Towards Reconciliation

Eye Clinics 2023

On February 26, 2023

We have just finished the 3rd round of eye clinics out in the village and we appreciate all the prayers that were lifted up on our behalf. Dr. Brian and the team arrived February 17th after an unplanned night in Paris due to dust storms in N’Djamena. The week of their arrival, the government office that issues travel permits decided to go on strike, so our entire plan was thrown into uncertainty. We prayerfully moved forward with the plan, trusting that God would make a way for them to come out (and putting together Plan B in case he chose not to). We had planned to have them taken care of by the staff of a guest house in N’Djamena and then Josh would meet them in Abeche when they arrived by plane, but due to the uncertainty of travel permits Josh and the boys took a last minute trip to N’Djamena to welcome them and see what could be done to push the permits along. Our last chance to fly out east (and thus actually have a chance to do the clinics before they had to return to the US) was Friday, February 19th. Thursday afternoon came and went and still not permits. We decided to go anyway, and our church partners wrote us a letter explaining what we were doing and that we travelled with their blessing.

So Friday morning we set out, not flying to Abeche but to another town near the Sudanese border that was closer to the village where we would do the clinics. We rearranged our plans at the last minute, deciding to go directly to the village before passing through Abeche on our way out to provide some eye care to Chadian pastors and missionaries who had gathered there for a conference. We arrived Friday afternoon at the dirt airstrip, and after doing one flyover to check the airstrip for obstacles and a second last-minute aborted landing due to a couple of military guys who decided it was a good time to fly down the airstrip towards us on their motorcycle for no apparent reason, we landed without incident. Abdoulaye was there with our car waiting for us, having travelled from Abeche that morning. We hopped in the car and made the 1.5 hour drive to the village.

The clinics were a great success, and we were able to see about 300 people. Kimberly, Josh and one of our teammates translated for the doctor. The hot sun, wind and dust of the Sahel is a recipe for eye trouble, and as always there was plenty of work for Dr. Brian. Cataracts (we referred people to a clinic in Abeche where they do surgery), glaucoma (we had eye drops that if taken regularly can slow its progress), trauma (how many people did we see who had been poked with a thorn in the eye, or hit with a piece of wood, rock, etc.), severely dry eyes and regular old eyeglass prescriptions were just some of the problems we saw.

We are thankful for these clinics, both because they are a chance to relieve a bit of suffering for those who come, but also because they are a door into their lives, families and villages. Everywhere I go in the east I meet people who have been to, or at least heard about the clinics. “When is the doctor coming again?” is a regular question I hear at the local markets I visit.

Would you join us in thanking God for these clinics, and praying that they may be a door for the gospel to enter into this dark place?

Slow Down

By kimberly

On February 24, 2023

In Chad, Culture, Ministry

Being in the village for almost three weeks had provided many opportunities to examine our own cultural values in light of the culture we have entered. As a young, short-term missionary years ago I learned a saying: It’s not wrong, it’s just different. This is a good first step towards opening our eyes to people from other cultures in effort to understand their mindset and how to best minister to them and share the gospel with them. However, it stops short of helping us really understanding the people we seek to minister as persons created in the image of God. It perpetuates an us vs. them mentality that is not helpful for life on life ministry.

As different as the Makai village people are to us and our way of life, I am recognizing there are many ways we can grow in our own character and as believers by learning and even embracing some of their deep-rooted values. I don’t mean their works-based, fear-based religious beliefs, but some of the deeper cultural values that we in the West have forsaken. Some of my reflections on these things are inspired by Wendell Berry novel I read a few months back called Jayber Crow which really challenged me in ways I am still processing.

Our broader culture, and even the Christian community, often emphasizes fruitfulness and productivity – tangible numbers and results. Yes, God has given us work to do, and this is good. Yet I’m afraid I have lived a lot of my life on a basis of task-oriented productivity, checking off lists in order to feel like my contribution matters, even at the risk of ignoring human relationship and need. Here in the village, and generally in Chad, “henisse” – being together – is of utmost importance. Eating alone, going on a visit alone, doing household tasks alone, spending the evening alone, is viewed negatively. Of course, we want someone with us – all the time!

As a missionary from the West, I have a choice: I can continue to acknowledge that this “henisse” lies in stark contrast to my own cultural value system and figure out how to crate boundaries, barriers, time slots to fit people in to our day. Yet here in the village, there is no framework for that. We have people from 6am in the morning until late in the evening coming in for short or long visits. Some people bring us gifts from their fields, others need help with something practical or medical, others stop by for a short greeting, others sit down for a cup of tea or whatever food they might find served at our home, while still others come to offer to help me wash dishes or rake the yard.

At times in Jesus’ ministry, he sought to get away for prayer, but the crowds would follow Him. Instead of complaining or becoming frustrated, He had compassion on them and gave more of Himself. In Jayber Crow, the main character (Jayber) sees the God-given beauty in everyday, normal interactions amongst the townspeople. Simply being together adds value to their lives in a way that rushing around, fulfilling all the tasks cannot provide.

I had a local lady compare two missionary women recently. It was a Mary and Martha sort of comparison. The one woman was so busy in her kitchen and hardly came to sit with her visitors; the other woman provided the best food she had to offer but also sat with them, giving her visitors the best gift: her time and herself. I think this also has a lot of implications for us as believers, not just as cross-cultural workers, but as team members on the field, or as fellow believers attending the same church. Living out the “one another” commands can’t really happen if we’re so busy rushing around in our task-oriented lives. We must intentionally slow down to consider one another, pray for one another, encourage and build up one another. So, as I receive one more visitor and my natural, fleshly, Western cultural self is tempted to look at my husband and roll my eyes or let out a sigh, I’m trying to remember the significance of giving myself and my time for the sake of the gospel. I’m learning that I have as much to learn from these new friends as they may have to learn from me.

Lettuce and other lovely things – An ode to fresh food on Saturdays

By kimberly

On February 15, 2023

In Chad, Food

I had a dream a few nights ago. I was in America at the beginning of a salad bar. I got to the bar and they were out of lettuce. The manager told me they were preparing more and would bring it out shortly. I waited and it never came. I really wanted lettuce. I waited longer. The lettuce never came.

I woke up craving fresh salad and remembered that, in fact, I really was still waiting for lettuce after 2 ½ weeks of having none. And then there’s also the carrots, potatoes, green peppers, fresh oranges, basically most of our normal produce on our grocery lists had run out and there was really no chance of getting these things any time soon. I had a lot of dried food brought out to help with the lack of fresh things, but lettuce is one of those things you just can’t substitute. Thankfully, for a few days each week we do get to enjoy apples and bananas and tomatoes.

We came here knowing there was no market in our village. There are two very close markets in nearby towns that come through once per week – Monday and Tuesday. Then, on Saturdays there is a large market in a town that takes a good hour to get to.

Don’t be fooled. This isn’t your weekly Saturday trip to the Costco in the next town over. Trip preparations actually start many days ahead of time as villagers trickle into our home asking if they can go with us on Saturday to the big town. We learned hard lessons very quickly our first week out here with no local men present (where they were is another blog post for another day):

Always, always keep a list of names (first come, first serve) or come Saturday morning, you’ll have a car full of people with no place left for your own family to sit and inevitable one or two women will absolutely refuse to get out of your vehicle.
Never, ever let young men on top of your car. Sure, we don’t like to be the bad guys and say no. But the reality is, the young men are the bad guys. So are the police. The young men will go get drunk in town, encourage a young 13 something year old kid to get so drunk he passes out on top of your car (which you don’t even realize he’s climbed up on…in fact, how did he even get up there?) and then he will proceed to puke all over your car windshield. Very likely, as you’re trying to wipe the puke away, your windshield washing fluid will run out and then, that’s just bad. To top it off, the local town police will pull you in to their office, rant and rage, calling you racist because you put black people on top of your car (seriously dude? We didn’t even want them there in the first place! And also, what other type of people could we actually put on top of our car? We are, after all, in Africa.) Then he’ll take you to the back, threaten jail time for having people on top of your car, demand $100 or so, then tell you to drive out of town, meet the guys and let them climb on the top of your car once you’re out of town. One day we’ll laugh about it, friends, but right now, well, all I can say is, you seriously can’t make this stuff up.
Back to the lettuce: if you want lettuce at the once-a-week market an hour’s drive away, you need to leave early enough to get there before the sun is too high and all the lettuce is sold. Drop all the village women where they need to be to pound their peanuts from their fields into oil, then you can go to the market yourself and get what you need.

The whole grocery shopping adventure that technically starts about the Tuesday before with people asking for a ride, will officially begin around 9:30 am and end at sunset when you finally, Lord willing make it home before you’re stuck driving in the dark on dirt paths. If you get stopped at the police station on your way out of town, though, you will very likely be driving on those dirt paths at night, hoping someone in the car can differentiate one dirt path from another and finally get you home safely.

(PS. I got fresh salad yesterday, so everything is looking bright today )

Little Things With Great Love

By kimberly

On February 15, 2023

In Chad, Ministry

Audrey Assad has some great song lyrics and some of my current favorites are from a song entitled “Little Things With Great Love“:

“In the garden of our Savior

No flower grows unseen

His kindness rains like water

On every humble seed

No simple act of mercy

Escapes His watchful eye

For there is One who sees me

His hand is over mine.”

Washing dishes. Fixing broken water-well parts. Serving tea and dates. Hand-washing laundry. Sitting with a mother who just delivered a baby. Taking eye drops to an elderly woman. Reading a story to my kids. Taking an extra minute to pray for a poor woman with no family. Driving people to another town to attend a funeral. Helping a neighbor pound her millet.

In the village, a lot of our family’s “little things” look different than normal. But regardless of where we find ourselves, we all have opportunities each moment to do these little, insignificant things with great love. And sometimes, that makes all the difference.

Eye Infections and Insect Repellent: How do these things belong in the same sentence?

By kimberly

On February 15, 2023

In Ministry

A friend came two afternoons ago to tell me that Bonnie, one of the elderly women in the village, was about to get on a donkey and travel to another village unless we took her in her car. She wanted to find a person who could perform some traditional healing treatments on her in order to “get out” the “something” that was in her eyes – by licking them with their own tongue!

She had been battling an eye infection for 4 days and I knew she originally had antibiotic eye drops, but afterwards found out she had lost them. I, of course, in good conscience, cannot transport someone with an eye infection to a place where they will perform such an unhygienic act. Thankfully, I blamed it all on our eye doctor friend who will soon be coming here to serve the community. “The eye doctor would be very angry with me if I took you now to the next town. Be patient. I will see if he can receive a message in America from my telephone. Maybe he can help us.” Thankfully, Bonnie waited, and thankfully, Dr. Pyron responded so quickly!

I visited Bonnie, saw her eyes, and noticed a white substance above her eye and on the bridge of her nose. “What is this white stuff?” I asked.

“Oh it’s insect powder. The flies won’t stay away so I started pouring this insect repellent powder on my face to keep them away.”

“Oh no, you can’t use this on your skin and eyes. It could make you sick or blind! I’m going to have to take it away now and bring it back to you later. Use oil on your skin. You know that’s what helps keep the flies away.”

I sent the doctor a photo of the infected eyes and the insect powder. He recommended a certain eye drop and said “the insect powder is NOT RECOMMENDED” for keeping flies away!

We got her started on the proper treatment yesterday after a trip to a bigger town with a pharmacy (there’s none here). She’s slowly feeling better today, and I trust if she continues her treatment she will return to normal in a few more days. Now if we can just find someone in the community to wash her laundry other than me, the missionary, I will be ok letting her stay here in the village. Otherwise, I really hope we can all convince her to move to the big city and live with relatives who can take care of her.

Outings and Kids Experiences

By josh

On March 4, 2022

In Chad, Family

This post is from our trip to the village in December…

Saturday, we traveled 40 minutes to a nearby town, HH, and got to visit with two other American ladies as well as visit the weekly market to see what foods are available there. We also brought a carful of village women who brought hugs sacks of peanuts from their fields to get ground into oil they can then use for cooking at home. Market day is an all-day affair. We left around 9 and got back right at sunset that day.

Lynzee, the kids, and I got to visit the close-by wadi (dry river bed) a few times to try to catch fish, look out for monkeys, and collect guavas from the trees. We also took a short walk out of “town” to see the recently completed schoolhouse made of dried millet stalks. The village men recently made a plan to start a French school for boys and girls that would require almost nothing from the village parents. The men have collected money, hired a teacher from N’Djamena, and built a building. They plan to start classes very soon.

We also took a 15-minute drive to a neighboring village on it’s weekly market day. I loved seeing the donkeys and horse carts arriving to market. The kids stayed at the shady wadi for a nature walk amongst the mango trees with Lynzee while I ventured into “town” with two of my local friends to get an idea of what things were available. I was pleasantly surprised to find bananas and watermelon amongst other dried goods.

I spent one afternoon in a different neighboring village with my Abeche house helper visiting many of her relatives. It was a good time to catch up after being gone for “two rainy seasons” as they informed me, and to further the relationships there. Maybe it could be a place for future teammates to live or for future work to be done? If you ask the kids what their favorite parts of their village time were, they’ll give a variety of responses: making friends, fishing, visiting the wadi, going on visits in the village, playing with a little puppy, riding a donkey, sleeping in a hut or grass shelter, amongst other things. They did well at embracing a completely Chadian life from eating only Chadian food (millet paste and sauce, mostly) all week to using a Chadian bathroom to remembering to kneel while greeting visitors in the local language who came all throughout the day. I was very encouraged by their contentment even when things were so different and often less convenient or comfortable.

Locusts and Prayers for the Dead

By kimberly

On March 4, 2022

In Culture, Islam

This was from our trip back in December, just getting around to posting about it…

On Friday, I wanted to go greet again in different homes around the village, but there were no women to be found! Overnight there had been a swarm (plague!) of locusts that camped out in all the surrounding trees. In the morning, we saw evidence of their arrival by the small droppings they left under the trees they had made temporary homes in. I found out a little while after I woke up that all the women had gone into the fields to catch the locusts. Fried locusts are a special, healthy, free treat enjoyed by young and old when they surprisingly show up. It’s an opportunity not to be missed! Our kids also got in on the fun closer to home by catching as many as they could hold in a little plastic bag.

In the late afternoon, I attended a gathering underneath the village tree with all the women. They were making special food to share around in memory of a young man who died a year ago in the desert while searching for gold. Islamic practice is for the men to recite the Quran and say prayers at the mosque for the dead person on the year anniversary of a person’s death. I shared a meal with the ladies which was an experience. Isaac came looking for me, but we were all gathered around our separate trays of food with large pieces of fabric covering our heads. Imagine kids sitting underneath a parachute with the top cut out! Makai tradition prevents certain family relations to eat in front of other family relations, such as a daughter in law in front of her mother-in-law. Because almost everyone is inter-related in the village, every one of us covered up! Isaac had no idea where to begin looking for me when he walked up to 10 or so groups of women all covered!

Village Hospitality and Language Progression

By kimberly

On March 4, 2022

In Culture, language

This post has been sitting in my “draft” box for several months now, but better late than never right?

We had such a wonderful week in the village! Our first day we arrived, we unpacked our belongings and were greeted warmly by many neighbors. Muluka took me around part of the village the following day to greet people. I was very impressed the entire time with how well Muluka and Daoud hosted us. She shared food with us several times, took me to visit and meet village women, came to visit with me several evenings after dinner, offered cultural advice, and just generally made me feel very much welcomed and cared for. Daoud was faithful to check in several times during the day to make sure we were cared for and had what we needed. He is also clearly concerned that the village accepts us and that we feel welcomed.

Visiting with the women provided much encouragement for me. When we were first introduced to this village two years ago, I was only at the beginning of my Makai language studies and was unable to converse to any extent with them. Now, I still have a long way to go to increase my vocabulary and clean up my grammar, but I can have conversations, make some jokes, ask and answer questions, and just generally enjoy visiting with them. They, too, recognized the growth in ability, which was encouraging for me. I also connected with multiple close relatives of people I know here in Abeche, which was also special.

Eid al-Adha 2021

By josh

On July 27, 2021

In Culture, Islam

Recently our friends and neighbors celebrated the second of the two big holidays in the Muslim world. The first is Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The second, Eid al-Adha, comes a little more than 2 months later and celebrates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael. As with many of the Islamic versions of the stories of the patriarchs, prophets and even Jesus – the names are the same and even some details are shared but the overarching narrative of redemptive history is hollowed out and only a shell remains.

Eid al-Adha on Wikipedia

Anyway, for us it’s a chance to visit friends and neighbors and learn more about the significance of this holiday in their eyes. We have opportunities to ask questions and better understand the worldview of people here so that we can more clearly present the gospel. And for our kids, it’s a bit like Halloween because they go from house to house and get candy, treats and even coins. They don’t dress up in costumes but they do dress up in new fancy clothes…

Water – An Ever Present Concern

By josh

On July 22, 2021

In Chad

Water in Chad is a concern that is never far from anyone’s mind. In large cities like the capital, N’Djamena, the concern is not as acute, but even there it is present. Outside of the capital, water is a constant concern. Here in Abeche, Chad’s second largest city, most of the city is without the “on-demand” water supply as we’ve grown accustomed to in the developed world. Even the relatively small percentage of the city that is connected to the city water supply only has water every couple of days at the most. When searching for a house to rent, if the landlord says there is water “2 days on, 2 days off” then you know you’ve found a great location! Often the water that comes only comes in the middle of the night, when demand is lower, and it comes in a trickle. Chadians often wake up in the night to fill water barrels and clay jars, otherwise they will be forced to pay a higher price to have young men bring them water by push cart from a more reliable source.

In the village, the situation is even more troublesome. Some villages have deep wells that have been drilled by Western NGOs, but often when the pumps break there is no one around to repair them. Villages without working wells must go to nearby seasonal riverbeds and dig down until they find water. This maybe be several meters, and once they find water they scoop it with bowls into containers or metal barrels to bring back to the village. The makeshift “wells” are often shared with animals, so the water can very easily be contaminated.

Recently a colleague of ours got funding for a project to replace 5 broken foot pumps at existing well sites with automatic solar powered pumps. The solar pumps automatically pump water during daylight hours into a tank that is plumbed with two spigots where people can come and get water. This water is drawn from deep in the well, typically 40-80 meters deep, and is much cleaner and better tasting than the water from the shallow holes in the riverbeds. Two of the foot pumps our friend replaced were in villages where we have relationships, and one of them was the village where we’ve built several huts. So for those two villages I went along to do the installation and helped out however I could. Check out some pictures below of the installations and the final outcome – clean water at the turn of a spigot!