Serving In Sahel

They say the older you get the faster time flies....I agree. This school year has certainly flown by. It seems like yesterday that I arrived in Niger and now ten months later, school is done. We began our last week of school with an elementary pool party on a cloudy, windy, dusty, "cool" day. The students had a great time swimming in water that felt like a bathtub. Yes, I got in too. Before our closing assembly, the students participated in one last soccer game ... while staff and students cheered them on. The finale of the week was graduation, which took place outside in the school's courtyard. It was a lovely evening celebrating the success of our seniors and encouraging them on as they begin their next new adventure. So ends another school year....there's still some work to be done this week to finish up this year and prepare for the coming school year. Then a flight  home to see family and friends and get some rest and relaxa...

As another school year draws to a close, what better way to celebrate than with a staff party! We had a yummy Mexican feast! After supper, we played a game to see how well we knew each other and enjoyed some delicious desserts. Mike and I practiced our acting skills with a skit about a news broadcast detailing the year's highlights. We ended the evening by presenting Jenny, our administrative assistant, and Joel, one of our French teachers, a gift as they celebrate their wedding later on this month. What a blessing it has been to work with these folks this year! I am so thankful for their commitment to nurture the next generation for Christ. It will be hard to say good-bye to those who are off to begin a new adventure as our time together has been sweet.

For our last visit to the Remar orphanage of the school year, we brought the kids to our campus where we had all kinds of treats in store for them. From some tasty snacks of mango, watermelon, cookies and popcorn,     to playing on the playground, throwing water balloons at one another,   and cooling off in the sprinklers,   then was time to pass out treat bags and say our good byes. Benjo wanted me to get a photo of his new shorts. They all said it was the best day of their life and they were blessed to have come, but the truth is we were the blessed ones. Blessed by arms reaching out to hug you when they arrived. Blessed by shrieks of laughter and huge smiles on their faces. Blessed by hearts of gratitude for caring about them. Blessed by thankfulness for the simplest of gifts. Blessed....

It seems that the end of every school year is always a busy time. This semester I joined forces with the secondary principal and another teacher to help the secondary drama class prepare for their presentation of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". There were a few hiccups along the way, but the students did a great job on Friday and Saturday night.   I must admit that there were a few times when I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into....but in the end, it all came together and I truly enjoyed the privilege of working with our secondary students.  

For some... Mother's day is a day of great rejoicing and family gatherings, for others it is a day of sadness and loneliness. Mother's Day has been a difficult day for me for the past nine years, I'm not a mom and my Mom is not here to celebrate with. There are many lessons I have learned during my time here in Niger, I'll share more later, but one is the lesson about family. In West Africa, family is important. They live together, (often in the same house), cook together, share together and survive together. They talk and laugh together. Life is precious because in a moment it can be gone. I am so thankful for the godly example I had to follow from my Mom. She loved to laugh and I loved to hear that laugh. She was kind and caring and generous, always wanting to help those in need. She always wanted to be a teacher, so I when I went home for a weekend visit, I would take some Spelling tests for her to grade. She so enjoyed that. Thoughts of her homemade bread st...

Shopping is a foreign country is always an interesting experience. In Niger, we hear "Anasara" called out as we walk by. If calling that doesn't get our attention, they bring their wares up to us hoping that if we see the mangoes, zucchini. tomatoes, or souvenirs....we will want to buy them. In Turkey, we heard "Hey Lady, I have a deal for you" as the shopkeepers tried to entice us into their store. There was tasty Turkish Delight to sample and spices to smell. After an afternoon of walking and shopping, it was nice to sit for a bit by a fountain and enjoy the sunshine. It was wonderful to hear from missionaries serving in Turkey that the church is growing there. The good news is being spread and lives are changing. 

After the boat ride (see last week's blog for that story), we got to explore the ancient ruins of Side. Once upon a time Side was a famous port city. I was pleasantly surprised to see camels in Turkey too. They are a common sight in Niger. Abby, Julie and I decided to become Greek statutes, or maybe columns... The ruins at Side were impressive. It is so amazing that something built so long ago has stood the test of time to be enjoyed many years later. You can see why Side was such an important harbour city in its day. We had a grand time exploring the ruins and getting an interesting history lesson from our guide along the way. Although he did say that 90% of what he said was true, however it all sounded like a great story to me.