Jan 14 Containers arrived Jan 6

The containers have arrived on Jan 6 except one of the containers with construction materials is still in Cameroon. Supposedly it is on the way now and will be here by end of this week but we have heard that before. Apparrently someone took the payment and disappeared that was supposed to be for the truck fuel etc. It is difficult to do business when it seems almost everyone is corrupt. If your skin is white it means that you have unlimited money although they extort from blacks also.
Our container also arrived here Sun Jan 6 and was unloaded from the truck with some big equipment from the cotton company. The other containers were offloaded then also. The boxes etc. in our container were unloaded in Moundou the container lifted onto a truck by 80 men then the boxes thrown back into the container and then the truck driven here. It would cost another $1800 to get the crane to lift it onto the truck so lots of man power cheaper. So far we have not found much if any damage in spite of the way it was thrown in. Maybe we had the boxes packed pretty well. The glass jars we have not gotten to yet. We won’t unload most items until we have a house to put them in. We did unload our comfortable couch and chair and desk and a folding table and a few other boxes. A case of corn chips was so stale that they are not edible. So far the nuts and grain that was sealed in plastic buckets seem very fresh and ok. No worms. A few small items that had been opened and put in at the last minute such as oats, spice, etc were not good. It has been a year since it was packed. It gets extremely hot inside the container when it is sitting in the hot sun.
Construction is moving along. Our house has been framed outside walls and a roof on it. The maternity, surgery, and private wards have been framed and roofed. There is still a lot more to be done. We desperately need some plumbers and electricians . There is enough work to keep them busy for quite a while. All the construction is steel so no termites can eat it down. We need painters and general fix er uppers to refurbish some of the older buildings. Mission work is not just for preachers and medical people but for lots of others as well. There are some Maranatha volunteers coming in 3 days for 2 weeks to do some of things that need to be done.
Business is picking up for the hospital as well. The next 3 or 4 months are our busiest time of the year. People have more money now after harvest and travel is easier so they can get their elective surgeries done. We had 10 procedures today. One was hysterectomy for probable endometrial carcinoma. One was a mass that perhaps was an old walled off ectopic pregnancy or endometrial cyst. We had several hernias and hydroceles, lipoma, etc. It is certainly nice to have Danae and Olen back but it is only about 4 months until we will take our annual leave in May and June.
Our emails drbland@sbcblobal.net and dfbland@gmail.com
Love, Rollin and Dolores

Jan 1, 2013 Danger?

Wow, it does not seem we have been here Bere, Chad, Africa for almost a year.  We are still deficient in French but have weathered 2 months of being the only doctor here.  Olen, Danae, Lyol, and Zane are back arriving  here the end of last week.  We are so glad.  Hope to get an end of year letter done and sent soon.  
This month is the crescendo of our big hospital construction project.  People are starting to come in as volunteers to do various things of the project.  Large amounts of concrete have been poured already for various buildings so that when the containers arrive with the rest of the materials hopefully by the end of this week at latest word.  They are moving now but one truck had a break down on the “great roads” but supposedly they are moving again and maybe cross the border into Chad tonight or tomorrow.  The last 25 miles to here would be expected to take at least 4 hours but there is really good highway with pavement the previous 70 miles.  I don’t know what it is like coming up through Cameroon from the port at the coast.  
New  Years day is a big deal here with drums all night.  We had a group serenade us at 0630 with drums, dancing, “singing” and “bonne annie” whereas Christmas was just another day.except no scheduled surgeries. 
Contrary to what is said to be in the news, Chad IS NOT the same as Central African Republic.  Americans are not being evacuated from Chad.  In fact more are coming in.  Yes there is an uprising in CAR with rebels heading toward the capital, Bangui but that is to the south of us.  Besides even if there was something here in Chad, we are so isolated that probably no one could find us.    No, we are not in any danger.  But we do appreciate everyone’s prayers and concerns and emails.Our emails are  drbland@sbcglobal.net  and  dfbland@gmail.com  
Love,  Rollin and Dolores