Yesterday, there were some attacks on two police installations in N’Djamena, with possibly 27 people dead and over a hundred injured. It is still unknown who is responsible for these attacks, but government officials believe that it is Boko Haram. Chad has been engaged in fighting against Boko Haram for several months now along with Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Although this is sad and frightening news for the country, and for our colleagues and friends there, we are thankful that Art is back home, and that he was able to meet all of his goals while in Chad last month. Please remember to pray for peace for Chad and for many to be drawn to the one true God no matter what takes place.
dadjo
Back in Chad
It has been a week now since Art arrived in Chad, and after visiting people in the capital, filling out paperwork for being in country, and another day of travel to the village, he was finally able to start some work with the translation team last Saturday. Since then (apart from Sunday) he has spent everyday going over several chapters of Acts with the team, and twice so far they were able to take the stories from Acts to different villages to test the accuracy of their translation. Today’s testings have been going well.
On a casual note, Art was able to visit several people last Sunday, and while he was visiting with some of these people, it rained! Being hot season still, the rain was so welcoming and brought the temps down a good 10F/5C degrees for a couple of days. Now it’s creeping back up to 110F/43.3C.
visit to Chad
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.
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!
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.:(
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.
Cotton Spinning
During one of Art’s times in a nearby Dadjo village a few years ago, he came across an older man who wanted to show Art his handiwork. Art was more than happy to learn of this man’s expertise, so on his next visit there, he brought his camera and listened, learned and took photos of this man’s work with raw cotton. It was a great time to watch this man turning puffy cotton into a fine thread. He placed the cotton balls on a board and rolled the seeds out with a skinny metal bar. He then stuck the cleaned cotton on a stick and pulled thin threads out, twisting it as he pulled. With the finished thread, he wound it around a long spool, examining it carefully continue reading>>
get-away
As a missionary in Chad, and in most 3rd world settings, there is rarely any understanding for the need of some degree of privacy. From early morning to late in the evening, there’s always the potential to have visitors. Whether it is welcomed or at the worst possible time, there isn’t much you can do but receive them graciously. As much as we wanted to spend time with or help the people who would come, sometimes we just wanted to have some family time without the possibility of hands clapping outside our door. That’s the way the local people “knock”. continue reading>>
Dadjo Blog Archive 