Could our house actually be sold????

As you already know, we are in an economic downtime. When it comes to housing, the market is for the buyer. So when we put our house on the market, we knew that it could take some time. We also knew it could be still ours when we plan to leave this summer. What would we do? Cross that bridge when we got to it. As we prepared to leave for Minnesota/Wisconsin, I worked hard to get the house ready. Andy and our friend Abi helped. The boys, not so much. But I felt that getting it ready for showings while we were out of it for 2 weeks would be very wise. Just the thought of not having to get it ready each time someone wanted to see it...very appealing. But would anybody want to see it? I am still in MN. The house has been on the market two weeks. We have had three showings. Not bad. But here is the really good part. One of those who came to look at the house has given us an offer. Can this really be true? Looks like there will be a family enjoying our house when we leave this summer to move into our new one. God is so good. We certainly don't deserve it. Thank you for your prayers. As far as support, it continues to grow. We are at 40%.
Cari

Fundraising update

Well - here we are in March and we are now up to 35% support raised for our annual expenses and 21% raised for our outgoing expenses. Wow! Thank you to everyone who has given. We have also been able to meet with two churches in Michigan where people overwhelmed us with their support and compassion for the people of Chad. We are continuing to meet and talk with churches and add daily to our list people to contact. Now if only I could get on track with my French studies as well as teaching the boys some basic French!

We are headed back to Chad - this time for a good long stay!

Just in case any readers of this did not know, we have decided to move to Chad. We are still in the fundraising and friendraising stage, but it will be here before we know it! This summer Andy is taking a class on tropical medicine and by August we hope to be travelling to France for language lessons. If languages comes to us as quickly (or as slowly) as we think, we will back in Chad during the summer of 2012. We will be anxious by then to see those we met again. Feel free to contact us for more information about our preparations. We hope to use the blog as a way to keep folks updated on our progress.

So here is our first update:
We have 26% of our yearly expenses pledged!
We have 14% of our outgoing expenses (language school and moving expenses) collected!
We have already felt overwhelmed by peoples' generosity.
We still have several courses to finish including Biblical studies and home schooling. We still need to get our house ready and placed on the market for selling.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers!
Cari

Photos!

It would have been nice to have gotten photos attached when we were updating our letters from Chad, but since we didn't, I am going to attach some here to this new post. Hope you enjoy seeing a little of what we saw this summer!

Move Against the Fear

Why Africa? Why Chad? Take a look at this video that Africa Inland Mission put together. We think it's pretty powerful. We Americans are pretty clueless when it comes to understanding what life is like in central Africa.

http://www.aimint.org/usa/videos/move_against_the_fear.html

(Cut and paste it in your web browser - my link feature is not working)

Final post on Chad

Nos amies, Thurs. Aug. 26th

Thank you for your support and encouragement and prayers. We arrived home safely late Monday night (Tuesday am?) in Greensboro and Andy’s brother, Jim, was at the airport to greet us (the boys were thankful that they could finally fall asleep and not worry about us waking them up for one more trek through an airport!). We are now trying to adjust to life back in the US – grass! Warm showers! Air conditioning! Bills! I still do dishes barefoot, but I can’t help worrying what’s going to crawl over my foot!

Both the boys started school on Wednesday. Drew’s school had forgotten to place him in a class (small miscommunication somewhere) but was quick to assign him to Mrs. Bobbitt after Cari called to confirm. It meant he didn’t have his name sticker on the door (are we in the right place?), his desk wasn’t prepared, and they had to put a folder together, but Drew didn’t mind. He said the teacher gave him lots of special attention and he also didn’t have an apple to “drop” so he couldn’t get in trouble! Tony LOVED his first day of school.

We are very grateful to all of you for making this trip possible. We have seen and heard and done some incredible things over the past 7 weeks. We very much have it in our hearts to go back and help our Chadian brothers and sisters in Christ in the near future. The needs of the developing world and especially the countries in the “10-40 window” are incredible. We are working with the AIM office in New York to figure out our next steps.

Treasured memories:
God’s protection from injury from the camel crash.
God protecting and healing Pam Propst.
Having the Chadian church leaders come and pray with us and for us just after arriving in Bebalem when Cari and the boys were really sick.
Encouragement and comfort from all of you and the team during times of suffering (after the accident and while the family was sick).
Andy’s medical experience in a very resource-poor hospital (rounding in the dark by flashlight, morning devotions by kerosene lantern, lack of oxygen and IV fluids, running out of steroids and seizure medications, 2 and even 3 patients per bed)
Andy struggling with discouragement because so many patients were dying, knowing they could have recovered with better care/supplies.
Cari teaching English to 20-30 school kids (with many others leaning in windows and doors trying to participate!).
Drew running off to the soccer/basketball/tennis court with a passel of laughing Chadian kids shouting over his shoulder, “I’m going to play soccer with my friends, ok?”
Tony sitting in a mud puddle drinking “chocolate milk” while Andy tries to remember how to treat Amoebic dysentery.
Friday afternoons when Drew and Tony and Cari visited the kids and families in the pediatric ward, singing, passing out stickers, and blowing bubbles.
Tony blowing bubbles for the goats.
Snakes, rats, and scorpions!
Praying with and for the hospital chaplains just before leaving Bebalem.
Returning to N’Djamena and going to the “Ice cream store”!
Birthday party/Dinner with the entire AIM team in N’Djamena (minus Dr. Ann) the night before leaving.
A lovely overnight stay in London - The Tower of London, London Bridge, double decker buses, “The Tube” (London underground), trains, SLEEP! Pizza, Cadbury chocolate, Trafalgar Square, strolling down Gracechurch Street (“Aunt and Uncle (Brogan) would gladly take you with them to Gracechurch Street after Christmas. And why would you have (us) go to London, dear Lizzie? Oh, no reason, a change of scene and society perhaps.”)
Realizing what it means to live and serve in the 4th poorest country in the world.
Seeing God at work in yet another place and country and culture so very different from ours here in the US. God is an amazingly big God, and his love for us is beyond understanding!

We continue to pray for you – that you continue to hear the Good Shepherd’s voice calling your name, that you follow Him with your whole heart and mind and strength, and that you grow in grace and the fear of the Lord all of your days. We hope we will have a chance to share more with you in person SOON. And if anyone is planning a vacation near Chad in the next couple years, we would love to be able to host you for a few days, weeks, or even months!

Thanks again for being so important to us.
In the Shadow of the Almighty ----- Cari, Andy, Drew, and Tony Robertson

Update on Jotom

I hadn't realized until a friend, Tonya, mentioned it to me, that I had not given an update on Jotom - the boy with the leg sores. Well, the morning of our departure, he showed up at my door with his mom! He had gone to his mom's and had convinced her to come back with him. Well, this made everything easier. I was able to send the information with them to the clinic to ensure he got the care he needed. And just before we got into the car to leave, he returned with his mom to show his newly "dressed" legs. I had a chance to explain (through interpretor) how important it was that he follow up and that Claire was going to stand in for me to make sure the bill got paid. It was a gift from God to be able to see him before we left. And you can't tell from the picture, but he has the most wonderful smile! Thank you for your prayers!
Cari