Trip Calendar

Pastor Guy, Bingerville Baptist Church

The team in Ivory Coast consists of Bob and Becky Mach, Karie Ferguson, Josh and Alyssa Clay and their children, Addelyn (3), Judah, (1 month), Josh and Katie Pate and their children, Allison (3), and Madeleine (1), and Kristine McLaughlin who serves as a nurse practitioner and lives with her german shepherd, Brielle. Kristine has served with the Bob Mach family in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) since 2009. As a nurse practitioner, her passion is to use medical care to open doors for evangelism and church planting. They live in the city of Bingerville which is 30 minutes from Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. The area is metropolitan which allows easy access for food and medical supplies, but, at the same time, there are 12 villages located "right on their doorstep" in Bingerville. The Lord has wonderfully blessed the medical ministry in allowing them to see several of these previously closed villages opened to the Gospel.

In 2017, they founded a medical ministry called ACCESS. The Lord led them to start ACCESS in answer to a national pastor's request in Ivory Coast to bring a medical team into the interior, to help him start a church, in an unreached location. With ACCESS, they coordinate US healthcare providers into medical teams that partner with national pastors to facilitate church planting through medical care.

The Fundamental Baptist Church of Bingerville was started by Missionary Bob Mach in 2000. Their church ministries include: Evangelism, Discipleship, Sports Ministry, a Bible Institute, and a village ministry that reaches people in the outlying areas for Christ. They are in the launching stage of two church plants in the Bingerville villages. These locations are Anan and Koffi Kro. In 2022, they were so encouraged by the evangelistic help that MMO was able to give them in these same villages. Their medical care has yielded lasting fruit as they were able to follow up with contacts that were made. One chief in particular here still talks about MMO and asks when we’re coming back! They actually are already having Sunday services in Koffi Kro, and they've just bought church land in Anan. They are praying that God will use this team in a great way to help these young church plants, and they would love to see them grow!

As in most third-world countries, their local healthcare has numerous socio-economic challenges that play into medical missions. It is important to keep medicine culturally meaningful. A holistic approach increases adherence as diseases are often multifactorial. There is also cultural relativity to consider when judging a culture by its own set of values, not your own.

We asked them to share their heart for the people of Ivory Coast. "We love the openness and community "flavor" of Ivory Coast. Smiles and greetings galore. We love that medical personnel are highly respected here. This brings our teams a long way in building bridges to communities. We love that children are valued and are the treasure of the family. We love the deep-rooted respect for age. We love the colorful culture in the weaves of bright fabric, the art of cooking "African," and the varied tribal dances and customs.”

Connect with us!
Email: [email protected]
website: accessivorycoast.org

VISA REQUIRED

Officially Côte d'Ivoire, this country on the coast of western sub-Saharan Africa is slightly larger than the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its name comes from the intensive ivory trade that took place in the region from the 15th to 17th centuries.

Côte d'Ivoire is the world's largest exporter of cocoa beans and has high levels of income for its region, with a per capita income of US$1,662, though about a quarter of the population lives below the international poverty line. The official currency is the West African Franc, which is also used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

A person from Cote d’Ivoire is called an Ivorian and there are more than 60 ethnic groups in Côte d’Ivoire. The country has a religiously diverse population, including Christianity, Islam, and animistic indigenous faiths. The flag of Côte d’Ivoire consists of three equally sized vertical stripes colored orange, white and green, representing the land, peace, and hope.

Some of the staple foods in Cote d’Ivoire include yam, plantain, cassava, sauces, and stew. The national dish is fufu, which is cassava cooked into a sticky dough and eaten with the hand rather than with utensils. Fufu is served with a vegetable sauce and meat, often chicken or fish.

The national football team is known as Les Éléphants. They won the African Cup of Nations in 1992 and 2015 and have appeared in three World Cups. Ivorian athletes have won two Olympic medals: a silver in the men’s 400m race at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and a gold in Taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

For more country information, click here https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cote-divoire/

Work alongside both church-planters and a nurse practitioner who serve here full-time to reach their community with the gospel. This multifaceted church is reaching villages who are in desperate need of care. MMO has served here many years, and we always see challenging cases and suffering that cause us to lift our eyes to the One Who provides eternal hope.

Our plan is to offer medical, optical, and dental care to this community. If you are a physical therapy professional interested in potentially serving on this team, please fill out an INTEREST FORM to inquire about offering this service. Every patient who receives care will hear the gospel from a member of this local church.

This trip is now closed. Thank you for your interest.

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