May the fourth be with you!

Okay, our family has been itching to say that, so I thought I would post a blog today just so I could title it with this title! (Happy Birthday to our nephew, Noah!)
I also figured it was time to update on the family.

Family Update

The kids enjoying some yummy Korean donuts...what makes them Korean? I don't actually know. But I was motivated to make them. As the weather gets warmer, I have been less motivated to do such a thing!

A very big event this month was that our cat had 3 kittens! Well..."our" is used very loosely. We don't feed her, but she lives in our yard and does not seem to want to leave. The kids love her and her name is Maggie (short for "mageru" which is Fulfulde for "cat"). (Yes, I know I have already mentioned this in a previous blog. Sorry for the repetition for our faithful readers. :)

"Our" cat had kittens!

Jaelyn got to hold this little one that was 1 day old!

Rescuing the kittens

The day after Maggie had her litter, we got rain. Lots of rain. Well, the cement (septic) box that she decided to have her kittens in started to flood and thankfully Rog thought to go out and check on them. After quite a fiasco, we rescued them and brought them in for the night. Which ended up being another fiasco (did you know that cat's can't drink cow's milk? Well, it gave ours diarrhea. Good thing for tiled floors!) There is a reason I do not have pets.

Rog has been having loads of fun getting lizards with his slingshot and feeding them to Maggie. He did not think she was capable in her condition (post-partum) to catch her own. Now, I think he just likes the challenge!

The kids are doing great. They only have 4 weeks of school left! They don't complain about the heat as much as I do. Such resiliency. I have a thing or two to learn from them.

Jaelyn and Nathan came with me to visit Zeinabou when they had a day off school for Labour Day. They are checking out a chicken keeping her eggs warm in the corner of this structure (hopefully going to be a house one day, but has been in process of being built for months)

Nathan's class has been in a month of celebrating nations. His class of 9 students comes from 7 different countries! The diversity is amazing. There is a Canadian (Nathan), an American, an Australian, a Nigerien (from Niger), a Nigerian (from Nigeria), a Swiss, (a Swiss/Nigerien), and 2 Koreans! I got to share a bit about Canada AND South Korea. Good thing these kids don't know how little I know about either country!

I don't know how to rotate this picture...sorry.

These 2 got to model their Korean outfits (hanbok). Nathan then asks "Mommy, where is my hanbok?" So random. The last time he wore one was when he was 3 for New Year's! 

The kids learned "head and shoulders, knees and toes"...in Korean! Hope I had the words right! :) 

Language update
I continue to head to Zeinabou's once a week (to try) to converse with her. Rog and I have language class twice a week with our tutor and Rog gets an extra lesson with the tutor by himself, as I don't seem to do as well in a classroom setting.

Zeinabou preparing a meal in the scorching sun

Aissa "playing"...yes, that is a real knife!

Because I have more time, I also try to head out to Mariama's hut. This is the same hut that I had mentioned in earlier posts. I had stopped going to visit her as it is ALWAYS a zoo there. There are 2 families with a total of 10 kids and people and goats always coming and going. Not always conducive for striking up conversation, but I have missed her and her kids and it has been good to get back to visit them. However, it has been a bitter sweet time. Their living conditions and the lack of hygiene of these kids always has me shaking my head. How can I help them?! For now, when I am there, I insist that they at least wash their hands before they eat. But water is precious. Mariama has to go (about the distance of a city block) and get it from a neighbor and carry it back on her head in a plastic container. With such a large family, this trip has to happen many times a day. I can't blame them for not wanting to use up their precious water when a bit of sand can't hurt...can it?

Amina eating rice mush with sauce

One of the woman who lives with Mariama has 3 children. They do not go to school, though her oldest, Fati, (Jaelyn's age) is old enough. Her parents can't afford to send her. Fati stays home to take care of her 2 younger brothers (ages 1 and 3) while their mom goes to clean the house of a Nigerien. She only works for about 2 hours a day, but she works 7 days a week. I was curious and I had to ask. Does she get paid? Yes, she gets paid. How much? 6000cfa a month. That is about $12CAD. A month. For about 56 hours of work. She has to leave her children in the care of her 8 year old...for 40 cents a day!  But that money is precious, especially if her husband does not have work (which seems to be most days). I just don't get it sometimes. I know, it sounds like a World Vision campaign. Something you see on TV. But this is the reality we live in. Lord, help us!

Fati (8) with her 2 younger brothers and Kadiza

Ministry update
Well, technically, we are still in full time language studies, but we have been making village trips to help out one of our teammates. She is coming back this summer but another teammate heads home for a year so Rog and I are preparing to head out to another Fulani village to help out. This village has recently had people who have decided to follow Jesus. What a privilege to be a part of this!

The Fulani men sitting around waiting. (We do a lot of sitting and waiting around.)

We got to go to a baptism of four believers. Yep, that water was a test of faith! They had to take out the dead frog before they dunked the men.

Rog got to pray with the 4 who were baptized

 It is not an easy thing for these men to confess that they have heard the Truth and that they want to follow it. If you have a chance, please pray that their faith would grow and that they would persevere, despite the persecution and challenges that will come. Please also pray that we will be creative in finding ways for them to feed their families and help their communities in a sustainable way.

We are truly thankful to be chosen to be here. To have the privilege of being used by God to share His love with the people of Niger. We are also thankful for each of you. Thanks for supporting us financially, through prayer...and by reading these (sometimes verbose, sometimes depressing) updates!