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'!