Harvest Prayer of Praise & Confession (Adapted From Gathering for Worship, BUGB, p. 398):
“God of creation, we praise you. Once there was nothing, but now the world teems with life and the cup of your provision overflows. Once there was emptiness, but now there is sound and colour, majestic mountains and intricate petals. Beasts and birds gain their food from you, and all humankind depends on the fruitfulness of the earth you have made. We praise you, faithful provider, generous and gracious provider/You have made more than enough and your love and care are prodigal; but now we confess that we have been blind to the beauty, selfish in our stewardship and arrogant in our taking and using of what is not ours. Our hands have been closed when they should have been open in sharing; our hearts have been cold when they should have been warm with your love, and all we have created is chaos and distress. Forgive us that our sisters and brothers are hungry; forgive us when we have exploited your world when we should have cared for it. Send Your Spirit to move over and amongst us to make a new creation in Jesus Christ, in whose Name we pray…Amen.”
Operation Chad (Transcription permitted/ of commentary from video):
BMS Operation Chad is a video appeal resource designed to help the churches pray for and financially support the life-saving work of our team at GUINEBOR 2 HOSPITAL (G2H) in Chad. Since filming the 2020 video at G2H the world has changed in ways no could have foreseen. BMS called back to see how Covi-19 had affected G2H:-
KALBASSOU DOUBASSOU (BMS-supported G2H Director): “I am praying every day that God will protect us, our team; we are taking precautions but praying a lot, that God would prevent us from being caught by Covid. The heat is there…the fear of Covid is there…there is a lot of stress…”
Asked if he was tired, KB laughed heartily: “Well, I’m still carrying on, that’s my normal life! I feel like it’s a privilege to take care of people and make sure that they’re healthy. I’m so happy to do that every day, even though in the evening I am exhausted. But I will say, ‘Lord, thank you, because you have granted me the privilege, so restore me, so I will be able to do it again tomorrow.’ So, I’ve seen God really moving, as people come to the hospital, desperate; they move out of the hospital full of joy, so I’m happy for that. I am committed to do that…”
AL-FADIL ABALALLAH (Major trauma survivor): “It was raining and the van I was driving skidded and flipped over. I was terrified; I lost consciousness for an hour…I couldn’t see anything. A doctor in Cameroon wanted to amputate my leg. I spent 5 months with traditional healers. I suffered, terribly. My boss told me he had been in a similar accident, but when he went to G2H, he got better. That’s why he brought me here. My leg started to heal. The doctors are really looking after me. I think that, by the grace of God, everything is going to be okay...” (Al Fadil’s bone reconstruction surgery was performed by Kalbassou).
KD: “For those who have no idea about Chad or G2H – Chad is a country where most of the people don’t earn much, to survive…and they need care. Most people come here because they know we are going to care for them. I would say to anyone who is hearing this message: you can make a difference in many lives…you can save a life. You can bring someone to Jesus…for eternal life. There’s lot to give. I am proud of the hospital. It’s making a big difference” - as patients and staff can testify…
“My boy is alive because he came to this hospital…”/”Coming here has strengthened my faith in God…”/”I’m so happy! I trusted the midwives…I knew I’d have a good birth…”/”If my friends, my brother, my family tell ill…I’d call Kalbassou…”
“Today I can give malaria treatments to patients who come to us…” (Agnes Netade, Nurse)/”Today I can diagnose over 30 patients…” (Dr Moussa)/”Today I can give the right medicine to people who desperately need it…” (Claire Bedford, Chemist)/”Today I can help 10 mothers give birth…” (Florence Neloumta, Midwife)/”Today I can pray with my patients in the Operating Room…” (Patrice, Anasthetist).
Will you help? £13 can save a life; £80 provides a nurse for a whole week; £695 will mean 52 patients are cared for and 4 life-saving surgeries performed, and 5 babies safely delivered!
“We deliver babies, we remove cancers, we stitch up gun shots; we identify corona virus symptoms and get sufferers the help they need. We bind up wounds…we pray for the broken-hearted…we show poor people a Christian welcome…and see people come to faith in Jesus Christ. We do all of this every day. We do it through the heat…and the long hours…and through our tears. We do through the fear of Boko Haram. We do it because people need us…and because Jesus commands it.”
Short Reflection: “My Name shall be there…”
27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. (1Kings 8)
I have to confess that I didn’t know too much about the country of Chad, except that it was ‘somewhere in Africa’. Since we are supporting Operation Chad this year it seemed only right to obtain at least some information about the country. I first consulted the BMS PowerPoint Quiz (and then Wikipedia) to discover where Chad was in the enormous Continent of Africa. It was named after Lake Chad; it has two official languages, French and Arabic. The population is about 15m. It is a Muslim-majority country, though about 40% of the population call themselves Christian. Land-locked Chad is surrounded on all sides by Sudan, Libya, CAR, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.
Even I know this as an incredibly volatile part of the world - characterised by tribal violence and religious warfare, extreme poverty and socio-economic inequality and political corruption. Chad I learned is classified as a failed state. Life expectancy in Chad is 52. Its borders are porous and it is often host to hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom are traumatised and suffering. Guinebor 2 Hospital, on the edge of the Chadian capital N’Djamena, has been providing health-care services and ministering (in the Name of Christ) to surrounding communities since 2011.
The majority of its patients are from a Muslim-background. The majority of the G2H staff are devoted Christians. Just so everyone will know a large sign outside the simple building says, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” “My Name shall be there…”
It seems to be that this place – which I had never heard of a month ago – has almost become a victim of its own reputation and success. People from every background know exactly where to come to receive care and healing and a Christian welcome. The bottom line is that the Lord has made all alike in the image and likeness of God. To refuse to help would be an affront to God’s Name. It reminds me of the crowds who would always gather around the Lord Jesus and His followers when He was in town. They knew where to come!
“We deliver babies, we remove cancers, and we stitch up gun shots… we identify corona virus symptoms and get sufferers the help they need… and (we) see people come to faith in Jesus Christ…”
We are told that some of G2’s Muslim patients find faith in Christ because of the love they have received from Christian staff. We should not miss just what such “apostasy” might mean for those new converts.
“And (we) see people come to faith in Jesus Christ…”
”Today I can pray with my patients in the Operating Room…” (Patrice, Anasthetist).
It seems to me that the whole place is surrounded and bathed in prayer. There will be no more powerful venture than the one that is immersed in prayer.
My Name shall be there…”
“We pray for the broken-hearted…”
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour. (Isaiah 61: 1-3)
My Name shall be there…”
“We do all of this every day. We do it through the heat…and the long hours…and through our tears. We do through the fear of Boko Haram…”
“But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…” (Isa 43)
We do it because people need us…and because Jesus commands it.”
Operation Chad (Reflection Video/transcription Prayer):
A Prayer of Dedication for G2H, based on 1 Kings, Chapter 8 –
“Father God, there is no-one like you in heaven or on earth. You keep your covenant with your people, and show them your love. The heavens cannot contain you, much less those places created by human kind. And, yet…Your Spirit dwells in this place. Please listen to the prayers of your servants and our pleas for mercy. Lord, our God, may your eyes be open to this place, both night-and-day…this place, of which you said, ‘My Name Shall be there!’ Hear us when we pray for this place and for all the people in it…for those who are sick and suffering. Please have mercy on them. May Your Healing Spirit flow through this hospital, healing those touched by disease, affected by life-changing accidents or caught in conflicts.
Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place.
Hear us when we pray for this place, when we pray for those who have travelled across borders to receive the care they desperately need. May Your Presence ground those whose lives have been uprooted, and may You make Yourself known to those who don’t as yet know You. Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place. Hear us, O Lord, when we pray for this place…to those who have dedicated their lives to serving in this hospital. Give strength to the nurses, doctors, midwives, porters and all the other crucial workers, who are saving lives every day. May everything they do be done in Your Name and in a way that glorifies You.
Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place.
Praise be to the Lord who has given rest and healing to His people. May the Lord, our God, be with us always. May He never leave us or forsake us. May He turn our hearts to Him, to walk in obedience with Him, and may these words which we have prayed before the Lord be near to the Lord our God, both day and night…that He may uphold all who work and stay at this hospital, according to each day’s needs…that all those in this place know that the Lord is God and that He dwells among them. Amen.”
Operation Chad (Reflection Video/transcription Prayer):
A Prayer of Dedication for G2H, based on 1 Kings, Chapter 8 –
“Father God, there is no-one like you in heaven or on earth. You keep your covenant with your people, and show them your love. The heavens cannot contain you, much less those places created by human kind. And, yet…Your Spirit dwells in this place. Please listen to the prayers of your servants and our pleas for mercy. Lord, our God, may your eyes be open to this place, both night-and-day…this place, of which you said, ‘My Name Shall be there!’ Hear us when we pray for this place and for all the people in it…for those who are sick and suffering. Please have mercy on them. May Your Healing Spirit flow through this hospital, healing those touched by disease, affected by life-changing accidents or caught in conflicts.
Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place.
Hear us when we pray for this place, when we pray for those who have travelled across borders to receive the care they desperately need. May Your Presence ground those whose lives have been uprooted, and may You make Yourself known to those who don’t as yet know You. Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place. Hear us, O Lord, when we pray for this place…to those who have dedicated their lives to serving in this hospital. Give strength to the nurses, doctors, midwives, porters and all the other crucial workers, who are saving lives every day. May everything they do be done in Your Name and in a way that glorifies You.
Hear our prayer from heaven, Your dwelling place.
Praise be to the Lord who has given rest and healing to His people. May the Lord, our God, be with us always. May He never leave us or forsake us. May He turn our hearts to Him, to walk in obedience with Him, and may these words which we have prayed before the Lord be near to the Lord our God, both day and night…that He may uphold all who work and stay at this hospital, according to each day’s needs…that all those in this place know that the Lord is God and that He dwells among them. Amen.”