SOLAR HUB
July 7, 2009

Here’s a picture to our solar powered house. This is the main hub with 3 solar panels resting on our roof. Given the reality that I didn’t understand any of this before arriving in Chad I am rather proud of myself for getting everything up and running. I won’t bore you with all the details but it is a fascinating process with many mathematical details along the way.

In the future, upon our return to Chad after home assignment, I hope to come back with deep cycle batteries but for the time being I had to stay within budget and availability so truck batteries had to do the job.

RETURN TO ABECHE
June 29, 2009

We've been incredibly busy recently and enjoying a vacation in the capital but unfortunately we did not have good access to the internet.

This picture was taken on the second day of our drive before we hit the more open parts of the desert. It turns out I tied down the things on the roof well enough but the rough roads shook the roof-rack loose so we stopped to tighten everything down.

There is much to update but I figure something small and short is better than nothing at all. Be looking for more pictures and entries as we once again have access to UNHCR's internet connection.

DARFUR REFUGEES
April 24, 2009

On Monday I left for Gueréda as a launching pad to two different refugee camps near the Sudan border. We went there to serve the handicapped people by giving them special wheelchairs. Some had lost their legs after their village was bombed by the Janjaweed and others were paralyzed from preventable sicknesses such as polio.

In a new featured album titled, "Unforgotten," I will be uploading our journey along with their stories. For their safety names will not be used but their stories are true and I pray that seeing their pictures and hearing their stories will move you beyond the mere numbers to see the joy we experience in touching their lives.

I want to thank you for lifting us up as we reach out to the ends of the earth to be the hands of blessings. We could not be here without a supporting body so I hope these photos and words will help you see the rewards that await you.

HOLY WEEK
April 10, 2009

On Sunday we decided to make use of our rather boring concrete walls that encircle our home. The neighbors were curious as I burnt pieces of wood in our burn barrel to draw the chart on the wall.

As the week has progressed it has given us several opportunities to share with people as they come to our house for water.

I'll post some more picture in our return to Abeche folder.

EVERY DAY
March 27, 2009

For my birthday yesterday God saw fit to have some people arrive in Abéché who were bringing some things for me. I love receiving packages, especially when it is new software - like iLife '09 for my MacBook. Since we've only had town power one time since moving into our house in January I fired up the generator and installed the tasty newness on my machine. Now it was time for the creative juices to flow as the photo program ran face detection on my 10,000 photos. With my photo program tied up I turned to the new iMovie and started playing with a new feature you'll see here...

This is what the last 2 years of our lives have been like. Though difficult at various times, God sovereignly ordained each day. I wasn't always thankful with this reality but now I am beginning to understand the simple things more clearly. Jesus is solely sufficient.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
March 20, 2009

Well, I still have to wait six days for my birthday but here is my present from Kirsten. Getting around in a large truck is a bit difficult and can make you a target for car-jackings so I got this little 125cc motorcycle to get around town. I I went out into the bush yesterday with my conversation partner to learn how to ride it and then I drove to the UNHCR internet cafe this morning.

I miss paved roads now more than ever. I imagine riding a motorcycle in America is much easier because here you are either driving in a thin layer of sand or deep sand. I'm finding this to be a little tricky still but have yet to fall of my bike although sometimes I must have looked like a fish swimming through water rather than a man on a bike. I won't be driving this into the crowded markets anytime soon but hopeful I can keep making these short trips until I get more stable on it.

NEIGHBOR
March 13, 2009

The kids in our neighborhood comes over to get their picture taken and then I have made them all one print of themselves. I particularly liked this picture. He is the son of my language helper.

Yesterday was the naming of his new brother. They name their babies 7 days after they are born and make a feast for the neighborhood and family. The men ate outside on mats at our house (40 ) and all the women ate at their house. It was our first time being part of this and Kirsten was able to spend most f the morning with the women helping to prepare the food.

SILAS' BREAKFAST
March 6, 2008

So this morning I was in charge of making breakfast and though we had limited resources we decided hard-boiled eggs would be a good choice. The problem with hard-boiled eggs though is that their like a box of chocolate - you never know what you're going to get inside.

This was actually my egg this morning but upon seeing the first one I gave it to the dog. This was my second egg and it wasn't going anywhere near my mouth. The forever hungry Silas pipes up and says, "I'll eat it." I look at him like he's crazy and then ask him if he's nuts just to emphasize the point. He says, literally, "What - it's only green?" He ate five eggs this morning. I figure some lessons are best learned kneeling before the porcelain throne or maybe he's just adjusting better than we are to life in Chad. Either way I just ate the crackers. And get this, after eating these delicious eggs he didn't want the crackers because 'they taste bad." What is wrong with children these days?

HAWA
February 17, 2009

I don't really have much to say but I simply wanted to post a picture recently taken of a girl in our neighborhood. Some kids came by and wanted me to take their picture and then print it up. Taking the picture was the easy part but printing took a few days as we haven't had town power in over two weeks and our generator broke. Thankfully the generator is back up and running and the kids loved seeing their picture.

Not much else is new as we continue with our arabic studies and building relationships.

GUARDING ANNELISE
February 12, 2008

This photo is looking out our front gate into the road. Yes that sand is the road. The man in the photo is Abakar and he's our night guard that works just down the road. I know you're still waiting for pictures of our home but we're still getting organized so you'll have to wait a bit longer.