Category: Blog

The New Guest House Is Ready for Visitors

The new guest house is ready for visitors!

This is Debbie’s masterpiece as she designed the house, helped supervise construction and furnished and decorated it. She even got a start on landscaping.

Dr. and Mrs. Noel Johnson, CEF board members, arrive tonight from Seattle for meetings over the next few days and will be the very first to use the new house.

We are so grateful to Pastor Ralph, Evans, Paul and all the good brothers and sisters at First Baptist Lexington for financing this beautiful home that will serve the servants of our Lord for many years.

Did I mention that I am very proud of my wife?

She was serving at the hospital medically at the same time as well as witnessing to Nomads and running the guest house and being a wife to me and friend to many.

PTL for her!
Bert

A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year in Chad

Our Very Merry Christmas Day

Fellow missionaries from Ireland, England, Canada, and the US joined us for lunch, games, and supper. The fellowship was great!

L-R: Mitch and Susan Sintic, Clare Bedford, Debbie and Bert, and Dr. Marilyn

L-R: Amanda Spruitt (AIM Canada), Elise Grange (SIM France), Susan and Mitch Sintic (Encompass USA), Dr Marilyn (BMS UK), Debbie and Bert Oubre (CEF USA), Claire Bedford (BMS UK)

Elise

Our Very Merry Christmas Play

This year several Muslim chiefs joined us as well young local Muslims for our annual Christmas play. 

Last year many people sat in the very hot, direct sunshine for our Christmas play. I was concerned for them much of the time.

This year most everyone expressed how much they enjoyed the play. The acting was evidently better and everyone was much more comfortable, seated in our new clinic waiting room —in the shade.

Christmas Gifts & Friends

Stephane (accountant)and Dieudonne (administrator) seem to like their Christmas gift T-shirts. CEF=Cutting Edge Foundation

Any idea who picked the colors? (Go LSU Tigers!)

Debbie and our cook, Merci, and her cute kids.

And a Happy New Year

At a time when we all missed family and friends at home, the Lord gave us family in Christ here.

Thank you, Lord!
Bert and Debbie
Christmas & New Years in Chad 2017

Our Newest Department

Physical Therapy is our newest department, thanks to Elise Grange and to SIM France/Belgium for sending Elise.

Here are our brand new parallel bars in our container conference room. The PT department/conference room will soon get a makeover.

The patient in the photo, Charitee, is being assisted by a PT student. We’ve also hired a Chadian PT.

The bars were paid for by our new French friend, Clement Rimaud, who recently visited G2 and by Elise. She is not only leaving this essential equipment but also trained personnel.

 

 

Our Four Great Missionaries From Four Countries

We welcome our four missionaries from four different countries. Their service is greatly appreciated and needed.

Marilyn is from the UK (Serves with BMS).

She’s a doctor and plans to go into anesthesiology.

She’ll leave us toward the end of February.

Marilyn has served well in general medicine and anesthesia here.

 

Elise Is from France (Serves with SIM).

She started our physical therapy department in November. Her department is already very busy. Even Debbie and I have been her patients.

Elise will be with us until the end of February 2018. 

She’s training a national to take her place.

Along with Elise from France (L) and Marilyn from England (R), Amanda (C) joins us from Canada.

Amanda is a teacher with AIM.

 

 

Melanie is from Sweden and is a nurse.

 

New Security Measures

We had a chain link fence on the north side of our caregivers’ village,
but it has been smashed down by people climbing it and gaining access to our property under construction.

This is a major weak link in our security system. Fortunately, we received a designated donation that has allowed us to start building a security wall that will have razor wire on top.

And Then I Had A Tap At The Door

Dependent on the Government

It’s not good being dependent on the government to supply our needs in regard to medicine and supplies. They’re too expensive and often in short supply — or no supply. But we’re required by the government to try to buy all our meds and supplies from the central government pharmacy. I was told that the government has not paid its bills for five years — so suppliers are pulling out. It does not even have Tylenol (paracetamol) now.

So I contacted an acquaintance, a Chadian doctor in charge of a Protestant hospital located several hours from here (Koyom Hospital).

He and I plan to meet soon to discuss some mutual effort to buy such items elsewhere together. 

And Then I Had A Tap At The Door

A couple of white guys greeted me at my door. A French doctor and his son.

This doctor worked at another hospital in Chad that has an MRI, CT scan, big lab, etc. But this hospital didn’t survive the economic crisis and will close next month.

The doctor has decided to stay in Chad and open his own clinic. He wants to provide excellent care and plans to have all his own diagnostic machine and the best equipment.

He told me he had heard about G2 and was curious to know why we had such a good reputation.

He said, “You’re out here at the end of the world! I’m surprised that anyone would come here!”

He has a relationship with a Swiss humanitarian organization and just brought 30 hospital beds into Chad.

He’s able to bring in two forty-foot containers each year with meds and medical supplies.

God is good!

Blessings,
Bert