Day Two- Market Time

*Sorry for taking a while to update my blog. The next few blogs will be describing my first few days here. After that it will be just highlights from different things and days... -Market Time- The next day Marci and I caught up on much needed sleep. They didn't wake us up till after 12pm. We were supposed to get many things done that morning, but we slept through it all. After having a tasty brunch we headed to the main market place in N’Djamena. While driving there I noticed that there were a lot of men that were out on the sides of the roads. They would either be selling something from their station, siting around on chairs, or lying on their mats talking. In northern Chad, which is where the capital is located, the main religion is Muslim, so it is very common to see many Muslim men and women on the streets Depending on the time of day you would see the Muslim men on their mats bowing down and praying in the direction of the sun because they pray five times a day. When it is prayer time the shops owned by Muslims are shut down. What if more Christians were as dedicated and obedient as Muslims. Would the world look different than it does today??. The taxi driver Emma dropped us off at one part of the market. This market is different than other ones that I have been to, but similar in other ways. The market appeared to be divided up into different sections of what was being sold. The shops are at the center of the area, with many red dusty paths that lead to other shops. You can buy anything from fruits to house supplies there. There are an array of colors scattered throughout the market because of the different things that are being sold. One can see bright scarves hanging in some doorways, which are used to cover women heads. One can also see a variety of fruits and vegetables sitting in large basins waiting to be picked by someone. One can also hear chatter of people speaking different languages and dialects depending on where they are from and religion. For instance, the muslims speak Tchadian Arabic, people in south may speak Gumbi/Nanjara, and most of population speaks the official language French. This market was the place to buy whatever you wanted. We stopped at many shops to see which person had the best price for what we wanted, then we would try to get a cheaper price. At one shop the guy spoke English and proceeded to say that I was Kenyan. I turned and told him no that I am Jamaican and American. He then said “Obama, Obama.” I quickly laughed and told him that I was not related to him. The Obama statement would continue to be said by different people that I encountered later. After the market trip we relaxed till it was time to get the next bunch of people coming in. That night three student missionaries flew in from the U.S. They are students will take a year of school off to help with the project that I will be coordinating with Zach, Project 21. The students came from Andrews, Union, and La Sierra and their names are Shannice, Daniel, and Josh.