Chad (MNN) — The Chadian government estimates that almost half a million people have been affected by the deadly August flooding in Chad.
The damage assessment covers loss of 255,000 hectares of agricultural land, livestock, and roughly 96,000 who are homeless. Mary Stone with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM) writes, "Thousands of people are displaced with only the clothes on their back. Their crops have been ruined, and a year's worth of famine is anticipated."
Wells and other key infrastructure were also destroyed. The loss of the road system complicated efforts to get aid to affected areas. Overwhelmed, the Government of Chad last month finally requested international support to respond to the floods.
Four months later, Stone notes, "There are major health concerns with rising rivers and cholera. When there are no outhouses and the waste mixes with the water, there is NO safe water to drink." She adds, "Needless to say, this hurts my heart for my Chadian family. The impact is widespread and includes areas where I have lived, worked, and will move to."
Stone's ministry scope shares the Gospel through a film ministry, and more recently through the creative work of developing a documentary to expose the spiritual threats that followers of Christ face in Chad.
TEAM Chad works to see the young church there mature to the point where it can stand on its own feet. To that end, there are members of the group involved with the discipleship of pastors, laymen, and laywomen, as well as more traditional evangelism approaches. Other areas of work include community health evangelism, teaching literacy, and teaching English.
There is also a low-power FM radio station which broadcasts to people in their language, as well as in the languages of the nomadic peoples of the region. Members of the group are working on an "oral Bible" using the story-telling style in the local language. The goal is to allow small groups to hear and retell the stories in order to learn more about God.
Please pray that the Christians will not lose their faith but depend on God at this time. Pray that they would reach out to the unsaved. Pray that many people would come to Christ through this physical calamity.
