HELLO FRIENDS,
Warm greetings from N’Djamena! Read on for some news from Acacia, a change for our family and dates for our summer home assignment.
DEBORAH VOLUNTEERS
The ministry with street girls was a real learning experience – it was a joy to see the Debroah ladies have such a heart for the girls and teach them how to use the resource in an engaging way. It was new terrain that we were navigating together which felt like an authentic learning experience. Problems outside of our control meant that the street girls’ attendance seriously dwindled to the point that it became discouraging. Once we finished up our second 5-week commitment it seemed well and truly time to regroup.
During this time R. found a job as a nanny which has reduced her availability, whereas F. is now employed two mornings a week at the centre, teaching the Ruth women how to sew, going from zero to learning our new products. This will be her second time teachinginthiscapacitybutthistimewehave asked her to stay for the hour of Bible teaching at the end and she is increasingly helping facilitate this time. Her contributions have been significant, sharing from real-life experiencesinawaythatwenevercouldand showing how she has put into practice biblicalprinciplesthattheladiesmightseeas unrealistic. Looking to the coming year, we are preparing for F. to begin to join in our team meetings and are seriously reflecting and praying about further integration into the ministry team.
TRAUMA HEALING
We have often mentioned the trauma healing course and have recently used it in many different contexts – the graduate bible study, a Chadian Arabic oral version for the street girls and now for the Ruth ladies. But what is it? The course covers topics such as domestic violence, grief, rape and how to care for hurting people. Each lesson uses a made-up story to bring out the theme and then it is followed with a relevant Bible story. We are using the version adapted for an oral, African context.
We have found this resource invaluable and has facilitated conversations, especially on how we do (or don’t!) encourage people to release their pain rather than putting on a brave face. A powerful image in one of the first lessons involves a basin of water and empty water bottles – each woman audibly names something they are suffering and subsequently puts their bottle in the basin Once the basin is full, a volunteer tries to hold all the bottles under water at the same time, which is of course impossible – I’m guessing I don’t have to spell out the teaching behind the illustration for you, but it seems to really help our ladies understand the need to deal with past hurts.
It was a daunting but very honouring experience to be able to preach one morning at the EET’s national conference. I taught from 2 Timothy 3:10.
CHANGES
On 10th March we celebrated 5 years since we first arrived as full-time missionaries in Chad. In those 5 years the field has gone through many changes, but one almost constant need has been permanent personnel to assist in the running of TEAM Chad’s office and large guest house. We have been so blessed by the Nashes serving in this capacity for a year but come June these positions will once again be vacant. Around November last year we both independently felt God prompting us out of the blue about becoming part of the solution. After prayer and talking with a few trusted friends and the rest of TEAM Chad leadership, we came to the decision around the start of this year that God was indeed calling us in this direction.
Still can’t balance things on our heads but hopefully have developed in other ways over our 5 years!
This will mean big changes for our family: First, in the coming weeks we will move to the TEAM station, swapping a residential neighbourhood where we are known, the girls can play in the street, blag free lollies from the corner shop but where we experience highly inadequate water and electricity supply; for a city centre high-walled compound with dogs (Olivia’s best friends), its own well, a climbing frame and very busy streets outside. Lucy
will continue with the Acacia ministry while David will take on station, office and guesthouse-management roles. These changes will mean we need to find childcare for Olivia, in a set-up where she will be not only safe but also thrive – not easy to find in this context. Would you pray with us for God to find the right person at the right time to make this possible?
CAKES & INTERNET
I (David) continue to invest in the young adults’ group in our church in diverse ways: Last month, after many requests by the group, we held a baking workshop at our house, making filled doughnuts, banana cake, chocolate cake and a crash course in piping icing
Switching gears, I’m planning a seminar on Christians and the Internet from 5th-7th April. I plan to cover subjects including proper use of social media, identifying fake news, pornography, and how to find and use great Christian resources online. This has been on my heart for a long time, but the date has been chosen quite last-minute, so I'd really covet your prayers as I prepare the large amount of material that will be required for it alongside the move and leadership meetings next week.
ELECTIONS & HOME ASSIGNMENT
Firstly, we will have a short home assignment this Summer. We’ll be available for meetings 9th-30th July (N.I.) and 3rd-23rd August (England). Please get in touch if you’d us to come to your group or organise an event. Finally, as you pray for us, we’d ask you to pray for the country in which we serve too: After three years of mostly military rule, Chad plans to hold elections on 6th May, with a possible second round scheduled for 22nd June. This letter is not the place to discuss politics but suffice to say several factors mean this will be a crucial and likely tense time for the country. It is hard to know how to ask you to pray; recently I have resigned myself to praying that God would bring about a political and social context in which the gospel will flourish, and flow to the many unreached in Chad.
19th