Well, its been a little while since I posted last! Life has been a whirlwind, but God is still in control!
First off, I have been giving presentations at some churches, and have a few more that I'm working on scheduling! If you would like me to give my presentation to a church, bible study, small group, or really any gathering, please don't hesitate to email me at josh[dot]hedstrom[at]gmail[dot]com.
And as many people have been asking...what am I going to do now? Well, thats a good question, and only God truely knows the answer! As for right now, I am planning on attending AFLBS, the Association Free Lutheran Bible School. I feel like that is what God wants me to do, and so I'm going to do it, as a step of faith! I can't wait to see what God is holding in the future for me.
As far as videos...I am still working on some of them, and I am contacting the missionaries to see about posting them on YouTube. I need the missionaries to review them for any security issues.
Thank you to all who have been praying for me! God is certainly revealing his plans for me, step by step!
God bless you all, and don't hesitate to contact me!
--Josh
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Well, I finally got most of the pictures up!
The following link is the album that I put up on Facebook.
Trip Photos
I have more pictures from the first part of the trip, but they are on a flash drive that I bought in the capital...and it crashed. But there are backups of those pictures...somewhere on a hard drive in Germany! I'll put them up as soon as I get them.
Thanks for your prayers!
--Josh
The following link is the album that I put up on Facebook.
Trip Photos
I have more pictures from the first part of the trip, but they are on a flash drive that I bought in the capital...and it crashed. But there are backups of those pictures...somewhere on a hard drive in Germany! I'll put them up as soon as I get them.
Thanks for your prayers!
--Josh
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Well, I'm home
Well, I have made it home in Nebraska!
The first flight from N'Djamena to Paris was delayed by 2 hours. That made me nervous, since that meant that I'd have about 20 minutes to run through the airport in Paris, go through security again, and try to get on the next plane. Probably wasn't going to happen. So, because I couldn't do anything about it, I trusted God with the whole thing. And of course, God didn't let me down! Not only was the first flight delayed, but He allowed all of my other flights to be delayed at least an hour! Which means that I met my entire itinerary! Praise God for that!
I certainly have a lot to process about this trip. I feel like I've had 3 years of experiences in 3 months. And I am tired.
I've got a lot of video and photo editing to do over the next few weeks, and I'll start uploading as soon as possible!
Thank you all for your prayers and support! It is a God given miracle that I'm even alive. There are so many ways to die, from sickness to accidents to wild animals to rebel activity....its a miracle that we are alive! Praise God! He has shown me a lot during this trip. I have much to be grateful for. And I am grateful beyond words to all you who prayed and supported me in this adventure!
God Bless!
--Josh Hedstrom
The first flight from N'Djamena to Paris was delayed by 2 hours. That made me nervous, since that meant that I'd have about 20 minutes to run through the airport in Paris, go through security again, and try to get on the next plane. Probably wasn't going to happen. So, because I couldn't do anything about it, I trusted God with the whole thing. And of course, God didn't let me down! Not only was the first flight delayed, but He allowed all of my other flights to be delayed at least an hour! Which means that I met my entire itinerary! Praise God for that!
I certainly have a lot to process about this trip. I feel like I've had 3 years of experiences in 3 months. And I am tired.
I've got a lot of video and photo editing to do over the next few weeks, and I'll start uploading as soon as possible!
Thank you all for your prayers and support! It is a God given miracle that I'm even alive. There are so many ways to die, from sickness to accidents to wild animals to rebel activity....its a miracle that we are alive! Praise God! He has shown me a lot during this trip. I have much to be grateful for. And I am grateful beyond words to all you who prayed and supported me in this adventure!
God Bless!
--Josh Hedstrom
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Coming back to America
Well, thanks to everyone who has been praying! It is hard to believe that Lord willing I'll be heading home tomorrow! My time has flown by! We made it back to the capital city safe and sound. I will be going to church tomorrow with Lorraine Green, the lady who got me into all this. :-)
Please pray for safe travels, and also that God would direct my thoughts as I start to process this incredible experience. When I get to a better internet connection, I'll start uploading pictures.
Thank you all for praying!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Praise God for healing me!
Thank you all so much for praying!
God does answer prayers. I didn't have dysentery....I took the medicine,
and it didn't really help. I was still having fevers and headaches and
body aches and general weakness. We talked to the doctor again, and by
that point, my fevers had started getting higher. He noticed an
inflammation on my tonsil. His conclusion was that I might have either
Mono or Strep, and only time would tell.
But with people here and back home praying, God worked a miracle! I
starting feeling better, my fevers got lower and lower, and as of
right now, I am basically healthy!
Friends, I was not getting better, I was getting worse. It was't
looking good. I was starting to think that it would be a miserable and
painful trip home. But through the prayers of his people, God worked a
miracle!
Since I've been better, I've been doing a few activities. Right now, I
am working on building a desk for one of the Downing kids. It's been a
real struggle every step of the way. The wood is sometimes just rough
cut with a chainsaw, and is warped and bowed and bent worse than
anything I've seen in the US! But once it's cut and planed and sanded
way down, it doesn't turn out too bad. I have a new appreciation for
places like Menards! I spent a whole day working just to get the
wood to a point where it looked like a Menard's 2x4!
Also, I've been helping the Downings plant a small corn patch. The
ground is hard and dry, but this is the beginning of the rainy season,
so it should grow! But not without much sweat and toil. We worked that
ground with hoes and picks and shovels, and this afternoon we planted.
About half way through planting it started to sprinkle, and we
continued to have a cool wind and rain until we were done! We thank
God that he held off the big rains until we got all the seeds planted!
Its hard to believe that I've only got a few days left in the swamp,
before heading to the capital. I'll be at the capital for a day or
two, and then start the series of flights back home, Lord willing!
A few things to pray for:
-Thank God for healing my body!
-A safe journey home: ETA the evening of July 1st
-That I'd be able to finish up things here
-Thank God for an amazing trip so far!
Thanks for your prayers! I can feel them!
--Josh
God does answer prayers. I didn't have dysentery....I took the medicine,
and it didn't really help. I was still having fevers and headaches and
body aches and general weakness. We talked to the doctor again, and by
that point, my fevers had started getting higher. He noticed an
inflammation on my tonsil. His conclusion was that I might have either
Mono or Strep, and only time would tell.
But with people here and back home praying, God worked a miracle! I
starting feeling better, my fevers got lower and lower, and as of
right now, I am basically healthy!
Friends, I was not getting better, I was getting worse. It was't
looking good. I was starting to think that it would be a miserable and
painful trip home. But through the prayers of his people, God worked a
miracle!
Since I've been better, I've been doing a few activities. Right now, I
am working on building a desk for one of the Downing kids. It's been a
real struggle every step of the way. The wood is sometimes just rough
cut with a chainsaw, and is warped and bowed and bent worse than
anything I've seen in the US! But once it's cut and planed and sanded
way down, it doesn't turn out too bad. I have a new appreciation for
places like Menards! I spent a whole day working just to get the
wood to a point where it looked like a Menard's 2x4!
Also, I've been helping the Downings plant a small corn patch. The
ground is hard and dry, but this is the beginning of the rainy season,
so it should grow! But not without much sweat and toil. We worked that
ground with hoes and picks and shovels, and this afternoon we planted.
About half way through planting it started to sprinkle, and we
continued to have a cool wind and rain until we were done! We thank
God that he held off the big rains until we got all the seeds planted!
Its hard to believe that I've only got a few days left in the swamp,
before heading to the capital. I'll be at the capital for a day or
two, and then start the series of flights back home, Lord willing!
A few things to pray for:
-Thank God for healing my body!
-A safe journey home: ETA the evening of July 1st
-That I'd be able to finish up things here
-Thank God for an amazing trip so far!
Thanks for your prayers! I can feel them!
--Josh
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Please keep praying
Hi all,
This is Josh's mom again. The missionary doctor thought Josh had dysentery so they gave him the normal 3 days of medicine for that. However he still has a 101* fever and he is weak with body aches. So they are not sure what sickness he has now.
So please pray that the Great Physician would completely heal Josh. We are so grateful for the wonderful experiences he has had on this vision mission trip so far. He is planning to head back to the capital city in a about a week. Then he will stay there a few days and leave Chad on June 30th. He will arrive, Lord willing, in Grand Island, Nebraska on the evening of July 1st. We will be SO GLAD to see him again.
Thanks so much for keeping Josh in your prayers. As he has said many times, they know when people in the USA are praying, and when we stop praying. So let's keep the prayers rising like incense up to heaven.
God bless you all!
This is Josh's mom again. The missionary doctor thought Josh had dysentery so they gave him the normal 3 days of medicine for that. However he still has a 101* fever and he is weak with body aches. So they are not sure what sickness he has now.
So please pray that the Great Physician would completely heal Josh. We are so grateful for the wonderful experiences he has had on this vision mission trip so far. He is planning to head back to the capital city in a about a week. Then he will stay there a few days and leave Chad on June 30th. He will arrive, Lord willing, in Grand Island, Nebraska on the evening of July 1st. We will be SO GLAD to see him again.
Thanks so much for keeping Josh in your prayers. As he has said many times, they know when people in the USA are praying, and when we stop praying. So let's keep the prayers rising like incense up to heaven.
God bless you all!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Well Drilling
Thank you all for your prayers. We have been busy the last few days,
drilling and flushing a well.
Not far from the town we're staying in, there is a small village. A
few years ago, we helped a local team drill a well with local methods.
The well worked fine, until recently when it stopped working. When we
opened it up, we discovered that it had filled with gravel. We're
still not quite sure how it happened. We tried for a whole day to
flush out the gravel in the well, but we were unable to. So we decided
to dig a new one. We hired the same team, and spent an entire day
drilling the well. We did not use our machine, since we didn't have
time to get it ready.
The local method is hand dug. But not with shovels...with a drill.
Basically the equipment consists of a 6 inch handmade drill bit,
mounted on a 9 foot pipe. Then there are 4 handles that attach to the
pipe. Four guys grab hold, and spin that thing around. Slowly, with
quite a bit of pressure.The mud pump pumps water through the drill
bit, lubricating the bit, and pushing the cuttings up to the surface,
where they flow down into a pit. After 7 or 8 feet, they attach another
drill stem section, and keep going. Those 5 guys rotate shifts, and
spent about 10 hours drilling that well. By the then of the day,
they'd gone 42 meters into the ground. I tell you what...that is back
breaking work. I would be hard pressed to find another set of 5 guys
that would be able to work that hard, and still have a smile on their
faces at the end of the day. But they were pretty much wiped out. It
was incredible to see them do it. I took lots of pictures and video,
which I will put up on the blog when I get home!
Then a few days later we took a generator and an electric pump to the
well, lowered it in, and flushed the entire water system for about 2.5
hours. When the water was starting to look clear, we pulled it out and
dumped some bleach down in it. We'll go back in a few days and set the
hand pump.
The whole village was overjoyed to have water again. The women had
been walking over a mile to muddy water to drink, ever since the first
one broke. It provides great opportunities to talk about the Living
Water!
It's hard to believe that I have just a little over 2 weeks left in
this country. My time has flown by here. God has given me many
experiences, and taught me many things. I have much to be grateful
for!
And thank you again for all your prayers. Without your prayers,
nothing really can happen out here. Because people like you are
praying, we can stay healthy, have water, and have great conversations
with people about the True Way.
A few prayer requests:
-That the city water would come so that we don't have to keep buying
handcarts of water
-That the team here in the Swamp would continue to unite in one
purpose and passion
-That there would continue to be peace in this region, and that the
enemies of God would not rise up and cause trouble.
-That God would give me strength and endurance to finish my time here
-That God would work through us and the conversations we have with people
-That in all things God would be glorified!
God bless you all! Hope to see many of you this summer when I'm back!
---Josh
drilling and flushing a well.
Not far from the town we're staying in, there is a small village. A
few years ago, we helped a local team drill a well with local methods.
The well worked fine, until recently when it stopped working. When we
opened it up, we discovered that it had filled with gravel. We're
still not quite sure how it happened. We tried for a whole day to
flush out the gravel in the well, but we were unable to. So we decided
to dig a new one. We hired the same team, and spent an entire day
drilling the well. We did not use our machine, since we didn't have
time to get it ready.
The local method is hand dug. But not with shovels...with a drill.
Basically the equipment consists of a 6 inch handmade drill bit,
mounted on a 9 foot pipe. Then there are 4 handles that attach to the
pipe. Four guys grab hold, and spin that thing around. Slowly, with
quite a bit of pressure.The mud pump pumps water through the drill
bit, lubricating the bit, and pushing the cuttings up to the surface,
where they flow down into a pit. After 7 or 8 feet, they attach another
drill stem section, and keep going. Those 5 guys rotate shifts, and
spent about 10 hours drilling that well. By the then of the day,
they'd gone 42 meters into the ground. I tell you what...that is back
breaking work. I would be hard pressed to find another set of 5 guys
that would be able to work that hard, and still have a smile on their
faces at the end of the day. But they were pretty much wiped out. It
was incredible to see them do it. I took lots of pictures and video,
which I will put up on the blog when I get home!
Then a few days later we took a generator and an electric pump to the
well, lowered it in, and flushed the entire water system for about 2.5
hours. When the water was starting to look clear, we pulled it out and
dumped some bleach down in it. We'll go back in a few days and set the
hand pump.
The whole village was overjoyed to have water again. The women had
been walking over a mile to muddy water to drink, ever since the first
one broke. It provides great opportunities to talk about the Living
Water!
It's hard to believe that I have just a little over 2 weeks left in
this country. My time has flown by here. God has given me many
experiences, and taught me many things. I have much to be grateful
for!
And thank you again for all your prayers. Without your prayers,
nothing really can happen out here. Because people like you are
praying, we can stay healthy, have water, and have great conversations
with people about the True Way.
A few prayer requests:
-That the city water would come so that we don't have to keep buying
handcarts of water
-That the team here in the Swamp would continue to unite in one
purpose and passion
-That there would continue to be peace in this region, and that the
enemies of God would not rise up and cause trouble.
-That God would give me strength and endurance to finish my time here
-That God would work through us and the conversations we have with people
-That in all things God would be glorified!
God bless you all! Hope to see many of you this summer when I'm back!
---Josh
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Short update: More to Come
Thank you all so much for praying for Nicholas! Thanks to your prayers, he is doing better! His temperature has returned to normal, and he basically had a normal day today! Praise God for that!
Tomorrow we are going to be going to a local village and drilling a well, using a local team and local methods. I will update as soon as I can.
Thank you for your prayers!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
A bit of a Prayer Request
One of the other missionary family's son is sick.
His name is Nicholas. He has been sick for a few days now, and they just took him to the hospital because of high fevers and vomiting. However, when they arrived, because it is night time, there is no one who was able to help. So they are taking him home, and are planning on taking him back to the hospital in the morning.
So please pray for healing for Nicholas, for peace for the family, wisdom for the doctors, and that we'd all trust God in everything!
Thanks again!
--Josh
His name is Nicholas. He has been sick for a few days now, and they just took him to the hospital because of high fevers and vomiting. However, when they arrived, because it is night time, there is no one who was able to help. So they are taking him home, and are planning on taking him back to the hospital in the morning.
So please pray for healing for Nicholas, for peace for the family, wisdom for the doctors, and that we'd all trust God in everything!
Thanks again!
--Josh
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Settling into life at the Swamp
Thank you all so much for praying. We can really feel your prayers!
Water has come on a few times... but we still are occasionally hiring
the handcarts to bring us water. Supposedly one of the generators is
broken.
The past few days have been a cultural and linguistic overload for me. I
didn't think that one day's drive to another part of Chad could feel
like such a different place...but it is!
The language here is Chadian Arabic, and I am actually picking it up
much easier than French. Culturally, the main religion is I$l@m, and
so people dress very conservatively. Most of the men wear long robes,
called Kapitans, and some men have turbans. A tailor is sewing two
for me, so that I'll blend into the background a bit more.
A few prayer requests:
-That we would continue to settle into the house and back into a bit
of a rhythm.
-One of the Downing's girls, Selah is sick with Malaria, so pray that
she'd get better.
-That I'd continue to pick up the language and culture.
- For the presence H0ly $p. in all we do.
Thank you so much for all your prayers!
Water has come on a few times... but we still are occasionally hiring
the handcarts to bring us water. Supposedly one of the generators is
broken.
The past few days have been a cultural and linguistic overload for me. I
didn't think that one day's drive to another part of Chad could feel
like such a different place...but it is!
The language here is Chadian Arabic, and I am actually picking it up
much easier than French. Culturally, the main religion is I$l@m, and
so people dress very conservatively. Most of the men wear long robes,
called Kapitans, and some men have turbans. A tailor is sewing two
for me, so that I'll blend into the background a bit more.
A few prayer requests:
-That we would continue to settle into the house and back into a bit
of a rhythm.
-One of the Downing's girls, Selah is sick with Malaria, so pray that
she'd get better.
-That I'd continue to pick up the language and culture.
- For the presence H0ly $p. in all we do.
Thank you so much for all your prayers!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Here at the Swamp!
Well, after a few delays, we have arrived safely at the Swamp, where I'll be until the end of the month. Everyone finally got their papers in order, and we made the trip on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who was praying for me while I had a relapse of malaria...I was very encouraged. As far as I know, I am better. I'm still not back to my full strength, but I'm on the mend!
We had a really great trip here...about 12 hours total. Thanks to all who were praying for that...we really could tell you were praying! We didn't have any flat tires, the roads were good, we got through the check points just fine...it was a good experience. But the bonus was the wildlife. We saw (and I got pictures of) Antelope, Kudo, Warthog, Marabou Stork, Baboons, Red Monkeys, and many birds and camels! What a great experience...the first real wildlife I'd seen the whole trip.
Up here in the Swamp, the main language is Chadian Arabic. Which means that the vocabulary I've been learning over the past 7 weeks has become relatively irrelevant. But I really enjoy learning this dialect of Arabic, and I am picking it up faster than I did French!
A few things to pray for:
-That we'd get all settled in, and get the house running and working again.
-There has been a water shortage, so we're trying to conserve water. Pray that the city water comes sooner rather than later.
-That the tribes in the area would continue to be at peace with each other
-That I'd adjust quickly and smoothly to the new culture and language
-That God would completely heal my body of malaria and the treatments
-That we would shine as a light in the darkness in this spiritually dark part of the world!
Thanks for praying!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Still in the Capital City N'Djamena
Thanks for praying for me. Unfortunately, even though my blood test came out negative, they are treating me for malaria because I have symptoms, like a headache, nausea, and general weakness. I am taking a different medicine now, because there are so many different strains of malaria. Please pray that God will heal me completely, and kick all the malaria out of my blood. Thank you!
I am still with the Downing family in the capital city. The gov't has some new regulations and so it has become a long process for them to get all the necessary paperwork processed so we can leave the capital and drive out to the Swamp, where the Downing family lives and works.
Being with the Downings has been a great blessing. They have 5 kids, and their only son has decided he wants me to be his big brother forever. It's great.
Thanks for praying for me!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Good News and Bad News
Hi all,
Thanks for praying for me.
The good news is that I had an awesome time on the MAF flight to the capital city. Wow, what an experience! When I got here, I met the Downings (the family I'm going to live with for the next 6 weeks.) Great family. And we went to an English-speaking church, which was awesome. I met all the MAF pilots, plus it was great to go to church in English again.
The bad news is that I've had a relapse of malaria. I took 3 days worth of pills, so we'll see how my blood test goes tomorrow. Otherwise I could be back on quinine for another week. Please pray that God will heal me -- soon! I don't like the thought of dealing with those side effects again.
Thanks again for praying!
--Josh
Thanks for praying for me.
The good news is that I had an awesome time on the MAF flight to the capital city. Wow, what an experience! When I got here, I met the Downings (the family I'm going to live with for the next 6 weeks.) Great family. And we went to an English-speaking church, which was awesome. I met all the MAF pilots, plus it was great to go to church in English again.
The bad news is that I've had a relapse of malaria. I took 3 days worth of pills, so we'll see how my blood test goes tomorrow. Otherwise I could be back on quinine for another week. Please pray that God will heal me -- soon! I don't like the thought of dealing with those side effects again.
Thanks again for praying!
--Josh
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Lessons from the Top
I learned a new meaning of trust. You really have to trust your ropes. You have no choice...you can hold on with your hands, but then you can't work. So you just have to lean back away from the tower until your harness is taut, and then let go. It brings a whole new meaning of trust. And I decided that its the same with God in life. You don't always want to trust Him, but you sometimes just need to ease yourself back into his arms and trust him. You can't 'hope' that it will hold...you have to believe it will hold. And then put aside your fear and start working. Great experience.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Radio Tower Update
Well, the radio tower is basically finished! Praise God for safety throughout the whole process!
We left early this morning, Kurt, Christoph and I. Fabian was sick, so it was Kurt and I on the tower.
I had never been up on a tower before, and I can't remember ever being 90ft in the air. It was quite an experience.
First we had to pull up the antenna cable. It was a large cable, about an inch and a half in diameter. Then we pulled up the antenna. We attached the antenna to the side of the tower, and then attached the cable. Everything is a little bit more complicated when you are working that high up. It was a bit windy, and the tower swayed with our movements, since we were above the last guide wires. Once we had it attached, we finished up a few things on the tower itself.
I climbed slowly down, stopping every few feet to tie the grounding wire to the tower. I also put a second nut on all the bolts that held the tower elements together.
We also put attached the lightening rods. The one at the top attaches to the grounding wire, which runs all the way to the bottom. We drove a few copper rods into the ground, and attached the other end of the grounding wire.
Then we put in another lightening rod at each of guide wires.
we worked hard and fast, and were done by 11:30! We were only on the tower for 2 or 2.5 hours.
Pictures will be coming!
Its hard to believe, but my time here in Moundou is drawing to a close. I've been here 7 weeks, and at the end of this week I am going to head back up to N'djamena to meet the Downings.
They say time flies when you are having fun, and its the truth. I am really in shock that its already been 7 weeks. So much has happened...so many amazing experiences...so much to be thankful to God for.
On Friday I will take an MAF flight back to N'djamena. Normally I would take the bus, since its cheaper, but God has a way of working things out! I really really wanted to fly back with MAF, and it turns out that the pilot was going to be landing here Friday morning and heading back to N'djamena empty! So its only going to cost a little bit...just the airport fees. Praise God for that!
So a few prayer requests:
-That God would use this radio tower to spread his Gospel to the unreached villages in Chad
-That I'd have a good last few days here with Diguna
-That I'd have a safe trip back to N'djamena
Thank you all for praying for me and my brush with Malaria! I have indeed survived the treatments, thanks to your prayers, and am almost completely back in full health!
--Josh
We left early this morning, Kurt, Christoph and I. Fabian was sick, so it was Kurt and I on the tower.
I had never been up on a tower before, and I can't remember ever being 90ft in the air. It was quite an experience.
First we had to pull up the antenna cable. It was a large cable, about an inch and a half in diameter. Then we pulled up the antenna. We attached the antenna to the side of the tower, and then attached the cable. Everything is a little bit more complicated when you are working that high up. It was a bit windy, and the tower swayed with our movements, since we were above the last guide wires. Once we had it attached, we finished up a few things on the tower itself.
I climbed slowly down, stopping every few feet to tie the grounding wire to the tower. I also put a second nut on all the bolts that held the tower elements together.
We also put attached the lightening rods. The one at the top attaches to the grounding wire, which runs all the way to the bottom. We drove a few copper rods into the ground, and attached the other end of the grounding wire.
Then we put in another lightening rod at each of guide wires.
we worked hard and fast, and were done by 11:30! We were only on the tower for 2 or 2.5 hours.
Pictures will be coming!
Its hard to believe, but my time here in Moundou is drawing to a close. I've been here 7 weeks, and at the end of this week I am going to head back up to N'djamena to meet the Downings.
They say time flies when you are having fun, and its the truth. I am really in shock that its already been 7 weeks. So much has happened...so many amazing experiences...so much to be thankful to God for.
On Friday I will take an MAF flight back to N'djamena. Normally I would take the bus, since its cheaper, but God has a way of working things out! I really really wanted to fly back with MAF, and it turns out that the pilot was going to be landing here Friday morning and heading back to N'djamena empty! So its only going to cost a little bit...just the airport fees. Praise God for that!
So a few prayer requests:
-That God would use this radio tower to spread his Gospel to the unreached villages in Chad
-That I'd have a good last few days here with Diguna
-That I'd have a safe trip back to N'djamena
Thank you all for praying for me and my brush with Malaria! I have indeed survived the treatments, thanks to your prayers, and am almost completely back in full health!
--Josh
Saturday, May 18, 2013
I'm on the mend!
Thank you all for praying!
Yesterday we did a blood test after 5 days of the treatment, and it was negative! So I won't have to continue the last two days!
I should have much of this Quinine out of my system in a few days, and be relatively back to normal.
Thank you so much to everyone who prayed and sent me encouragement. It was a rough experience, but thanks to the prayers of God's People I'm on the mend.
They continued work on the radio tower yesterday. They did finish the tower, but we are going to go back on Tuesday or Thursday and attach the antenna and run wiring, etc.
So please pray for my body to continue to heal, and that the last steps of the radio tower would go smoothly.
Thank you all so much again for praying! We serve an amazing God!
--Josh
Yesterday we did a blood test after 5 days of the treatment, and it was negative! So I won't have to continue the last two days!
I should have much of this Quinine out of my system in a few days, and be relatively back to normal.
Thank you so much to everyone who prayed and sent me encouragement. It was a rough experience, but thanks to the prayers of God's People I'm on the mend.
They continued work on the radio tower yesterday. They did finish the tower, but we are going to go back on Tuesday or Thursday and attach the antenna and run wiring, etc.
So please pray for my body to continue to heal, and that the last steps of the radio tower would go smoothly.
Thank you all so much again for praying! We serve an amazing God!
--Josh
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Malaria and Radio Tower Update
Thanks to everyone who is praying for Josh (this is his mom again.)
Josh is taking quinine for the malaria. It is a strong drug with serious side effects (headaches, ringing ears, some delusions...) . But as long as Josh can continue to eat and drink, he should survive taking the medicine as it kills the malaria. He will be taking it through Thursday, May 16th,and then it stays at a high level in his body another 3-4 days after that. So please pray that God would heal Josh's body and that he will continue to be able to eat and drink. Also, this is a mental battle for Josh, as he doesn't have enough energy to do much and the time passes slowly.
The team decided to put up just the base of the radio tower without Josh, but the Unimog had mechanical troubles so they had to return. It has been a real spiritual battle trying to put up the radio tower in this particular village, as it is a spiritually dark place. The enemy doesn't want the Good News of Jesus to be spread there, and he is disrupting the team to stop it (with Josh's malaria and the unimog breaking down.)
So please keep praying! To quote Josh, "When we in America stop praying, he can feel it!"
Thanks so much.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Malaria!
Josh asked me (his mom) to update his blog today.
He just tested positive for malaria. So he is starting the medication.
Please pray that he will get well soon. They can't put up the radio tower next week unless everyone is well, since Josh and Fabian both have to be able to climb up 90 feet.
So now we are praying to the Great Physician to heal Josh's body.
Thanks to everyone for praying.
He just tested positive for malaria. So he is starting the medication.
Please pray that he will get well soon. They can't put up the radio tower next week unless everyone is well, since Josh and Fabian both have to be able to climb up 90 feet.
So now we are praying to the Great Physician to heal Josh's body.
Thanks to everyone for praying.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
A bit more on the Jesus Film
I thought I'd attempt to give you all a bit fuller picture of what we do when we show the Jesus film.
For the most part, before we even leave the missionary station, someone from the national church goes ahead of us and asks the village chief for permission to show the film.
Getting on the side of the chief is very important. The chief is all powerful...he is the one who solves quarrels and makes all the big decisions in the village. What he says, goes. So if he gives us permission to show the film, he is also putting his protection over us. If we stay in that village, we park the truck next to his hut, because then we are under his protection. It sounds kind of surreal and old fashioned...but out here in the bush, it is very much real, just as it has been for hundreds of years.
Once we get there, we pick a location to show the film...somewhere that people can gather on both sides of the screen.
We set up as much as possible, and then wait for the sun to go down. Once its twilight, we start up the generator and the projector, and after a prayer, we start the movie in whatever language is spoken in the area.
Who attends the film? Anyone and everyone. And more people come as the film continues. The audience depends on the village.
There are thousands and thousands of villages out here in Chad...little clusters of huts. It can be quite overwhelming. For the most part, this area is a Christian pagan mix. But when we went out towards Sahr, it was a much more Muslim area. In general, the film is aimed at those who have never heard the gospel.
The villages that are primarily Muslim we have to be a bit more careful. We show an extended version of the film, which documents creation and the prophecies leading up to Jesus. Also we don't take any pictures or video in those villages.
After the film, one of the national Christians gets up and preaches a bit. For the villages we've been to so far, we haven't really needed a translator. That is because the guy we had with us was fluent in four languages. French, Chadian Arabic, Sara, and Ngambay. I was impressed, until I found out that four is the norm for Africa. My teammate met a guy that knew twelve languages. And that is necessary for Africa. I learned from a local pastor that Chad has roughly 120 languages, and many more dialects. There are estimates of up to 140...it just depends on where you draw the line between languages and dialects.
After the preaching, (which is fiery and involves shouting and jumping up and down) there is a kind of altar call. And the response varies village to village. Some villages we'd have over 45 adults and children come forward. Some villages there was no response whatsoever.
What does that mean? It means that in some villages God gave us the privilege of harvesting, and some all we did was plant seeds. We give God the Glory for it all.
It is a very effective and efficient way of getting the gospel out to the unreached villages. We show the film at night, but usually there is a team that does door-to-door evangelism during the day, to answer questions and have good conversations.
Please comment below any questions you might have, and I will try to answer them!
And and some events to be in prayer for:
Sometime next week (Lord willing) we are planning on setting up a radio tower. That can take days or weeks, depending on how many obstacles we run into. Fabian and I are going to be the ones climbing the tower and bolting the sections together.
So pray for safety and that there wouldn't be an obstacles, and that we all stay healthy!
Thanks for your prayers...we really can feel them out here!
-Josh Hedstrom
For the most part, before we even leave the missionary station, someone from the national church goes ahead of us and asks the village chief for permission to show the film.
Getting on the side of the chief is very important. The chief is all powerful...he is the one who solves quarrels and makes all the big decisions in the village. What he says, goes. So if he gives us permission to show the film, he is also putting his protection over us. If we stay in that village, we park the truck next to his hut, because then we are under his protection. It sounds kind of surreal and old fashioned...but out here in the bush, it is very much real, just as it has been for hundreds of years.
Once we get there, we pick a location to show the film...somewhere that people can gather on both sides of the screen.
We set up as much as possible, and then wait for the sun to go down. Once its twilight, we start up the generator and the projector, and after a prayer, we start the movie in whatever language is spoken in the area.
Who attends the film? Anyone and everyone. And more people come as the film continues. The audience depends on the village.
There are thousands and thousands of villages out here in Chad...little clusters of huts. It can be quite overwhelming. For the most part, this area is a Christian pagan mix. But when we went out towards Sahr, it was a much more Muslim area. In general, the film is aimed at those who have never heard the gospel.
The villages that are primarily Muslim we have to be a bit more careful. We show an extended version of the film, which documents creation and the prophecies leading up to Jesus. Also we don't take any pictures or video in those villages.
After the film, one of the national Christians gets up and preaches a bit. For the villages we've been to so far, we haven't really needed a translator. That is because the guy we had with us was fluent in four languages. French, Chadian Arabic, Sara, and Ngambay. I was impressed, until I found out that four is the norm for Africa. My teammate met a guy that knew twelve languages. And that is necessary for Africa. I learned from a local pastor that Chad has roughly 120 languages, and many more dialects. There are estimates of up to 140...it just depends on where you draw the line between languages and dialects.
After the preaching, (which is fiery and involves shouting and jumping up and down) there is a kind of altar call. And the response varies village to village. Some villages we'd have over 45 adults and children come forward. Some villages there was no response whatsoever.
What does that mean? It means that in some villages God gave us the privilege of harvesting, and some all we did was plant seeds. We give God the Glory for it all.
It is a very effective and efficient way of getting the gospel out to the unreached villages. We show the film at night, but usually there is a team that does door-to-door evangelism during the day, to answer questions and have good conversations.
Please comment below any questions you might have, and I will try to answer them!
And and some events to be in prayer for:
Sometime next week (Lord willing) we are planning on setting up a radio tower. That can take days or weeks, depending on how many obstacles we run into. Fabian and I are going to be the ones climbing the tower and bolting the sections together.
So pray for safety and that there wouldn't be an obstacles, and that we all stay healthy!
Thanks for your prayers...we really can feel them out here!
-Josh Hedstrom
Saturday, May 4, 2013
I'm back from the Outreach!
Well, I'm back, and it was an amazing trip! God really
showed his blessings! I was feeling a bit sick before the
trip, but as soon as I got on the truck I was completely
healthy! Praise God for that!
It was about a 14 hour trip there, but we had stops. Nothing in
Africa is ever in a hurry. Nothing. So when we stopped, we
stopped. We stretched our legs a bit. And
then we talked to the local church. And we had some tea.
And we talked. And talked. And talked. And just when we
thought we'd never leave, everyone moved at once, and we
were off. We knew better than to push, because it only
makes it slower.
The roads were pretty good, all the way to Sahr. Our final
destination was a town a bit northwest of Sahr. Sahr is
right in the heart of the Muslim area. We saw many MANY
Chadians that looked like they were a bit of Arab descent,
riding around on horses with long robes and turbans, with
swords at their side or bows and arrows. Very surreal and
menancing.
It wasn't bad driving once you got off the road...but the
actual road was horrific. The road was paved once, many
many years ago, and a bad job at that. So it was more
potholes than road. Literally. Smooth dirt with foot high
islands of pavement. But the dirt road was on the side, so
that was ok. But by the time we got there, it was dark. And
driving at night is VERY dangerous in Chad. VERY DANGEROUS.
Not all of the cars, trucks, motos, or ox drawn carts have
headlights...the goat and cattle herds like to sleep on the
road at night...it's very dangerous. But we had no choice.
Because of the darkness, Christoph had a hard time missing
the potholes.
When we got there, we had to sit around and talk. About
10pm they finally started to plan where we were going to
show the films. After that we had supper.
Supper was Boul with fish. Because we were along the river,
we had fish at every meal, except one. I got real used to
fish, and I learned to eat the whole thing. WHOLE
thing...eyes to tail. Lets just say that some parts taste
better than others. It makes sense why in America we leave
certain parts out. And you wouldn't believe how much meat
there is on the head. I got good at eating heads, because
being the honored foreigners, they gave us the best parts.
I started to really appreciate eating in the dark. There is
something to be said for not being able to see what you are
eating.
The first night, we showed the Jesus film across the river. Now
they wanted us to take the truck across the river.
Thankfully we didn't. If we had tried to cross the river we
would have been swimming. But we couldn't even get to the
river anyway. We got about a hundred yards away until we
started to sink to the axles in sand.
We carried all the gear to the river, climbed in the dugout
canoes, and we were off. I didn't get any video, because I
was scared that my camera would get wet. We all got across
safely, and then showed the film that night.
We continued to just show the film every night and rest during
the day. There were beautiful rock mountains, so I'd climb
up there and do devotions in the mornings...so beautiful.
But after 4 days, I was starting to get tired of resting.
To an American, we wasted a lot of time during the day. But
in Chad, it was not a waste...we were resting! And that is
not a waste of time...it is something that needs to be
done.
The heat in Africa is much more dangerous than Asia. It's a
very dry heat, so you don't feel like you are sweating. And
the wind feels cool, but the cool feeling is your sweat
evaporating. So it is very easy to get dehydrated.
Overall, it was a very good trip! God really blessed
it...thanks to your prayers!
I put up some pictures
from the trip - enjoy!
Thanks again for praying!
--Josh
showed his blessings! I was feeling a bit sick before the
trip, but as soon as I got on the truck I was completely
healthy! Praise God for that!
It was about a 14 hour trip there, but we had stops. Nothing in
Africa is ever in a hurry. Nothing. So when we stopped, we
stopped. We stretched our legs a bit. And
then we talked to the local church. And we had some tea.
And we talked. And talked. And talked. And just when we
thought we'd never leave, everyone moved at once, and we
were off. We knew better than to push, because it only
makes it slower.
The roads were pretty good, all the way to Sahr. Our final
destination was a town a bit northwest of Sahr. Sahr is
right in the heart of the Muslim area. We saw many MANY
Chadians that looked like they were a bit of Arab descent,
riding around on horses with long robes and turbans, with
swords at their side or bows and arrows. Very surreal and
menancing.
It wasn't bad driving once you got off the road...but the
actual road was horrific. The road was paved once, many
many years ago, and a bad job at that. So it was more
potholes than road. Literally. Smooth dirt with foot high
islands of pavement. But the dirt road was on the side, so
that was ok. But by the time we got there, it was dark. And
driving at night is VERY dangerous in Chad. VERY DANGEROUS.
Not all of the cars, trucks, motos, or ox drawn carts have
headlights...the goat and cattle herds like to sleep on the
road at night...it's very dangerous. But we had no choice.
Because of the darkness, Christoph had a hard time missing
the potholes.
When we got there, we had to sit around and talk. About
10pm they finally started to plan where we were going to
show the films. After that we had supper.
Supper was Boul with fish. Because we were along the river,
we had fish at every meal, except one. I got real used to
fish, and I learned to eat the whole thing. WHOLE
thing...eyes to tail. Lets just say that some parts taste
better than others. It makes sense why in America we leave
certain parts out. And you wouldn't believe how much meat
there is on the head. I got good at eating heads, because
being the honored foreigners, they gave us the best parts.
I started to really appreciate eating in the dark. There is
something to be said for not being able to see what you are
eating.
The first night, we showed the Jesus film across the river. Now
they wanted us to take the truck across the river.
Thankfully we didn't. If we had tried to cross the river we
would have been swimming. But we couldn't even get to the
river anyway. We got about a hundred yards away until we
started to sink to the axles in sand.
We carried all the gear to the river, climbed in the dugout
canoes, and we were off. I didn't get any video, because I
was scared that my camera would get wet. We all got across
safely, and then showed the film that night.
We continued to just show the film every night and rest during
the day. There were beautiful rock mountains, so I'd climb
up there and do devotions in the mornings...so beautiful.
But after 4 days, I was starting to get tired of resting.
To an American, we wasted a lot of time during the day. But
in Chad, it was not a waste...we were resting! And that is
not a waste of time...it is something that needs to be
done.
The heat in Africa is much more dangerous than Asia. It's a
very dry heat, so you don't feel like you are sweating. And
the wind feels cool, but the cool feeling is your sweat
evaporating. So it is very easy to get dehydrated.
Overall, it was a very good trip! God really blessed
it...thanks to your prayers!
I put up some pictures
from the trip - enjoy!
Thanks again for praying!
--Josh
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Heading off on another Jesus Film Outreach!
Well, if all goes as planned, tomorrow I am going to be going on an outreach to Sahr.
Sahr is about 8-9 hours away...but we are planning on a whole day's drive to get there. We will not be working in Sahr, but in the surrounding area.
A local Church and a group from the EET in N'djamena is going to be coming with us and doing outreach during the day, and then we show the Jesus Film at night. We are probably going to show it in Chadian Arabic, which is different from the Arabic they speak in the Middle East. I am going to be assisting in setting up the film equipment, upkeep of the Unimog, and hopefully I'll be able to do much more photography and videography! Originally we had planned on 5 of us going, but one of the other guys just came down with malaria.
This outreach is a great opportunity, so we know that Satan is going to do everything he can to stop it.
Pray for:
Everyone who is going to view the film
That the equipment work properly
Safety along the road and in the villages
Health for all those going on the outreach
That God would go before us and follow after us, opening doors to spread HIS Gospel!
It will be a week long outreach, so when I get back, I should have many stories and hopefully more than a few pictures!
Thanks for praying!
--Josh Hedstrom
Sahr is about 8-9 hours away...but we are planning on a whole day's drive to get there. We will not be working in Sahr, but in the surrounding area.
A local Church and a group from the EET in N'djamena is going to be coming with us and doing outreach during the day, and then we show the Jesus Film at night. We are probably going to show it in Chadian Arabic, which is different from the Arabic they speak in the Middle East. I am going to be assisting in setting up the film equipment, upkeep of the Unimog, and hopefully I'll be able to do much more photography and videography! Originally we had planned on 5 of us going, but one of the other guys just came down with malaria.
This outreach is a great opportunity, so we know that Satan is going to do everything he can to stop it.
Pray for:
Everyone who is going to view the film
That the equipment work properly
Safety along the road and in the villages
Health for all those going on the outreach
That God would go before us and follow after us, opening doors to spread HIS Gospel!
It will be a week long outreach, so when I get back, I should have many stories and hopefully more than a few pictures!
Thanks for praying!
--Josh Hedstrom
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Jesus Film Outreach
Well, it's been an eventful past few days, which is why I haven't updated recently.
In a rather complicated turn of affairs, I was selected to go on an Outreach to show the Jesus Film in the local villages. I was given a crash course in how to set up the equipment, in a mix of German, French and English, and then we were off, Friday morning! A team from France just arrived for two weeks, so to say the least, our communication issues have just gone through the roof!
The day that we left the morning devotion was on God's strength shining through our weakness. And coincidentally that was the day I started feeling quite sick.
We started out with a 2 hour drive on pavement, so that was fine. 17 people total, 15 in the back, luggage, and two sets of Jesus Film equipment. We arrived at the main place in time for supper, but instead of eating, Kurt and I and one of the French pastors went to start setting up the film. The first set of equipment was owned by the EET, Evangelical Church of Chad, and they showed their film at the main place, and then we took ours about 5 minutes down a dirt road, and we showed ours there, to about 200-300 people. It went very well, except God would only give me energy when I was setting up or taking down. I felt absolutely fine when I was doing something, but the moment I had a break I started to feel lightheaded and had stomach problems.
Two hours later (I had no idea the Jesus film was that long) it was finished. The pastor had us pause the film after Jesus said 'It is finished' and he preached for a while. And then we continued the film, packed up (with Chadian kids crowding around us...less than a foot away), and we started back. And I was so glad, because I was very tired, and starting to get quite lightheaded. And I was starving, and had drank all my water. It was 9 pm, and I was ready to call it a day. And then we got there the national team was having troubles, because their equipment is still reel to reel. There was some problem with the generator, so the generator stayed on low speed, and they said you could see each frame of the video it was so slow!
Kurt told me we needed to set up, and I groaned and got up. But suddenly I was filled with energy and completely healed from my lightheadedness. I lifted all the equipment with no problem whatsoever, ran around like a madman setting it up, and that was that. As soon as it was set up and running, they served us supper. It was rice and some sort of oily meat sauce. The rice was good, once you got past all the sand in it. Crunch Crunch.
And when the movie finished, I was filled with energy again and got it all packed up, set up my mosquito tent, and was out before I hit the non-existent pillow.
Evidently in Chad the time to get up is 4 am, before its even light. I kinda came to about then, and people were walking around and singing (and when Chadians sing, they don't hold back...AT ALL) and dancing, and shouting 'Bonjour!'...it was chaos. I laid in bed another 20-30 minutes, and then rolled out and packed up my tent and mat, and I was the first one up on our team. But I'm glad I didn't wait, because I don't like getting ready in the morning with 200 people watching and laughing.
I can't remember what they called breakfast. It was basically rice mashed up with a bit of water, honey and sugar, and of course, sand. You drink it like a milkshake...runny, but chunky. And gritty. They make all their food in huge cauldrons over an open fire, so you get plenty of sand and dirt. But I'm sure its all clean sand and dirt. It really wasn't too bad...really good when you are hungry!
Kurt and I essentially rested and stayed with the Unimog all day, while the French team and all the Chadian team from the EET (there were about 100 of them) did house to house evangelism. At one point, the President of the Moundou Annex (basically the District President for the denomination) decided he wanted to travel to where we were going to show the film that night. We found out later that the Moundou Annex had been assigned this part of Chad, the very southeast corner (like 5 kilometers from Cameroon) since there are very few churches. I rested in the truck most of the time. I laid on the wooden bench and stared at the tarp ceiling. I got very VERY familiar with those wooden benches...they are actually really comfortable when you get used to them. Just don't sleep on your side, or when you get up all your joints are out of order.
That was the first thing I learned about Chad...the art of waiting, and being able to go to sleep in any position in any situation. Because when it is this hot and humid, if you work for 8 hours, you'll never live. So you have to get a bad American work ethic...work slowly, and take many breaks, so that you survive. So I didn't waste the time that we were waiting...I rested, which is not wasting time.
We eventually made our way back to the main village, and had lunch. Lunch was the famous 'Boul'. Now Boul is a local dish, and the substance dish. They take maize and mash it to a pulp, add water, cook it in the cauldron for a while, and serve it with sauce. There is no equivalent in the US. Its a white (sandy) spongy dough without too much flavor. But everything is good to a man that is hungry.
Finally we went to set up the film. We went back and made the hour long drive through very rough roads to go 20 kilometers, just as we had before. We were driving an Unimog, the German Mercedes Benz equivilent of the M35 Deuce and a half army truck. Absolutely amazing and unstoppable. If you want better, you need a tank. There is absolutely nowhere that Unimog can't go. Incredible vehicle...so much fun. Kurt used to drive one in the German army, and then he drove one for years in Congo and Kenya as a missionary, so he is very familiar with them. Which is good, because the road was a real killer!
Anyways, we got there, set up, and showed the film to about 300 people. Same thing as before...I had no energy until I had to do something, and God gave me strength, and I was fine, and then when I had a break, I was completely overcome with weariness and was fighting just to keep my head upright. But we serve an AMAZING God, who gives us strength when we need it!
We packed up, and went back. We picked up the other film team, and their equipment worked fine this time (go figure, since the guy that they sent to Moundou to get the spare part...something happened and they didn't get the part), and we went back to the main place. There we were greeted by 600 Chadians shouting and singing and dancing. I had no idea what was going on. We found out that these people had walked from kilometers away to get here, and were promised that we would show them the movie about Jesus. It was a huge opportunity, but I just groaned. I was exhausted beyond exhausted, and could barely keep my head up at this point...and I hadn't eaten in 8 or 9 hours. But God gave me strength, and both of the teams set up, one at each end of the clearing, the pastor prayed, and we started it.
Now this night (which was last night for me) we were showing it to a tribe that is the biggest tribe in Chad, and also the tribe that is bringing Islam into the country in force. So I couldn't take any pictures, and we showed them the 'extended version', a 3 hour one that gave the whole creation and Abraham story, and all the prophecies leading up to Jesus.
The film finished, and we got it all packed up, and I finally hit the sack at 1:30 am. We never got supper. Well, the next morning, all the Chadians got up at 4 am, but I was so tired, I slept until 5:30. And so, we missed breakfast, because OBVIOUSLY breakfast is served at 4:30 am...when else would you have it on a Sunday morning? We foreigners, will we never learn?
So today was kinda a rough day for me. Church started about 7 am, and we transported one group of people. The Chadian Christians from the EET spread themselves out throughout the villages, and had church services. Instead of going to the church, I just laid in the truck and listened. I didn't sleep, because I was feeling rather miserable. Oh, and did I mention that we had skipped the previous two meals?
After Church had ended (its about a 2.5 hour service) we went back, bought some bread and peanuts at the market about noon, and then afterwards had some Boul.
Eventually, we were asked to go pick up some of the Chadian pastors who had been scattered along the villages. These pastors weren't ready to leave when the other truck left, and so they were walking. Kurt and I drove off, and picked up 32...which is a lot when you think you're only picking up 8. I wasn't sure what made the truck bounce more...the road, or the 32 Chadians singing and dancing and jumping up and down in unison. To say we were packed like sardines is an understatement. Thank God we had the Unimog!
It was an amazing experience, and evidently we are going to do another shorter outreach later this week. I can't wait.
Hopefully I will get pictures on that trip and be able to post them for you!
A few prayer requests:
-I'm still sick, so pray that I get better.
-That God would work in the hearts of all those who saw the Jesus films.
-That God would work through all the communication issues with the diversity of languages on the team right now.
And Thank God for giving me strength to do what I needed to do! All the Glory goes to God for the whole trip!
--Josh
In a rather complicated turn of affairs, I was selected to go on an Outreach to show the Jesus Film in the local villages. I was given a crash course in how to set up the equipment, in a mix of German, French and English, and then we were off, Friday morning! A team from France just arrived for two weeks, so to say the least, our communication issues have just gone through the roof!
The day that we left the morning devotion was on God's strength shining through our weakness. And coincidentally that was the day I started feeling quite sick.
We started out with a 2 hour drive on pavement, so that was fine. 17 people total, 15 in the back, luggage, and two sets of Jesus Film equipment. We arrived at the main place in time for supper, but instead of eating, Kurt and I and one of the French pastors went to start setting up the film. The first set of equipment was owned by the EET, Evangelical Church of Chad, and they showed their film at the main place, and then we took ours about 5 minutes down a dirt road, and we showed ours there, to about 200-300 people. It went very well, except God would only give me energy when I was setting up or taking down. I felt absolutely fine when I was doing something, but the moment I had a break I started to feel lightheaded and had stomach problems.
Two hours later (I had no idea the Jesus film was that long) it was finished. The pastor had us pause the film after Jesus said 'It is finished' and he preached for a while. And then we continued the film, packed up (with Chadian kids crowding around us...less than a foot away), and we started back. And I was so glad, because I was very tired, and starting to get quite lightheaded. And I was starving, and had drank all my water. It was 9 pm, and I was ready to call it a day. And then we got there the national team was having troubles, because their equipment is still reel to reel. There was some problem with the generator, so the generator stayed on low speed, and they said you could see each frame of the video it was so slow!
Kurt told me we needed to set up, and I groaned and got up. But suddenly I was filled with energy and completely healed from my lightheadedness. I lifted all the equipment with no problem whatsoever, ran around like a madman setting it up, and that was that. As soon as it was set up and running, they served us supper. It was rice and some sort of oily meat sauce. The rice was good, once you got past all the sand in it. Crunch Crunch.
And when the movie finished, I was filled with energy again and got it all packed up, set up my mosquito tent, and was out before I hit the non-existent pillow.
Evidently in Chad the time to get up is 4 am, before its even light. I kinda came to about then, and people were walking around and singing (and when Chadians sing, they don't hold back...AT ALL) and dancing, and shouting 'Bonjour!'...it was chaos. I laid in bed another 20-30 minutes, and then rolled out and packed up my tent and mat, and I was the first one up on our team. But I'm glad I didn't wait, because I don't like getting ready in the morning with 200 people watching and laughing.
I can't remember what they called breakfast. It was basically rice mashed up with a bit of water, honey and sugar, and of course, sand. You drink it like a milkshake...runny, but chunky. And gritty. They make all their food in huge cauldrons over an open fire, so you get plenty of sand and dirt. But I'm sure its all clean sand and dirt. It really wasn't too bad...really good when you are hungry!
Kurt and I essentially rested and stayed with the Unimog all day, while the French team and all the Chadian team from the EET (there were about 100 of them) did house to house evangelism. At one point, the President of the Moundou Annex (basically the District President for the denomination) decided he wanted to travel to where we were going to show the film that night. We found out later that the Moundou Annex had been assigned this part of Chad, the very southeast corner (like 5 kilometers from Cameroon) since there are very few churches. I rested in the truck most of the time. I laid on the wooden bench and stared at the tarp ceiling. I got very VERY familiar with those wooden benches...they are actually really comfortable when you get used to them. Just don't sleep on your side, or when you get up all your joints are out of order.
That was the first thing I learned about Chad...the art of waiting, and being able to go to sleep in any position in any situation. Because when it is this hot and humid, if you work for 8 hours, you'll never live. So you have to get a bad American work ethic...work slowly, and take many breaks, so that you survive. So I didn't waste the time that we were waiting...I rested, which is not wasting time.
We eventually made our way back to the main village, and had lunch. Lunch was the famous 'Boul'. Now Boul is a local dish, and the substance dish. They take maize and mash it to a pulp, add water, cook it in the cauldron for a while, and serve it with sauce. There is no equivalent in the US. Its a white (sandy) spongy dough without too much flavor. But everything is good to a man that is hungry.
Finally we went to set up the film. We went back and made the hour long drive through very rough roads to go 20 kilometers, just as we had before. We were driving an Unimog, the German Mercedes Benz equivilent of the M35 Deuce and a half army truck. Absolutely amazing and unstoppable. If you want better, you need a tank. There is absolutely nowhere that Unimog can't go. Incredible vehicle...so much fun. Kurt used to drive one in the German army, and then he drove one for years in Congo and Kenya as a missionary, so he is very familiar with them. Which is good, because the road was a real killer!
Anyways, we got there, set up, and showed the film to about 300 people. Same thing as before...I had no energy until I had to do something, and God gave me strength, and I was fine, and then when I had a break, I was completely overcome with weariness and was fighting just to keep my head upright. But we serve an AMAZING God, who gives us strength when we need it!
We packed up, and went back. We picked up the other film team, and their equipment worked fine this time (go figure, since the guy that they sent to Moundou to get the spare part...something happened and they didn't get the part), and we went back to the main place. There we were greeted by 600 Chadians shouting and singing and dancing. I had no idea what was going on. We found out that these people had walked from kilometers away to get here, and were promised that we would show them the movie about Jesus. It was a huge opportunity, but I just groaned. I was exhausted beyond exhausted, and could barely keep my head up at this point...and I hadn't eaten in 8 or 9 hours. But God gave me strength, and both of the teams set up, one at each end of the clearing, the pastor prayed, and we started it.
Now this night (which was last night for me) we were showing it to a tribe that is the biggest tribe in Chad, and also the tribe that is bringing Islam into the country in force. So I couldn't take any pictures, and we showed them the 'extended version', a 3 hour one that gave the whole creation and Abraham story, and all the prophecies leading up to Jesus.
The film finished, and we got it all packed up, and I finally hit the sack at 1:30 am. We never got supper. Well, the next morning, all the Chadians got up at 4 am, but I was so tired, I slept until 5:30. And so, we missed breakfast, because OBVIOUSLY breakfast is served at 4:30 am...when else would you have it on a Sunday morning? We foreigners, will we never learn?
So today was kinda a rough day for me. Church started about 7 am, and we transported one group of people. The Chadian Christians from the EET spread themselves out throughout the villages, and had church services. Instead of going to the church, I just laid in the truck and listened. I didn't sleep, because I was feeling rather miserable. Oh, and did I mention that we had skipped the previous two meals?
After Church had ended (its about a 2.5 hour service) we went back, bought some bread and peanuts at the market about noon, and then afterwards had some Boul.
Eventually, we were asked to go pick up some of the Chadian pastors who had been scattered along the villages. These pastors weren't ready to leave when the other truck left, and so they were walking. Kurt and I drove off, and picked up 32...which is a lot when you think you're only picking up 8. I wasn't sure what made the truck bounce more...the road, or the 32 Chadians singing and dancing and jumping up and down in unison. To say we were packed like sardines is an understatement. Thank God we had the Unimog!
It was an amazing experience, and evidently we are going to do another shorter outreach later this week. I can't wait.
Hopefully I will get pictures on that trip and be able to post them for you!
A few prayer requests:
-I'm still sick, so pray that I get better.
-That God would work in the hearts of all those who saw the Jesus films.
-That God would work through all the communication issues with the diversity of languages on the team right now.
And Thank God for giving me strength to do what I needed to do! All the Glory goes to God for the whole trip!
--Josh
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A few photos from Chad
Below: Driving to Moundou, followed by some flowers.
Below is the main mission house of the Diguna (German) Team.
A mango still hanging from the tree. Anytime the wind blows they fall to the ground; they taste great!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Local Happenings and Church
Now just a little bit about the infastructure here in Moundou. Moundou is the second largest city in Chad, with probably over 100,000 in all the suburbs. We are in one suburb, Koutou. Moundou has a total of 18 cheiftains and one mayor. This cheiftain was really a sub sub sub cheiftain; pretty far down the line of power.
I wasn't even going to bring my camera, since I would probably need to get a license to film such a public event. I can film in the mission and church context without too much trouble, but its when I got out in public that I run the risk of getting into trouble and having my equipement confiscated. But right before I was going to go over, I talked to Paul, one of the missionaries who has been here a while, and he said I might bring my camera, but I should ask him before taking any pictures. I prayed real hard that I wouldn't get into trouble, and then I made my way over to the event. When I got there, Paul motioned for me to come forward, and he talked to the Vice President of the Ceremony, and the VP said it would be fine, but that he wanted an electronic copy of the pictures, which was fine by me.
I talked with Paul and little bit, and he told me to "take some pictures confidently, but don't be too obvious and limit it to group shots, and don't do anything dumb". So I went and sat in the back row, and tried to look confident, meanwhile practicing my french phrase of the day, 'Je suis autorise', which means 'I am authorized'.
Officials continued to arrive, and finally the ceremony and procession started. The procession started off with people dressed in traditional ceremonial clothes, and there was music and dancing, people waving spears and shields...all rather exciting. I looked at Paul, and he nodded at me, so I lifted my camera and took a few quick, confident pictures.
Then the VP motioned rather obviously for me to come forward. Naturally I was terrified, but what else was I going to do? So I made my way around the dancing warriors, and Paul came over too. The synopis was that I should take many pictures, and get as close as I wanted, and get right in with the action.
Well, when the Vice President of Ceremonies tells you to take pictures, you take pictures! So I was terrified. Now I was the offical photographer, and I didn't even know the local customs. How close could I get? Who do I take pictures of, who do I not?
So I tried best to look confident and offical, and took lots of pictures and video. Then when the actual ceremeony got underway, I spotted another Chadian photographer. So I followed him around, took pictures of what he took pictures of, making sure that he got the best angles and shots.
All in all, it was a wild and crazy experience; a once in a lifetime opportunity to get in close on a local cultural event! I praise God that He orchestrated that for me!
That was yesterday, Saturday. This morning we went to church, and that was a good experience.
The church is about 45ft long, and about 15ft wide, a baked brick building with a thatched roof. There were probably over 80 people in there. We sat on stone and concrete benches. The whole event takes over a few hours, starting about 8am, but you can come and go as you please. So we arrived about 9am, and the church takes a break about 10:30. That is when we headed home, even though the service would continue for a few hours after that.
The whole service was in French, so I didn't understand most of it, but I recognized some of the songs, One was 'Stand up, Stand up for Jesus', but it sounded a little strange, since this culture has a 5 note scale, instead of the Western 8 note scale. But I recognized it and sang along what I knew in English!
At one point, they had 9 little children come forward, and one adult. I asked one of the missionaries what was going on, and he said that the 9 little children had recently commited their lives to Jesus, and the adult had recently come back to the faith. They read from Romans 10:9-11
'If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”'
The pastors laid hands on them, and prayed for them, and tears welled up in my eyes, as I could almost hear the heavens rejoicing that one had returned to the flock, and 9 little lambs were added!
It has been an exciting weekend so far! Tonight we will all go to the home of one of the missionaries, and we will have a church service in English. We sing a few songs, and listen to a recorded sermon of a preacher downloaded from the internet.
A few Prayer Requests:
-That God would strengthen the faith of those who gave their lives to the Lord
-That God would continue to keep me healthy, and would heal those on the team that are still a bit sick
-That I would continue to learn the languages
-That God would strengthen our team, through the language and cultural barriers
Thanks for praying! Your prayers really do make a difference for what is going on here...we here can feel when you are praying!
--Josh
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
April 10th
Here in Moundou we are nearing the end of the dry season, and so today it rained a little bit., enough to cool the air a little bit.
I am starting to work on video and photo projects. My first video is going to be for Diguna, the German mission, that they will be able to present at their next mission conference.
In addition, I will be doing two informational videos for TEAM, one on the print shop, and one for a missionary couple.
My biggest problem right now is the technology...getting a computer that I can edit on! With the slower internet, getting a program downloaded is a bit of an issue. I've been trying to use a little laptop, but its not fast enough to play the raw footage!
I am just about over jetlag now, so I'm finally getting a full nights sleep!
I am basically healthy right now, but that could change! I am the only one on the team that has not had malaria yet, and one of the german girls is sick with it right now.
Prayer Requests-
-That God would bring together all the neccesary technology for editing videos
-That I would continue to stay healthy
-That I would continue to pick up French
-That relationships within the team would continue to strengthen
-That God would heal Rebekka, the german girl with Malaria
Thanks for praying, and I'm gonna keep trying to get pictures up!
I am starting to work on video and photo projects. My first video is going to be for Diguna, the German mission, that they will be able to present at their next mission conference.
In addition, I will be doing two informational videos for TEAM, one on the print shop, and one for a missionary couple.
My biggest problem right now is the technology...getting a computer that I can edit on! With the slower internet, getting a program downloaded is a bit of an issue. I've been trying to use a little laptop, but its not fast enough to play the raw footage!
I am just about over jetlag now, so I'm finally getting a full nights sleep!
I am basically healthy right now, but that could change! I am the only one on the team that has not had malaria yet, and one of the german girls is sick with it right now.
Prayer Requests-
-That God would bring together all the neccesary technology for editing videos
-That I would continue to stay healthy
-That I would continue to pick up French
-That relationships within the team would continue to strengthen
-That God would heal Rebekka, the german girl with Malaria
Thanks for praying, and I'm gonna keep trying to get pictures up!
Saturday, April 6, 2013
April 4th- in Moundou, Chad
Well, I am here in the south, in the city of Moundou! It was quite
the trek down here, approx. 8 hours of very very rough roads. but I'm
glad to be done traveling for a while!
I am staying with the Diguna Team, a team of 7 Germans and 1 French
girl, so needless to say, the dinner conversations vary in language
constantly! There are some Americans nearby, so if I want to hear
fluent English I can go talk to them.
It is really hot here! During the day, it reaches 120 in the sun, and
at night, it cools down to 85, and we sleep outside since its cooler.
I am getting used to sweating constantly, even when I'm sleeping!
As for activities, so far I've done some repairs on some of the
buildings, and helped work on building a radio tower. They have put my
wood-working experience to use in various projects.
Because of the heat, we take a nap from 1pm-3pm, during the hottest
part of the day. And i'ts not just us foreigners...literally the whole
town shuts down, and everyone takes a nap!
A few specific prayer requests...language is a pretty huge barrier.
Pray that God helps me learn French quickly, so we will be able to
work better as a team.
Also pray that I stay healthy, and continue to recover from jetlag
Finally, please pray for the Chadian churches in the area, as they work to reach
their community around them!
God bless you all, and thanks so much for praying!
--Josh
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
I'm here!
I have safely arrived in N'djamena, the Capital of Chad. After 34 hours of traveling, I'm glad to be here! The trip went smoothly up until Immigration and Customs in Chad. Its a real puzzle trying to read French directions when you don't speak it! I was carrying in my bag 9lbs of oil filters for the missionaries here, and for a while I wasn't sure I was going to make it through Customs!
They grabbed it, looked at it, asked me questions in French (to which I shrugged and said, ‘oil filters´) asked me for my passport, and I gave it to them, they returned it, then they asked for it again. I was starting to believe I would NEVER make it out of the airport, when this Chadian National came in pulling this American woman, and they started talking in Arabic. She grabbed my bag and passport, and we were off! Turns out she works for another mission there. And as for the Chadian Customs Officials...when a nice young American woman speaking fluent Arabic asks you what the problem is, you quickly solve the problem!
Tomorrow we leave for Moundou, and I'll try to update you again, with pictures if the internet allows!
Thanks for praying for me!
--Josh
Saturday, March 30, 2013
God is Good!
Only a few more days until I head out! (April 1st is my departure date.) And I am completely AMAZED at the goodness of God. He has confirmed and reconfirmed that this is His mission trip that I get to be a part of!
All the finances have been completely taken care of, thanks to many generous donors! God has completely overwhelmed me with financial, moral, and prayer support from His children.
A few Prayer Requests-
-Safe travels and no delayed flights
-That God would keep me healthy
-That the Love of God would shine through me
-Quick adjustments to time and culture changes
-That I would remain steadfast in His Word, and that I'd seek His direction in all things
-And most of all, that God would be Glorified in absolutely every aspect of this journey!
Thank you all for praying! I will try to update as often as possible, as the technology allows, and I will post pictures if I'm able.
Don't hesitate to contact me! (Go to my profile and click on 'email'.)
--Josh
All the finances have been completely taken care of, thanks to many generous donors! God has completely overwhelmed me with financial, moral, and prayer support from His children.
A few Prayer Requests-
-Safe travels and no delayed flights
-That God would keep me healthy
-That the Love of God would shine through me
-Quick adjustments to time and culture changes
-That I would remain steadfast in His Word, and that I'd seek His direction in all things
-And most of all, that God would be Glorified in absolutely every aspect of this journey!
Thank you all for praying! I will try to update as often as possible, as the technology allows, and I will post pictures if I'm able.
Don't hesitate to contact me! (Go to my profile and click on 'email'.)
--Josh
Sunday, March 3, 2013
A Few Things
A few updates since my last post...I got my 'official' job description, and I also got my financial account set up.
Here is a description of my assignment, as given by the missionaries I under whom I will serve:
"Josh will spend the first 7 weeks or so (April 3rd to about May 20th) working in connection to a German mission partner called DIGUNA. DIGUNA is based on our TEAM Koutou station in southern Chad and works alongside of TEAM and other missions within the network of missions serving with the Evangelical Church of Chad. DIGUNA specializes in bringing in teams of young people as a discipling/mentoring type of ministry and uses their teams to help the national church with youth outreach, evangelism, radio, music and any other opportunities they find with which they can help and encourage the national churches to grow and thrive. Josh's time with DIGUNA will be fully integrated with their current team of young people participating in team life and whatever activities and outreaches they have planned for the period of time that he is there. They will be doing a youth camp when he first arrives. Josh will also have contact and interaction with our own TEAM people there at Koutou station as well."
When the Downings return from HA (home assignment), he will join them in NDJ (the capital of Chad, N'Djamena) and travel to a village in the northern part of Chad with them (also called the Swamp.)
"While Josh is with us in the Swamp he will be helping us get our place set up again after a 10 month HA (this could include some solar power rewiring and rebuilding a refrigerator for our home). Also some trips into the bush to do follow up visits on wells we have drilled. Some hands on maintenance of hand pumps is likely and seeing how we interact with the village communities. If he's up to it we could get him into the private Christian school as a teacher's aide teaching English. This would be helping students practice speaking who have studied English for a couple years in the school. He wouldn't have to deal with classroom management as he would be working under a national teacher. It's possible there will be some home construction projects going on at our teammate's house that he could help with and supervise details. We'd also like to have Josh use his musical abilities and possibly teach some of the 12 MK's that are there in the Swamp. Regular daily life and visiting friends and contacts will consume much of this time as well as we will just be getting back. Exposure to market, peoples' homes and how we go about visiting people so the name of J may be known is all a part of it."
I am raising approximately $2,400 to pay for my expenses while I am in Chad (mainly food and transportation), and for the cost of the visa, etc. If you would like to donate online, you can do so at www.team.org Just click on the GIVE link, and then Give Now, and then the big box on the left that says give to TEAM, and then you can search for my name. (Hedstrom, Josh) Just follow the prompts from there. Other options for giving are below:
To Give by Mail
Please make your check payable to TEAM or The Evangelical Alliance Mission and mail to:
TEAM Stewardship Department
PO Box 969
Wheaton, IL 60187-0969
Please include a note stating the name of the missionary and the amount you are giving.
To Give by Phone
PO Box 969
Wheaton, IL 60187-0969
Please include a note stating the name of the missionary and the amount you are giving.
To Give by Phone
To make a credit card contribution by phone, please call TEAM's Stewardship Department toll free at (800) 343-3144
Office hours: 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. (Central Time).
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Some Information
Here is a video with some info on the trip.
Please comment with any questions, and I will try to answer them in either another video or another post!
Thanks!
--Josh
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! As you can see, I am going to be going to Chad for 3 months, flying out April 1st!
Hopefully, I'll be putting up a video soon that will explain way more.
I don't know what the internet connection will be in Chad, but hopefully I'll be able to update periodically.
Please subscribe, and I will let you know about prayer requests!
Josh Hedstrom
Hopefully, I'll be putting up a video soon that will explain way more.
I don't know what the internet connection will be in Chad, but hopefully I'll be able to update periodically.
Please subscribe, and I will let you know about prayer requests!
Josh Hedstrom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)