November '08...

Steve got his first look at Africa...Bere, Chad. The seed for mission work in Africa was planted.

(A clipping from one of our early e-mails...)
Dear Friends and Family—
Last week I received several text and e-mail messages from Steve giving me a phone number where I could call him. Getting through was more difficult than I expected.
After trying calling cards many times, I finally decided to test calling without using a calling card. Guess what, I made it through! I woke up Steve and his roommate close to (his) midnight! What a wonderful short chat we had! Then last night I called Steve again. This time I used another calling card, and it worked the first time! We talked for about an hour!
Here is a summary of the News from Africa:
Steve is doing fine and is enjoying working there with the other staff members & volunteers (about 15 in all) and with the local people. The locals are very friendly and smile easily; they seem so happy!
Steve is experiencing incredible culture shock. All roads are mud/dirt roads. In the town of Bere of 60,000 people, there are only about 4 automobiles. (There are ox carts.) You walk everywhere! For church last Sabbath, they walked 7 km to a community and had church under a large mango tree on hard wood benches. The people beat on improvised drums.
At the clinic, the staff is disappointed that the people wait to the last minute to bring in their sick ones. They try many other "treatments" before trying the clinic, and they wait until it is usually too late. One or two babies die every day there; it's so sad. Sometimes they have malaria. The people will try any medicine that anyone suggests first.
There are so many insects there! There are always large balls of insects gathered around all the outside lights. Some insects make it in the clinic through the open ER door and down the hall into the wards, but that's not a problem because at night the bats fly in and eat the insects!
There's no electricity over there except for a generator at the clinic that they run at times. Since there's no electricity, the people cook their food over wood fires. This causes a great deal of smoke. Steve says the air is always smoky; it makes him cough. In the capital city, people can't find firewood so they burn anything plastic; Steve says the air is terribly toxic!
Steve was planning to move today into a small thatched roof "hut." It has 3 windows with screens and shutters, running water, and a door that locks.
One of Steve's first projects there was to help get Bible stories and Christian music on the clinic sound system so all the people there can hear at the same time. Gary & Wendy Roberts are hosting Steve. Gary is the GMI mission pilot; they have been very kind to Steve. It looks like Steve will help Gary make connections for the TV/ Radio transmitters in Kenya. They may be going to Kenya in December to work on this project.
Steve sends his greetings and love to all. Thank you for keeping him and me (and Eric & Julie) in your prayers!