Chronicles of our Journey

Playing Tailor!

2012-02-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

Today was a BIG DAY for our Girls at the Niger “Girls at Risk” school where we work!. For weeks and months we have been prepping them to be able to work as tailors. This includes strengthening their vocabulary, teaching the value of money better, math, measuring,etc. So many things! Their year end evaluation will include a portion to see how well they have been able to learn all these things and also it will help them launch their own small businesses one day.

So we decided to have a preliminary evaluation to help us see where the girls were at and what specific areas we needed to focus on more in our teaching.

Today we had 4 volunteers come to the Centre to pretend to be clients. They would only speak French to the girls. Each girl would take a turn coming in and setting up at a desk behind her sewing machine like this was her tailor shop. The moment the “client” came in the door the evaluation would start.

Here is a group of girls practicing out in the yard while they wait nervously for their turn

Each girl would pretend to be the tailor and go through greetings, finding out what work they wanted do, picking a model, taking their measurements, negotiating a price, asking for an advance, getting their contact information and sealing the deal! It was so much fun to see their excitement and nerves and how much they practiced to be prepared for today.

Little Sahara here did not disappoint! She is in our lowest level of literacy class and yet she rocked it today! She spoke in French, wrote everything in the right place and blew us all away with how awesome she was! YAY!!

Here is Zeina taking Brenda’s measurements

Brenda and Fatima discussing which model she would like to make

Mira and Almanate deciding on their price

As the afternoon wore on it started to get hot! It is only Feb 1st (meaning barely even into a 6 month hot season) and already it was 38.9 degrees at 4 o’clock in the afternoon!! Pray for endurance and patience for us all!

And to top off an awesome day we spent some time doing some nutrition review with the girls in our health class. We introduced three balanced meal plans. We talked out sauces and each food items and the nutrition value of each one. Then we had the joy to tell them that we would be making those meals for them! Starting with two days a week until we have full funding, we are going to offer a hot lunch program until the end of the year to help them make it through the looming famine! Praise God!

What a great day!

Families

2012-01-24T13:41:00.001-07:00

In Niger we have had the joy to meet and interact with many families. Often we are quite cognisant of the differences in our lives and cultures, but sometimes we are also amazed by how alike we are, by how family, love and fun can cross cultural boundaries. It is amazing how even though our houses look different, our food tastes different and our customs are different, there are always commonalities. One of those friendships is with our friend Fatima and her family. She is one of 8 children who live on a lot just outside of town. They live in a tiny cement three bedroom row house and sleep outside most nights. They have a donkey who is hilarious. They are so welcoming and we visit often, enjoying tea, meals and much laughter. Our kids love to play with their little kids. I am thankful for families where cultural differences don’t really matter and are just the subject of interesting conversations, never the topic of anger or division.

We brought extra friends along for the evening and everyone chipped in to peel and chop veggies- even Arielle!

The kids love playing “the button game”. This simple game was made by Grandma Bev and we often take it when we visit friends.

Arielle and Oumou-Hani

Arielle loved holding baby Mouhamedoune

One thing that Tuareg’s are known for is their sense of humour and joking. If you are “family” the jokes fly and they are always laughing and mocking each other. So we decided to pull some pranks of our own. The kids have a great, realistic looking rubber lizard. We put it in all kinds of places and had fun scaring people. Here we put it in the tea box and then covered most of it with tea and gave it to Asku the team maker. He thought it was hilarious!

Asku makes some of the best tasting tea in Niger

Fatima is so beautiful – inside and out!

Mohammed and Bennett had fun catching chickens. Bennett would get close but then “chicken out” before actually grabbing one, but Mohammed could get the job done!

Fred playing light sabers with the kids

Light sabers are very popular no matter which culture the kids are from!

My sister in Niger, a precious student at our school and good friend- Fatima!

Park W for New Years!

2012-01-16T13:49:00.001-07:00

This year we took the long weekend of New Years and went down to a National Park called Park W. It is called Park W because the river does a large winding W shape right there that you can even see on Google Earth. This park straddles three countries- Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso.

Once again we stayed at the eco-lodge that is located 40 minutes inside the park on a beautiful island. This is the most beautiful, restful and awesome place we have found in Niger to date. It isn’t too far away, not too expensive, and it is one of the places where we can totally relax and unwind.

The cabins as we approach by canoe. There are 10 cabins in total.

Fred and Pat in their cabin with a view!

Sunset on the terrace. Waiting for supper and enjoying spectacular sunset views!

One day we went hiking all around the island. There are lots of Boabab trees and interesting rock formations. The kids love the exploring and chasing the small green monkeys that also live on the island! This is the view from up on the highest rock hill looking across the river. Shortly after this I slipped on a rock and badly bruised my elbow- but that is another story! Thankfully it has healed fine so far!

Paul got the the Park a few days early after he canoed down with a group of youths from Sahel Academy. Then he tented for a few days with other families while he waited for us to come. One night they went on a night safari and saw two lions! Lions are a rare thing to be able to see, so he was really lucky! This is a grainy, low-light photo but you can still see the lion!

Our safari one day brought many more animals to our camera lens in much better light. We saw many springbok type antler creatures that I forget the English name for!

Pumba’s relatives!

And also- my favourite sighting of all! The elephant has long been my favourite animal and I consider it pure joy each and every time I get to see them.

The first day we came around a corner and came face to face with this giant! We were literally only 15 feet away! Apparently the ears out and flapping is a sign that they are NOT happy with you. I was driving but Patricia grabbed the wheel while I fired off a few shots.

He raised his trunk to trumpet at us, clearly not happy now. I took the shot and hit the gas while Patricia steered us down the road another 10 meters. Awesome!!

The next day we saw two elephants grazing on trees, but at a distance this time. We sat and watched for a while and it was amazing to see them grab branches and strip them of their leaves with their trunks.

One of the best parts of this weekend was the company! We went with half of our team and we had a wonderful time. The kids and adults alike all had friends to hang out with, games to play and lots of great conversation!

Patricia giving Arielle a lift while we watched the Elephants eat.

Kristi and Arielle hiking around.

Daddy and Bennett. See these rocks? Not hard to imagine how I slipped on some leaves and crashed down! Instinct had me grab my camera and hoist it to avoid getting it hit while my other elbow crashed down. Paul was funny to say – we have health insurance but not camera insurance- good job!!

We also got to enjoy canoeing as a family for a couple hours. The kids loved it. Arielle liked to sit on the very bottom and watch everything go by while Bennett wanted to take his turn paddling and helping. It was awesome to get out and check out little inlets and laugh as a family. I love watersports so this was a real treat. Thanks Brian for lending us your canoe!

Our 9 days of vacation

2011-12-29T08:35:00.001-07:00

So how were your holidays? Ours were great and I will post about that shortly for all those of you who want to see what we are up to. Our internet is half fixed but very slow. So excuse our tardiness. Plus we are taking the holidays seriously around here and having lots of fun as a family! Paul is gone for a few days canoeing down the Niger river with friends and we will meet him at National Parc W (An animal reserve 2 hours away) for the weekend with some teammates.

I finally got our vacation photos loaded on Facebook for our France portion of the trip if you want to check them out, but i will give you the brief resume here!

After Turkey we went to spend 9 days vacation together as a family. We had originally planned 11 but cut it short a few days to save money. We have friend who lives just outside Nice, in Southern France so we headed there first and spent some wonderful time with them. We explored the city of Nice as well as their little village (called Touet-sur-Var) and a nearby village that had a great Castle in the hills above it. We got lots of exercise walking so much and we also really enjoyed times sitting around the table and fire with our friends.

These friends, Paul and Sandrine, used to work in Niger as Directors of Mercy Corps and it was great to be able to see them again. Our kids are great friends and had a blast being together again. Here are some pictures from our 5 days in the South of France with them!

The coastal city of Nice. Beautiful with very mild weather in December. Because it was low season for tourism it was not very busy and we enjoyed walking around, eating in little cafe's and exploring!

The famous flower market of Cours Saleya.

We climbed up high to an overlook and enjoyed some stunning landscapes just before sunset.

The old harbour during Blue Hour.

And of course, we enjoyed some geocaching as well. Here is Bennett “shrub diving” to find a hidden geocache. I was tempted to yell out to all the curious passerbys- AH! The bush is eating my son!”

In the end he found it!

Standing in the lower village at Touet-sur-Var. The old upper village, where our friends live, can be seen up high in the background.

As the mist rose out of the valley in the morning it was stunning and ethereal looking.

A nearby village with an old Castle up top. We walked ALLLL day way up there with the four kids.

Looking down at the city. We gained a lot of elevation!

The upper village of Touet-sur-Var early in the morning.

After our awesome time down in Nice we took the cheap train 5 hours North back to a great place just North of Paris. Maybe you have heard of it? It is called DISNEYLAND!

We were given a very generous gift by two of you dear friends to be able to get a 3 night and 4 day package at Disneyland. For all you parents out there- I highly recommend visiting here in the off-season! The park was half empty and the package prices were awesome!! So with only our food to pay for (oh yes- plus we bought toques and mittens!), we were happier than kids in Disneyland- oh wait- we WERE all kids in Disneyland!

The train ride north. It was great to see the beautiful countryside!

Bennett totally loves the train! Arielle mostly slept, but he was too excited!

The middle of the day in Disneyland’s main street. I could barely believe how empty it was! It was great to not have to face crowds!

Bennett had fun dancing and jumping and doing taekwondo in every open space, square and bridge that he could find.

Downtown Disney at night.

The kids loved the Star Wars ride.

They were also big fans of the Buzz Lightyear laser quest ride.

We were not sure how the kids would do on rollercoasters. They were tall enough to ride the majority of the rides and when we took them on the Big Thunder Mountain rollercoaster they were totally excited. I was surprised to hear they wanted to go again and again! Here were all their expressions after the first ride. I love the joy in their eyes.

As close to a Christmas tree as we got. Cold air and trees and log cabins in Frontierland.

Arielle’s great expression in Starbucks when Daddy joked about stealing her hot chocolate.

The big car stunt show. See the car flying through the air?

More dancing and play fighting in the open spaces. We worked up quite an appetite and warmed up doing this often.

We are very thankful for the opportunity to spend a few days away as a family. Last June when we heard about the planned Turkey trip and knew the flights would be going through Paris we decided then to book this little layover and visit friends and connect and make memories as a family. Short but soo sweet!

Turkey

2011-12-20T10:04:00.001-07:00

Recently we returned from a trip in Europe. We have had really poor internet since then so I am a little slow putting up some blogs, but I still will for you avid readers and our family!

We left for Turkey on November 19th and starting on the 21st we had an intensive course to attend with other workers from the North Africa region. I mean intensive as it was 830am to 7pm with only a one hour lunch break! So thankful that we also had excellent child care provided for us and the kids had a blast making crafts, exploring the beach and playing with the other kids.

After this intensive course there was a retreat and spiritual growth conference, where we saw many other workers from this region join us for 4 days. It was an excellent time of learning, reading, listening to the speakers who had come from Canada and to get to know new people. We rarely meet the people in our region. In fact, this is the first time our team has ever been able to attend this conference and we are thankful for that unique opportunity this year. We spent time speaking with other workers, many of whom also work in really difficult places and we could share strategies, stories, plans and prayers. I came away with many new contacts and ideas!

During the retreat part we had afternoons free for several hours and enjoyed exploring the nearby coastal town and playing with the family. There are many more photos available on my Facebook page in my Turkey album, but here are a few favourites.

Beach time. The kids loved the water, seeking new beautiful rocks, and Bennett and Daddy had a great time challenging themselves to build higher and higher rock statues.

We played cards one night with the younger crowd. The hotel lobby had all these huge tables and couches which was perfect for groups. It was late and Arielle stayed up and enjoyed all the people, But Bennett fell fast asleep on a couple cushions on the floor covered with two scarves. All that running on the beach must have tired him out! I love how flexible my children are when we travel and stay new places. They fly well, can fall asleep anywhere and love new people!

One afternoon we went into nearby Antalya and explored the old town and harbour and did some shopping.

I love Calamari and this was super fresh!

Look, here we all are! Stay tuned for a new blog or two from our vacation days after Turkey!

Surprised by the “Oasis”

2011-12-15T01:50:00.001-07:00

I wrote this while in Turkey a few weeks ago at a work conference coupled with some retreat days. I have had awful internet since then, so it will take a few blogs to catch up!

I am sitting at a sunny window in a beautiful Turkish styled chair of dark wood with round, red silk cushions. I am looking out a window on the terrace below with the sun beating in the window and warming my arms. In Niger we avoid direct sunlight and its heat, so this was a nice treat to be cool and feel the warmth of the suns rays. There are tables on the patio below with bright green grass around them and pine trees mixed with a few palm trees. In the background there is an abandoned pool, waiting for warmer weather when it will be filled with laughing children. It is bright blue water with a little wooden bridge crossing in the middle. Some ladies, mostly likely German based on the clientele I have seen so far at the hotel, are sitting around the pool in the chairs soaking up the sun and drinking their morning tea.

The name of our conference was the “Oasis”. This place does feel like an Oasis. Compared to the harsh bleakness and heat of Niger, it doesn’t take much! A place away from both the desert and heat and barren landscape of Niger and the spiritual and emotional drain there feels like an Oasis to my soul. Oddly enough, I find my emotions of joy and grief, and hope and despair are close to the surface. There is space and time and distance to process life, to pray in peace and to meet with others to talk who are in the same types of places and situations as us. We also have time and space to truly relax, to see beauty and to enjoy fun as a family.

I am surprised by how much I love beauty now. I think living in North America we become numb to it. We see grass everyday. We see flowers and rivers and beauty all around us in nature. There are wheat fields, mountains and fluffy clouds on bright blue skies. It just becomes normal. Now that is all 99% stripped away from my life and I find when I am in a place of nature’s beauty that it is overwhelming. It seems like such luxury to walk a tree lined walkway and bend down and smell the flowers. Or to sit on some rocks and the edge of the ocean with my iPod on a worship mix and hear the waves gently crashing mixed in with the music and see children running and laughing in the water. This probably sounds odd to the majority of you. You must think I am a little weird! But, when was the last time you stood in a park or garden and were truly overwhelmed by it’s beauty to the point of tears?

I am thankful for these rare times when we can get away and immerse ourselves in refreshment. As a family we live very simply in Niger so we can save and afford to get out of Niger on a retreat once a year. We need to be away from not only the harsh natural surroundings, but the heavy emotional and spiritual context with all the needs, poverty and demands. I guess it sounds weird to explain and I know that likely unless you have lived it that it is hard to understand.

This Oasis was great. We are thankful our team was invited to this event, and while the first half was a ton of work with super long days, we value all the training we got as well. We met a group of excellent people, also in difficult living situations, who were inspirational and we formed instant bonds with some of them.

I will write more soon with more pictures of Turkey, and some pictures from the 9 days vacation we took following that in France with just our family. But for now, go immerse yourself in beauty. Go to the Park, sit at a window, visit a conservatory, or go hike a mountain. Be thankful these things are around you and take the time to truly see them. Let them touch your heart and refresh your own batteries for life!

The straw that broke the camel’s back

2011-11-18T07:50:00.001-07:00

I have always heard the joke about the straw that broke the camel’s back. What small little added weight is eventually enough to tip over the whole load? Well a week ago we got to see first hand!

The background reason behind this small program is that the refugee crisis of Libya has had a subtle affect on the city of Niamey. We have not seen busloads of people come or huge protests or crowds of people. They have been absorbed mostly into bush villages. We have talked to a lot of people and have come to see the indirect impact that this refugee crisis is having on our close people here in Niamey even. Many families are housing refugees who came back across the border from Libya. So their daily food requirements have gone up, there are more people to clothe, shelter and provide for in many ways. And one tough reality is that these people used to be the ones supporting THEM here in Niamey through remittances (when family work out of country and send percentages of their income to their home to support their family members). The "rich" relatives in Libya are now no longer able to support their poor Nigerien relatives and now the burden of care actually has reversed to be the Niger family supporting them on their very limited incomes and with little capacity to change that. Their money is being stretched to include more people and now they need to send money the other way to support family caught in the war or in the bush who now have no livelihoods.

One reality of Niger and the seasons is that rainy seasons destroys the huts of the people who live in these makeshift straw/cardboard/wood shelters. The Tuaregs would try to save up money to rebuild the roofs at this time each year, which meant buying new straw mats and replacing termite eaten posts, so that their "homes" would last another year. Now their money is being spent supporting extended families and refugees both in their homes and the bush villages, and the money to repair their shelters just isn't there. Plus, the cost of straw has gone up due to a poor harvest.

So, all this said (a long windy explanation i know!) - With a donation from a church we wanted to help the people in our community.

So we purchased 749 straw mats and gave 7 mats (enough to redo their roof) to 107 families in the community around us. $5000 to help 107 families is pretty good I think!

First, the mats started to arrive by camel. Always a fun sight. But I kid you not, we were the straw that broke the camel’s back! Actually it was only his saddle that busted from the load, but after this, the mats started to come on a huge truck. Seems more effective to us, but apparently camel loads are cheaper

We rolled 7 mats together so that they were all ready for pickup Saturday morning. The people were notified, and they showed up from 8am- noon. Although we were almost all finished by 10am! These families include all the families of the girls in our Girls at Risk school, as well as 60 families from the community who are poor and affected by these conditions.

They came with their I.D and met with Patricia and Miriama to cross them off our list and get their ticket for pickup.

Then they grabbed their heavy load by whatever manner possible, and dragged it outside to whatever form of transport they were using! We are thankful we have such a great facility at our Girls School where we can easily run small distributions like this.

This guy was strong! He must have helped a dozen families and carried their load outside all by himself!

This is little Miriama! She is sooo tiny! She only has two mats rolled up here, but still it is heavy! This same tiny young girl sells fish in the marketplace in the morning for her family and attends our school in the afternoon class.

The crowd outside the gates getting their mats home by truck, donkey, camel or whatever means possible!

Paul helping one man carry his load outside. The donkey carts made their owners some good money that day!

And here is me, just checking out the scene during a quiet moment. It was great to see so many faces and so many people joyful!

The container arrives!

2011-11-07T13:15:00.001-07:00

Last week, just as our team was in the middle of a conference, we got the great news that the 40 foot container that was sent from Alberta to Niger had arrived and cleared customs! YAY!

Paul and Roger left to go take delivery of this container in front of the Chen’s house. One little hiccup is that the container hauling truck had arrived with no crane or anything to get the container OFF the truck. It seems the didn’t quite read their paperwork to know we owned the container, and they expected it to be rented and for us to empty it in a few hours and they would drive away with it. So after a little 24 hour delay we finally got it off the truck, onto the ground and open!

Then came the hard work of unloading! The majority of the container contained the Chen and Cheung household items as well as donated medical supplies.

An organization called IMED had a large stock of donated medical supplies which we emptied into the Chen’s yard to be sorted before we distributed it amongst two regional health units in Niger.

There were dental chairs, hospital beds and delivery tables as well! This is our poor man's forklift – 5 guys carrying a hospital bed!

An autoclave

This is a CATSCAN machine. There is only one machine in Niger, in the National Hospital in Niamey. With this addition, which I believe our Dr. is donating to a regional hospital, we will double their CATSCANS to 2. There are trained operators, but no machines. This will be a fantastic addition to the country’s medical infrastructure.

Here I am doing my part to be a true African and moving boxes on my head!

It was like Christmas Day for the Chen family. They have been living out of suitcases for 3 months and finally all of their stuff arrived, just in time to move into their house, which also finished up work this week. God’s timing is perfect!

Paul was very excited to get a box of equipment he ordered for the shop. Another container arrived in the country last week that also carried some welding machines for us, so we are ready to go now with the apprentices!

There were also some mattresses that came to use in our guest house. We stacked them onto the flat roof rack of our Land Cruiser. We didn’t have any straps with us, and since we only had to go 5 blocks on a dirt road, this is yet another “African” solution! haha! Fred stood on the window and kept them from shifting while I SLOWLY drove the 5 blocks. It worked!

And finally – our own boxes! My sister Leanne had packed 2 boxes with some goodies for us. We got some great stuff like Peanut Butter, salad dressing, raisins, bacon bits, coffee, fruit bars, Splenda sugar, Shake ‘n Bake chicken mix, and some craft supplies. Thanks Leanne!

See how well you know us. Each one of us picked our favorite item we received and put it on a table. Can you guess which person goes with which item? Let me know in the comments! There is:

a) Kicking Horse coffee beans

b) canned Salmon

c) A kids toothbrush

d) chocolate/caramel candies

And Paul’s other favourite item? This AWESOME Canadian welding helmet! He needed a new helmet, so why not go in style!!!

Falling to Statistics

2011-10-25T11:12:00.002-06:00

Niger is the top of the list. And not in a good way. If you look at the list of all the countries in the world sorted by the birthrate among teenagers aged 15-19, Niger is at the TOP. Look closely and you will see that 74% of girls are married by the age of 18! And only 23% of the women are literate!
One of the reasons we remain a school for unmarried girls is we want to fight against this statistic. There are lots of other sewing schools or program for older women, but this is the only one we are aware of in Niger that focuses on young women and helps them to remain unmarried.
But why is this important?
Let me give you a few more statistics. 1 in every ten women who give birth in Niger will DIE in the process.
1 in every 4 children in this country is going to die before they reach the age of 5. I believe that if we have more educated mothers who could assess illness, keep their children safe and make nutritious meal choices, this number would decrease! But how can a young girl of just 15 be expected to know those things? She is still a child herself.
One of the things here in Niamey that makes me furious and weep in agony is the Tuaregs perception of their young women. I have had it explained to me by several different families that they believe it is in their best interest to marry off their daughters as early as possible. They strongly fear the shame that would come with an unwed pregnancy. This is a huge motivation for them. Add this to the bonus of one less mouth to feed and some money from her dowry and it looks hard to turn down right?
A parent who gave her name as Tounfana said that for her, early marriage avoids potential family dishonour. "I'd rather marry my daughters to whomever rather than to have them picking up unwanted pregnancies in the streets. Marriage is the “sunna' [practice] of the Prophet Mohamed. "
But I see a fatal flaw in their thinking that has devastating consequences on the self-worth of their daughters. One father told me “she (my daughter) is too old for me to force to stay in the courtyard and I can’t always tie her to the hut (no kidding!) so I need to marry her off quickly so she doesn’t get pregnant.” What in the world makes this man think that his daughter is a slut? (pardon my harsh language but it is the truth of their thinking). What is it that culturally or in their actions or history makes them think that every young woman is completely unable to contain herself sexually and will go run to the bed of a man the first chance she gets, so she is something to tie down and control? They also don’t trust the young men around them. They think all young men (including their own sons) are unable to control themselves and will force themselves on the young women.
Seems to me there is a major lack of parenting there! I see so many of these beautiful young women we work with who are trying to make good decisions and whose family thinks they are floozies and untrustworthy and too enticing to be left to be a teenager. It is so rare to see a family who supports a young Tuareg girl to go to school past 3rd or 4th grade (if she even gets to go at all). They rarely ever get to make choices about their own marriages or wait until their bodies and spirits are ready to be wives and mothers. We know of two young women and we are supporting them through school and I will tell you about them in another blog, but they are by far the exception. Most young women here never even get that choice.
The minimum legal age for a girl to marry in Niger is 15 years old.
A law has been proposed to change the legal marrying age to 18, but has yet to be adopted. But even were it to be adopted, a judge went on record saying customs often trump laws in Niger. "The problem with marriage in Niger is that it's governed by customs, which allow parents to marry their girls to whomever they want and at any age."

"Poverty is at the root of the problem, families are worse off now, with the food crisis and everything.
These marriages are like sales, trafficking. It's a form of prostitution."

2 of our girls were married off this summer. I am so sad to lose them now, each of them were good sewers and a joy to have in class. We had so much hope for them. And now their lives are suddenly different and they are a part of the statistic.

Rakiya has always been a quiet young lady. She got married this summer just before her 17th birthday to an older man and she is now 3 months pregnant. Please pray for her and in light of the statistics, please pray for the health and safety of her and this unborn child. I pray she learned enough in the first year to help her make the transition to Mom and make good decisions for her family.

Rachida is 19. She is one of our oldest and brightest girls. She worked so hard on her sewing. She came from a really hard family life where she was beaten often by a family member. Maybe her marriage this summer was a way to get out of the family house? She wanted to be a teacher of others and to pass on all that she learned. I miss seeing her in class and pray she has found a gentle, caring man who will love her and give her acceptance she never had at home. Please pray for her.

We are in a battle. I have no doubts about it and you are in it with us. We are battling against statistics that have stacked the odds against these girls. We are in a country that is harsh and unforgiving and among the poorest in the world. We are fighting a battle against culturally imbedded traditions that have taught them they are worthless objects to be raised, mistrusted and married off when they hit puberty (or not long after).

So how do we teach these girls that they are loved, worthy, special and cherished by God, when their culture teaches them otherwise? Especially when their own families don’t believe it . I don’t have answers, but I know we are going to keep on trying.
Lord may you flood their hearts with grace and hope.

Tidbits

2011-10-04T14:19:00.001-06:00

Hello again, it is time for another instalment of tidbits! Basically that blog where I fill you in on the little things and fun stuff and you have to stay tuned for more info on the big things!

The kids built a big fort in the living room in front of the water cooler unit and insisted on sleeping in it a few nights. They spent many hours playing in it and building their “rooms”.

Arielle got to pick her bed first and choose the comfy chair. I have a feeling in the middle of the night it was not so comfy anymore…

Bennett spread out on his kids couch with all his toys, books and kleenex and water around him. However, sleeping 2 feet in front of the cooler fan unit proved to be a little noisy for him. So…the sleeping in the fort only lasted 2 nights until the calm and cool and safety of Mom and Dad’s room beckoned to them again!

Now that the short term team is gone I can get back into a regular schedule! And that includes my Tuesday morning time with Miriama and her family! So happy to see them all again, practice language and be together! Here is Miriama and our happy little buddy Jabaguru!

No Tuareg household visit is complete without tea!

And one of my cleanup projects finally got done. I have a large suitcase and a large plastic bag totally full of assorted african fabric scraps. My good intention was to not let them go to waste but to use them for a quilt. So last Saturday me and the kids tackled it!

This suitcase and giant bag of scraps is now……

4 neat 3 inch high stacks of 4-inch squares! All ready to be made into quilt projects! But that is the story for another blog!

Paul is busy with his own work and also trying to help a co-worker get his house ready to be liveable and I don’t have any pictures of that- but I promise later this week I will get you some and tell you all about the cool work he is doing with his apprentices as well!

22 facts

2011-09-19T15:32:00.001-06:00

Miriama- a 13 year old girl in our Girls at Risk School

Getting ready for the Day of the Girl coming up on September 22, here are 22 facts for you to know about girls' rights!

1. Over 500 million adolescent girls and young women live in the developing world.

Girl safety

2. 21% of girls age 15 to 19 around the world are already married.

3. Almost 50% of girls between 15 and 19 years old believe that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances.

Girls at school

4. Each extra year of education increases a girl’s income by 10 to 20 per cent and means she is more likely to have a smaller, healthier family and to start to break the cycle of poverty in which so many communities are trapped.

5. Girls literacy rates are 13% less than boys worldwide.

6. Fifteen percent of girls worldwide can't read and write.

7. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 33% of girls between 15 and 24 years old can't read and write!

8. Only 88% of school aged girls are enrolled in primary school - and only 77% actually attend on a regular basis.

9. Only 60% of all secondary school aged girls are enrolled at school.

Girls and poverty

10. A sixth of the world’s young people live on less than $2 a day, including 12 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa who live on less than $1 a day.

11. 27% of girls living in the least developed countries are involved in child labour.

12. Young women who are economically empowered in decent, secure work or successful small businesses, and who enjoy equal rights to property and land ownership, are better equipped to create a solid future for themselves, their families and communities.

13. An economically independent young woman has more power in the home to make decisions that affect the health and education of family members.

14. If girls could start successful business or get good jobs with decent pay, both countries and households would experience economic growth.

City girls

15. A girl is much more likely to go to school if she lives in a city – in developing countries school attendance for girls from 10 to 14 is 18 per cent higher in urban than in rural areas, and 37 per cent higher for young women between 15 and 19.

16. Girls who live in cities are less likely to be married at an early age – for example, in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, 50 per cent of young women in rural areas are married by the time they are 18, which is about twice the rate of young women in cities.

17. There are at least 100 million street children globally - approximately 30% of those are girls.

Girls' health

18. Girls are discriminated against even before they are born, as the practice of female foeticide and sex selective abortion demonstrates. An estimated 100 million women are ‘missing’ as a result.

19. Half of all new HIV infections occur in people aged 15 to 24 - girls represent the majority of new infections in this group

20. 20% of women who are now 20-24 gave birth before age 18.

21. Girls have a longer life expectancy than boys - we live almost 10% longer as a group.

The next generation

22. Girls are the mothers of the next generation. Give a girl the skills and opportunities she needs in life and as a woman she will pass them on to her children.

So leave a comment and tell me, which number strikes you the most?

*statistics courtesy of Plan Canada- Because I am a Girl.

Innovation for moving a 5000 pound shipping container

2011-09-12T13:01:00.001-06:00

So for the past few years there has been a giant 20 foot long, 5000 pound shipping container sitting in my front yard. Not the most lovely of lawn ornaments I assure you! Because we were not yet ready to launch the men`s apprentice program ministry, and Paul enjoyed having his `shop`nearby we kept it in our yard.

But now that the men`s program is starting, and we need to be able to keep a good work-life balance, I am thrilled to finally be moving this out of our yard!

But things in Niger are never easy. Our yard is tight quarters with overhead electrical wires and a couple of trees. It was a tough job to get the container in the yard in the first place, and no less tricky getting it out!

Paul, our teammate Roger, and three Tuareg guys spent the whole day working to get this out of the yard. They used a truck with a winch to pull it all different ways, a truck with a bush bar to nudge and move with a tow strap and sheer willpower and thinking through each step of the way! They made slide planks out of wood boards, rollers out of metal tubing and used some old, tired farm wagon wheels as well (which did not last too long).

Using the winch to pull it out from the wall. Poor old tires!

Now comes the hard part of a 90 degree turn. We used boards to slide, metal rods to roll and a truck on either end to push and pull. We didn't even ram the wall or anything! I was impressed with all the manoeuvring and work the men did to do this right!

Coming around the corner to go out our narrow gate, barely wide enough for the container. Here they are jacking up one end to reposition a roller bar.

Night starts to fall, only 6 hours into the job! The container is slowly making a tight 90 degree turn.

The awesome team of Paul and Roger!

Bennett had fun sitting in the truck with Daddy while he worked the winch. (As a fun side note, Bennett has lost 3 of his 4 front teeth recently and has a huge gap grin!)

It made it out the gate! Without a scratch! It was fun to see the Tuareg guys learn and watch and work alongside Paul and Roger. I think they really enjoyed the challenge too!

Other visitors to the evening show- a baby and Momma hedgehog

Check out this cutie! Bennett held him and he walked around on his hands and tickled him.

And the view the next morning. A lovely container sitting in the road outside our house (after making yet another 90 degree turn!) Now the next task is to find a truck to haul it to it`s new home!

First Day of School

2011-09-06T15:23:00.001-06:00

So yesterday was the first day of school for my kids. As I was getting them ready I thought “where did the summer go? When did they get so big and independent”

Then I realized my little boy is in GRADE ONE! There is no turning back now, his road to education has begun and he can look forward to the next 12 years or more of school. Wow. It makes me wish we had just one more year at home to play, do crafts and be a little boy. Arielle started kindergarten and she was so proud to tell me when she came home after school the first day that she even managed to get up the nerve to talk to her teacher!

I am sad to see them go. They are both excited to make new friends, learn new things and tackle this next adventure, for which we are so grateful!

SO here are some pictures!

Arielle is very happy to have her best buddy Lily in her class!

Why a short term mission?

2011-09-04T09:11:00.001-06:00

I began to write this post to show you some of the pictures from one of the ladies (Tracey) who was just here on a short term team. I was not with them all the time in the villages and I often find looking at things through their eyes is refreshing, like cool water to my heart and a reminder of how once you are here a while you sometimes can “forget” what is around you.

And then I got this email from one of the men who was on the team. It is profound and full of insight and a wonderful challenge, so I wanted to share that with you as well. So enjoy both of these glances into Niger and the work of our team here.

Why a Short Term Mission – by Jim
Proverbs 3: 5,6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Helen Keller epitomized the adventuresome spirit, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Seeking the Father’s heart, developing a shared love, pursuing relationship, living beyond self, coming to understand ‘no respecter of person’ all are a result of my struggle to live God’s way and genuinely experience the gifts that he brings into my life.

He explains these gifts in Gal. 5:22 and Acts 10: 34 – 36 – affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity, willingness to stick with things, sense of compassion within the heart, conviction that basic holiness permeates things and people, ‘finding’ myself in loyal commitments, able to marshal and direct my energies wisely. I can’t achieve these ends reading a book or counselling with others. My nature is to learn by doing and so I if I am to achieve my relational goals I need to work – come alongside.

Short term missions have allowed me to touch fingers with an autistic Mexican boy, pray for a Mexican suicide survivor in his hospital room, pick fruit with a Leprosy affected person in China, hold a Chinese Down child in Banna, and now talk dreams and desires with an African man aspiring to achieve a welding ticket.

I have come to realize that God’s desire is not that I be who I am, but rather be the man that I am becoming. And so the ministry of reconciliation takes on an even deeper meaning to me. 2Cor. 5: 12 –21 …’a new life burgeons. God settled the relationship between us and him. He has called us to settle our relationship with each other. God has

given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. God uses us to persuade others to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ our friend now …. The Message (loosely). I see my task as to impact one soul at a time and I want to understand how that person approaches life each day.

When I first went on a mission trip I was overwhelmed by the requests for money or pleas for aid to escape. I flippantly spoke of how difficult it was to survive in my “arctic’ environment and that my lot was basically the same as the person requesting cash (no money left at the end of the month). I have come to see how shallow these arguments are.

Niger’s Sahel life is a daily encounter with malaria, cholera, dysentery, yellow fever, parasitic worms, starvation, heat, religious oppression, termites… and my lack at the end of the month is only evidenced in my current bank account – it doesn’t take into account my real estate, my investments, and all the social network provisions that I have put in place – and all the result of the happenstance of being born in this land. I don’t know ‘life and death’ as a daily reality except in coming alongside my brothers in a missions setting.

The subtle nature of sustainable NGO projects are beginning to make sense to me but only through walking those dusty roads.

I saw this somewhere

Watch you thoughts they become your words
Watch your words- they become your actions
Watch you actions-they become your habits
Watch your habits-they become your character
Watch your character it becomes your destiny

Short term leads to realization of destiny – pretty profound for a two week stint.

a well where the water is a long ways down, but a significant improvement over no well at all!

The blessings of an overcast day to keep the heat down

The streets lined with garbage

life in a village of huts and animals

Giraffes in the wild – the Zoo will never be the same again!

The orange clouds of a sandstorm blowing in

Sunset over sand dunes

Short term sewing team!

2011-08-23T08:42:00.001-06:00

Here at our Niger “Girls at Risk” Vocational Sewing school we are thrilled to be hosting a short term team this week from Rockpointe Alliance church. Currently they are hard at work with the girls. There are 6 women who came to work side by side with a group of 12 girls for the whole week. That means each woman has 2 girls “under her wing” for individual support and help the whole time. They don’t get that kind of help during the year on such a personal level! We are making some awesome placemat and napkin sets which I am loving already! I want to buy them all myself! But the girls are also learning about straight seams, seam allowance, ironing and pinning their fabric. These are all valuable lessons that will help them in this year to come! There are also 3 men who are working with Paul to re-lacquer some desks, paint the blackboards, install some new lighting and other odd jobs to get the school ready to go for a full school year October 1st!

So here are some pictures from our first few days to give you a taste of what we are up to here in Niamey. For more pictures, check out my Facebook album!

I am a fan of these little pin cushions they made!

Paul and Jim and Bennett hard at work with the lacquer.

Two years gone too fast

2011-08-18T13:16:00.001-06:00

So today is a very sad day. This morning my dear friend Rebecca left the country of Niger. As many of you who follow our blog know, she has been a staple in our lives here in Niger the past two years! Let me show you a little of the things we did….

Both Rebecca and I love the Tuareg tea and we went through pounds of it with our friends!

We celebrated marriages, birthdays, baptisms, and anything else that came up together!

Goofing around the Grain Aid distribution program the day we also handed out blankets to the families.

We love having Chapatta sauce together at Miriama’s hut most every Tuesday!

Rebecca also made excellent friends with many of the young women we work with and get to enjoy spending so much time with. Aminata will miss you so much too!

And what would I have done if Rebecca had not been here to help launch the “Girls at Risk” school here in Niger? Clearly her help, teaching, support, work behind the scenes and dedication is irreplaceable. We tackled something we felt clearly called to do but that seemed huge and daunting, and we did it! We will all miss you this year at the school Rebecca! You have left your mark and we can’t wait ‘til you walk through the School doors again.

So I am sad that she is gone. I shed some tears. When loading photos for the blog I realized that she is in every single month folder of photos. We did so much together. We shopped, went to the tailors, went to church, went out for weekly breakfasts, picked up the kids, visited Nationals, sat in the moonlight, worked out, watched movies, laughed, cried, ranted and raged, napped, took walks, swam with the kids, read stories to the kids, celebrated birthdays, baked, and so much more. Seriously- she has been not only an excellent close co-worker, but my best friend. Ok….now I am making myself cry again.

I send her off with joy though. I am excited for what these next two years of study and life in Calgary will bring her. She is getting a Master’s Degree in the same area I have a Master’s Degree in, so that will be fun! She can enjoy the changing weather, lots of coffee shops, parks, family and grocery stores. I know she will be blessed by those of you around her and be a blessing in return wherever she points her considerable energy and enthusiasm. Rebecca is hoping to return to Niger long term in two years- and we can’t wait!

Back with friends

2011-08-16T15:44:00.001-06:00

Here we are back in Niger, just ready to jump into a massive amount of fun/work/excitement/busy-ness/joy with a short term team arriving tonight from Rockpointe Alliance in Calgary, Alberta. More about them in a blog to come!

I got to spend a wonderful day back in the hut of my dear friend Miriama. I go to Miriama’s hut most Tuesdays. We enjoy work, language practice, bracelet making, deep discussions and good “chapatta” sauce for lunch! This past two years Rebecca has often gone with me and sadly this was the last time that will happen since Rebecca leaves Niger Thursday to pursue school in Canada. BOOHOO!!

Our favourite little boy with the hugest smile!

Oh so yummy Chapatta sauce to eat with fresh bread.

While we were sitting there, the clouds in the distance started to get dark an ominous.

You can see the orange dust cloud forming in the distance and headed our way- a sure sign rain is soon to follow!

Miriama doing her happy dance- we all love the rain here!

We went to gather the children from playing with the kids down the street before the rain began.

And then it started to pour! We were inside her hut and nice and dry! We enjoyed cups of hot tea and talked while the rain fell. The kids couldn’t resist playing outside of course. The played just across from us under the roof shelter (open sides) where they enjoyed the cool air and played games with Miriama’s little brother.

Catching the one drip by the door

Bennett kept making us laugh with his goofy poses.

Rain is precious in Niger. It nourishes the crops, beats down the dust and freshens the air. Ah- a perfect afternoon with good friends, cool rain and hot tea!

Unexpected retreat

2011-08-10T00:38:00.001-06:00

Take rest- a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid

These past weeks were quite unplanned for us. As some of you heard, but many did not, we made a quick trip to Canada. I am sorry that we did not meet with many of you. In my heart I wanted to see so many friends, visit the churches we love and talk to people. But that was not the point of the trip. We took a time of purposeful retreat and we hid away. Outside of our family, we saw very few people. Not that we don’t love you all, but we needed a time of rest and spiritual retreat and refreshment.

So much of our work in Niger involves being deeply invested in the lives of the people around us. When these people are dirt poor and experience suffering and pain, famine and war, divorce and the death of a child, we walk these roads through life with them and support them the best we can. We are learning how to not take these “traumas” as our own. We were again reminded by our National Office that high functioning people who are really involved are at higher risk for burnout and compassion fatigue. Or “chronic secondary trauma” as they call it. So we are on the road to learn how to manage that reality. We are not the type to pull back and avoid the hardships of the life here in Niger but obviously we need to find the way to manage our own capacity to cope as well! We need our own times of rest and retreat to be able to continue to function at a high level, and that break is really hard to get in Niger. Thank you for your prayers and support in this!

Special thanks go out to Judy Wiebe, Briac Defobbis and Kathy Klassen. Without your significant support and help, this trip would not have been possible or as rejuvenating as it was. We love you guys! And thanks to all the others who supported us, lent us vehicles, sat and prayed and listened and took us for meals, etc. And obviously our families- thank you for the joy of just being together!

A beautiful sight of farmland below us. Good to be home!

First we went to Toronto for 8 days where our National Office is located. We spent time with a few friends and our National team of people. We came away really encouraged and supported with lots of good perspective, support and times of prayer. Thank you to Kathy who welcomed us into her home and took such great care of us and for sharing her puppy Charlie with our kids!

Then we went to Three Hills, Alberta to be with Paul’s family. We had a weekend with all the kids and grandkids present! What a fun time to reconnect, meet our two new nephews and play together. (Emmett was sick and didn’t make it into this photo)

I got to spend a lot of time with my sister in law Amy this trip, which was wonderful since she is usually off working somewhere else. I loved hanging out with her!

We got lots of geocaching in as well

And of course, we loved the canola fields! One of my favourite things is the fields of Alberta in the summer, especially the bright yellow canola fields. I went for walks there several times and took lots of photos!

We spent a fun day with good friends at the Zoo.

I also got to surprise my best friend of over 20 years. Her husband lined up a day free of anything else for her and the family. When she walked upstairs, she saw us standing there and started screaming! Bennett said “why is she screaming? Does she think we are monsters?” Such a wonderful gift of a day to talk all day long and catch up and just enjoy each other’s presence! I also got to meet her new baby boy!

And the surprises didn’t end there! Even my parents didn’t know that Chantelle and the kids were coming! They thought just Paul was going to be home for a break (which had been the original plan before things changed). So we didn’t tell them! You can see the sheer shock on Grandma’s face when she opens the door to Bennett and Arielle and I ! What a great surprise! It is so rare in life nowadays that you can give surprises of sheer joy, so we jumped at the opportunity!

My brother and his family were already planning to be up in Red Deer, so we didn’t tell them either! Here is the Grandparents with all the Grandkids.

Arielle enjoying the lake (photo courtesy of Michelle)

Chad and Michelle and their kids

The boys had a blast playing together too. As they get older the common ground grows!

A new family photo

So now we are home in Niger, with fresh energy and lower stress levels to get back to work! And a good thing too since we have two short term teams coming, training meetings, and the Fall launch of the Girls at Risk school coming up! Paul is teaching an industrial arts class at the International School and also starting to work with his apprentices. We only have one more year before furlough and the year is looking really exciting and full, and time will fly by!

There are many more photos on our Facebook album, so feel free to head over to Chantelle’s profile and check them out.

Messages for you–Part Two

2011-08-04T00:48:00.001-06:00

Sorry this Part two is a little late getting out!

Here is a second batch of messages that came from the girls during our last few classes when they were reflecting over this past year at the school!

Two of the top girls in my afternoon class- Halima and Rachida- both strongly felt the same message.

They want to take what they have learned and teach it to others!

Now THAT is a great thing to hear! And we do hope to see them doing that!

And a big “MERCI!” from their hearts to yours!

Messages for You Part One

2011-07-11T07:12:00.001-06:00

Friday July 1st we had our year end party at the Girls at Risk school here in Niger. The Wednesday before that we had our last class and we took a lot of time playing games like Bingo and also focusing on the things we are thankful for! We looked at a large World map and talked about all the people who support this school and who pray for the girls and for their families and health and success.

The class broke into their small groups and each group got some paint and large rolls of paper. They had two assignments. One was to draw a mural with pictures of all the kinds of things they had learned this past year at the school. Then they presented to the class all the different things they learned. Some of the drawings were pretty funny! Here is one group showing Math, literacy, clothing they learned to sew, some skits on mosquito nets and clean food preparation, dancing in a circle and some other stuff.

Here is a group from the afternoon class explaining their poster. They have our colourful tree logo, the classroom, sewing machine, clothing, anti malaria, mosquito nets, and some other skits along with their names. They were proud to show how much they had learned!

I also made an appearance on most of their posters. Don’t I look great here teaching math!

Then their second assignment was to come up with one phrase that they wanted to express to all their supporters. They discussed as a group what they would want to tell their supporters, what was most important to them. I then took these phrases and wrote them on poster board for them and took pictures with their thoughts.

Check out these photos. Please take to heart that they are speaking to YOU! These are the things they want to tell you, the things they are thankful for and the way YOU have changed their lives with your support. There are quite a few pics so I am going to do two posts about this!

Enjoy. Be blessed!

Lazy days of summer

2011-07-06T12:40:00.001-06:00

Another blog! Don’t worry, I go in spurts and will go slowly after this

Just wanted to post a few pictures of one of our African summer days!

We visited the home of one of our favourite families this afternoon. The kids all love playing together.

Bennett loves to make tea with Fatima.

Arielle and Raichatou with the baby.

Their Mom Sakki braided Arielle’s hair this afternoon with traditional Tuareg braids. It looks great!

Raichatou is 15 years old and is one of the students at our “Girls at Risk” school. Many girls her age here are already married off with young children of their own. I can’t imagine her little brother here being her son! So thankful she has a chance to stay in school!

Henna manicures – Canadian style with Sharpie markers!

This is Paul’s version of a good afternoon. Here he is hard at work on the house for our newly arriving teammates. They didn’t really want a kitchen wall or door did they?

Sledgehammering is good for his soul. Look at his big grin!

That’s all for now! More lazy summer stories to come!

The rains come thundering down…

2011-07-05T13:22:00.001-06:00

We could feel the rains coming. For the past two days it has been insufferably hot but also really humid. Yuck. I kept thinking that soon it had to rain! And sure enough this afternoon it did! The preceding orange dust storm blew in around 1530, then the rain began to fall. It was falling so hard it was coming down sideways!

Rain is always a big joy here and we love to go outside in it. The kids especially love these times. Here are some pictures of their fun this afternoon!

The rain pouring out of the outlets for the roof

Riding their bikes on the patio in the rain

Bennett is the first to brave the “waterfall”

But Arielle wasn’t far behind, after happily stripping to her underwear!

And then came the mud. Of the joys of mud pies!

Food imitating life?

2011-07-05T08:50:00.001-06:00

We like to have a little fun here in Niger every once in a while. And often our poor turtle Harriet is part of our schemes!!

Here we decided to get Harriet a little friend and see if we could fool her!

She seemed hesitant to make new friends, but eventually peeked out for a look! Eventually she lost interest and we made a lovely lunch with her “friend”.

Do you remember this picture from last March when we got Harriet? She was tiny in the bowl and weighed in at just 300 grams!

16 months later and here she is today, filling the bowl and weighing in at 1.8 kilograms!

“Girls at Risk” school Year End Party!

2011-07-01T14:19:00.001-06:00

Today was the year end party here at the Niger "Girls at Risk” school we run. We purposefully left the entire party planning up to the girls themselves. They each saved 1000 cfa (about $2.50) to add to a communal savings, made a meal plan, went to the market, arranged groups of girls to do every job from sweeping, peeling food, chopping onions and washing dishes. They all showed up dressed up beautifully and all day long it was so fun.

Rabi wearing a beautifully sewn Indian-inspired wrap outfit. She was radiant! (and did a little dance when I told her so! Now that wasn’t the super shy Rabi I met just 10 months ago!)

They made a great meal of turkey with spicy red sauce, lots of onions and bread. I was surprised there was so much meat (and basically no veggies) but they were all in full on party mode (aka lots of meat!). It is so rare for them to get lots of meat here.

Each group had a job to do, and really everything went perfectly! I just showed up with cookies and juice!

Each group of girls gathered around a shared platter and dived in. Most plates were completely devoured and licked clean!

As always, it was a joy to watch the girls interact and be with their friends. Sometimes, especially with the Zarma girls who talk so loud and aggressive, I am not sure if fights are going on, but at the end there is always lots of laughter and smiles. I can speak Tamasheq, but Zarma is still outside my reach!

Rafiyatou taking a picture of me taking a picture of her. I love this girl! She is so full of spunk and joy!

Paul and I are both busy these days and the kids are off school, so we both brought a “child to work”. Paul was welding at the airport and Bennett loved watching planes take off and land. Arielle came with me and was doted on by all the girls. They sat with her, played with her, even tried to teach her to crochet! She came home one very happy, but very tired little girl! (And for those of you who know Arielle personally it will not surprise you to know she smiled all day, but refused to say a single word to anyone!)

What a day to cap off such a wonderful year. Since it was Canada Day we took this picture to show us celebrating Canada Day in style!

I really felt like a proud Mama to this big group of special young women. I am going to miss them over the summer! We have three weeks of “special projects” coming up in August and September with some of these girls and then full session starts up again October 1st! We made it through year one, and what a wonderful year!

Even though their year is done, stay tuned for a few more blogs I have on the back burner for you!

A “Start up” gift

2011-06-29T15:31:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago I told you the story of Amaka, the young lady who was a refugee from Libya who was abandoned by her husband when she arrived in Niger. You can read the story here: The shattered life of a young refugee

I have been over to visit with them several times since then and one time I brought them the “start-up kit” that several of you generously donated for. We plan to buy more of these as we hear about families in similar situations who have started to settle and re-start their lives here in Niger after fleeing Libya.

2 sleeping mats
2 blankets
bag of clothes for both kids and mother
set of 3 food pots
2 large metal cooking pots
local stove
metal cooking spoon
fake tupperware canisters to hold sugar, salt, spices, tea, etc from rain and insects
large bowl for washing laundry and children
large wooden mortar and pestle
large serving platter
soap
treated mosquito nets

Cost= $94 Canadian

Impact = Priceless

In this culture, when a gift is given, they usually say thank you, don’t open it, and put it away. You never see them open or enjoy it. With Amaka, it was different. Her face was beaming when we gave it all to her and she sat down on a mat on the dirt and started to go through each and every item. She kept repeating that this was just like her wedding dowry, that we were replacing her dowry items that had been lost forever. I was so touched to see how deeply she felt this joy and was so thankful. I told her many times that this came from people in Canada, that I was just the messenger of other people who cared for her and her situation. She thanks you all very much.

One thing that really struck me this morning was when her uncle stopped by. Her uncle is a well dressed, French speaking Tuareg man who is very friendly and I have met him several times. This is what he said to me, in front of all the other people present as well -

“ You know, this is what Christians do well. You see a need and you meet it. Many of us Muslims see the need, and yet we will not meet it. It is not a lack of money, because there is money out there. But we want to keep our money because maybe we will be the ones in need tomorrow. We can’t ever give it away for something like this. But you people, you see the hurt and you give easily. Amaka will always know and remember that it was the Christians who cared and who gave to her. This is a really good thing”

Hedgehog

2011-06-28T08:38:00.001-06:00

Strangely enough, we actually found this hedgehog in my hedge!

I came home from work to find Bennett and our guard had found this little guy in our yard and had thought it would be great fun to introduce him to our turtle Harriet!

I don’t think the Heddy (the Hedgehog) was ready to make friends yet. When we took the turtle out Heddy finally unfurled and started to walk around the wagon. He was fast. And believe it or not, almost faster than my shutter speed! I set my camera on high action fast shutter and was shocked when his instantaneous reaction to any sound (my shutter) would lightning fast duck his head and start to curl. It took me almost a dozen tries to get this on where you can still see his head!

He was trying to find his way out!

And here he is, cute as a button, all curled up! Just another one of the great visitors we get to see here in Niger!

When it rains…it pours figuratively and literally!

2011-06-22T15:14:00.001-06:00

It has been a rough few days in Niger! A few days ago there was some major rain and there was a big water leak into the Girls School, as well as a substantial leak in the roof of our Director’s house (who is currently on vacation). So Paul was working on that. Then today, when we went to back out of our driveway, our rear tire dropped down in the middle of our driveway, having fallen through the septic tank area! Apparently the initial construction was shoddy (shocking i know!) and over time underground all the sand was getting washed away, leaving a large hollow under a foot of topsoil and hard packed gravel. Well it was just a matter of time until that came to light and it collapsed! So all day today Paul and 2 Tuareg men were doing major excavation and trying to find the edges of the cavern, which they will now have to fill.

Then early this evening (around 530pm) a major storm blew into Niamey. We could see the orange of the sandstorm approaching and closed all our windows up tight. It was still bright daylight out when it hit, and in just moments the sky turned deep orange like this:

After maybe 20 minutes of severe winds and sand, the rain started to pound down. I went out to take a video quick and realized, OUR TREE HAD BLOWN DOWN! Ack….make that TWO trees! Our two big nice trees in the yard were both at extreme angles. The worst was our front yard tree which had completely fallen onto our gate and fence and was pulling over the electrical lines! Our guard was trying to prop it up with a metal rake! The picture is all grainy because it was really dark and high winds!

After another 20 minutes the rain let up and light returned to the sky.

Here is what my tree looked like as the guards starting hacking down the pieces that had broken off and were stuck on the electrical wires.

The other tree in my side yard.

I am really hoping to salvage the trees significantly. Our yard is depressing and dirt anyhow and I really love those trees!

Just another day in the desert I guess! I will try to get the video to load in the next few days and show it to you!

The start of summer break

2011-06-17T03:29:00.001-06:00

This week is full of year end activities, goodbyes and starting to think about the summer! Well, the weather is already scorching summer of course, but our time and activities will significantly change now, at least for a little while!

Here is Bennett at his year end Taekwondo presentation. Look at the totally intense look on his face. He earned his yellow belt. He likes Taekwondo a lot and his teacher said he was really good and should continue- “He has the fight potential of a warrior but the gentle spirit of a leader” is what he said. Congrats Bennett!

Arielle likes to visit our Girls at Risk school and interact with the girls. The girls all want to play with her, have her sit with them etc, so it is good to help Arielle get over being so shy! There is still two weeks left at the Girls school, so I think the kids will be visiting often!

Here is Arielle and her buddy Rafiyatou.

And today is the LAST day of school! YAY! Many of their friends, especially their international friends, are leaving for the summer, so it will be quiet. We are looking forward to spending time with local friends who have little kids and some good family time, especially in July before our work really ramps up again in August with short term teams coming. Both kids did excellent on their report cards and Arielle will be in Kindergarten next year and Bennett moves to Grade 1. wowzers! Time flies!

In celebration of the last day of school –the sky threw a party! Check out this dust storm! (I purposefully put the flash on low so you could catch all the dust in the air too!)

And now I can hear the rain hammering down. We love rainy season!

So tell me, what are YOU most looking forward to doing over the summer?

Love Karma

2011-06-11T02:24:00.001-06:00

First or all, let me say I don’t really believe in Karma. Well not the whole eastern religious, second life, return as a snake or a king, kind of thing. But I do believe that to some extent, what goes around comes around. The way you treat people is a reflection of yourself and your values. Showering love on someone and being loved in return is definitely no bad thing! I have coined it “ LOVE KARMA”

The Christian concept of reaping what you sow from Galatians 6:7 sort of talks about the same thing.

Galatians 6:7-8

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.

A man reaps what he sows.

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction;

whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

This last two weeks, I have really felt overwhelmed with love karma. I spent several days with Ramatou and her family, visiting the hospitals, getting the actual surgery done and then follow up appointments. When I saw Ramatou wheeled out of the operating room and across the courtyard into the patient wing, I had this strange sense of strong emotion sweep over me and I got all choked up. I felt so grateful. I was so excited for her new lease on life- pain free! I hope to see her grow and be happy and walk freely and run. When she awoke from her anaesthetic she asked for me. I went into the wing (it wasn’t yet visiting hours but I was lurking around anyway) and came over to her. She was groggy. She grabbed my hand and pulled me in close to talk to me. Her first words were not poetic, they weren’t deep heart touching words or anything. She said “ Chantelle- I want a banana. Or an Apple!” and she said it with such clear longing and force that it made me smile. Then she said “Or maybe a mango, or some fruit juice – I am sooo hungry Chantelle!” I asked the nurse if she could eat yet and was told the lunch meal was about 30 minutes away and she would have to wait for that. I sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand and chatted with her and her mom while we waited. Once she dozed and her head faced her mom and suddenly she said to her Mom- “Where is Chantelle????” Her Mom told her I was right there and she moved her head and saw me sitting on the other side and gave me this big smile and squeezed my hand. She was so funny and candid for the next few hours as we ate and then waited to be released. Her Mom kept ssshing her for being so blunt and direct with me (which did not bother me one iota but her mom would have seen as her being rude to me) and we just laughed. I told her Mom it was just the medication talking. We joked that today she was crazy, but tomorrow she would be back to normal Ramatou. At her insistence, I promised to buy a bag of mangoes on the way home to quench her mango craving.

When we arrived back at her house, a crowd of people came running to welcome her back. They gathered around her and helped her onto a padded mat on the ground. Of course she asked right away for a mango. They will take good care of her for the next week while she heals and doesn’t do any major lifting or running or anything. The incision is only 1.5 inches long, but she still needs to be careful. A few of the older women came over to talk to me. I love the old women here who have seen so many things in their lives. Their folds of weathered skin and sunken eyes tell the story of hard times and their nomadic lifestyle. One of the old women blessed me. I mean actually blessed me. She kissed her hand and then touched it to my forehead, all the while asking for her Allah’s blessing on me and my life. She did this several times in a row and it was all I could do to keep tears from rolling down my cheeks. Everything I had given to Ramatou she gave me right back in that love, that kiss on my forehead and her blessing. Love Karma.

I asked Paul when I got home if it was wrong to love the love in return. I don’t do it for the return love and often here in this country our love can be met with spits in the face, but we keep on loving anyways. But those times when our love is returned with love, my heart is glad. I told Paul, it might seem crazy, but maybe I would do this job forever just for that love. I don`t need accolades, recognition or awards - I can live on those little bits of love karma alone. So yeah….maybe that sounds a little bit crazy :) .

It was another day that I was reminded that I am so thankful to be in this place, at this time, doing this work, to be God’s hand to her. Let’s make it clear- I am just the tool. We don’t celebrate a hammer in the Master’s hand, we celebrate and are thankful to the Master himself. Let me tell you, I am one happy hammer!

The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?” -Henry David Thoreau

If this is what love karma is…bring it on!

Ramatou back at this school Wednesday- pain free!!

The shattered life of a young refugee

2011-06-07T09:09:00.001-06:00

This morning I was spending the morning at my good friend Miriama’s hut, like I do every week. There was a young woman there (only 24 years old) who had two children with her.

Her beautiful little girl Aichatou was just over 2 years old and her son Lamine is 5. I learned that she had just arrived from Libya, where she fled the bombing of where she lived in Tripoli. There are many Tuaregs who live in Libya and the mass exodus of refugees is causing a severe strain on Niger, already one of the world’s poorest countries.

So briefly lets catch up on what is happening there- and how it affects us here in Niger and the sad story of this one young lady.

Tens of thousands of people have crossed south into Niger from Libya in the past few months. Many of these are nationals of Niger, so their trip is a homecoming of sorts. Estimates of the human stream into Niger vary, but several tallies place the number at around 60,000 persons who have traveled from Libya to Niger since February. AFP puts the number of refugees who have entered Niger from the Libya and Cote d’Ivoire crises combined at 93,000. Another source puts the estimate differently: 1,000 people are coming into Niger every day, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Some sources say the arrivals are now decreasing somewhat, but that the demographic profile of the refugees is changing: men are now bringing their wives and children with them, indicating a more permanent return.

Whatever the number of refugees is, it’s large, and it’s placing major strains on Niger’s government and on the refugees themselves.

I kid you not, she came on a huge truck, with hundreds of people, just like this photo:

In addition to food shortages in Niger, that are only exacerbated by the increase in people, the economy has been affected in other ways, as refugees have lost their incomes and their families in Niger have lost needed remittances. The people in Libya were the breadwinners supporting their families here in Niger, and now that is gone. The economic woes of refugees are causing crime. A good friend of ours who is the Country Director for Concern International says crime is really on the rise, especially in cities in the North. Migrants who have fled the conflict in Libya to return to Niger say they are having to beg, steal, or sell off remaining animals or plots of land just to survive.

These hardships help explain why some refugees still inside Libya do not want to go home, even though they are in a war zone in Tripoli, Misrata or Bengazi.

As this young lady told me, The journey was difficult, the arrival no less so. She came with only one small suitcase. She left everything else she owned behind. If the stories are correct, her and her husband would have had many hassles, checkpoints and bribes to pay to get to Niger. And yet that’s not the worst of it. When she arrived this week, they struggled to find a place to live. Her parents are both dead. And then yesterday, her husband walked away. He dropped her off at a cousins, said the required “I divorce you” three times, and walked away a free man, to start his own new life in Niger. So now this young lady is not only a refugee and mom of two young children, she is doing it alone. My fury at her good for nothing husband is obvious, but really I can’t dwell on him. She is the one I met, living with Miriama for a few days (weeks? months?) while she figures out her life.

How are we able to respond to something like this? Clearly the refugee problem is way huger than anything I can manage, hand out, solve or even dream of having a big impact on. But can I help her? She is symbolic of so many people, so many young women in the same situation. And I am sure she won’t be the last one I meet either.

So I can help her get on her feet with some blankets, cooking pots, clothing, mosquito nets and soap for example, but my biggest desire is to give her hope. I don’t have a solution. I don’t have a hut for her, a job for her or a husband would should have supported her. All I can give is my love and a little start up kit. I know it’s not enough in terms of how hard her life is right now, but it’s all I’ve got.

Her daughter Aichatou, with her hilarious smile for the camera, oblivious to her shattered world around her.

Celebrating International Women’s Day!

2011-05-22T16:03:00.001-06:00

Last week was International Women’s Day. I would have posted this earlier but for the past two weeks we have been having serious power and internet issues in Niger, so I am just getting it up now!

Since we didn’t have a grand opening celebration for the Girls at Risk school back when it opened this fall, we decided to throw a “grand opening-ish” party on International Women’s Day! We invited friends, teammates, dignitaries, television and print media crews and of course the girls and their parents! We set up a bunch of displays as well showing all the different activities the girls had been involved in, as well as had the girls themselves set up showing off some of their skills in person while they worked on projects.

A table set up outside showing off their sewing successes!

The official program lasted about an hour. That is, after we waited for the very late Mayor of the community to arrive. But he DID come and I think that encouraged all the parents and girls to see that kind of recognition. Every last moment was also taped for the local tv station.

Official speeches

Paul’s shade hangar was up and was so great that the local chief even wanted to buy it or “borrow it” for his own special events!

Don’t I look totally relaxed giving interviews to the TV station? Yah right.

Actually I am not at all afraid of public speaking, but I am also just as content to stay behind the scenes!

The next night the whole event was on TV. Yes, I mean our WHOLE event made the nightly news. We had a full hour dedicated to our school and the whole program, including the skits, was broadcast all around the country. WOW! Can you imagine that kind of coverage back home in Canada? It was great exposure for the program!

As part of the official program each group of girls also choose one skit to perform for the open house. The morning class chose a health related topic and

re-enacted teaching someone to make an oral rehydration solution when they are sick. They did great!

The afternoon class chose to go with a moral theme skit, and to look at honesty. The decided to re-enact the story of “The boy who cried Wolf” They had everyone in the place laughing their heads off! Check it out in the video below!

One of the things that the girls really enjoyed was getting all dressed up. I think they look beautiful every Wednesday, but they came out in their finest for this celebration! After it was all over we had so much fun taking pictures and enjoying time with the girls. This was the first time that both classes were present at the same time and it was a lot of fun. Check out some of these great pictures, and then at the bottom there are new updated whole class photos!

Morning Class

Afternoon class

The story of Ramatou - “They will know us by our love”

2011-05-19T04:48:00.001-06:00

Friday morning I was at the office for a meeting and got a call from our sewing teacher that Ramatou (one of the girls in our Girls at Risk school) had passed out in class, and that no one was able to bring her around. It had been 20 minutes and she was still unconscious. I told them to use cold water on her and that I was on my way. When I arrived she was conscience, but barely. Her eyes were glazed and her pulse was rapid. We took her to a local clinic in the community and they gave her an I.V and medication and she slowly came around. At first she seemed panicked and disoriented. Her sister said her fever had reached 44 on the thermometer, but no confirmation on that from the Doctors. She stayed the afternoon until the pain was under control (that was what caused her to pass out) and then they released her. You see, Ramatou has a herniated intestine. She has been suffering with it for almost a year now and goes through bouts of intense pain. Her family has not dealt with it for 2 reasons. The first being that health care is expensive for them and they simply can’t afford the surgery she needs. The second reason is that they are highly uneducated and come with a “village” mentality which is really fatalistic. They just see death and pain as so normal that they don’t go out of their way much to fight back against it. We left the clinic with a paper needed to go try to get a surgical consult this coming week. The hernia could explain why Ramatou looks so emaciated. Poor girl is 15 years old but only 77 pounds.

However, by 7pm that evening the pain was back with a vengeance and Ramatou was screaming out in pain and passing out again. You could see a big mass on her stomach that was hard as a rock (about the diameter of an apple). So they called me and I came and got the mom, and aunt and cousin and we all headed to Niamey’s National Hospital. Now this hospital is a place I really try to avoid. It is chaotic, dirty, smelly and downright unhygienic. The first triage area was for children (since she is 15) and we waited with 60 or so other people. The room is open to the sky at the edges and smelled like stale food, urine and cats. Oh yes the cats. There were stray cats wandering around, nibbling at extra food people had brought. Most people show up at the hospital with a pot of food, a sleeping mat and a jug of water. They know they will be here a long time and there are no services. Heaven forbid if you need to use a bathroom! (I have gotten very adept at holding it!). The people shooed the cats away and just sat back in the metal benches, or lay sprawled on the floors between the benches, dosing off with their children while waiting to see a Dr. Most of the children I saw were under the age of 5. Considering 1 out of every 4 children in Niger die before the age of 5, this is not surprising. The walls were covered in what looks like a thin coat of black soot and the floors were so caked in dirt and filth I even washed my flipflops when I came home.

After only an hour and a half of waiting the Mom got impatient. She went up to a Dr. and demanded if there was space for Ramatou. When told the ward was full, she quickly seemed to give up and said we would just take Ramatou home. At this point Ramatou was dozing on my shoulder and still whimpering in pain. I kept thinking “What if the hernia bursts or becomes completely strangled? This could kill her!”. The Mom asked me to go ask the Dr. if there was any space. I know they wanted me to go because I have the white face, and maybe the Dr. would take notice and at least look at Ramatou.

On a side note, I hate this dichotomy of life here. I can use my white face to ensure people are at least seen by a Doctor or given a fair crack at something, but then what makes Ramatou more special than the poor kid next to her? Why should one person get special treatment just because they are with a foreigner whereas others can sit and die in that room without ever being seen? And yet if I don’t fight for Ramatou- who will? How can I use all I have for an advantage and yet I can’t possibly extend that advantage to everyone?

So the Dr. notices the green card I am carrying which is the surgical referral from the clinic earlier in the day. He tells us to go to the surgical ward for a consult since we have already seen a Dr. today. I am not sure if he is being sincere or just passing us off on someone else. At any rate, we head down the hall to their “true emergency” room. This is where all the bad stuff is, mostly motorbike accidents being the major cause of death in this country for anything not linked to illness. There are at least 20 narrow hospital beds crammed into a room a little bigger than my living room, and each bed has a seriously injured person on it with a family member attending to them at the side. Forget privacy, everything is open. For the first hour I sit outside in the hallway with the Mom and Cousin while the Aunt and Ramatou sit on the edge of a hospital bed inside. There was not enough room for Ramatou here either so she is sharing a bed with another young girl who was also brought in unconscious (I saw her being carried in).

We waited and waited. After about an hour they called me in to talk with the intern doctor and explain to him (The medical people all spoke French). He agreed it was a hernia but thought likely it could last until later in the week for a surgical consult since they were so full. But we needed to talk to the head doctor, who was currently in the operating room. So we settled in to wait some more, this time I was inside with Ramatou and just sat next to her, balancing my butt on the very edge of her hospital bed. Thankfully her bed was next to one of the air conditioning units, so we got a little bit of air. There was a man wheeled in with a head injury and some kind of body injury. He was keening and wailing at the top of his lungs, clearly in a whole lot of pain. Others were crying, doctors were talking, and a crowd of people was being held back just at the doors to get in (all family or friends who wanted to visit somebody) by an army officer. It was chaotic. Ramatou laid down alongside the other girl. These two poor girls, each with a head at one end of the bed, shared such a small bed as it was. There was a young lady next to us about 4 feet over in another hospital bed. It was clear she had been in an accident and had a giant head gash. I watched (I am not usually squeamish at all) while they froze the skin around it and prepped her for stitches, but when they flipped back a 4 inch square of her scalp to look at the skull underneath for a fracture, I started to feel whoozy myself and had to sit on my haunches in front of the cold air for a few minutes to get my blood pressure back up so I didn’t pass out myself! Seriously! After that I was determined to try not to notice all the blood and gore all around us. I started to hum the song “All in All” and just hung out with Ramatou while we waited. I kept humming worship songs for the rest of the night and both Ramatou and I were more relaxed. Note to self- don’t look at open head surgery! The other man keeps wailing and it sounds like an eerie version of WHY WHY WHY AIE AIE!

Around 10pm the power goes out. This is totally normal for Niamey- but the emergency room of the main hospital? Wow…. It took about 5 minutes for the generator to kick in. Sure hope there was no major surgery underway! In the dark for the first few seconds, I quickly fished out my tiny yet super powerful flashlight. The Doctor quickly came over to “borrow it” and continue helping his patients. Un-be-lieve-able. Almost laughable seeing my tiny flashlight as the only point of light wandering around the emergency room.

At one point, maybe around 11:30pm the Mom really wanted to leave. Her cousin was telling me she was tired (they both were) and that she just wanted to take Ramatou home. Clearly the hospital didn’t have time for her etc. She had had enough and wanted me to pick up Ramatou and leave and drive them home. I was stuck in a quandary! How could I respect the wishes of a parent and not over-ride them, while still making sure Ramatou got the care that she needed? The doctors in the ER tried to tell her she was crazy for wanting to leave. They said “Do you know how many people never make it to a hospital? How many people don’t have anyone willing to help them? You are crazy to leave! You need to be patient just a little longer…the doctor will come”. Begrudgingly they kept waiting and I kept avoiding the topic lest they make it clear they wanted to leave NOW and I would be in a tough spot to decide. Thankfully in about 20 more minutes the head doctor did arrive and they did rounds and made decisions. He agreed that Ramatou needs surgery but that he could not do it this weekend. He gave us the papers we needed to start the process to get a surgical consult and sent us home with some pain medication for Ramatou.

I drove them home and crawled into my own bed sometime around 12:30 am. I kept just thinking how ready the family was to walk away and go home and just wait and see if she would die. They are fatalistic and feel they have no control or rights over their own health, but also seem so unwilling to go the extra mile to fight for it. I know on their own this surgery would be too expensive (it may only cost a couple hundred dollars likely but even that is way too much for them) but they didn’t even want to spend the time to wait and see the doctor??? As a mom I can’t fathom walking away like that. At one point I had even told the Mom and Cousin they could go ahead and take a taxi home if they were tired and I would wait with Ramatou and bring her home myself when we were done! There are so many cultural things here that clearly I don’t understand- but not making efforts for the health of your child? That’s one I don’t think I will ever understand!

So please pray for Ramatou .I don’t know how long of a wait there is for surgeries here. I don’t really know how to navigate the medical system here, but I guess I am about to learn! Pray that she will manage these days and weeks ahead with no pain and feel God’s presence around her, comforting her. Pray for me for wisdom! I want to respect the wishes of the parents, but also make Ramatou’s life the priority!

Mango Citrus Jam

2011-05-08T06:08:00.001-06:00

Yesterday Bennett and I made Mango Jam! Arielle preferred to play with her dolls, but Bennett wanted to help in the kitchen. Back in Canada our pantry was filled with a wide variety of jams I had made, but I never seem to have the time here in Niger to keep up the habit. But yesterday we were determined. It is mango season so we took advantage of a plethora of cheap mangoes and made Mango Citrus Jam!

Cutting up 3 kilograms of Mangoes.

Zesting a dozen limes and squeezing their juice

Boiling it all up together

Adding the sugar ( the key ingredient to make sure it preserves a long time!)

My great helper (just wearing his underwear because it was so HOT in the kitchen!)

The finished product- 14 jars of yummy jam!

And just to show you how hot it had been inside my kitchen while we cooked!

And a little side note- Bennett and Harriet. If Bennett sits on the stair of our kitchen door with lettuce, Harriet will come eat it right out of his hand! She is getting bigger!

The Rally to restore Unity

2011-05-06T16:52:00.001-06:00

This past week there has been a web event going on called The Rally to Restore Unity which is May 1-7.

Each day I have been reading several very thoughtful blogs, as well as some silly ones, and a few I didn’t quite agree with, but all about the topic of Christian Unity. If you follow the link in the title you can see them all too and read for yourself! While all this talk of Unity is certainly timely in my own life, this blog is not about my own life or circumstances at this time, so don’t anyone going reading between the lines for something that isn’t there!

People have been making up signs about Unity and their ideas about it. Some were hilarious, some very thought provoking. See the young lady in the top right – that is Carrien- one of my longest dearest friends.

I have taken to heart, and had reinforced in my head, some of these great ideas about unity among believers. I have written below, using many quotes and words of others (too many to footnote each one effectively) mixed all up with my thoughts and heart- what I consider to be a highlight reel for you Enjoy the read, and see if you aren’t challenged yourself. I know I was!

------------The point of unity is to keep the Body functioning—not to make all the parts the same or to try and force everyone to agree, but to ensure that we don’t allow the very differences that make us so beautiful and diverse and adaptive cripple us to the point of uselessness.

It seems that most people don’t really love themselves very well, either. we actually are “loving our neighbor as ourselves” and that often means “not too nicely”. for many, there’s a deep insecurity inside, some kind of void that leaves a lot of room for defensiveness and fear. the “i’ve-got-to-prove-this-or-else-i’ve-got-nothing-left” mentality that robs joy, life, and free relationship with other people. many of us are indeed loving our neighbors as ourselves–out of fear, anger and hate instead of love, hope, and peace.

my hope for unity is that we’d all become people with a deep sense of love in our core, a strong sense of knowing who we really are as people–accepted and free. and that out of that quiet strength, we’d be able to roll with others’ differences, not need to defend what doesn’t really need defending, and retain our own identity. that we’d be secure people who have nothing to prove. When we have nothing to prove, we are released to love others more freely, more fully. no agenda. just a desire for mutual respect. When we crave honesty and crave authenticity and receive only “fakeness” back- that cuts to core. And then we give up trying. And i know that isn’t right…but I am only human and I don’t have the reserves to keep fighting. But to love…now that is the key, even if not loved back.

God, let us know the true love that you have for us. help us to accept it as our own so that we may give it freely to others.

One girl Megan wrote about steps to Unity that I really like. Her first was- Assigning Positive Intent. For me, assigning positive intent is just code for Hebrews 12:15

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

So it looks like this (online or face-to-face): Hmmmmm. That little comment seemed a bit jerk-y. Why is she always so mean to me? But I choose to think she probably didn't mean for it to be jerk-y. I bet she just feels as strongly about this as I do. I choose not to take offense. I choose to continue on with love and gentleness.

Easy, right? Uh yeah…I’m still working on it too. My heart is too darn soft and easily hurt…

Her next point was called : Disengaging the Divisive. The closing paragraphs of Paul's letter to Titus have some instructions that are as timely for our culture as they were the day he penned them. I was just reading this again this week with Paul and discussing the Tuaregs to some extent There are people in The Body who are determined to be divisive. It's okay to say, "I love you, brother, but I'm just not going to engage with you on this matter." Not everyone is going to like you, and if you simply drive yourself into a pit of depression, frustration and anxiety- sometimes we need to walk away. For a time? Forever? Only God knows as we seek Him.

For me, I know in my spirit when a conversation is meant to sharpen, educate, and authentically explore a matter. Nothing wrong in engaging those discussions. I love deep discussions with many different sides presented! But when a discussion has turned the corner into a verbal fight, there's nothing wrong with just walking away.

Her third point was on Getting Up and Doing the Work. The limitless venues of discussion and debate and entertainment (yes Facebook I am pointing at you!) afforded to us by technology pose a very real threat to The Body. Not only do these offer endless opportunity for hurtful divides, they also provide endless opportunity for dangerous distraction. Get out there and get the work done!

From the streets of our cities to the spot on the globe furthest from our homes, there are people who need to know the Good News. What if we asked ourselves: "How many hours did I spend this week with a cup of coffee and good conversation with others? Now, how many hours did I spend with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned? Not just throwing money at ministry, but with sleeves rolled-up, broken and poured out for others?"

Partnering with each other in Kingdom work is one of the best, best ways to live in unity with one another. So why is also one of the hardest for unity?

After all, they will know we are disciples by our _______________________

Theological stance?
Political loyalty?
Denominational affiliation?

LOVE.

One girl Jamie talked about a very visual picture of Unity. She said:

“ A body, made up of many different parts, somehow working together to share the love of a Savior with the world. And I love that a big toe and a mouth, for example, weren’t designed to hang out together but, still, they manage to be part of the same body. In fact, you probably do your best to keep them apart.

Are your mouth and your toe unified? Absolutely. Are they BFFs? Probably not.”

The key is to let them each serve their purpose while recognizing that they both have a place within the bigger design.

So that’s it. My thoughts from the last few days, intermingled with their words. I know how much unity and transparency is important to me. It is air to me. It is crucial. I am not one of those people who can just pretend it doesn’t exist and walk away, and yet Jesus still has so much more to teach me about it. I am so thankful he is a good and patient teacher!

Tidbits

2011-04-30T04:40:00.001-06:00

A few glimpses from life

A team work bee party prepping 1500 mosquito nets for distribution

Lisa

I took a new profile photo for my teammate Lisa. She is currently in Canada for a few months on a speaking tour and I am sure many of you will be getting this new photo on a card!

Village latrines and wells

Paul and Tim went out to the village where we have the school feeding program. They wanted to check the quality of the latrines we recently had built there and do some repair with a concrete saw. Paul was also able to help with a repair for the motor that they use in the school garden well.

Paul with the school staff on the right and middle, and his “military escort” watching over him from the left.

Easter celebrations

We went to a traditional Easter Egg hunt party on the lawn of the residence of the USA Ambassador.

Here are the kids in a race carrying an egg on a spoon. Can you see Bennett in the picture?

The toss an egg to your friend game

The Great Egg Hunt!

There were two separate egg hunts set up. One was for bigger kids, and one for younger kids. The big kids had trees to climb, bushes to crawl in etc. The younger kids had an open area with most of the eggs in fairly plain sight or just in a shrub you could see them in. Arielle wanted to be with the little kids and Bennett wanted to go on the big side and climb trees etc. Imagine his distress and the tears that flowed when they told him he was too little (along with a few of his friends) and that he needed to go to the little side.

In each location there was ONE golden egg well hidden. The child who got this golden egg won the big prize of a giant chocolate egg or white chocolate bunny.

They let the big kids start their hunt first since they required less supervision, then came over and started the little kids side. A few minutes later Arielle came running up to me with the golden egg for the little kids side! She found it all on her own in a shrub. She was so excited!

Once all the eggs were done in the little kids side, Bennett asked the man if he could go over to the big kids side to climb some trees and see if there were any eggs left. He said that would be ok, so off Bennett ran, about 20 minutes after the big kids had started (and mostly finished) the egg hunt on their side.

A few minutes later I heard a group of kids cheering and yelling, and saw Bennett running back over to me. In his hands, I could see something that looked suspiciously like the second golden egg! Sure enough, 20 minutes after the big kids had started and cleared out their area, Bennett went in, went commando crawling through bushes and found their golden egg!! I guess he proved he can run with the big kids!

Both kids with their grand prizes!

Arielle enjoying some of her chocolate!

We also enjoyed a sunrise service and hanging out with friends on Easter. No pictures sorry!

We wish you all a wonderful Easter season. He is Risen!

A ship on rough seas

2011-04-21T16:24:00.002-06:00

So what’s up? It seems like time flies here. And no one else in our family blogs, or even uses the computer much, so I guess it is up to me to keep you all up to date best I can. If you want to chat with Paul though- he loves to skype and talk to people in person, so set it up!

Bennett has begun to really enjoy writing and reading. He loves school so much. We are thankful for that. Arielle loves her friends at school and getting dressed up. She doesn’t seem interested in writing anything, but there is still lots of time!

I made from scratch brownies with Bennett this weekend. He loved every step and was super excited. When the finished product came out of the oven he tasted his, then threw it in the garbage. He said to me "Mom, You know I don't even really like chocolate anyways". WHAT! How can this be my flesh and blood! Good thing Arielle and I aren't too proud to eat his share :)

Paul is really busy with the shop and with language learning. Quite often the two go hand in hand now. He is helping a group of young kids learn to make a set for a school play out of metal. He is teaching our day guard to use tools and make his own bed frame. He is still building the roof structure for our Girls School. Busy man. We can see such an amazing work in this new Vocational training program, and already see the need for a business type manager to help us with all the business end that we are not gifted in! Any takers? Also- we really need someone to help him plan curriculum for next year. So ALL YOU TRADES MEN if one of you has worked with apprentices in the past or taught at a trades school, we would love to see if you could help Paul plan!

A group of women in Niamey got together for a quilting seminar. While I already know how to quilt, it was great to come along for ideas! I I enjoyed the company of the other women and worked out a few project ideas we are going to use at the Girls at Risk School this Fall. Also, I got to work on a baby quilt, well two actually- for two special babies being born into our family in the next few months! And now with news I have another new nephew or niece on the way- I better get quilting! It tends to be a good relaxing time to work on a project, so I need to make more time for creative things like this!

The finished quilt before it was mailed off.

In other news….well I found out my brother and his wife are having another baby! Yay! Also means one more birth, baby shower and newborn I won’t get too see. Too many of those lately. Being so far away for so many big events for our family is hard. I have a new respect for all those international workers I heard about while growing up and over the years. I know how hard it is to be so far away, and they didn’t even have the blessing of Skype to keep in touch!

Mostly, I will be honest, I have just been really stressed lately. More than I can remember ever being in fact. There is so much need here, so much work to do, so many people who count on us. And I love my work, these girls and can see so much how God desires their lives to be whole. But at what point do i need to let go and chill? There is so much more to be done than I am physically capable of, or emotionally capable of, that I feel burnt out. No surprise to those who know me well and know Paul and I only know one speed- full speed ahead.

I have appreciated the words of care and wisdom I have received from some of you these past weeks. We want to do the best we can to ensure our situation is as sustainable as we can make it, barring outside crazy factors we can’t control. Praying and looking hard for those hidden gems and peaceful times. When our batteries are almost empty, even a weekend away only seems to fill them up to 40%.

When looking forward to planning for next year, I find myself uncertain. As of yet we don’t have an intern in place to replace the (obviously irreplaceable) Rebecca, who is a huge help to me at the school and invests deeply in some of the girls. We have also learned in the past little bit (and can now share it with you freely) that the other half of the Tuareg focused team (The Marineaus who were in Quebec for the year on furlough) will not be returning to Niger. So this leaves us as the only family on this side of the team for the moment and that is a scary thought with all that was planned to be at least two families wide and our desire to work on community with others. We will miss them dearly. I am not sure how to do this sometimes. I trust God has a plan and know I need to rely more deeply on Him.

As my best friend reminded me today:

Isaiah 58:11: And the LORD will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

Fun for your morning coffee

2011-04-21T15:44:00.001-06:00

Enjoy your coffee, and for your sake I hope it’s a strong one!

A weekend at Niger’s new Eco-lodge awesomeness!!

2011-04-05T05:15:00.001-06:00

This past week a friend of ours suggested we all pile into his truck and go south for the weekend, to a National Game Parc on the Niger/Benin/Burkina Faso border. There is also a new eco-lodge that I have heard great reviews of that we were wanting to try out! So we headed out Friday after w

Our whole plan for the weekend was to relax, enjoy our surroundings, and not go anywhere. We succeeded! Even though we were on the edge of the parc that is known for its animals, we took little interest. I didn’t even bring the majority of my camera gear, just a little one! Shocking I know. But I wanted nothing to distract me from good friends and having adventures and fun with our kids!

This new eco lodge, called “Ile de Lamantin” is located on an island. You take a long canoe to reach it with your belongings and it is nice to know you are both safe and secluded because of your location! For any of you in Niger who have not been there (which is likely most of you since it just opened- I highly highly recommend it. It is an awesome location, beautiful cabins and gourmet food! The hostess Natalie takes care of you like a Bed and Breakfast (which she also runs 4 months a year in Southern France when the rainy season shuts down access to this eco-lodge).

Check out their website at: Ile du Lamantin

There are 10 cabins on the island. Each one carefully made and nestled either by the river bank or up on the rocks amongst Baobab trees. Every cabin has a great view of the river and you can sit on your terrace and enjoy it.

Here are some of the cabins and their surroundings.

This is the one we stayed in, down by the river bank. At night all the windows open up (we have full mosquito nets) and the cool air was wonderful!

The scenery is breathtaking. There was a tiny island in the middle of the river (like the size of a large boat) that we could see easily from our cabin and the main restaurant porch. All day Saturday there was a Hippopotamus there, just hanging around. He would lay, half in the water, and move around and splash. He napped I am sure, he wandered around, ate the grass and gave us all quite the show.

We sat on this terrace here at nightfall, watching the sunset and the river.

This large boat went by at dusk. It was loaded down with baggage and around 50 people. It was really low in the water with all that weight. It made me nervous for them just watching but apparently it is a normal sight, with the people in the villages down river heading up river to a day market in a larger market.

The famous Baobab trees are an important part of the landscape. They are enormous and look like they have trunks of carved cement. Many of them grew right around large rocks and into cracks, becoming one with the rocks around them.

The fruit of the Baobab tree is called Monkeyfruit here. It isn’t a fruit we would think to eat but our hostess made juice and ice cream with it. It tasted somewhat like pear juice. However, the fruit shell is known to be a skin irritant to some people, and Paul can attest to that with with a few irritated skin spots on his face.

The food- oh did I mention the food! It was awesome! Each meal that Natalie prepared had a variety of tastes, textures and colors. She really is a “foodie” and everything was wonderful, using many national ingredients from Niger as well. She made her own bread, her own desserts, her own yogurt, her own lime ice cubes (so yummy in my Coke!).

Here was one lunch: White fish with chives and mint in a citrus sauce, tiny pasta balls with tomatoes and a sauce, baked zucchini muffins, homemade buns and beet ricotta cheese. And lets not forget the awesome layered banana/yogurt/cinnamon cookie dessert parfait!

She also made all her own jams and conserves and bought local honey. Here is her citrus peel jam, local honey, bissap (hibiscus flower) jelly, orange jam and apple spice sauce. Amazing for breakfast with coffee, homemade yogurt, fruit salad and her buns!

The adventures.

We did get a lot of exploring in around the island. The kids loved climbing all the rocks and following the paths. The island wasn’t large enough for them to get too lost, so they had a blast running around.

In addition to seeing hundreds of hiding places in crevices of rocks with there were long millipedes hiding, we found the “graveyard” of all those millipedes! When they die their shells harden and turn sort of white and the kids enjoyed looking closely at them, trying to count the legs, etc!

On Saturday afternoon Paul and I took the kids (and a few local kids who joined in) on a treasure hunt around the island.

It was hot and muggy. A few minutes in there were some raindrops falling and we thought nothing of it. The sky turned dark.

Rainy season is still months away. The odd time you might get a few sprinkles, but no rain at this time of year. It is almost unheard of. And yet rain it did. For an hour it poured down a deluge of rain on us. Even though we ran back to the porch of the restaurant, we were still all soaked through!

One other thing we did was go on a long canoe ride in the “pirogue” boat. We saw lots of villages on the banks, women washing laundry, 2 Hippos, fishermen and other boats. The air was cool and everyone had a great time!

So there you have it. Our weekend away was so relaxing and just what we needed. I highly recommend this place to anyone going down to Parc W. It is better than anything else around there! For those of you who come to visit us- you know where we are going to take you now! I can just imagine my little nieces and nephews running around and having a blast!

Chantelle

The heat

2011-03-29T13:20:00.001-06:00

The heat is here to stay. Everyday my handy dandy internet weather widget tells me doom and gloom. More temperatures over 44 degrees or higher and the official forecast- widespread dust. Yup. heat and dirt. Grit. i return from visiting friends and am covered in a film of dirt and my hair is crunchy and my teeth gritty with sand I inhaled. My water pressure is almost nil these days so it makes showering tricky too!

Here is a picture. From INSIDE my bedroom at 8:00 at night. You see the little temperature on the right hand side. It says 35.9 degrees Celsius. So thankful we have an air conditioner and this is the season we use it! I don’t care if it costs almost $10 a night to run it- we need to sleep!

I am not the only one who has issues with the heat. Our family member that handles it the worst is our computer! I am praying to get one more year out of our laptop although somedays it doesn’t look good! Here I am with our homemade freezer packs (made of frozen beans in fabric bags) both under and on top of my computer while I use it (I try to use the mouse or my graphic pad pen lots so i don’t need to access the keyboard)! The poor thing suffers from heat stroke and dies all too often!

Okay- enough trivial things about the heat. What do we expect after all- we live at the edge of the Sahara desert!

I wanted to give you a link to my friend Hope’s blog. She just wrote a great blog all about the problem of obstetric fistula’s here in Niger. This is one of the big risks that many girls face when they are married way too young, and one of the things we hope to save them from in our “Girls at Risk” school here in Niamey. Thanks to Hope for writing about it so eloquently! Click below to go to her blog! I also stole the picture below from her!

Hope's blog about the problem on fistula's in Niger

Bennett dancing

2011-03-22T06:29:00.001-06:00

Just so you don’t think it is all work and no play (and now that I know how to use video!) here is a video of Bennett dancing. It was just after supper and my iPod randomly shuffled to an upbeat song from my workout mix. Well Bennett just jumped up and started to bust a move. This is really how he dances

Bennett dancing from SaharaLive on Vimeo.

Working with women

2011-03-21T13:15:00.001-06:00

In Niger, especially amongst the Tuaregs, gender roles are still well defined and for the most part, very strictly followed.

As a woman, it has been hard sometimes to work within the greater community group. I am a oddity to them. It boggles their mind to think that I might be educated and competent and run a business, teach etc. I am not the typical stay at home quiet mom they are used to. And i think for many reasons that is good. Women here need people to encourage them, model a healthy balance and their rights, and to fight for their own freedoms and to give a good example. But I also know it is something I need to be aware of. I cannot lead the men’s group forward in development. And yet no women come to the community meetings. So frustrating to want to work with them and yet find they hide away their women. It takes a very long time and a deeper level of trust I think before the community on a whole opens up their “jewels” in women to outsiders. Some families have been an anomaly and been open right from the start, but in general it is harder to know them and especially if we want to do any teaching, help, programs etc as the men demand it goes to them first. But we all know that when you invest financially in a woman she gives 90% of it back by investing in their family, whereas a man only does half of that (if that even!)

I spent some time with a small local women’s group last year, but they broke apart and didn’t do much. I know I teach girls at the school but still don’t know many of their moms yet on the Tuareg side. When we had our parents meeting a few weeks ago every single parent for the Tuareg morning class was a man (their fathers) not a single mother attended. The afternoon class had almost all mothers attending. What a cultural difference!

And yet this morning there were 4 women (in their 30s I am guessing? so hard to tell here where the elements wage their own war on beauty and age) at my door. 4 Tuareg women. I knew who one of them was, having met her once, but the others were new to me. They came to tell me they are starting a woman’s group in the community. That I would know many of them as mom’s of girls in our Girls at Risk school. They all live in this area. I don’t know how many exactly she was talking about, but I am guessing maybe 20 women? They even had gotten organized enough to write out their papers for the local mayor and get “official” papers stamped making them an “official” group in the eyes of the community. They wanted to know if I could come and see their group and talk with them and help them. They used the words for both teaching and education help as well as monetary help to start up small projects. I don’t really know what it all means yet, or exactly what they are looking for, but it is a group of Tuareg women, in my community, who want help and are asking for it. So my interest is piqued!!

But here are some thoughts to share with you about how I think through these things and how I need to process and be aware of our work here. Please feel free to leave suggestions or thoughts in the comments!

- they are a new group who has just started. they have not yet “done” anything together at all. What if they don’t stick together and really don’t make it work.

- with many of the mom’s from my Girls at the school, I could run them all through the same health and hygiene teaching I gave to their daughters!

- do they want teaching and education or just monetary help? From what they were saying they seemed to mentioned “help” in a financial sense several times. Do they want loans up front to help buy fabric/wood/milk/grain etc which they will then resell at a profit? How sustainable is that? Do they think I am just a bank with access to money to help them?

- so do they want me to be a participant, or the guide? I would love to come alongside and sit and listen and be a participant but I don’t see it working if they just want me to come, me to talk, me to teach, and me to fund. I told them I would come and sit and listen to their first meeting but not talk too much since I didn’t know them yet and it was not my group, but they kept insisting I speak and help, etc right off the bat. Not sure how I feel about that

- I usually like to see community groups run on their own for at least 6-12 months and save money as a community, nail down their own system of savings among themselves etc before we add on a new layer. But we only have 16 months before we leave on furlough for a year to Canada…

- is this a great way to enter into deeper relationships with this group of women my age who are more able to express their opinions (and listen to the opinions of others and possibly talk about moral/spiritual things) than their young daughters?

- I am weary of people who seem to want to use us just as their personal bank and personal failsafe in times of illness etc. It gets tiring and I feel just used sometimes. I am not here to bring them money and run projects, loans ,etc. There is so much more!

- gah! I am short on time and manpower as it is…can I add more layers to my own life?

So there you have it. Pray with me, send your thoughts, and we will see what this new opportunity brings together!

* * * * *

Sakki, a dear friend of mine who happens to be one of the anomalies and open from the start to a great friendship. She has 8 living children- ages 24 to newborn, and she is only 2 years older than me!

Video of the girls song at school!

2011-03-16T11:42:00.001-06:00

So I am new to this whole embedding video into blog posts. But my media guru here assures me it can be done. So here is my first try!

This is a group from the afternoon at our Girls at Risk school. I love their dances and songs. Hope you enjoy!

Afternoon class dancing from SaharaLive on Vimeo.

My brain on film

2011-03-15T05:26:00.001-06:00

I will tell you in advance there is a lot of photos here But that is part of the focus on the week- the visual!

This week has been totally different than our normal work flow. We have a media team here from Canada who is making a DVD of our Girls at Risk school. A 5 minute whirlwind tour of this program, these girls, and why this whole project is close to our hearts, and hopefully yours too!

With the permission of the parents, we have had the awesome team of Greg and Laura filming the girls at school, in some homes, markets etc. It has been a lot of fun to work this week on the long term vision of the project and to express it in a visual way that my photographic-inclined mind really enjoys! So much fun (and hard work) learning how to be a “producer” and put my brain on film! A scary concept!

The finished product will be available early this Fall! Here are some of the events we captured on film at the school… (while greg was shooting video I was getting digital snaps)

Interviews!

We shot one of the girls (and the crowds of people, food, etc) in markets.

Crowds of kids loved Greg’s big camera.

My favourite veggie stand lady

buying meat from the local butcher

And we followed some home!

The road strewn with goats and garbage to their home

Laura loved the little baby goat

All this and we are only half way through their time here! Stay tuned!

The kids birthdays!

2011-03-08T13:48:00.001-07:00

March is the month of birthdays for our children. Bennett turned 6 on the 5th and Arielle will turn 5 on the 28th. So of course we had to party!!

On Bennett’s actual birthday he chose to go to his favourite pool at a hotel in town. It also has one of the best patches of grass in town, a rarity here. And he wasn’t ashamed to lie down in it!

I need to use two hands to tell you my age now!

Bennett's favorite pink flippers. He can swim all over the pool and dive with them on. A little nervous still without them in the deep end.

Can you spot the two white kids in the (or around) the pool? You might think – wow that pool is full! But you are only seeing the 1/3 of the pool that is shallow. The other 2/3 was EMPTY. I kid you not. None of these people could swim. They just all hung out in the shallow end, just like our toddlers! And more than a few of their “bathing suits” looked a whole lot like their underwear….

One of the great things about this hotel – the view. It is right on the edge of the Niger river! With all the blowing dust and haze, it had this great eerie quality about it later in the afternoon before we left.

Then on Sunday we had a joint birthday party for both kids and invited lots of their friends. We had planned activities of croquet, dunking for suckers, train set and a costume booth. Everyone had a blast!

Arielle dunking for suckers

The costume booth was a huge hit!

Beautiful Princesses

I love this shot of the boys!

Croquet

The whole gang

Yummy cupcakes! Baked by Chantelle and Rebecca and decorated by Paul! Arielle wanted chocolate cupcakes and Bennett wanted strawberry, so that is what they got!

and of course they were spoiled with their presents from their friends.

Thanks to all of you!

Some portraits from the day

and look- even a rare look at the photographer who is always behind the lens! Rebecca and I had fun with some of the dress up clothes too!

A year in review

2011-03-03T10:31:00.001-07:00

I know we are starting March. So my year in review is a little late, but we have been busy!

Each year I like to look back at all the things we learned the year before. What were our biggest successes, biggest failures, biggest challenges and biggest growth? How much can we take from what we experienced in the year before to make us into better people, better reflecting who God wants us to be. We are learning about gratefulness and finding the good blessings even in the midst of hard situations. We are learning our own strengths, as well as our own shortcomings. So good!

Paul has had a wonderful year, although quite challenging when you ask him. Paul still has another 7 or so months left of “official” language study. Every week he struggles with the time behind a desk, in class, finding ways to make language learning more than an awful chore he has to learn. But yet he is also the first to see there has been great growth in his language skills. The majority of the young men he works with all speak French, so it is tough to force them to speak Tamasheq with him, but he tries!

I asked him on the spot what he thought the biggest struggle was last year. His answer was “scheduling his time” . So many requests, so many needs, language study, shop work, and a family all needing his attention. And nothing like a regular job workday in sight! So trying to find how to manage his time and be a self organizer has been hard.

I also asked what he thought an achievement of his was this year that improved his capacity to live here in Niger. He said he had come to terms with Africa a lot more! Crazy driving, no rules, frequent strikes, power outages, corrupt officials and hard-headed Tuaregs are no longer a thing to make him bang his own head against a wall, but something he has learned to navigate with much less stress. Yay!

Paul has also been using his skills as a welder to bless other groups. He has built a whole lot of desks and chairs for a school, and now a bunch of bright green metal benches for the new CURE hospital for Children in town. He is working with a few young men as apprentices and sees great potential for teaching and will start this more formally this Fall.

Chantelle finished formal language study the end of November after completing 25.5 months in Tamasheq language studies. I am finding this doesn’t mean a whole bunch to my schedule since the last months the large majority of my language was all with national friends and work anyhow. I am now spending a big majority of my time in the Girls at Risk training school. I love working with these 60 girls (all between the ages of 12 and 19) and see huge potential. We are still working out some of the kinks with supplies, lesson planning and especially the guards for the centre, but overall we are really seeing great potential and excitement in the girls. As we get to know them better in the school, we are also seeing increased opportunities to invest in their lives outside of school. The real relational heart work comes at their homes, on field trips, sitting and having tea anywhere, talking about life, love, health, heart issues and faith in the context of this wonderful friendship we are building. I am getting great friendships going with many of the girls and am so proud of their progress and excitement to learn as we are on this journey together.

I am still working on the School feeding program out in the village, but with increased security concerns, I can’t physically be out there. A real bummer that we are creatively trying to find a way around.

On a creative side, I still try to make time! I have done quite a bit of photography for myself and for others, I am trying to do a bit of sewing and reading. With security concerns keeping us on curfew and in town I need some new hobbies!

I have struggled with stress and anxiety this past 7 or so months more than normal and am trying to find ways to be proactive and have a good self-care plan in place. Some things are out of my control, so I try to control how much they stress me out at least!

Bennett is a very active, bright 6 year old. Well he turns 6 Saturday, so close enough! He loves to snuggle and is easily affectionate. He has learned to write this year and the beginnings of learning to read, and is very excited to read. He loves books at night. He misses Canada and talks about it, whereas Arielle never does. He also loves to talk about nice hotels (like the resorts we stayed in on our last two vacations) and hopes to live permanently in one. He even hopes there is a nice hotel in Heaven!

Bennett is so funny. He also loves his French school but he is quite observant (for a 6 year old!) about many of the cultural differences that he observes between him and his classmates. Here are some of his recent funny comments, we never know what “astute observation” is going to come out of his mouth next!

Bennett- whose goats are those?

Mom- the people who live in the hut there

Bennett- Oh. I thought God sent us goats that don’t belong to anyone so that they could eat all the garbage!

I have the best rule EVER for the house! When we play with something, or anybody puts anything on the table, they clean it up before they go to bed! Then we will always have a clean house! (His Daddy LOVED this one!)

You know why it took me so long to eat my breakfast this morning Mom? My heart was dreaming of victory and I forgot all about my yogurt!

Arielle has had a really good year. She thrives in the French preschool class she is in. She is slow to talk to adults (still shy and unsure), but when you hear her talk with a group of little people I am amazed how much she talks, especially in French! On days home she loves to follow our housekeeper Rebecca around and help clean and chatter away in French. We are proud of how her emotional stability has grown. She loves to read and colour and be read stories. And she loves hanging out with all her aunties here! She plays better with the young Africa neighbours than Bennett does and is quite content to sit in huts or chase goats with some of her new friends. She loves visiting African friends, whereas Bennett is a little more iffy. She even has learned some Tamasheq!

Spain Dec 2010

If you know Paul and I you know we aren’t people who just gloss over things that might be hard. We can’t ignore tension or pretend things are all shiny happy (fake!). We tell it like it is and are learning how to be positive catalysts for change. It is never an easy task. So frustrating sometimes when we work with a very prideful people group who used to be Kings of the Desert, and who didn’t seem to get the message they are now the poorest of the poor who have no skills and people look down on. They don’t seem to want to work or grow and learn sometimes. So frustrating! One of the major things we are learning is how to use our natural personalities who desire honesty and authenticity and to apply that to our lives and situations around us in the best way possible.

We have experienced (and continue to experience) several areas of extreme frustration. Sometimes we wonder how we can get past them, what are our options, our best solutions, etc. Maybe there are no solutions and this is just part of the journey we will continue to learn from here in Niger? Maybe there is another solution that we just haven’t found yet? Truth of the matter is we love what we do. The work we have, the people we work with and the role we clearly feel God has for us is very rewarding and fulfilling in many ways. No matter what the road blocks, we still feel this is where we need to be, the work that we have to do is here for now. We trust when the time comes to move on (if ever!) that God will clearly lead us that direction as we look only up to follow Him.

We also live in an interesting situation of security. We are neither really secure, nor really insecure. It feels like jello some days if we slide closer to one side or another. In general we feel safe in town and take all the precautions possible. We will see what (if any) affect all the upheaval in the countries north of us has. We also have National Elections in a few weeks, finally getting a new government after the coup d’etat more than a year ago. We pray this is a good government, but you just never know here!

So overall this past year has been one of great growth. Also increased stress, but hopefully with an equal measure of learning and personal growth. God is good and we count ourselves lucky to be here in this time when He is clearly teaching us and refining us and using us to achieve his purposes.

This is a verse we hold to and try to make our life mantra at this point!

Philippians 4:11b-13 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

an African sauce recipe you can try at home!

2011-03-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

Every Tuesday Rebecca and I go to Miriama’s hut. We enjoy hours of hanging out, language practice, culture learning and food! Each week, we make our favorite meal with Miriama. We bring the baguettes and she makes a wonderful sauce called “Chapatta sauce” which is named after the tree leaf they puree into it.

Today the kids are on school break so we wanted to bring them with us and have fun. So today Rebecca and I went with our little list of notes to the market and managed to buy all the ingredients ourselves. We showed up and told Miriama today was her day to kick back and relax and drink tea and let us make her family lunch! We had a great time and lots of laughs. And in the end- we were told our sauce was excellent! Every last morsel and drop was eaten. As they say in Tamasheq IZOD! (yummy!)

So for those of you at home- you can make the same recipe. We use a mortar and pestle and tree leaves, you can use your blender or food processer and spinach. Or be brave and go get some leaves off your tree! Here is the recipe. Totally yummy to serve with baguettes. You tear off the bread and use it as a spoon to eat this thick sauce. Let me know if you did it!

Miriama giving direction – we wouldn’t let her work!

The sauce is almost done. This is what it should look like.

Ingredients (for 2-3 people)

squash (Any kind) – at least 1 cup cubed raw

onion – 1 large- sliced

potatoes – at least 1 cup cubed raw

hot peppers- 2 small – pureed (add more if you like it spicy!)

garlic- 5 cloves- pureed

oil – 1/3 cup

smooth peanut butter – 1/3 cup (more if you like that peanuty taste!)

spinach – 2 packed cups of leaves, then puree or pound them down to a puree

tomato paste – 1/3 cup

salt – 2 tsp or to taste

bouillon cubes (preferably chicken)- two cubes (about 2 tsp)

Directions:

heat your oil in a pot. Add pureed garlic and hot peppers. Add onion. Let simmer a couple minutes. Add peanut butter and tomato paste and mix well. Add 1 cup water and let simmer a couple minutes. Don’t let it burn to your pot! Add squash and a little more water if it is too thick. Let simmer a few more minutes. Add your pureed leaves or spinach and keep simmering. Add your salt and bouillon. Add 1 more cup of water. If it still looks thick add more water as you need to. You don’t want it runny like thin soup, but you don’t want it really thick like chili either. Add potatoes and simmer on low, stirring often, until the potatoes and squash and both really soft and easily mushed with a fork.

Serve hot with fresh baguette. Tear off chunks of bread and use the bread as spoons and eat from a communal pot in a circle for the full African experience! Hope some of you try this- it is easy and awesome!

Here are some more pictures of our meal today!

Bennett likes the job of pounding. He pounded up all the garlic, spices, peppers and tree leaves!

Everyone getting their “bread spoon” in there!

Arielle digging in! She is always the last one to walk away from the platter, even using her fingers to get every last drop!

A picture Bennett took of Miriama’s mom watching us all cook. She thought it was great fun and next week it is her turn to cook and join our cooking competition! Normally it is her daughter who cooks all the time, so we are excited to see what she comes up with.

Yaargh!

2011-02-23T13:43:00.001-07:00

Just a quick photo to make you smile. I promise I have another blog half written that is much more content filled!!

Today was the last day of school for the kids before their Spring Break 2 weeks off. It was a carnival theme and they had to dress up in costumes.

Arielle and her best buddy Lily went as “Spanish twins” and Bennett rocked the pirate costume! The best pirate anyone had seen

Where did January go?

2011-02-11T09:17:00.001-07:00

One of our favourite little boys – Ibrahim. The boy who is perpetually dirty, snotty and half naked, but with the biggest grin you will ever see!

It seems like the month of January just flew by! And i barely updated you! Sorry! So, after our return from vacation, here is what went down, in short format!

Arielle and Lily wearing their matching dresses! We bought two in Seville, Spain and Lily and Arielle loved their dresses and look so darn cute together!

Paul finished off his project of making 30 metal chairs for Sahel Academy. It took a really long time and he is happy to be done! Now one of our local Tuareg guys who is a painter is painting the final product. Here is Paul goofing around showing how strong his chairs are!

The kids had a carnival day at school where they played all afternoon and won lots of little prizes and had fun!

We also had special visitors in January when Rebecca’s parents came to visit. We enjoyed many great times with them and especially the kids!

We also learned that some games can easily cross cultural and language barriers! Myra brought out a bunch of toy water guns and we brought them out to Fatima’s house. The kids had a BLAST playing water fight and chasing each other all over the yard. (And as you can see in one pic- Bennett chasing the goats!)

We also brought some plastic night flares. You crack these and they stay lit for up to 12 hours! As night fell and we only had the moon overhead, the kids enjoyed writing in the sky with the green sticks and I used slow motion photography to capture them. Even some of the adults got involved!

And then there is also sadness. For many years we have had this huge tree right outside our gate.

It shaded the garden we put outside, the guards straw hut, and was the home to many a weary and hot soul who came to sit on the base of it to visit and escape the unrelenting sun. The tree was a part of our house! Bennett loved playing around it and climbing it too. We had dreams of a tire swing…

Yesterday the city came and cut it down! They are building a wall around the school across the street. The school argued they need a very large courtyard (why?) and that the wall needed to be moved waaayyyyy over to our side of the street. So they shut down our garden, cut down our giant tree, and are moving the entire road over about 10 feet. Yup, that will put it directly in front of our front door. Only a metre off. Not only does it make this road much more dangerous and narrow, it also creates a blind corner and will make it tight to get into our gate. We are NOT happy. Some of the neighbours have tried to fight it since its placement seems highly illogical and dangerous to all of us. But we are just small people. As the people from the mayor said “there is a lot of money, and a lot of people with money, involved.”. Sigh- seems like the African way.

Please pray for safety as we now have a busy road directly in front of our house. Not sure how long we want to live in this house now.

So…that’s the update for now! I have muffins in the oven for our team potluck tomorrow night so i guess i better get going!

Chantelle

Passing it on…

2011-01-20T01:13:00.001-07:00

There are a few things I have been wanting to blog about but seem to forget or never had time, so I thought I need to get caught up! One thing I wanted to write about was the extended teaching that happened after our Grain Aid program stopped when the new harvest came in the end of October.

All through the proceeding months we had been teaching the program participants (the fathers of the families) about health care topics such as diarrhoea and dehydration, malaria, mosquito net use and care, intestinal worms, first aid and common illness prevention. We had hoped that the men would go and share this knowledge with their families, but you just never know.

So we decided to train a group of 4 locals (2 men and 2 women) to take a condensed version of this teaching and go visit each one of the 60 families to present it to the rest of the family, especially the mothers who would benefit the most from the health teaching!

So here are some pictures of the families (taken by our teachers) as they went out and taught the community. Hope it helps you to put faces to stories of all the families who were helped through your generosity and support in our Grain Aid program. Our total was over 1500 people!