Author: Bert&Debbie

“Dr. Mac” was a nice surprise when I returned from the states two weeks ago.

He is a real believer, reportedly is a good and compassionate doctor, loves his profession, and witnessing for Jesus. My kind of colleague!

Besides that, he likes Ag projects!

Plus, I know he is a considerate husband though I have not yet met his wife. I know this because he asked me for my opinion of a request his wife made of him.

He told me his wife was supposed to prepare lunch for the entire extended family. She asked him to “pick up something substantial for lunch.” He really didn’t have a clue what to do.

So I asked him how much he could pick up and you can see from his big smile that he thinks his wife will be pleased with her strong husband and how well he provides for his family.

Bon appetit! (This story told with just a smidgen of poet license.)

All proceeds from our goat sales will go to our newly resurrected “Poor Fund.” The latter is used to help poor patients pay their hospital bill. 

Dr. Mac is interested in goat farming and already has the field.

Monday he will take his young herd sire home on his motorcycle. Tuesday he will take the doe that will become the herd matriarch.

And it all started right here in Goatville, G2, Chad!

Stay tuned for the next account of “How to be a Husband Any Wife Would Love.” Hey, lots of luck without goats!

Bert

We are obliged to give the 27 goats some help as they have been unable to control the weed problem.

We have 13 acres and the high grass is 8 feet tall in places. An army could hide there.

So we’ve hired grass cutters with machetes. It will take 8-9 days.

The rains will stop in a week or so, and all the grass will start dying.

Not all my patients are this happy pre-op! Fatime’ is my first surgical case since returning from furlough.

Surgeons my age always are concerned or at least curious to know after they have been out of the OR  for a few months if they still “have it.”

I am happy to report that during this 1.5 hr case, my hands were steady (no tremor), vision was excellent, reflexes okay, stamina good, brain synapses functioned well, and feet and knees held up well. PTL!

I have a four-hour thyroidectomy scheduled next week. This will be a good test of all the above. I am currently the only surgeon here doing thyroid surgery.

Please continue to pray that the Lord and his servants will help us find another (younger than me) surgeon by January 2019.

Blessings,
Bert

Dr. John Allen from England and Kalbassou from Cameroon shared surgery duty for two months here at G2 in Chad.

Dr. Allen left for England today. Hopefully, he will return someday.

Manon, a Belgian midwife, and Antonie, a German nurse, started work on the wards and are getting by with their French.

Manon is fluent in French, Flemish, English, and German! (Us poor language-challenged Americans!) She’s in her mid-twenties, taller than I, and mild-mannered. She’s Catholic as is most of Belgium. She heard the Gospel at our supper table Monday. Manon is the first Belgian to serve at G2. She’ll be here three weeks.

Antonie is in her fifties and is experienced in mission service having served in Haiti and other places. She is very confident and seems to have considerable medical knowledge. She would make a good, tough head nurse but is here for only three weeks. She is an evangelical believer.

Manon and Antonie shared a tent when they attended a Humedica training camp in Germany. Though they are very different, they seem to get along well. They both like to cook and prepare most of their own meals.

A German ob-gyn also from Humedica will serve with us Dec-January.

By the way, Humedica is a Christian organization in Germany. Praise the Lord for this new partner. Next year at this time, we will have the German anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Schüle and his Dutch wife and baby boy with us long term.

They are coming to serve here despite the wife having fainted, fallen, and hit her head from the heat in the bathroom in the new guest house in March because the solar solar power system did not function. Joel, their baby, suffered from heat rash the entire time he was here.

They had many opportunities in much nicer areas to serve but they felt called by the Lord to come here with Frontiers.

In a year or so after their arrival, once Michael “fixes” our anesthesia dept, we hope to start our anesthesia training program.

I praise God for this precious family.

Temperatures during the day have in the 90’s but evenings are cooler.

I am looking forward to the opening of our new 5-6 bed ER and new surgery clinic soon.

The Lord has truly blessed His project here!

Bert
Eph 3:20

Kalbassou, David Parker and I met with Djibrine, the Guinebor 2 chief, to discuss the possibility of introducing a sports program to this village.

David is now serving as our expat administrator alongside our Chadian administrator, Allain. David loves soccer, basketball, and track but is here mainly to introduce our Savior to the unreached people.

An effective way to reach the youth from Muslim homes is through such sports programs. We desire to reach the lost using our medical skills, education, sports, and agriculture programs.

The chief is very interested is us introducing fish farming (aquaculture). He has promised to give us several acres for a new school but we must sign a document stating we are sincere and will provide funds to build the school. If we do so, then we can proceed with the sports facility on the same land.

We are excited and trust the Lord to convict some of His children out there to contribute to this exciting project.

David and his wife, Michaela, adopted newborn Chadian girls two months ago and expect to be here a long time.

Blessings,
Bert

 

Though it is not unique to have an abrupt change from wet to dry season, I always am impressed by this.

I had the opportunity to see the lush green grass on campus and in our field when I arrived one week ago. I also experienced probably the last rain here for six or seven months five days ago.

This bit of green within 2-3  days is sure to become beige.

This structure is a shipping container transformed into a staff change room with separation of men and women area. It is adjacent to another container that has a triple role:

– Our staff meeting room
– Morning prayer Chapel
– Physical therapy dept

The shrub/trees are what I would like to bring attention to at the end of this structure. They were planted less than a year ago to shade the “buildings.” They are growing rapidly on the west end already doing their job!

PTL for these amazing plants!
Bert

The multinational nature of CEF is one aspect of this ministry that we love. Sharing a meal at the G2 guesthouse in the photo above are citizens of five countries (Germany, Belgium, UK, USA, and Switzerland).

Bert and Debbie are American-Swiss. The gentleman,  Dr. John Allen, is British and is serving for two months as a surgeon. He is serving with BMS UK. The lady to his right is Antonie, an experienced German nurse and to his left, Manon, a young Belgian midwife. They serve with Humedica, a Christian organization in Germany. Debbie Oubre is seated opposite them.

Debbie and I are back in Chad!

All my flights went well. I even tolerated the ten hour Paris layover reasonably well. All baggage arrived and it appears nothing was stolen.

I met Antonia, a volunteer nurse from Germany, and Manon, a Belgian midwife, who will serve with us at G2 for several weeks, at the airport as we were on the same Air France Paris to N’Djamena flight. I was able to help them get through passport control and security and claim their baggage. We all brought medical supplies so we rejoiced that everything arrived in Chad.

This is the North 13 acres. It’s under development, and we have built the third guest house, new maternity and new surgical center on this property. Still much is prairie. The six goats of 2017 were not able to control the weeds then. Neither have the 33 goats of 2018. Do we need to try 100 goats!

We’ve sold several goats and will eventually sell the herd and give proceeds to the Poor Fund that helps poor patients pay their medical bills.

After over three months absence from here I can really appreciate growth of the Neem trees. When we started this project there was not even one tree on this property.

All the grass will die soon and the color of the scenery will change to shades of beige. The trees now provide much-needed shade for the residential area. Likewise for the larger trees at the hospital. These trees, flowering bushes, and green grass are a relief from the monotonous tan of the dry season.

We are experiencing sentiments of appreciation and gratitude for the work of our great Creator God! We praise Him for this!

Thanks to those of you who are supporting this ministry!
Bert