Hot Season

I know it has been over a month. I apologize. The brutal truth - I just did not feel like updating. The excuses? Excessive heat, power cuts, security issues and just plain laziness. It has been a tough few weeks. The heat really is getting ridiculous and the couple of rains we got in April dried up long ago. Niger has had issues with power. Though the neighbourhood we live in has the best electricity in the whole country, we have friends that have had an average of a couple of hours of power a day. A local store owner was washing out his deep freezers when I went by and he said that he had had no power for a week. Please pray for consistent electricity to come. 

On a happier note, the kids finished off their school year with a final assembly at the old campus (the one that was flooded). They had the main hall renovated in time for this and it was an emotional ceremony as we pondered God's faithfulness in getting us through a hard year. Nathan and Jaelyn both got awards and here is Nathan looking quite happy with himself! (The picture of Jaelyn turned out too grainy to post).

Here are a few random pictures of the month:

Zeinabou giving Aissa a wash in their yard

Zeinabou is lucky in that they have a pump right in the lot that they live in, so they do not have to walk and carry water long distances to have it available. However, it still involves several trips to the pump and collecting water in whatever containers are available. This water, however, is not potable. To think we water our lawns in North America with drinkable water! If you do a quick search of "world water usage" the statistics are staggering. According to www.water.org, the average American uses 176 gallons of water per day compared to the 5 gallons of water that the average African family uses. Hanging out with some of our local friends has made me more aware of our water consumption. Rog started collecting our grey water (water from our kitchen sink) and watering our plants (basil to keep mosquitoes away) with it. They are the healthiest of all our plants!

Watching the Jesus film in Fulfulde

The above is a picture of when I took my laptop to Zeinabou's house one day to watch the Jesus film in Fulfulde. They were totally enthralled and it was amazing to watch their faces. They already know the story, but it was fascinating for them to have it acted out in their own language. My laptop was overheated and completely covered in dust by the end, but it was well worth it!

A baby named Samsu

Niger has the highest number of children per woman (7.19) and our language tutor has surpassed this statistic! Here is his wife, Fati, with their 8th (living) child. And no celebration is complete without the humongous cauldrons of rice and sauce!

Local butcher - where I will buy meat to take to Zeinabou's house - no refrigeration required! 

On my way home from lunch, I saw how the meat gets transported! This is very common practice...it is 40C outside and hotter in the sun...but, if you need a sheep/goat/cow, how are you going to get it to where it needs to go? In the back of a taxi, of course! Who needs a refrigerated vehicle?! 

That is all for now. Thank you for keeping up with us. We get to see some family soon and are VERY excited about that.