We plan to be in the capital of Chad for about a month while we work on obtaining long term visas. So, we have already gotten to know the missionary community a bit and, having been here a week, feel like we know what our lives will look like for the next month while living in N’Djamena. When we get to Abeche, things will probably be quite a bit different because our housing will be more kid-friendly.
Sunday, we alternate places to go to church: on the SIL compound or at the home of a couple who works for the State Department (Sunday will be our first time to go to this home). At the SIL compound, we meet with other evangelical missionaries in the capital. Isaac stays with us during the song time and then his age is dismissed to a shady tree for Sunday School. Judah takes his nap on Josh or me and then I take him to play on a mat with other toddlers underneath another shade tree. I try to have a meal prepared before church so we can eat as soon as we get home.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Christine, a local believer, comes to help me with the housekeeping chores. I realized today that I for sure could not make it without a house helper, and Christine is great. She brought produce from the market around 9am. I cleaned the produce (soak it all in water and add a little bit of bleach for several minutes), worked on lunch, prepped diapers for her to wash, helped Josh figure out how to save our meat in our Yeti cooler (since our power is limited, the fridge/freezer is not able to fully do it’s job), in addition to taking care of the boys with Josh. While I did those tasks, Christine washed our clothes and Judah’s cloth diapers by hand, which saved me basically an afternoon of work so that I could be with the boys.
In the mornings, we like to take a family walk if we can before it gets too hot. Then we play on the back porch, which is the coolest place in the house in the morning. Our compound has no place for the boys to run around, so we are trying to be creative – taking walks, visitng other missionary compounds to play, going to the grocery store, etc. Sometimes Josh has errands to run, like working on visas or finding internet, etc. So, I stay home with the boys and then we have lunch together as a family. After rest time/nap time in the afternoon, we either go for a walk in the neighborhood, go visit friends who live here in the capital, or, hopefully soon, visit one of the nice hotels for a swim.
Tuesday afternoons, several missionary ladies meet for Bible study, so I attended my first one yesterday. It was nice to visit and pray with other women in the same place I am. I was encouraged by how settled they all seemed, whether they have been here a year or 15 years. While I attend the study, Josh plays with the boys on the SIL compound where there is a trampoline and a playground and lots of space to run and play.
When we arrived almost a week ago, I couldn’t see past the next day. Now as we are settling into a routine here, I still can’t see much past tomorrow, but I feel a lot more confident about functioning here as a family. God has been good to us. This is one more waiting place until we get to what we can hopefully call “home” for a while, but in this in-between time, we are thanking God for His faithfulness to us and His provision for all of our needs in such a new place!
