Helping the Church in Chad rescue orphans and widows,
train leaders, and share
the Gospel

September 7, 2009

New Life for the Heart of a Chadian Missionary

God leads where He will, and in this instance, we have come full circle. Sometimes that means having the privilege of seeing how the many pieces become the whole. And as for this young, courageous Chadian missionary, God must have something very special in mind.

By Steven Hoffman

While visiting Chad in December 2007, members of the Mission:Chad board and a medical doctor who customarily partners and travels with us had the opportunity to visit both the Village Altonodji orphan center in Moundou and the Shalom Evangelical School of Theology (ESTES) in N'djamena. On one occasion, while Prof. Scott Hafemann was teaching at the bible school, Doctor Wes Howard and I visited there and videotaped interviews with students and faculty members. One of the interviewees was a young man with an interesting story who was in his final year of college and about to graduate. His story was a compelling one as he told about being born into a Muslim family, and his eventual conversion to Christ. The sparkle in his eyes and the tone of his expression proclaimed boldly his love for the Lord. He made clear his intentions for the future as he expressed a great deal of compassion for those who lived in the village where he came from. "It is clear, I will reach my people with the gospel. I will go back to (my home). Naturally, I am one of them, I will go back and stay with them for the gospel", he said.
 

With Mahamat in our prayers and hearts and minds, a serious attempt was made to secure the badly needed surgery in the United States, but in the final steps, the hospital was not willing to assume the liability. By spring, Mahamat had graduated from ESTES and began serving God in the mission field in a remote Chadian region. With that, our communication with Mahamat—through the bible college—was all but lost.
 

 continues in their own words:

Upon graduation from seminary, Mahamat and Ashta (his wife) were called by their church denomination to serve in the town of Melfi. There Mahamat began challenging work as the pastor of the local church. The region around Melfi is almost 100% non-Christian people groups. The environment is often hostile, but Mahamat felt sure of his calling. Since he had benefited from a Christian boarding school during his high school studies, he was committed to providing a similar boarding environment for young students leaving the village for the first time to pursue their studies. He worked hard on arranging for the needed building, etc. However, often in the evening he would be completely exhausted. Even reading a book would prove too difficult a task. He wondered if and when he might be able to get treated for his heart condition. He knew such treatment was not available in Chad or in any neighboring country. Where could he go to get treatment? How could he ever pay for it? 
 
In June of this year, Mahamat traveled to the neighboring country of Cameroon in order to get a more thorough examination. He knew he had to have a clear diagnosis if a solution was ever going to be found for his treatment. He went to a modern clinic and added his name to the list of patients waiting for consultations. Finally he was able to see the doctor. The doctor did a heart scan and asked Mahamat to come back the next day to get the results. When Mahamat returned the next day, while waiting to see the doctor he noticed that all of the staff and the nurses at the clinic seemed to be treating him differently. He wondered why. It was almost as if they were being too nice. When he finally was able to see the doctor he understood why. The doctor had found that Mahamat had a "massive leak in his heart valve that would require an urgent valve replacement." The clinic staff had heard of the diagnosis. They knew that the prospect of anyone in central Africa being able to afford such a treatment was next to none. As they looked at Mahamat, they were looking at him as one whose days are numbered.
 
Recently, Mahamat woke up in the middle of the night and felt a sharp pain in his heart. For most of the night, he and his wife thought it was probably his last day on this earth. But morning came and the pain had diminished. The next day Mahamat, in his weakened state, came down with malaria. Once again, however, God was gracious.
 
When he heard that he had been accepted as a patient at Saint Luke hospital in Thessalonica in Greece, it almost seemed like a fairy tale. Mahamat had read of Thessalonica in the Bible, but did such a place really exist? Soon, if all goes as planned, Mahamat will know the answer first hand. As soon as he and his childhood friend and fellow pastor Abdoulaye receive their passports and visas, they will be on a plane headed north.

Mahamat needs our prayer as he is goes forward into this most difficult time. His dedication for spreading the Gospel and his love for the Lord is desperately needed in his part of the world. He needs prayer to ensure that he will be in good enough health prior to the scheduled surgery so he will be able to have the heart valve transplant. He needs prayer for a good and speedy recovery to hasten his return to the mission field to be among those he loves.

A short excerpt of the interview with Mahamat at ESTES in 2007 is contained in the video: "The Servant Maker" which can be viewed here.

"What is amazing at all is God's grace in my life. He made me a Christian, His child."
...Mahamat