Meet the Family: Betelmbaye (Chad)
My name is BETELMBAYE Yerima, and I’m 57 years old and living in N'Djamena, Chad. My wife, YODJIGUIMANG Marthe, and I have been married for 37 years, and we’ve been blessed with eight children and three grandchildren.
I grew up in a non-Christian, polygamous family, but I met Jesus early on. I remember tagging along with other kids my age to Sunday school at our neighborhood church. I must have been around 11 or 12. Soon after, I joined a church youth movement called Evangelical Youth Africa (Jeunesse Evangélique Afrique) to help me grow in my faith.
I poured my heart into that movement, but youth has its temptations. Sometimes, I'd drift away to hang out with friends who didn't know God and led a different kind of life. They often pulled me away from my calling in the movement, tempting me with worldly things. It's just like the Bible says: "Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33). But my leaders never gave up on me. They consistently brought me back to what truly mattered through prayer and Bible studies.
It wasn't until later that I truly felt God's call on my life. After marrying my wonderful wife, I definitively gave my life to Jesus, saying, "Lord, here I am, send me!" My wife and I both answered God's call, embarking on a four-year training program at the Bible Institute.
After our training, we served in the church for a decade. Then I taught at the Bessao Bible Institute (Chad) for four years. From there, we were sent to the Faculty of Biblical Theology (Central African Republic), for another four years of theological training. After those intense years of study, we returned to the Bible Institute to teach.
Today, after several years in teaching ministry, I'm honored to serve as a Pastor at the Evangelical Brethren Church in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. God has done many amazing things in the lives of me and my family members. He also blessed me with the joy of seeing our children join us in the Lord's work.
My absolute favorite Bible verse is from Lamentations 3:22-27:
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth."
I want to encourage today's generation to seek the Lord while there's still time, while He's still close. Love Him, serve Him—the one true and living God. Don't waste your time on the empty, worldly things that can't save you when trouble comes.
