October News . . . 10-06-2011

Well, October took off with several events - we visited Lula Lake on Saturday afternoon. The river with its two water falls are up on Lookout Mountain. There's a nice trail to the falls, which we walked on after our picnic lunch.
Josie sang for a wedding last Sunday. Kel & the guys accompanied her on guitars & bass guitar. Then she sang on Monday night and Tuesday night for the Net 2011 "Prophecy Decoded" seminar in Nashville. We stayed in a motel both nights. Josie made her vocal CD available at the meetings and sold several (see www.josieburgoyne.com).
On Wednesday morning we made a kwik pass thru the City of Nashville on our way home. We have always driven past the city, on our way along I-65, I-24 or I-40, but never actually driven through the city. There are some cool steel bridges (old and modern) that cross the Cumberland River on the edge of City Center. We walked some on the Greenway along the river. Music City it definitely is, with many music hang-outs along the streets. There's a merging of the old and the new - old brick buildings and stone churches that date back 100 or more years, and new steel and glass skyscrapers. One doesn't get the feel of a concrete jungle, though. We were surprised at the "open" feeling of the city.
We have been swimming on Thursday nights. We missed a swimming pool when we were in Chad.
Hope this post finds you well - God is good!
Till later - Kel & Josie

Summer is Ending

Well, here we are in September already! Time flies - we've not been updating our blog like we should have been doing. Sorry for the delay. However, we've been quite busy - Josie has had several singing appointments (one of which took us to West Virginia and another to Virginia in June. We met up with the Hospital Director from Bere at a Camp Meeting in Virginia. He and his wife were back Stateside visiting family, and their new baby was also born during the home visit. The two of them have become friends and associates of ours). Josie has also made CD sales as we've travelled. We have also been to several churches of other denominations, where Josie has been invited to sing - God has beautiful people in the different churches, and it has been a blessing to also share with all the believers some news of our mission trip and show some photographs at the same time. We have received awesome support and prayers.
Kel has been busy this summer with design and drawings of the finishes to the airplane hangar, as well as making a construction drawing of a proposed new duplex residence for GMI staff. We need accomodation for the volunteers that come to help us on the mission.
Before we left Chad in May, the Hospital director approached Kel and asked him if he would assist with the design and drawing of a 20-year Master Plan for the Hospital. This he was glad to do, and has spent a chunk of time this summer, assisted by Brett, who is a proficient AutoCAD Technician, making drawings of the Hospital Site Plan, the new Private Ward, new Surgery Building, new Maternity Ward and a new Residence for additional doctor. It's been an awesome journey, as well as a fulfilled dream for Kel to use his design talents for the Lord's work on earth.
A new project in Malawi has also been crying out for attention, and Kel has offered to assess the structural integrity of the existing buildings on this campus.
Josie has also spent many hours this summer on her hobby: sewing & dressmaking. She has sewed some incredible dresses for her friends, as well as for the needy children of Chad. She hopes to publish some of the dressmaking miracles in a future blog.
Plans are to return to Chad in the next couple of months and complete the projects started, as well as start some new ones. Keep all the missionaries in your prayers.
We hope this finds you encouraged in the Lord Jesus, and confident of His help and presence in your lives. Keep courage! God is good.
Love,
Kel & Josie

Back Stateside - but wheels still turning

June 7, 2011
After a 3-day journey from Bere, we arrived in Atlanta, to be met by our sons Brett & Roger. They had driven from Collegedale to meet us. Our journey started at the bus stop in Bere. The bus ride to N'Djamena, the capital, takes about 6 hours. We counted 78 camels, in different little groups, about an hour south of the capital. Arrangements had been made for "our" taxi driver (we at Bere share him) to pick us up and take us to the TEAM Mission, where we spent a night and portion of the next day. Our flight left at 14h20, headed for Addis Ababa. From there we changed planes and headed for Dulles, Washington, via Rome. It was a L-O-N-G night. Arrived at a wet Dulles airport, due to overnight rains. After a 5-hour wait we boarded a flight for Atlanta, and were pleased to experience the sunshine and fluffy clouds in Atlanta. Folks were complaining that it was hot, but to us it felt like a nice day.
We were shocked to see the destruction in the Ringgold/Apison area as a result of the tornadoes that passed thru there in late April. The people along this path are still rebuilding. Many homes and buildings were removed from their foundations.
It has been a reverse culture shock to be in busy traffic, walk thru the well-stocked aisles at Wal-Mart, attend church in an air conditioned building and step into an actual bank. We notice the absence of ox carts and motorcycles - feels strange.
At present we are house sitting for a couple on White Oak Mountain in Collegedale while they are on vacation, so we take care of 3 dogs, 2 cats and a huge flower garden that needs watering.
Kel is designing and making drawings this summer for the remaining portions of the steel structures the guys were working on in Chad before we left. There is still much to do. Josie is getting ready to sing at two Camp Meetings later this month. She also has several other venues booked to sing at in July/August. She has another batch of CD's ready to sell, so will be quite busy with music presentation & sales this summer.
We trust our blog finds you in good health, and that your courage is good.
God bless each of you in your corner of labor.
Till later,
Kel & Josie

Rain

RAIN!

Well, the rains have come – we’ve had three nice rain storms in the past two weeks. On the first one, several of us just stood in the rain and let it soak us to the skin. It had been so hot that the cool water falling out of the sky was very refreshing. In just a few minutes the parched ground was actually holding water. Everything is coming to life – we notice new green leaves on the guava trees in our compound and bright green blades of grass springing up everywhere. Also, the hollow spots on the “great northern road” are filled with water and the village pigs are having a ball in the mud!

So far we have experienced several dust storms and we have to quickly close the shutters to keep the sand out of our bed!

PROJECTS

Our team erected the first one-day church in Chad, two weeks ago when Kel had malaria, so he couldn’t go. Since then we have erected another, and Kel had malaria then, too, but he was able to ride the motorbike the short distance, climb a ladder, and drive a few screws. We set the foundation stub posts in concrete one day, then the next day we erect the structure. The tin roof is added later. The congregation is responsible for the walls, doors, and benches. This gives them a part in their church as well.

Work on the roof of Gary’s house has progressed to the point that we are about 90 percent complete. There is still work to do on the hangar.

PEOPLE

At this point, Josie wishes she could insert several photos – the people here are dressed so colorfully. The women work very hard, you can watch even older women walk down the sandy main road with a large bundle of wood on their heads. We have seen big clay pots on their heads. And the women who bring market produce to our gates put large metal bowls on their heads FULL of papayas, or trays of bananas, etc. It would be difficult to lift the heavy bowl, but these women lift the heavy bowl above their head and carry it ON their head. The children are so cute, always wanting to shake your hand and greet you with “Lapia” (say LAH-pee-ah). This time of year, the little hands that are extended are sticky with mango!

MANGOS

For the past two months, we have been swamped with mangos, and Josie recently helped each of the other two gals to make many quarts of mango sauce. One of the trees in our compound is still loaded with large mangos. During the night we can hear them drop, because they crash through the leaves and thud when they hit the ground. Free fruit from the sky! All the kids are eating mangos.

SCHOOL

Josie has had a slow month teaching in the elementary school in April due to the many holidays and other times such as teachers meetings, voting, or any excuse the faculty can find to close the school! Out of 13 days (Mon, Wed, Fri) she only taught 5 times. It is apparent that the education system (school attendance) needs better emphasis. Often Josie will get to the school on a Mon or a Fri, after walking from Bendele, about 1.8 miles to find the school locked, no children or teachers. And no one had given her prior notice. Oh well . . . nice walk and Josie is noticing that there are small groups of children along the road on the way home who are singing “Jesus Loves Me” in their native Nangjere that she taught them.

MALARIA

Well, Josie finally succumbed to the anopheles parasite. She spent a few days in bed last week, but is now over it. As soon as Josie got better, Kel came down with the third bout since January and is on his final dose of quinine. Quinine is an awful treatment. We read that Dr. David Livingstone used it in the 1800s while journeying in central Africa, so it’s been around a long time. Quinine has some bad side effects, including blurred vision, ringing in the ears, vomiting and sometimes hallucinations.

RETURN to US

Today, in just a week, we will be in the capital getting ready to board our plane from N’Djamena to Addis Ababa, change planes, then via Rome to Dulles/Washington and on to Atlanta. We are looking forward to escaping the intense heat (daytime temps have been around 120 deg F, with overnight temps dropping to a cool 95). It has been so hot some nights that we wet our shirts, wave them around to cool, and wear them wet to bed just to get to sleep.

We will probably freeze wherever there is air conditioning, so if you see us wearing ski jackets and woolen caps, with a blanket tucked under our arms, you will understand!

Thanks for your prayers and support. Courage to you! – as you journey along life’s road.

Kel & Josie.

Bits and Pieces

Cold drinking water

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.

Overnite in the bush

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.

Natalie's Frog Dress

About a week ago, as the airplane was doing touch-n-go training flights, I noticed a small girl in the group of kids who was wearing (literally) a rag for a dress. It was torn in so many places that she was a bit embarrassed trying to cover her little body. I asked Benjamin, one of the teenagers who speaks a tiny bit of English, in my broken French and English to have her come with us. I asked Benjamin to accompany her because she was so shy and

acted scared. We went to my hut where I pulled out a tape measure and decided to just measure the rag dress she was wearing. Benjamin took her home and I drew a simple dress pattern from the measurements. Learned her name is Natalie (they say nah-TAH-lee) and she is 7 years old. Found some fabric I brought – from Hobby Lobby – with bright rainbow-colored frogs all over the black background. The pattern I drew fit perfectly on that small piece of fabric. So two Wednesdays ago I sat at Danae Netteberg’s table, borrowing Danae’s sewing machine plugged into a transformer, and sewed the little dress (same pattern piece for front and back, simple).

Yesterday, I asked Benjamin to bring Natalie because I had the dress ready. He brought a very scared little girl to my hut, but I showed her the dress and she smiled for the first time. I asked her to help me (Benjamin helped, too) pick up the plastic bags that had blown into our part of the yard, and to rake some leaves, then she could have the dress. The principle here was to have her do a little work to “earn” the dress. We only worked for, maybe, 15 minutes, then I folded the dress and gave it to her. When we got to the gate of our compound, Natalie’s mother with a baby girl on her back, and Natalie’s little sister were waiting for her. They were all smiling and the mother spoke to me in French.

Today, (Monday) after teaching English to the 2^nd graders at the Adventist Elem, I walked home and was greeted by small groups of children coming to me and trying to sing the song I have been teaching them when I walk to and from the school, the chorus of “Jesus Loves Me,” in their home language of Nangjere. (A lot of children do not go to school.) There were 3 different groups of children today, and in the last group were Natalie wearing the froggy dress and a bright blue head scarf (adorable!), her mother and little sister! A surprise for me!

Something I really enjoy is telling children stories and teaching them songs. The Nangjere language is not difficult to pronounce (French is more difficult to wrap your tongue around in my opinion), and our local Chadian translator, Frederick, has been helping us with French and Nangjere words to choruses. I mentioned previously that I had the nature story at the branch Sabbath School in Dabgue two Sabbaths ago. Well, this past Sabbath I had the lesson – Abraham’s test in sacrificing Isaac. I prayed that everyone would understand the parallel beauty when comparing that story to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Frederick translated English to Nangjere. Just in the telling of the story, it came alive again for me.

I have been praying for a way to reach the people because of our language barrier, but I saw today, in the simple chorus of “Jesus Loves Me,” that the children understand the words and want to learn it. Continue to pray that we will find small ways to reach them with the Gospel.

Jesus is coming soon and we don’t have much time left. Every day is a day closer!

Donating

If you want to help in the cause you can donate through this link. http://josieburgoyne.com/