Family Time

I feel that I have to preface this blog post with an explanation. Before coming overseas, I had read blog posts of missionaries taking vacations in exotic places and I thought “Really?” That “really” had several meanings: Where did they get money to do that and is that really what they should be spending their money on? Aren’t all missionaries supposed to be roughing it 24/7 and not taking vacations?!

Well, after having lived in Niger now for 2 years, I can tell you that my views have changed. When I now read or hear about other missionaries getting away for a vacation, I think, “Good for them.” Here is an attempt to explain how things work for our family, although I imagine not all missionaries work in the same way. We can afford to take vacations away from this desolate place only if we save up for them. Although our monthly salary is less than that of the average Canadian, I cannot complain since we live in the poorest country in the world, where the average person lives on less than a dollar a day (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_statistics.html). In contrast, we not only have enough for basic necessities, but we can also try to set aside money for things like retirement, our children’s education and vacations. Consequently, we are truly thankful. I am also very thankful to have a husband who is a great accountant and has a strong belief that we are stewards of God’s money (so hubby does not let me waste money on frivolous things that I really don’t need but think I want....that is entirely another blog post that I will save for another time).

As you may have read in our last post, by the end of June, we were ready to have a break. We really needed one. It was hot, we were tired, and we were starting to not care. And this was not a good thing. On plane safety procedures, they tell you that in the event of a loss of cabin pressure, you are to put on your own mask before helping a child with theirs. There is good reason for that. If you don’t get yourself breathing properly first, you will not be able to help the child. The same is true for us. We are here to try to help the people in this place. There are days when our hearts feel like they bleed and our tears don’t stop falling for them. We get inundated with requests for help and we want to help (almost) everyone but we know that we can’t. It gets depressing and overwhelming. If we ourselves are not well rested and healthy, we would have nothing to give to those around us. So no, missionaries cannot and should not “rough it” 24/7. They would not last. They would burn out and become completely ineffective.

All of that to say, we took a vacation, which was marvelous. We spent the first week-and-a-half in Paris with my parents and my sister’s family. Another sister also joined us at the end of our time there. I got to eat my mom’s cooking, and our kids had such fun playing and catching up with their cousins. And we took advantage of the opportunity to shop in well-stocked grocery stores and eat Asian food! If this weren’t enough, we also got to go to Euro Disney, see some of the other sights around Paris, and eat some French cuisine.

The next week-and-a-half took us to the Loire Valley, where we spent time with Rog’s parents and his brother’s family. We actually got to see a stage of the Tour de France! What a beautiful countryside! Everything was green and the cows were huge! Our Fulani friends, who are traditionally herders, would never have believed it. I had either never seen cows so big before or else I had grown used to the emaciated cows in Niger that these seemed mutantly large.

We had a wonderful 3 weeks and are so thankful to our families who spent their time and resources to come see us. We are also thankful to all those who give to the Global Advance Fund. We receive our salaries from there and could not be in Niger otherwise. And we are so grateful to have gotten a break. We are now refreshed enough to truly feel privileged to be here working in Niger. Thanks for joining us on this journey.

First night...big sleepover!!They were SO happy! (Sorry, the picture was upright when I loaded it but it turns back sideways when I load it up!)

Canada Day at the Eiffel Tower! Had a few Canadians greet us...

A quick rest for grandpa and the grandkids

No visit with Auntie Esther is complete without a picture of her sleeping! At least she has an excuse to be tired now...carrying around that extra weight is exhausting!

Grandma with half of her grandkids.

Sorry again, can't seem to upright this picture! 3 out of 5 Park sisters with mom

Me with my sweet baby girl

Jaelyn posing with Ah-gong as the camera gets set up for a group shot

Castle visit with justified ice cream on a hot day.

There were so many great pictures, but will not post them all here. Thanks for keeping in touch with us!