Sunday, 21 August 2011

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

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

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

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.
 
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Return to Chad

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

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

Under Duress

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