Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! The tree is up, the lights are twinkling, the advent calendar is slowly counting down, and finally we are looking forward to Christmas in our own home. We were just flicking back through our blog posts and found one from the end of last year entitled '12 beds in 12 months'. At that time who would have known it would be another 12 months and 5 more beds before we finally made our last move for a few years. So now we are here, moved in and starting to get unpacked. The MAF plane from Uganda arrived on Tuesday last week with the rest of our belongings and so we are finally opening boxes packed two years ago, which is very exciting. Each day has felt like an early Christmas with forgotten toys, books, ornaments and kitchen dishes being unearthed. There are so many things that we are grateful to finally have back with us to make our house feel more homely.

 

Work life with MAF Chad has continued to be very busy for Sam with his time and attention being pulled in so many directions. We have had the privilege of supporting so many of our partners and missionaries involved in different areas of work across the country. Below is a testimony from one of our partners, talking about the difference our flights makes to their work.

‘I am sitting on a MAF plane as I type this. We are a family of 4 (soon to be 5) and we live with our colleagues (4 other adults) in a very remote area in the North of Chad. Remote, as in the last time we drove to our ministry area it took us 9 days to drive 1600km. Today's flight will take 4 hours. To get there, it is necessary to first cross dry scrub land called the Sahel, then the vast expanse of sandy desert, devoid of any marking except the tracks of those vehicles to have made this journey before us, and the skeletons of camels and ruined vehicle parts of those who did not make it. After that we have to pass through rugged mountains where the track is so rough that it quite literally shakes our vehicle apart. We drive a land cruiser as that is the toughest vehicle available to us, but still breakdowns are common.

As we go through the mountains we pass many carcasses of vehicles that have hit landmines left after wars of years past, we saw 20 or so on the last day of travel, we heard that another was added a month ago. In addition to landmines there is the local history of banditry and kidnapping. However it is a breakdown far from water that is always our greatest worry. It is possible to drive to our home in 4 or 5 days, but despite having rugged vehicles, the inevitable breakdowns mean that it usually takes much longer (we can't go far with a snapped chassis or a drive shaft that has fallen off or a wheel hub that has cracked in two, even tiny things like dust in our carburetor can bring us to a halt, not to mention getting stuck in soft sand). Only a few months ago we heard of a vehicle with 18 people on board that got off the main track and broke down in the desert, 3 were alive when they were rescued. We ourselves have come across a vehicle, broken down and running out of water. After helping them out, we used our satellite phone to call their friends to come and rescue them. We always carry 260 litres of fuel to traverse the longest gap between towns, and about 200 litres of water to keep ourselves alive for several days, but this does not leave much capacity for bringing our own cargo up.

However with MAF we can bring around 700kg of payload (including people's weight) both up and down (we coordinate with our colleagues to optimize the use of every flight, we make use of every kilo). With MAF, this otherwise long and dangerous (not to mention boring for the little ones) journey is reduced to a quick 4 hour flight. Also the trip is much more comfortable for my pregnant wife, and there is great peace of mind knowing that help can be here quickly if we have a crisis. Travel is by far the single largest expense of our ministry. When we go overland although we have to buy 500 or more litres of fuel, but this cost is only about 20% of the total, the rest being repairs. Flying with MAF is only about 20% more expensive than driving thanks to a significant subsidy made possible by the generosity of MAF’s supporters. Thank you for your help it makes a huge difference to those of us seeking to be a blessing at 'the ends of the earth'.”

This is a great example of why we are here.  We have seen a big increase of the mission community here in the last year and MAF's level of activity has increased by more than 40% since we arrived just over a year ago to meet the growing needs of so many of our partners. Managing the programme and the team has had its challenges but we are so grateful for the support we have had and the dedication of the team to serving many people at the forefront of mission

For us all as a family, living in Chad is now easier with more of everyday life becoming familiar. It is great to have experienced all the 'seasons' in Chad as we now know what to expect when. We know what hot season means (it's very very hot and you sweat all day and night), we know what dust storms look and feel like (you can taste the dust in your mouth and you feel like you are in a cloud for a few days), we know how cold winter is (you do need a blanket and a jumper even in the desert), and we know what it feels like when the first rain finally comes after 8 months to break the humidity (hallelujah!). We know when to expect the mosquitoes, the flies, the termites. Lizards all around are normal and we love to find the chameleons, praying mantis and sand lions.

We have adjusted to the new normal of limiting our movements to certain areas of town and we now fully expect to be stopped, checked and have the beeping wand search us when we go shopping, out for a meal or to one of the hotels. We still both regularly wish that we were more fluent in French and Arabic so that we can break down some of the barriers we have with relating to local Chadian friends or just communicating through everyday life.  Unfortunately though we just continue to fumble through with our broken French and non existent Arabic as best we can.  

November has just passed with two special birthdays. Rebecca turned two on the 19th and Rachel turned four on the 30th. It felt like a month of cake as we celebrated both the actual birthdays and had a joint party for them with all the compound children somewhere between the two dates. They were special days with both girls being loved by family and friends both near and far.
 

Rebecca has become a confident toddler comfortable in her surroundings and loving her time with her little friends on the compound. She is rather loud at times, singing and dancing to her own little tunes. She has grown up so much in the last few months and is now fully potty trained (hooray) and talking full sentences all day long...it is not unusual to have to ask her to stop talking so we can clean her teeth! She is on the go all day long and has even decided that day naps are now overrated...Mummy does not agree! 

Rachel is now a more independent young girl, eager to learn and loving her special friends. She has loved home school and is so keen to sound out words and to try and write the alphabet. She has a great imagination for play and it is so great to listen to her making up stories and teaching Becca songs, all about listening and obeying mummy and daddy! Her world has been slightly rocked these last few weeks as she had to say goodbye to one of her first proper friends, Nathan as he left Chad to move back to Australia. Goodbyes are hard, even more so when you are four and it then means you have to move house again. We are hoping and praying that the stability of a home now will be very beneficial for Rachel as we settle into new routines. 

Thank you for all your prayers throughout this year. As we head into 2016, here are a few areas we would really value and appreciate your prayers for:

• Our security as we live and move around the city. Although we haven’t had any targeted attacks in the capital since July, we are still very much on heightened security measures as there is a continuing threat of terrorist attacks from Boko Haram.
• Rachel as she continues to process her very close friend leaving and moving house again. We pray that she will begin to feel more settled and that the many transitions of the last two years won’t affect her going forward.
• Abby and Rachel as they embark on a new home-school curriculum from January teaching Rachel the reception year of the British curriculum.
• Praise God for good health for all of us over the last few months and pray that this will continue as we go into the New Year
• Wisdom for Sam as he continues to lead the team and manage the programme.

So, let us take this opportunity to thank you so much for your love, prayers and continued support to us as a family throughout this past year. We would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas and pray for God's blessings upon you as you enter the New Year.

 

Lots of Love and Blessings

 

Sam, Abby, Rachel and Rebecca

Refreshed!

As the summer has now come and gone we decided it was about time to turn back to sharing our news, thoughts and reflections on our life and work here in Chad.

July and August gave us an opportunity to take 6 weeks out of the programme to travel, rest, reflect, share and shop!! After a year in Chad we were definitely ready for a break and some good quality family time. If we were asked to sum up our first year, it would be have to be described as 'interesting'! While some times felt like an upward hike with no end in sight, this was very much intermixed with a sense of feeling more at home, enjoying the new familiar sights and sounds and feeling peaceful about being here. 

Fun cousin time in the UK

Returning to the UK was a special time for Rachel and Rebecca as they were able to spend a lot of time with their grandparents, aunties, uncles and more importantly cousins! It was great seeing the girls reactions to simple things...drinking water from the tap, eating strawberries and nectarines, scooting and cycling to the park, and wearing socks and trainers!! I think the biggest thing we all enjoyed was the freedom to just walk out of the house. With the recent bomb attacks in N'Djamena we were very much confined to the compound with the girls hardly leaving at all in the weeks before our leave, so to be able to walk, scoot and cycle freely felt like such a blessing to enjoy. 

Loving the beach in Florida

For this break we travelled to the UK and the USA to ensure we connected with as many of our supporters as possible and to share about our first year here. Intermixed with the sharing was some great holiday time as a family. We had a cold and wet week camping in a field in Shepton Mallet, SW England, at the New Wine United conference. This was a great week of worship and teaching, seeking and praying! It also gave us a chance to miss the heat of Chad as we camped in the freezing cold British summer! From a cold tent we jumped on a plane and had a great week in the heart of Chicago loving a bit of city life, being totally spoilt by some special friends and sharing with new friends. We then headed down to Florida for a quieter week and gave the girls their first beach experience, which they loved! After a last few days in Dallas again connecting with many friends, and sharing more about our work we headed back to the UK for a final church visit, last bits of shopping, final special moments with family and then the dreaded big bag pack!  

Back to playing on the
compound in Chad

So in a whirlwind it came and went and we have now been back in Chad for over a month and ironically Sam has already  been back in the UK for budget and managers meetings. One of our greatest prayers as we left Chad tired and a bit bruised in July, was that we would miss Chad and would be positive about our return. So far so good! We came back with open hearts and minds and are ready to see what God has in store for our next year in Chad. We have adjusted back well and the girls are coping very well with spending a lot of their time on the compound as we continue to limit our movements. Rachel is very much enjoying being back with Nathan for homeschool and I hardly see her each morning as she and Nathan finish school and then play and play till the older children come home for lunch. And little Becca is toilet training, talking loads and loving pottering with her friend Tim all over the compound.

Suicide bomb attacks in Chad's capital N'djamena...we are all safe.

Yesterday the people of Chad were in shock as the news of two suicide bombers spread fast...today we are a country in mourning, grieving 23 lives taken far too soon. 

Yesterday, mid morning, two suicide bombers targeted two locations in N'djamena, one the police head quarters and one the police training school. Senseless acts of terrorism that not only killed 23 people and injured over 100 but has now instilled a level of fear into the hearts of all those living here in the capital. (Please read more here).

Boko Haram had said they would attack because Chad has sent forces to work alongside Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. It is widely believed this is the work of Boko Haram. Whether the attacks stop here or continue, only time will tell.

All MAF staff, both national and international are safe and well although obviously shocked and saddened by what has occurred. N'djamena is a very small city and so everything is so close. There is now a huge lock down in the whole city and the security forces are restricting movements and access to many areas of the city. This is obviously understandable but not sustainable as so many areas of the city are closed off. Today the airport was closed to all vehicles which meant to get the the MAF hanger and office all staff had to walk about a 15 minute walk past the security barriers in 40 degree heat. 

For the next few days we are being advised to restrict all our movements, especially with children. The government has just declared three days of mourning and so we are expecting an extended period of lockdown in the city as many of the funerals take place. 

Please join us in praying for peace in this city and in the country as a whole. 

Thank you to all those who checked on us and have sent messages. 

May 2015 newsletter

A week of dust and riots!

Rebecca loves the trampoline!

I had great intentions of coming to Chad and becoming an expert blogger!! Regular updates, exciting news, sharing our lives in Chad with you!! Oh well, we will keep trying as we are so blessed by the number of people who do read this blog and the lovely responses we have had from what we have posted so far.

Firstly thank you so much for all the amazing messages of support we received after our latest newsletter. We were so touched by all your words of love and comfort. A month on we are now doing well and feel in a much better place to embrace the year ahead.

So, what a week we have had in Chad. Last week the police began to enforce the wearing of helmets for those riding on motorbikes (of which there are very many!). Well, this caused chaos, rioting and a lot of problems. Its a muddled past of whether you must or must not wear a helmet here. At one time it was enforced and then it was relaxed and then there were rumours that Boko haram were hiding bombs under helmets so then everyone was told not to wear them, and now we are back to all motorcyclists having to wear them. As the rules change, the price of helmets change, so of course now to buy a helmet will costs you about $30-40!! Ridiculously high for the common man on the street. So last week a lot of students began to protest against this law and many had their bikes confiscated by the police as well as some students being arrested. This week the protests were about the students who were arrested still being held by police and on Monday the violence escalated to three people dying in the riots. So now there are simmering tensions and continuing pockets of unrest. After Mondays violence all school were closed indefinitely to limit movements and control the situation. Please join us in praying for a quick resolution to this situation and that there will not be any more violence and deaths. Also pray for protection for us all as we move around the city cautiously.

our car dashboard on Sunday evening!

We have also had some amazing dust storms this week. The week began very very hot! 40 degrees celcius at 7pm! We thought the hot season was well and truly coming. But the last two days have been pleasantly cooler but with the hazy dust everywhere. Last night it was if a thick fog had descended, only it was dust!! Everywhere!!! This morning any surface you touch is thick with dust, along with our noses...I cant count the number of times the girls have sneezed this morning!!

On the work front the last two months have been incredibly busy. There were more flight hours recorded in February than in any one month over the last few years. Unfortunately this has meant several nights and some weekends away from family for the pilots and very long days for those in office but we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to serve so many more of our partners. As Sam continues to get to grips with his role, he is starting to move ahead with the restructuring of the team and finding more efficient ways of operating. This process will take a long time but the changes and improvements currently being explored have been long overdue. Sam would value your prayers as he seeks God's wisdom in dealing with all this.

So we are now looking forward to a weekend with Sam. He was away in Kenya for the whole of last week on a training course and just returned this Monday. So two little ladies are looking forward to some good quality 'Daddy time'!

Happy New Year!