Working in rural parishes in Chad Republic where for the most part, our poor faithful have very limited means of transportation, SVD confrères very often become “transporters” of hope and bringers of God’s great love. There was such a case happened to our confrères Fr. Jean Aloula and Fr. Ramamisoa Robert Belarmin, a newly ordained SVD recently joined our mission in Chad. Both are assigned to St. Francis of Asisi parish. On the 14th of January, while on the way to the outstations for mass, they became transporters of hope in saving the life of a birthing mother and a triplets of newborns. Here is their account of the event.
“On the way to mass, a young man cried after us ‘Father save us.’ We stopped and asked what was going on. He told us that his sister had delivered in their home but there was still ‘something’ in her wombs that obviously gave her alot of pain. And she was clearly going through tremendous suffering. He earnestly begged us to take her to the health clinic.  In a place of which the only car available for such service is that of ours, we are suddenly confronted with such a difficult question, should we take care of the woman groaning in painful desperation and surely have to disappoint our waiting faithful or should the sacramental need of the faithful outweigh the suffering of a laboring woman? Reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan, we decided to accompany the woman to the health clinic. The mass was consequently postponed that day.
After some times, the woman sucessfully delivered, in addition, two other children at the clinic. Evidently, the ‘something’ in her wombs turned out to be 2 precious baby girls. She had given life to a triplets of God’s children (a boy and two girls). All in all, four precious lives had been saved that day. Currently, we are doing our best to help the woman caring for her children. God surely wasn’t going to lose any of his children. We all went home filled with gratitude.” (Words of Fr. Jean Aloula)
Dear confrères, it’s surely not every day we encounter such a blessing disguised in such an uncomfortable situation. We give thanks and praise to our loving God for the lives of our faithful. We glorify our God for having guiding the decision making of our confrères. You have done well. And I think Jesus would have done the same because He is the life, the way and the truth. He has come to give life and to give it in abundance. May all be done for the glory of his Name.