Well that was Christmas , how was it for you? We hope you
all had a very enjoyable time. Ours was over very quickly, just the one day and
then back to normal.
After our 2 days of French exams, for which we eagerly
await the results, we then spent 2 days at the hospital working which included
our Chadian pastors first Christmas celebration. This involved the Nativity in
Arabic for the hospital patients and staff, relatives and local villagers
followed by a simple feast of BBQ meat, prawn crackers, home-made Chadian cakes
and of course plenty of bottles of Coke or Fanta. A good time was had by all
and the local children helped clear up afterwards. In the evening the Jesus film
was shown projected onto the hospital wall and was well attended.
On Sunday 23rd we had a more traditional Christmas service
here where we live with the Missionary children putting on their version of the
Nativity. This turned out to be the only time
we heard and sung Christmas Carols.
Christmas Eve we ended up spending part of the day at the
General Hospital X-Ray department as Malc had been experiencing severe pain in
his foot. This turned out to be a stress fracture of one of the bones in his
foot- probably aggravated by the recent game of volleyball! We were very
pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness and service received there. This
resulted in Malc having to take it easy and Sue having to do all the driving
over the Christmas period, with no incidents! Thankfully now healed and back to
normal.
The Christmas Day Church service at our Chadian Church was
very different from normal, with various choirs and families taking it in turns
to sing. We left the service after 3 hours and they were still going strong,
not sure when it was supposed to finish but didn't seem any time imminent. We
returned home to contact family in the UK and were very grateful that
communications worked OK and we were able to speak to them. We then drove out
to the hospital to spend the rest of the day with our colleagues there. It was lovely
that as a team we were able to give out gifts to patients and relatives who
were having to spend Christmas in the hospital. 
Gifts included oranges and
sweets plus soft toys , socks and hats for the children to keep them warm -
which may seem strange but the locals find it cold at this time of year! We
however find it a very pleasant temperature.
We then enjoyed a full Christmas
dinner of roast chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables including hard to find
cauliflower, but no sprouts, followed by a Christmas pudding that had been
brought out by our regional team leader earlier in the year. All washed down
with fizzy apple juice and although so far from home it felt very familiar and
was great to be able to share in this meal together.
Boxing day it was back to work as normal at the hospital and
resuming of our French language lessons. Christmas did not seem to be a
significant event for many here in Chad and was certainly lacking in the
commercialism we have become accustomed to.
We did however have one last Christmas treat which was a camel
ride with a traditional nomadic tribe who return to this area each year after
the rainy season. This was a very enjoyable time out in the desert relaxing
& taking photos followed by a trip to Chad's equivalent of KFC. 
We now look forward to the various teams of visitors who are
scheduled to visit the hospital over the coming months.
Love Malc & Sue