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To say that life is very hard for the Christians of Chad in N'djaména right now is an understatement. Already among the poorest of the city due to their being "outsiders" in so many ways, the devastation brought about by the rebel attack this month hits the church especially hard. Few have any resources to fall back on. Many are now facing the most basic needs of thirst and hunger. With the markets having been burned and looted, food is now extremely expensive. They need our help. And since N'djaména is Chad's main financial and commercial center, with the capital disrupted the whole country is in distress – getting basic supplies elsewhere becomes difficult as well.
Mission Chad cannot, of course, help everyone. We can, however, assist those we know and to whom we are committed – so please help us help them at this time of dire need. Because of our relationships and ongoing work there, we have direct connections to the leaders who can assess the needs and distribute the money (Pastor Bako for the churches and orphans; Pastor Mardochee for the families at the bible school). Water, food, blankets, and medicine are the top priorities. People who are suffering so much often feel all alone and forgotten. To reach out to them now encourages them that God has not forgotten them in their suffering, since we, their family of faith, even from very far away, have not forgotten them.
We all know that there are two kinds of expenses in life: planned and unplanned. Suzie will need braces, so we start saving for them. But then she falls off her bike and breaks her leg badly, so we have to buy those expensive crutches and keep going to physical therapy when the insurance runs out. We have our weekly offering at church but we also reach out to the family who has just lost their house in a fire.
Jesus talked about the regular giving of offerings (Luke 21:1-4) but he also spoke about giving alms to the needy (Luke 12:33). As these passages make clear, he also called for sacrificial giving in both kinds of giving! The Good Samaritan was not expecting to give that day but encountered the beaten man "by chance" (Luke 10:31). Indeed, God's people will be known through their giving water, food, and clothing to fellow believers, as the embodiment of Christ himself in this world, when they were destitute, unclothed, and in prison (Matthew 25:35-40). In Philippi Paul organized a weekly collection of money for those who were suffering from the famine around Israel (2 Corinthians 8:1-5); but the church in Philippi also gave to Paul himself when he was unexpectedly arrested and put in prison (Philippians 1:7; 4:10-20).
Long-term giving and short-term giving. Both are needed and both are acts of faith that honor God. Trusting that God will meet our needs not only in the long-haul but also this week, God's people give freely to others regularly and when they least expect to do so. One cannot cancel out the other, since it is the same Lord who brings us into both situations, and who wants to show his love through us in both kinds of giving.
We certainly did not expect this crisis. When we were in Chad in December, we were so excited about all that God has done through your regular giving! That will go on. Now we are saddened by the new wave of suffering to hit God's people in this place of strategic witness to the gospel. Our confidence, however, is that God uses just such suffering to showcase his faithfulness and to strengthen our faith, both as givers and as those who receive. So we are called to trust God by giving now, unexpectedly, and above what we had planned.
Please join us in this latest challenge – so that our faith might strengthen the faith of those in N'djamena, who now have to trust God in times of great, unexpected need and an unknown future. In doing so, our prayer is that our giving will encourage them not to lose hope in God, knowing that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18), for it is "in this hope we were saved" (Romans 8:24).
Scott Hafemann
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