Dear family and friends,
What a year this has been for all of us, is somewhat of an understatement. That being said one thing remains and that is God’s faithfulness. First, while not surprising, we are still in Ontario. Just as we were making plans for travel to visit some of you this past spring, as you are well aware, the wheels kind of fell off most of our plans and that did not happen. Also we have been unable to return to Chad due to travel/visa restrictions. While we would dearly love to be back in service in Chad that has not been possible and though our hearts have been torn this has permitted us to be here for other important developments which would not have otherwise been possible.
First, as mentioned in our last letter we have been pursuing some health solutions for Kathryn. This has revealed what is a significant intolerance to dairy products and possibly gluten. While this will prove to me a challenge to life in Chad we trust the improved health will make her more effective in ministry. Our extended time here has also allowed further efforts to resolve an other issue which has been plaguing her for some 20 years which we trust will be resolved by an operation now scheduled for Dec. 3rd. Lord willing and Covid restrictions permitting. Covid restrictions unfortunately played a significant role in May when Kathryn came down with a relatively rare case of malaria in May that had remained dormant in her system for over a year. The restrictions caused much delay in the diagnosis and as such she was admitted to hospital with multiple organ failure as her system had become septic in its effort to fight the parasite. We thank the Lord for good medical care and leading physicians who got involved. Recovery was slow but by mid July she was mostly back to reasonable strength. Since then I too came down with the same kind of malaria but due to her recent bout and the more relaxed restrictions I was able to get quick diagnosis and treatment so was only affected for a couple of weeks.
July brought about another reason for us counting Covid as a blessing. Daniel had contacted us that his marriage relationship was in trouble. With restrictions being somewhat relaxed we immediately decided to head north and pay a visit. Soon after arriving it became clear that Christine was planning on leaving the relationship in spite of recent efforts to seek restorative counselling. Daniel was left with the children in his care and we were able to remain there with them for support through the transition. This would not have been possible if we had not still been home due to travel restrictions. We thank the Lord that he sees much more than we do and permitted us to be here to have input into their lives. Though difficult, we are beginning to wean ourselves away, as they get used to “the new normal”. Kathryn’s aforementioned surgery will also require some recovery time during which we would not be able to be of much help. Please pray for Daniel and the children especially who suffer the most in these situations.
In the midst of all this, our time home has enabled us to have some conversation with Kathryn’s mom who has suffered health issues for some time and is not living in a suitable location. We suggested that she could come and live at our house where Jessica and Rory also live. This way she would have family around her as well as being closer to other family members for support. This entailed building an extension on our house which would give her, her own basic independent living space. So since July I have basically been commuting weekly between Kirkland Lake and Kitchener, spending weekends with Kathryn, Daniel and the kids. Again this would not have been possible if we had been able to keep our original timeline.
Looking forward, what will happen? No one knows but here are our current plans and challenges. We are thankful that TEAM has worked closely with us and been understanding in all these changes, not only for us but for many missionaries who have been detained due to the pandemic. After Kathryn’s surgery she will need some time for recovery so the current plan is to return in March. We covet your prayers for this as most of you know this is the hotter time of the year as well as being mango season which is very difficult for Kathryn’s allergies. In the meantime I should be able to finish the extension for Kathryn’s mom. There is also the slight possibility that I will have to make a technical service trip to Chad before then as the satellite internet provider a number of our stations use is changing equipment which will no longer function after a certain time. I am in communications with them in hopes to delay this inevitability until we can return. Kathryn also continues to use her time to become further trained in several areas that will be beneficial to the ministry once we return. As usual in our absence there are many maintenance issues that have become necessary which will require my immediate attention upon return though with the help of the internet I have been able to walk a couple of missionaries though some very difficult repairs. The most significant being when the electrical panel for the Print Shop caught fire. With my input and his patience he was able to rewire the panel and put it back into service.
Though not physically present we still try to be as involve and helpful as possible. We have only been able to do these things with your continued prayer and support through out these ever changing and unusual times.
With many thanks and grateful hearts,
Paul & Kathryn Weber