This is another part of the house where we stayed in Guereda. The structure on the right is the shower room and at the moment of this picture it still had a dirt floor. During our time there we upgraded the shower room by pouring a cement floor for the worker living here. Behind the straw wall is the toilet. You'll see a picture of that soon. This is a traditional set-up for most Chadian families but we are already planning modifications using a majority of the local resources.

It didn't make much sense to us taking a shower on a dirt floor as you leaned against dirt walls. Clean is defined much differently under these circumstances. So our job was to pour a concrete floor so that the water would drain out under the wall to feed a tree that will be planted there. I learned some masonry skills by helping out at my parents' church as they built their new building. Then my father-in-law let me play some in the back yard by laying a small foundation to build a small wall. During this time he explained unique ways of building when no tools were available. Fast forward to Guereda and I was without any tools. The worst was not having a level. So I dug out for the floor and used firm pieces of straw as my markers to determine the height the concrete was to fill. Then I found a branch and a container that my friend filled with yellow tinted water. Using gravity we determined level and then the angle needed so the water would flow in the right places. There were three of us guys working on this small floor but it gave us hope for what could be done when we have our own home. Cement floors make a big difference, not just in the shower but in your home as well. There are small things that can be done to help make things more livable. You'll see some other ideas shortly.

While the shower floor dried and the women toured the market I needed a shower. Since the shower room floor was obviously not dry, we found a corner in the courtyard to take our shower. On the other side of the wall was a road with people talking a walking by and as you can see they is no roof, just the sky. We put down a straw mat to keep the dirt off our feet and put on our birthday suit. The green bucket was all the water we had and I even managed to shave my head. At first you fear that somebody will see you and then you don't care. This was the closest thing we came to a swimming pool and it definitely felt good.

Remember I said that behind the straw wall was the toilet...well, here's the toilet. This is the most basic construction with a very deep hole, branches laying across the hole, and mud packed around to form the hole. As you can see, one of our friends almost fell in as part of the floor started falling in during our stay. You basically squat while supporting yourself on the two big boulders as people walk past the thin straw lining separating you and everybody else in the courtyard. Once while I was doing my deed I looked up and saw the neighbor's kid on his roof watching me. There is much you can do at the moment. If you more your hand to motion him away you might fall in so instead you just have to laugh.

This is also one of the things we will be changing about our house. We may have an outside squaty for our Chadian guests but we hope to have a room connected to the house with a cement floor and an RV toilet. We met another family that has made this work and he gave us the design. There are some comforts that can help you adjust and a toilet seat is one of them!

So life in Gueréda continues... this time with making peanut butter. It wasn't as good as JIF to be sure but it was peanut butter none the less. There are some things in life that just make things better and PB is definitely one of those things.

You'll also noticed that my arm looks slightly discolored and unfortunately this wasn't a problem with the camera. I believe this picture was taken the day after our bush taxi so I was baked "well done." Earlier someone commented about sun screen and unfortunately we learned two lessons during our time: (1) Never trust French sun screen,they're as powerful as their miniature cars, and (2) 50 spf doesn't mean much in Chad. The best protection against the sun are layers of clothes. If the sun can't see your skin it can't burn your skin.

Day 10 - The Return to Abéché

We woke up at 4:00 am and packed up our things and hit the road an hour later. Thankfully we began traveling before the sun was fully awake and pounding us with its heat. Part way through our journey we had some mechanical problems and had to stop. The Chadians were looking under the hood so the camels decided to cross the road. We also saw baboons and other wildlife during the journey. The photo was taken from my perch on top of another truck load of supplies. This was the view, looking over the cab and into the wilderness. We also made the return journey 30 minutes faster with a total time of 5 and a half hours.

Someone on the team snapped this shot during our taxi ride. Our feet were hanging over the edge as you look out into a landscape that doesn't belong to earth. Sometimes it felt like we were on another planet because the difference is so dramatic. The people are the same. Laughter sounds the same as children play and tears streak your face when sadness tightens its grip. Humanity was our commonality in a landscape that was completely foreign. Honestly, I feel honored to have seen and experienced what God allowed. Though we are out of place we were invited to return and live, not just for a job but to share our life, love, and faith. Even as I write these words I feel a smile come across my face at the amazing life God has allowed us to live. This is all so far beyond us and our abilities that we feel like passengers on a god-sized roller coaster. You throw your hands up in surrender and shout at the top of your lungs with complete fear and excitement all at the same time.

Day 11 thru 13 - Abéché

We took this day rest and recover from our travels and prepare for the final leg of our journey. We were also able to hang out with a wonderful family with 5 children closely matching our own. The children were a complete joy and their dad taught us guys how to be man and amke your own electricity. We were encouraged to see a family be with a family and see that it can be done and children still grow up healthy and happy wherever God leads. We also learned that moms can serve cinnamon rolls for dinner. I'm still trying to convince Kirsten that this is a wonderful idea and should be added to our menu list.

After playing with these wonderful kids it made us miss our own clan. The only means of communication in this part of the world is via a satellite phone. At $1 per minute you can't simply chat but when you stand at the edge of the world we are thankful for modern technology that lets us hear a mother's voice. In the future this technology will also allow us to e-mail so we can keep our friends and family up-to-date with our lives and work.

At this point I'm realizing how many things are being left unsaid but I hope this is helping you get a better picture of the life that awaits us. I will try to finish the final week of our survey trip by the end of this week.

Day 14-21 - The Final Week

We had some final important meetings and details during this time but in reality everything went according to plan and we were ready to leave. Two of our teammates were able to return to their wives but the rest of us waited for seats that never became available. We planned on things not going according to plan but by God's grace everything worked out perfectly, even when we tried to change our plans the original plan won out. So, between meetings and errands we found some comfort in ice-cream. Cold, cold ice-cream. During that time the days seemed to pass so slow as we gathered so much information and wanted to start moving forward but using that information to form tangible results. Now as we continue to learn French and work to prepare for Chad with this information I would appreciate those slower days, even if it was hot.