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

January 12, 2010

In Memory of Datoloumbeye Poltazar Lol

Dear Brothers and Sisters and Supporters of Mission: Chad,

It is with heavy hearts for our loss that we are writing to let you know that on Sunday, January 10th., the pastor of Village Altonodji, Datoloumbeye Poltazar Lol, died. The Lord took him home after a sudden and short illness, the last few days of which were spent in the hospital in N'djamena, the capital city. The funeral is Wednesday, January 13th., in N'djamena; some of the children from the village will be there too. By our standards, Lol was a man in the prime of his life. As is so often the case in Chad, the exact cause of death is not known to us. Lol leaves behind his wife, Esther, and their three children, the twin girls, Lajoie and Lapaix (9 years old), and their son, L'elu (5 years old). Widowhood in Chad is never, ever easy.

This is also a hard blow to the life and work of the orphan village. It feels like an arrow in my heart as I write this. Pastor Lol was the orphans' pastor, bible teacher in school (he taught all 290 children, from first through 10th grades), and personal counselor. He spent his days, all day long, with the children, and just this winter plans were in place to begin building a home for him and his family in the village itself, since his presence was so strategic. His personal pilgrimage of faith and ministry, from his own life as a tough kid on the streets of the capital city, where he had been sent to be raised by his brother (Lol was one of 74 children of his polygamous father, a tribal chief!), through his dramatic conversion, to his founding of an effective ministry to the roughest gangs of the city, to his advanced theological education, first at ESTES (the school Misson: Chad supports) and then even to a master's degree in Nigeria, of which he was justly proud (rare opportunities and ccomplishments in Chad), to his commitment to Village Altonodjii is an encouraging story of God's "amazing grace" and gifting (you can read his story on our website). Lol was a man of faith, integrity, and compassion, with a big heart and sharp mind, uniquely gifted, trained, and seasoned with experience for his ministry at VA.

In our shock and sorrow, we trust this same grace of our Lord in Lol's death, knowing that the wisdom of God's ways, though always just and loving, are almost always beyond our understanding. When I wrote Lol's story at the beginning of 2009, having just spent long hours with him in Chad and at the village, I prefaced his story with the text of Psalm 68:5:

"A Father of the fatherless
and a protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation."
 

Lol's death reminds us that now, more than ever in these days of mourning here and in Chad, the Lord will show his faithfulness toward his wife and his own children, as well as toward the many children and staff of the village, who relied on Lol as the Lord's instrument in their lives. We may not know how, but we can, and must trust him to do so.

Please join us in praying for the village and for Lol's family in the days to come. Any support you would like to send for Esther and his children will be passed on to them; I am sure they will be more grateful than we can know.

Thank you for your love for the children of Chad, whom we support at VA, and for the pastors, like Lol, that we train at ESTES; his death and their lives make this work seem that much more important today.

Scott Hafemann
President, Mission: Chad

 

Pastor Lol