(Margreet)
January 31st
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.
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| At the brickyard. |
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Hauling water - a daily chore. ATV-ing Chadian style! |
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