Chad Diary

Day 1 - France to Chad With our children in the care of Kirsten's grandparents we began our journey for Chad. We left for the train station at 5:45 am as we made our way for our departing f ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:35:51 -0700

Steve
Day 1 - France to Chad With our children in the care of Kirsten's grandparents we began our journey for Chad. We left for the train station at 5:45 am as we made our way for our departing f ...

Day 2 - N'Djamena The good news is that you can find shade but the bad news is that this wasn't the hottest day. At its worst the temperature was 127 degrees in the shade. Thankfully, we we ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:36:54 -0700

Steve
Day 2 - N'Djamena The good news is that you can find shade but the bad news is that this wasn't the hottest day. At its worst the temperature was 127 degrees in the shade. Thankfully, we we ...

This was my (Stephen) bed at the guest house. It would be the most comfortable bed of my 3 weeks but impossible to sleep in because of the heat. The net may make my bed look a little feminin ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:38:47 -0700

Steve
This was my (Stephen) bed at the guest house. It would be the most comfortable bed of my 3 weeks but impossible to sleep in because of the heat. The net may make my bed look a little feminin ...

Day 3 - N'Djamena to Abéché When you live in the desert you don't have access to ATM machines and you can't use credit with the local traders. Cold hard cash is the only way to buy things b ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:37:50 -0700

Steve
Day 3 - N'Djamena to Abéché When you live in the desert you don't have access to ATM machines and you can't use credit with the local traders. Cold hard cash is the only way to buy things b ...

This single engine, 10 passenger plane, was the larger of two. Our things were quickly loaded up as we rushed to leave before the president arrived and the airport was locked down. Once in ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:44:51 -0700

Steve
This single engine, 10 passenger plane, was the larger of two. Our things were quickly loaded up as we rushed to leave before the president arrived and the airport was locked down. Once in ...

For 2.5 hours this is all we saw passing beneath us. If you look close at this picture you can see the road we will travel during our next trip to Abéché. There is a process of thought tha ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:46:51 -0700

Steve
For 2.5 hours this is all we saw passing beneath us. If you look close at this picture you can see the road we will travel during our next trip to Abéché. There is a process of thought tha ...

This is Abéché as it first came into our view. Right now we are planning to arrive in Chad around mid-October. After spending one month in N'Djamena we will move to Abéché. Once here we will ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:45:42 -0700

Steve
This is Abéché as it first came into our view. Right now we are planning to arrive in Chad around mid-October. After spending one month in N'Djamena we will move to Abéché. Once here we will ...

Day 4 & 5 - Abéché This was a productive day of gathering information for life in this city. We took an inventory of the local market. Then we met with a NGO that is doing medical work in G ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:43:59 -0700

Steve
Day 4 & 5 - Abéché This was a productive day of gathering information for life in this city. We took an inventory of the local market. Then we met with a NGO that is doing medical work in G ...

Life in general seems to be a little more time consuming versus life in America. You can't drink water directly from the faucet and clean becomes a relative term that only applies to Chad. L ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:42:48 -0700

Steve
Life in general seems to be a little more time consuming versus life in America. You can't drink water directly from the faucet and clean becomes a relative term that only applies to Chad. L ...

Day 6 - Good Friday (Travel to Guéréda) We woke up at 4:30 am for our taxi that was suppose to arrive at 5:00 am so we could get on the road before the mid-day sun. The minutes continued pa ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:29:11 -0700

Steve
Day 6 - Good Friday (Travel to Guéréda) We woke up at 4:30 am for our taxi that was suppose to arrive at 5:00 am so we could get on the road before the mid-day sun. The minutes continued pa ...

We were told the ride would take 4-6 hours and as we started off I was having the time of my life. After 30 minutes the amusement was gone and my body was starting to hurt. Kirsten started o ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:29:58 -0700

Steve
We were told the ride would take 4-6 hours and as we started off I was having the time of my life. After 30 minutes the amusement was gone and my body was starting to hurt. Kirsten started o ...

Then it happened - we reached the end of the world and there was a town built from the earth called Guéréda. There is so much to say about Guéréda and I'll do my best to describe life in t ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:30:44 -0700

Steve
Then it happened - we reached the end of the world and there was a town built from the earth called Guéréda. There is so much to say about Guéréda and I'll do my best to describe life in t ...

Day 7 - Meeting the Sultan We put on our Sunday best and prepared for the big meeting. For nearly two years we shared how we would meet the sultan of the people and ask his permission to li ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:12:59 -0700

Steve
Day 7 - Meeting the Sultan We put on our Sunday best and prepared for the big meeting. For nearly two years we shared how we would meet the sultan of the people and ask his permission to li ...

So here's your introduction to Gueréda. This is the house we stayed at during our time there and as you can see it isn't bad. In some ways we were expecting the round huts with the pointed r ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 05:54:34 -0700

Steve
So here's your introduction to Gueréda. This is the house we stayed at during our time there and as you can see it isn't bad. In some ways we were expecting the round huts with the pointed r ...

Something died in me when we said goodbye to the life I thought awaited us in America but something else gave birth, deep inside, to the life we are called to live. You begin to feel like tw ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 06:33:18 -0700

Steve
Something died in me when we said goodbye to the life I thought awaited us in America but something else gave birth, deep inside, to the life we are called to live. You begin to feel like tw ...

Day 8 - Rise & Shine The new day starts early in Gueréda as the sun begins to rise at 4:30 am. The Mosque calls out for the people to come and pray but mostly the roosters and donkeys shout ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:18:24 -0700

Steve
Day 8 - Rise & Shine The new day starts early in Gueréda as the sun begins to rise at 4:30 am. The Mosque calls out for the people to come and pray but mostly the roosters and donkeys shout ...

Dinner - Chadian Style Dinner set-up is fairly easy - put the mat on the ground, sit on the mat, and eat. Most of life happens outside and in the shade. This tends to be the coolest place. ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:18:41 -0700

Steve
Dinner - Chadian Style Dinner set-up is fairly easy - put the mat on the ground, sit on the mat, and eat. Most of life happens outside and in the shade. This tends to be the coolest place. ...

Day 9 - The Market in Gueréda While the guys stayed back at the house to pour a cement floor in the mudbrick shower house the girls went to the market. Though one comment said Chad looked l ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:19:14 -0700

Steve
Day 9 - The Market in Gueréda While the guys stayed back at the house to pour a cement floor in the mudbrick shower house the girls went to the market. Though one comment said Chad looked l ...

You can also visit the local Kohl's (As seen in the upper left) or Baby Gap (as seen in the upper right). The nice thing is that the people love colorful clothes and don't care at all if the ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:19:48 -0700

Steve
You can also visit the local Kohl's (As seen in the upper left) or Baby Gap (as seen in the upper right). The nice thing is that the people love colorful clothes and don't care at all if the ...

Margit also took this picture and I think it captured something very profound that was more felt then seen. God has obviously opened the door in front of us but there is no doubt that the li ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:19:57 -0700

Steve
Margit also took this picture and I think it captured something very profound that was more felt then seen. God has obviously opened the door in front of us but there is no doubt that the li ...

This is another part of the house where we stayed in Guereda. The structure on the right is the shower room and at the moment of this picture it still had a dirt floor. During our time there ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 01 May 2007 01:06:02 -0700

Steve
This is another part of the house where we stayed in Guereda. The structure on the right is the shower room and at the moment of this picture it still had a dirt floor. During our time there ...

It didn't make much sense to us taking a shower on a dirt floor as you leaned against dirt walls. Clean is defined much differently under these circumstances. So our job was to pour a concre ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 01 May 2007 01:12:03 -0700

Steve
It didn't make much sense to us taking a shower on a dirt floor as you leaned against dirt walls. Clean is defined much differently under these circumstances. So our job was to pour a concre ...

While the shower floor dried and the women toured the market I needed a shower. Since the shower room floor was obviously not dry, we found a corner in the courtyard to take our shower. On t ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 01 May 2007 01:12:45 -0700

Steve
While the shower floor dried and the women toured the market I needed a shower. Since the shower room floor was obviously not dry, we found a corner in the courtyard to take our shower. On t ...

Remember I said that behind the straw wall was the toilet...well, here's the toilet. This is the most basic construction with a very deep hole, branches laying across the hole, and mud packe ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Tue, 01 May 2007 01:12:45 -0700

Steve
Remember I said that behind the straw wall was the toilet...well, here's the toilet. This is the most basic construction with a very deep hole, branches laying across the hole, and mud packe ...

So life in Gueréda continues... this time with making peanut butter. It wasn't as good as JIF to be sure but it was peanut butter none the less. There are some things in life that just make ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sat, 05 May 2007 11:14:17 -0700

Steve
So life in Gueréda continues... this time with making peanut butter. It wasn't as good as JIF to be sure but it was peanut butter none the less. There are some things in life that just make ...

Day 10 - The Return to Abéché We woke up at 4:00 am and packed up our things and hit the road an hour later. Thankfully we began traveling before the sun was fully awake and pounding us wit ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sat, 05 May 2007 11:16:28 -0700

Steve
Day 10 - The Return to Abéché We woke up at 4:00 am and packed up our things and hit the road an hour later. Thankfully we began traveling before the sun was fully awake and pounding us wit ...

Someone on the team snapped this shot during our taxi ride. Our feet were hanging over the edge as you look out into a landscape that doesn't belong to earth. Sometimes it felt like we were ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Sat, 05 May 2007 11:29:19 -0700

Steve
Someone on the team snapped this shot during our taxi ride. Our feet were hanging over the edge as you look out into a landscape that doesn't belong to earth. Sometimes it felt like we were ...

Day 11 thru 13 - Abéché We took this day rest and recover from our travels and prepare for the final leg of our journey. We were also able to hang out with a wonderful family with 5 childre ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Mon, 07 May 2007 13:01:08 -0700

Steve
Day 11 thru 13 - Abéché We took this day rest and recover from our travels and prepare for the final leg of our journey. We were also able to hang out with a wonderful family with 5 childre ...

After playing with these wonderful kids it made us miss our own clan. The only means of communication in this part of the world is via a satellite phone. At $1 per minute you can't simply ch ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Mon, 07 May 2007 13:02:02 -0700

Steve
After playing with these wonderful kids it made us miss our own clan. The only means of communication in this part of the world is via a satellite phone. At $1 per minute you can't simply ch ...

Day 14-21 - The Final Week We had some final important meetings and details during this time but in reality everything went according to plan and we were ready to leave. Two of our teammate ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:19:19 -0700

Steve
Day 14-21 - The Final Week We had some final important meetings and details during this time but in reality everything went according to plan and we were ready to leave. Two of our teammate ...

Final Day The flight from N'Djamena to Paris left around 11:30 PM and sleep was nearly impossible for the 6 hour flight. We took several metros until final boarding the TGV for our home in ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Steve) — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:19:45 -0700

Steve
Final Day The flight from N'Djamena to Paris left around 11:30 PM and sleep was nearly impossible for the 6 hour flight. We took several metros until final boarding the TGV for our home in ...