Dear Friends & Family,
Thank you for your prayers and support. Thank you for your emails following the car accident. It was a miracle that Celestin and his brother Daniel (a mechanic & professional chauffeur), got out of the car with no injuries. Daniel is a good driver and had offered to drive the long road to Sarh and back, taking time off work to do so. They were going to attend the funeral of a pastor-YWAM alumni whom we visited at home when we were in Sarh recently. He and his family used to live in the same compound as Margaret in Sarh. He had been sick, but was feeling better until a few days before he died. His wife died suddenly about 2 years ago. We prayed before the brothers set off and were confident that the journey would go well. The accident was completely unexpected. This is the second serious car accident that Celestin has had within a year. Last year the accident happened at night when Bonheur, who is younger and not so experienced, was driving. That was in our first car, a ‘Rav 4’ which is not so strong as the new car, a Toyota 4-runner. (A Toyota Hilux is even stronger and more durable).
Travel is an essential part of our ministry in Chad and having a car has made it possible to reach some remote places, especially on the DTS outreach, as well as do other local activities (such as visiting church members, planting a new church in a village in an Arab area, and going shopping!) Chad is a large landlocked country with many isolated communities and people groups who have never been exposed to the gospel: the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.
Life and mission in Chad is not easy.
We are in a very real spiritual battle.
“For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6: 12, NRSV)
Many people have a poverty mentality and depend on other people instead of being motivated to try things themselves. Others are sick, have unaffordable medical bills and are unable to work. Some people are bound by the lies they believe and spiritual ties to their ancestors. The environment in Chad is hard to survive in: it’s very hot; there is a lack of water, yet it floods when it rains. Infrastructure is inadequate to meet the needs of the growing population. Roads are dangerous; education and health care are very limited. Tele-communications are difficult due to poor mobile phone network. We have no electricity to charge phones and computers. Our generator has broken (again). This makes our work in Koundoul very difficult.
The open spaces around our home have been filled with houses as people have moved to the area to develop their land or to escape the floods in the capital over the past couple of years. Many people have been attracted by La Bergerie School, and the hope it brings. We’ve had the privilege of educating local children, teaching them to pray and know God. The school is established, and well-known locally. Admin staff and teachers are committed to running the school well, but we lack finances to develop.
La Bergerie church is also established with its own leadership team. Different groups (the choir, ladies’ group, mens’ group, and Sunday school, organise their own activities within the church. Towards the end of every month the church holds a seminar, and prepares for holy communion and an agape meal. But the number of people attending has dwindled – until Celestin came and did the teaching. People seem to have forgotten what we have taught about Agape and sharing a little of what we have. We recently had a day out at Etena (where we built a small room to retreat in) to teach the leaders of these groups about their responsibilities. However, there seems to be a lack of insight needed to progress and take forward these activities.
During the year that Margaret has been out of Chad and the 6 months that Celestin has been away leading the DTS, the church and the school haven’t developed as we would expect. Spiritual warfare, and dependence mentality have a significant impact, as well as poverty, and sometimes we feel we are just ‘treading water’. Celestin has gastric pain and Margaret has had malaria which makes life and ministry even harder.
Local people don’t understand that we live by faith, they expect activities run by the church/mission organisations to be free, and come daily to ask Celestin for money for their own needs. We don’t like to see people suffer or in pain and do all we can to help, but we ourselves can barely afford to live here. We trust God to supply our needs in relationship with others (a foundational value of Youth With A Mission).
We have repaired our car as much as we can. Daniel’s friends did a lot of work on it (but we still have to finish paying them). We found out later that the alternator was damaged in the accident so the battery wasn’t charging, and went flat. Another mechanic has repaired that. We really need new wheels (including the spare wheel) to drive safely. Meanwhile we can only drive short distances, slowly. The rain has made getting around in Koundoul more difficult as we have to take a longer route to the main road to avoid flooding and drive through large puddles. Celestin and a couple of young people with whom he was working took over an hour to get the car out of the mud at Etena after getting stuck.
Only a few weeks remain of the summer holidays during which we need to get the school ready for the new school year. Now is the time to prepare while access to sand and gravel is possible. The price increases as the rainy season progresses because of flooding. Despite being in a flood zone, we need to develop the land which was originally bought for the school. The first thing to do is to buy a stock of sand and gravel to build a wall on the foundation that we started a few years ago. Then we can advertise to show the community the school will be running in that location. Then we will move the temporary classrooms there (some will be ‘lean-to’ against the wall), and build toilets. We plan to move the nursery school to our land next to the health centre. Each year around 750 children attend La Bergerie primary school, and around 250 come to secondary school.
The health centre is now starting activities as we have let a new couple use the building. The couple have recently moved to the area from Doba in the south. He is a medical laboratory technician and she is a midwife. A few people come each day for treatment/antenatal care. We still need an electricity supply for the laboratory to function, and would prefer to install a new solar power system just for the Health Centre. Meanwhile, we can use our generator when it is repaired. Celestin is working with his cousin who is a doctor in N’Djamena to get the Health Centre registered with the government. This is necessary in order to function, but there will be a cost to pay.
PRAYER POINTS:
- Praise God for miracles! Thank you for your prayers – please continue to pray for our safety as we travel.
- Praise God that ‘La Bergerie Evangelique des Nations’ church is being established in a village in an Arab area a few kilometres south of Koundoul. One of the school teachers is involved in this and Celestin and the church
- leadership team are encouraging the people there.
- The farming work at the YWAM Sarh base is progressing with the good rains but the 2 staff there are hungry.
- Pray they will be encouraged and that God will provide for their needs. We have got no further in raising money to install a hand pump. Please pray for break-through – we need water when Margaret goes to the base next month to prepare for the Bible Core Course in September.
- We are still seeking God’s plan for the future of La Bergerie School. We need permanent classrooms on the school land but have no finances to build.
- Praise God that the Health Centre is open. Pray that it will function well and be a witness of God’s love for people as well as a place of healing and new life!
- Continue to pray for our safety and the security situation in Chad.
- Please pray for La Bergerie church.
- We still need an increase in our regular financial support (by around £1,000 per month). Please pray for this and
- if you know people who would like to help please pass on our information. Thank you.
- Praise God that investigations into Mum’s swallowing problems revealed a hiatus hernia which is being treated
- with medication to manage acid reflux.