Today is one of those days of mixed feelings.  I bring you both good news, answered prayer and difficult situations.

I will begin with the good news.  As you know we have been praying together for about a year now for the delivery of the containers that carry goods for missionaries here in Chad.  Specifically for 4 ministry/projects in critical need of supplies, and supplies for the life and ongoing ministry of 14 missionary units serving with 5 different missions here in Chad.
THEY HAVE ARRIVED in town today.  I saw them with my own eyes.  Please continue to pray that Lord willing they will clear customs tomorrow and the missionaries can begin taking possession of their goods this coming weekend.  As you know I have returned to Chad by myself to clear these goods.  I was supposed to be here for only 2 weeks but this has become a little over a month.  The transport inland as usual has been full of false information and misleading promises.  I am quite used to this as this is how business functions in this country though I still wish that these old habits would change.  That being said the containers are here and in half the time that it often takes them.  We are thankful to God for his mercy and pray that the goods are intact and soon to be serving His work here in Chad.

This delay however is part of the difficult situations I must share.  Minor issues have been that I have had to change my airline tickets twice though I have not wasted my time and been able to cover some other maintenance issues while here.  Unfortunately I have not been at home to handle some of the issues there like our recently acquired car seems to have developed some  As you know Kathy and I do not like being apart and this this has been a stretching time for both of us and mostly for Kathryn as she had to handle a presentation at our church by herself, which though we usually both share I usually do most of the prep work.  This brings me to the most difficult of all in that while getting ready for this key presentation Kathryn’s dad took a second stroke which quickly revealed that his days were if very few number.  Most of the family was able to visit however during that time and this morning he passed away.  Unfortunately the timing is such that I will not be able to join them.  Please pray for the family in the coming days as they go through the process of grief.

Finally God continues to overwhelm us through the practical love shown to us by many of you.  We currently have 75% of the cost of our vehicle either received or pledged.

Thank you for your prayers, they have not gone unheard and we celebrate the answers he bring is His own sovereign timing.

Paul for the family.

Link to picture of Container, more to come in the next few days.

Thanks for your continual prayers.  We have been very busy these last days.  Normally one shuts down most ministries several weeks before departure to help packing and transition.  This time however we are cutting things very close as we are coming home somewhat ahead of schedule.    I only handed over my responsibility this Wednesday and Kathryn hosted the graduation of her English students on Thursday… Yes we began packing before this but it was amidst our regular work.  This is the reason for our tardy update… it is 10pm here and the bags are mostly packed, we leave tomorrow (Saturday) for the capital to catch our flight home Sunday midnight.  We have a layover in London England this time due to connections and cheap flights, so will not be arriving home till Tuesday pm.  Please pray that the ash clouds from Iceland to not impair our trip as they have many flights in recent days as Jessica has a wedding to partake in on Saturday the 29th.

Another request is that you pray for Jessica as she is leaving “home” to come “home” .  This is a common struggle for MKs.  She has with great frustration tried to choose only her favourite things to bring and then had to sort again to the limits of the suit cases.  She will be saying goodbye to many of her “aunts and uncles” from the missionary community and striking out into the new unknown.

We are looking forward to being home and having all the family together again but even this will require some adjustment on the part of all as the boys have been used to having the house to themselves for some time now.  This will also be the last year with children at home for us as we will be leaving Jessica home next summer when we return to Chad.

In the meantime there will be many adjustments and stressful times as, already on June 4th or so I will be returning to Chad on my own to look after the unloading, distribution and accounting of the goods to arrive in the shipping containers due in on June 7th.  This will leave Kathryn with the boys to take care of unpacking and setting up and stocking the house and many other details required when arriving home after several years of absence.  Pray for strength for all during the month of June as this will be an especially strenuous time.  Pray also that we will be able to locate a suitable vehicle for our home ministry as it will involve much traveling this time.  We have tried to do so with the aid of Daniel but are as yet unsure of the outcome.  This is not with worry or fret though as we know our God is able to supply all that is needed, we simply ask that you will petition our Father that this will indeed be so.  My planned return to Canada is the last week of June but here in Chad, even more than elsewhere, most is subject to change.

Thanks in advance for your prayers.  This term has seen many difficult situations but much has been accomplished and we were greatly encouraged by a team from our home church.  As with difficult times has also come many answers to prayer and evidence of God at work, building His church.  My God keep you and lift you up on His wings.  We pray that we will be able to visit with most of you during this coming year.

wishing you God very best,

Paul for the family

As many of you are aware, there has been much delay on the latest container of missionary goods being readied for shipment to Chad.  We were in quite a rush for many of the supplies and have continually asked you to petition the Lord in regards to the difficulties we have been having.  It was to have shipped late April 2009.  There were many months where we did not know what was happening.  Communication between us and the forwarder in Virginia was non-existent much of that time.  Even when we were able to communicate the updates were inconclusive.  Many were wanting me to take drastic (though legitimate) action.  There were many suspecting stories circulating of similar situations that had happened to others.  I will admit that I even entertained some thoughts that things may have been mishandled.  However through it all I never found evidence of wrong doing and God kept impressing on my heart that integrity was the key and we had never had any problems with the shipper over 15 or more years.

I now have VERY GOOD NEWS that as I write the containers are being loaded and have a shipping date set for April 7th.  Pray for I.S.S. as they get things moving that all will be done correctly and with safety for both the workers and the secure placement of the goods for the long trip.

In the words of Paul Harvey “now for the rest of the story”…    During the course of these months we had heard on a couple of occasions that the manager of I.S.S. had suffered a stroke (or maybe 2) but the details were sketchy.  After 8 or 9 months delay we engaged the help of some men located in the US with the hopes that a closer physical location would help resolve the delay or take care of any mishandling that was being suspected of taking place.  Near the end of Feb. our US liaison also lost contact for a few weeks.  I then got the shocking news early in March that the Gen.Mgr. of I.S.S. had gone to be with the Lord.  We contacted I.S.S. relay our condolences and to see how this was going to affect things and were assured by the Beth who was the office manager that our shipment was to be their top priority.  I must admit that though I recognized the issues, I remained skeptical.   I renewed our lines of communication and worked closely with Beth over the next few weeks.  Things seemed to be coming together well but I remained silent, not wanting to raise false hopes in those of you who were praying.  Beth was true to her word and worked very hard for us, even finding old suppliers that had previously remained illusive.   We remain very sympathetic to the family’s loss at I.S.S. having served us and many mission agencies around the globe.  We remain uncertain of the future for I.S.S. but in my books it was simply unfortunate events the met with unperceived contingency plans.  They are a small family run ministry and not a major forwarding agent, thus the events though unfortunate for all, are not out of the realm of possibility.  My faith and appreciation for them has been restored and I would hope that should I meet with similar difficulties, that a brother in the Lord would have the same confidence in me.  To Beth’s (and my) great delight they began loading today and she forwarded me the first pictures of the shipping containers being loaded.  We are all still in the dark as to why these chain of events happened but we remain forever in trust of a Sovereign God.

On another note.  We joined the rest of the Chad missionaries for a 3 day Spiritual retreat last week.  It was a wonderful time together.  We also used our new (to us) truck and are very thankful to both God and the Godbolds who made it possible thus far.  The retreat was held at a lodge just north of the capital which is some 45km from one of Chad’s tourist spots.  So we had to go and see as we had never seen Elephant rock in the 12 yrs we (40+ years I) have been in Chad.  I will be posting some pics on my WebShots in the next few days to check them out.

Again thanks to you for your prayers and to a Sovereign God for the progress being made on the container shipment.  Don’t give up now though as it still has the sea voyage to Douala ETA May 17th, followed by the truck transport inland which will take some 3 – 6weeks.  We trust that this will be followed by a fair treatment by customs’ officials.   As you can see by the timing this will also mean that I will be returning to Chad mid to late June for the final unloading and processing of the supplies.  May God continue to encourage you in your walk with him.  He is all powerful, sovereign and still our Father.

Blessings to all and may His name be praised.

Paul for the family.

Last month, well a little longer than that I sent you “Part 1″. I trust you have not been too anxious awaiting “Part 2″  The reason for dividing it was because first I had too many subjects to cover and also I was caught between sending off our, so very helpful team, and receiving our boys for Christmas… was it that long ago?

It was a wonderful time that we had together as a family, a real boost to each of us.  We had many special moments together… yes that meant Stephen and I huddled around our computers a lot and I tried desperately to catch up on many new developments.  Mostly we just “hung out” like families do.  It was sad to see them go in January and the course of our near future was set, as we sent home the first of Jessica’s things with them… to stay.  Yes after this upcoming home assignment we will be “empty nesters”.

Please Note – One of the things we are trying to improve is how our letters are sent to you so I have spent many hours pouring over and combining many address lists.  This was largely due to me changing computer systems.  I think I have got a handle on it and this letter is coming to you from our on-line news mailer that we have set up.  If this address is not the preferred one, or you are receiving more copies of the letter than you want, now would be a good time to help me streamline things by sending me the address(s) you would like the news to come to.  If you wish only a text notification of our letters then follow edit your profile.

We also praise the Lord for a very rare opportunity.  As you know we have had the same vehicle (plus ou moins) since we came to the field in 98.  It ran well for our first term but since then we have mostly depended on the graciousness of others.  God has been good and we have always had one to use if needed.  Earlier this term I was able to install a new transmission in the suburban which solved its mobility however the brakes have since ceased to work and the body has seen better days.  Bottom line it is simply not worth more investment so I am planning on selling it as soon as it is somewhat roadworthy.  This and a small amount we have saved will go towards what we feel is an opportunity we did not believe we would have. A missionary couple is retiring from the field and selling their 5yr old Land Cruiser with only some 27,000 kms on it, and they have been the sole owners!  Finding such a vehicle here is near to impossible and they are asking a fair price of only $35,000 for it.
This sounds like a lot, and it is but here in Chad, that is a good deal.  They paid almost twice that for it and have treated it well. On the open market it would fetch 45-50,000.  They have also agreed to give us time to raise the funds for it, with the privilege of using it in the meantime!  This is a real blessing and it will likely serve us the rest of our time here in Chad, Lord willing.  If you feel led to participate in this special project please note “Weber Vehicle Fund” on any funds forwarded to TEAM for this purpose.  Depending on the sale of the suburban we still need to raise between 25-30,000 CAD.  Pray with us for God to supply this funding.

As many of you know I was trying to arrange for the shipment of goods for the missionaries here in Chad, via sea container back in April 09.  The Christian organization that warehouses and arranges for the shipping of the goods has gone through some major difficulties this past year.  The manager has suffered a stroke (or two) and it seems as though they have also succumbed to financial difficulties, which are likely partially due to the poor economy during this time.  We (TEAM Chad) has advanced them a large sum to help with this problem but health and other reasons have caused communication to be difficult and unclear.  Late last year we engaged someone state side to try and help and here too communication broke down and the affair has now been handed over to a business manager at TEAM headquarters in Wheaton IL.  Please pray that whatever is causing the hold up to be removed as much of the goods are desperately overdue for vital ministries here in Chad.  To list a few it includes, paper for the Print shop, a drilling rig for a remote village ministry, setup goods for new missionaries already on the field… like refrigerator, home school material that was to be used in September, and many other ministry and personal items.  Needless to say these things are urgently needed.  Even if they were to ship this month, it would be a slim chance that they would arrive for me to be able to deal with them.  Pray then that God would also expedite its delivery here to Chad.

As I mentioned our home assignment is coming up this summer.  We will be arriving home a little early for our niece’s wedding as Jessica has the privilege to take part in this the end of May. This has put somewhat of a time crunch on Jessica for her studies and for Kathryn as she tries to schedule in the remaining classes for the ESL course she teaches.  Her students continue to be eager though a few have dropped out due to other commitments.  They have all successfully completed 2 of 3 beginner level sections.  The goal is to complete the entire beginner level before leaving for home assignment.  One of the students has dropped out due to sickness which seems to be connected to spirit oppression.  Her father is one of our station workers and an elder in the church.  Please pray for victory in this situation.  Many here in Chad are still bound by their animistic background of spirit worship.

Another significant event is that in the last weeks the Evangelical Church of Chad (EET) has elected a completely new leadership team.  It was an unusual kind of election as it was done by lot.  This was highly supported in the hopes of preventing tribal domination that often happens and rather to let God have complete control.  Pray for the new leadership as they assume their new roles and “learn the ropes”.  Pray that God will give them wisdom as they lead the church in the next few years.  At this annual convention the film exposing the rite of initiation was also released.  It was fairly well received but the final outcome is still to be seen.  Pray that it will be used to bring victory over the evil ones’ hold on even many within the church.

In the remaining weeks I have a house to get ready for a Korean missionary couple who will be moving onto the property while we are in Canada.  They plan to be involved in a radio ministry to the west of our village.  Pray for the Snyders who manage the Print shop and had to leave suddenly as his father is critically ill.  They anticipate being back before we leave.  We also covet your prayers for Stephen as he continues his co-op studies in the computer field and for Daniel who continues to pursue his studies at Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener.

As you can tell by this letter the last number of weeks have been somewhat of a roller-coaster with plans and situations changing often.  We continue to covet your prayers as we are sustained by them daily.  This last year of our term has been exciting to see Gods provision.  We look forward to seeing you in the coming year and sharing of the work that God is doing here in Chad.

With gratitude for God’s grace and your years of partnership,
Paul, Kathryn & Jessica

As a final note we encourage you to join us in an opportunity to lock arms with others, join in His work and really make a difference: For the first 100 days of 2010, TEAM is challenging to join in a campaign called Everyone One Hundred From January through early April, you’ll get weekly emails with great information and important prayer requests from around the world. Your prayers are vital! Plus, you can join in the effort even further by giving financially, if God puts that on your heart. There is no obligation, and it’s easy to sign up at www.TEAMeveryone.org

It has been quite some time since we wrote an actual update.  Many of you got our emails that surrounded my dad’s passing.  Thank you for your many prayers and support during this time.  It was wonderful to see God’s provision in so many ways from arranging good flight connections to feasible logistics and even to have quality time left to visit with the boys.  We have felt incredibly blessed by all who facilitated those precious days I was able to spend with family.  We praise God as well for keeping Kathy and Jessica who remained in Chad.  Although those days were emotionally charged days we praise God for his graciousness and the confidence we have as we too look forward to that day when we too will be united with Christ.

In my last W-Mail I mentioned that I would further define what monies sent in dad’s memory to TEAM would be used for.  Recently the first Africa Bible commentary, written by Africans for Africa, has been released and has now become available here in Chad.  Dad’s focus for many years was to get more bible study materials into the hands of the pastors as they severely lack in these resources.  We have decided that it would be best inline with Dad’s ministry to use funds sent in his memory to provide a subsidy for Chadian pastors to be able to afford this new commentary.

Though we are so grateful for the ability to be with family during those very important days, it has not come without its price.  Work does not get put on hold when we are absent and being already very busy caused me to be even more so upon my return.  The ensuing 6 weeks were most likely the most taxing I have experienced in some time.  Getting accommodations ready for conference, while being unable to find carpenters or masons, was compounded by not having the materials I had counted on to come in the most recent shipping container.  This all contributed to very long days and my lack of communication since returning to Chad.

On Nov. 25^th, after finishing most of the preparations for our annual conference, I drove to NDj. to receive our speaker and kitchen team.  It was with great joy I welcomed our own pastor Timothy, Hector and Cecilia Diaz, and Kathy’s mom, all from our home church. These are our first visitors in over 10yrs.  We left early the next morning for the 6hr road trip back to Koutou.  We began right away to put the finishing touches on the preparations for conference;
Hector and Tim looked after the making of porta-potties for the rooms missing complete facilities.  Cecilia and Nancy helped Kathy organize the kitchen and reviewed the menu for the 30 some missionaries who were to arrive the following day. All who were at conference expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the words of encouragement pastor Timothy brought us from Job and for the hard work the team put in the kitchen.  It was genuinely a time of refreshment and nourishment for both body and soul.  Today it is with heavy hearts yet much gratitude that we say good-bye or better, au-revoir, to the team for the gracious blessings and encouragement they have bestowed on us, empowering us to finish well this term of service.

We now look forward to several months of getting things “ship shape” for the sole couple (Snyders), who will hold down the fort during our upcoming home assignment.  Kathy plans to finish the first section of her ESL teaching before leaving while helping Jessica wrap up her current high school courses.  Pray that we may finish well this part of the race.

Blessings from Chad

Paul, Kathryn & Jessica…. (Part 2 to follow in a few days )

See more pictures
by psweber