Living and Serving in Chad:
Our family has been called to serve among a remote people group in the African nation of Chad. Here, our work is highly relational and practical. We spend a lot of time building relationships with people so that we can share with them the words of Jesus Christ. Sharing life and meals together is such a part of their culture, and so whether it is at a wedding, a birth, or a funeral, we go, and we sit, and we eat, and spend those moments with them.

Getting to where we live is not always an easy thing. It can involve long bumpy drives, canoe trips across swollen rivers, and small craft flights to make-shift landing strips. Sometimes during the rainy season, it’s impassible. In our context, we have to think about logistics. How much propane do we have to bring from the capital to run our stoves? How much toilet paper do we need to live for 3 to 6 months?

We also spend a lot of time caring for the physical needs of the community we have been called to serve. As a nurse, I deal with sick and malnourished children, treating malaria, wound care, and delivering babies. God has stretched me in a lot of ways because we often lack resources. We have also been involved in digging wells in villages that don’t have access to clean water and serving refugees who come into the area from other countries.

A big challenge for us has been schooling. We are not teachers, but we have done our best in the midst of limited resources and inconsistent internet – there are periods when our access to the internet is cut off for weeks at a time. So doing a good job of educating our kids is a struggle. We realized, even before our oldest got to high school, that he needed more social interaction with peers, and that the ways in which we were teaching him were just not enough. Our son needed to grow in ways we couldn’t help him grow in the African bush.

Then God opened a door for us at Black Forest Academy, and we’ve been just blown away. There are so many things that we love about the school, the environment, the structure, the way BFA comes alongside third culture kids to really know them, and to celebrate their lives and unique worldview. I think it is a huge part of adolescence to feel like you’re not alone in your differences. This has allowed our son to become more confident in who God has created him to be.

It’s a Christian environment with great people who can guide him: from the dorm parents, to RA’s, to teachers and chaplains and counselors and coaches, to the academic support. It is very clearly a partnership. BFA also produces livestreams so we can watch our son play sports (when our internet works). We get weekly emails from his dorm with pictures of our son’s dorm life. We have access to his grades and can contact teachers directly. For parents serving far away, all of the communication has been huge. It made us feel a part of his life. Because we know that [our son] is being taken care of at BFA, we can take care of what he has called us to do among the people here.

When we brought our son to BFA, we kept hearing from a bunch of different people that your kid will be loved here. Strangers coming up to tell me this was just really encouraging. But then, over time, we have actually seen it. It’s just been a wonderful experience for us. We are so thankful for BFA and what it has done for our son.