Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 2:34 PM Subject: mission update letter from Janelle ( Iverson) and Mike Doud Dear friends - This is the same letter that many of you just recieved... I made a mass mail list of relatives and friends that I thought may enjoy hearing from Mike and Janelle. sorry for the duplication- but it was the easiest way to go... Happy Thanksgiving Rich Iverson Subject: Doud's prayer letter (please respond to ow4do@yahoo.com) Dear family and friends, November 17, 2004 Greetings from Sierra Leone! Yes – we are alive and doing well! Forgive us for the long period of silence! We are still working to connect with cyberspace. With each failed attempt at getting wired for e-mail, we figure we are one step closer to being connected. We are not yet there but are sending this to you via Fred Mikesell who has generously offered to send messages for us if necessary. Fred lives about an hour and ˝ drive from us – and like us depends on an occasionally run generator to power his computer. Because we do not have means to send this e-mail out to our complete address list we ask that you who do receive this, if you would please forward it on to anyone in your network who might be interested in hearing from us. Thanks for helping us in this way! A printed bulk mailing is also on the way. We’ve been in Kamakwie for 2 months now and anticipate being here until after Christmas in order to provide some continuity to the work. Mike has put much of his initial effort into clearing and organizing the maintenance garage. It’s been a huge undertaking in the aftermath of the rebel’s trail of destruction. Yet, it has paid big dividends in terms of the tools and parts he has unearthed as well as clearing the storage space needed for the building supplies that just arrived last week. He and a crew of Sierra Leonean builders have already made great progress on the two houses they are refurbishing in preparation for the Doctors and work teams who will be coming next year. Mike (Mo) is thoroughly enjoying the work! A primary focus now since we have reached the end of rainy season is to repair and restore the “old” water system for use during the dry season. Last year the hospital had to hire young boys to haul buckets of water from the city wells during the dry season. The goal is to have the back up water system running by December. Jenna is doing well, has made some friends, is picking up some of the Krio language, likes most of the food here, and she and I are both enjoying home schooling. Since we have the computer up and running, we are able to add some more variety to the school days. An added benefit of having this computer hooked up is that I have recently been able to take on a few computer students as well. In hopes that the hospital will one day be able to get a computer, the bookkeeper, Dominque Bah, is wanting to learn the use of spread sheets. I told him we would be learning together! My other student is the wife of the District Superintendent, Priscilla Bangura. She also works full time in the business office and dispensary at the hospital. They (the Kamakie District) have had a computer for about 4 months and she has already picked up a lot on her own. We are occupying 2 of the 3 guest units belonging to the hospital. It’s quite comfortable with plumbing and electricity (when the generator is running – usually in the A.M. for the hospital to do surgery and a couple hours at night for the convenience of having lights.) Isn’t it just like God to give us some tangible signs of his care for the details of life? I see that in the flamboyant tree that’s not more than 15 feet outside our front door. It’s not only beautiful, but serves as a reminder of the view from our front window in Florida. You guessed it – a flamboyant tree! A few days ago, I (Janelle) had a minor surgical procedure to remove a cyst (ended up being 3 of them) from my breast. We thank the Lord that all went well and so far all indications are that it is not cancerous. We are sending the tissue to the states and will let you know the test results when we receive them. There is a very capable surgeon, John Turrey, here at the hospital and so we again thank the Lord for His provision for us enabling us to “stay put” and not have to take valuable time and resources away from the progress of the work here. We are grateful for the good health we have all three enjoyed. Thanks so much for your faithful prayer and financial support! We will purpose to stay in closer touch with you in the future. Our thinking has been, “this week we’ll get connected to e-mail” and so put off asking anyone else to send our messages for us. Thanks for your partnership with us! In Christ, Mike, Janelle & Jenna Doud Pastor Rich Iverson Barnesville Lutheran Brethren Church 218-354-7466 (o)