Lying in ditches, baking in a sauna?

Feb 29

A New Day


For the first time since we have been in Chad, it was nice and cool earlier on in the morning: 29 C – standing outside and enjoying that fresh-ish air was amazing.


I do laundry on a regular basis since it needs doing by hand.  Yesterday was  bed linens day – I pulled off the sheets and pillowcases and left the mosquito net since that had just been done. Between that morning time and evening time as the sheets were put back again we had some “invaders”. Henk woke up during the night because he knew he was bitten multiple times by mosquitos – the ones that do not make any noise….. He killed SIX mosquitos INSIDE our net….. We then made sure it was tucked in on ALL sides – and even after we got up this morning we made sure it continues to be tucked in.


All this is nothing in comparison to what is happening south of us, about a 10 hour drive from here where a translation project is headed up by a Wycliffe colleague. This is what she wrote:


"Our team is well, however nearly every day now there are deaths due to
meningitis. The dispensary director has been to D. for vaccinations for
the population, but was told they won't be available until June. People are praying for the Lord to intervene.  Pray with us asking the Lord for an early rain to get rid of the dust that carries the disease. Pray for health workers and for
pastors in the different villages as they console families that have lost loved ones."

Knowing about such a disaster, makes everything in life seem so insignificant.

Such as Henk working on the swamp coolers once again. This time a breaker had popped and when Henk went up to investigate it showed a connecting wire with a big rubbery blob – a worn out connection that he could replace.

 Right now he is lying in the ditch with Luc to repair another aged and disconnected water pipe.


It seems that every time you turn around, another challenge pops up that is more urgent than the previous one….


My job seems to be more domestic – trying to keep the dust and sand inside the apartment under control by regular sweeping and mopping;  making sure that Henk gets his coffee, tea and water – snacks at the right time, and the meals in between. We have enjoyed  having people over for a meal in the evening, and after that playing a game of Upwords or Quiddler.

10:30a.m.  is coffee time at the center – a good time slot considering that the work day starts at 7:30. There is always a great mix of Chadian workers and others. Most of the time French is spoken so the Chadians are included in the conversations. 




I am at long last planning to put some baking in the oven for coffee time on Friday. My first attempt at baking here.  Banana cake is usually a “no fail” one for me, but with a gas oven and different quality  of ingredients, it should be an interesting experiment. When the day cools off a bit, I have to get some flour from the little shop around the corner. The vegetable man who comes daily except Sundays will be pleased to be able to sell me lots of bananas and eggs today!!

Bump, Bump, Bump...

Feb28th
Sunday lunch we headed to a small guesthouse/restaurant about a 1-1/2 km walk from the center. Margaretha (the Swedish translator that we helped out in in her village allocation in 2010) had invited us. Our first meal ‘out’ in five weeks! We remembered the place as we had been there two years ago with the three of us; nothing had changed… the same unfinished courtyard with bricks and cement laying around and very slow service, but the meal was excellent.

On Monday we were finally able to get ‘our’ internet  router working again after replacing a battery on the one in the other building. The little mishap with the 380V AC did cost the center  a computer and monitor as they were not plugged into the UPS battery backup system. The rest of the day was again spent on the swamp coolers, with, at the end, the four in the A building up and running. While Margreet was helping with one of them she came across a leak in the main water pipe into ‘our’ building. Luke fixed it temporarily, not with Duct tape but with a piece of inner tubing.

Tuesday: while Luke is replacing the busted pipe Henk is tackling the two coolers in the B block attic: first order of the day is finding the relevant keys, switches and circuit breakers. Cleaning out the first unit takes a while. The first unit does turn on, but the sump pump doesn’t quite get the water pumped up and needs replacing. That’s it for today as the temperature starts to climb in the attic and not only there: the fridge that supposedly was fixed reads 22C inside- not quite the 6-10C one would like to see. Henk is able to exchange it again for the one out of the next apartment. The new one registers 14 C. which is ok for our immediate needs…


A bit of a mystery unfolds after a phone call from Robin in A8: their swamp cooler is not on and after investigating we find that the circuit breaker is off in the attic: did somebody turn if off or did it trip automatically for some reason. We cannot get hold of Luke, so the mystery will have to remain till tomorrow.

We just realize that from tomorrow on we will be counting down our last week here…

SLUUURP...

Feb26th
Sunday morning: we were able to sleep in a bit: it was slightly cooler during the night. Margreet has been sleeping much better the last two nights.  Friday afternoon a Harmatan started to blow and it is indeed incredible how much fine dust finds its way into the house!

Coffee table

Saturday morning we cleaned off all the surfaces and mopped the floors: the next morning everything was covered with a nice layer of dust again and that with the windows and curtains closed (as much as possible)!

The Air France flight from Paris was canceled along with other flights, although Ethiopian Air did land. The thinking here is that AF found it a good excuse not to have to fly in with half a planeload.

Four of the swamp coolers will be operational as soon as we can find replacement floats for two of the units. Next week we hope to tackle the other ones.

A Chadian electrician came on Saturday and Henk and David (the Chadian center manager) helped him for the next five hours revamping the electrical panel.

David

There is a lot of ‘stuff’ there as it handles the switch over gear for two generators and the three phase incoming city electricity. The very last item to be installed was a timed relay that allows the sequential turning on of power to the different apartment blocks and offices when switching over to the ‘small’ generator; it was purchased locally for almost 200 dollars and isn’t working…..very frustrating and time consuming to trace the problem. We bypassed it and all seemed to work well, except one house received 380V and not the normal 240V (all due to a loose ground wire)! Thankfully it is on its own circuit and no damage was done.

Two guards watching were amused that Henk would help wash the net!

Breathing is NOT Always Easy

Feb 23^rd

Having arrived last Tuesday we took it easy the rest of the day: organising our living quarters, delivering a flash drive with important information from the Mongo office, Margreet going shopping, greeting old friends and getting acquainted with new neighbors. We had supper with the Burke’s (it was at their house in Mongo that we moved the water tank). Although it is cooler here (32), it feels more oppressive as there is no wind to move the air. Margreet’s nose was already getting plugged up and here it made sleeping so much harder.

Wednesday: Henk started his projects. First and foremost is revamping the swamp coolers in the attics of the apartment buildings (there are three blocks, each with 8 units). Thankfully one can walk around up there, taking care to stay on the cement walls and rafters. Already the first unit had major problems and Luke (the Chadian maintenance man) and Henk replaced a stuck valve, the sump pump and blew out the waterlines. That was enough for one morning! 

Luke works from 7 till 1, so Henk will have to adjust his schedule to accommodate his. In the meantime Margreet has been answering emails, looking after groceries, making sure that the fridge was replaced with a working one. (the freezer side was doing ok, but 23 degrees in the fridge compartment seemed a bit too much!).

Thursday: Margreet slept poorly, what with her now very stuffed nose. She found that the Otrivin bottle that we had taken along was completely empty (evaporated?). Thankfully someone was able to purchase it locally and she is looking forward to a more restful night! 

Henk and Luke were up in the attic again. The first two units are working now! Starting on the third one they realized that the water supply just wasn’t there. While Luke was taking care of pumping out a cistern, Henk was trying to reroute the waterline and found that one of the valves was stuck in the closed position (of course the handle turns nicely). It really is one of the most challenging – read frustrating- things here: one cannot find tools or parts that will last. It is not uncommon to have something break right out of the box, whether it is door locks, towel racks, light switches or plumbing parts. They will get back at it tomorrow!

 The veggieman has been coming to this centre since 1959!!! His nickname is 'Nana' as he used to give the children a banana...

Feb 20^th

It is Monday in Mongo  and time to finish the last little project: changing out a light switch. What needed doing was changing the wires to a smaller size as the local switches are too flimsy to handle the wiring used in the office.  Return the 40 pound wooden ladder and some other tools. That evening we are invited to have dinner with the Aviles family: a delicious meal and afterwards we had fun teaching them dominoes (well at least our version of it!). During that time text messages were going back and forth to the capitol: although we had tickets for our flight we were not on the manifest…in the end it all worked out and we could rest easily that evening. So grateful to God that miracles continue to happen, be they small or big!! Getting on that flight was a big one!!!!

The wind has been howling during the night: it really seems a wonder that roofs aren’t been torn off! At four we could hear city water splashing into the ever present bucket: Emma spent the next two hours filling the bucket and emptying it out into one of the barrels. It was somewhat cooler during the night (29) which makes sleeping (resting)a bit  easier. After saying our goodbyes it was off to the airstrip. A delegation was forming there with the governor in attendance to receive one of the higher ups of the WFP programme. 

The flight itself was uneventful with a short stopover at Ati. 

 N'Djamena from the air February 21, 2012

Although we had the instructions of how to get to the SIL centre in case we would take a taxi, we were relieved to have Jeremy (a Chadian driver) pick us up.

(Now Feb.21st) Here in Ndjamena we are in the same apartment A2-  funny the things that you pick up on after four weeks countryside: running water coming out of the wall  that magically disappears down a pipe after leaving the sink. Glass louvers in the windows instead of pieces of tin roofing material and we actually have to flush the toilet…seems a crazy waste of water!

Internet should be better again while we are here, so we hope to be able to start including some pictures! This afternoon we’ll meet with Marianne who coordinates  our “to do list” while in Ndjamena.

From now on we would love to hear from YOU!!!!!!! You have been reading our blogs, and though for a month it was better we didn’t get too many emails just because  of the slow process of retrieving them, we are now in the big city!! You can write to us at

henkden@shaw.ca      (we used to be sunwave but it was bought by shaw.)

After we posted our cell number in one of our previous blogs, our friend Deanne Thiessen, delighted us with a Sunday afternoon call – thanks so much Deanne!!

(Ed. note:  Yes, we have some pictures!)

Feb 19th

It is Sunday morning and Henk who was feeling “blah” when he got up this morning,  has just finished half a bottle of water with a heavy dose of salt and glucose: keeping up the salt intake is as important as drinking enough fluids!

Since Wednesday morning our two projects progressed relatively smoothly. Installing new threaded 3/4” pipes helped finish the water tank.

Thursday morning we made an airport(read: air strip) run: Dave Sharpe from Australia needed picking up from the WFP flight out of the capital: he and his family lived in this area for years and he is back to do translation checking with his Chadian translators for the next six weeks.

The ceiling has been a bit of a different story: thankfully Margreet was able to help with this two person job. On Thursday we got the use of a rechargeable skill saw! (The small problem was the 110V AC needed for the charger: one 220V to 110V inverter was found at the office!). ( First though  Henk did have to clean up the wires to the generator battery as they were too loose and badly oxidised preventing the generator to start. ) With the crooked walls it took a whole lot of measuring and re-measuring to get the panels in position. They were an awkward size (122cm by 249cm) to work with.  At 3:50 in the Friday afternoon Henk installed the attic access cover and the job was done! Unfortunately practicality and functionality had to take precedent over form and beauty.

Friday night we tried to sleep outside again but were chased inside when the wind picked up too much around midnight.

Saturday morning saw us at the open market trying to buy red millet (not available), pick up a blouse for Emma that one of the tailors had made for her by copying another blouse. We did find fried chicken – turned out to be tough as nails- a few bottles of Fanta and Coke, bananas (mushy as they are not from this area), onions, garlic and a bone for Saka (the dog). City water is still very sporadic with only two barrels worth this week. The temperature did go over the 40 degrees mark this week, but this morning we woke up with the thermometer showing a cool 29! Henk actually was trying to find the second bed sheet! 

We hope to get confirmation for our Tuesday flight from Mongo to Ndjamena  sometime Monday. We are looking forward to getting out of the dust, sand and very high temperatures for a little bit. We don’t know yet which jobs await us in Ndjamena, but we will keep you posted!

Heat - Stressed But Cheerful

Feb16

Our last entry was the comment about the buying of internet credit. When we get back to Ndjamena we will send you a picture…. The merchant selling us the credit does it all by phone.  However, for us to be able to check it actually would end up into our account which needed Henk setting up the lap top next to the big bag of baguettes “for sale”  on a wiggly table so he could find the confirmation of the transfer. Needless to say… that attracted LOTS of kids and adults staring at us…

Also after Henk’s plan B with Andrea breaking off the tap, the pipe threader that was brought in from Ndjamena was the only solution. Still not easy since one ring of the threader was missing, but with some “huffing and puffing” that pipe was redone, and the tap reattached – voila, running water.

The pipes for the water tower have all been put into place – cutting with the hack saw, threading them – and then finding some elbows to connect the lot! Thank God that this water project is done – except Henk is still contemplating putting a turn off valve in the house somewhere just as a precaution. The tank holds 250 litres and if that would ever gush down, not enough buckets could catch all that. No damage to the concrete floors, but just a big nuisance and loss of precious water.

The ceiling in the one bedroom is progressing nicely too. Hand saw, hammer, nails, and two ladders. One more sheet of x-plex is needed to finish the ceiling. The challenge will be to saw the pieces that go  against the wall since the mud walls are very curvy. There results in a discrepancy of 0 to 3 cms over the whole length of one sheet. The one piece that is needed we will pick up this morning, as soon as we receive a text that David is boarding the flight in Ndjamena and should arrive here about an hour later. David is the translation consultant for the language projects in this region.

We have been “home alone” for these few weeks, but last night our permanent residents, Emma and Liz returned after a road trip of more than 8 hours from Ndjamena. Their  vehicle broke down twice…. Once with a dead battery, and the second time some belt that started fraying and making terrible noises. They continued on and safely arrived – dusty and dirty!! Driving without A/C in 40 C weather is no picinic. They had the A/C repaired in Ndjamena, but shortly after being on the road it quit…

Just wanted to let you know what an exciting morning it was on Wednesday February 15^th, at 5:10 a.m. when our care group who had a Valentine potluck called us across the many many miles! Such a blessing to talk to friends . We have been lent a cell phone so we can keep in touch with others around here. Most of it is texting. Anyone else who feels “inclined” to chat, please do so – it doesn’t cost us anything, but does cost the caller. Int. access code plus  the number: 235 93039315 – we carry it everywhere we go.

(Ed. note; please remember the DenOudstens are in a time zone 9 hours ahead of BC.  You can check their time at the upper right.)

Though we are tired and don’t sleep as well as we would like due to the heat, we are healthy. We continue to drink a lot, most of that leaves through our skin. I can’t remember being here in 2010 that it was as hot. I have finally come to the conclusion that being able to enjoy the heat, has its limits!!!!!!!

Blessings – until next time!

Waiting... patience...

Blog February  10 to 12  

 

Just discovered that our February 7^th blog never made it through the cyber space channels…. So, this morning after waiting for at least 10 minutes for the connection, I still don’t know whether it went… The best time slot to “connect” is between 8 and 8:30 a.m.  Of course the waiting means too that your credit steadily eats it way out and I know we’ve got to get more credit tomorrow which means taking the laptop to a little Tigo kiosk (Tigo is the internet provider) – ask for an x amount of credit, then stand there until the computer tells you it has been added to your account – then you pay. We are grateful we at least have that available.

Since our last blog which I tried to get through, we do not sleep outside anymore. During the second night the wind started howling – blowing so hard, it actually got too cold and gritty to be there as we only have bed sheets, no blankets. Under the bright shining moon light we moved half way back inside: we put our bed in the screened porch which gives more airflow than the bedroom.

Our city water that fills our 8 barrels has not been on since over a week, we heard there are fuel problems with the generator of the city….. So this morning I am waiting…… for the guy who delivers water in jerry cans on a little donkey   drawn cart. 

Henk is back at the water project – the piping to reroute the water is not available neither are the tools. He just sent a text message to someone in Ndjamena who is supposed to come out for two days and possibly have him bring it. So Henk is waiting for that.

 Another project on the go is to put a ceiling in “our” bedroom which is prepared for a new arrival sometime next month. Since there are hardly any tools at the center due to the fact that several families who owned tools, have left and taken their tools, progress is slow and the word “patience” gets a new meaning. We managed to pick up a wood saw for about $7.-.  The same ‘hole in the wall’ was able to supply 4mm plywood and 6 meter long ‘2x4’. A lot of “sweat equity” will go into this since Henk has to saw all the pieces by hand. Removing the woven mats that had been used as a ceiling was dusty work for sure resulting in some bites on his leg.

February 12

After finally successfully sending off our February 7^th blog, we can now continue the one we started on February 10. The water DID arrive at 12:00 on the 10^th – 10 jerry cans filled up one and a half barrel, and the price for the ten units was $1.50.

What else DID arrive? After Andrea pointed out that Hazel the cat that disappeared over a week ago was an excellent mouser and much needed in the place where we live, made us more determined than ever to catch the “beast”. It was howling behind the screened kitchen window last night. Henk grabbed his miners headlight and went behind the compound to catch Hazel. Since the cat was hidden between barbed wire and mosquito screening we had to bribe it to a standing position. Henk grabbed it and we got it back in the compound. Henk has a few scratches to show for his dedication ……and determination!

 After devotions we listened to the church choir across the street from us. At 10 o’clock city water started to trickle out of the faucet and we were able to collect some six pails over the next two hours – “all in a day’s work.”

Another project materialized yesterday: Andrea had tried to do something about her dripping tap in the bathroom: it having been there for some twenty years it decided to snap right off! Hopefully the odds and ends of the plumbing supplies Henk had requested (plus a pipe threader) will be helpful in this situation otherwise I don’t have a plan B yet.

On Friday Andrea finished a few weeks of recording ten Bible stories in one of the local languages.  The two translators took turns reading. It will be a tremendous tool in the near future as people can listen to the stories, especially for those who can’t read (yet).

It is late afternoon and we just came back from the roadside kiosk that also sells Tigo credit. Tigo is the national cellphone/inernet provider.

Feb 7^th.

(Yes, it has taken four days for internet  connection. ED.)

Last night we moved our bed into the courtyard and slept under a starry sky. It is amazing how much light a full moon gives (or reflects)! It certainly made it more bearable at 26C. The moon disappeared behind the rocky hills behind the house at around four and that made quite the difference.  We’ll continue sleeping outside under the stars since the bedroom is just way too hot:  32 C-ish.

Twice Henk went outside (with a flashlight) to look for the missing cat Hazel: she went missing four days ago. She belongs to this home. A couple of times after dark we have heard her meowing outside one of our high up screened wall openings (“windows”) and Henk went hunting.  Never saw her.

Andrea was almost in tears this morning: someone, somewhere supposedly had declared this a ‘national holiday to remember leprosy’. She had worked very hard into the evening to have material ready to be recorded and the Chadians were taking time off. It took some phoning and text messaging to the capital to sort things out and have everybody back at work!

This afternoon the water tank’s steel frame is getting its final touches before the tank’s move from the old platform to the new one can be completed. A welder has been found with some equipment to enforce the whole installation with rebar.  Tomorrow Henk will work on disconnecting the old pipes and rerouting them – easier said than done with the very limited supply in tools and parts…As a matter of fact Henk had to reduce the acid mixture in the generator’s  battery, clean the cables and instruct Said not to use a copper wire to create an arc at the negative side of the battery (yup, the side that produces Oxygen!): this was supposed to help with a sticky starter. Thankfully no mishaps so far. 

 

Coming home at lunchtime Henk had to sidestep a large ram that had its throat slit! It will make someone nice meat no doubt. It was a bit smelly in the afternoon when they were burning off the hairs of the skin…

Being here makes us feel very disconnected from the big world out there. Our internet access is very limited so even checking news events is not an option.  What our computer does provide is a Scrabble game which we play many times, especially since it gets dark shortly after 6 p.m. Once in a while we are able to find a movie within the computer’s memory that we enjoy - it was Bucket List the other nightJ

February 06

Thursday (February 02) it was time to get some cement mix going for the water tank project. Although there is a definite shortage of tools we did find a wheelbarrow, two non-leaking pails and a functional shovel. The mixing of the ingredients went well but not sure on the quality of the cement and we only had enough for the first two feet.

 On Friday Henk was able to mix some more, this time without any gravel, and finished the other two feet. At this temperature cement dries rather quickly! When we have to work in the back yard of this house the dog (Striker) has to be tied up; it is a big nuisance but he is just not to be trusted. Andrea and one or two employees are tolerated but the rest of us are snack food. That evening all four of us were invited for a meal and games at the Aviles’. Denise is homeschooling their five children, while Art is a translation consultant.

All four of us: Andrea is from Indiana and does language recording. Davis is from Florida learning Arabic and working on his thesis on one of the languages spoken here and the two of us.

Since we were here two years ago three families have left the Mongo area for furlough etc. Three single gials are expected to return or arrive around the 14^th…

While waiting for the four brick ‘feet’ to harden Said (another employee) and I removed a non-functioning swamp cooler from Andrea’s bedroom window; it should give her more light and more airflow. Davis, Andrea and Margreet had taken the challenge to walk the kilometer to the market in 37C weather. Apparently this weekend the town celebrates Mohammed’s birthday and the market was all but empty.  Although Margreet’s trip was mainly unsuccessful, she did manage to find some Coke!

Said and Henk severely trimmed a tree: its branches had grown so much that they held the solar panels in the shade for two extra hours. Any bit of extra sunlight is appreciated as this array primarily services the office.

The Sunday (February 05) was a time of rest, games and a walk; started to watch a Disney movie (The great mouse detective) but decided to go to bed instead…actually tried to sleep outside, but although it is cooler the sand in one’s face is a deterrent. This Monday morning it is 33C at 7 o’clock. One advantage: it is easy to make yogurt, which we have for breakfast.

Relayed Blog

(Margreet)

January 31^st

After a few hours of being in our abode repairing lights, we got a call from Emma, now at the SIL office, (can you believe we are actually using the cell phone we received upon arrival???) for Henk to drive to town to get as much fuel as possible to fill up the diesel barrels for the generator that is used at the SIL office compound. Henk has taken the guard of the center along, his name is Seido. In this day of fuel restrictions and limited supplies it will be good to see the supply replenished. No idea how long it will take him.

(now Henk)

Seido and I were able to get 40 liters in two jerry cans. “Come back tomorrow for more” we were advised. It all goes by hand: from their jerry cans to ours, from their 5 liter bottles into our cans. Diesel costs about $1.65 a liter.

February has arrived. We were able to get 40 more liters of diesel. After that we went in search of bricks. Sixty or so are needed to form four ‘feet’ for the new water tower. The total cost was less than $5. There is still half a bag of cement and that should be enough along with a small amount of gravel.

We had three sealed deep cycle batteries sitting in the kitchen: they had been replaced last October. They may still be in reasonable shape; one of the translators at the center mentioned that three of his ‘new’ batteries don’t seem to be doing a whole lot and so it happened that I transported ‘our’ batteries to his house. Later on today I’ll go over and see if there is actually any life left in them.

City water came on line this morning and Margreet has been filling as many of the barrels around the house as possible. A few of the smaller projects have already been taken care of: the larger ones will take more time, especially as there is not a whole lot of help available.

Jemima and Grace are looking after our shopping needs: they are the same two Chadian ladies of two years ago. Emma, our Wycliffe housemate, is leaving for the capitol tomorrow leaving us to fend for ourselves (especially meals). She is willing to take our blogs, with pictures, on a ‘stick’ and email them from N’Djamena. We’ll take her to the airstrip tomorrow morning: she should get confirmation of the UN flight this afternoon/evening.

Thank you for your continued prayer for safety, health and strength.

At the brickyard.

Hauling water - a daily chore.

ATV-ing Chadian style!