Are there opportunities for ministry? Of course: there always are! The amazing need for ‘standard’ missionaries is always unquenchable, yet as more and more obey the call to go there is an increasing need for support missionaries to uphold these people in the work. There is the need for maintenance, for administration, for teaching, for dorm parenting. For every thing that Dad does it seems there are two more that have to go undone because there isn’t time. Our current administrative workers that run our main office in N’djamena are unable to handle the huge load, and each missionary on the field is being pulled out of their ministry for one month each year to help them. Not only that: these talented people are in their last term before they retire!

Mom is teaching the whole school this year, whereas before she was ‘only’ co-teaching. Her workload, although it was large before, has increased considerably. With this comes increased stress. This year instead of the normal science fair of previous years, Mom organised a Heritage fair for our international student body to learn more about their own countries of origin. She is also organising the yearbook for the third year in a row. Although there has been less emphasis on this in the past, she is requiring the kids to write a research paper this year, to prepare them for high school. Surprisingly (or not) enough, none of them knew how. The challenge of teaching is always a second-guessing game about what the kids already know, and what they will need to know: hardly an easy job. Now this crucial ministry may be shut down. We will be going on furlough in 2005, and there is no one to take over the school for that year. If no one is found it is probable that we will have to extend our term, in the hopes that someone will be found in that time.

Dad continues to fix all the little things that break. One recent example was that he fixed the car of a fellow missionary who teaches women’s programs in Bible schools all over the country. Along with running the station he also recently re-wired the Print Shop, since some of the wires were melting and were a fire hazard.

For us kids, life goes on. Jessica is in grade six now and continues to struggle with homework. Daniel is in grade eight; he has adjusted to the fact that there are now no children on the station. We all look forward to the kids that will come with the new family that is moving here in May. I am now in grade ten and school is starting to get a little harder. I am also teaching a computer class at Palmview.

The Chad field needs more service missionaries: a teacher for the year we are home and hopefully one (or more) ‘helpers’ or ‘co-teachers’ to help manage the huge load of running the school. Also, maintenance people to repair/oversee the reparation of the numerous things that break so that everything will get done and not just those things of emergency priority, and administrative workers to oversee the operation of all the aspects of the field. So what would we have you do? (1) Pray. There is nothing more powerful or more necessary than prayer. Pray that people will be found to fill these positions that are so crucial to the operation of the field. (2) Proselytise. Tell everyone you know, but especially those who might have an interest. We cannot find people to fill these positions if we don’t look. Tell other people to, maybe they will know someone who might be interested. Bring it up at prayer meetings and in church. (3) What about you? That’s right you! It’s all fine to say ‘I will pray and I will proselytise in hopes that someone will be found,’ but if everyone thought that way then no one would ever come. In the end someone has to be the one that comes, maybe you’re it
;-)