Category: Blog

Bebe Fatime’s short life has been difficult so far.

She was born with a congenital disorder called “ situs inversus” as well intestinal malrotation. These disorders are not too common, but both in the same baby is quite rare.

Fatime vomited from day #1 and for the next eight days.

After seeking medical help elsewhere, she was finally brought here. At surgery, we found the right lobe located on Fatime’s left instead.

Her gallbladder is therefore located on the left rather than the right, which will be confusing to doctors if she has gallbladder trouble in the future.

She also has malrotation of the intestine, so the appendix is also on the wrong side.

But the reason she vomited everything was from the presence of abnormal adhesions or fibrotic bands (“Ladd’s bands”) that causes a blockage of the part of the duodenum. This is part of the malrotation.

We divided these bands and are now at post-op day #3.

She has stopped vomiting and is being given maternal milk orally by syringe. She was too weak to breastfeed normally.

Fatime’s parents are Muslim.

Please pray that the Lord would completely heal Fatime and that someday they will come to know Him as their Savior and Lord.

Thanks and blessings,
Bert

“The world is passing away and also it’s lusts but the one
who does the will of God abides forever.”
~ 1 John 2:17  

In the above photo, Bernard (on the right) is witnessing to a Nomad patient. 

Bernard completed three years in a four-year seminary then had to leave when his mother died to support the family.

He found work as a mason. He later felt called to serve the Lord in medicine, so he went to nursing school and has since practiced in a clinic in N’Djamena.

I met Bernard when he came to the hospital as an evangelist with his Lutheran Brethren Church to witness to our patients. This activity resulted in a church plant.

Bernard is one of the two pastors at the new church that meets in the G2 Christian school each Sunday.

He has served with me as my translator and assistant in our very busy surgical clinic as an unsalaried volunteer for six weeks.

He has an exceptional personal contact with patients and presents to them their need for Jesus as Savior better than anyone I know.

Most of our patients are Muslims. Several, in the short time he has been here, have put their faith in Jesus for salvation. He is very good at following up with these new believers.

I am happy to inform you that Brother Bernard will be given a position as clinic nurse starting in April. The Lord will be well represented in our outpatient department.

Lord,  please send more humble and obedient servants like Brother Bernard to us. Amen.

Bert

An Overflow of Patients!

I just knew I had to go “next door.”

Every other Sunday there is an English speaking church service at the SIL compound in the capital city (N’Djamena) about a forty minute drive from here. Since I take call every other weekend, I may get a chance to go once a month.

About 80-100 people attend these services. Most are fellow missionaries. We look forward to these Sundays, to corporate worship, to the message and the fellowship. Usually, there are a couple of curbside medical consults that I don’t mind doing. Then we go out for lunch.

So when I felt no desire to go to the SIL service the morning of February 25th, but rather to attend the humble little church recently planted in the Christian school next to our hospital, I didn’t quite understand. I just knew I had to go “next door.”

The “school church”

The “school church” was started about three months ago as the spin-off of an evangelical campaign here at the hospital by an evangelical church from N’Djamena.

There was a good turn out for the several evangelistic meetings, not by Muslims, but mainly by southerners who have recently moved to this area who were looking for a church home.

I was asked if this new church could hold services in one of the hospital buildings. I decided against this as I do not feel our security system is ready for extra challenges now. Besides, our ministry is about getting unreached Muslims saved for the Lord, not starting traditional churches.

I found out later that the director of the school next door gave permission to the evangelists to have Sunday meetings in one of the classrooms. I decided to attend a service and was impressed how solid the sermon was.

There is essentially no human security system there. The front gate is open.
We are in the process of reorganizing this school and hope to improve security. In the meantime, the Lord is protecting.

A Sister In Christ and In Crisis

Today I was the only white person there jammed into a rather small classroom with about forty adults and fifteen children, with no lights nor fans. There was, however, an abundance of flies.

My attention was drawn to a figure sitting in front of me, a female, but I could not tell more than that as her head, neck, and upper body was covered with black material.

After the sermon, our hospital chaplain’s wife shared that the lady in black is a recent convert from Islam. She said the young lady was saved at a Christian school far from here and her family insisted that she return to Islam. She refused to turn her back on Her Savior and the abuse and persecution started.

All her possessions, including her clothes, were taken from her and her family started planning her death. The details were not shared but somehow she escaped and is now living with a family of believers somewhere.

Her family is searching her to kill her.

Now it is very clear why the Holy Spirit tugged at me to attend “next door church” this morning!!

Pray for “Fatime”

First, pray that she will stay strong in her faith and love for Jesus.

Pray that the rest of her family will also become believers. 

And pray for wisdom and courage for those who will help her during this time of persecution.

I also see more clearly the value of the next door church and my devotion to Christian school is reinforced.

Blessings,
Bert

When Debbie’s goat was heavy with kid, I changed her name from Nomad to Nomaid. 

Being pregnant changed her tastes radically. She now prefers pink scrubs over green ones!

And the cycle of life continues. The kids are born!
Bert

What’s behind these green doors?

The G2 residential area. Note the motion detector lighting.

PTL!
Bert

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The Chadian biomedical tech was able to find the problem with the scanner for our X-Ray machine. He repaired it!!  

Our cost was about $400. The machine will earn this in a week or so. We are really thankful! PTL!

Also, the much-needed lab machine was bought in Germany and is now at the hospital. 

We still need to stock up on test strips and can’t find them here, so we’ll arrange to buy them in Germany.

This machine does almost all the tests that we now send patients to other
labs for.

Look for a better bottom line for the lab and for our X-Ray departments.

PTL!
Bert

This is only a partial right lateral view. With the whole view I had, my guess was at least a litter of five. But there was only one big boy and one medium girl.

The rest was amniotic fluid, most of which flowed into my shoes.

Mom and babies are fine. Praise the Lord.

Don’t see how that belly will ever be normal again!

I went home leaving a fluid trail in the dust. Bathed then put on clean scrubs.

Meanwhile back at the maternity unit, a woman came in with a ruptured uterus —so back to the OR, and this time it was blood running into my shoes!

Sadly, the big baby girl was not alive and was floating free in the abdominal cavity and the lower uterine section was almost ripped in two.

The only option was a hysterectomy for this young lady. It ended up being difficult technically. However, the patient is OK.

From joy for the first case to grief for the second.

Only one other hospital besides G2 is available in the entire area for surgery, to my knowledge (because of strikes).

If we had not been here, the mom and twins and certainly the patient in the second case probably would all be dead.

After another bath, clean scrubs, and shoe change, I finished the day dry in the clinic.

Saving four lives in one morning is worth the small price of blood in the shoes, don’t you think?

Praise the Lord Jesus for sending us here in 2002.

Thanks to all who help us in the ministry by serving here, at home, with finances and prayer!

~ Bert and Debbie

God has done all things well.

We rejoice and are glad in it.

We rejoice in all He has done, all He will do today, and for all He has planned to do tomorrow.

And we look to Him for all our needs. 

Please join us in prayer for these urgent needs: 

• Help in accounting/administration with experience in Quick Books or willingness to learn.

We will accept English or French speakers. Even better if both languages.

QB in English.

• Short or long-term general surgeon

• Short or long term OB/G

If you are able to meet any of these needs or know of someone who may, please let us know.

Thanks and blessings,
Bert

This is a wall going up that represents plugging a gap and weak link in our security wall.

It’s on the north side of our caregivers village.

Before,  there was a chain-link fence that ended up getting mashed down and allowed entry of anyone that was determined to get in.

This wall will have razor wire on top and will discourage all but determined criminals.

Such is the nature of “security,” but we do what we can.

Thanks to recent gifts from France and Seattle area folks that have allowed us to plug this gap.

~ Bert