It's A Chad Life 2011

Friday, 10 February 2012

2012-02-10T16:12:00.000+01:00

Hello!

Today we have Emma will have another check-up. She has been experiencing some strange symptoms in one of her feet and the doctor wants to take a look at her to see what’s up.

Emma is otherwise doing ok and is in good spirits.

Thanks for praying for Emma. She covets your prayers.

Thursday, 19 January 2012

2012-01-19T18:13:00.001+01:00

Hey Folks,

Emma had a check-up two days ago. The doctor’s are encouraged by her progress. Many of her blood markers are improving and look normal. There are, however, one or two that have actually gone down so they are running more tests.

We are cautiously optimistic at this point.

Thank you for praying.

Thursday, 6 January 2012

2012-01-06T15:53:00.000+01:00

Hey There….

Emma had another infusion today. As always, it was about a 6 hour event. All went well and she had no reaction to the medication. Keturah went with us. We had a reasonably good time.

We were able to get the blood test results from this visit and from the blood draw that was taken on the 22^nd of December. In general, there are still many levels in her blood that are either too high or too low. So, at least for now, it appears there’s not really been any change in her condition.

Please continue to pray for her. It is, after all, the best thing any of us can do.

Blessings to you and your families in the New Year.

Monday, 21 November 2011

2011-11-22T03:28:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone,

Emma had her most recent examination last Friday. It was disappointing to say the least. Doctors added 4 new medications to her regimen and have determined that she must undergo continued and focused treatment for the next 6 months. So, it seems, we will continue with all 8 of the medications for the next 6 months at least and very likely longer I suppose (or maybe it is just me that is thinking that).

Please continue to pray for us. And, especially for Emma.

Thanks.

Friday, 11 November 2011

2011-11-11T15:11:00.000+01:00

Hi Y’all….

Things are going well here. Emma’s doing well too.

We took her to the hospital yesterday to have blood drawn in preparation for her appointment next week. While she was having her blood drawn it struck me that God really does have a sense of humor. It wasn’t too long ago that Emma was THE child in the family that hated needles. In the past, she’s had such an emotional reaction to having to get a shot that I’ve seen blood shoot several feet from the injection point. Now, she just sits calmly and waits as the doctor(s) do their thing.

It is amazing to me that the Lord would take our one child who hates needles and give to them a condition that requires they get stuck frequently. I am not sure I will ever understand how or why He does things.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Saturday, 5 November 2011

2011-11-05T15:29:00.001+01:00

Our little family reunion has been sweet and precious. Cannot put it into words how great it has been to see all of the kids. It is amazing how much some of them grew in the just under 3 months we were gone.

Everybody is doing fine. We are patiently waiting to see what the Lord has in mind for us over the next several months.

Emma’s next appointment is in a about 2 weeks so we’ll know more then. Please pray for her.

Have a great weekend.

Steve

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

2011-11-03T04:05:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone,

The kids and I made it back to the States today without any problems whatsoever. Our reunion was sweet and, at times, tear filled.

We enjoyed a great lunch and a quiet evening. Winding the day down at 8 PM tonight as I type this.

Thanks for your prayers.

Steve

Monday, 31 October 2011

2011-10-31T19:25:00.000+01:00

Hey There,

Kids and I are about ready for our return to the States. Have got just a bit of last minute packing and a few loose end to tie up and then we'll be ready.

It really is with mixed emotions that we are returning. On the one hand we'll be reunited with family, my family - Janice and the kids. But, on the other hand, we are leaving (at least for a while) the place where are hearts want to be and where our Call has placed us.

We can only trust and wait and listen. In His time He will make His plans known to us.

I will continue blogging while we are in the States so that everyone can be up to date on our family and especially Emma.

Thanks for praying.

sf

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

2011-10-25T18:37:00.001+01:00

Found out today we all will be returning to the States on November 1st. That is, we will leave Chad on the 1st. and arrive at SEATAC on the 2nd. A mixture of relief, sadness, and perplexity. Not sure what the future holds except that we want to be nowhere except in His will.

See you.

Monday, 24 October 2011

2011-10-24T09:38:00.002+01:00

Hi Y'all,

Hope you and your family are doing well. We are "hanging in there" around here. Despite the fact the Welcome Center has been quite busy we have had relatively quiet days. All of the equipment seems to be running pretty reliably and our guests seem to be reasonably happy and well cared for. So, that's all good.

What's not all good is that the 6 of us that are here will be returning to the States within the next week or two because Emma's situation has not improved. If anything it has become more complicated and it is precisely its complicated nature that has necessitated our return for it is probable that Emma's condition will require at least 4 more months of treatment and investigation before she can be officially declared stabilized. And, without her condition stabilized we cannot go back to Chad. We are confident that a solution can be found which gives her stability and that we will also find a doctor or two in Chad who can continue her care by performing regular examinations of Emma. But, until then, we have decided (along with our Mission) that the best thing to do is to reunite as a family.

So, it's back to the States.

Please pray for Emma. And pray for our family.

Have a great week.

Friday, 14 October 2011

2011-10-14T13:23:00.001+01:00

Life is never dull here. There always seems to be something going on that makes life interesting. The last few weeks are no exception.

In a developing country such as Chad one might expect to encounter shortages of various things like fuel and electricity. For example, right now we are about 2 weeks into a diesel shortage and over a month into a propane shortage. Ordinarily you'd think that problems related to amenities such as those would probably have to do with delivery problems because of a poor transportation network or lack of production facilities. That's not the case in here.

The diesel shortage apparently has its roots in a disagreement between the government and the local refinery. There's plenty of diesel if only the two parties could agree on a price per liter. What this means for everybody here is long lines at the gas station and rationing of what diesel we currently have on had. For now, gas stations will not fill barrels so we have been siphoning diesel from our Land Cruisers and putting it in our barrels. Hopefully, the diesel will begin to flow more regularly and the pent-up demand will dissipate and we can all get back to normal.

The propane shortage is a bit more sticky. Word on the street is that there's sort of a strike taking place. The local venders want to charge more for the propane however they are not being allowed to. So, they've just stopped selling it. We are lucky. We've got a decent supply at the Welcome Center. But, it won't last forever. Nobody seems to know when propane will be available. I certainly hope soon!!!

Have a great weekend.

Steve

Saturday, 8 October 2011

2011-10-08T10:16:00.001+01:00

Hey...

We are chugging along here in Chad. Things are pretty stable except that we cannot purchase diesel or propane in town right now. I do not know when we will be able to purchase either one. We've heard that perhaps in another week or so we will be able to get diesel. No word on the propane.

We also found out yesterday that Emma will need another 4 months in the States. So, we don't know what the future holds for our family here or in the States.

Please pray for us as we seek the Lord's wisdom and counsel.

Until next time...

Wednesday 5 October 2011

2011-10-05T09:43:00.001+01:00

Hey There!

Been feeling kinda low the last couple of days. News from home hasn't been great. Feel like we're suffering as a family. Not fun. But, we can take encouragement from the Word. From the devitional, Streams in the Desert, we read,

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me" (Ps. 138:8).

There is a Divine mystery in suffering, a strange and supernatural power in it, which has never been fathomed by the human reason. There never has been known great saintliness of soul which did not pass through great suffering. When the suffering soul reaches a calm sweet carelessness, when it can inwardly smile at its own suffering, and does not even ask God to deliver it from suffering, then it has wrought its blessed ministry; then patience has its perfect work; then the crucifixion begins to weave itself into a crown.

It is in this state of the perfection of suffering that the Holy Spirit works many marvelous things in our souls. In such a condition, our whole being lies perfectly still under the hand of God; every faculty of the mind and will and heart are at last subdued; a quietness of eternity settles down into the whole being; the tongue grows still, and has but few words to say; it stops asking God questions; it stops crying, "Why hast thou forsaken me ?"

The imagination stops building air castles, or running off on foolish lines; the reason is tame and gentle; the choices are annihilated; it has no choice in anything but the purpose of God. The affections are weaned from all creatures and all things; it is so dead that nothing can hurt it, nothing can offend it, nothing can hinder it, nothing can get in its way; for, let the circumstances be what they may, it seeks only for God and His will, and it feels assured that God is making everything in the universe, good or bad, past or present, work together for its good.

Oh, the blessedness of being absolutely conquered! of losing our own strength, and wisdom, and plans, and desires, and being where every atom of our nature is like placid Galilee under the omnipotent feet of our Jesus. –

The best and only choice is to completely die to Christ so that He is glorified through my life. So, we will wait and listen and ready ourselves for what He commands us next to do.

Pray for us!

Saturday, 1 October 2011

2011-10-01T06:31:00.001+01:00

Now only 9 days until Jancie and the kids arrive in Chad. Compared to that event, everything else that is going on here seems to pale in comparison.

We had a good week. The solar panels are now firmly in place and we've enjoyed solar power provided electricity for the past couple of days. The system appears to be working quite nicely but I'm still not happy with the performance. Seems like we cannot supply power to the Welcome Center for very long. Certainly not as long as I'd like or as long as I believed we could. So, more work remains on getting that situation worked out.

It is a happy time around here as two of our employees are getting married this month. Marriages, and dating for that matter, are different here than in the States. In both cases, the men live many miles from the fiancées who both actually live in their villages down south (it is an 8 hour plus drive by car) and so they don't see each other very often. Maybe in a later post I will tell you about the other differences between Chadian culture and American culture as it pertains to dating and marriage ceremonies, etc.

For now, have a great day!

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

2011-09-27T06:20:00.001+01:00

Well, things have been busy around here the last several days. Have spent much time working on the solar panels: getting them into place, securing them, and wiring them up. I think by the end of today I'll be ready to turn them back on and see what happens. Hopefully I've made no mistakes and everything will work as it should.

Kids are doing well. Everybody is healthy and reasonably happy. I say "reasonably happy" because their momma's not here and that isn't an easy thing to deal with under the best of circumstances. Throw in being 1/2 a world away and at times difficult communication and it makes it even more difficult to deal with. However, considering everything, the kids are doing remarkably well. They are happy with their lives here and really do enjoy their friends and their home.

More of the same planned today. I hope to post pictures of the solar panels in the next day or two.

Enjoy the day.

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

2011-09-21T18:46:00.001+01:00

Hey!

Well, we've had quite an eventful week thus far. What started with a huge windstorm on Sunday has turned out to be a very hot and humid week. We even had another small windstorm and it has rained at least 3 different times.

The good news is that the solar panel supports are back up on the roof after having been straightened out and repositioned. Tomorrow they will be welded to the containters and hoepfully that will eliminate the problem of the flying solar panels.

Also, the roof over my office has been rebuilt and all that remains is the concrete work and some additional concrete work on the leading edge of the sheet metal.

We have been blessed by a work crew that has really gotten after it and things have come together nicely.

As Hanibal would say, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Have a great day.

Sunday, 18 September 2011

2011-09-18T19:29:00.001+01:00

Had a bit of a windstorm today along with a very heavy thunder storm. Thankfully nobody was hurt.

We can repair the damage but we won't have any solar power for a while.

This damage happened because the wind came from a direction from which it normally does not come.... from the North.

Please pray that we can get this repaired quickly.

sf

Thursday, 15 September 2011

2011-09-15T16:09:00.001+01:00

A shout out today must be given to Gracey....

She's been such a huge Blessing to me (and her siblings) during our separation from the rest of the family. She cooks, she cleans, she even homeschools the kids all the while never complaining or grousing. She is such a pleasure to be around and has gone out of her way to allow me to do what I need to do at the Welcome Center.

She is such a Godly young woman. And, a great example to her siblings.

Love you, Gracey!!!

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

2011-09-14T06:08:00.001+01:00

Well, things are chugging along pretty good except for the weather. It has been very humid and I don't particularly care for humid. I'm sticky all the time, my glasses fog up on occasion, and everything in the house seems to be perpetually damp. It has also been wonderfully cool with highs only into the mid-90's.

Kids are all doing well but they miss their siblings and of course their mother.

Tawnee's obviously been thinking about her mom because last night she asked me if, when Janice and I got married, I was nervous kissing mom in front of everybody at the wedding. I told her no I wasn't nervous and she said oh that's weird!

Hope you all have a great day....

Monday, 5 September 2011

2011-09-05T14:36:00.001+01:00

Hey there....

The saga of the generator continues. We've now entered a rather strange condition: The generator runds fines. Goes for hours without a problem. Only thing is it is still leaking oil and today we had the radiator removed so it could be cleaned. This won't do much for the leaking oil (that fix will come later this week). But, it should help with the non-functioning radiator. Thankfully, it hasn't been that hot so there's been no problem.

The kids and I are doing well. Everybody's healthy and we've all been eating pretty well. Today we had fish and chips. That is probably one of my favorite, if not favorite, things to eat here. And, tonight we are having hobo stew. First time I had hobo stew was in France when Payton and I went camping with some of the students at the language school we attended.

I expect to see the return of the radiator tonight and then we'll have electricity!.... maybe.

Been working my way through a myriad of paperwork in the office. The last 4 months or so for Marcos were particularly difficult and things in the office bear that out. No worries, though. I'll just keep plugging along until it is done.

Solar panels and batteries are still giving me fits. Performed many checks and verifications of connections and wires. Just waiting to hear from my comrades in the States who have been helping me with the system.

Until next time....

Blessings.

Thursday, 1 September 2011

2011-09-01T16:18:00.001+01:00

Been a very pleasant couple of days. The generator has performed well. The battery / solar system has worked well. (I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the Welcome Center only has one guest in it?) We've been eating good. Kids have behaved. We have cold water. Even had a few minutes to watch something on the computer with the kids. About the only complaint has been the humidity. This morning when I came outside at 4:30 am it felt like I was walking into misty air. Of course there wasn't any mist but the humidity has got to be near 100%. Hasn't been that warm. Highs have been around 95 degrees. But this humidity really is terrible. The nicest thing I can say about the humidity is that my hands don't need as much lotion as normal!

Was able to get Emma's tests that she needs translated into French today. That should help us when we go to a lab. We had had a bit of trouble figuring out exactly if the local labs could provide the tests or not. The doctor that translated the tests for me said that our local hospital (it is 10 minutes away) should have no trouble providing the tests. (He said he's even been there to look at their setup and it is quite good.)

As I said, the generator has ran perfectly for the last several days. No complaints except that it is leaking oil. Our mechanic will be by on Saturday to fix it and hopefully that will cure the problem and we can then enter a nice "quiet" period of generator use.

I've been able to chat via Face Book with Janice and the kids several times this week. That is such a great thing to be able to do. I would love to be able to do that right now too if only I could get online (I'm typing this offline since our internet connection isn't working).

Have a great day!

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

2011-08-30T16:31:00.001+01:00

Today is the end of Ramadan feast. Our neighborhood has a very festive mood with lots of new and brightly colored dresses and clothing. And, there's lots of food.

You know, our Muslim friends are just like our friends in the States. They have many religious holidays where they celebrate important dates and during those celebrations friends and family stop by to share in some fellowship and food.

They are, for the most part, living their lives in a way that is very much the same as anybody you or I might know in North America. They want the same things: good health, obedient children, food, shelter, clothing, etc.

They have also accepted us as part of their neighborhood and they take care of us. We love it.

Hope you all have a great day.

Sunday, 28 August 2011

2011-08-28T16:32:00.001+01:00

This is officially the 2 week point in our return to Chad. Things are going well, I suppose, considering....

It is also the official 2 week anniversary of my separation from my wife and kids. (And it is no less easy on those children I have with me.) This is not much fun, really, but I can honestly say that this isn't something that we "have to" do but something that we "get to" do. I've learned over the years that the Lord likes to put me in situations that really grab my attention and that is only in those circumstances that I can finally and clearly hear what He's saying to me. I've also learned that it is precisely those events that He allowed me to go through that really make a differnce in my life. This separation, then, mustn't be looked at as a long slog through heavy mud but instead as something that has been graciously given to me and my family by The One who knows our every thought, fear, and need. He loves us so much that we "get to" go through these times wherein He can speak into our lives so clearly and wonderfully words of comfort and wisdom and love.

Today I was reading Psalm 94. It's a Psalm about how God needs to take vengence on the ungodly. But, within that Psalm are some beautiful truths that spoke deeply to me.

Verses 9-14: "He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who chastises the nations, shall He not punish, He who teaches man knowledge? Jehovah knows the thoughts of man, that they are a mist. Blessed is the man You chasten, O Jehovah, You teach him out of Your Law; to give him rest from troubled days, until the pit is dug for the wicked. For Jehovah will not leave His people; nor will He forsake His inheritance."

Verse 19 says, "In the multitude of my inward thoughts, Your comforts delight my soul."

And, finally, verse 22 says, "But Jehovah is my tower of defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge."

After reading verses like these I get reminded that I serve a very big God and that because He's so big He can be my all in all. There's nothing beyond His grasp and He wants me, He wants all of us, to comfort us and defend us. And, He will never forget us. Ever.

I really needed to hear that this morning. Maybe you did too.

Blessings!!!

Saturday, 27 August 2011

2011-08-27T14:09:00.001+01:00

Been a very busy couple of days since my last post.

The big generator was repaired then it sprung a leak and had to be shut down.

Our new solar panels and batteries haven't been working right so some Brothers from the States are helping me (long distance) to figure out what the problem is and then how to fix it.

We had to call the little red generator into operation again last night. Despite the ugliness (and danger) of using it it did a great job. Although, it does have a tendancy to vary the voltage so it fried a couple of things.

I came down with a case of Malaria. Am feeling better though. Took a nap today and that helped.

Went to town on Friday. Kids always like going. We noticed that a couple of our favorite hang outs had moved.... and we were able to find their new locations. That is good since one is a favorite restaurant of Janice's.

We've been eating pretty well.

We even managed to sell a few items that the Mission didn't use.

All in all a pretty good week I think.

Bye

Sunday, 21 August 2011

2011-08-22T05:59:00.001+01:00

Had a very good day. Relaxed. Played some games. Just took it nice and easy. Also got to talk to Janice and the kids. Awesome.

The big Perkins generator is inching closer to working. May be able to actually generate some electricity with it this week.

Been having problems with the solar system. Appears that at least one string of solar panels isn't working properly. Troubleshooting that with a friend in the States.

The red backup generator broke down last night after running for about 2 hours. We were able to get it back up and running but it wasn't fun. Managed to cut myself in the process. (This is no surprise to my family as I cannot work on anything without cutting myself somehow. It just took a little longer than normal.)

Thankfully, our fix "took" and the generator ran all night. What a blessing it is to have fans at night.

Sunday, 21 August 2011

2011-08-21T10:57:00.001+01:00

Nice and lazy Sunday morning. Have spent most of the morning troubleshooting our solar system. It is nice to have some time to check it and then think about it a bit. Thankfully, too, I've got friends in the States who can help me with it.

Also thought I'd upload a few photos of our backup generator. As you can see, it is quite dirty and messy. Notice the control panel. It is suspended in mid-air because when the generator is running it otherwise shakes so badly wires come loose and it catches fire. I think even McGyver would blush at such a thing.

Saturday, 20 August 2011

2011-08-20T18:24:00.001+01:00

Been a very busy and interesting couple of days. We've gone for long periods of time without electricity, had a generator catch fire, mangaged to repair not one but two generators, and effect those repairs in such a way that it would make even McGyver blush.

We've also had fun. The kids have really enjoyed playing around their home and at the Welcome Center. And, they were very glad to go to town yesterday. We noticed a few things that were different. One obvious thing was the price of diesel and gasoline. It is just about half the price it was last year at this time. Apparently a new refinery just went on line. I'm sure everyone is glad about the price. What they're not so happy about is the general lack of either diesel or gasoline. Soon the supply will catch up to demand as the refinery reaches its production limit.

We are all healthy although more than a few of us have lost some weight since we arrived. We have thus started on our Chadian diet again.

More later.

Thursday, 18 August 2011

2011-08-18T09:56:00.001+01:00

We've now been back on the Dark Continent since Sunday. Filled most of our time with getting settled back into our home. Have also been getting reacquainted with the office. And, have reestablished old friendships.... something that I've enjoyed very much.

I came back with Gracey, Liddy, Ethan, Tawnee and Esther. Janice is still in the States with the remaining children. They will remain there for the next couple of months as there are some things that need her personal touch.

Last night was interesting: Our backup generator caught fire. We were able to get it turned off before much damage was done. However, the control unit was fried pretty bad. A couple of us tried to patch it back together, which I think we could've done, but we gave up once we realized that some of the connectors had melted so badly their condition was beyond our expertise to fix. So, we spent the night without electricity. It is good that the temperatures are not too bad (low 80's at night) but it is awefully humid. Some of the kids slept on our screened front porch.

More later.

sf

Wednesay 17 August 2011

2011-08-17T21:33:00.001+01:00

Hey There!

After a 1 year hiatus I'm firing the blog back up. Our home assignment is over and most of the family is back in Chad. In the next day or two I will try to fill you all in on what's going on. For now though, this post will have to suffice.

More later.

sf

Return to Chad

2011-08-16T22:24:00.002+01:00

Just the other day Steven and 5 of our children boarded a plane bound for Paris, France, then 8 hours later settled into their seats in the back of the next plane flying straight to N'djamena, Chad. The flights went well and they arrived safely at our home just in time to snuggle into their very own beds that they haven't seen in a year. It's hot and humid right now as the rainy season is still going strong.
The neighbors were excited to see all those that arrived with lots of laughter and happy tears and hugs all around.
Steven is put right to work as the generators are not running at this moment, but he and Dan are working to get them going.
Alex, Payton, Emma and Keturah are taking their last camping trip before school starts back up. Our year here in the states has seen sadness, happiness(of course!), new friendships, old friendships renewed and great connections with our L.B. churches in this area. What a wonderful, generous church God has established here in the Pacific Northwest. You should all be very proud of the way you allowed God to work through you to touch our lives. It has been overwhelming at times and we see God's hand over us through it all.

Of course it is hard to leave our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, grammas and papas, and dear friends. We are grateful for our time and memories with them and will cherish and think of them often while in Chad. God has put that call in our hearts to be in Chad, especially when we are working and living among it's people. We are blessed(happy) to live and work in Africa but most of all we are honored God has called upon our lives to do the work He has for our little neighborhood and the Welcome Center and those that come and stay there.
We have encouraged many this year to come and stay at the Welcome Center for a time. We hope you do! That would be so fun to show you around.

Psalm 34: 8-10

Thanksgving 2010

2011-01-11T22:07:00.001+01:00

Here's the latest family photo for Thanksgiving. Awesome!

Under Duress

2010-10-22T02:02:00.002+01:00

Hello Folks,

I am writing this update under duress. I say this because Alex just grabbed me and said, "Here, write. 'Everyone' wants you to update the Blog." I said, "Everyone? What does that mean?" She said, "You know, people".

So... because I want to honor Alex and "Everyone", I will give an update...

About 2 months ago several of the kids and I came back to the States after being separated from Janice, Alex, Payton, Keturah, and Hudson for almost 2 months. What a great reunion!

About 6 weeks ago we moved into a great 5 bedroom home that was essentially given to us for our entire stay while we are here in the States. The home came fully furnished with a pantry full of food plus everything else we needed. Thanks to our Brothers and Sisters at Hope Church and Maple Park Lutheran Brethren Church for blessing us with their unconditional giving.

About 4 weeks ago Janice gave birth to our 11th child. We named him Samuel Owen Flude. Both Janice and Samuel are doing great. Receiving new kids never gets old. All the kids are enjoying their new brother.

Life is good. We are enjoying our time here but there isn't a day that goes by that Janice and I don't think about all of our friends in Chad and our home there. It is a strange thing to feel as though we've got part of our hearts here and part in Chad.

We are all looking forward to the holidays. It will be great to spend more time with family and friends and celebrate the Birth of the Savior.

Until next time....

About 6 weeks ago we moved into a nice 5 bedroom home that was essentially given to us to use for the year we'll be in the States. The house came fully furnished with a pantry full of food

Tuesday, 3 August 2010

2010-08-03T14:21:00.001+01:00

Hello!

Never a dull moment around the ol' Flude house. So far today we've continued our efforts to get everything packed or put away in anticipation of our mini-move over to the Welcome Center and our Home Assignment a few days later. The girls have been doing a fantastic job keeping us from starving. Tonight we are having Mexican!

I was informed a few minutes ago that Tawnee threw up. She's been complaining of a headache since last night and has felt a bit nauseous but otherwise has been ok. Doesn't appear to be anything serious at this point but, true to our form, it is hard to keep everybody healthy every single day.

Rain has let up a bit in the last day or two but I've noticed that the humidity has started to creep higher again and that normally means rain is on the horizon.

Janice and the kids are camping all this week in eastern Washington. Those of us here are happy for them but also jealous as the spot where they are is a family favorite.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

2010-07-28T19:56:00.001+01:00

Hey!

Today is Tawnee's 6th Birthday. So, we all went to town and had lunch at a real sit-down restaurant. While were were in NDJ we went to the post office. There was a box of stuff waiting for us! (Thanks Marcia!) We opened the box at the post office. Inside were all kinds of goodies. But, the best was already backed pizza crust, pizza sauce, and pepperoni! Wow. We had a great pizza dinner. Afterwards we sang Tawnee "Happy Birthday" and watched a movie. Fun times.

Weather's been rainy and cold. High today was only the high 80's.

Tomorrow, we plan on just hanging out here, doing nothing in particular.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Tuesday, 27 July 2010

2010-07-27T07:56:00.001+01:00

Hey there,

Last night the kids and I were talking about what we're gonna do "when we see momma". I told Tawnee, "You are gonna be crying cuz you missed her so much." She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said, "Dad, they're gonna be tears of joy!"

Like, duh, Dad!

The kids report only 18 days left to go. This is getting to be like a Christmas countdown only less expensive! So far the only cost, besides a bit of food during our layover in Paris, will be a trip to Dick's Drive-In on the way home from SEATAC. (We all figured a good dose of grease and fat right off the bat would be an apt way to celebrate our arrival.)

See you later.

sf

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Monday, 26 July 2010

2010-07-26T17:32:00.001+01:00

It is a funny thing when, despite the fact that my wife and some of my kids are 1/2 a world away, I get reports from "helpful" individuals that it would be good if I blogged every now and then so that they can know what's going on. Well, isn't that the reason I sent Janice home? OK, not the reason at all, actually. So, without further adieu here's my latest installment of "What's going on in Chad, Africa".

Absolutely nothing.

Thanks for checking in.

Bye

Oh, not funny, eh? Well, what have we been doing? Lots of stuff, much of it in preparation for leaving on the 15th of August. Here, let me just give you a list of the things....

- A good friend came for 2 months and did many, many projects around the Welcome Center. He even managed to have enough time to build a very nice BBQ. It's gotta be the nicest BBQ in N'Djamena. Thanks Marty!

- Completing various other mini-projects so that when the Holzners get here Marcos isn't running around frazzled trying to get stuff done instead of taking care of his family and making sure the guests at the Welcome Center have what they need.

- Trying to decide what we want to pack back to the States and what we want to stay here. I find myself asking "Do I really need that when I go back? Do I really want to bring it back here when we return in 2011?"

- Since we will be moving to the Welcome Center before we leave for about 1 week we have also been trying to decide how much stuff we will really need to take with us for that 1 week stay. After all, it'll just have to be put back in the house when we leave. (The Holzners will be staying in our house for the year so this necessitates our move.)

- I've also been spending a fair amount of time working with Janice on the things we will need for our stay in the States. Things like car insurance, cell phones, doctor's visits, dentist appointments, etc., etc., etc. Oh yeah, and we'll have 3 new drivers in our family as the oldest 3 will all be spending large chunks of time behind the wheel learning how to drive. This activity, alone, will keep Janice and I busy.

- The kids and I have also been comparing notes on the bizarre dreams we've all been having. For some reason, almost from the moment Janice and the kids left, we all started to have very strange dreams. Not sure what that is all about although we have had a few good chuckles as we've talked about them amongst ourselves.

- We have also been trying to find ways to occupy our time. The current game of choice is Acey-Ducey. Earlier it was Uno. There's also been a few games of Risk and a game of Settlers thrown in for good measure.

I am sure there's much I've left out. One thing we have noticed is that since Payton isn't with us there seems to be more food in the house for the rest of the family. Didn't really realize he ate as much as he does. I'm thankful that at this time Grandma has the responsibility of feeding him. My advice: buy lots of mac and cheese.

Until next time.

sf

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Friday, 17 June 2010

2010-06-18T07:22:00.001+01:00

Wow! 2 blogs in a row. Enjoy it while you can. Ha!

This morning when I went outside it was in the mid 80's. Very comfortable. Was 79 in the house. Was able to spend a few minutes chatting with Alex on Facebook. I'm so glad we have the ability to do things like that. Can't imagine what it was like for missionaries only a few short years ago.

We're just under 2 months until we fly out of here. Janice has been gone for 3 weeks. Last night both Tawnee and Esther cried in bed for mommy. Breaks my heart.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Thursday, 17 June 2010

2010-06-17T17:03:00.001+01:00

Hey there....

At the risk of stating the obvious: I miss my wife and kids. Yes, it does help to have some of my kids with me (6/10ths of them to be exact). However, that is a poor reward when I think about all I am missing out on with the rest of the family. And, that doesn't even begin to say how I feel about Mrs. Flude. Not easy to put into words something that I feel deep down within my being; something that I can't quite get a fix on yet I know it is there because I am constantly being reminded just how lonely I am. I am sure Janice and the kids in the States feel the same way however it is a little difficult to feel too badly for them as they eat Red Robin hamburgers, Spartas pizza, and Ivars (just to name a few). Plus, they are enjoying Janice's mom's cooking. Oh well... only 2 months to go.

Hope you all have a great week.

Psalm 37:25

sf

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Thursday, 6 June 2010

2010-06-10T07:35:00.001+01:00

Hello there!

Been a while since my last post. Been busy.

On Face Book Alex asked me to post something here because it has been a while and, as she stated, "so we can know if the house has burned down" (or something like that).

Well, I can report that the house has not burned down. Yet. Nor have any children died, starved to death, or been otherwise harmed in any way (save for the fact that Janice isn't here). Sure, there's been a fair amount of tears shed and "'Daddy, where's Mommy?" But, otherwise, we are holding our own.

Libby's dad, Marty, arrived a few days before Janice and the kids left. He's been a huge help. We've completed several projects around the W.C. and still have plenty of time (he goes home in the middle of July) to complete many more.

In a development that might be a surprise to many, those of us still in Chad (me, Gracey, Emma, Liddy, Ethan, Tawnee, and Esther) confirmed yesterday that we will be heading to the States on 15 August 2010. Thus will begin our family's Home Assigment. We plan on locating in the Lynnwood area so as to be close to family. Of course we are all excited to be going Stateside as we will now get to be there when the baby is born.

Hope you all have a great day.

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Wednesday, 26 May 2010

2010-05-26T17:35:00.001+01:00

Wazzzzup?

Things are going well here. Or, should I say, they are going about as well as can be expected when the glue to the family is gone. It's been quite a bit different but we've been managing to stay ahead of each crisis. So, that's good.

Last Friday a family friend arrived. Well, actually, he's more than that. He's a friend and He's Libby's dad. If you remember, Libby is the young lady who's been staying with us for the past 11 months or so.

Marty (that's his name) will be here for 2 months. Can you believe it? He actually took a leave of absence from his job to come. Worked tons of overtime to earn the extra money he'd need to come here plus bank enough for his family while he's away. What an awesome husband, father, and friend.

It is great to have him here. Not only is he enjoying Libby, he's also enjoying all of the work I've got him doing. Pretty neat deal if you ask me.

Talked with Janice via instant messaging this AM. She's doing good. She reports that Payton has not stopped eating since his arrival. All the kids here (those who remember anyway) are jealous. Someday they'll be able do the same.

Hope you all have a great day.

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Tuesdday, 25 May 2010

2010-05-25T11:11:00.001+01:00

Hello there!

Just rec'd word that Janice and the kids made it safely to her mom and dad's place in Lynnwood, WA.

Thanks for all your prayers for them during their travels. All told, the trip took about 30 hours from beginning to end.

Janice reports that H. was absolutely terrific and so were Payton and Keturah.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Sunday, 23 May 2010

2010-05-24T01:59:00.000+01:00

Hello people,

Today was an interesting day. Not really in any sort of interesting way but rather interesting because it was definitely not a normal Sunday. Sure, it started out normal enough with breakfast and church and then lunch. But, we all ended the evening by travelling to the airport to put Janice on a plane to the States.

She's been in the air now for about 2 hours. She arrives in Seattle at about 8:30 PM tomorrow. Long flight... about 28 hours all told with connecting flights, lay overs, and what not. I'm sure she's gonna be one tired puppy.

We are praying for her and can't wait to see her.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Thursday, 20 May 2010

2010-05-20T12:56:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone,

I trust this post finds you all safe and doing well. We are fine here except maybe feeling the affects of a fast paced couple of days as we prepare Janice and the kids for their trip to the States. Those that are going are excited. Except, of course, Janice. I would characterize her mood as focused: focused on completing the many tasks prior to her departure and focused on squeezing every last bit of "relationship" she can with our neighbors and our children.

Last night we were able to have dinner with some friends from MAF. We had a very good time and the food wasn't bad either.

It will definitely be a challenge while Janice is away. I rely on her more than I can put into words. She is such an anchor of calm for the family. But, I know He is faithful therefore I despair not.

Hope you all have a great day.

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Tuesday, 18 May 2010

2010-05-18T21:40:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone,

Trust that this post finds you all doing well.

We are fine here. Just chugging along, minding our own business.

Probably the biggest thing we got going right now is that Janice, Payton, Hudson, and Keturah will be boarding a plane for the US this Sunday night. They are going so Janice can give birth to child number 11 in September (or there about).

The kids get to go along to help Janice while leaving a few behind to help me. Hudson, of course, gets to go because he just can't live with Payton!

Hope you all are having a great week.

sf

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Saturday, 15 May 2010

2010-05-15T22:08:00.001+01:00

Hello there!

Was a relatively quiet day today. I got some work done in the morning while Janice and a couple of the girls went to a friends house for "just a couple of hours". Well, the couple of hours turned into 3 or 4 hours. Thankfully, they made it home in time for Janice to lay down and atttempt to take a little snooze. I say attempt because it was pretty hard to sleep with all the kids coming in and out of our room. (I should know as I preceded her in an attempt to catch some shut-eye.)

Today wasn't quite as hot as the last few although the humidity had to be near 100%. Just sitting still didn't feel so bad but if you got up and moved, it wasn't pleasant.

Things will be busy next week at the Welcome Center as a family is coming in on Monday and Libby's dad arrives on Friday. That'll be a late night for the Flude family as his plane will arrive about 9 PM or so and by the time we all get to bed it'll be after midnight I'm sure. No complaints though since it'll be good to see Marty.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Friday, 14 May 2010

2010-05-14T06:18:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone,

Been far too long b/t blog posts. Sorry 'bout that. With all the things we're doing unfortunately posting to this blog sometimes gets pushed to the bottom of the pile. It's never too far from my consciousness it's just that while not too far away it is far enough away that it gets neglected.

Today will be another busy day...

Janice and I are going to the doctor at 7:30 AM. After that we will take some of the girls to a school at which they help every Friday. Then, Janice and I will have our normal date/shop day in town. Hopefully we'll be able to pick the girls up and be home by noon. After hanging out at home we'll head off to the Marines "barracks" tonight to catch a movie with other Americans. Should be a fun day.

The kids are getting pretty excited since Libby's dad arrives in one week. He'll be leaving, of course, next Thursday and arriving here late at night on Friday the 21st. He'll be staying for 2 months during which time he's gonna help me with some projects around here. But, never fear, we'll make sure there's plenty of R&R for both he and Libby. It should be a good time for them to reconnect after not seeing each other for so long.

Thanks for the prayers. Everyone is reasonably healthy and things at the Welcome Center are going well.

Until next time.

sf

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Friday, 16 April 2010

2010-04-16T22:53:00.001+01:00

Hello all...

The lack of postings to this blog aren't because I've lacked for anything to say. Nope. The lack of posting is because I've been busy. The Welcome Center has been operating almost at capacity for the past 2 months or so capped off by a group of over 100 people last weekend for a church conference. At this time there are only 2 guests so things have eased a bit which is good.

Things are going smoothly. There's been much work done on the electrical system here and specifically with the lighting and wiring. Yesterday, we had 4 new high intensity lights installed in our concesssion, with more coming today, that should really light up the whole area within the walls at night. We plan on doing the same thing at the W.C. concession just as soon as the trenching for the cable is completed.

Hot season got off to kind of a slow start but it has really kicked in these last few days. the lasat couple of days it was over 110 in the shade on our front porch. I think the same thing will happen today. Humidity has been a factor too. And, to top it off, yesterday the generator failed to start. After several hours of diagnosing the problem (exactly) the mechanic determined we have a bad alternator. We were able to get the generator running by 6 PM but it will have to be fixed properly today. The electrician will be here later to do just that... I hope.

Janice and I are going to town today. This is something we try to do every Friday. In the States, we "dated" by going to Costco and grabbing a bite to eat afterwards. Here, we go to town, hit many stores, the post office, the bank, and then eat some lunch. Normally leave around 9 AM and get home by 2 PM or so. Sometimes we take a few kiddos with us. Today, we're flying solo, so to speak. So, it'll be fun to spend some alone time with Janice.

Gotta run.

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Tuesday, 30 March 2010

2010-03-30T20:54:00.001+01:00

Hello there.

Hope your week is off to a good start. Things are going well here. Had a busy weekend. One of our employee's wife gave birth. Janice and I spent some time at the hospital. In fact, Janice was allowed to do something quite special. She writes,

"Got to name one of our guard's brand new son. I named him Caleb. He asked me to name him(he wanted an american name for him) and I said, do you want a normal or bibical name and he said bibical...He has told me and Steve that he wanted me/us to name him a few days before and when I was thinking about it Caleb came to my mind and then when he asked again Caleb came again so Caleb it was! Cute little sucker too."

Very cool.

See you later.

sf

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Thursday, 25 March 2010

2010-03-25T17:14:00.001+01:00

Hope this post finds you and your family doing well no matter where you are.

We are fine. Just been taking things day by day and proving that in Chad, there is no such thing as your normal, every day, run-of-the-mill day. And, today was no exception to that.

Morning for the family started at about 7 AM. I slept in the living room with most of the children as Liddy got to spend the night with Janice. Lucky her! Was able to eat the 4 eggs Janice made me (thanks, Honey!) and almost immediately upon finishing them I had 2 people who wanted to see me. One was the electrician. The other was a guest. After a few minutes with each of them I was able to get into the office, check email, and get the solar power going. At about 9:30 AM Janice, Liddy, and I left for town to do some shopping and pick up Gracey and Libby who had spent the last 5 days helping another mission with their kids during their annual retreat.

There's a bunch of dignitaries in town so the main streets downtown were blocked off which forced us, and everyone else, to detour on mostly dirt roads. A typical trip to town takes about 20 minutes. This trip took closer to 45. We eventually made it to where the girls were. We picked them up and then went shopping. We stopped at the cash machine, the post office (where we picked up 3 boxes), and 2 different grocery stores, and finally ended at the vegetable stand. We arrived home at about 1 PM. After unpacking our stuff, and going through the boxes, I started to make some lunch for me and a couple of the kids. (Lunch today was Cream of Wheat.... Thanks Marcia!) I was just about to add the Cream of Wheat to the boiling water when the electrician comes to the door to inform me that he had broken our water pipe to the Welcome Center. (It's a long story!) So I drop what I'm doing and go outside to see what the problem is. Sure enough, the pipe was broken clean in two. So, I called the plumber and proceeded to make a temporary fix with an old inner tube. I then went back inside to prepare my lunch again. Just as I'm ready to mix in the Cream of Wheat again, the plumber shows up. So, I stop the cooking and go outside with him. I show him the pipe and tell him that I'd prefer he fix it today. He says he can (which I doubt since Chadians say they can fix anything) and then I tell him "OK, I'm gonna go eat my lunch now. If you need me I'll be in my house." So, I go back inside and actually do complete making my lunch. As an added bonus I was able to eat it without interruption. After eating I went back outside and bounced b/t the plumber and the electrician.

As I type this I can report that the electrician is done with his work and the plumber is done with his work and everything works! We have power and we have water.

It has been a good day but I'm tired, have a headache, and haven't been able to spend as much time with Janice and the kids as I had wanted. Ah, there's always the rest of the evening and tomorrow. Thankfully, they are all very understanding.

Here's hoping you have a "normal" day.

Until next time.

sf

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Saturday, 20 March 2010

2010-03-20T22:01:00.000+01:00

Crazy day today. Started out by taking Ethan to the dentist. The poor kid has the worst luck with fillings I think I've ever seen. Every one he's every gotten has fallen out. This one was no different. We are lucky to have found a reasonably knowledgeable dentist who doesn't cost us an arm and a leg.

Got home and almost immediately had to deal with various guys here to install and/or fix things. First it was the A/C installer. Then, it was the mechanic who brought several people to fix various things that are broken. Then, an electrician showed up to help the mechanic with our welder/generator. I normally don't find things like that stressful but when all of the discussion takes place in French it makes my head hurt mostly because I don't know the vocabulary.

By the time the day was over not one of the things they came to fix was fixed. In fact, their efforts only resulted in the mission paying more to purchase parts - a motor for the air compressor, a ignition control unit for the welder plus a starter, a custom made stand for a free-standing gas tank for the back-up generator, some hose, and a bunch of fuses for the power inverters/converters.

Unfortunately, the mechanic wasn't even able to get to our car which has developed a nasty habit of pulling to the right as well as having a steering wheel that shakes whenever we hit about 70 KM/Hr. He told me he won't be able to get to it until next week and that he'll need the car for a day or two. Yikes.

On top of everything there's Janice who's not been feeling great: pretty fatigued and has been battling a stomach problem for about 5 or 6 weeks.

None of these things are "bad" per se. They are just opportunities for us to remember that one of our main reasons for being here is to learn how to surrender ourselves (all of ourselves) to Him.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

sf

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Monday, 15 March 2010

2010-03-15T21:50:00.001+01:00

Bonjour!

Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was rather relaxing if you consider helping friends move as "relaxing". Payton and Gracey helped us on Friday. The twins on Saturday. Good times.

Today the official high (as measured in the shade on our front porch) was 109.8 degrees. That's the hottest so far this year. At that temperature the sand is too hot to stand on without shoes and the air, even when there's a breeze, feels hot.

Janice went to see a friend today. One she's not seen in several months. When she arrived she noticed this woman's little boy (not more than 1 year old) looked like he was dying. When Janice said, "He's gonna die", the woman responded, "Yes, I know". Turns out that he's not eaten much of anything for at least a month and has generally been in failing health.

So, Janice said, "Let's go. I'll take you to the hospital." To which the woman says something like, "No, sit and have some tea." There were other women there who were laughing. Janice heard one of them say something to the effect that "Hey, she just got here and now she's saying 'Let's go'!"

After a few minutes Janice finally persuaded the woman to go with her. They spent the next several hours at the hospital during which time the doctors told the woman that the little fella was really quite sick and that he needed to stay the night AND that she needed to stay with him too. She responded by saying, "No, I've got to get home to make food and care for my other kids." It took Janice and the doctor several minutes to convince her that she had to stay and that the life of her little boy was more important than dinner.

The general lack of respect for life, the view that life is cheap here is so appalling. This woman, who's a Muslim, basically had the attitude of, "It's Allah's will. If he dies, he dies." So sad. Their religion offers no hope, no comfort. There's really nothing personal about their god and that's a shame. They are in many ways so close and yet so far from the Truth.

Here's wishing you all a great week!!!

sf

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Thursday, 11 March 2010

2010-03-11T10:10:00.001+01:00

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are having a great day.

Heat's been picking up the last few days. Getting steadily warmer. Lows at night are in the 80's.

Yesterday's bizarre news: While out with Payton and Ethan I received a phone call from Janice. She said that one of our workers, who was hired to dig a trench for a new power line we're installing, was taking a break from work to wash his clothes. You see, most Chadians was their clothes in big round tubs and he'd taken the time to grab two of ours, fill them with water, grab some soap and started to wash. All this in plain view of our front door.

Janice called to tell me what was going on. After a few seconds of discussion, she decided to go outside and tell him to stop. She did so and when I got home I asked what he said. He said, "Oh!".

Only in Chad will a worker think it is ok to stop working to wash his clothes. The funny thing is that if he had just asked to wash them after he got done with work we would have said, "sure". It's just a little bit of water and some soap. Heavy sigh.

See you later.

sf

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Tuesday, 9 March 2010

2010-03-09T11:36:00.001+01:00

Good Tuesday Everyone...

Please excuse the several days that have gone by since my last post. I came down with a particularly nasty case of Malaria last week and am just now able to post this after catching back up - to an extent - with work.

The latter part of last week is nothing more than a fever riddled blur. But, yesterday was one to remember. We went to one of the local hotels for a day of swimming and fun. We went with another family and were able to convince the receptionist to give us a price break. (Note: By 'price break' I mean she was able to reduce the cost of the swimming from more than $100 to less than $100 for all of us - there were 18 altogether.)

We arrived by 10 AM and left just before 5 PM. One of the great things about this pool is that there is quite a large shallow end that is shallow enough to allow the little kids - Esther, Tawnee, and Ethan - to be able to touch the bottom. They loved it!

H. is fearless. If you're not careful, he'll just jump into the pool. Turn your head for just a fraction of a second and in he goes! He did it a time or two. Going under didn't seem to bother him too much as he generally want to stay in the water when he did.

For lunch we were able to order from the pool-side menu. No kid ever complains of a lunch consisting of French Fries and sandwiches. We lugged in our own water so we were able to stay away from the $4 bottles of soda. How many of those bad boys do you think Payton could've managed to force down during the day? The over-under was 8.

Hope you have a great week.

sf

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Friday, 26 February 2010

2010-02-26T11:12:00.001+01:00

Hey there. How are you?

We are fine. Have a few who are under the weather, me included, with little things like upset stomachs, fatigue, etc. So, we've just been laying low and not doing too much.

We just finished with a group of 16 people who were having their yearly retreat. They work for one of the missions in Chad. Nice folks. Even paid to have the generator operational during the first 3 days of this week. My kids were thrilled.

2 days ago was the twins birthday. In what has become sort of a Flude family tradition, one of the twins got sick and threw up 3 times. I think she's the second or third kid to do that on their birthday. Anyway, to honor the event we sang her "Happy Barfday" to the tune of "Happy Birthday". Keturah had a great attitude about it and we all had a good laugh.

Today there are several electricians here. We've got a number of electrical related problems (nothing major) and they're working to get all our lights and A/C units working.

Fridays are normally the day that Janice and I go to town on our weekly date. We go shopping, have lunch, hit the post office (which is a surprisingly important part of the routine) and generally just hang out together. Today, however, is a Muslim holiday so nothing's open. We will go tomorrow, though, and enjoy some time away from the excitement of the family.

Hope you all have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend.

sf

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Wednesday, 24 February 2010

2010-02-24T11:01:00.001+01:00

Well, today is the twins' birthday. Happy Birthday Emma and Keturah. You guys are terrific and mom and I love you so very much. Thanks for making our lives fun and interesting. Our family wouldn't be the same without you.

In celebration of their birthday, Janice and I took them out to dinner last night. We had a great time. At one point, I must've sat and just listened to the conversation for a good 10 minutes or more. No lack of chit chat by the 3 women at the table, that's for sure. My heart was swelled with pride as I listened to the new teenagers converse with their mother. It was so much fun.

Later in the evening, Janice made some sort of rude comment about me. You know, the kind of sweeping generalization that NEVER is true. (OK, it wasn't rude and she was probably right.) Anyways... after she got done insulting me (Ha!) I said, "I think I've got a bum rap". After a few seconds, Emma pipes in with, "Dad, you've got the weirdest insults!". Janice and I both started laughing. And, I said, "Emma, I said bum rap not bum wrap". Emma thought I was insulting Janice by making some sort of reference to a diaper. Janice then explained to her what "bum rap" means. Too funny.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Sunday, 21 February 2010

2010-02-21T08:06:00.001+01:00

One of the neat things about living in Chad is that several of the local hotels let non-guests use their pools. Most charge a fee and most, if you close your eyes, actually look and feel a little bit like outdoor pools at a U.S. hotel. There is one hotel, however, that does not charge a fee. It is about 1 hour out of town, along the river. Yesterday (saturday) we took a little family trip to this hotel and had a great time. Before we went, we decided to go to something called "Elephant Rock". It is located by a rock quarry about 1 hour away from the hotel. Now, as you've probably guessed, it is called Elephant Rock because it looks like an elephant. I was a little bit skeptical. But, I can confirm that it does, indeed, look like an elephant. Pretty cool. We spent about 90 minutes crawling in, over, and around this very big rock. We discovered that the rock is home to quite a few bats and one of our group (we went with 2 other families) even found a monkey skull. Cool.

This rock is literally out in the middle of nowhere yet by the time we left, I think there were 20 or 30 Chadians (mostly kids) "helping" us by guarding our cars. They also talked to the kids a bit and laughed at us whenever we did something that they thought was funny. (I'm usually not quite sure why they laugh at me since I don't think I'm doing anything funny, yet they do. It's sorta the same thing when my kids laugh at me, too.)

So, to get to the rock we needed to travel the last few miles on dirt roads. Well, actually they were more sandy road than dirt road. At first, the going wasn't so bad but eventually two of us needed to put our cars in 4WD. No problem. After we finished with the sight seeing tour and had made it back to the paved road we stopped so I could get our Land Cruiser into 2WD. (We drive a 10 year old LC and anyone who has ever driven one of these older models knows that getting it back into 2WD can be difficult and frustrating.)

Now, picutre this.... The paved road started right at a village. So, we stop a few yards after getting onto the pavement. As I try to muscle/finesse the car into 2WD we are slowly gathering a crowd of Chadian men. After about 3 or 4 minutes one of our friends backs his car up along side ours and asks what's the problem. So, I tell him that I can't get it into 2WD. About that same time one Chadian reaches into my car and begins to tell me what I'm doing wrong and that if I'd pay him 2,000 Francs and move over, he'd have our car in 2WD in no time.

You really need to get a good mental picture here.... Imagine a Beduin-looking man with his white (I mean, dirty white) turbin and "dress", dirty face and hands, and the blackest teeth I think I've ever seen sticking his head in my window telling me that he can get the car into 2WD. Now, if your like me you're thinking, "The only thing this guy drives is a camel. Why in the world would I let a guy who doesn't drive a car get into mine? to drive it? to "fix" it?"

So, after repeatedly telling him "No thank you" he slams my door (yes, he'd opened the door by now) and storms off. I then continued with my efforts which proved ever so futile. Eventually, my friend in the other car asks if he could give it a try. I said, "Sure, go ahead." So, now he gets into my car and as I'm standing next to my car the group of Chadians comes back. Of course, they're lead by my good friend the Chadian Mechanic.

Well, Greg (my buddy) can't get it into 2WD either. Mr. Goodwrench says, "Hey, scoot over, I can get this car into 2WD." Greg says, "Don't ask me, it isn't my car. Ask him (and he points at me)". This goes on for a few minutes. I am, of course, telling my new best friend, "No". Finally, Greg says, "What do you think, Steve? Should we let him try?" Before I can get any words out one of my kids says, "Only if Greg stays in the car!" (Found out later that Gracey, who was sitting right behind me, was already visualizing how she was going to choke Mechanic Man if he tried to speed off with the car!)

I finally relented, Greg moved over, and the guy gets into my car. He shuts the door, revs the motor, and then proceeds to make the car "convulse" (that's the only way I can describe it) by performing a combination of simultaneously putting the car in reverse, popping the clutch, and forcing the car from 4WD to 2WD. This he did 3 or 4 times.

OK, so I'm thinking, "We're doomed." Greg's thinking, "He's gonna ruin the gear box." And, my kids are thinking, "This guy's gonna steal our car or kills us or both!"

At the end of the 4th time the car turned off. I thought he'd killed the car. Turned out that Greg reached over and turned the key because he'd was afraid the car was gonna be ruined.

Then, Greg and Mechanic Man start to argue a bit more. During this, he restarts the car and points to the dashboard and says, "See, the 4WD light is no longer on. The car's in 2WD!". You know what.... he was right! He had fixed it. Unbelieveable.

His next words were, "Give me my 2,000 Francs!" I gladly paid the man.

This story is humorous, true. But, it's also illustrative of how the Lord takes care of us. He doesn't lack for anything and He can, when He so desires, even produce an uneducated, simple man who can get a 10 year old Land Cruise into 2WD. Janice and I have a friend in Fergus Falls (Don Raun) who told us on many occasions that when he and his family were living here whenever they got into problems the Lord always (always without fail) provided something or someone who fixed or helped solve the problem. The Bible tells us that He knows how many hairs we have on our head and that not one bird falls to the ground with Him knowing about it. With a Lord like that, I shouldn't be surprised when helpful people "magically" appear out of thin air who can help us.

The lesson also is this: I needn't be so "afraid" to accept help from strangers. Just because I've never seen them before doesn't mean they can't help.

Hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into a typical day in good ol' Chad!

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Wednesday, 17 February 2010

2010-02-17T08:00:00.001+01:00

Hello Everybody!

The weather is really starting to heat up. Monday it was a little over 100 degrees. Yesterday it was just over 101. Before long it'll be 120 or so in the sun. Makes for some incredibly beautiful nights as you can see so many stars. Amazing.

Kids all have been working overtime on their homework. Emma and Keturah are especially motivated since they have decided that when we go back to the States for our home assignment in August of 2011 they don't want to do have any schoolwork to do. So, they are in the midst of cramming 3 years of homework into this school year and next. I think they are both on target to finish their work which is great. I've only heard a few complaints about their work and most of those are focused on "those boring books you are making us read, Dad". (Yeah, they are the same boring books I had to read when I was their age.)

Janice and I are going to a "ladies only" birthday "party" today for a friend of Janice's. Ordinarily I wouldn't go but this woman is apparently dragging her husband along (lucky guy) and since he's gonna be their it is apparently my responsibility to commiserate with him. Maybe we can find a place away from the women where we won't hear the inevitable discussion about birthing children and pregnancy. (Going to a "ladies only" party falls right next to going to a baby shower on my list of least favorite things to do - BTW, I've never gone to a baby shower!!!).

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

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Monday, 15 February 2010

2010-02-15T15:02:00.001+01:00

Well, another typcial Monday here in the land of perpetual sun.

Lots of activity. Let's see... There are a few guys digging a 75 meter long trench from the generator to the Welcome Center. It's one meter deep and is for new electrical cable for all of the A/C units that have been installed. The original cable isn't big enough. There is also Gaston, our carpenter, working away on Welcome Center furniture. He's back after having been gone for 3 days because of some sickness. Then, there is my wife who is cleaning our room. She tried to take a nap but said, "I decided that with the 3 or 4 flies that were dive-bombing me I wasn't gonna get any sleep. So, I might as well clean the room." OK! The girls are busy cooking and cleaning. And, then there's the 2 oldest boys. Both of them are playing: Ethan with his toys. Patyon is reading. Emma and I (and Gracey for a time, too) spent about 2.5 hours earlier today working on the generator. No, it wasn't mechanical. We just changed the oil, cleaned the batteries, and then cleaned the generator.

We have a group of 18 people coming on Saturday for a 5 day conference. Should be fun. It is always great to see the conference room filled with folks.

Hope you all have a great week.

Until next time.

sf

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Tuesday, 9 February 2010

2010-02-09T19:31:00.001+01:00

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I last blogged and since Alex has been dropping me "subtle" hints like, "Dad, blog already" via Facebook I thought I'd spare her all t he anxiety and take her advice and post something.

Well, everything here is ok. Welcome Center is very busy as we're pretty consistently over 60% occupied and things are rolling along just fine.

Most everybody has been healthy save for a few of the girls who've suffered from sinus infections.

We entertained a team of 16 people from the States who went to Cameroon for about 10 days. It was great to help them "come and go" so to speak. Good times.

Well, that's it for now.

sf

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Tuesday, 19 January 2010

2010-01-19T23:59:00.001+01:00

Been far too long since our last post. That's mostly my fault as we have been very busy with living and haven't had the time (or energy) to do much of anything "extra".

For the last several weeks life has been 'normal'. Well, as normal as it can be here in Chad. Weather's been great. Lows in the upper 60's. High's in the upper 90's. Nice breeze at night. Quite comfortable, really.

We received an unexpected visitor with a short term mission team last week. Seems Alex stowed away with them and surprised us. What a blessing! Now our home feels complete and normal. She leaves in 3 days. I'm already starting to feel sad.

Everyone's pretty much healthy. No complaints.

More tomorrow. Maybe.

sf

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Get together for Janice, Liddy & Hudson before they went back

2010-01-08T01:11:00.022+01:00

These last two posts (this one and the one about their health care visit) are really for Steven and all the Flude children that had to stay behind while Janice, Hudson, Liddy, and Alex were here.

I should have posted these sooner you guys, I don't know why I didn't think about it. But here are some familiar faces that you all know, and that your Mom & Liddy got to see when they were here.

All the Derouin fellas plus Mitchell!

Rachael & Jesse Silva with Kristen.

Auntie Suzie and Molly

Janice & Liddy, with Brittany (Hudson) & Jordan D.

Emily & Jessi Persons with Hudson.

Uncle Kevin & Molly, also Papa Ray.

Uncle Donny, Gramma, Rebekah, Auntie April & Molly.

Papa Ray & Gramma Judy.

cousin Joshua & Jesse

Culley, Caleb & Mitchell

Libby - just for you, here's Lucy!! (Janice, hold your tongue!)

Uncle Grady feeding us all!

Veronica & Auntie April and Lisa McCadam

Mr. & Mrs. D with Pat

Amanda, Alex, Hudson & Janice.

Andy & Mrs. Toles

Fludies, hope you all enjoy,
We love you all,
Auntie Lisa

Trip to States for Health Care

2010-01-08T00:43:00.030+01:00

I don't think I ever posted any pictures from the visit to Washington that Janice and Liddy made for health reasons, along with Hudson, and also Alex who came to stay. That trip took place at the end of May and into the first part of June. They were here for about 3 weeks, and it was filled with a surprise for Janice's Mom, who didn't know they were coming, as you will see in one of the pictures, and lots and lots of Dr. visits and trips to hospitals and clinics. So as these pictures are "old" know, we still love to see the faces of those we love.

Hudson, learning how to walk.

Liddy at Children's, passing the time while she gets tested,

and tested, and tested! What a trouper she was!

Alex, trying to aclimate to our weather, and freezing!

Here she is, making herself at home!

Hudson, with cousin Mitchell! I will have to sadly say,

Hudson would cry every time I tried to hold him and didn't

get used to me the whole time they were here.

Janice with her two brothers, Ray and Donny.

Gramma Judy with Hudson.

Alex and Amanda.

Hudson meeting Amanda & Elaina (and not seeming to have

any problem with them!)

Hudson & Elaina

Liddy & Hudson, he's not too sure of all of us!

SURPRISE!!!

Yes, here's Alex, you can see she has made herself at home!

(I will have to give her the benefit though, not all of that is

hers, just lots of it!!)

Posted by L.C.

A few more pictures.

2010-01-08T00:32:00.019+01:00

Posted by L.C.

Neighbor visits

2009-12-07T18:05:00.014+01:00

Emma and her friend!

Esther and neighbors

Liddy with her friend

Neat henna

Cuties!

Gracey and Liddy

Beautiful scene!

Posted by Auntie Lisa

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T09:15:00.001+01:00

Hello There!

Hope everyone is enjoying a few days off from work this week as we all celebrate Thanksgiving. This is our 2nd Thanksgiving in Chad. Much has changed for us over the course of the past 12 months. This year we are on our own as both of our teamates and their families left earlier this year. Last year we had duck for dinner. This year, Lasagna.

In many ways we are still just learning the ropes around here. Language is still difficult. The culture is still "different" and at times difficult to understand. The weather can be a challenge especially during the rainy season. But, we are also "old pros" when it comes to things like dealing with sickness, running the Welcome Center, and going to town. None of these things, though, would've been possible without the countless prayers and notes and letters of encouragement we've received in the last 12 months.

While we do feel far away at times we've never, not once, felt alone. That's not only because our God is here with us, but also because you are too. We serve Him as best we can for we represent Him to our friends and neighbors. And, we represent our Church, as well.

Sometimes I ask myself, "Knowing what I know now would I do it all over again?" My answer is always the same. "Yes, a thousand times yes!"

His Word tells us to surrender everything to Him. Easier said than done. Perhaps the late Jim Elliot's words can help us all gain some perspective on doing His will in our lives: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

sf

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Lots of videos!

2009-11-20T00:30:00.003+01:00

These videos are several months old, but still very fun to see family life unfold!!

Neighborhood and other pictures

2009-11-20T00:17:00.009+01:00

Neighbors!

Lovin' Hudson

Gracey getting her hair done

Can you guess who this is?

Birthday dinner out.

nice fence Steven!

Cute little Tawnee Dawn

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

2009-11-11T21:15:00.002+01:00

Hello there!!!

Today was a crazy day. Even now, Janice and most of the girls are not here.

The day started out fairly normal but took a strange turn at about 10:00 this morning when Janice and the kids' language teacher up and walked out because she got mad at Payton for telling her to use their book to teach the Arabic. (It is the curriculum book that was given to us to use by her "boss".) She lasted a whole 4 sessions before she threw in the towel. Very bizarre.

Then, Janice made 2 trips to the hospital that's not too far from here. One of the neighbor kids - he's only a couple months old - is really sick so she took the mom and a few other family members to the hospital with her. Here, like in France, food and clothing isn't supplied by the hospital so Janice made a second trip there with food and other 'essentials' so that everyone could have a reasonably comfortable night.

Then, at about 7 o'clock Janice and the older girls went to the airport to pick up one of our employees who had been in Gabon for the last 3 months. After that, they were planning on running back here, dropping her off (she lives in our neighborhood), and then driving to a local restaurant for a girls night out. One problem: the car quit right outside our gate just after dropping her off. So, at about 8:45 PM we were finally able to get the car parked in our yard and after grabbing another car, off they went. It's now just after nine PM. Only Payton, me, and Ethan are up. Both fellas are doing math right now. I'm hoping to play Payton a game of football when he is finished.

Hope you all have a great day.

Monday, 9 November 2009

2009-11-09T16:47:00.001+01:00

Hey y'all...

Hope your week is off to a great start.

We had a nice weekend. Janice and I spent all day Saturday at a local hotel that lets non-guests use their pool. So, we lounged by the pool, read a little, slept a little, talked a bunch, and swam a little. For lunch, it's "obligatoire" (required) that the pool users purchase the buffet lunch. Wow, it was really good. Had all kinds of choices.

At the end of the day, we went out to dinner at a local chinese restaurant. We had a great time. While at dinner, we realized that this was the first time in over 2 years for us to "take a day" just for ourselves. It was a total blessing.

At dinner, we talked with Janice's mom on the phone. She asked what we were doing. I told her that I spent the day at the pool with a sexy woman in a bathing suit. She said, "Was Janice with you?" Ah, Judy, you are so very, very funny. I laughed. Janice was duly unimpressed by her mother's comment.

When we got home the house was clean and showed no obvious signs of wear and tear. So, a good day indeed.

Hope you all have a great week.

sf

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

2009-11-03T22:35:00.001+01:00

Well today was an interesting day. Started out moving batteries around so we could begin construction of an enlarged battery room. Then, at 9 AM Janice and most of the kids began their Arabic lessons. They are taking classes T-W-Th from 9 to 11. I watched the 4 youngest while they were doing their thing. I'm not taking the classes as I've deamed myself fit to learn only one language at a time. Besides, if Janice masters Arabic we will make quite a team. I can speak the French and she can speak the Arabic. We'll have to go everywhere together!

While I was playing with the younger kids, Esther told me that her arm hurt. I asked her what the problem was and she said that her arm had Malaria. I said, "Are you sure?" She said, "Yes, daddy, my arm has Malaria!". Too cute.

Ethan's not feeling well. High temp, headache, soar throat, body tingling. So, Janice has got him on some drugs. We're praying for him.

Hope things are going well for you all. No worries here.

sf

Addendum - Monday, 2 November 2009

2009-11-02T21:45:00.001+01:00

Simply one of the most asstounding articles I have ever read. Unbelievable.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=28544

Monday, 2 November 2009

2009-11-02T21:29:00.001+01:00

Well now, it's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. Been rather busy and our internet has been sporadic of late too.

We've really settled into a nice little routine of late. Every night the older kids spend a couple hours after dinner outside playing with and talking with the neighbor kids. It is amazing how fast they are learning Chadian Arabic, especially Payton and Gracey. And, tonight, Payton even threw in some Mondong too. Seems he's been listening to our workers when they are speaking their tribal language. Unbelievable!

Our carpenter has been very busy lately as Janice has him making all kinds of furniture for the Welcome Center. She's got such a great eye for what a room needs. Lots of neat touches!

We also have a couple of guests who will be staying for 1 year (or more). That's a blessing since we'll generate that income for at least 12 months.

Janice has been relatively healthy for quite some time. I say "relatively" because she is still suffering from things like colds and stomache problems. But, for the most part, everything's been good.

On the other hand, Liddy is still suffering from periodic bouts of pain in her chest and fatigue. When she feels this way Janice gives her some Tylenol and then she crashes for a couple of hours.

Generator's been running great and the batteries (if we cut power to major electricity users) have been giving us a good 5 hours of juice per day.

So, nothing to complain about (except I could really go for a Slurpee!)

Hope you all have a great week.

sf

More pictures from last May or before.

2009-11-02T19:19:00.017+01:00

Tawnee and Esther.

Esther

Keepin' Cool!

Tough Love?!

Emma & Ethan

Alex's 18th Birthday in the states

2009-10-27T17:44:00.008+01:00

Alex turned 18 on the 13th of Oct.

She wanted to go ice skating so that's what we did. There were only 2 minor (?) injuries, and they happened to the above 18 age group!! Auntie Suzie and Uncle Donnie, you guys are awesome troopers! (I was smart enough to "watch bags and shoes" with Gramma Judy)!
Then it was home for cake and ice cream.
Happy Birthday Alex!

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

2009-10-21T13:00:00.001+01:00

Wow! Seems like it's been forever since I posted to the blog. Sorry about that. Things have been a little helter skelter around here.

We've been enjoying the weather as it is cooling off a bit. The high temps are coming down as the days march into our cold season. This morning, for example, it was 78 degrees outside. It was overcast. We loved it! Reminded us of a typical summer day in Seattle. The biggest plus for days like this is that we can go without power for a longer period of time. Today, we kept the power off for almost 3.5 hours. That's good when you consider that we've begun printing our own money to help pay our electricity bills.

We all got new Chadian Visas. Had to. Old ones ran out on the 17th of October. They're good for 1 year. Now, we've got to get new Cameroonian Visas. They're good for 1 year also. Was gonna get that taken care of this week until I realized that I don't have any more pages in my passport. Gotta go get new pages. Anybody ever done that? Process here seems to be pretty straight forward. Just fill out the form and go to the Embassy. (Wonder if they'll let me swim in their pool?)

Have noticed that the family is getting a little annoyed with the various puppies and kittens running around (or should I say, UNDER) our feet. Janice decalared this morning: Ok, they're big enough now to give away. I think we've got takers for all of the dogs and most of the cats. They are cute but I'll be glad to see them go.

We've received several care packages in the recent week. Thanks to all of you who've sent them. They are truly a blessing. The kids even think up all kinds of creative reasons to go to town just so "we can check the mail box while we're there".

Have a great day.

sf

Pictures of family posted by Auntie Lisa

2009-10-19T20:54:00.016+01:00

Emma & Liddy

Steve at work

Esther

Tawnee

Emma helping with the new fence.

building a new fence

the yard

Wouldn't it be nice to fit in a chair that size for our naps?!

Fun with the new puppies!

Gracey the hair stylist!

Gracey and Esther

Enjoying Chocolate!!

Friday, 9 October 2009

2009-10-10T00:16:00.001+01:00

Hey Y'all...

Janice and I were talking today about Alex's upcoming Birthday. During the conversation I realized that I really miss her. We've been getting great reports from her and others about her schooling and studies. It's so encouraging to us and it's setting a great example for her brothers and sisters who will follow her. Way to go, Alex!!!

It has been quite busy around here this last week or so. Among the various things going on we pulled the cover off of the septic tank today and discovered that the thing is completely full. This may or may not account for the problems we've been having with our toilets and sinks since rainy season began. We're going to have the tank pumped on Monday. Hopefully that will fix the problem. If not, we'll have to dig up the existing drain field and have a new one constructed. I certainly don't want that as a project of that type could take 4 weeks or more.

We've had pretty much a full Welcome Center for the last 5 days or so. There are some folks on a short term mission trip from Korea here. They are pleasant and well behaved although I've lost track of how many times they asked me for an air conditioned room.

One thing that Janice and I have noticed lately is that the Lord seems to be teaching me (in particular) and our family (in general) about the Biblical meaning of service. What's interesting is that here in Chad it is easy to sort of retrench ourselves because we're seemingly constantly barraged with requests for money and stuff by our neighbors and workers. This seems to lend itself to us becoming callous and hardened toward those for whom we are here. Instead of wanting to reach out to them, we've noticed (sometimes) the direct opposite happening. And, most of the time, this happens because our hearts aren't in the right place. All this to say that the Lord has been pretty consistent in His presentation to us of just exactly how important service is to Him. It is a huge area of weakness for me and only now am I beginning to see how I must live my life differently. It's equal parts welcomed and resisted. Such is our walk with the Lord.

Until next time.

sf

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIDDY!!!

2009-10-07T07:32:00.003+01:00

Yes I know that this is a day late. But I have a good reason for it. I was wating to see if someone else was going to put one up. Since they didn't, I will. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIDDY!!!

Happy Happy Birthday from all of us to you! We wish it was out birthday so that we could party too! Hey! Happy Happy Birthday...from all of us to you! Happy Happy Birthday from all of us to you! HEY!!

heehee

Love you Lid!!

Alex

Tuesday, 29 Sept 09

2009-09-29T21:12:00.001+01:00

Hey Y'all,

Was a pretty good day today but an even better evening. Both Janice and I got to talk to Alex this evening. What a treat.

Hey, we even got to talk to Janice's mom, Judy. That is, of course, a treat too.

Emma and I spent the evening trying to repair her camera. She was eventually able to get the cover off and a few of the inards out. She was tring to get at the camera lense because it wasn't working but all she ultimately ended up doing was getting shocked by the internal battery. After she got shocked I picked up the camera and got shocked too! I looke at the little battery and it said 320 V. Yikes!!!

Everything else is chugging right along.

Take care.

sf

Wednesday, 23 Sept 09

2009-09-23T20:07:00.001+01:00

Hi y'all....

Been pretty busy around here. We celebrated Libby's 20th Birthday a few days ago. She said she feels really old. I asked her if she wanted to trade places and she said, "no".

Janice picked out a very nice color for the new office. It's kinda a south western terra-cota look. The painter had a difficult time matching it... no Home Depots around here!

I took the kids to the artesianale the last couple of days. They really like the stuff there. They also like haggling with the vendors. Payton bought a couple of knives (he always buys knives!). Girls bought trinkets and some paintings. Very nice.

Everybody's healthy. That's great news.

Take care.

sf

Saturday, 19 September 2009

2009-09-20T00:09:00.001+01:00

A pretty good way to cap off any day is to sit down in your easy chair and watch your favorite college football team battle on the gridiron. Although we don't have an easy chair and I can't watch my favorite team on T.V. I surely did sit on the couch and "watch" the game via type written play-by-play.

What a great game and an even better victory for the UW Huskies over the USC (that's University of Spoiled Children, ha!) Trojans.

Don't worry, I'm not getting a fat head. I have every reason to believe that next week the Huskies will get slaughtered. But, for today at least, it feels good!!!

See you.

sf

Friday, 18 Sept. 2009

2009-09-18T23:33:00.001+01:00

Been a fun evening. We sat down to have Bible study only to realize that I hadn't copied the pages for everyone to work from so instead we read and discussed the 4th chapter of Job. Kids were in a silly mood so it was a minor miracle that we even finished.

Then, when we were through with that we put up the projector and watched the second episode of 24 Season 7. (Thanks to my parents!) Right now some of the kids and I are watching Stargate Atlantis.

Today Janice and I and 7 of the kids went to town. While we were there we stopped at the post office and picked up 4 packages, two of which were from January. Yes, that's right, 2 of them were sent last December and have sat in the post office for the last 9 months or so. Incredible.

Janice and I were talking about these packages tonight, about how strange it was that we've received 3 packages in the last 2 weeks that arrived here in January but sat in the post office for the last several months. It finally dawned on us that all 3 packages were sent last year, during the Christmas season. So, we're thinking that since we've been receiving packages very regularly now there must've been problems in December/January with the number of packages they were receiving.

The moral of the story? If you sent us a package that hasn't arrived yet don't worry, it just might still get here. Or, maybe it is here, just waiting for us at the post office to pick it up.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

sdf

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

2009-09-16T22:22:00.001+01:00

Wazzup?

We are doing fine here although a few of us have colds. It seems strange to have a soar throat and runny nose when it's 100 degrees outside. Doesn't really fit with my idea of "cold season".

All of the recent additions to the family seem to be doing well except for one little kitty. For some reason the little guy's not growing as rapidly as the others. Don't know what's up there.

The other night somebody climbed up onto the containers and stole several solar panels. Thankfully they didn't take them all. The solar panel stands have been modified with padlocks now so hopefully the rest will stay put. I am also working on a "fix" to the wall in the vicinity of the panels for added protection.

All of the various construction projects are moving along with the highlight being the painting of the office. Janice had the painter mix up some color akin to a Southwestern terra-cotta red (sorta). Looks nice.

Until next time.

sf

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

2009-09-09T21:49:00.001+01:00

Hey there!

Busy day today as there are many people staying at the Welcome Center as well as a couple of construction projects underway.

I spent most of the day working with one of our guys putting in the ceiling in the new office. While the construction isn't too complicated it is a challenge when the thermometer is hovering right around 100 degrees or so. I was wearing shorts. The other guy was wearing a demin jumpsuit (the kind a mechanic might wear, for example). I was steaming hot. I can only imagine how hot we was. Payton asked me, "Why is he wearing a jumpsuit, dad?" I couldn't give him an answer since I really don't know why.

All of the new Flude animals are still alive. This is rather remarkable when one considers how many little hands "love" on them each day. We are hopeful that all of them make it to see their 1 month birthday.

It was Ethan's 7th birthday today. Strangely, nobody in the family sent him a message or called to wish him well. He didn't seem to mind but it made me kinda sad.

Hope things are going well for you all.

Later.

sf

Monday, 7 September 2009

2009-09-07T22:46:00.001+01:00

Greetings from wet N'Djamena!

It rained again today, or should I say this evening. It caused a little excitement as the twins room was getting a pretty good drenching because they forgot to close their shutters.

All of the new additions to the family seem to be doing well if one judges simply by their little cries for milk from their mommas. I know the kids are enjoying having them around.

A few days ago one of our neighbors died. This past weekend the family (Muslim family) had a funeral and a gathering for the deceased at the neighbor's house. While the festivities were ongoing, somebody stole one of the attendee's cars. The apparent culprit was some man (who was apparently one of the guests) wearing a turbin that covered his face. One of our guards remarked, "During Ramadan he can't eat, he can't drink, but he can steal!"

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

Saturday, 5 September 2009

2009-09-05T19:04:00.001+01:00

Hello!

It was certainly a busy week here as our days were filled with visiting people and managing the various construction projects going on around the Welcome Center. This weekend we had a large group of 20 people or so come for a retreat. They will be here for several days. It is great when there are a lot of folks staying here but on the flip side of that is it can be a little bit of work at times. This, of course, isn't a bad thing.

We are so thankful that everybody is pretty healthy. This has become a daily battle for us, as many of you know. But, for now, we are all doing well.

While today is just like any other saturday it really isn't. It is one of the few days where I do miss life in the good ol' United States because it is the start of the College Football season. Last year was an easy transition because I couldn't watch my team (Univ. of Washington Husksies) on TV but at least I could listen to them via the internet. (Sometimes I was up at 4 AM to do so, but still, not bad altogether.) This year I won't even be able to listen since our internet connection is essentially dial-up. Unfortunately, the last several years there hasn't been much to root for since "my team" has really sunk low... lower even than Wazzu. (Man, does it ever pain me to write that.)

Today I talked with my brother-in-law Ray for about 2 minutes. It was great to hear his voice. He and his family have been such a blessing to us for many, many years but esspecially so over the last 4 or 5 as they've been with us every step of the way. You guys are great!

Hope you all have a great weekend and that "your team" wins (except for Wazzu!)

sf

Tuesday, 1 September 2009

2009-09-01T22:21:00.001+01:00

Hello all!

It's been a pretty busy past couple of days as we have been occupied with lots of rain and people coming and going here at the Welcome Center. Thankfully, in the midst of it all, everybody is healthy!  We've not been able to say that much over the past several months. Thanks for your prayers.

Today Janice and I went shopping in town. We even made it out to the big market in the city center. I always enjoy the time I get to spend with my wife and today was no different.

While we were out shopping, Janice and the kids were texting back and forth quite a bit as one of our dogs and one of our cats were giving birth. I think the final tally is 7 puppies and 4 kittens. Yikes!  Janice was beside herself for much of the day. She wanted to get home and "help" or watch or something. I told her that dogs and cats have been doing this sort of thing for many, many years and that neither one of them needed her there. I don't think she was too upset with me.  Ha!

We had a plumber out today for a repair on the feed line from the water tank. It took him two days to get it right but I think now it is ok. I know we are all relieved to have water flowing properly again.

Earlier tonight Janice hit the pinky toe on her right foot agains the couch. Poor thing is hobbling around the house right now. If it weren't so painful for her I'd think it was funny. She looks like an 85 year old women who spent too much time on her feet. I told her that it figured since she's been feeling pretty good it didn't surprise me that something would come up and "afflict" her.

Earlier today we bought some Rice Chrispies. So, after dinner Janice and I made marshmallows.  It took us about 90 minutes to get them completed and then we made Rice Krispy Treats. They were very rich but they were good. Kids seemed to like them.

Hope your September is off to a good starts.

Until next time.

sf

Friday, 28 August 2009

2009-08-28T21:38:00.001+01:00

Interesting day today. Didn't rain but water everywhere. Toilets still don't work. Spent most of the day in the office sending emails and answering emails.

Liddy is really feeling quite well now. I just asked her how she's doing and she said "I feel normal, but my stomache is just a little sensitive". That's an answer to prayer. About the only thing lingering with her is that she's still taking her meds and wants to know when she can stop. She's evidently tired of taking them.

With all the rain the last couple of days it has been hard to keep the kids from playing in it. I must admit it is very refreshing to be out in it, especially when you realize that the temps drop to the low eighties or less with no humidity. But, and this is a Big but, it is important to remember where one lives. This isn't downtown Mt. Vernon, WA or even good ol' Fergus Falls. This is Chad, Africa. And, as such, it pays to remember that there are all kinds of "nice" little creatures, visible and invisible to the naked eye, that would just love to snuggle up inside your body and "hitch a ride" so to speak. The net result of all the kids playing outside? Two of them have new best friends who will be hanging around with them until the medicine does its good work. I don't know about you but I prefer to stay dry when it rains around here and I certainly won't be playing in it any time soon. YUCK!!!

The 5 oldest are going to a get together tomorrow afternoon so that'll give Janice a bit of a rest as she won't need to make dinner for the always hungry teenagers. (Man do they eat a lot.... Especially Libby. Who would've thought a girl that skinny could pack away what seems like 50 or 60 pounds of food a day. Holy Cow!!!)

That's it for now.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

sf

Thursday, 27 August 2009

2009-08-27T16:08:00.001+01:00

Hello All!!!

Today has been a very bizarre day for us. It started raining about 6 AM this morning and continued until about 1 PM this afternoon. There is mud and water everywhere. In fact, a good percentage of our concession is covered with at least 6 inches of water. Needless to say our toilets and sinks are non-functional. Since it's about 80 degrees out it's not unpleasant to slog around in the water as we walk over the Welcome Center to use the toilets there.

Tonight, some friends of ours will be leaving for France. They are eating dinner with us and then we'll go with them to the airport to see them off. That is, of course, assuming we can make it past Lake Gassi!!!

The best news of the days is that Liddy is actually up and around. She's feeling stronger and while she's not quite her normal self she's definitely improved. PTL! Thanks for your prayers.

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

Monday, 24 August 2009

2009-08-24T11:27:00.001+01:00

Hello from Chad!

It's 11:21 AM right now and so far the day has been without incident or fanfare. About the only news worthy of report is that Liddy is still sick. We treated her for Malaria to no avail. Now, we're treating her Typhoid and dysentery as she's been having some nasty intestinal problems. Pray for her. If she doesn't show improvement by tomorrow morning we are going to take her to the clinic.

Have a great week.

sf

Saturday, 22 August 2009

2009-08-22T22:45:00.001+01:00

Wow, what a busy day.

Action started almost immediately with several people showing up to see me by 8 AM. Much of the morning was spent taking care of the generator, cleaning, and helping out around the house and the Welcome Center.

Then, it finally ended at dinner time when, while we had just sat down to eat, a new guest at the Welcome Center showed up. She needed to know where her room was and get a key. Thankfully, we all had a nice, quiet evening. Had some good conversation too with some friends who are going to France later in the week.

Liddy is still sick but on the mend. After a couple of days of a 104 degree temperature we finally were able to diagnose the problem (thanks to a neighbor, an employee, and a couple of medical books we've got) as being Typhoid and possibly malaria. So, we gave her the appropriate drugs for both of those and she's feeling much better. Was up and around a bit today but couldn't really do much other than sit on the couch. What a trooper. She's done remarkably well considering all of the activity going on around her as she laid on the couch for several days.

Janice wasn't feeling well tonight so she went to be early. It would be a huge blessing if she were able to sleep through the night but that would take about 4 or 5 kids doing the same thing. We pray that one day it will happen.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day as Sundays normally are. Unfortunately for the family it is my day to cook. Hopefully, there won't be too much complaining!!!

See you soon.

sf

Thursday, 20 August 2009

2009-08-20T16:41:00.001+01:00

Hello there!

Hope this blog post finds you all doing well.

We are fine. Most everybody is healthy except for Liddy who's come down with a case of malaria. Poor thing is sacked out on the couch even as I type this update. We'll know in the next 24 hours if the meds she's taking do the trick.

Janice is feeling quite well although with all of the interuptions she endures every night it is hard for her to get a lot of sleep. We both long for the days when all of the kids sleep through the night IN THEIR OWN BEDS! (But, we also know that it is a precious thing to have little ones who still love to cuddle up to mom - and dad... sometimes - in the middle of the night.)

Things are getting busy at the Welcome Center. We've got a number of guests scheduled to come during the next several weeks. Some will even be staying for extended periods of time. What a blessing!

Just before I started typing this blog I put on some music, or at least I think it is music (Petra circa mid 80's). Anyway, just a few minutes after starting the music Libby came out of a room and said, "Hey, what's that noise?" Can you believe it? A teenager saying that my music is noise? I told her that that was a first for me. Just imagine what she'd do with somebody like Randy Stonehill or Keith Green (although, it would be VERY difficult to call any song by Keith Green "noise").

Hope you all have a great day.

sf

Wednesday, 12 August 2009

2009-08-12T17:56:00.001+01:00

It's been raining quite a bit around here. About every 2 or 3 days it'll rain for about an hour or two. About an inch or more. Consequently, we are unable to use our toilets or sinks because the drainfield is flooded. Not much fun.

Janice is feeling quite a bit better. And, she's even been taking a nap each day. (For those of you who know her you will immediately realize that this is something she we NEVER do in the States. Too much mommy stuff to do.) This has helped her recovery and we are hopeful that napping will help to maintain good health. (The kids are even guarding the time well. They play quietly and even screen phone calls.)

Tawnee has been sick for the past couple of days. Not sure what she has. Symptoms are high fever, throwing up, sleeping a lot. In short, could be just about anything. Pray for her.

Blessings.

sf

Only in Chad

2009-08-10T09:26:00.001+01:00

The other day I mentioned that Janice and I took the twins and Liddy out to dinner. We had a great time. But, before we found a restaurant at which to eat we stopped at one place that looked promising. Since it was a little early (about 5:50 PM) I asked the guard if the restaurant was open. "Yes" came the response. So, we parked and headed into the courtyard. We wound our way to the tables at which point a waiter (of sorts) came up to us. I asked him if we could just choose a table. He said, "We don't open until 6". Then, "What time is it?" I said "It is almost 6" and I showed him my watch. He looks at the watch and gave out a little "Yikes! Actually, we don't open until about 7:30". Janice and I looked at each other and started laughing. On the way back to the car we noted that something like this could only happen in Chad.

Kinda reminded me of that old skit on Saturday Night Live with the Liar.... "Yeah, that's the ticket!!!"

Hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week, too.

sf

Snipet

2009-08-07T21:10:00.001+01:00

Janice and I went out to dinner with the twins and Liddy tonight. We had a really good time. These three are so much fun to be around. They love to talk and have questionable social grace (by that I mean that they don't even think twice about doing things in the restaurant that they would do at home... some of which are not appropriate for a public setting! ) Thankfully none of them tried to lick their plates clean like Janice did in a restaurant in France!!!

I am thankful that our girls are so much fun to be around. Mrs. Flude is such a great mom. They are truly a reflection of her.

Until next time.

sf

Scam!

2009-08-06T22:04:00.001+01:00

Today I had an interesting experience. One of our guards sent Payton into the house to tell me that a man was here who wanted to talk with me. So, I went out to the gate and noticed that 2 men were chatting with the guard. One was his friend. The other was a Chadian who said he wanted to talk to me in private. I said ok and we walked a few yards away to just the other side of the Welcome Center gate.

After a few minutes I was able to figure out that the guy was telling me that he had received a text message from a woman who said he'd one about 34,500 Francs. He claimed that he'd called the number that came with the text only to be told that he needed an "intermediary" (his word) to help with the transaction.

I told him that I receive several of these types of emails every month to my computer and I just ignore them and put them in the trash. I said that in my opinion the email was a scam and that I wouldn't help him. He wanted to know if I was French or American. When I said, "American" he wanted to know if there were any frenchmen living here. He didn't like it that there were no frenchmen here.

He made on last attempt to get me to call the number (upon doing so I'm sure I would've been asked for my bank account number!) before I told him I was going home.

This little story only reinforces my belief (based upon what I've seen and experienced) that people are people and that there's more than enough sin to go around. Apparently, scam artists aren't only limited to the States. In my mind's eye can can see him wondering around N'djamena looking for frenchmen (why "frenchmen"? are they more gullible than us wiley ol' Americans?) who he can con out of a few bucks.

When I told Janice and the kids they were impressed that I was able to discern the trickery involved despite the "smooth" delivery of the erstwhile conman.

Hope you all have a great day and be careful with those nasty spam emails and "innocent" folks who want you to help them claim their prize!!!

sf

Healing?

2009-08-05T16:44:00.001+01:00

Well, Janice is up and around and appears to be doing better. We've all been fooled before when she's made it this far only to become stricken again. Please keep praying for her.

Not much else is going on. Kids are all homeschooling and Ethan and Tawnee are learning to read and it is so fun to watch them try to make the sounds for each letter. They're so cute.

Hope you are enjoying the week.

Until next time.

Steve

Musings

2009-08-04T16:26:00.001+01:00

Well, it has been a few days since the last post to this space. It's not because we haven't been thinking of you. The reason is simple - our internet connection was messed up for about 5 days. Thankfully, I was able to get to town today and the fix was pretty simple as it took the technician about 2 minutes to correct the problem. It's amazing how badly we miss something when we don't have it, isn't it? Ever smash your pinky finger and realize after struggling with it for a few days just exactly how much you use that little thing? For us, the internet is the same way. We use it mostly to stay connected with friends and family back home and scattered throughout Africa. Life is just not the same without it.

Life here has been pretty routine of late... if you include Janice getting sick again (pneumonia) and spending the night in the hospital. (Unfortunately for her, this sort of thing appears to be rather "normal" over the course of the last 6 months or so.) Please pray for her and our family. Janice and I are convinced that there is some sort of spiritual warfare going on that we can't see (except for the results). We aren't discouraged or angry. We are, however, thankful that these trials have come our way. Through our suffering we are made perfect and we are drawn closer to Him. That's good news.

A friend and I were discussing our lives in Africa. When the subject of "care packages" came up we both had plenty to say. Mostly, what we talked about was how AWESOME it is to receive cards, letters, packages, and e-mail from folks back home. I know every time we get one, like we did last week from Janice's parents, it is like Christmas around here. Kids are hooping and hollering. They actually fight over who gets to open them! My buddy and I both agreed that we do an awful job of letting you all know how much we value the contact with you and we noted that we often forget to say "Thanks". Well, I, for one, would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG Thank You to all of you who have sent cards and letters and packages and emails. They bless us greatly. (You know, there are a group of ladies, many of whom we've never met, who take the time at least once per month to write us a short letter. Often times these letters contain snippets of what's going on in their lives. You wouldn't think that reading about what's going on in somebody's life (particularly somebody whom you've never met) would be all that exciting, but it is!!! We appreciate the ministry that these women have. It is so much fun.)

Another thing my pal and I talked about was American culture. He said he has a few people who send him DVD's of shows like the Super Bowl and American Idol and 24, etc. Sure, he and his family get them 2 or 3 months "late" but boy do they enjoy them. They have family "Super Bowl" night or "American Idol" night. (He even said that he's even received NBA games on DVD. Ordinarily he can't stand the NBA but, for some reason, he watches every second of the games, even the commercials.) Staying connected with our "home" culture is important and any time we get anything like this it is a blessing too.

I told him that back in the States I wasn't much of a magazine or newspaper reader but since getting here we devour any American newspaper or magazine we can get our hands on. Many times they're 2 or 3 months old but we don't care. He said he even reads the stupid little ads and notices!!! I have another friend who receives a big envelope of old newspapers about twice a month from a family friend. And, whenever Janice's parents send us a box they always include several weeks worth of Sunday edition comics pages. You wouldn't believe how these things are fought over and how many times they get read. (I think I read the last set of comics at least 2 times!)

We appreciate all of you who read our blog. Just knowing that folks are interested in what we are doing and care enough to pray for us is a tremendous comfort.

Hope you all have a great week.

sf

Weight Gain!!!

2009-07-27T11:51:00.001+01:00

Hurray! Janice has gained 4 pounds. Now, I know that there probably isn't a woman in the United States who would rejoice over gaining 4 pounds. However, when you consider that Janice has lost 20 to 25 pounds or more since arriving in Chad and when you couple that with her inability to gain weight following her last round of sickness.... well, you get the point.

Every one of us has lost weight, except for Hudson. That's life here in Chad. I've lost 20 pounds total since we left Fergus Falls. I lost 10 in France and 10 here. I won't bother to tell you what I weigh. Even Alex lost weight while she was here (and she was in no ways over weight).

We hope that there is something left of us by the time we return to the States in 2011.

I can see it now.... milkshakes every day, chocolate cake, pizza, chips, soda.... oh, wait a minute, that's pretty much how us Fludes eat anyways! Drat. Maybe we'll have to start drinking protein shakes. Yum, yum.

Hope you all are having a great day.

sf

Goin' with the FLow

2009-07-26T14:40:00.001+01:00

Not much out of the ordinary has been going on around here for the last week or so. We've enjoyed a stretch where everybody's been relatively healthy and the weather's been on the cool side. So, all things considered, not a bad stretch at all.

Last night as we were leaving to take some friends home, our guards killed about a 2 foot long viper that was hanging around the front gate. One of our guards told me that if you get bit by one you'd better be pretty close to a hospital otherwise you'd probably die. Now, I don't know if that is true or not. But, I can tell you I don't want to find out.

Several of the kids had just walked by the snake. A number of them didn't have any shoes on and it was dark. All this despite our consistent reminders to wear shoes at all times.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. We sure are.

sf