin ( HCJB Global missionary appointee who recently joined the mission following a medical trip in Ghana last year), Rebecca Weber ( a missionary kid from Ecuador who has always dreamed of going to Africa and shares Dorothy's heart for the kids), Doctor Dora Leon and Dr. Xavier Sanchez (two Ecuadorian doctors nearly finished with their residencies at Hospital Voz Andes in Quito, Ecuador). We are soon to be joined by HCJB Global regional director of Sub-Saharan Africa Lee Sonius and Liberian missionary Joseph Kebbie who are travelling up from Ghana tomorrow. We all come alongside HCJB Global's radio partner in the country, Radio Evangel Development (RED) who is already doing community development and has local Christians involved in these communities ahead and behind us. We hope to make them look good.

We have been joking that I am along to do the heavy lifting and "all back,no brains" is fine by me. I may help men in the community that are constructing a new latrine. I also remind the very busy doctors and nurses to drink and eat and take breaks. I count and bag pills in the pharmacy as needed. I simply pray God uses me however is needed to help the team do what they came to do. If God shows me something or someone to come alongside then I'm game. Pray with us that His will be done and that we can be reflections of His Kingdom come to earth.

From Our October Newsletter

Riding Roller Coasters (by Nate)

The Dell Roller Coaster Express ride is ongoing. Following an exciting and encouraging two months in Ecuador on a special assignment with HCJB Global’s summer missionary program (read more about this below and in older blog posts), our financial support has now dropped to the lowest level it has ever been. Rachelle and I both felt the summer’s seeming success signaled a new season on our exciting missionary ride. Instead I’ve been left wondering if the ride may have to shut down for maintenance.

As the school year and Natalia’s volleyball season settled into routine I was planning on one trip to Ghana in February of 2011. In just the last week that has expanded to possible journeys to Burkina Faso, Haiti and Spain all before tax time next year. Pray for me as decisions and plans are made to serve these regions with teams of willing workers. If any of you are interested in being one of those willing workers please drop me an email. It would be fun to have you strap in next to me.

As always we feel blessed to be on this ride, whatever loops and twists it takes. We join with all creation in eager anticipation of what comes next. (Romans 8:19)

Gifts in Ecuador (By Rachelle)

I was able to do so much with my family this summer! More than any of the previous 10 summers in the U.S. We really bonded and had a lot of fun together in Ecuador. I especially treasured all the time I spent with Natalia. She enjoyed the adventures of getting out to see the city, shopping, trying new foods or swimming in the river.

As we drove down out of the Andes and into the edge of the jungle there was a rainbow. It seemed that the Lord was saying that He has some new things for us and that He wanted to redeem some things for us as a family that we thought were lost forever.

For the longest time I thought this was our goodbye trip and I could see how impossible it would be for me to function physically amongst the rigors of Ecuador. My heart ached knowing I’d have to say goodbye again. My ability to tolerate this trip was pure grace. As Nate said, “The pace was unsustainable.” But slowly over time, after we left the last village (Tali cried hard that time) and while travelling from Shell back to Quito the Lord started speaking to my heart. By the time we were at the airport waiting for our flight back to the U.S. I knew that the Lord will take us back there again. I do not know when, how, how long etc., but I believe Him. It was still sad and hard to leave, but what a gift after all this time.

The time we spent with our Waorani friends was a very special gift. It meant so much to me to see the friends who’ve lost spouses, children, health etc. They have my respect and admiration for their courage and faithfulness. Initially I felt so unable to do much ministry, but I was reminded once again that simply being with people, listening, crying, rejoicing is all the Lord is asking for. The rest will fall into place.

It was like watching the Lord fertilize and plant some seeds in Tali’s heart. It still makes me cry to remember the summer. She absolutely loved Ecuador...even the city (which is amazing because she says, “I don’t really like the city”). She soaked everything in and accepted uncertainties and new experiences with a lot of grace. Every time we talk about the summer she gets teary eyed. At the end of the trip we visited an orphanage. Watching Tali play with a little girl for an hour made me feel like I was watching something being birthed in Natalia. We will see…

An even greater gift: I am responding positively to a medication used to treat a genetic movement disorder called familial paroxysmal kinesigenic choreoathetosis. I’m seeing a decrease of pain and an improvement in energy. We don’t know if this will control the disorder forever, but I’m just loving the good days. As I research I’m discovering answers to things that started in my childhood when I was a toddler and older. We don’t have all the answers. The doctor feels that there is also something else, but I’m glad for the relief I’m experiencing! It is possible that Tali’s headaches and muscle spasms are related to this disorder so she will be undergoing lots of tests in October. It would be wonderful to know this early on how to help her.

The Lord knew before I was born what each and every one of my days would be like. He often has refining fires for each of us, but it looks different for every individual. I am at peace with His hand in my life in this regard. That much has been cemented in my heart these past few months. The Lord knows the future. Has this been a rude interruption into our lives? Or has it has been a divine intervention? This “rabbit trail” is part of our journey with the Lord. I don't understand it and I don't feel the need to understand it anymore. I don't know where God is going with this and, it feels strange to admit, I'm ok with that. He is good and I have seen His goodness so much more through these fires. I’d love it if He would reverse my disorder, but no matter what, we will be ok.

We Need Your Help

In order to continue our missionary work, we are in serious need of new monthly support. If you already give to us, would you prayerfully consider increasing your support? If you haven’t been able to partner financially with us in the past, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us now? Another way you could help us would be to consider inviting a group into your home and allow us to share what God is doing in our ministry and how they might be able to be involved with us. Others have felt comfortable asking their local church to consider inviting a new missionary to come and share the Lord’s work there. We would greatly appreciate whatever help you could give us to help us to continue to be the Voice and Hands of Jesus around the world. To give via the web please go to http://www.hcjb.org/donate-give-to-missionaries and type in "Nate and Rachelle Dell" so the money is credited to our ministry account. All donations are tax deductible and much appreciated.

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Nate Dell shares Ecuador trip Sept 26th

I found out that our sermon at Hot Sulphur Springs Community Church is on the web as a podcast! It's our first as far as I know. Keep listening until the end and you can hear Natalia rock her special song she chose. Here's the link:

Nate Dell shares Ecuador trip Sept 26th