We are just heading out to dinner at a translators home. He and his wife are on the Chadian Arabic team. They are just publishing large sections of the old testament scriptures in Chadian Arabic. Its an exciting time for them. As we sit in the driveway of the SIL complex looking at the on coming traffic, it is an amazing sight. People, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks and camels, coming at us in a flood. (just kidding about the camels) Very few breaks in the on coming tide. Finally the driver inches out, forcing the tide to budge to the left, horns are honking, but they are almost always honking. Slowly we enter the single lane road with 2 or 3 lanes of traffic. We pick up speed and start edging left. All of a sudden the driver decided to make a U-turn. There is a small space between the opposing traffic. Deftly the driver has placed the car into this space, waiting, waiting, traffic flashing by on both sides. A small break appears in the on coming traffic, in a moment of time we were heading the opposite direction. Motorcycles passing on both sides, we pull up behind a slow moving truck. The truck pulls slightly to the right and stops. Our driver seems to be looking in all directions at once, sees a slight opening to the left and slides the car into that opening and we are on our way once again. The motorcycle traffic has multiplied astronomically over the past three years. Almost every time I'm out driving I see a motorcycle on its side in traffic. The general public is always helpful in getting the motorcycle and its driver out of traffic. We have been told, as much as we would like to stop and help, we must never do so. To stop and help means we were somehow at fault in the situation. In the accidents here in the Chad, fault is determined more by who has the nicer vehicle, or in a better position to pay, not who caused the accident.
It was a lovely dinner, with a wonderful family. We have good people working here, several who have been here 20 plus years. The US government Embassy considers our location a hardship assignment. I hear embassy staff don't stay very long. Maybe some of us are just thick headed, but when God calls He always provides what is needed to do the job. Purpose, not money or position, makes a big differance.
Judy and I are doing great! The work is plentiful, to put it mildly. I, Jim have just about finished a Facilities Maintenance Computer software program for this site. It's a custom made preventive maintenance program to help move us from daily crisis management to a planned system. A much needed change. It has revealed several LARGE maintenance needs. So talk to the Father about this for us. We are going to need several teams to come help over the next two years. I'll detail that in an up-coming blog.
good descriptive content--takes me right back to Pucallpa and the traffic there, with one exception. You didn't mention the oncoming left-turners racing to make their turns before the traffic going straight crosses the intersection when the light turns green. I tried that once here. It didn't work so well. Miss you guys.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Karen . . . very descriptive. A few more like this, Jim, and you've got a good start on a journal of your experience worth publishing! John G.
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