JOURNEY
THE
An update from Phil & Merilee Henderson with MAF in Chad
November 2013
Crossing the desert
Africa – the first 3 months
Greetings from 12,000 feet above the Chadian desert. I am winging my way back to N'Djamena from Bardai, a remote town built around Chad’s most Northern outpost, near the Libyan border. Traveling on the ground, it would take, at best, 16 hours a day for 4 days to reach Bardai. That is if nothing breaks on the vehicle in an environment which is very unfriendly to vehicles. For us the trip still takes about 5 hours with one stop halfway across the desert in Faya to buy fuel from the French military. My sleeping passengers work with Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an NGO which facilitates the removal of hundreds of thousands of land mines around the world. The rocky sands of the Tibesti region of northern Chad hide an estimated 1 million mines which have been laid down over the previous decades by the armed forces of both Libya and Chad and by countless rebel groups. Mine removal work is hot, dangerous and slow–a de-miner might cover the size of your living room in a day. Land mines are a particularly nefarious product of war in that they usually kill and injure long after the conflict is over. The de-miners told us of 8 women who had gone out to collect fire wood. They were all killed when their rented truck hit a land mine along the road. MAF Chad also supports a couple who live and work in Bardai. They run a training center and offer courses in English, French and Tudaga, the local language there. They also teach basic computer courses. These courses enable Chadians and through this our friends can build relationships. Ultimately they can offer the people of the North more than just new skills, they can offer a life of hope in a dry and desolate place.
Our arrival in Uganda in February was a long awaited event. For me and the girls it was our first step onto African soil and for Phil, a homecoming. Three months flew past–Phil received some training and began flying regular MAF flights. The rest of us enjoyed the summer-like weather and, after homeschool mornings, would sometimes visit a local pool and park for some play time. We had a great time in Uganda, a gentle introduction to Africa for us ‘beginners’. We experienced mixed feelings as we said good-bye to the amazing team in Uganda.
Finally in Chad On our first night in Chad, Phil and I both said how surreal it felt to actually be here. After years of training, then months of planning and finalizing details and then learning French, we had arrived in the place God had called us to! Within the first two weeks we quickly came to some observations about Chad. It is the hottest place either of us have lived, almost everything is expensive (except baguettes!) and we had to shake some serious rust off our French. Despite those initial challenges, we have slowly begun to settle in and make this place our home. We’ve met some great people, learned our way around town, discovered some fun things to do as a family and been able to attend a bi-weekly international church. We are looking forward to putting down roots, getting to really know the city, our neighbors and new friends. Kaitlyn and Lily were happy just to finally get kittens – now that we’re staying put for a while. Any life transition comes with challenges and to be honest, we have had a tough time adjusting to Chad despite our excitement to finally be here. Merilee arrived in Chad newly pregnant which we
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MAF Chad MAF, BP 1182, N’Djamena, Chad. Cell: +235 6880 8115 / +235 6880 8116
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www.mafhendersons.com for updates, videos and photos from Phil’s side of things wonderful-life-mer.blogspot.com thoughts on life, parenting and our family from Merilee (Due to limited connectivity, our blogs can’t be updated as regularly as we would like but we’ll keep trying!)
were so excited about, but with her pregnancies come all-day nausea and sickness. Being sick in a new, hot place was very challenging for her and for the family too, as the mother and wife we all knew was just not herself. Around the 3 month mark Merilee began to feel better but in her 14th week, we visited a hospital for an ultrasound only to discover that the baby was no longer living. Several days later, after trying to recover naturally from the miscarriage, we went to the hospital and Merilee underwent surgery to help things along. Praise God for the mission hospital and the British OB-GYN who confidently gave Mer the care she needed. We will continue to put our hope and faith in God’s plan for our family and the ministry of MAF here in Chad. Despite all the un-fun stuff we are confident that this is God’s will and we’re encouraged by how close He has felt through it all.
spent the rest of the day at a hotel pool. We met Phil for some ice cream on Thursday at the local French patisserie and on Friday, like every Friday, we had movie night where we eat dinner on the couch and have popcorn for dessert! The week was so fun for Kaitlyn that she made a picture book to show her teacher all she had done. It’s not a typical week but it shows some of the things we can do for fun in Chad.
Thank you for a sturdy vehicle We wanted to say a big Thank You! to all those who helped with the vehicle purchase. We were able to get a Toyota Prado from a MAF family who were leaving. It has low milage, a brand new engine and has been owned by MAF people since new. Already the high clearance and 4x4 capability has bailed us out of some muddy situations. Thank you for selflessly giving so we could have a reliable mode of transportation for our family and our ministry with MAF.
Kaitlyn’s School Kaitlyn has enjoyed starting grade one at Wellspring – the English 1-8 school run by African Inland Mission (AIM). She starts at 7:30 and goes to 13:00 so the kids can be home before the heat reaches its peak. Merilee enjoys her one-on-one time with Lily as she continues homeschooling her through pre-school stuff. Kaitlyn also takes part in an after school French class where they learn the basics.
Just a bit out of touch Now for a brief disclaimer about connectivity in Chad. We’d love to engage in video Skype calls, write many blog posts, send lots of videos/photos of life here and generally keep in better touch with all of our friends and family back home...it is just a different world here. Every time one attempts anything internet related, one tends to lose all motivation at about the first mouse click due to the terrible internet speed. Please bear with us as we interact with the rest of the world, which is built for lightning fast internet, through our connection which feels like it’s going through morse code at the turn of the century.
Family fun Kaitlyn recently had a week off of school - so we tried to make it an action packed week full of fun! On Monday we went along on a flight with Phil to Am Timan (right) where we visited some friends. It was good to see Phil in action, to see Chad from the air and to get out of the Praise for city for a day. On ‣ His support through some tough Tuesday Kaitlyn initial months in Chad ‣ Our current good health had a friend over ‣ Safety while flying and supporting to play and on other workers in Chad Wednesday Phil ‣ A good school for Kaitlyn ‣ So much amazing work that is being took the afteraccomplished in Chad noon off and we
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Prayer for ‣
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Opportunities for Merilee to make friends with neighborhood ladies even when they only speak Arabic Continued political stability in Chad Unity in our marriage and wisdom to teach Kaitlyn and Lily to know God Us as we are always learning. French, Arabic, customs, unwritten rules, etc.
Blessings from all of us,