rainy season

It’s been rainy season for over a month now, but there has not been much rain to account for it. They have had a little shower here and there around the Dadjo villages, but they really need a good downpour to prepare the ground for sowing seed. Eventhough this kind of rain has not come yet, the people have started laying the seed anyway. If they wait any longer to plant, the millet will not have the chance to grow enough before the rains stop for the season. And yet, planting in the dryer soil could also be detrimental if some good thunderstorms are not soon in coming. Continue reading →

sad news

We just received news this morning that a good friend in Chad died last night. He was a big, yet very kind Dadjo man who has always been very helpful in gathering people to help test different portions of translated Scripture. Art got to know him over the years and has helped him several times getting medicine for a heart condition that he’s suffered from. Art has been able to spend time visiting with him on his visits back to Chad, and this friend shared with Art how he’s been reading the newly translated Scriptures. We pray that he took to heart God’s Word before his end came and that his family would be comforted and provided for in their loss.

Summer progress

The two man translation team in Chad is taking some time off, their alotted vacation for the year. They work on doing and redoing the drafts of Scripture with Art’s guidance. During their time off, Art has a little breathing room to catch up with them. They tend to give up quality for speed sometimes, which adds more mind puzzles for Art to think through.
Art is also involved with ministering to international students at a nearby university. Who knows, maybe he’ll run across a student from Chad there someday.

literacy

Teaching people how to read doesn’t seem that difficult. Teaching children how to read should be easier with their minds that absorb so much. But how do you think it would be to teach illiterate children how to read a language that they don’t even know? That is what’s happening in many african languages. Children are brought up speaking their tribal language, and then when they become school age, rather than teaching them in their own language, they are sent to school where they are taught their different subjects (in Chad) in French. Continue Reading>>

prayer

As we are excitedly anticipating the arrival of some good friends from Chad this evening, I’m reminded of the importance of prayer.  When we were living in Chad, we would always let friends know of our travel plans so that they could pray for our trip.  And we likewise did the same for them.  Travel was not an easy thing, with rough roads, sometimes breakdowns, and sometimes also Continue Reading>>

What's new in Chad?

When we first arrived in Chad 12 years ago, there were not many paved roads.  In the capital, the only roads that were paved were the main streets, and then there was only one working stop light.  There was another light, but it didn’t work.  Out of the 500 km to our village, only 50-100 km was paved.  The rest of it was gravel, dirt or sand, and very rough to travel Read More>>

boko haram

The terorist group, boko haram, has been in the news recently for the hundreds of girls that they kidnapped in Nigeria. They have attacked several villages killing people. They have crossed borders into both Cameroon and Chad. They are not where we have been in Chad, but we do have friends who work too close to where they have been seen. You can pray for safety for Chad.