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