Dear Family and Friends,
Summer is one of my favorite times of the year!
When I think of summer the words that come to mind are: new beginnings, growth, pruning, and lots of work! I love working my garden and flower beds, pulling weeds, and just being outside!
It is so amazing to see how we sometimes think that a favorite plant did not survive the winter, but suddenly a small green shoot can be seen coming out of the ground. Sometimes, despite our hard work it seems that weeds grow the best.
I have found that it is so easy to pull out the delicate plant by accident as I am trying to pull out a weed whose roots, especially thistles, are tenacious! The weeds roots seem to be never ending and appear to go from one side of the flower bed to the other!
This image makes me think of Christian life! Recently I have been meditating on the fruits of the Spirit (Galatian 5:22-23). Growth, in our spiritual life, can be difficult as we don’t always want to be stretched! Instead of showing those fruits in our lives we seem to allow the weeds to show forth! Pray with us as we continue to grow in the Lord and the work that He has for us!
We have been so blessed over the many years by the people that have come into our lives unexpectantly and helped meet a need that we are having.
For example, my parents are part of a senior center where the women would get together and make various projects for the local community.
When my mother told them about our hospital in Chad, one of the women, Lois, started knitting and getting others to make these beautiful little newborn sets to use in our maternity department at Guinebor 2 Hospital.
Lois and her friends knitted so many of them that we were also able to send some to Meskine Hospital in Cameroon. Even though my mother has passed away, Lois and other women are continuing to knit matching little sacs and hats for the babies of Chad.
I will be returning to Chad with a suitcase full of these buntings. Another example are the non-profit organizations, Faith in Action Initiatives (FIAI) and SOS. They have been a big help to our ministry in the last two years.
Their goal is to recover and redistribute the surplus medical supplies. Faith in Action Initiatives, bswhealth.com, is part of the largest-not-for-profit health care system in Texas.
It receives supplies from Baylor Scott & White Health and donates them to other needy organizations in the USA and overseas, and disaster relief.
Stephanie Piotrski introduced us to SOS, soshealthandhope.org, located in Louisville, Kentucky.
SOS supplied Stephanie with four large duffel bags full of medical supplies when she visited Chad in January.
I will be returning to Chad with supplies provided by FIAI and SOS in August. The staff at SOS and FAIA have always been so welcoming, helpful, and willing to serve us in any way they can.
The last example I’d like to share began in February 2023, when one of our missionaries was contacted by a Swiss audiologist, Ben von Gunten, founder of Ecoute-moi (French for Listen to Me), goal is to reach people with hearing problems.
Many countries in Africa do not have access to the instruments needed for proper hearing evaluations, plus hearing aids are expensive.
In addition, opportunities for audiology training in French are also not very accessible.
Ben and his family had worked in Cameroon for 10 years but had to leave because of insecurity and civil war in the Bamenda area.
Ben started working in Chad in 2019 partnering with the School of the Deaf in N’Djamena. But he felt that there was still a piece missing to his work and was looking for a hospital to partner with.
After discussion and prayer, it was decided that Guinebor 2 Hospital would partner with Ecoute-moi to open an audiology department testing newborn hearing to begin with. This department has been opened since January 2024.
One of our staff members, Moussa Alina, started on-line courses for audiology working with Alice, a Chadian Ecoute-moi staff, that had been trained in audiology.
Ecoute-moi has provided all the technology need for audiology testing and the continuing education, on-line and in person, to Moussa. Once again, God used these surprise contacts to bring a needed service to the Chadians! www.ecoute-moi.ch.
We want to continue to thank each of you for being part of our team, encouraging and praying for us, and supporting us financially!
Please contact us if you would like more information about the work in Chad. We would love to personally chat with you and tell you more about what the Lord is doing!
In Him,
Debbie for the family
