Russ and Melody Ebersole

Children: Christopher, Sara Gene, Daniel, Stephen, Nathaniel

Ministry Focus

Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc. - Medical Evangelism,  Children and Youth Ministry in Togo, West Africa.

Personal Journey - Call to Christ

Melody: At age six, in South Dakota, the gospel was presented in Sunday school class, but I was not listening. After class, my best friend asked if I was a Christian, but I didn’t know because I wasn’t listening! Soon after, I asked my parents if I was a Christian, and they explained what it meant to be a Christian. I felt left out of God's family, and prayed to accept the Lord with my parents.

Russ: At age five while home in the states with my family on furlough from the Philippines, I was coloring the story of the prodigal son. I asked my mother to tell me the story, and she wove the explanation of salvation into the story. I prayed with her to receive Christ as my personal Savior. 

Call to Missions Service

Melody: I became interested in missions after seeing the presentation of a single missionary lady from Africa at her small country church in South Dakota when I was five years old. At this point in time, I felt that that was what I wanted to do when I grew up, and that interest continued.

Russ: I grew up as an MK in the Philippines, and became interested in missionary medicine while in boarding school. I dedicated my life for missions as a teenager, and continued to point toward a career in medical missions. It has been a long journey toward the mission field. We spent many years training for medicine, 14 years in the US Navy and several years in private pediatric practice. But we kept our goal of missions in mind over these years, and God opened the door for us to go to Togo, West Africa, arriving there in 2002.

Fruits of Our Labor

We are nearing the end of our second term of service. The ministry at the hospital continues to be both very busy and very fruitful. For the past several years, there have been over 2500 decisions for Christ through the hospital and the clinic. More Muslims are now coming, and we have seen some of them come to Christ as well.

The children's ministry spearheaded by Melody has continued to be very fruitful, with around 200 children coming each Wednesday for evangelistic studies as well as eight discipleship classes for those who have accepted Christ as Savior. She also has literacy classes in the tribal languages for the children each Friday.

We also continue to work at a small "bush" church in the mountains near the hospital. The church has grown, with yearly baptisms, and with outreach to several surrounding villages.

And finally, we see the blessings of personal relationships with many of the Togolese people here, and we enjoy being a part of their lives, as they are also a part of ours. 

Prayer Requests

• For Russ’ recovery from recent renal failure which required a return to the US for treatment; he has significantly improved, but is still recuperating
• For Melody, Stephen, and Nate as they are still in Togo, and will be responsible for the packout and return to the US for furlough (was to start in July, but now sooner as a medical leave). We need wisdom as we prepare for furlough.
• For help with follow-up of the many new Christians at the hospital, and for the doctors who remain and are short-staffed.
• For the children's ministry as it winds down with furlough upcoming, that the young people will remain faithful and continue in their walk with the Lord.
• For our children in the US – Chris, Kara, and Noah (our grandson), as Chris continues his radiology residency; Sara and Matt Tabbut- she is looking for a teaching position while he is an ER resident; and Daniel, as he works full-time (aviation mechanic) while studying part-time, with the goal of missionary aviation.
• For Stephen and Nathaniel as they return from Togo and are looking for guidance in regards to adjusting back to US life and further studies.
• For the upcoming expansion of the medical ministry in Togo to the Muslim north, as a new hospital is in the process of being constructed.  

Support Needs

We are currently at full personal support, thanks to many folks at CFC. But we have some special accounts as well: the children’s ministry, a building fund for our church, and a pediatric benevolence fund to help with the most indigent patients and their families.

The "How to give address" is:
Missionary Finance
Assoc. of Baptists for World Evang. Inc
PO Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585

Account numbers are: personal # 0130883 and specify a special account if desired; the benevolence fund is through the hospital, # 0763513-002. Please use my full name, Russell E. Ebersole, IV, since my father has the same name (Jr.) and also is an ABWE missionary.