It's A Chad Life 2011: March 2009

Friday, March 27, 2009

A Good Read?

Hi everyone! Hope this blog post finds you happy and healthy.

Today I penned an e-mail to our pastor back home in Mt. Vernon, Wa. After I got done sending it I thought that some of you might find parts of it an interesting read. So, I've copied below some of that message. I hope you enjoy.

Have a great day.

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Both A. and P. are doing 2 years worth of schooling at the same time. In Alex's case it is because she wants to leave for the US sometime before the end of the year (August). I'm none too keen on her leaving until after the end of this year as I want to spend 1 last Christmas, birthday, etc. w/ her. She is doing very well sticking with her work plan and I'm proud of her. Showing some real maturity. P. is doing the same thing because he, too, wants to go "home" but he's not as strongly committed to it as his sister. He's keeping his options open. But, he's also sticking to his work plan and doing well and is showing some real promise. I'm proud of him too. Very proud. If they do actually pull the trigger on their plans, either Janice or I will go with them. I imagine it would be a 2 to 4 week stay to get them settled in. At this point they have a standing offer to live with Janice's parents. We'll see. P. is also our resident linguist as he's picking up French quite well and really has no trouble at all carrying on a conversation with the natives. I'm so jealous.

G. is doing well. She's doing sort of 2 years of schooling too but mostly just to catch up after losing the year in France. She's carved out quite a reputation here (as she did in France) for childcare, and I'm not just talking about baby sitting. I think we all know she's received a special touch from the Lord when it comes to a caring and compassionate heart. Quite amazing really when you consider the old, cold heart that beats within my chest. Definitely takes after her mother. She is selfless and really amazingly mature. There isn't anything in our house or lives that I wouldn't trust her with. In fact, if she wanted to go to the States and start her life, while being so young, I don't think she'd have much trouble pulling it off. (I suppose, in many ways, she's like Chris was at her age. A child-adult.)

The twins are fine. E. is a pretty good linguist too. Get's mad at herself when she thinks "Man, dad's French is really horrible". I told her, "Why would you feel badly for thinking the truth?" She's still very serious and gets offended easily when folks do things that don't make sense. Can't handle things that don't compute, I guess.

K. is probably our most spiritually sensitive kid. You should read some of the things she writes in her journal. Truly amazing. She's got the spiritual age of somebody much older. Great relationship with the Lord and wants nothing more than to be used by Him. Quite inspiring really.

L. is the life of the party. Always is laughing and goofing off... many times at the wrong time! Has a few friends here in Sylvia and Tevi so she doesn't struggle as much as she did in France with being left out all the time. She's a ball of energy and really fun to be around. Doing well in school too as she's really started to read quite well. She's our latest (age wise) reader because we've been on the move so much over the last 3 years that her reading really suffered as Janice didn't have the time nor the means to teach her. But, she's doing great.

Big E. is really just a small version of P. but more serious. Says the craziest things sometimes that cause me to ask myself "And, how old is he anyway?" Loves to play outside by himself. Most mornings he's out there for an hour or more chasing the cats and dogs, building forts, or playing in the dirt. Pretty good life for a 6 year old. He's also learning to read a bit and enjoys school. He even reminds Janice that it is time to study.

T. and E. and H. are just learning the ropes. T. has a little "red hair" personality in that she can be quite stubborn. But, she's mostly sweet and highly attached to G.

E. (or "The Destroyer" as we call her) is quite a challenge. I could go on and on about her. Suffice it to say we are glad we've only got one child like her and that H. is so laid back and happy that he's no trouble at all to care for which leaves better time to attend to E.

Janice and I are doing well and we are focusing on improving our relationship with each and with the kids. Life is so hectic here that it is very easy to forget the most important people in our lives... each other. Thankfully, I've got a wife who's committed to our relationship and to our family. She's a real inspiration to me.

That's all that is fit to tell.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Goings on.....

Time for a little update on what's been happening around here. It's been a busy 7 to 10 days.

Last week H. was circumcised at the French Military Base. What an experience! Got there at 7 AM and didn't get home until almost 7 PM. In that time he had 2 surgeries, Gracey and Liddy and I spent 2.5 hours parked in our car (it was over 100 degrees) because they wouldn't let us back in until 3 PM after we had left to run errands, Janice spent over 5 hours couped up in a room with H. - without cell phone - wondering what happened to us, and we received what must've been 200 phone calls from the kids at home wanting to know when we were going to be home. Wow!

We always wondered why the French don't like to circumcise. Well, now we know. They actually put the little guy under. Yes, it is true. Completely out. Surgery lasted just over 30 minutes. And, later - while 3 of us were stuck in the parking lot - he had an "emergency" surgery because he had developed a blood clot in his manly part. Yikes! (I sure am glad he won't remember any of this.)

Then, there was the work crew who broke the main waterline going to the Welcome Center while putting in the poles for our "parking garage". The pipe here is so brittle that I was afraid to fix it properly. So, instead, I used Chadian duct tape. "What's that?" you ask. Well, it is cut up strips of inner tubing. They use it to fix everything. I wrapped about a 3 foot section of it around the pipe, turned the water back on, and voila! This morning I had the work crew pour concrete around the pipe. I am hopeful that this fix holds. (I am almost ashamed to admit how we fixed this. I know my dad is gonna be disappointed!)

Today, while on our way home from town, Janice, Liddy, H., Gracey, and I stopped to get lunch at a road side restaurant that sells 4 things: BBQ'd meat, BBQ'd meat with breading, bread, and soda. We always get the meat with breading and the hot pepper. It is yummy. And, today was no different. We purchased 3000 Francs worth ($6) and ate it a little while later while sitting in the back of our car, in the shade, with the A/C going. Washed it down with Orange soda. Good times.

What made this so memorable, really, was watching Janice eat the meat. She's supposedly a vegetarian but she's the most peculiar one I've ever met. (In all fairness, she is a vegetarian but, occasionally, she does eat meat... or tries to eat meat.) She said the meal gave her a gut ache.

We have noted that many of our friends and family are suffering through a pretty bad winter (still) with lots of cold temperatures, grey skies, and rain and snow. Well, we are here to report that today (and every day for as long as I can remember) it was sunny, about 105 degrees, with no precipitation. All this to say that should any of you wish to experience a fine warm and sunny climate we've got the place just for you. Our rates are reasonable too!

Hope you all are having a great week. We are. Take care.

sf

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN!

Steven had a brithday on the 23rd this month. He and Gracey share the day. It was very difficult to put together any kind of special blog of just pictures of you Steven. You either are never around when the cameras are out, or you are camera shy!

You are in our thoughts always, hope you enjoyed your pizza.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACEY ARLENE MARGARET!!

Here is our beautiful Gracey. She turned 14 on the 23rd. Happy Birthday Gracey, we love you very much.

Nothing has changed!!

I can't believe how much you look like your Mom in this picture Gracey!!

Home and Garden

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Spice it up a little....

Hey folks,

Today's blog entry is very unusual. It's unusual because I am posting what has become a very real need here and that is SPICES. Well, more specifically, Janice reports that there is a decided shortage of some often used spices and mixes in our cupboards. I can list for you the ones I am aware of but the list is not comprehensive by an stretch of the imagination.

Sloppy Joe mix
Chili Mix
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Cheese powder (for Mac and Cheese)
Fajita Mix (not marinade)
Cumin
Aregeno
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

Also, we have run into a hard patch here regarding Vanilla. Can't find any.

All of you who regularly read our Blog, stay in touch with us via FaceBook, write us letters, and send us packages, AND who pray for us are a HUGE BLESSING. Please don't feel like you must send us any of this stuff. We just want to make our needs known.

However, if you want to send us a card, letter, or even a box of goodies our address is...

B.P. 1248
N'Djaména, Tchad
Africa

That's it for now.

sf

P.S. - For me.... (selfishly).... sunflower seeds.