On Retreat

Hi and welcome to our latest blog.

We have just returned from a BMS retreat in Pretoria South Africa, which gave us the chance to meet up with all our fellow BMS colleagues working across Africa. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet with fellow workers, some we met for the first time, others from our training days at IMC last year. It was great to meet up with Joe , Lois and Annet and see how they had been getting along. The retreat enabled us to discuss our various projects and missions with fellow workers drawing  on their experiences and supporting one another in the challenges we all face. It was also an important opportunity to relax and unwind without the pressures of daily work and language study. Being able to converse in a common language that we all understood easily was a blessing. Our guest speaker Dave Stedman also gave us daily teaching sessions to help recharge us spiritually which was a valuable and positive start to each day.

On Retreat with Joe,Lois & Annet

We were privileged to have been able to tag on a week's holiday at the start of the retreat to enable us to take a complete rest. This was our first break since arriving in Chad back in June 2012 so came at just the right time for us, although has impacted on our continued French learning.  We managed to get to the coast of South Africa, a small town called St.Lucia, to spend a few days relaxing , swimming in the sea which we don't now get to see and also visit a game reserve to observe some amazing animals. It was a fantastic week and one which we will look back on fondly and feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to have had. We have returned much recharged and looking forward to the next set of challenges we will be faced with.

                                                                                   





                         

A welcome surprise awaited us on arrival at the hospital, we found that our new home had been completed externally with the roof now in place. The work on the interior ceilings, plumbing and solar electrics have now commenced and looks well on track to be completed by the end of May. We feel truly blessed to have found such a great gang of workers who clearly enjoy their work as can often be heard laughing together or sharing their mid-day meal. They are very hard working and are always pleased to welcome us both and show us how well the house is progressing. Given the heat here now we are amazed at how they are able to continue to work so well as every task is very physical with no power tools to aid them.

Progress On New Home

The temperatures here hit us as the plane doors opened , it was like walking into a furnace. We arrived back at midday so felt the full heat. Each day the temperatures hit mid to high 40's and everything is a challenge to do, plus remembering to drink constantly is a struggle but painful if not achieved. Everything is now very dry and dusty, food doesn't last long as all the moisture is sucked out of the fruit and vegetables. Thankfully we have a fridge to keep water cool but needs to be constantly replenished.  In our present home we are also very fortunate to have fans which help us to get a good night's sleep, the locals tend to sleep outside to try to keep cool. When we move to the hospital a challenge will be to use a gas fridge, as electric is too much of a drain on the solar panels, so will need to ensure a supply of gas is always readily available. Simple tasks, such as shopping, that we now take for granted but still challenging in the heat will become even more of a challenge once we move to the remote hospital permanently.

We have been blessed that in the week prior to our retreat and until 28th April we have been aided in our French study by a retired couple, Ken and Maureen, from the UK who speak excellent French. This has enabled us to practice our conversational French as is not something that we get the opportunity to do at the school and has been a very welcome help to us. Ken is a Doctor and has been helping with the workload at the hospital which has enabled the resident doctors to take a further weeks holiday and Maureen has been assisting our hospital pastor. Despite the intense heat they have coped remarkably well and have been a blessing to us all at the hospital.

Last Chance to Relax

We are now preparing for our final exams in May and are looking forward to the challenges of working at the hospital full-time from June. We feel that although we have progressed we will need to continue our studies to improve further, plus it will give us the opportunity and excuse to get into town once or twice a week.

Thanks for your continued support and please keep in touch.

Love Malc and Sue