A Comboni Sister, Mercy Dorothy, tells us about her first encounter with Chad. “The heat of Chad may burn you at first, but it will warm your heart to love even more.”
When I made my first religious profession on September 14, 2023, and was sent to Chad, I knew nothing of the country; it was a mystery to me. I felt a mixture of joy, enthusiasm, and apprehension.
They had told me it was very hot there, hotter than in Uganda, my home country. However, it wasn’t until I landed in N’Djamena, the capital, that I realised how right they were. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and wondered how people could walk so calmly under that scorching sun. For a moment, without fear.
Then I remembered the words of Sister María Isabel Cariz, a Comboni Sister more experienced than I, who had told me: “The heat of Chad may burn you at first, but it will warm your heart to love even more.” This reassured me; I said to myself, “If others have come before me, lived and loved here, why can’t I do the same?” Initially, it was all very difficult. First the climate, then the language.
In N’Djamena, a policeman spoke to me for a long time, but I didn’t understand a word. In the markets, people smiled and spoke to me enthusiastically, convinced I understood them. They also saw me as black and thought I was Chadian. I responded with these awkward words, torn between embarrassment and tenderness. So, I began to learn Ngam-Bay.
After many months of effort, I can say I’m starting to understand something. When I started working at Saint Joseph Hospital in Bébé-Djia, it was a joy for me to return to my profession as a midwife. I work in the maternity ward, though we have to do everything.
For me, every birth is a miracle. When I see a mother and her baby leave the hospital with faces lit up with gratitude, I feel God’s presence. And when pain or loss comes, I pray silently, asking for the strength to continue loving. Being a midwife here means bringing life to the heart of fragility; it means learning that the Mission isn’t just about doing, but above all about being present, kind, and hopeful. In the parish, I’m part of the team that accompanies the vocations group.
Spending time with the girls, answering their questions, and praying with them is an immense joy for me. Together with Sister Delphine, a Togolese woman, we accompany girls who wish to become Comboni Missionaries. These young women are full of energy and a desire to serve, and they make me relive my own vocational beginnings.
Their doubts, their laughter, and their prayers remind me that vocation is a journey of love, not perfection. The girls impress me with their curiosity, their discipline, and their joy of living. Contemplating their luminous faces, I understand why I, too, have said yes to the Lord to give life and hope, even in the scorching heat of Chad.