for mom

since arriving in niger i have been on a mission. there is a beautiful bird that flies over this dry land...and it is gorgeous. it seems out of place amongst all the sand and nothingness. well i have finally captured a picture a the beautiful bird. it has been a hard mission and i am glad to have it complete.

friday driving through the bush with 5 fulani women and three infants with me, i saw the bird perched in the tree. i motioned for the women to be quite as i rolled down my window and got the camera ready. at last, the bird didn't fly away and i snapped away.




















the picture of this gorgeous bird is dedicated to my mom!

i began this mission in hopes of capturing this bird in a picture just for you - enjoy! i love you!

new folks on camels

meet kimberly, known as Salmey by her new fulani friends:




















and here is nikki, who now goes by aminatou




















followed by jonathan, with the new name of sambo




















and then, you all know me...




















...i think i was waiting for the camel to take off running...he didn't.

good times

The Fulani like to sing and dance in the evening hours after eating. Normally just the children and teenagers sing and dance, and all of their songs and dances are nearly the same. Not much variety. Well nowadays, in one village, some Fulani friends sit around singing praise songs. Oh, it is so beautiful to hear them singing in Fulfulde and Hausa. And it’s not just the kids, often their parents and grandparents sing along with them.

The other night we sat around drinking tea, visiting, and singing praise songs.















good times!

the first rain

Praise the Lord! It rained. Rainy season hasn’t begun quite yet, but the first rain was quite refreshing.




















I had a ball playing in the rain with the neighborhood kids.

Unfortunately, I awoke to a problem the next morning due to the rain that night.

My water container and squatty potty collapsed. That means my “septic tank” broke and all the “stuff” inside was exposed. Sorry, no pictures!

newborns

It seems like right now women are giving birth. In the last several weeks, I have spent many a days holding new born Fulani babies and attending their various celebrations.









































































































I pray that these precious babies would grow strong and that they would know the love of Jesus. God bless them and their families.

from kentucky

Last month, I had the pleasure of hosting some folks from a cool church in Kentucky. These Kentuckians went to a couple of different Fulani villages throughout eastern Niger, including two villages near Tessaoua.















They were able to encourage and pray with Fulani believers, who they have been praying for for years without knowing them.















They were able to pray for and share a Bible story with a Fulani chief who is dear to my heart. The chief and other elders eagerly listened to the Bible story after learning how much they had in common with the folks from Kentucky.















as the Kentuckians departed, I also said "farewell" to my wonderful teammate Danielle.















Congratulations on your engagement, Danielle & Nate!

digging deeper

Old Man: Hi. How are you?
Me: I am well and you?
Old Man: I am well. How was your trip?
Me: It was great.
Old man: How are your parents?
Me: They are well and send their greetings to you.
Old man: How’s the heat?
Me: Oh, there is heat!
Old man: Well, come sit in the shade near the well. By the way, there are children in the well today.
Me: What?
Old man: Yes, there are children in the well today.
Me: (confused and frantic) I don’t understand. Why are children in the well? Did they fall in?
Old man: (laughing) No, they are working. Follow me and you’ll see.
Me: (greatly relieved but still concerned) Okay, let’s go.

…so off I went to the well with the old man to see just what was going on. I was quite intrigued by it all, especially considering that at first I thought I was going to have to rescue some kids who had fallen in a well!















What was going on? This particular well was hand dug awhile back but has since dried up. This particular day they begin digging the well deeper. No concrete walls, no support except for some logs at ground level. Two boys were lowered into the well with a rope. At the bottom they begin digging dirt out and putting it in baskets which were pulled up by other young men.















After the kids had been in the well a couple of hours, the old men supervising the work decided they should take a break. The boys were pulled out of the well by their friends.















Talk about hard work! I was impressed and thankful the walls of the well didn’t collapse.




















I hope you are grateful for your running water!