Harnessing the sun

Harnessing the sun

The healing power of solar panels

In a country heavily reliant on fossil fuels, Guinebor II Hospital has recently upgraded its solar panel array thanks to your generous support. BMS World Mission’s Ed Axtell shares the significance of your impact.

“The first thing I did in the morning at the hospital was to listen for the sound of the generator. It was the first thing to tell me if a child had made it through the night” – BMS World Mission doctor, Tom Spears

I can’t remember the last time I truly appreciated power or electricity. Turning the lights on, turning on the heating or connecting to the internet. Even now, I’m sitting and writing this down on a computer, and I don’t give it a second thought. The phrase ‘flip a switch’ reinforces our ‘effortless’ relationship with power: we beckon, it comes running. That’s it. But that just isn’t the case across the world, especially in Chad.

Sun setting on N'Djamena in Chad over a sandy landscape with trees.
Your support is harnessing the sun's power to bring health and hope to Chad.

Located at the crossroads of north and central Africa, Chad is 189 out of 190 in the UN’s Human Development Index (their list of the world’s most fragile states). It’s a tough country to build your life in. Life expectancy is only 52.5 years and on average, children only receive 2.5 years of education. The most sobering figure is that one in nine children in Chad will die before their fifth birthday. N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, has really suffered from a lack of power. With its rapid growth and many people installing air-conditioning, it’s not uncommon for people to be without electricity for five to six hours a day. To combat this, the Government has moved to providing its citizens with diesel-fuelled generators – however this is far from a perfect solution. Besides the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels, there’s also the effects of noise pollution and the respiratory problems this can cause. In a country that, on average, has 264 days of sunlight a year, attention has moved to solar power. And it’s your incredible support that’s making this green revolution possible at Guinebor II Hospital (G2).

G2 has always relied on a combination of diesel generators and its small existing array of lead acid solar panels, however even this system has its issues. The solar system only had 12KW of charge and the invertors it used were intensely complex, meaning that no-one based in Chad could fix them if needed. When someone required oxygen, a small diesel generator would have to be brought round to power the concentrator, as the solar didn’t have enough charge to power them. Imagine being admitted to hospital and receiving the treatment in a stifling hot room pumped full of diesel fumes! Drugs and medication were going out of date due to the storage fridges overheating, surgeries were having to be powered by generators, babies were being delivered by torchlight and there were no fans on the wards. This might seem like a small issue in comparison, but when the temperature can hit 45 degrees, fans are a must. BMS mission workers Mel and Tom Spears describe the challenge presented by most patients choosing to sleep outside because of the heat: mosquito nets aren’t easily installed or available outside, significantly increasing the risk of malaria for the patients.

Three men praying in front of a blue curtain on a hospital ward
BMS doctor Tom Spears knows only too well the negative impact the heat can have on the patients.

The recent overhaul on G2’s solar has meant a massive transformation for the hospital – and it’s possible thanks to you. The recent project, part-funded by BMS supporters, has enabled G2’s solar capacity to increase threefold, allowing the hospital to significantly reduce its dependence on diesel generators. The whole project was also completed alongside a Chadian electrician, allowing local staff to take ownership of the project and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to repair and maintain the solar array.

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With all these improvements, it’s empowered G2 to continue to be an example for hospitals across Chad. New wards being built can now have fans pre-installed, which drastically increases patient comfort and quality of care – especially as some patients were discharging themselves early from the hospital due to the heat! Beyond comfort, it also enables the staff to be able to have greater infection control on the wards. Now, two oxygen concentrators can be run in the same ward purely off solar power. There’s no need for generators in the wards anymore, which is an incredible step forward. On top of all of this, the pharmacy now has air conditioning too (installed on BMS Pharmacist Claire Bedford’s birthday!) This has allowed G2 to significantly reduce the amount of medication being thrown out, saving money but also making sure those that need life-saving medication can get access to it, straight away.

Two pharmacists standing in front of shelves of medical supplies
Life-saving medication can be kept for longer with air-conditioning now installed in the pharmacy.

Throughout all of this, God’s timing has been so evident. As with many large infrastructure projects, the work experienced delays from the beginning, but during this time, lithium batteries became an option for the solar system, which can last six times longer than the lead acid batteries they replaced. Beyond that, the same day the new panels were installed, the oil refinery in Chad closed for maintenance. With diesel practically unobtainable across the country, without the new panels, G2 would have had to pause surgery for six weeks. God’s timing for the project meant solar power kicked in at just the right time, doubtlessly saving many lives.

Thanks to these advances and your, support G2 can continue to stand on the frontline of healthcare, supporting and empowering those that need it the most. A flick of a switch, something we take for granted — but such a weighty and treasured decision in Chad.

Thank you!

Thank you for your ongoing support for BMS work in Chad!

BMS supporters provided a crucial 25 per cent of the funds needed for the solar project in Chad, and we’re so grateful. For the latest about work at G2, stay tuned for an upcoming webstory sharing more about changes to the BMS team in Chad and how you can continue to save lives at this desert hospital. Make sure you never miss a webstory by signing up to our weekly email update today.

Words by Ed Axtell
Content Creator Apprentice, BMS World Mission

Bardaï Hospital appeal

Bardaï Hospital appeal

Help get life-saving healthcare to people in Chad

ambulance graphic



Andrea and Mark in local dress, smiling in the desert sunshine.
You can help Andrea and Mark Hotchkin reach the people of Bardaï with vital healthcare.

Benjamin's life could have been destroyed without Bardaï hospital.

Benjamin was in terrible pain when he first went to Bardaï hospital: what was a minor infection at first had caused his arm to swell to twice its size and lose half its skin.

Can you imagine how frightened you’d feel, seeing your body change beyond recognition, knowing there’s no way you can work or earn money for your family while feeling so ill? And then there’s the stress of knowing that if you can’t work, there’s no way you can afford hospital treatment to get better.

It’s a terrible catch-22 that BMS World Mission workers Andrea and Mark Hotchkin have seen time and again over the last 13 years they’ve been working as doctors in Chad. But your generosity could change everything for people like Benjamin.

Benjamin with two medical staff and a bandaged arm outside the hospital
Could you give to get life-saving healthcare to people like Benjamin today?
How could my gift help?
  • Your £14 could provide specialist equipment like oxygen masks and drip sets to treat two children suffering from respiratory illnesses.
  • Your £25 could cover the cost of treatment for one person, so they don’t have to choose between caring for their family or losing their life.
  • Your £92 could cover the cost of one day of Andrea and Mark Hotchkin’s work providing life-saving healthcare in the Chadian desert.
Give now

Benjamin is just one of the many different patients Andrea and Mark and the team at Bardaï hospital treat every day. Your help is desperately needed to heal children with pneumonia who’ve travelled for over 100 miles across scorching desert with their families, to help people who’ve suffered brutal accidents while working on treacherous gold fields, to assist expectant mothers and, in one of the harshest environments on earth, to welcome new life into the world.

Because Bardaï hospital was there, Benjamin received emergency medical care and skin grafts, and will thankfully be able to return to work soon. Even better, the hospital was able to cover the cost of his treatment, meaning Benjamin has enough money to keep his family fed until he’s well enough to go back to work.

We’re sure that after the last few years, you’re keenly aware of how crucial accessible healthcare is. If you can give today, you can make sure this hospital can keep helping people who can’t carry the financial burden of their treatment.

Andrea and Mark Hotchkin

Wide shot of the hospital, showing three low buildings painted cream and green with a desert background of blue sky and golden sand.
Without this hospital, life in Bardaï would be disastrous. Please give today to help provide life-saving healthcare in Chad.

Ready to give?

Go to our online form

Your gift will help provide life-saving healthcare for the people of Bardaï, Chad.
If our appeal target is exceeded, additional funds will support work in the world’s most marginalised countries, based on where the need is greatest.

Your Harvest legacy

Your Harvest legacy

The gifts you gave are still bearing fruit

Do you ever wonder what happens when BMS World Mission appeals wind down for another year? In this week’s story, you get to find out. We take you back over five previous much-loved Harvest appeals, and learn how your generosity is still bearing fruit in the lives you touched, even years into the future. From Nepal to Afghanistan and Thailand to Chad, here’s the difference you made.

2015: My Father’s House

In 2015, we shared with you the story of Ramu, a man who was paralysed in a terrible truck accident. Like countless others in Nepal, this hardworking father was told that his life was over when the accident shattered his spine. But, thanks to the incredible work of BMS occupational therapist Megan Barker, and your generous support, Ramu has gone on to live a full life that’s been characterised by hope, enabling his young family to flourish alongside him.

A Nepali family stand in front of their home.
Your support helped give Diyu and her family hope in the face of tragedy.
Picture of Alan & Megan Barker
Megan and her husband Alan work to make sure vulnerable families in Nepal get the support they need.

In 2022, Megan Barker was able to revisit Ramu’s family and share with us an encouraging update. The My Father’s House feature video was narrated by Ramu’s daughter Diya, who was then ten years old. Seven years on, Ramu’s children are still doing well at school and the family has saved enough money to buy a scooter, improving their ability to travel. They’ve also invested money in developing their home a lot more since the appeal was filmed, including creating better access to the property. “Ramu and his wife are both fit and well, and are very smiley,” says Megan. “The family are doing well.”

2017: Wonderfully Made

Back in 2017, we introduced you to Adventure Man, Captain Kindness and Mr Determined – aka Tada, Natalie and Phil from Hope Home, a BMS-supported home for children with disabilities in Thailand. Phil is settled with his foster family, and we chatted to mission worker Judy Cook to get an update on how Natalie and Tada are doing.

A Thai girl sat on a climbing frame
Thank you for supporting Natalie through our Wonderfully Made appeal in 2017!

“Natalie is continuing to do well at her special school and loves learning there. Her foster family is amazing and love her dearly, as do we all at Hope Home. On the days when Natalie comes to Hope Home, she loves to come and read to the children as they receive their physiotherapy treatment. She’s so caring!

“Tada is as active, inquisitive and fun-loving as ever. He loves to sing all songs, but especially children’s worship songs and his choice of DVD to watch is Bible stories – his favourite is Elijah! He is now able to slot into a lot more official therapy support at a regional centre, so his speech and general behaviours and development are slowly improving.”

2018: Life’s First Cry

The heartbreak of women in Afghanistan losing their babies to preventable illnesses moved many of you in 2018. The Life’s First Cry feature video took us through the snow-covered mountains of Afghanistan’s central highlands and into the homes of women like Andisha (pictured), who lost her first 11 babies to ill health. A year and a half after filming, we went back to visit Andisha, her husband Mohammed, her daughter Roya and the son she gave birth to after receiving safe birthing classes through your support. Roya, “who is kind of naughty!” explains Andisha, was just about to start school, and Navid, “who is very calm”, was just a toddler. As with any other kids, they were both enjoying playing with their toys and having fun.

A photo of a mother in Afghanistan with her daughter and son

Since helping Andisha’s family in 2018, you’ve also played a part in transforming her community through your ongoing support of BMS work in Afghanistan, bringing sanitary latrines, literacy skills and nutrition courses to her village. So much has changed in Afghanistan since our visit to Andisha’s family, but we know that one thing certainly hasn’t: the commitment and care that BMS supporters feel for the people of this beautiful but often troubled nation. You’ll have another chance to support BMS work in Afghanistan this Christmas, so make sure you’re subscribed to the BMS weekly email update so you don’t miss out.

2020: Operation: Chad

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, you showed incredible support for the amazing staff members at Guinebor II Hospital (G2) in Chad. Now that Covid-19 is less of a threat in Chad, the staff have been able to focus their energies on other crucial medical issues facing the community: namely, malaria and malnutrition.

A man and a woman in scrubs and masks
Brian and Jackie Chilvers have pioneered malnutrition and nursing work at G2 since joining Team Chad in 2021.
A man conducting surgery in Chad.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, you raised over £300,000 for G2 Hospital in Chad.

“The biggest health concern that our neighbours expressed was worry about malaria… some of the things we heard were really heartbreaking, about how many children people have lost,” says Jackie Chilvers, who has joined the G2 team, along with her husband Brain, since Operation: Chad premiered. Fortunately, they’ve been able to help pioneer an education programme to help people understand how to prevent malaria and where medical support for those who contract it is available – whether that be at G2 or through pre-established government programmes. Jackie’s also come alongside BMS worker Mel Spears to set up a malnutrition clinic, to help dangerously ill children get back on track, and enable families to get the right help for their children.

2021: I Will Stand

Last year’s Harvest appeal marked a first for BMS, using animation to tell the stories of courageous Christians whose faces we couldn’t share. Though we couldn’t show their photos, we knew that God had counted every hair on their heads and was using their witness in powerful ways to spread his amazing gospel. You stood with believers like Z as she reached out to communities in North Africa who were yet to hear the good news of Jesus. And we’re so pleased to report that Z is still standing strong a year later, able to continue her ministry thanks to your giving and prayers.

A woman typing on a keyboard.
Z is committed to boldly sharing her faith, despite the risks.
An illustration of a woman sat a desk.
Z's daughters loved seeing their mum's story come to life.

“She said that she was well, is enjoying her role and is passionate about why she is doing it,” explains BMS Overseas Team Leader Sarah Mhamdi, who visited Z earlier this year. “She’s seeking ways to reach more people and to be able to answer more of their questions and help people grow in their faith. Please continue to pray for her own birth family that they will come to share her faith. She continues to be thankful for our prayers and support.” Supporters weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the colourful illustrations used to capture Z’s testimony. Z’s own little girls loved seeing their mum come to life through animation, and felt very proud that she had shared her story!

You’ve done such amazing things by supporting BMS Harvest appeals in the past – why not continue your streak by supporting Good Land, our Harvest appeal for 2022? Over the years, you’ve helped communities in desperate need all over the world, and this year you can help the people of Ghusel, Nepal, transform their village. They dream of good-quality education for their children, of clean water that’s accessible to the whole community, of training to help make sure their livestock stay healthy. Will you help their dreams become reality? Give now to help transform the village of Ghusel today!

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Words by Hannah Watson, Editor of Engage magazine and Laura Durrant.

The hospital, the miracle and the impossible secret

The hospital, the miracle and the impossible secret

Praying for this

First things first: don’t tell anyone about your new faith. It seems counter-productive, even counter-Christian, but it’s the tough choice that many new believers have to make in order to stay safe – and to help bring more people to Christ. Read on to find out how.

Ahmat* came to Guinebor II hospital (G2) because his father had badly broken his leg. They’d tried to get help elsewhere, but that had just ended up making it worse, and now he needed surgery in order to fix the damage that had been caused. Doctors at G2 told them they would have to wait for his leg to heal, and then it would have to be broken again to set the bone properly. A day’s drive from their family home in southern Chad, G2 became home to Ahmat and his father for around five months as they waited for his leg to heal.

Ahmat and his family knew they would get a high standard of healthcare at G2, but they may not have expected the hospital’s dedication to spiritual and pastoral care too. G2 is openly and proudly a Christian hospital, and prayer and evangelism form a huge part of the hospital’s ministry. Every bed comes with a New Testament on a shelf beside it, and they’ve recently had a delivery of Bibles in Chadian Arabic – the first of their kind. BMS World Mission worker Bethan Shrubsole and her colleague, Pastor Berihun*, go round to all the patients and offer to pray for them. Bethan, who is also a music therapist at the hospital, writes songs about Jesus that she sings to anyone who’ll listen. That’s how she met Ahmat – and it’s where he began to learn about his Saviour.

“I used to take my guitar and play with a group of children,” says Bethan. “Ahmat came and sat with us, and he would translate because the children only speak Arabic, and I was speaking French.”

A New Testament
There are copies of the New Testament on offer everywhere you go at Guinebor II.

Bethan slowly began to get to know Ahmat. When she and Berihun went to Ahmat’s father’s room to pray with him, Ahmat was really interested. He began to come and speak with Bethan and Berihun a few times a week, and they would read the Bible together and talk about Jesus. When it came time for his father’s surgery, Berihun and Bethan prayed for him again. And that’s when something miraculous happened. Kalbassou, BMS’ Hospital Director and surgeon, took the cast off and found his leg had healed properly, and they wouldn’t need to do any surgery. “Kalbassou said it was a miracle,” explains Gareth Shrubsole, Bethan’s husband. “No-one had expected that.” And it was this display of God’s miraculous healing power that led Ahmat to come faith in Jesus.

Workers in a Chadian hospital.
Broken bones are a very real risk to health and life for so many in Chad.

Once his father returned home, Ahmat stayed in N’Djamena, close to the hospital, with an aunt and uncle. Bethan was able to keep discipling him over WhatsApp. She and Kalbassou went to visit him, and while they were there, they met his cousin, who had a terrible case of tuberculosis. “The day before we saw her, she’d had a coughing fit that they thought was going to kill her,” says Bethan. So she and Kalbassou prayed for her, and she was able to come to G2 a few days later. After having a few weeks of treatment, her lungs had largely cleared up – which has led her to faith in Jesus.

Sadly, this isn’t the end of Ahmat and his cousin’s stories. When their families found out about their new faith, they kicked them out. It’s a tragic reality, knowing how joyful Ahmat is in his faith, but it’s not surprising. Bethan and Gareth have stories of local pastors who can only minister to new believers in secret, of a man whose family had him put in prison because of his faith. It’s why Berihun advises people not to share their faith with their families when they find new life in Jesus, at least not straight away – there’s no telling what could happen. “The aim is to keep them in their families,” says Bethan. “Not to hide their faith forever, but to slowly get their parents and their aunties and uncles acclimatised to it.”

“You want family members to say, ‘There’s something different about this person, I like the way this person is behaving, what is the cause of this change that I’m seeing?’” Gareth adds.

Two BMS mission workers
Bethan and Gareth Shrubsole are able to keep in touch with and disciple to new believers.

“The change in the person speaks for itself, and then the gospel follows up as the reason for it.” But many new believers, like Ahmat, find it impossible to keep their new faith a secret. And while it can lead to much heartache if their families can’t accept their new faith, BMS workers on the ground are there to help them process what’s happened and find new community, so that they’re never alone.

Three men praying
Believers in Chad, and across the world, need our prayer.

Bethan catches up with Ahmat regularly, and wonderfully, he and his cousin were able to find other places to stay in N’Djamena. Ahmat is in touch with other local Christians, and Bethan is there to help answer as many of his questions as she can. But Ahmat’s journey isn’t over, and he and other believers like him still need our support and prayers. So many BMS supporters raised money for G2 last year as part of our Operation: Chad appeal, which is why we hope you’ll be inspired by Ahmat’s story and want to share our 2021 Harvest appeal, I Will Stand.

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This year, we’re supporting courageous Christians living the gospel, no matter the cost. Stand with our brothers and sisters across the world and help bold believers be equipped to share the gospel, wherever they are. Encourage your church to hold an I Will Stand service, and you can help create a world where no-one has to hide their faith ever again.

*Names changed.
Words by Laura Durrant.

Operation: Chad – one year on, revisited

Operation: Chad – one year on, revisited

You’re bringing hope to people with a deadly ‘orphan’ disease

I'm praying for this

After hearing from public health worker Mel Spears in Operation: Chad, one year on, we’re talking to her husband Tom about revelatory diagnoses, lives saved, and what being in Chad has taught them both.

Pulling back the curtain on ‘goldminer’s syndrome’

Leishmaniasis. If you’ve heard of it, it may well be because you picked up Issue 50 of Engage magazine. If you haven’t, know that the amazing discovery of new treatments for this rare ‘orphan’ illness is one of our favourite stories from 2021. “I can add something to that story as well,” says Tom Spears, with a smile. He’s catching us up on all that’s been happening at Guinebor II (G2) hospital in Chad since the filming of last year’s Harvest appeal, Operation: Chad. And the next chapter in the incredible leishmaniasis story is just one of the ways that your support of medical work in Chad has made a difference this year.

Dr Tom Spears examining patients at Guinebor 2 Hospital, N’Djamena, Chad 2020
Tom worked as a GP before moving to Chad in early 2020.

We left the leishmaniasis story with Andrea and Mark Hotchkin, BMS World Mission surgeons in the north of Chad. They had just discovered new ways to test, diagnose and treat leishmaniasis, with no idea that news of their work would make it to the Chadian Government, resulting in a proposed treatment roll-out across all affected areas in Chad. And it’s just another example of God in his wisdom drawing strands of BMS work together that Tom and his colleagues found themselves examining leishmaniasis patients at G2.

“The doctors I was with told me this was ‘goldminer’s syndrome’,” says Tom. “They’d been taught that this was a complication of toxic chemicals used in mining.” Though Tom had never seen leishmaniasis before, the collection of symptoms, as well as new tests now available because of Andrea and Mark’s work, told him they were looking at a parasitic disease. A quick phone call to Mark confirmed all they needed to know.

“The three doctors who were there now recognise leishmaniasis,” says Tom. “And they’ve all gone on to an area of Chad where it’s much more prevalent than in N’Djamena.” Leishmaniasis may sadly be here to stay, spread by the species of sandfly that transmits it, but doctors in Chad are now better armed. Thanks to your support, medics at G2 are diagnosing, testing and treating an illness that without medical intervention sees a near 100 per cent fatality rate in anyone without natural immunity.

Leishmaniasis: the facts
  • Leishmaniasis has been categorised as an ‘orphan illness’ – a disease restricted to the poorest parts of the world,  and considered not financially lucrative to create up-to-date medications for.
  • Visceral leishmaniasis (one form the disease can take) kills around 20 to 40,000 people in the world every year.
  • Like malaria, it’s a parasitic disease, transmitted by a particular species of sandfly.
  • Eight in ten people will be naturally inoculated against the disease, but visceral leishmaniasis attacks the internal organs of the 20 per cent who aren’t.
  • Sufferers become anaemic, feverish and eventually immunodeficient. Without treatment, the disease will almost certainly prove fatal.

When training saves lives

Tom sent his three colleagues off with the promise that they could get in touch if they encountered leishmaniasis and needed extra tests. But it’s hard to see a cohort of doctors, just trained up, leaving G2. This past year has taught the team to turn what could be a frustration into a blessing. The fact that Chadian doctors rotate around the country means these health workers can take everything they’ve learned at G2 with them, wherever they’re sent. Tom recalls reading back of over the notes of a patient who had been left in the hands of a colleague he’d been training. “He’d done just a great job of treating him,” says Tom. “And I was seeing in front of me a patient who was dramatically better… it was really cool to think that he might not have been able to do that had he seen this patient a year ago.”

Kalbassou and Tom examining patients at Guinebor II hospital in Chad.
Watching Hospital Director Kalbassou on ward rounds has been a great learning opportunity for staff.

A year of reflection

While God might have planned for the Spears to end up in Chad, it had never been a country much on Mel and Tom’s radar. One year on – how has their sense of calling to Chad been sharpened? “One of the big things that I feel differently about now is that there [was lots] I felt frustrated by when we first arrived,” says Tom. “I don’t necessarily feel less frustrated now, but I have a lot more empathy for the complexity of the situation. It’s easy to come into a situation and see things that need to change and to criticise them, but with a bit more time, and perspective, you start understanding some of the reasons behind why things can’t change easily.” Mel and Tom’s heart for Chad is big enough to embrace the things that take time, that require prayer, and that are not straightforward. They’ve switched up a task-oriented culture for a relational one, and are building the connections that pave the way for change.

A patient is wheeled towards the operating theatre at Guinebor II hospital.
Staff at Guinebor II hospital are praying for another surgeon to join the team.

Looking back on how much has happened at G2 in the space of a year, it’s really exciting to think about how much scope there is for continued growth. But the team can only continue with your support and prayers. They’re praying for a surgeon to join Hospital Director Kalbassou Doubassou, and for enough capacity to make the heavy workload more sustainable at the hospital. They’re also praying that more manpower on the team would create time for training and learning. As they pray, why not pray along with them? Sign up to receive prayer letters from the Chad team, so that you’re always up to date with the latest from Mel, Tom and their colleagues at the hospital.

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What you achieved

You raised an amazing £301,823 for Operation: Chad back in 2020, whether that was through coming together with your church family to hold a wonderful harvest service, or because you gave generously as an individual, inspired by the amazing healthcare work happening at G2. We’re so thankful for you all. If you missed the appeal, it’s not too late to give. Learn more about Operation: Chad right here.

Words by Hannah Watson
Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine

Tham’s good news story

Tham’s good news story

This is the difference you made

This is a story about the difference Christian kindness can make in a life affected by leprosy. This is Tham’s incredible story.

We can all identify with being stuck at home at the moment. It’s been our daily life for almost a year, and the effects of not being able to see our loved ones or go out as normal are made even worse during this dark, bracing winter.

While it’s undoubtedly been tough, there are other people around the world whose whole lives are lived out in a kind of never-ending lockdown. And it’s not a highly infectious new disease with no easy cure, like Covid-19, that’s keeping people in isolation. Rather, it’s fear. Fear of a condition that’s been with us for millennia, that in reality has low community transmission, and that can be completely cured with the right medical intervention early on. But the stigma around leprosy means that myths abound, especially in places like Nepal, with many people believing that once you have leprosy, there’s no way out.

The difference you made

The fear and stigma keeping people in life-long lockdown were the subjects of BMS World Mission’s 2020 Nepal Christmas appeal. Where leprosy was keeping sufferers imprisoned, our workers in Nepal knew that generous action from BMS supporters could help set them free. The response has been incredible, with over £69,000 raised so far. But, more than that, your actions are helping to rewrite the story being told about leprosy, and bring positive, lasting change to countries like Nepal.

A Nepali man dressed in blue hospital scrubs smiles at the camera.
Thanks to your support, Tham has been able to get the vital treatment he needed.

Tham is all too familiar with the stigma and discrimination that people affected by leprosy can experience in Nepal. As a young man living in Syangja district, he had just begun a new chapter of his life – one living with his leprosy diagnosis. Trips to receive treatment at the BMS-supported hospital in Pokhara were becoming a regular part of his routine. “One day, I entered a hotel on my way [to the hospital], to have tea and breakfast,” says Tham. “The hotel owner was observing my hands while I was having tea. After finishing it, I asked for the bill. The lady asked for some money and also told me to take the cup along with me. That was very disrespectful and rude behaviour. After that, I never went to any hotels, no matter how hungry I was.”

Nepal-Christmas-appeal-Decoration-long

Thankfully, Tham was receiving treatment at the BMS-supported hospital in Pokhara when this devastating incident occurred, and was surrounded by a loving community who could support him. But there are many more hidden sufferers who haven’t yet received a diagnosis, and who face worrying symptoms and discrimination alone, rejected even by family. There’s still time to give if you’d like to make a difference. Head to our appeal page now to donate.

Nepal-Christmas-appeal-Decoration-long

Years have passed since that day at the hotel, and Tham’s life has changed beyond all he could have expected. “The situation [around stigma] has changed a lot,” says Tham. “People are now more aware of the disease.” Wonderfully, Tham has been an important part of bringing that change to others who are suffering from the devastating effects of leprosy. He’s been able to live with confidence, employed as a BMS-supported pastoral counsellor for the past five years at the same hospital where he received his treatment. Tham’s also built a life with his loving and supportive family, and most exciting of all, he’s also become a Christian, and accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour!

Tham praying with a lady in a wheelchair at the BMS-supported hospital in Pokhara, Nepal.
Tham prays with Indra at the BMS-supported hospital in Pokhara, Nepal.
As a BMS-supported pastoral assistant, you’ve enabled Tham to…
  • conduct around 200 peer counselling sessions a year with a colleague, listening to patients, sharing experiences and offering support
  • be part of a team providing help and support to 384 leprosy in-patients in one year
  • help new patients to settle into the hospital by showing them around and helping them to feel comfortable
  • help those who want to know more about their condition, talking them through their diagnosis or sharing information about their treatment plan
  • hold fellowship sessions on the ward, with singing, testimonies and opportunities to share the good news of the gospel
  • follow up with patients who want to know more about the love of Jesus Christ, and pray with them

Thank you so much for reaching out to precious people like Tham this Christmas. You’ve brought a future free from leprosy one step closer to becoming a reality for thousands in Nepal. And because of your generosity, your love and your prayers, there will be plenty more stories being told in Nepal with a happy ending, like Tham’s.

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Words by Hannah Watson

You saved their lives

Operation: Chad

You saved their lives

The rattle of metal wheels as a patient is gently pushed into the operating theatre. The moment of silent anticipation before a newborn baby cries out for the first time. The earnest words of prayer said before a difficult surgery. These are the sounds of Guinebor II (G2) hospital. These are the stories you helped to tell.

This isn’t the end of the story for G2 hospital.

Our amazing BMS World Mission supporters have raised an incredible £283,000 by featuring our Operation: Chad appeal in church services across the UK. And there’s still time to raise even more! You can hold an Operation: Chad service all year round, and if you want some accessible and copyright-free resources for your online service, then look no further. From video sermons to a quiz to our stunning feature video, we’ve got everything you’ll need for your service.

Mohammed Ibrahim Hassaballah

It’s been five years since Mohammed’s son began to show the symptoms of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Five years of going to hospital after hospital to try and get the help he so desperately needed. Every time they thought he’d been given some transformative treatment or lifechanging intervention, it was only a matter of time before he deteriorated again – before Mohammed was back desperately trying to find the best way to help his son.

Then the unimaginable happened one morning in 2019. “My son fell ill. It was as if his body was dead,” said Mohammed. “His throat was blocked, and he couldn’t move, eat, drink, breathe, nothing.” That was when Mohammed made the decision that saved his son’s life: he brought him to Guinebor II.

Mohammed’s son was able to get the treatment that would save his life… but it didn’t stop there. He’s had regular physiotherapy and music therapy sessions since he first came to Guinebor II. He smiles as he strums the guitar in his music therapy session, a far cry from the lifeless boy who first arrived in his father’s arms.

“It’s thanks to this hospital my boy is still alive,” says Mohammed. “I give thanks to God and the doctors here.”

Mohammed helps his son with muscle-building physiotherapy.
Mohammed helps his son with muscle-building physiotherapy.

Rakié Akaye

Rakié recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

“I came to the hospital on the back of a motorbike. We arrived here at 6 am… my labour lasted 16 hours. It was really painful, and I was scared because it’s the first time I’ve given birth. But I trusted the midwives.

“I’m so happy, and I’m just asking God to keep my baby safe. Guinebor II hospital is just really good. I had a really good welcome and I was well looked after.

“My hopes are that God will look after my son. I really hope that when he’s old enough he’ll be able to go to school.”

Operation: Chad, Rakié Akaye
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How you helped Rakié

Chad has the fifth highest infant mortality rate in the world. But your generous gifts to Operation: Chad have been used to support the amazing team of midwives at G2, meaning they can bring even more healthy babies into the world.

Mahamat Aboss Abdel Karim

Operation: Chad, Mahamat Aboss Abdel Karim
Mahamat travelled for four days to reach Guinebor II hospital.

Age: 30 years old

At Guinebor II for: Hepatitis and a ruptured liver

Journey: Four days

How you helped him: Many people in Chad still turn to traditional medicines when they’re ill which often don’t work and sometimes cause further damage. By coming to G2, Mahamat was able to get the right treatment he needs to help him fully recover.

In his own words: “Thank you – I’m feeling much better now. I’m going to tell other people that G2 is a good hospital.”

Al-Fadil Abalallah

Operation: Chad Al-Fadil Abalallah

It was raining the day Al-Fadil’s life changed forever. His van skidded on the already treacherous roads and flipped over, knocking him unconscious for over an hour. When he woke up, he was severely injured, with a broken arm and leg. But that was just the beginning of the problems he would face.

Al-Fadil travelled thousands of miles from his native Sudan to try and find the right treatment. Nobody could help him, not even during the five months spent with traditional healers who bound his arm and leg tightly. Many doctors told him his leg would have to be amputated. But one day Al-Fadil spoke to his boss who, thankfully, could speak from experience…

“My boss told me he’d had an accident too,” Al-Fadil explains. “When he came to Guinebor II, he recovered really quickly and that’s why he told me to come here.” When Al-Fadil finally came to G2, everything changed. He was able to receive the proper care he needed to heal and to save his leg, without any complications. “The doctors here are really looking after me,” says Al-Fadil. “I think that by the grace of God, everything is going to be ok.”

Words by Laura Durrant.

Our God who hears

Our God who hears

A testimony to answered prayer in 2020

I'm praying for this

We stand at the beginning of a new year, more aware than ever how little our country, our global neighbours and our world leaders know about what lies ahead. So, what better way to begin 2021 than in prayer, with the BMS annual Day of Prayer on 31 January? And what better way to come to prayer than to come encouraged by this story, all about how God answered our prayers in 2020!

Last week, we asked BMS World Mission’s General Director Kang-San Tan to pen a prayer for the year ahead. It was a big ask. What do you pray for when faced with a year as uncertain as 2021? And where do you begin, with a world still in the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic?

Thankfully, our General Director was more than up for the challenge, and we shared his beautiful prayer in our email update (if you don’t receive them, sign up here!) And as we did so, we knew we weren’t asking without basis or confidence. We’ve been so privileged to see firsthand how our prayers for our world, our work and most importantly, for those we work with and for, have been answered.

Kang-San Tan

Kang-San’s prayer for 2021 asked for three things: flourishing for new communities, for our workers to be the fragrance of Christ in everything they do, and for God’s Kingdom to come, his will being done on earth and in heaven. Let’s take a look at how we saw God working powerfully in each of these ways in 2020 and allow this to give us confidence as we ask again for his provision in 2021.

Flourishing communities

CHURCHES AND SUPPORTERS

This past year has undoubtedly posed extreme challenges for churches, seeking to livestream services, record online talks and set up ‘Zoom coffees’ in place of meeting together. It seemed impossible to replace the easy fellowship we enjoy from mingling in our church halls or working together on a Harvest offering table. So it was wonderful to hear that, across the year, so many had found ways to adapt and meet the challenges. Over 230 churches found ways to raise money for the BMS Harvest appeal, Operation: Chad, many of them remotely. Some churches organised online collections, and many superstar fundraisers set themselves unique sporting challenges they could do within their four walls to raise money – you can check out Will and Tom’s achievements on our Facebook page, or Ana Sophia Clark’s garage 10k in Issue 48 of Engage!

Will and Tom, two fundraising heroes

PROVISION AND PROTECTION

From our mission workers to our UK staff team, across our supporters and in churches, so many have faced serious challenges to health, disruptions to normal working conditions and difficulty in travelling throughout 2020. It would be wrong to overlook how difficult it has been for all of us in each of our individual ways, but in all this, it’s also been remarkable to see God’s provision and protection. Whether it’s been upholding people in their physical needs, putting loving community around the lonely or sending his Spirit to sustain and to guide, we’ve heard some wonderful stories of God’s strength keeping people throughout this year.

Sharing Christ

A woman holding her baby.

THE CHRISTMAS PRAYER CAMPAIGN

In the midst of lockdowns and social distancing, outreach events seemed like an impossible dream. That is, until four BMS partners across Asia came forward with a plan to reach their neighbours across India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand with the gospel at Christmas. You joined us in prayer for these Christmas outreach events, and we’re now hearing exciting testimonies about the fruit of this incredible endeavour. There have been baptisms, gifts and Bibles handed out and the proclamation of gospel hope in a time of real crisis. We hope to share more in the upcoming issue of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine, so subscribe here to ensure you don’t miss it!

ONE MILLION LIVES

A huge answer to prayer in 2020 was seeing that the faithfulness and generosity of supporters has enabled us to reach our goal of transforming one million lives worldwide!

Back in 2016, BMS launched an ambitious plan. We wanted to transform the lives of one million people by the end of 2020. The last of those five years posed challenges none of us could have foreseen, but with God’s guidance and your support, we amazingly saw that target achieved. You equipped the global Church to reach out and share Jesus’ love with one million people in some of the world’s least evangelised, most marginalised and most fragile places. Stay tuned to hear more over the next few months about all you’ve achieved!

Four BMS workers engaged in evangelism and church planting across India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand gathered in a group montage against a blue background.

Doing God's will

CORONAVIRUS AND BEIRUT

In 2020 alone, we handed out more relief grants than ever before – and it was all down to the generosity of BMS supporters. In moments of real trial, nations around the world dealt with the devastating effects of Covid-19, many on top of other political, economic or humanitarian crises. Thanks to your gifts, over 36,000 people received practical aid and spiritual support, all in the name of Jesus. You helped build a satellite Covid-19 hospital in Bardaï, Chad and shored up other hospitals across Chad and Nepal. You handed out face masks, PPE and soap, and provided psychological support to those in despair. After the blast in Beirut last summer, you rebuilt broken homes, enabling 40 families to be rehoused, and gave out emergency meals. We praise God for your joyful obedience to his will and calling to give, even out of hard personal circumstances for many in the UK.

Food distribution in Beirut after the blast

Last but not least, we’ve also had the privilege of praying with you, our supporters. As the UK entered its first lockdown back in March of 2020, it became clear to the BMS team that asking for requests and praying for the things on your hearts would be an absolutely essential part of our work this year. Our weekly prayers for supporters and churches have been a real time of encouragement and blessing. And if you saw prayers answered this last year, we’d love to hear how you are doing.

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We pray that seeing these answers to prayer in 2020 has encouraged you for the year ahead. Please do join us in prayer for our Day of Prayer on Sunday 31 January 2021. Follow the link to our Day of Prayer page  for all the information you’ll need, as well as for handy resources like a PowerPoint and PDF download, designed to be easily shared in your church service.

Words by Hannah Watson

‘That’s why we’ve come to Chad’

‘That’s why we’ve come to Chad’:

Tom Spears on Chad’s healthcare, the huge need, and how you can help

Supporting this

When Tom Spears imagined working overseas as a doctor, he knew with great certainty he’d be headed to Nepal. It was a country he had served in before, and where he knew there was so much need. But this week’s story is all about how, and why, Tom and his wife Mel changed their minds – and why God needed them in Chad instead. Read on to discover how you can join them in saving lives in the precious, challenging, inspiring country they now call home.

“Chad? That’s in the desert… isn’t it?” exclaims Tom Spears, remembering his reaction when a country in which he and Mel had never considered serving became the number one option on the table. It was a winsome email from BMS World Mission’s central office that eventually changed his and Mel’s minds. It began: “These are all the reasons we think you should go to Chad,” and ended with: “Pray about it!”

When we spoke to Tom about all this – under a rustling tree canopy on a blustery Chadian winter’s day – it was obvious how God answered that prayer. “BMS has a lot to answer for,” Tom jokes. A few weeks into the family’s time in Chad, these were Tom’s reflections on healthcare, the huge need, and how you can help by supporting Operation: Chad.

A young British couple hold their daughters on their hips, against a leafy background in Chad.
"There’s always going to be a need for more people to help here," says Tom on the decision to come to Chad.

Since you arrived in Chad, has anything struck you as being very different to what you expected?

Possibly it’s been slightly easier than I imagined, so far. There’s a good sense of community here… [swats away a fly] Sorry – flies! The flies are more irritating here – there’s not very many of them, but they’re very persistent! Possibly the hospital is slightly different from my experience of working in what I thought was a similar hospital in Nepal before.

There are lots of things that are just much less available or that cost a lot more to obtain here… things like supply of medications, that’s quite a challenge. The cost of being able to give care here is much higher. I’ve grown up with a socialised healthcare system, which is amazing, and which is the kind of paradigm that I feel is right, and that makes sense. And I’m aware that’s just the culture that I’ve come from, and that that just isn’t the reality here in Chad.

Tom Spears on the tragedy of infant mortality in Chad

We heard stories of patients who travel 500 miles to come to Guinebor II hospital because they know they’ll receive good care here. What do you make of that?

I was speaking to one of the nurse-consultants here who was saying that recently, we’ve had more people coming from further away, lots of people from nomadic backgrounds where it’s very important for them to get back to their livestock. They would rather come here where they know they’re going to get reliably seen and treated.

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I know Kalbassou, the Hospital Director – he’s just got such a heart to help people, and he just works such long hours at the moment doing so many operations, and it’s because he wants to keep on helping people… but really, we don’t have the capacity to help the number of people that he or any of us would like to. There’s always going to be a need for more people to help here.

Chadian healthcare, in Tom’s own words

“Chad as a country is fourth from the bottom of the Human Development Index.

It has some of the worst maternal health outcomes in the world, and the second-highest infant mortality rate.

It’s a big country, and there are very few hospitals and medical facilities in general.”

A British doctor and a Chadian doctor chat to each other in a hospital setting.
Tom pictured with Hospital Director, Kalbassou Doubassou, who also performs most of the hospital's surgeries.

It’s so clear there is huge need in Chad – but at the moment there is also undeniably significant need in the UK. What would you say to BMS supporters thinking carefully about where to invest their giving at a time like this?

We’ve reached a point where people’s expectations of healthcare in the UK are high – and I think that’s a good thing. But, equally, there are many, many other places in the world that have low expectations of healthcare… I’ve got a three-month-old on the ward at the moment with meningitis and in reality, they’ve got a significant chance of dying. But that will be accepted, because children die here, that happens. Whereas in the UK, that’s an outrage, and it’s not just an outrage for the family, it’s a public outrage. A child died – and it is, it’s awful, it’s a tragedy. But this is a ‘normal’ tragedy here…

That’s the reality of life here, that most people have lost a child. And that’s just an example among many things.

Dr Tom at work at Guinebor II hospital in Chad
A patient check-up led by Guinebor II nurse, Christophe.

What can we in the UK do to help?

There’s a huge amount of inequality in the world, and whilst investing in the NHS is a great thing, and I’m all for that – equally, relatively small amounts of money go considerably further here in making a difference. There’s lots of basic interventions here in Chad that do save lives, and in my mind, that’s a bit of a no brainer. And that’s probably, really, why we’ve come to Chad.

Could you give to make sure the life-saving treatment at Guinebor II hospital reaches even more people?

– It costs just £13 to ensure each person receives the care they need. For £13 you could help us save a life.

– And if you could give more, £80 can provide a nurse to take care of critically ill patients for a week.

– And could your church fellowship come together to raise £695? That would mean 52 patients being cared for, four life-saving surgeries and five babies making it safely into the world.

Join the medical mission, and give today.

Give now

Interview: Hannah Watson
Editor of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine

The sick baby, the pharmacist and the hospital that needs you

The sick baby, the pharmacist

and the hospital that needs you

Claire Bedford is an extraordinary pharmacist, but she’s not superhuman. She could do with some extra help at work, as could her colleagues. This is where you come in.

Claire didn’t have to go into work. It was her day off and it had been a hard week, just as every week is at Guinebor II Hospital near Chad’s capital. But BMS World Mission worker Claire wanted to go in as a courtesy to the facial surgeon holding a clinic. And God clearly wanted her there too.

One of the first patients to arrive was three-month-old Ache*. Her parents had travelled for a day on terrible roads to attend the clinic at the BMS-supported hospital, and they were desperate for help.

Precious little Ache had a huge growth covering her left eye, preventing it from opening, and it was spreading down her cheek. The surgeon knew immediately what was needed to treat the growth – a mass of small blood vessels known as a haemangioma – only the hospital didn’t have the drug in stock.

Ache’s father hurried into nearby N’Djamena to find a supply, but when he returned to Guinebor II there was a problem: the tablets were too large for a baby.

A three-month-old baby with a growth over her left eye is held by one of her parents.
Ache was unable to see out of her left eye when she was brought to Guinebor II.

Everyone turned to Claire for help. She calculated what the baby needed according to her weight, and used a pill cutter she’d sourced in the UK to chop the tablets to the required dose. Ache and her parents went home with the medication and instructions on what to do with it, and Claire stayed on to help more people.

We tell you this story because it demonstrates how your support allows Claire to show God’s love to patients at Guinebor II. But you should also know that only a few days before, Claire was not in the pharmacy, or on a ward supporting sick people, she was deciding what to do with a pit latrine blocked with bottles and nappies. She was the one making the decision because there was no-one else to do so.

And that’s not the only way pharmacist Claire is called to help with the running of the hospital. She recently had to negotiate the cost of tiling the hospital’s new emergency room, while at other times she’s taken on a HR role.

Her colleagues pitch in too, taking on administration work to ensure the hospital can continue taking in patients like Ache, and those from the Muslim-majority community that surrounds it.

Claire Bedford, a pharmacist in Chad, holds two babies while on a hospital ward
Join BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford at Guinebor II Hospital in Chad and you'll be part of beautiful and inspiring work.

But here’s the thing – you can help make things better.

We have a host of important positions available right now at Guinebor II Hospital. We just need the right people to apply.
“The patients aren’t being neglected,” says Claire. “But we could do so much more if the job vacancies were filled.”

Could you help Claire? Check out these vacancies at Guinebor II

General Manager: this critical role needs to be filled so that Claire and her colleagues can have the weight of administration, finance, and building and project management work taken off their shoulders. The right candidate needs to have managed a small to medium sized organisation. If that’s you, get in touch.

Surgeons and doctors: Guinebor II currently sees 14,000 outpatients a year, has 2,000 inpatients, carries out 1,300 operations, and delivers 1,800 babies. The team urgently needs more surgeons and doctors to cope with the demand for healthcare both now, and into the future. If you think you can help, find out more today.

Nurses: we’re looking for nurses who are well qualified and can train others. Find out more now.

Ophthalmologist: you’ve probably got access to an ophthalmologist at your local hospital, but there isn’t one at Guinebor II. If you’re an ophthalmologist and feeling called to serve God overseas, we want to hear from you.

Family GP: the doctor who takes on this role will be providing life-changing care for those most in need. If that’s what you’re passionate about, we want to hear from you.

Obstetrics/gynaecology doctor: there is no reliable gynaecology service for women in the community that Guinebor II serves. We want to change that by filling this position.

Midwives and community health specialists: Chad has one of the worst maternal and child mortality rates in the world. Help change this by working at the maternal health centre we opened in 2015. Find out more about this role today.

Endoscopist: waiting for an endoscopy can be frustrating, but at least most of us can get one. In Chad, you need to go private, which means you need money. If you’re an endoscopist, we really want to hear from you.

Paediatrician: if you’re a paediatrician, then please consider the infants, children and young people you could help at Guinebor II. Find out what to do next here.

You may not be qualified for any of the roles we’ve told you about today, but it’s quite possible you know someone who is. Tell them to find out more. Tell them about Claire. And tell them about Ache – for she was brought back to the hospital recently and Claire got to see her again. She is getting better, and we hope she’ll have full vision soon!

“Her parents were overjoyed,” says Claire. “You could just tell in their faces how happy they were. The father couldn’t stop saying ‘shukran’ (thank you). With my limited Arabic I couldn’t really converse with them, apart from replying ‘afwan’ (you’re welcome).

“It was a humbling experience to know that such a simple treatment was making such a huge difference to this young girl’s life.”

A baby with a growth over her left eye just about manages to see out of it
Ache can begin to see out of her eye thanks to the help of BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford.

Claire and the team at Guinebor II are desperate for more people to come and join them. If you have any of the skills we are looking for, we would to love to hear from you! You could make a huge difference to patients like baby Ache.

* Name changed to protect identity

Three survival stories from a hospital filled with Jesus’ love

Life on a children's ward:

three survival stories from a hospital filled with Jesus' love

Supporting this

Three children in danger. You helped them all at a hospital in Chad.

A girl fighting malaria. A boy hurt in a camel fall. Another with a snake bite. Step onto the children’s ward at Guinebor II, a hospital near Chad’s capital that is supported by BMS World Mission.

Two female nurses stand next to a male nurse on the children's ward of a hospital
Patients on the children's ward at Guinebor II Hospital receive the very best healthcare from a wonderful team of medical professionals.

The girl with malaria

Mariam* was bitten by a mosquito and fell sick. The mosquito was carrying malaria, a disease that brings on a fever, headache, vomiting, and severe sweating, and kills a child aged under five every two minutes. Three-year-old Mariam needed to be rushed to hospital, but she wasn’t, because street medicine sellers and the local health centre are often chosen over hospitals by poor families in Chad. Whatever treatment Mariam was given didn’t work. And so she was finally taken to Guinebor II, where Christians in a Muslim-majority community pray for their patients and provide the best healthcare for miles.

Mariam was given the drugs her body needed to fight malaria. The drugs worked, and Mariam survived. You helped make this happen by supporting BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford, who dispensed the drugs that saved Mariam’s life. Claire regularly goes on ward rounds, advising doctors and nurses on the medicine needed to treat patients and bringing her trademark friendly smile to people who are often scared and hurting.

“The infant and child mortality rate in Chad is shockingly high,” says Claire. “So it’s of vital importance that we have a facility where we can provide high-quality, affordable healthcare for the precious children of this country.”

If you support BMS, you’re helping to make that care possible.

What’s a working day in a Chadian hospital pharmacy like? Let Claire Bedford explain

The nomad boy who fell from a camel

Hassan* and his nomadic family travel on camels, using the traditional mode of nomad transport to carry their belongings from place to place. One day, seven-year-old Hassan came off his camel, hurting himself quite badly.

After days of abdominal pain and finding blood in his urine, he was taken to Guinebor II, where the doctors and nurses got to work, taking x-rays and running an ultrasound scan. The tests showed Hassan hadn’t suffered any major damage, but he remained barely alert to doctors and family, and just slept and slept. The team at Guinebor II catheterised and monitored him, and gave him antibiotics. Gradually, he began to pick up.

And then one day, as Claire was doing her ward round, he sat up and smiled. After a little more observation, Hassan’s urine began to flow clear again, and his catheter was removed. Hassan was better and free to return to the only life he knows.

Seeing children get better and go home is such a joy. Thank you so much to everyone in the UK who supports Guinebor II.

Men and woman wait in a shaded area outside a hospital in Chad
The waiting area at Guinebor II is often packed with people waiting for the brilliant care the Christian doctors there provide.

The boy bitten by a snake

Imagine this: you’re ten, it’s night-time, and you feel your skin punctured by fangs. You look down and see that creature that makes so many of us shudder with fear: a snake. For Saleh* that fear was justified. A snake had bitten him and now the clock was now ticking. He needed a dose of anti-venom to counter the snake’s poison and save him from the risk of paralysis or even death. Saleh was rushed into Guinebor II where he was given an anti-snake bite injection and painkillers. The treatment worked and the threat to Saleh’s life passed.

“Seeing children like Saleh get better and go home is such a joy,” says Claire. “Thank you so much to everyone in the UK who supports Guinebor II in prayer and by financial giving. Both are so important and make it possible for us to help.”

You’ll probably never meet the three children you’ve just read about. And you won’t meet the ones being cared for today on Guinebor II’s children’s ward. But thanks to your giving, Claire Bedford can dispense the medicine these young children need to get well. We think that care is worth celebrating. Please share this story to encourage others to support our work in Chad.

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Help our surgeons save lives in Chad

In the north of Chad is a beautiful, isolated and dangerous place called Bardaï. It’s where BMS surgeons Andrea and Mark Hotchkin provide life-transforming healthcare at the district hospital. By giving to our Bardaï appeal, you can help keep them there.

* Names changed to protect identities

The seven must-read chapters of an extraordinary mission worker’s life

The seven must-read chapters of an extraordinary mission worker’s life

Praying for this

“Is this going to be short-term, or for life?” For BMS World Mission worker Ann Bothamley, there was only one answer.

She stared down the devil when she was weak. Overcame dysentery, major spinal surgery and crushing loneliness. She founded a hostel for children of mission doctors, helped thousands of people through her nursing service, and returned to work after retirement to give pastoral care to patients. Ann Bothamley has been an ambassador for Christ in India since 1968. We’re inspired by all that she’s done in the past, and all that she continues to do. We know you will be too. This is Ann’s story.

Chapter one: The beginning

I gave my heart to the Lord when I was nine years old. After Sunday School one day I went to the superintendent and said, “I’ve decided I want to follow Jesus.”

I then went in for a Bible quiz and won a Bible. It had, ‘Presented to Ann Bothamley’, and at the bottom was the verse from Matthew 28: 19, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”. I remember saying to my mother, “I think that means me. I think I have to go.”

So even then, I knew in my heart that God wanted me to go out as a medical missionary somewhere.

A black and white photo of Ann Bothamley smiling in her nurse's uniform
Ann in 1967, months before leaving for India, where she has been serving with BMS for over half a century.

Chapter two: The call

I was quite sure that God wanted me to be a doctor, but I didn’t do terribly well at school. I went to work in the microbiology department of St Thomas’ Hospital, and one day the professor said to me, “why don’t you go in for nursing?”

Within six weeks, I was in. I really enjoyed it and knew I was in the right place. I wanted to have more qualifications, so I did a ward sister course, but twice during my training I slipped a disc in my back. After the second time, the matron said, “I think you might have to give up nursing”, and I thought, ‘no way’.

I ended up having a laminectomy [the removal of part of a vertebrae] after my fourth year. There was a lot of waiting and I wondered what God was saying to me. But I got through all that and got better very quickly. I did midwifery in Glasgow, and then did a year as a night sister in a large hospital in Croydon. I decided then that it was the time to go to BMS.

Chapter three: The journey

I think God planted it in my heart that I was going to India. I knew, too, that it was going to be for life. I was asked at the candidate board, “is this going to be short-term, or for life?” That was how it was put in those days. I said, “no, for life”. And so I was accepted by BMS.

The journey to India was a very long one. We travelled across Europe to Venice, where we boarded a boat to Brindisi, and then went on to the Canary Islands, and down to Cape Town where we boarded the boat to Mombasa.

You can’t send me home. My God is greater than you.

From Mombasa we went to Karachi and on to Bombay, as it was then. I got on the train about 2 pm and arrived the next afternoon, about an hour from Vellore. I was met by someone called Miss Thompson. We were sitting squeezed up on the front seat of the car and she said to me, “well, I hope the Lord has brought you here. Because if not, you might as well go back now.”

A view from high up on a hill of a city in India, with homes and many trees in view.
Vellore has been Ann Bothamley's home since she arrived in 1968, after a gruelling journey that began at Victoria Station in London.

Chapter four: The attack

There was no question of going back. I was where God had put me. I had quite a few problems to begin with. I had dysentery and it was a very horrible thing.

I also remember being sent up into the hills after suffering sunstroke. I was sitting in a garden and it was as though the devil was saying, “I’m going to get you home.” I can remember telling him, “no, God is with me and I am not going home, and don’t think you can send me because God is greater than you.”

One of the amazing things in those first six months was that every so often Miss Thompson would hand me a little note with a verse of Scripture on it. It was quite amazing, and always seemed to me that God was saying, “I am with you.”

Chapter five: The loneliness

There have been times when I have known great loneliness. Sometimes one can be in a huge institution and still be very lonely.

But every so often God would send somebody I could pray with. I’d be tremendously encouraged and God would say to me, “I want you to rely on me more. Just keep relying on me.”

A mature woman with grey hair sits at a table in a hospital cafe with an elderly man on one side, and an elderly woman on another.
Ann Bothamley catches up with friends at the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Friends back home support her too, ringing her to chat and ask for her prayer requests.

Chapter six: The blessings

God has blessed me through some of the experiences I’ve been through. Three years ago, when I had major surgery on my spine, two families I didn’t even know were amazing to me, absolutely amazing.

God has been so faithful to me over the years, and blessed me so much in enabling me and giving me the privilege to meet such a diversity of people and patients.

Watch the moment when Ann is presented with a gift to mark her 50 years’ service with BMS.

Chapter seven: The support

I could not be here, but for the support and prayers of people at home. I have two friends who phone me about every two weeks and jot down all the things I would like them to pray about. And there’s a church too that does the same thing.

Prayer makes a difference, a huge difference. I’m sure there have been difficult times when I’ve been carried by the prayers of people at home.

If you're praying for Ann Click here
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Could you be the next Ann Bothamley?

BMS has mission workers all over the world showing people what following Christ looks like, just as Ann is doing today. If you’re sensing God calling you overseas, you need to read the article 10 reasons why you should serve with BMS.

You can confront injustice. Free women from trafficking. Teach children robbed of an education. And you can introduce people to Jesus. We’ll be with you every step of the way. Start by getting in touch here. We would love to hear from you.

People are meeting Jesus in hospital

People are meeting Jesus in hospital

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Hospital patients become Christians in a Muslim-majority community. Thousands receive prayer and pastoral care. And the healing that only Jesus can provide is experienced by people for the first time. All of this happens at a BMS World Mission supported hospital in Chad, where the gospel is being spread in traditional and innovative ways.

Waiting rooms can often be the most terrifying place in a hospital. Anxiety thrives among the rigid rows of chairs. And sadly, for many, so does loneliness.

The waiting area at Guinebor II Hospital near Chad’s capital may appear different to those most of us are familiar with – there are benches, not chairs, and the space is open to the elements on three sides. But we’re all familiar with the feelings that people experience there.

BMS-supported chaplain Pastor Djibrine knows them well too. He sits with patients, talking to them as they wait to be seen by a doctor or nurse.

The Bibles available for people to read provide scope for discussion, as do the Christian films shown on the solar-powered television in the corner.

Pastor Djibrine also makes bedside visits, praying with people, comforting them, and answering questions about Jesus. And while some patients ask to keep the Bibles they find at the end of their beds, others receive Scripture through micro SD cards for use in their mobile phones.

People in the waiting area at Guinebor II Hospital.

The cards contain 35 Bible stories in four languages, and Pastor Djibrine gives them to people interested in the gospel. Your gifts pay for these cards, just as they do for the Bibles. And lives are being transformed.

Pastor Djibrine (right) talks to a man at a BMS-supported hospital in Chad.
Pastor Djibrine (right) shares tea and conversation outside a BMS-supported hospital in Chad.

Abdelhaziz* was at the hospital receiving treatment for cancer. While he was there, Pastor Djibrine spent time with him, chatting and explaining his faith. Through these conversations, Abdelhaziz met Jesus and decided to follow him. When he was well enough to go home, Pastor Djibrine gave Abdelhaziz an SD card and put him in touch with believers in his home town. Having gone into the hospital unwell and far from Christ, Abdelhaziz left with his faith placed in Jesus, and part of a new community.

Another person who wanted to know about Jesus was Hassan*, a young Muslim man studying religion at the University of N’Djamena. Not only did he leave the hospital with his own Bible, he also asked Pastor Djibrine for a copy for his friend. The Holy Spirit at work outside the hospital’s walls.

Healthcare excellence and God's love – BMS worker Kat on the work at Guinebor II Hospital

Look what you've achieved in 12 months:

• Over 5,000 patients at Guinebor II Hospital were touched by the love of God through prayer, conversation, and home visits – work that continues today.

• An average of 35 people a month were given a Bible or CD with narrated biblical stories.

• One hundred people received micro SD cards containing Bible stories.

• Almost 3,500 people watched a Christian film in the hospital’s waiting room, and the films are still being shown regularly.

Through your giving, you’re helping people who are sick and frightened find healing, comfort and strength in Christ. People are getting to read the Bible, hear its truth in their own language, and receive prayer from Pastor Djibrine. And some people, such as Abdelhaziz, have decided to follow Jesus for themselves and have been welcomed into a community of believers.

Thanks to your support, Guinebor II Hospital has become a shining beacon of hope in Jesus, and we think that’s amazing.

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* Names changed