The beginning of our first hot season

It has been a busy month. Another visit to the village of Teppe, a 3 day training and a trip to Ghana. Hot season was delayed in getting here as the “dusty season” (also known as “harmatan”) was a bit longer this year and we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in temperatures no higher than 38 (average yearly highs for Niamey) in late March (when hot season was to have started). But, we are now into April and well into hot season as highs reach mid 40s and lows at night only going down to low 30s. Again, all surprisingly manageable! As long as it is dry, that is. We had the opportunity to go to Ghana this month for a week to meet up with a member care team person, to reflect on our first 8 months, and a chance to strengthen our relationships with God and each other. Ghana is incredibly lush, as it is on the coast (so green!)  but also incredibly humid! We were so thankful for our dry heat after our trip there! It was fun for us to go to a mall (pretty puny compared to the great West Edmonton Mall – but a mall, nonetheless!), to meet up with great friends and to spend Easter remembering our Lord and what He did for us. 

This is a man that sits on the side of a highway on the way to Teppe (a Fulani village where our teammate, Lisa, has been working for several years) . He has no legs and is literally sitting in the middle of nowhere hoping that cars whizzing by will stop to give him something. He has no shelter from the scorching sun.  What kind of existence is this? Yet, Jesus loves him. Lisa used to drive by him all the time but one day, God gave her a revelation. He loves this man. Lisa and the beggar share no common language, she does not even know if he can speak, yet God’s unabashed love for him was shown to Lisa and now, she has to stop. Each trip out to the village, she stops to say hello and say a quick prayer, give him some money or food. It is not about the food or the money though. I believe she is showing this man that God loves him. May God speak to him and reveal Himself to him. May God continue to allow us to see this world through His eyes. May our hearts continue to break when we see injustice and may we have compassion on those that are weak and poor. May we be God’s hands and feet here in Niger. Not by our strength, but by His. Not for our names’ sake, but for His glory.  

Lisa holding a newborn baby 

Aissa separating millet (I believe it is like separating the chaff from the wheat, but may be mistaken.) It was quite amazing to watch this skill!

This picture is for my Optometrist colleagues. This is a kid that was born without any problems. Though the history was very hard to obtain accurately, what I gathered was that a year or so ago, he ended up with sores around his head and it spread to his eye. He now has a very large corneal scar that he will likely have for the rest of his life. I have yet to hear of corneal transplants being done here. This is not surprising, as even cataract surgery, which is a 5 minute procedure in North America, is not common here. Yes, it is done (our team just helped someone get it recently) but for a regular Nigerien, the cost would be too much. It is sad, as cataracts are very prevalent here due to the strong sun and lack of eye protection. The blindness in this little boy's eye was likely preventable as well, had there been reliable medical attention readily available. So sad.

This little girl was happily playing by herself...with a knife!!! She couldn’t have been more than 6 years old.

These boys were happy to help herd some goats.

I went to my first baby naming ceremony (this is in Niamey now). There were some very big pots in the yard. You can see the sacks of rice in the corner. This was Haruna’s 5^th child. For each child, there is a huge celebration and the parents are expected to feed all of their neighbors, friends and family for the day. Most people go into debt to have such elaborate parties. I know that this is their culture, but for a country that is starving to death due to famine...is it really necessary to continue with such traditions?! It is a struggle to try to help because HOW do you help? What can we do? Pray that we will have the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit!

Right before leaving for Ghana, we got a chance to participate in a training called “Community Health Evangelization” (CHE). We LOVED the training and look forward to implementing it one day...hopefully!

We flew to Ghana on a little Cessna 182. So cool! 

Kids did great on the 4 hour flight. No bathroom (it is a tiny plane) but it was a direct flight. Our pilot even picked us up and dropped us off after! Door to door service and worked out to be much more cost-effective than a commercial flight! THANK YOU SIMAIR!!

 

Nathan put his nose against a window screen and yeah...apparently, it was not clean. :)

They had KFC in Accra!! One of our first meals in Ghana. :) Thanks for taking us, Lynn!!

The kids had a BLAST playing Wii! We may have to invest in one of these (eventually)!

Waffle breakfast with the other R&M and Jenissa!

Nathan at the outdoor playground in the mall.

Ghana has yummy ice cream!

It was great to see you Lynn! Thanks for spending time with us. 

Uncle Richard with his ice coffee

Easter story with Uncle Richard 

Easter egg hunt! Thank you Auntie Merinda and Auntie Lynn for organizing!

R&R catching some R&R... 

...while the women and kids play UNO!

sadly, this is as close as we got to the beach (the hotel had it fenced off)

back in Niger...Rog took a trip to see the giraffes...we hope to go as a family when Esther and Richard come to visit!

Phew! That was a long one! See you in another month!