A change is as good as a rest

The day we arrived back Mark had to do a major abdominal surgical operation. The initial phone call came whilst we were still in Gouro and asked if we would be arriving the next day, as someone had been shot and they wanted to wait for us to arrive back rather than travel across the mountains and sandy desert to Faya, over 24 hours journey away. Fortunately, we were due back the next morning and telephone instructions as to what to do meanwhile were given. The flight between Gouro and Bardai is less than 2 hours so the patient was operated the following afternoon, earlier than he would have been if he had had to travel to the next hospital. We are pleased to say he is doing well, also, as the anaesthetist is back Andrea was able to look after our 6 guests who had come with us from Gouro, stayed the night with us, then left the next day for Ndjamena. A delicious celebration main meal was provided by a local Teda lady so Andrea didn’t have to cook straight away only make sure we had an evening meal and water and bedding for the night.

Our time in Ndjamena was very useful for doing administration and planning our home assignment later in the year, which would have been impossible from Bardai with the poor internet. We also had some time for rest and swimming and a chance to chat easily with family and friends by What’s app and Zoom, both Ruth and Rebecca are fine and busy. It was definitely a good change.

We spent the last few days in Ndjamena before we left for Gouro organising a small amount of surgical supplies and drugs, as despite drugs being brought up by the last plane the hospital was still low on stock.  We didn’t have much weight available  so had to decide what really mattered, some things were easy -no surgical gloves or blades, definitely needed! We need now to work out how to get the rest of the supplies we need. We are  still short of nurses too and unfortunately were unable to go to the health ministry as Dr Abdelkerim was not available in Ndjamena due to family commitments in the south of the country. However, it seems that the contracts for the nurses we had before are likely to be renewed, which would be great, as the military nurses who are helping out are not the most enthusiastic of workers. We hope Dr Abdelkerim will arrive with both nurses and drugs by the end of the month. We continue to work on fixing the X-ray, the recent visit has identified the problem and we are waiting to find out how much a replacement part will cost. It’s good to have renewed energy to tackle the same issues again.

Going to Gouro on the way back was a good change, it is a beautiful sandy desert oasis on the edge of the Tibesti mountains. There are plenty of sand dunes some of which climb steeply up the rocky cliffs. We were able to climb one and hear it “sing”; a strange polyphonic sound that rose to a crescendo. It is caused by sand grains rubbing against each other in small avalanches. We also visited a more or less  intact French fort last used by the Libyan invaders in the 1980’s and an older Turkish fort that was partly blown away by the winds but still interesting to see. We travelled  there with a senior member of the  local men’s NGO, Nime Tomba who work with our ADP colleagues on a local school project, teaching initial school years including  reading and writing in their mother tongue, Dazaga rather than French.  Local members organised all our food and lodgings during the 4 days we were there,  and they all work together to improve the life of the town. There is also a similar women’s group, whom we met, they make  coffee and honey from dates, and have run a training course for birth attendants and one for computer skills. Our visit there enabled us to see the solar well that has been provided for the medical centre and to consider what might help in the future in terms of health care, working along-side a group of people who are seeking to help themselves.

We give thanks for

Being up to date(nearly) with Administration

Our visit to Gouro and the work being done there

Our time of rest and relaxation in Ndjamena

We pray for

Election results and peace in Chad

A solution for the X-ray

Nurses to return to the Tibesti

Better organisation of the Pharmacy

As it says in Isaiah 55 v12 We feel we have gone out with joy and been led back in peace and we have certainly heard the mountains burst into song. We pray that the words of v 11 may be true for us all as we seek to do Gods will, that his word shall not return empty but accomplish what he purposes and succeed in the thing he has sent it for.

Andrea and Mark