September 2022 Prayer Letter

 Dear Prayer Supporters,

The last several months have been exciting, with guests in June and July, a delightful vacation in August, and encouraging developments in the Shepherd’s Bag Ministry in September!

New Guests

In June and July, we welcomed ten guests from Bibles International: several to conduct translation workshops, literacy workshops, or training for the Chadian office staff, along with four college interns! We don’t often get interns in Chad, as the language barrier makes it challenging for most American young people to participate in many of the ministries here. But this time, three of the four interns knew at least some French, so they were not only able to participate in various ministries, they even interpreted for some of the guests who didn’t speak any French. We were so glad to introduce Daniel, Bethany, Grace, and Adrianna to the ministry in Chad. Pray that the Lord will call some of them (or all of them!) back to Chad to serve in this needy country!

A Great Vacation

At the end of July, I headed to N’Djamena for over a month of vacation. Chad is not a very touristy country, so there are not many places to go for activities or sightseeing. For this reason, I usually spend most of my vacation time lounging in one of the missionary guesthouses in the capital! This vacation was different. We now have three young recent graduates of our theological school who are all serving as associate pastors in churches in N’Djamena.  So while I did sleep at night at a guesthouse, I spent nearly all day with one of the pastors and his family. It was a great blessing to be able to spend time with these fine young families and enjoy great fellowship and mutual encouragement – and it was more spiritually refreshing than my typical vacations. Please pray for pastors Ato, Christian, and Patrice: ministry in N’Djamena is quite complicated at present. Pray they will maintain wisdom, integrity, and faithfulness in their new ministries.

Shepherd’s Bag Ministry

In a previous letter, I asked prayer for a solution to ship books to Chad more reliably. In July and August, I twice ordered books to be sent via FedEx. Both packages arrived in a timely manner and were undamaged. It is more expensive to send the books this way and more of a hassle to receive them, but at least they are arriving! Pray that this method continues to be more reliable, so that pastors can continue to receive the books they need.

After a long search, my Chadian coworker finally found a suitable property to purchase for the bookstore, and just this week we have completed the purchase of the property. It is in a good location and was within our budget. There are already buildings on the property, but the buildings will need some renovation to be suitable for the bookstore’s needs. We hope to have full possession of the property by Christmas, once the current renters move out.

If you feel the Lord is leading you to help with the Shepherd's Bag ministry, please send your gifts to Baptist Mid-Missions marked for Chad Shepherd's Bag.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell