Prayer Request Update

Thank you for praying for the national Baptist church association meetings. They went better than we had hoped. The two major issues were addressed. It remains to have those decisions communicated to the churches and applied. There could still be problems ahead, but the meeting was a step in the right direction. So, please keep praying for us!

Important Prayer Request

Please pray with all of us serving in Chad for the national church association meetings next week (Jan 16-20).  There are at least two major, potentially divisive issues that need to be addressed. Please pray that the Lord will work in these situations and that wise decisions will be made that will glorify Him.

Thank you for praying!

Some New Sights, Sounds, and Tastes

I've now been in Chad for nearly a week. Right now, it is all rather strange and different – not entirely new, since I’ve been here twice before; and someday, it will all seem normal, and I won’t even think twice about it. But while it still seems new and strange to me, I’ll do my best to describe it for those of you who haven’t yet visited Chad. Maybe the best way to do it is to talk about some of the things I saw and did today, my first Sunday here since arriving almost a week ago.

• First on my list of things to do today was a shower. This isn’t really much different from taking a shower anywhere else, except that the water is cold - we don’t have water heaters here. This was hard to get used to my first time in Chad. It never gets extremely cold in Chad, but in January the mornings are still cool enough that cold water feels really cold. I could heat up some water over the stove and take a bucket shower, but that takes so much extra time and I couldn’t be bothered. Anyway, this time I’ve surprised myself by finding cold showers not nearly so unpleasant as they were the first time I had to do it. In a way, it is rather nice, because a cold shower means a fast shower that doesn’t take much time out of my day. :-)
• Breakfast is next: bread followed by cereal. The cereal is usually a multiple-step process:
  1. Pour the cereal in the bowl;
  2. The only kind we can get in Sarh is unsweetened corn flakes, which are bland by themselves, so I usually add a spoonful or so of sugar (today, however, I have a bag of one of my favorite American breakfast cereals that came in a care package, and it is presweetened, so I skipped this step today);
  3. Spoon some powdered milk over the cereal and sugar;
  4. Pour cold filtered water over the top;
  5. Mix until the powder is all absorbed … and voilà! A tasty bowl of corn flakes and milk, all ready to eat!
  This process might sound strange, but it works just fine. The powdered milk (which is the only kind of milk we can get here) is fortified whole milk and is pretty good stuff. It ends up tasting almost the same as a bowl of corn flakes anywhere else in the world.
• Soon we head off to church in the nearby city of Sarh, stopping on the way to pick up a couple of friends who ride with us. There are French church services in Sarh, but this isn’t one of them; this church’s service is held entirely in the local Sara Madjingaye language, which I don’t speak yet, so my coworker translates for me. 
• During the singing time, I try to follow along as best I can in the songbook. Though the words are all in Sara Madjingaye, I try to sing along too, especially when I realize that one of the ones we are singing is a song I know in my own language (“Nothing But the Blood”). For those of you who are musically inclined, Chadian music uses a 5-note scale, without sharps or flats, so even familiar tunes sound different here, with a distinctly African flavor in the melody that is not at all unpleasant. 
• Offering time is different too; I remember it from my previous trips to Chad. Instead of ushers walking up the aisles and passing a plate around, everyone files out row by row and comes up to the front to drop their money in the plate, walking slowly to the tune of a Chadian hymn. 
• On the way back from church, we stopped by a friend’s home for a chat and a cup of tea. There’s nothing unusual about the tea, but what is different from the USA is that it is served in glasses and not in mugs. I have to hold the glass very carefully near the rim so I don’t burn my fingers, but with a little practice this isn’t too difficult. 
• Before I close this off, I must say a little about driving in Chad. It is always an adventure. Four-wheeled vehicles are kind of a minority in Sarh – not a rarity, just not the primary traffic on the road. Both sides of the street are lined with people walking, riding bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles, and various animals including goats, chickens, dogs, sheep, and cattle, even once this morning a herd of cattle that took up half the road. Chadian cattle are fierce-looking creatures with their long, sharp horns, but thankfully they aren’t aggressive, they just like to think the road belongs to them. :-) Driving here looks at first glance like total chaos, but in fact it is more like a complicated ballet dance, with everyone moving past each other while somehow avoiding running into one another.

There is so much more I could say about life here, but I will leave the rest for another time. My internet connection here does not allow me to upload photos, but hopefully with my description you can imagine a little what things are like here.

I Made It!

I'm in Chad!!! I could tell you were praying these last couple days - the trip went very smoothly, and all my luggage arrived with me too! My coworker, Joy, and I will head south toward Sarh/Balimba tomorrow morning; we will be doing the trip in two shorter days of driving instead of one very long day, so we should reach Balimba on Wednesday.

Now that I'm in Africa, my internet connection will usually be slower and/or less reliable than it was in the USA or France, but I will try to send you updates as I am able. Thanks for your continued prayers as I settle into life in Chad!

Almost ready to go

Life has been very busy since I last wrote on this blog! Some of the things I've done in the past couple weeks include:

• Moved out of my apartment (a big job)
• Wallpapered a room (not quite so hard as I'd feared)
• Cleaned my apartment thoroughly (hopefully it will make a good impression on the owner!)
• Enjoyed Christmas with friends (we had a great time!)
• Drove a stick-shift vehicle for the first time (sorta getting the hang of it)
• Packed my suitcases (several times!).

I'm pretty much done with all of the above now, except for locking my suitcases and checking to make sure I'm not forgetting anything vitally important. In short, I'm almost ready to leave! The journey to Chad starts tomorrow morning, just hours away! I can hardly believe that my time here is almost at its end. It's been a great year; the Lord has taught me so much through this time of transition in France. I'll miss my friends here, but I'm glad to be finally moving on to Africa where I long to be. Thanks for praying for me as I make the transition into a new life in Chad!

If you'd like to know the detailed itinerary of my trip - by train, plane, and Landrover - please check out "My Itinerary".

December Prayer Letter

Dear Prayer Supporters,

Greetings from France! This will be my last prayer letter from Bordeaux, because in just a few short weeks, I'll be boarding a plane to go to Chad; not for a short missions trip or survey visit, but to really live there! I'm thrilled to be almost on my way, but I know there will be so much to learn as I settle into life in Africa. Thank you for praying for me during this time of transition.

Language School - Finished!

Last Friday, I finished my formal French language studies here at the University of Bordeaux. There was no graduation ceremony or commencement address, but that didn't take away any of the joy in completing another important milestone, as I handed in my last exam and left the building for the last time. I've learned so much here - and not only about the French language! I've also learned a lot as I've interacted with my professors and classmates at the university. I'm thankful for the opportunities the Lord has given me to share a little about Him with my fellow students between classes. Pray that the Lord will work in their hearts and bring people into their lives who share the gospel with them.

Moving to Chad 

With my departure for Chad now less than two weeks away, the task of packing is now in full swing, and I am busy trying to fit everything into my suitcases! Praise the Lord that I received my visa in good order a few weeks ago, so all the paperwork is ready for me to fly out in a couple weeks. I'll be taking the train to Paris on the morning of December 30, then late in the evening, I will catch an overnight flight to N'Djamena (the capital of Chad) with a few hours' layover in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia). A coworker will pick me up in N'Djamena on December 31 and we will travel together to my new home in Balimba, a village near the city of Sarh in the south of the country (a full day's drive from the capital). Please pray for good traveling weather and smooth connections throughout my journey. Please pray for me as I make the transition into life in Chad.

New Ministries Ahead 

Over the next year, I will be settling into life in Africa, becoming involved in the Bible translation work and other ministries, and continuing to improve my French skills. Also, one of my tasks for this first year in Chad will be to study one of the local languages with which we are currently working. The language I will be working with is called Sara Kaba Dem. The New Testament has already been translated into Sara Kaba Dem, and Bibles International is currently translating the Old Testament. There is still much work yet to be done before it is complete. Please pray for encouragement and strength for the translators, the missionaries and local Christians who assist them, and for me as I study their language and become better acquainted with the translation project and the translators. Pray that good progress would be made in the translation.

In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell

An Errand ... and an End

Getting ready for a trip to Africa usually requires making some special preparations, besides the typical airplane tickets and carefully packed luggage.  One of those special preparations is to purchase antimalarial medication.

I'm sure that most of you know that malaria is a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes which is all too common in many tropical parts of the world.  There is currently no vaccine for it, but it is treatable; also there are things you can do to help prevent it, including sleeping under a mosquito net, using insect repellent ... and taking antimalarials.  The latter cannot be obtained without a prescription, so yesterday I headed downtown to a travel clinic (a clinic that specializes in giving vaccinations and medical advice to overseas travelers) to get the needed prescription.

Thankfully, it was easy to obtain what I needed.  The doctor agreed with me that I should stay with the same type of antimalarials that I've used on previous trips, so I'm glad to know I can keep using what has worked for me in the past.  Before long, I was on my way to the pharmacy, prescription in hand, to pick up the meds.  A few hours later, I had all that I will need for a 12-month's supply of the medication. Praise the Lord for providing another important thing that I need for my upcoming move to Chad!

On another note, yesterday was also my last day of French classes.  It's hard to believe that the hours of lectures and assignments have come to an end!  All that remains now are the final exams.  I will have seven of them, one or two each day from Monday to Friday.  I am starting to feel like I will be ready for them, but we'll find out if I really will be!  Thanks for praying!