More Suicide Bombers

We have received news of another recent attack in Chad’s capital. According to reuters, an international news agency headquartered in England, “A man dressed in a woman’s burqa blew himself up in the main market in Chad’s capital N’Djamena early on Saturday, killing 15 people and injuring 80, a police spokesman said. No group immediately claimed responsibility but Chad has blamed Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group based in neighbouring Nigeria, for a series of bombings and shootings in recent weeks.”
This is a repeat of what happened a month ago. Last time there were two attacks at the police headquarters, and this time it was in the main market. There was also an attack on a village at Lake Chad where Boko Haram killed 6 people. We were very saddened to hear of the attacks last time, yet also relieved that Art had just returned from his trip to Chad a few weeks earlier. As far as we know, our colleagues from other missions still have no plans to evacuate the country, although we know of one stateside who has been told to delay her return to Chad.
We continue to be sickened with what is happening regarding these incidents and others like them in neighboring countries, and ask for your prayers that there would be an end to this violence.

Suicide Bomber Attack

Yesterday, there were some attacks on two police installations in N’Djamena, with possibly 27 people dead and over a hundred injured. It is still unknown who is responsible for these attacks, but government officials believe that it is Boko Haram. Chad has been engaged in fighting against Boko Haram for several months now along with Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. Although this is sad and frightening news for the country, and for our colleagues and friends there, we are thankful that Art is back home, and that he was able to meet all of his goals while in Chad last month. Please remember to pray for peace for Chad and for many to be drawn to the one true God no matter what takes place.

visit to Chad

Early this morning, Art started his long flight back to Chad once again. He’ll be away for almost three weeks in hopes to finish testing the book of Acts, the second to last step before publication. He wanted to finish all of the necessary revisions in Acts before leaving, but unfortunately, the last chapter still needs a lot of work. Ideally, it would be great if the translation team could work on this last chapter together with Art there between the “testing” sessions of the previous chapters.
We are so thankful for everyone who is making this trip possible for Art and for all the prayers for us and the Dadjo people!

Getting Back to Chad

It’s time for Art to begin preparations for another trip to Chad in May. in the meantime, he is working hard to have the second half of the book of Acts ready for testing in Dadjo villages. There are many things to do to prepare for this trip as well as much praying. As we look ahead to May, we are also keeping our eyes and ears open to any unrest in and around Chad that may interrupt these plans. The news that we hear of so far is positive. Troops from Chad and Niger have made progress in moving Boko Haram into retreat, but we are also cautious knowing that these troops are dealing with a very violent Islamist militant group.

Boko Haram Strikes Back (Threatening Chad)

chad, africa newsIn January, we mentioned Chad’s involvement in fending off the group Boko Haram. We were encouraged to read about Chad’s decision to help their neighbors against this group and even more so, their success. Now we are hearing in the news that Boko Haram is threatening to send suicide bombers to Chad and Niger if they continue to fight against them. Read more about it here Please pray for Chad and other neighboring countries that have joined in trying to stop this militant group.

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Our Country Made It in the News!

newsWe were quite surprised last week when, looking at headlines on the news, we saw the country of Chad mentioned. Chad! We almost never hear of Chad on the news. Most people probably wonder who this guy Chad is that we keep talking about because they have never heard of the country before.

What many of you probably have heard about is Boko Haram. They are not in Chad, but they have made their presence known in the neighboring countries of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. So we were quite interested to find out that Chad has sent soldiers into Cameroon to try and help in holding Boko Haram back in their attacks and kidnappings of civilians. Although it’s going to take a lot of help from a variety of countries, Chad’s involvement seems to have made a difference. Way to go, Chad!

No, We Don’t Have Ebola.

Is there Ebola in Chad, Africa?With all the activity that is going on in Africa, Chad is still a relatively safe place to travel (if one would ever want to in the first place). There are many African countries that have rebel activity and attempted coups, and although Chad is not exempt from that, it is currently still stable enough to visit.
On a different note, with the ebola outbreak in some west African countries, some may wonder how this affects those in Chad. We have heard news from other missionary friends that there have been some cases of ebola in Nigeria which borders Chad. There are still no incidences of the disease in Chad, but some Westerners who work close to the Nigerian border, although they are not evacuating, they are taking precautions and developing a contingency plan in the case it does creep a little too close.