April 2010

The Poor in Spirit . . . and the Poor
Support for the sake of Self-Sufficiency for the Sake of Others

In the seven years since we began, your faithful, sacrificial support has created Village Altonodji (VA) the first Chadian-led orphan village in the country, which now provides a home to 123 children, a school system for 290 kids, and a new church for the community.  Your giving has also made it possible for Shalom Evangelical School of Theology (ESTES) to support its budget every month, to grow rice for its students, to begin a computer lab for the school, and to start an ice business in support of its budget.  We are amazed at what the Lord has done through you. 
 

By Scott Hafemann

At the beginning of his ministry, Christ told his followers that "the poor in spirit" are those who are being blessed by God, since "theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mathew 5:3).  The poor around us remind us of what this means:  to be poor is to have desperate needs that one cannot meet.  If the poor are to escape their poverty, they must depend on others to help in some way.  So too, those who know their own desperate need spiritually, and know they cannot meet it themselves, being "poor in spirit," are the ones who depend on the Lord alone for their lives.  As a result, they inherit the goodness of God's loving rule over their lives now and forever. 

At the end of his ministry, Christ told his followers, the "poor in spirit," that at the day of judgment their "poverty" would be seen in their willingness to help Jesus' "family" when they were poor and persecuted physically (Matthew 25:31-40).  As a result, the will inherit God's kingdom, which has been prepared for them from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).  Evidently, being "poor in spirit" shows itself in helping the poor, since those who are dependent on God for everything are more than willing to help others as the concrete expression of their love for Christ (i.e., they actually do it!). 

For this reason, Mission:Chad has become a community of the poor in spirit, who strive together to help Jesus' poor "brothers and sisters" in Chad as an expression of our love for Christ. But the "answer" to poverty is not simply relieving physical needs.  Rather, we strive to help the poor physically to get strong enough to help others as "the poor in spirit," so that they too may join in the joy of serving God in this way.  By helping Chadians help themselves, our goal is to join them in fulfilling our calling to glorify God by supporting  ourselves in dependence on him, so that we might support others in his name (for more on this crucial principle, see Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts, How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Yourself). 

As you read on, please ask God to make us poor in spirit, that we might help the poor in Chad join us as we seek not "to set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy," so that we might "be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share," and in so doing "store up treasure" for our future with God (1 Timothy 6:17-19).  And would you also spread the word of Mission: Chad to other like-minded churches and disciples?
 

The School for Women at ESTES

Progress on our Current Projects 

Our meeting in the Chicago area on March 5-7 with Pastor Bako, the leader of our work at Village Altonodji, proved to be a strategic one!  It was important to meet at length to plot our course together.  We we able together to clarify our current projects.  At the end of the end of the first quarter of 2010, here is where we stand. 

Our 2010 Prayer Goals for Village Altonodji and the Farm Project: 

1.  To build the remaining classroom building and science lab needed to complete the high school at the orphan village (there are currently 297 children in grades K-11!).  Cost: $44,000.  This quarter you gave $15,500 toward this goal!  Needed:  $28,500. 

2.  To support "our" 40 orphans at the village. Cost: $4,200 per quarter. Currently fully funded!  Thanks for your faithfulness! 

3.  To support the continuing development of the Microfinance Project.  Cost: $2,000 this quarter.  Fully funded. Thanks to God! 

4.  The plans are to begin the farm project with the purchase of a tractor for the clearing and planting of the land (Cost: $25,000), together with the needed start-up implements and supplies (Cost: $25,000). As now planned, this farm would become a school for training Chadians in cost-effective techniques for farming, orchard, and animal husbandry, while also serving to revitalize a desperate area.  

Site for new farm project

Our 2010 Prayer Goals for Shalom School of Theology (ESTES): 

1.  To update and expand the irrigation project for growing rice to feed the students' famililes.  Cost: $9,000.  On hand: $5,665.  Needed: $3,335.  Over half-way there! 

2.  To expand the ice machine business to provide increased income for the bible school.  In its first year, the business netted $7,000, from $16,666 (a sizable amount in their economy!); the demand is there for expansion.  Cost: $11,125 for generator upgrade.  Needed:  $11,125. This is an important next step for the self-sufficiency of the school. 

3.  To support the educational budget of the bible school (books and budget support).  Cost: Whatever is given.  Sent this quarter:  $6,422!  Thank you for your faithfulness; without this money the staff cannot live! 

4.  To build a day care building for the students' children, who now must play outside or under a straw hut.  Cost: $24,418.  On Hand: $600.  Needed: $17, 818. 

New auditorium construction at ESTES bible college to seat up to 400.

New Projects Being Developed! 

Though at this point these projects are not specific projects of Mission: Chad, we wanted to share with you the exciting news of new projects being developed as outgrowths of our work.  You will be hearing more as time goes on! 

1.  An Expanded Pastor-Training Project. "Shalom," which we support now, is the degree-granting bible college and seminary in the capital city of Chad.  In addition, our sister NGO in Chad (SCPTEDT), under Pastor Bako's leadership, desires to strengthen two existing, basic-level, vernacular-language bible schools that target pastors in rural areas with little or no background, and one mid-level school for the training of pastors at a higher level in Moundou in the south.  These strategic ministries are in great need.  The program would also provide scholarships for students to attend Shalom, and support for three pastors' conferences a year. 

2.  The building of a large, multi-purpose building at ESTES that will seat up to 400 (!) for all school chapels, the annual country-wide pastors' conference, and the expansion of its educational programs. World Vision and the Overseas Council for education are funding most of the project, but there is more to do (Cost: $12,000 for completion, furnishing, and repairs of the a-joining building).
 

M:C President Scott Hafemann

© 2009 Mission:Chad, Inc. All Rights Reserved.