France to Chad

So much for "working backwards over the next few days"...I hope no one's been waiting with bated breath, since I sure didn't follow up on the promise. But, now my newsletter is mostly written, so I guess I can focus on updating this blog with a few pictures and stories.

We left Chambery April 1st. We had 3 trains to Paris (the economy route)...and about 3 minutes after our train pulls out of Chambery, Kirsten starts reviewing all the important documents we should have with us. Passport, plane tickets, yellow immunization booklet. All of a sudden I gave a blank stare. How could I have forgotten? Surely it made it in. Surely, I, who had made the packing list for everyone else, had not forgotten my immunization booklet with the "required" proof of vaccination against yellow fever! But, alas, such was the case. I had forgotten it. No one believed me, but this was no April Fool's joke. What were we going to do? I could see it in the drawer in my desk, where I kept it for safe-keeping. What we did next I can't write so as not to incriminate anyone (now we're all incriminated, aren't we?!), but suffice it to say that the Lord prooved Himself to be sovereign over all in that the public health inspector at the airport in N'Djamena apparently was on his break when our plane arrived, and he began he inspection with the girl in line behind me, moving backwards, and so I never had to show anything!

Our travels that day were mostly uneventful...except of course that someone almost left their passport at the security checkpoint. And then there were the 2 that got stopped by security. One had the gift for the Sultan...a jar of honey is considered a liquid for those of you who wouldn't have thought of that. The other had 2 epi pens in their carry-on. Half an hour of arguing later and finally a gate agent came up to sign a sheet that said it was safe to carry it on.

At long last we arrived in N'Djamena...a few changes have a occurred since the last time. Now there are shuttle buses that take you from the airplane to the airport building (about 200 yards away), and the arrival hall, which used to be a hot, stuffy room with one sketchy fan swaying from the ceiling, is now freshly painted and air-conditioned! What a few years will do!

Well, I gotta get to bed...more on this journey soon, I hope. And pictures, they will come, I promise. Here's one of the airport, shuttle bus and all, just to get us started.