Dear Family and Friends,
Overloaded trucks, cows on motorbikes, and seriously heavy burdens… oh my! As comical as these pictures are, these frequent sights in Africa cause pause for us to reflect more deeply on how often we, in our striving, struggle under the weight of responsibility and worries of life. Mathew 11:28-30 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” These verses serve as a reminder to trust God with every area of life and to rest in His perfect plan for our lives. It is an invitation to lay our burdens and weariness at His feet and take up the yoke of freedom and grace that He has for us. As we conclude the first half of this year we praise God for what He Has done and we approach the needs we have with peace, knowing that we can choose the light yoke the Father offers us.
PRAISES:
- Philippe, Brenna and Oliver, 2, welcomed Asa Bern Oubre, our seventh grandchild. He was born May 20th. We are so grateful that Brenna and Asa are doing well. Oliver loves his little brother.
- An new IT system was put in place for our cashiers in February. This new system will help in proficiency and better accountability .
- Our new Brazilian missionary couple, Mailson and Johanna, arrived in March and have well settled into life in Chad even with the hot season heat, cultural and language challenges. Mailson is an emergency room physician and Johanna is a family practitioner.
- We are so grateful that Dr. Martin Mauser, a German surgeon, was able to come and spend a month helping at the hospital.
SUPPLICATIONS:
- Debbie will be returning to Chad for two weeks July 29th– August 13th. Pray for safety, good health and that she might be an encouragement to the teammates on the field. Bert will be staying with his son, Greg, and Lily in Texas during that time.
- As you might have heard, Chad is not issuing new visas for Americans as a counter response to America not issuing visas to Chadians. Please pray that these decisions will be reversed as many missionaries are facing uncertainty with regards to staying and/or returning to Chad in the near future.
- Our solar power system at the hospital is having some problems. Please pray for some quick solutions so that we can decrease the use of our generator as diesel fuel as become more difficult to find at times and is costly.
- That the new believers will grow in their faith and be a true testimony to those around them.
- Skip, our grandson, is starting to smile and babble more. Continue to pray that he that he would not suffer complications due to his prematurity. Pray for Joël and Jenny as they have to adjust to the ups and downs of Skip’s prematurity.
- Last week, Debbie’s 100 ½ year old father woke up to not being able to see. Dad explains it as being in a very thick fog. It was discovered that he had a bleed of unknown origin in both eyes. The specialist thinks that it will take a bit of time but the bleed will be reabsorbed in time. Dad still lives alone but without vision other decisions will have to be made. Pray for complete healing and wisdom for the future. As with every new system installed, there is a big learning curve. Please pray for patience for our patients and staff as the new IT system is being implemented!
- We continue to have urgent needs for personnel: general surgeon, OB/GYN, anesthesiologist, CRNA, IT specialist, physical therapist.
We continue to covet your prayers for the work in Chad with its many challenges! Thanks for your continued partnership through encouragement, prayers, and support!
In Him,
Bert and Debbie Oubre
