Early this morning, Art started his long flight back to Chad once again. He’ll be away for almost three weeks in hopes to finish testing the book of Acts, the second to last step before publication. He wanted to finish all of the necessary revisions in Acts before leaving, but unfortunately, the last chapter still needs a lot of work. Ideally, it would be great if the translation team could work on this last chapter together with Art there between the “testing” sessions of the previous chapters.
We are so thankful for everyone who is making this trip possible for Art and for all the prayers for us and the Dadjo people!
Getting Back to Chad
It’s time for Art to begin preparations for another trip to Chad in May. in the meantime, he is working hard to have the second half of the book of Acts ready for testing in Dadjo villages. There are many things to do to prepare for this trip as well as much praying. As we look ahead to May, we are also keeping our eyes and ears open to any unrest in and around Chad that may interrupt these plans. The news that we hear of so far is positive. Troops from Chad and Niger have made progress in moving Boko Haram into retreat, but we are also cautious knowing that these troops are dealing with a very violent Islamist militant group.
Boko Haram Strikes Back (Threatening Chad)
In January, we mentioned Chad’s involvement in fending off the group Boko Haram. We were encouraged to read about Chad’s decision to help their neighbors against this group and even more so, their success. Now we are hearing in the news that Boko Haram is threatening to send suicide bombers to Chad and Niger if they continue to fight against them. Read more about it here Please pray for Chad and other neighboring countries that have joined in trying to stop this militant group.
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Check Out our NEW mini-documentary!
We have a new mini-documentary, just over 3 minutes, for our ministry. It has interviews in it, so check it out!
Our Country Made It in the News!
We were quite surprised last week when, looking at headlines on the news, we saw the country of Chad mentioned. Chad! We almost never hear of Chad on the news. Most people probably wonder who this guy Chad is that we keep talking about because they have never heard of the country before.
What many of you probably have heard about is Boko Haram. They are not in Chad, but they have made their presence known in the neighboring countries of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. So we were quite interested to find out that Chad has sent soldiers into Cameroon to try and help in holding Boko Haram back in their attacks and kidnappings of civilians. Although it’s going to take a lot of help from a variety of countries, Chad’s involvement seems to have made a difference. Way to go, Chad!
Happy New Year!!!
This is the time of year that we arrived in Chad for the very first time. It was at the end of 2001, and our colleagues showed us around N’Djamena for that first week before we took off to Cameroon for orientation. I still remember getting off the airplane, and as we stepped down the stairs to the tarmac in the hour before twilight, I was amazed at how the air smelled so strong of sand. It wasn’t even harmattan, yet everything had the smell of sand. This was sub-Sahara Africa after all. Because of how incredibly dry the air and sandy the streets, our feet had become badly cracked before that first week even ended. We had a great first week in Chad and were welcomed by almost everyone we met by a very friendly “Bonne année!” (Happy New Year!)
A year later, we were invited to spend a couple of weeks in a village far from the capital over Christmas and New Year. Our friends told us of a story from a previous year when they had asked the Chief’s permission to set off firecrackers at midnight to celebrate the New Year. They had no idea all the chaos they would cause in doing so. They found out the next morning that most of the villagers had abandoned their homes and ran for the mountains in fear for their lives. Unfortunately, the country had a history of rebel movements and attacks, some violent, so when our friends set off the “fun display”, the local people thought their village was being taken over. You can bet our friends never attempted firecrackers again.
The Question Everyone asks: What Millet Should I Grow?
Now that rainy season in gone, although the humidity still lingers, the first harvest is ready for the people of Chad.
There are two harvest seasons because of the different millet (the main food staple) that the people in central Chad grow: red millet, which handles a drier rainy season better, and white millet, which handles a wetter season better.
Of course if the season is perfect, both grow great. A friend of ours had it bad for a few years. One year, it was just plain dry and nothing wanted to grow. The following year, he planted more white millet than red assuming another bad year. Unfortunately for him, it rained too much and drowned almost his whole crop. So the next year he went after the red millet, and you can guess what happened. It was too dry, and the red millet died leaving his family with another very poor harvest.:(
No, We Don't Have Ebola.
With all the activity that is going on in Africa, Chad is still a relatively safe place to travel (if one would ever want to in the first place). There are many African countries that have rebel activity and attempted coups, and although Chad is not exempt from that, it is currently still stable enough to visit.
On a different note, with the ebola outbreak in some west African countries, some may wonder how this affects those in Chad. We have heard news from other missionary friends that there have been some cases of ebola in Nigeria which borders Chad. There are still no incidences of the disease in Chad, but some Westerners who work close to the Nigerian border, although they are not evacuating, they are taking precautions and developing a contingency plan in the case it does creep a little too close.
Make a hut in 5 steps
Almost all Chadians live in huts: “houses” made of mud-brick. The Dadjo people are included. The huts are about four feet tall and circular, with a thatched roof (roof made of sticks/hay).
- First, the Chadians take mud, and mix it with hay, or straw. This helps it to stay together.
- Then they shape the mud with molds. They want to make the mud into a usable, brick like form.
- After that, the people put the molded mud out in the sun to dry. They usually don’t bake them. The cheapest thing to do is to “sun bake” them.
- When the mud is nice and dry, they start building the hut. They pile the mud bricks to make a circular room with an opening for the door.
- After that, the Chadians put a thatched roofing on top.
Big families can live in these things because the huts serve as more of a shelter. The people almost always sleep outside, where it’s cooler. The yards, where the huts are located, are often surrounded by a wall, also made of stick like fencing. They do this to keep unwanted visitors away. In larger villages, or small towns like Mongo, people use mud brick to make their walls. Please comment!
seasons changing
October marks the end of rainy season in Chad. We have yet to find out how the crops will do as they finish ripening over the next couple of months. As I’ve mentioned months ago, rainy season had a fairly dry start this year, so many people didn’t lay seed down as early as desired. Tomorrow’s temperature in Chad’s capital will be 100F, and for the next couple of months, the temps will start to rise again, but this time, there is high humidity left over from the rains. This makes the last quarter of the year uncomfortably sweaty and sticky. One more reason to look forward to Christmas. That’s about the time when the best weather makes its way over Chad. If anyone is ever looking to visit Chad, between Christmas and Valentine’s Day is the time to go.
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