Category Archives: Desert Journal: Life in Chad, Lessons Learned

My Desert Journal: Life in the Sahara, Lessons LearnedCome sit with me as we read through my Desert Journal.

For half of my life, I’ve had the opportunity to serve in Chad, Africa.

It was the most wonderful time of my life.  I have lots of memories… mostly good, some bad.

I learned a lot there!  Although Chadians may not tell you about the latest app or trending YouTube video, they are masters of face-to-face networking and friendship-building. Their mind is clear enough to see a solution when most would give up and move on.

And Chadians fear no one, except God.

So, make a cup of tea, heavy on the sugar. Join me, as we learn some of those lessons together.

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The Plastic Kettle: running water where you need it

What was the most useful thing to you during this year’s wind storm?  For me, it’s a plastic kettle I brought home from Chad on my last trip there.

In Chad, internal plumbing in a rented home can be a big hassle.  I have seen faucets in bedrooms, but none in the kitchen or bathroom.  Some faucets are a few feet above the ground, perfect for filling up a bucket!  I have also seen them well above my head, too high for me to reach.

How do you get water from strange places to where you need it most?

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How to be led by the Holy Spirit

Have you ever faced a challenging situation where the Holy Spirit showed you what to do?

Holy Spirit, lead me into all truthLiving in Chad as a family so that we could shine for Jesus was full of challenges.  As a result, we relied heavily on the Holy Spirit to bring things to our remembrance.  As Jesus said in John 14:25-26 [MWNT],

I have spoken to you these words while I am still living among you. But this Holy Spirit, the Comforter, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach and show you everything, whatever things I will say to you.

God proved Himself faithful to His Word.  Our greatest successes in Chad came, not as a result of our “great intelligence or ability” (yuck!), but rather from the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

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The Lost Art of Being Resourceful

Mongo (October 14, 2010): We are writing you from the middle of the country.  We are staying at the home of our friends who are working to develop one of the languages here.  While here, we are stretching our resourcefulness to the limit. We are learning how to be resourceful as we try to live in this new, challenging situation.

Being Resourceful is using the resources available to you to their greatest potential.  It’s what you need when normal channels are no longer available to you.  As things get more difficult, it means learning about new resources we may have overlooked.

Our time in Mongo during the dry season has been a University Course in Resourcefulness for us all.

Being Resourceful with water

Resourceful with water for Showers, etc.In the four days since we have been on our own in the Aviles home, the town water has only run once, at 4 AM, giving us about 25 gallons (100 liters) of water into one of two plastic barrels in the kitchen. Such conditions push you to use the water to its greatest potential; we are re-using the water for rinsing the dishes in the morning, to wash them in the afternoon. Then we re-use the water for washing the dishes, to flush the toilet. In fact, we are gathering water in basins from the bathroom sink, from our showers (max 2 gallons per shower) and from washing the dishes to flush the toilet. So we use the water 2-3 times before we finish it.

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