WAWA!

I have been in Chad for a month now and I have to tell you the honeymoon is over. Reality has definitely set in and I have to tell you at this moment it is not so fun. I am in the capital city of Ndjamena and I have been here a week now and it is definitely testing my patience. It is not all bad but at the moment as I continue getting settled and discovering how to function here I would say this motto WAWA – West Africa Wins Again!- says it all. I believe very strongly that it is important to celebrate every victory, big or small but I have to be honest. Lately there have been very few victories for me to celebrate. But let me get there in a bit.

The first thing I need to explain is that even though Chad is geographically in Central Africa, it is culturally French West African. What this means is a petty bureaucratic approach to education and administration where it is more about giving people position and power than getting things done. So, things are done over and over, and over in triplicate with stamps and signatures- all from different people in different offices and buildings in different parts of the city. There is often a form to get a form that you have to fill out to get signatures which you need to actually start the process you actually want to get done. Often the forms need to be accompanied by a letter which needs high level authority and if one word, sentence or phrase is not completely correct it will be refused and you must start again. White out is NOT an option! This is what Jonas, our logistics officer in Ndjamena has been doing all week for my work visa- bless him!

Now, imagine trying to work in this system (which is hard enough already) and now add that fact that the city is literally flooded from all the rains (note photo) and the power is out for days at a time and almost always off during the day. Now to make things even more fun, now imagine you can’t speak the language so the little things like negotiating a taxi or ordering food or asking directions all become monumental challenges. Even the computer keyboard in the internet café is French/Arabic so the keys are all funny and in funny places! This is where I am living at the moment. WAWA! My colleague and I both agree Kenya is aggressively more efficient; I never thought I would be saying that!

So, I have been in Goz Bëida the past 3 weeks and things have been going very well. There have been challenges and things that have been wearing on me but overall I have been getting settled in Goz Bëida and life there has had a sense of comfort even though I am out in the bush 70 km from the conflict that rids the Sudan-Chad border. The major challenge in Goz Bëida has been the rains. Our work is being delayed as we are often unable to travel to the communities/camps we serve. In the office and now in our home we have discovered the hard reality that our roofs are not made to hold out the rain. We suffer major leaks when the rain falls and sadly that was much of August and should also be most of September – the rainy season here means rain almost every day and heavy downpours. I literally have a small river that runs in my office (check out the pic- wish you could see the video!) and there is a significant leak the falls right over my bed in the residence so I have set up a plastic sheet over my bug net so I am literally harvesting the rain water in my room!

Apart from the rain, what makes Goz Bëida more workable for me is that we have a couple of vehicles and even without that it is safe to walk in the daytime and things are relatively close as the town is pretty small. Here in the capital of Ndjamena we have such small operations we can’t justify having a car so we depend on taxis which have proven to be ridiculously expensive and even more unreliable. We have had a little luck with the moto taxis but nothing too exciting yet. Another plus with being in Goz is we have recently installed a solar power system and we have generators in our house and office so we have pretty reliable power. In Ndjamena we have been suffering from major power outages- days on end. Then when the power does come on, it is usually on for a few hours and then off for many more, usually it is off the better part of the day making work a challenge and frustration. My computer battery is good but not that good!

So, needless to say, my patience is being tested, my spirit feels like it is under constant attack but I am holding my head high and refusing to give up. I continue to look to Christ for strength and for the right perspective. I also continue my French lessons and I find great joy in the little (very little things) that I am able to accomplish each day. I have found great solace in my colleague Jane who is fluent in French and has grown up in West Africa. She has been here in Ndjamena since I got here last week. She has been a gift and I am truly thankful to God for her presence – here in this difficult season and overall. She adds great depth, personality and experience to our team.

I could go on but this is already too long and you get the point. Your prayers are valued as well as your sense of humor- goodness knows, it is needed at this point!

I KNOW THIS SOUNDS GRIM, PLEASE KNOW I AM OK AND I KNOW THINGS WILL IMPROVE - THIS IS PART OF THE ADJUSTMENT PHASE AND DARE I SAY… CULTURE SHOCK- NOTHING TOO UNEXPECTED!

‘I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.’ -Psalm 34:1-3