Construction Nearly Finished

July 18, 2022

Dear friends and family,

Huff. Puff. Slide tin aside. Shout. Spit. Shout some more. Hack. Whack. Shout some more. More whacking. Snake died. And thus ended the life of another spitting cobra. And there was another one recently that got away.

We have been very busy unpacking all the boxes that were on the container we received in mid-April, and in finishing up the printshop. Installing windows, wiring, installing insulation in the 40’ container (which is part of the printshop), and everything else that needs to be done. I also did a little teaching welding to 3 young men (apprentice welders).

Our team has been working hard on the finishing touches. We look forward to sharing some pictures after we do a little more cleanup!

We understand prices are going up everywhere for almost everything. This is also true in Chad. Diesel prices have recently doubled here and are now about 1000cfa per liter which comes out to about $1.64 per liter or about $6.56 per gallon. Diesel is a bit scarce now; well, it is just not available in many places where we used to be able to get it. Food prices are more this year in Chad, also. Crops did not do as well last year as usual which affects local food prices. We hear that paper has doubled in price in America in the past six months. Please pray that we will be able to locate affordable paper for our printshop.

Rainy season has begun. Temps are cooler – in the 80’s instead of over 100. Things have turned a refreshing green.

The local kids play soccer using balls made of an old sock stuffed with something and tied shut and shaped into a mostly round shape. Try that where you live!

In America, there are Department of Transportation crews which fill in potholes in the roads. Here, pot holes in the road are filled with brick pieces which makes for a lumpy ride!

Several have asked about the ‘angry man.’ He has not bothered us since.

Work continues on translation, editing, and development of literature. Even as we have had a focus of construction for the last year and a half, a lot has been happening behind the scenes. Many hundreds of hours have been spent by people hidden away in their rooms somewhere. I have also spent a lot of time setting up the network, setting up a file server, a print server, setting up automatic backups, and a lot of computer related activities. Soon, we plan to start printing what has been in development and is reaching completion.

Promise has worked hard overseeing and building another staff house. Thank you to those who have donated towards this project. It will be a nice little house for somebody to live in soon. We are planning on building another one once the rains taper off a bit.

Please pray for a Bible worker we are sponsoring in a remote village. Recently, he had to travel to Bere for a hernia surgery. The surgery went well. Please pray for a good recovery so that he can return to his work. We are also praying for more Bible workers who are young and strong and consecrated to the Lord.

The team at Desert Tree Ministry wants to thank you for your prayers and donations. May the Lord bless you for sharing your resources with us as we try our best to reach the people of Chad with the message of Jesus’ soon coming.

In His service,
Jonathan, Melody, Gideon, Liliana, and Eliora Dietrich