In a burning hot land like this, it’s nice to have cold drinking water – but how to get such, when the cold tap yields warm to hot water? I remember how they did in the old days – when I was a youth – and probably still do: one could buy a canvas water bag with an aluminum spout fitted with a cork. You filled the bag with water, corked the spout, and hung the bag somewhere on the vehicle. Then as you drove along, the air cooled the water. Well, we do it with one of my old (laundered) socks. We put the stainless steel water bottle in the sock, soak the sock until it drips, and hang the sock from a wire in the shade. After 15 or 20 minutes you have this nice cold water. Very refreshing in this boiling hot weather.
Well, Kel’s opportunity to spend a night in the bush came sooner than he expected. And, you’ll never guess – Josie came along! This is how it happened: last weekend of March Jonathan and Melody invited us to go birdwatching in the bush at the river. They are keen birders, and we know the African birds quite well by now. The plan was to leave mid-afternoon Sabbath, do birding until sundown, then sleep at the river on Saturday night, then return the next morning. All went well – we loaded our gear onto the motos (we had our plastic mats rolled up and secured to the handlebars of the moto – we looked like a bunch of Harley bikers when we left the house). Birding was great! We saw several new species and it was a refreshing break from the mission compound.
Christmas comes early
We received 3 packages at once on Monday, March 28. It was like opening Christmas presents. Lots of food items – and some surprises! Then another volley: 2 packages on April 13 - Thanks to all of you who sent them. If you only knew - these are our survival kits.
Pressing on with the house
The roof framing on the house is about 85% complete. We hope to start sheeting the roof in 2 weeks time. That will beat the rains by a few weeks. We poured concrete for the main steel column (inside the house) as well as for the 6 roof overhang posts a week ago.
The Hangar
The steel framing for hangar is on hold for a while. We are working on some modifications and hope to be ready to start the last phase of this project shortly.
Trip to the Capital
On April 5 & 6 we flew to the capital to get several things taken care of, one of which was Kel’s passport renewal. It was quite interesting to visit the United States Embassy in N’Djamena. Also we visited the local big hardware store to get a list of the various structural steel items that are locally available.
A miracle
During our visit to the Capital, Josie and I witnessed a miracle. Last year, as we waited at the airport for our plane to Johannesburg, we got chatting to one of the airport guards. He was one of the few who spoke English. He asked if we could bring back an English Bible for him. This we agreed to do, and wrote down his cell phone number for future contact. We selected a nice Bible in South Africa and packed it in our luggage. Not being able to locate the man when we arrived back in Chad, we planned to get the Bible to him at a future date. The opportunity finally presented itself on our recent trip to N’Jamena. I sent the guy an SMS message as we left Bere, and he texted back, saying that he’d be working Wednesday. We were at the airport, about to depart for home, and still we had not been able to see the man and make the delivery. I prayed and left it in the Lord’s hands. About one minute before Gary arrived to escort us to the plane, the guy arrived and we were able to give the Bible to him in his hands. God’s timing is perfect! And the recipient was ever so grateful.
Communion at Dabgue
On Sabbath, April 9, we went to our “church in the bush” at Dabgue, as usual. But this time we were surprised. Noel, the native chaplain at the hospital showed up with an entire kit and we celebrated the Lord’s supper, complete with foot washing, just like Jesus did in the Upper Room with His disciples. A special time, it was.
Thanks for your prayers and support. Courage to you! – from the One who gives us hope and a future.
Kel & Josie.
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