Pray for Esther!

There is a girl at the Adventist school, Esther, who struggles with satanic possession. She has tried many things and can't seem to get ride of her demonic squatters. Just today she had an episode at school. She took off her clothes and ran around campus in her bra and underwear. Some of the staff saw what was taking place and tried to stop her. First, they had to chase after her all around campus. Then they had to hold her tight as they tried to talk to and pray for her. She was trying to wrench her arms from their grip. Esther ended up falling on the floor from fighting their grip.

In the end she snapped out of it. She even asked why the teachers had her on the ground although she was the one who got on the ground. She didn't remember anything about her episode. After hearing what had happened she thanked the teachers for praying for her. 

Esther realizes that pray is the only thing that can help her. All she can turn to is God. However, her family thinks she is crazy for trusting in the power of prayer. They want her to go to a witch doctor. Although Esther continues to refuse visiting the witch doctor her parents won't give up. They put various "remedies" they received from the witch doctor into her meals and drinks. She has to be very careful now and her prayers have become more intense.

Just like Esther, I and the other missionaries believe in the power of prayer. All of the missionaries have signed up for a hour slot to pray for Esther. That doesn't mean we are praying for her for a full hour. It just means that every hour God is hearing a plea for Esther from somebody's lips. I am hoping that even more people will start praying for her as well. That is why I am posting this blog. Please remember Esther and keep her in your prayers. 

Pastor Rich's Visit

I was able to see Pastor Rich this week. (For those of you that don't know who Pastor Rich is, he is my school chaplain and is also in charge of the SMs). It was a very short, but very fun visit. Although his ticket said he would be in Tchad for four days (5 depending on how you count the days), only one of those days was spent in Bere. 

It was women's day during his day visit. Therefore, he was able to see and do more then a typical Sabbath day. A woman preached in church, which is really rare/never happens in Tchad, and Danae bought presents for all the women in the congregation. The sad thing about Bere, or at least near the hospital, many people aren't very appreciative. Most women just took the gift and left without saying thank you. It was an expensive gift (for Tchad) and you would expect them to be more thankful. 

Thankfully, there were many gifts left over, so we went to the bush to pass out the left overs. We drove 5 or 6 km and began handing out the presents. You could really see the difference between people near the hospital and people in the bush. Everyone in the bush was very grateful. All the women said thank you multiple times. Some even shrilled and danced with excitement. 

After that experience Pastor Rich and I were suppose to go to a traditional party. I wanted him to see and try the traditional dances. Although I asked many times (and was told) wheter the festivities would be after sundown they weren't. By the time we returned from passing out the presents (basically sundown), the party was ending. But to make things more interesting there was an emergency operation that Pastor Rich was able to scrub in for. It was a strangulated hernia, and the perfect surgery for him to be a surgeon's aid.

Hernias are typically short and easy to do. So there wasn't to much stress about messing up or things going wrong. Pastor Rich did a wonderful job. He looked like a pro surgeon....well he looked like a pro if you didn't watch what he was doing with his hands. He was holding the clamps and compresses with confidence though. Overall I think Pastor Rich really enjoyed himself. We both had a great time. 

My Apologies

So...I have a lot of apologizing to do. Today I was approached about many things that I have done, written, or said. I was too close to circumstance or situations and I knew it too. Although I let things rest for a week or two I still wasn't able to see the full picture. Even now after being told about things it is hard for me to understand or fully grasp their meaning, although I am trying to. (Ok, let's be real, I knew that there was a problem with my writing because my mom called me out on it last week. However, I didn't realize how deep the problem really was until now. That is why I wrote the clarification post trying to remedy the situation and stuff like that. I should have approached it in a different way, and probably would have if I had heeded my mother's warning).

In regards to my blogs, I was writing how I speak. I say stuff to get it off my chest and then move on. However, I didn't think about how everyone could see what I have written. In my mind I was writing to close friends and family. They knew how I am and understood, why I said or wrote the things I did. (Although I'm sure the though that everyone could see it was somewhere in the back of my mind. However, I didn't give the thought much attention). Like I said, I say what I need to say to get things off my chest, and then move on. That isn't a good thing, even saying some of the things I wrote is bad in itself. Just yesterday Charis read a section of Steps to Christ to me and it really hit home. 

The passage talked about how you should be careful what you say out loud because Satan can take those doubts and use them against you. We have also been talking about not complaining. When I took the test to see how much I complained my results said that I complain a bit, but for the most part I was good. I don't know if I have been lying to myself or how I got those results. But I do know that I complain more than I realize and it is a problem. Yeah, I try not to dwell on the situation, but I still complain. Literally, last night I prayed to God to help me become more like him. I don't want to be known as a complainer or anything else that isn't in His likeness. I was having trouble sleeping because I was thinking about that and various other things. (I still went to sleep pretty early because I have had trouble sleeping lately). And when I woke up God started showing me all the things I need to change.

They are all connected in a way, so it seems like a lot to me. But it probably isn't as much work as I think it is. Anyways, one of my main problems was that I had a plank in my eye. I had more than a plank in my eye; my eyes were (and still are) plastered shut with cement. I don't know how I was able to find the speck in everyone else's eyes, but somehow I did. 

I have known that I have a really hard time getting my point across when I write. In my head I am writing one thing, but my audience is reading the total opposite of what I mean. Between my cemented eyes and unclear writing skills, I have lead everyone to believe that I am something I'm not. In the past I would never call myself prideful although I knew I wasn't totally humble. I would call myself a work in progress. Now I realize how prideful I truly am. I had to be slapped back to reality because I was too far gone to see the truth. 

I know I am being very vague right now, but every time I try to be more specific I start to cry. I'm usually not an emotional person, but I guess that is one of the many changes that took place during this trip. I cried so hard that I began sobbing and almost induced an asthma attack. I haven't done that since I was a kid... Anyways, the truth hurts, but it can also set you free. So, I have a lot of work to do now that I recognize my downfalls. If I have wronged you in any way I will seek you out to make things right. It wasn't my intention to hurt people, but I now realize I have. And for that I am truly sorry. 

PS: I have a lot of people to apologize to, so if I have wronged you in any way and haven't come to apologize please let me know. I don't want to overlook anyone. 

My Crazy Vacation

Danae and Olen gave us a week off for a vacation. They said that most SMs get really homesick and run down around this time of year. Therefore, they are trying something new to help the SMs make it to the end of their trip. 

We had full rein for where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do during our vacation. There aren't many options in Tchad. There was either Moundou, N'Djamena, or Zakouma, which is the only national park in Tchad. Zakouma is a really expensive trip so we narrowed it down to N'Djamena and Moundou. In the end the guys decided they wanted to go to N'djamena while the girls went to Moundou. 

My vacation week was very interesting. Before leaving for Moundou we decided to go to the grand marché. It was a very new and interesting experience. Naomi was with acting as our tour guide. She showed us where we could find everything in the market and explained what everything was. After looking around for a bit we stopped by the delegate's house to wash our feet and get water. The delegate was very generous and let me buy an axe from him. No one had seen an ax carved in that fashion and the guy who carved it had died. It was a very special ax.

Moundou was crazy! Tammy and Jaime were planning on going to Moundou the same day as Charis and I, so they drove us down. We went around and shopped with each other and filled the pick up to the brim with souvenirs and stuff for the hospital. Then after lunch at the Gardener's house Tammy and Jamie took all that we bought home with them. (The Gardeners, Scott and Becky, are the new doctors at the Adventist hospital in Moundou. They let us stay on their compound for free and made sure we had everything we needed).

We ate a full pizza the first meal then got egg sandwiches and drank two smoothies the next. Honestly, the only reason we went to Moundou was to eat. There is no cheese, eggs, or smoothies in Bere. (Well there are smoothies in Bere, but they are giardia flavored). We ate anything and everything that Bere didn't have to offer. We went to the Coton Tchad club, which had a tennis court, free internet, and a swimming pool (that wasn't filled with water yet). There were a lot of non-Tchadians there and I had slight culture shock. 

Charis and I walked to the market for a second look. Everyone was staring at us and honking trying to get our attention. We are always show stopper in Tchad. However, we just ignored the men and enjoyed the walk. They are like annoying flies to us. At one point a teenage boy tried to steal money from Charis. 

We were looking at shoes in the market and he acted like he was trying to pick up shoes that were right in front of Charis' purse. I told Charis to watch out and snatched her purse out the way. I gave the boy a dirty look and we quickly walked off before he could try anything else. He was shock that a nasara caught him. 

Moundou is a crazy city! It is the second largest city in Tchad and you have to be wary of everyone. It is the total opposite of Bere. Once in a while you hear about someone stealing something, but in Moundou if they aren't thieves then they cheat you with inflated prices or bad products. It is a very sad, but true reality. 

We decided to take a clando back to the hospital. (A clando is a motorcycle taxi). Both Charis and I hopped on the back of the moto and settled down. We drove for 3 seconds and were hailed by an officer. The officer was on a moto too and riding next to us. He was speaking very quickly and I didn't know what he was saying. The clando driver responded very short to the police man and took off. 

He was weaving through traffic and kept looking back to see if the police man was chasing after him. Every time he looked back we almost crashed. I was holding a souvenir gourd basket in my hand and almost hit multiple pedestrians and motorcyclists with it. I tried my best to move it out of the way, but there was no where to put it. Both Charis and I were just screaming and trying to find anything and everything to hang on too. It felt like we were in Fast and Furious or Need for Speed. Maybe it was more like turbo; we were the snail trying to avoid the big cars.

Praise God we made it to the hospital safely! We paid the man and quickly ran into the compound. We weren't sure if the police man was after us or the clando driver. Later Becky told us the officer was trying to stop us because there were three people on the moto. You are only allowed to ride two people per moto. That is a rule in Bere too, but they aren't as strict as in Moundou. We ride three on a moto all the time, so we didn't realize that's what the police officer was trying to say. 

Another thing Becky told us was that she felt impressed to pray for us during that moment. She didn't know why, but she sent up a prayer for us anyways. God put a hedge of protection around us and sent many angels down from heaven to protect us during our flight. Praise God!

The power of pray is amazing. Although prayers don't change God's mind it can change your mind. And from there you can change things. Prayer does internal work. I like how Oswald Chambers describes it in his book If You Will Ask. He compares prayer to falling in love. The circumstances are the same, but they way you think about the person has changed. I know both Charis and I were definitely praying on the moto. After talking to Becky about our experience we started talking about how powerful the situation was. Things really hit home after that experience. I know you probably don't understand unless something similar happened to you, but prayer is a powerful thing. It reveals the character of God. If we were less me-centered when we pray and ask for the life of God in us imagine what a blessing our life would be. The changes prayers like that would bring would be incredible! I know it is against our "natural tendencies" and will be hard. However, based on this experience and the little taste of what prayer can do I know that it is worth it. 

Another blessing during our vacation was we ran into the accountants of Bere hospital at the Adventist hospital in Moundou. It turns out they were leaving the same day as us. Therefore, we were able to travel with each other back to Bere, help translate things and ensure our safety. Honestly, it was a bigger blessing then I thought it was.

Charis and I weren't really sure whether it was better to take a car taxi or the bus. Honestly, we didn't even know were the taxi and bus station was. We were just going to ask the clando man where to go and hope it was the right place. Once we figured out which form of transportation to take, we planned to take clandos from Kelo to Bere. (All transportation stops in Kelo, which is about a hour away from Bere. So you have to find someone in specific that is willing to drive you the rest of the way). That was the plan Charis and I had. Now let me explain what really happened, and why it was a major blessing having the accountants with us. 

There were no buses leaving at the time we needed, so we had to find a car taxi. However, there were none there. Hwamo, one of the accountants, called his goto taxi driver who drove us to Kelo. We were squeezed into the car. The four of us were in back, while three other random people were crammed into the front. (Hwamo is easily 6' 5" and he had no leg room. I don't know how he made it through the 2 hour car drive).

As soon as stepped out of the car (in Kelo) we were swamped by people. Most of them were clando drivers, but all of them men seeking an American wife. Hwamo quickly found us another car to take us to Bere and rushed us into it. (If you haven't noticed Hwamo was Mr. bossman). We were sitting in the car for 15 minutes baking in the heat because the driver wasn't ready to go. Everyone wanted to get into our business. The clando drivers were trying to get us to take motos instead of the car for cheaper, or they were trying to talk to Charis and I. 

At one point they opened the car door and were tell me to get out. (I was on the end, Charis was in the middle, and Jacque, the other accountant, was on the other end). I didn't know what to do. Jacque reached across the car and pulled the door shut for me. I quickly locked the door. After that people reached their arms through the front window attempting to unlock my door. I had to put my hand over the lock and smack people's hands away. Finally, Hwamo got really frustrated and said something to all the men. I don't know what he said, but somehow he got all the men to go away! Then Hwamo said something to the driver and he reluctantly came to drive us to Bere. Sigh...all I can say is praise God Charis and I didn't have to travel alone.  God is continually working in my life to keep me safe, and I know he is doing the same in yours as well. 

Quick update on the yeast infection clinic!

God has blessed me with generous friends and family. I have received over $300 in donations. Naomi and I were able to do more than we ever dreamed of doing with the money. The yeast infection clinic use to be run out of Naomi's house after the missionary couple left. People would come knocking on her door at various hours of the day (and night) pleading her for treatment. She would invite them in, give them food and a place to stay on top of medication. It was a nice thing to do, but it intruded on Naomi's life and the lives of her children. She and her kids would accommodate for whoever showed up, which meant less sleep and comfort for them. 

Thankfully, we had enough money to build a building for the infection clinic all because of your donations. It is still near Naomi's house, however, the patient, Naomi, and her family can all be comfortable now. We were able to buy enough supplies and natural remedies to treat hundreds of people. From huge cases of vinegar and syringes to citron trees, we have all that we need for infection clinic can be self-sustaining.

The building is still in construction, but pictures are soon to follow this post. Once it is finished I will post pictures of the building itself and the many other things your donations have provided. We are now able to brainstorm of ways to help people who can't pay for the treatment and ways to teach prevention. There are many people who have yeast infections that are embarrassed to seek help. We are brainstorming how to reach those people as well. 

For example, after one of our health lectures in the bush our CHWs (community health workers) and TBAs (traditional birth attendants) approached us. One of the CHWs asked us why his wife seems to be infertile after she stopped taking contraceptives. They have been trying to have children for two years now without results. I replied that there can be many reasons why they are unable to have children. Therefore, they should ask the doctors for more specifics. However, I listed a few things that can cause infertility in women and men. One of the things I listed was infections. 

I quickly explained how infections can add many complications to pregnancies and other simple concept they may have not known. It turned out that his wife seemed to be suffering from yeast infections, therefore the CHW probably had a yeast infection too. Naomi and I told him to come for treatment and thanked him for his honesty. We explained how many people are embarrassed and don't want to talk about things like that. Because they keep their mouths shut they are never able to fix the problem they have been suffering with. I told the CHWs and TBAs to try and keep their ears to the ground for people with medical problems they aren't addressing.

After my comment about people being embarrassed about their medical problems, genital problems in specific, one person after another admitted that they had a problem as well. The whole group, 8 people in total, were struggling with yeast infections. If all the workers in that quartier (small district in Bere) had yeast infections you can imagine how many people in the community have the same problem. Your donations are helping to change many people's lives.