N'Djamena Services
N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, is kingpin of the nation's infrastructure.
Virtually all government ministries, telecommunications facilities,
international and domestic transport facilities,
and commercial concerns are based in this sprawling city of 700,000.
TEAM operates an efficient, well-equipped facility to enable missionaries living
in remote parts of this vast country to take advantage of this national infrastructure.
Staffed by one or two missionary couples and a Chadian administrative assistant,
this facility offers a wide range of services including:
- guest facilities
- banking services
- modern telecommunications
- immigration processing
- shipping and purchasing
- travel services
- employee management
- medical and emergency management
Everything, in short, that it takes to keep our dedicated missionaries functioning smoothly in a difficult country.
Beginning in 2006 there will be a critical staffing need at this facility.
For more than 20 years Carl and Sandy Hodges have virtually single-handedly welcomed guests,
handled the business affaires of TEAM and other missions, and kept their heads through civil wars, floods,
and famines. Beginning in 2006 they will be eligible for a well-earned retirement.
Scores of missionaries from TEAM and other organizations will be looking to the Hodges'
successors to "make it happen" for them in N'Djamena.
Whether it's a bewildered new missionary arriving on a red-eye flight from Paris after 36 hours in transit,
or a dust-covered, sun-burned veteran arriving from a remote corner of Chad after 10 bone-jarring hours
at the wheel, a warm smile, clean room, and a shower at the TEAM guest house are always a welcome relief
from the journey. Each month fifty or more missionaries from TEAM and half a dozen other mission organizations
take advantage of our facilities, which consist of three fully furnished three-bedroom apartments and three
additional guest-rooms. Managing this facility is perhaps one of the most enjoyable facets of the
administrative task in N'Djamena. A national worker does most of the cleaning and laundry.
It is a rare week that passes without the TEAM administrator making an appearance at the N'Djamena airport
to meet arriving passengers, see off those leaving, or get much awaited mail and six dozen fresh eggs on
Missionary Aviation Fellowship's (MAF) small Cessna for a missionary out in the African bush.
It is deceptively simple to say the administrator 'meets' or 'sees off' people at the airport.
Navigating the gauntlet of immigration, customs, and security officials that preside at N'Djamena airport can
be confusing for the new arrival. The reassuring presence of the TEAM administrator means far more than simply
'meeting' them or 'seeing them off'.
TEAM holds accounts for seventeen other missions and projects and twelve different national church departments.
TEAM has about forty internal accounts for its own ministries and projects, as well as nearly one-hundred
accounts for TEAM Chad missionaries. Our office oversees a cash flow of over $10,000 a week and handles bank
transfers between half a dozen European, Chadian, and American banks for TEAM and other organizations.
Managing all this is one of those thankless yet essential tasks that permits not only TEAM's own missionaries,
but dozens of other nationals and expatriates to conduct effective ministries in a difficult country.
You are driving through the Chadian bush fifty miles from home and 300 miles from civilization and as you hit a
huge pothole hidden in the grass growing on the dirt track, you hear a sickening snap under your Land Cruiser.
You investigate and discover the bad news: a broken main spring.
You wedge a chunk of wood into the spring and limp home. You already have a plan.
The next morning you call the TEAM administrator on the HF sideband radio with the dimensions of the spring.
He arranges for its purchase (itself no easy matter in a country where NAPA hasn't been invented yet),
gets it on the MAF flight several days later, and after less than a week of 'down time' you are 'good to go'
again. Whether it is a mainspring, a couple dozen eggs, antibiotic for your child, or a special treat for your
wife's birthday, the N'Djamena administrator is there to purchase it or 'make it happen'.
The apparent triviality of this responsibility betrays its importance in a country of complex Chadian labor laws,
as well as the occasional disgruntled employee who is struggling to survive on his salary.
TEAM employs ten people in the capital, as well as several others in the provinces.
In the city this includes an office assistant, guesthouse worker, guards and house help.
We also manage the withholding taxes for another forty employees of other missions in cooperation with the
Joint Church / Mission Office.
Africa was made for emergencies, and the presence of a competent individual able to bring needed resources to
bear on these situations is reason enough in itself to justify the presence of a Business Manager in N'Djamena.
Emergencies handled by this office in years past have included serious injuries due to vehicle roll-overs,
a family disappearing in the desert for nine days, civil disorder, military coups, motorists stranded in the
wilderness, illness, and the death of missionaries or their children.
TEAM owns three properties in N'Djamena. The buildings on these properties demand constant attention
for everything from termite infestations to clogged septic systems.
TEAM and five other missionary societies have established a facility in collaboration with the
Evangelical Church of Chad to provide services that are common to all the missions concerned.
TEAM's participation in this office enables it to keep it's own overhead to a minimum and avoid
duplication of services. Staffed by two Chadian administrative assistants, the services provided by this
office include:
- Airline reservations and ticketing
- Immigration formalities for arriving missionaries
- Registration and insurance of vehicles
- Customs clearance
Most TEAM Chad missionaries have no access to email and the Internet.
Increasingly financial statements and vital communications from the home office come via their portal or on
the Web. The N'Djamena Center cares for this need and helps missionaries with their Internet activity when
they are in the Capital. It is a bit ironic when someone receives an answer to their email in 24 hours, but
it takes three weeks to get it to them from the Capital. Whatever your skills and experiance, it will be helpful.
Computer, finances, mechanics, health, counseling: all will be useful.
While caring for the office, Carl & Sandy Hodges have taught classes in a Bible College,
taught English as a second language in an evangelistic outreach, conducted refresher courses for pastors,
been active in their local church and served on several church committees.
More »