Prayer Letter

As I wrote in my last newsletter, this last three months has been a time of handover and letting go. Mostly that has gone well although there have been some unexpected challenges related to hospital management that haven't been easy.

I survived my last time covering Cleopas's annual leave, in fact it went more smoothly than it has previously for which I'm grateful!

Since I last wrote, we have had some new equipment arrive (see photos). One is an autoclave which we ordered via a supplier in N'Djamena over a year ago (yes, a year!) and it finally arrived 10 days ago. This was provided by funding from outside of Chad. However, one exciting recent acquisition for the hospital, purchased with hospital-generated income, is a new ultrasound machine. This has been something that we've needed for a long time and it's been great to finally be able to order it and have it here to use.

In the last couple of months, I've also project-managed a small extension to the house my BMS colleagues the Hamlets live in and also an overhaul of the solar power system at my BMS colleague Kalbassou's house. Hopefully both sets of home improvements will be a blessing to those who live in these houses both now and in the future.

Other than receiving new hospital equipment and managing a couple of small projects, I've been busy with handing over many things to different people. BMS team accounts, BMS team vehicles, housing, solar to name a few. I've also finally succeeded in getting a hospital policy revised and agreed by the management team, something that's been on the backburner for a long, long time.

Thank you to those who prayed about my visa renewal. Thankfully, after a misunderstanding on the part of the immigration officials, it was issued at the end of August. Visa renewal is one of the official procedures here that I won't miss! It always goes ok in the end but there inevitably always seems to be a small hitch in the process!

Leaving Chad is not an easy process for me, despite me being at peace about the decision. The many endings and goodbyes, that started in earnest about 2 weeks ago, are hard and emotional. I am consciously trying to 'end well' both at the hospital and with my friendships outside of the hospital. It's emotionally draining, but I am trying not to bury the sadness and feel what I'm feeling in real time. I'm grateful to BMS for their pastoral care support, which has been so helpful to me for a while now. I have a farewell meal with the pharmacy staff coming up and then a farewell gathering with the other international residents at Guinebor. How grateful I am that I have such a community here that is hard to leave! I'm also grateful that I have family and close friends waiting to welcome me back to the UK. The transition period is in full flow and I'm grateful for your prayers for ongoing peace and discernment as I walk this road out of Chad and back to the UK. A couple of weeks ago I started the process of getting my flat in Torquay back and so I'll hopefully be able to move back into it at some point in January. I still have little idea what I'll be doing for work once I leave BMS in the middle of January, but I'm confident that God's already there, He knows where and with whom He wants me to work and serve Him in the UK and He'll make it clear to me in due course.

Praise and prayer points

Praise points:

Arrival of new hospital equipment

Good execution of the two home improvement projects

Good handovers

Positive time covering Cleopas's annual leave in pharmacy

Visa renewed

Prayer points:

More rain – crops have been severely affected and there's a risk of food insecurity in Chad

That those taking on the various aspects of my role will have wisdom and energy to do them

For good endings both within and outside of the hospital

For me as I continue to process the goodbyes and endings and think about re-entering the UK

Guidance for my next steps in the UK (especially regarding a job)

I won't be doing a full home assignment programme when I'm back in the UK, but BMS will be hosting three celebration events of my time Chad, one in person and two online, which anyone is welcome to. All events will be the same in terms of the presentation given.

In-person celebration event

Date: Sunday 25 October 2026

Venue: Upton Vale Baptist Church, Torquay

Time: 12.30pm lunch followed by presentation of my time in Chad

Online celebration event

Date: Monday 9 November 2026

Venue: Microsoft Teams (sign-up available soon on the BMS website https://bmsworldmission.org/events)

Time: 12.30-1.45pm

Online celebration event

Date: Tuesday 10 November 2026

Venue: Microsoft Teams (sign-up available soon on the BMS website https://bmsworldmission.org/events)

Time: 7.30-8.45pm

Signing off from Guinebor for the last time! Thank you all so much for all your prayers over the years. My next newsletter will come from me in the UK.

Blessings

Claire