conference, a chadian diet, and a visitor

Asalama Leckum (peace be to you all, typical Arabic greeting)!

So, I have had a wonderful week. In fact I think I'd pass as an African already, ha ha!! We've had a wonderful time at Conference. It's been great getting to know the team and learning about missions and my relationship with the Lord. I have also had the chance to play piano which I didn't think I'd get to do.

I have also had the opportunity to have some real Chadian food this week. Boule, French for ball, is a millet bread sort of mush that you pull parts off of and dip in a sauce. This is all done with your hands, actually hand as you can only use your right hand to eat. One's left hand is used for dirty tasks such as blowing your nose or wiping... We do regularly wash our hands though! We eat on mats and everyone eats off the same tray. So there are much fewer dishes to do here.

We had a visitor in our house this week. His first name was preying and his last name was mantus. Julie, one of the ladies I live with, and I let him loose after he looked up at us with his big beady eyes. The other ladies wanted us to have mercy on him for some reason or another. The lizards don't usually make it inside, but there are a lot of them! The cat's stomach keeps growing also as a result of his lizard diet.

You may have also seen the now famous city of Abeche on the news as a result of the French organization who tried to remove children from the country for trafficking purposes. I'm sure you can find more information about it online. The local people are pretty upset with this group and rightfully so! Most people are!

That's all for this week. I'm enjoying the emails I've received from many of you. Remember to use my gmail address, vhthiessen@gmail.com. It's great to hear what's going on in the outside world even if it is that the Bombers aren't doing so well.