Ally, Angela and Peter Lunan from Dunblane Free Church have just returned from N’Djamena, Chad. Ally taught at Wellspring Academy which is a day school providing education for mission partners children.
Greetings
Angela, Peter (2) and I arrived in Chad in early August 2013 in the dark and were immediately greeted by the local bugs – cockroaches the size of a small child’s foot! Although Peter was completely enthralled by these creatures they thankfully did not follow us to our apartment, and we haven’t seen cockroaches of that size since, although their smaller cousins visit frequently!
Praise God
In Wellspring Academy I have got used to teaching a new curriculum. All the history and geography lessons are focused on American History for the whole year and it is a running joke amongst the AIM missionaries here that the only British teacher on the staff is being asked to teach American History! I will be an expert on this subject if I ever appear on the TV game show Pointless! We give God praise as one child in my class committed himself to the Lord after he felt challenged in one Bible lesson about ‘dedicating your life to God’ and another child has become bolder about saying he is a Christian. While I am teaching, Peter and Angela get up to all sorts! In summary the weeks are filled with “Mums who pray” meetings in our flat, women’s bible studies, organising “play” with children of vulnerable women and other social meetings that provide opportunity for faith sharing.
The journey
Geographically, N’Djamena is not a huge city but getting out and about can be a challenge! Just going beyond the gates of our compound is literally entering an unknown world of dust, holey roads, sewers, noise and heat. Bikes, motorbikes, pedestrians, dogs, ducks, lorries and cars come at you from all directions! In the early days of us being here it didn’t help that every street looked the same and the car we rent didn’t have fully functional controls. So, as you weave in and out to avoid collisions, potholes, pedestrians and whatever else happens to cross your path – often a family of ducks – you really do feel like you are dancing as you travel along the road. The journey – rather than the destination – is usually the adventure!