Lycee Montaigne, Rebecca’s school being secular completely
ignores it and just carries on with normal lessons. This year Rebecca’s didn’t have
any tests but the year below had a 2 hour Maths test, making counting down to
Christmas take on a new meaning (Baah hoomboog –Sharl Deekens, si je ne me
trompe pas).
The Christmas lights around the city, the tree in the place
des nations, occasional young men in shirts and Santa hats hawking
inflatable reindeer and minions, add a western consumerist touch
This year is a busy time for the security services. As we
drove Ruth to the airport at midnight on Tuesday for her flight back to the UK,
we were stopped 4 times. A hospital car and the fact that we have been on the
radio and TV recently means we are easily recognised and the last policeman
even wished us ''Joyeux Noel Docteur''. Normally our church along with many others has an
all night vigil, but this is not recommended this year given the security
situation, so there is a service from 4-8 pm tonight, Christmas Eve and a service
between 6-8am tomorrow morning. We all pray for peace at Christmas each
morning.
This year I have been making sure, along with Alan and
Ndilmbaye, that the staff get paid on time. Some still get paid in cash whilst
others have been waiting anxiously for the bank to process the payments, placed
rather late on Friday 18th and eventually in the accounts for Tuesday
22nd evening. Yesterday, the 23rd , was a bank holiday for Maalud, the birthday of
the Prophet Mohammed; all the bank ATM machines ran out of money causing
quite some anxiety.
So what do people spend their money on? Most people get new
clothes which means that Jonas and Honore (lab technicians) Raha (midwife) and
Helen (sterilisation dept) are busy as they are all part time tailors. Working
in the evenings must be difficult, its dark at 6pm and most people don’t have
electric lights. Just as well that the sewing machines are pedal power. Holidays
are also celebrated with special meals at home and at church. Ruth, Dr Isaacs
daughter, who will be coming to Christmas dinner commented that our tortoise
has grown a lot (about 10kg now) and wondered when we are going to eat him. We
are sticking with tradition and having roast chicken.
For Rebecca our cook it is an especially busy time. Cooking
for the hospital Christmas celebration on Tuesday afternoon, only a couple of
weeks after the fete to open the maternity with food once again for 200 people. Its more or less
the same menu as before which makes the timing easier. Then its more cooking for church . It’s all rather tiring and she is also a seamstress
and has recently started baking biscuits to sell to friends as well. At least
she won’t be helping to feed the church at midnight this year.
And so amidst all the business of the season, I have to give
the ‘mot de Directeur Medical’ for all our guests and colleagues assembled to
hear the story of Christmas. Its the 5th time and I guess that makes it a tradition.
As usual it was translated into Arabic by Ndilmbaye. This year , sadly, will be his last time
as he is leaving for a new job at the end of the month. Perhaps this time next
year I will be able to speak in a local language and won't need a translator? The times they are a
changin.
So what would you say to a gathering of local Muslims, and
visiting Christians from elsewhere in the city. It is good that they continue
to come, some have been every year so they must know the story by now, perhaps
they even like it, I hope so.
‘’Village chiefs,
faith leaders, invited guests, friends and colleagues, once again I have the
pleasure of inviting you to our Hospital at Guinebor II. A couple of weeks ago
we all gathered together for the opening of our new maternity unit. We thought
of the thousands of mothers and babies that had been helped in our old facilities
and gave thanks for the fact that even more can be helped in the new unit. In
the final week before the move was made a baby was born that was given the name
Emmanuel which means ‘God with us’. It is an ancient name that was first used
over 2500 years ago, a special name to bring hope in a time of trouble. Today I
want to look briefly at the first baby to be called Emmanuel in the Bible.
King Ahaz was
certainly in trouble, he was besieged in his city of Jerusalem whilst all
around his country was being ravaged by two kings and their armies who sought
to overthrow him. He didn’t know what to do and was seeking an alliance with
another stronger king so that he might receive relief. Isaiah the prophet came
to him, with a message,-'' put your confidence in God not men or kings''. It was not
a message that Ahaz wanted to hear, he wanted to be strong and active and when
he expressed doubt that God would help, Isaiah offered a sign, a young woman
would become pregnant and once her child was weaned the trouble would be
past. The child was to be named Emmanuel ‘God with us’ a prophetic sign. It was a
sign that King Ahaz chose to ignore, he made his alliance and later everyone regreted
it. God organised the deliverance of the city and its people all the same.
What about us, how
does this story have meaning today? We too live in troubled times, there is much
insecurity in the world and even here in Ndjamena. There are financial problems
as well and life is hard as the price of petrol falls and prices rise, and then
each of us have our own particular difficulties at work in our families. What
can we do? Do we behave like King Ahaz and seek to make compromises and
alliances with others disregarding the both cost and what is right? Or do we
rather decide to put our trust in God, as Isaiah recommended. A baby,
appropriately for here, could be a reminder that God is with us even in all our
difficulties and trials, a sign of hope. Can we see it?
We are here today
because the ultimate sign of hope, in a magnified echo of this prophetic story,
was born of a virgin at Bethlehem 2000 years ago, Jesus also called Emmanuel.
God with us in a new way. We can learn more about him and his birth in the play
that will follow, pay attention to him and his story, let us try not to be like
the ancient king who didn’t want to see the sign that God had given.
Jesus, born at Bethlehem, Emmanuel, God
with us.
May God richly bless
you, your families and Chad at this time and in the year to come with peace and joy.
 |
| The new maternity a sign of hope for the New Year |
No comments:
Post a Comment