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Hey readers. My computer has officially quit letting me into wordpress. I can no longer access my blog so my aunt is posting this for me - thanks Amy!

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I can post pictures on my new blog now! I’m still trying to get it to look perfect - right now it’s kinda plain. The post below is the first one on my new blog. Please post all comments on blogspot from now on because I can’t read the ones on here anymore. 

Last Blog On WORDPRESS - First blog on BLOGSPOT - anna2africa.blogspot

J.A.P.C.Y.N

Has it been a doozy of a week or what?! The Lord has blessed it beyond what I could have asked for and I don’t know where to start in telling you all about it. 

This picture is of me and my friends, *Stephen and *Fanny (this photo is only available on blogspot). They are two Fulani Christians and this picture was taken back in March when I went to the Fulani Conference then. They are engaged and planning to be married in the near future. The near future for Fulani’s can be tomorrow or two years. But they’re engaged none the less!

    Last Tuesday Stephen came to get me at our Baptist Guest House (BGH) here in Niamey and we headed to the church to begin our week. Once we got to the church (which is within walking disatnce from the BGH) I met up with *Allen, *Adam (who is Fanny’s uncle but a few months younger than she is - weird!)  and also with Fanny’s cousin who is a Fulani Pastor. His name is *Pastor B. All of whom I met when I was at the Conference in March.

     The reason for this get together was to talk about the planning and ministry that is being done with the Fulani Youth in Niger. That’s what J.A.P.C.Y.N is. It’s is French so it doesn’t translate correctly, but basically it stands for “The Alliance of Fulani Youth in Niger”.

     On Wednesday our friend *Hame joined us. (Also from the conference in March. I am only telling you this to let you know that I have met them all before.) We had meetings and prayer time and spent some time in the Word as well. It was a good time to come together and hear about what everyone is doing in their villages. Most overyone on the Japcyn counsel lives in a different place in Niger. Stephen traveled for about 20 hours by bus to Niamey to be there this week. We are literally from all over the country! It was really cool to see the hearts of my friends and their desires to see their own people come to Christ. They are working so hard to get the name of Christ out there and it’s a struggle for them working many times as the only Christian Fulani and dealing with rejection on a regular basis.

     One thing that they talked was their lack of finances in the Japcyn budget. (I’m the treasurer so I know all about it!). There are often members who can’t make it to the meetings because of lack of transport money. They are also trying to raise money so that they can GO OUT into many more villages to share Christ. But without the funds they are limited on where they can travel. So we talked about different ways to raise money and how exactly it will be used. They want to have a youth camp next year for all the Christian Fulani youth and are now praying that the Lord would provide the funds for that. Please join us in prayer as we strive to follow Him.

     On Thursday we headed out to Fanny and Adam’s village where they grew up. I was able to meet their families and we were also reunited with *Mary, Allen’s fiance. It was an amazing time in the bush! The people in this village are a little more well off than others I have seen and much more well off than my village that I stay in with the chief and his family. Thursday afternoon we went to a huge mango orchard to have our meetings and fellowship with everyone. We took our huge mats and placed them in the shade under the huge trees. It was SO beautiful! I took lots of pictures too. (now that my blog is here I think that I will be able to post pictures much better now!) Thursday night we set up a projector and a video and there were over 200 people that showed up! It was in French so Adam translated into Fulfulde and then another man translated into Hausa, just so everyone could be included During the video me, Allen, Fanny, and Stephen did some visiting with other Fulani in the village. We went to encourage one young girl that accepted Christ a while back. She has had a baby out of wed-lock and says she in no longer a Christian because of it. Please be praying for this young girl. I don’t know her name.

     Fanny and I slept that night at the pastor’s home in her village on a big matress under the stars. We got us with the sun and had coffee and bread with everyone once they made their way from the places they stayed on Thursday night. That morning we made our rounds in the village and I met more family and we took more pictures. As we were leaving and saying our goodbyes there were four women that gave me handmade gourd bowls! I have never been given anything in a village before and it was so sweet of them! Then as we were getting ready to pack up a lady came to give me a big bag of mangos too! It was such a blessed time for me…

     Friday we made it back and I came back to the BGH and rested for a little bit and Friday night and Saturday I spent it with all my friends again. It’s really nice to have been able to get to know everyone a little bit better this week - we are all in our twenties too! It was just such a fun week!!!!!!!

     Saturday afternoon I headed to the American Rec Center here in Niamey to play softball with other Americans. I can’t tell you how good it felt to wear shorts and a t-shirt! I truly felt American again. My team won and I hit the ball everytime I was p to bat. Two of them were line drives to the short stop and the others headed straight out into right center. I was glad to see that my softball skills hadn’t been affected during my “off-time” overseas. Although I did miss the ONLY ball that came to me in the outfield… oh, well. So I need to brush up on playing left-center - no biggie!

     Sunday morning I headed to a Fulani church with two other career families here in Niamey. We did some cooking before service and then all gathered under a leanto to have worship. There were about 10 Fulani believers there and it was only the second time I have had church with my people since I got here.

     We got back late yesterday afternoon and I rested before heading back to Fanny’s house (the church) to spend more time with all of them. Stephen has been staying with his sister here in Niamey and I’ve gotten to meet a lot of his family as well. It’s been so good to get to know everyone’s families this week.

     Adam came down with a bad cold yesterday and hasn’t felt like doing much. Well Saturday night I gave him my ipod to listen to. He speaks a little bit of English but not enough to understand the words in an English song. But I was showing him a couple of my favorites and let him listen to my sister Grace’s song “My Father’s Heart”. For the rest of the night he played that one over and over and over again. He had my ipod for about an hour and then again yesterday he took it and listeded to Grace for a couple more hours! He had all of his friends that came by listed to and they would just sit and press the play button again when she was done singing. I called home to talk to my dad yesterday for Father’s day and I got Grace instead (go figure right?!) Well I told her about the guys liking her song and she asked why? So I looked at Adam and said “Gom dume a hidi dum korey?” (”Why do you like this one so much?”) He said “Gom hunduko makko weli” (Because her voice is sweet”) I thought that was so nice! So anyway - mad props to Grace on the singing! A wawi! (You are able, as they say it here)

   So that brings me to today and I’m packing up and leaving Niamey in the morning with… Fanny! She is coming to my house with me for a week! She will visit my village with me and help me with my Fulfulde (she speaks a tad bit of English but understnds it fairly well too). I’m SO excited about this! SO I’m headed to her house now and will spend the evening with her. Then about 4am Pastor B. will take us to the bus station.

This week was by far the best week I have had in Niger yet. I felt so normal this week being with a bunch of people my own age that loved the Lord. Not to mention how encouarging everyone was. They told me over and over again how thankful they were that I was with them and that they didn’t see white skin but a sister in Christ. I love my new friends and ask that you will lift them all up in their ministeries of reaching the Fulani Youth in Niger -

     Fanny

     Stephen

     Adam

     Allen

     Mary

     Hame.

Prayer requests -

     After this week I have seen how few people we have serving the Fulani. Please pray that the Lord would send workers to this harvest field. We have one family and three single women here now among the Sokoto Fulani and we would love to see another family or a couple of guys to help lead the Fulani men. Having women on the field is great, it would be good though to see a few guys here to minister to the men. A lot of the time, when the man gets saved the family follows.

     Pray for my week with Fanny and that the Lord would bless our time together.

     Stephen is having some health trouble. He was in a motorcycle accident a couple of years ago and wasn’t wearing a helmet. He is going to try to go to the doctor before he leaves Niamey and get it checked out. I don’t know the details, I just know that he’s in pain a lot.

     Please lift up my grandparents at this time - Violet and Robert and my Aunt Sis. They are all dealing with some health problems that we pray the Lord would take away - I love you Grandma and Grandpa and Sis! You’re in my prayers!

     Right now I’m in the process of heading to South Africa in September. I’ve dealt with knee problems for many years and last years MRI results said I have a torn meniscus. So I’m looking at possible surgery. Please pray that all goes well in the planning and the timing. Right now I’m scheduled to be there for 4 - 6 weeks.

Thanks everyone for stopping by. I will be working on the layout of my blog and making it look new and fun in the near future!

*Names changed for security reasons at this time.

The Lions’ Den

Daniel 6:6-12a

“So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: ‘O King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it into writing so that it cannot be altered – in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’ So Kind Darius put the decree in writing.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: ‘Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?’

The king answered, ‘The decree stands-…’ ”

 

Now – we all know what happened to Daniel and how God prevailed in what looked like an impossible situation. Daniel lived and the King believed in the one and only TRUE God! Our God! The King proclaimed later on the chapter that God was the living God and the He would endure forever, that His kingdom would not be destroyed and His dominion will never end.

That’s a pretty fast and big change of heart, for someone who wanted everyone to bow down to himself…

 

 

I was getting ready to head to the bush for a few days. It was the first time I had been back to the bush since vacation and that meant that it had been over a month. Because once I got back from Italy, K was sick and that took about two weeks to get everything taken care of with him. Then I headed back to Niamey for a Fulani Team meeting and this was my first opportunity to get back to my bush family.

I had packed my things the night before so I could leave in the next morning and it would be cooler than going in mid – afternoon.  I had a strange feeling wash over me as I locked the door of my house and knew that it would be a few days before I was back again. “Oh, well.” I told myself. “I love it in the bush and I miss them out there.” I wasn’t sure what the feeling was or where it came from so I quickly pushed it aside.

I made my way to the road where there was a bush taxi ready to leave shortly. This was a van that was supposed to hold 15 people. ***Ok – this is not the same size as a 15 passenger van in America. It’s about the size of a mini – van with an extra seat in it.  And they have little fold down seats next to the windows (those are the most uncomfortable)***They put me in the second row in between a guy about my age and an older lady. There were five men in the seat behind me and four men and a lady in front of me. Just before we took off a lady with her two daughters crammed into my seat right next to me. There were three people in the front seat and we were all officially squished. There were now 19 people crammed in the van and I can assure you that if someone else needed a lift we would have made room.

The lady to my right sent her older daughter to the seat in the front with the other lady and bared her breasts and began nursing her younger daughter. The men in the back were having a discussion about something in Hausa and I tried to tune them out at the same time I tried to keep my arm from rubbing the guy’s next to me. Surprisingly he crossed his arms and leaned close to the window away from me. I was thankful for that. I folded my arms on top of my backpack that was in my lap and put my forehead on my arms.

I began praying for my time in the village and that the Lord would give me good opportunities to reveal Him to those I would be with.

Once I got to my stop I got out and made the walk through the sandy road. Although it was only about 11am the sun was beating down on me and it was well over 110 degrees. I love the walk to the village from the road, especially if I’m alone. I think it’s beautiful and it allows me the little bit of extra time to talk to the Lord on the villager’s behalf before I get there.

As I walked into the compound I could see the girls and Dez all sitting on a couple of mats and they were ecstatic to see me! I passed out the homemade cookies that I brought for them. I made sure that I put one in for each person. Well, they began breaking them into pieces and passing them out and I wondered why. So when I asked they showed me that they had saved two cookies for the chief instead of just one! I got a good laugh out of that and made a note to myself to remember that for next time. They were all thrilled with the cookies (that were made with the chocolate chips given to me from Mrs. Graham’s Sunday School class at my home church - thanks!) and they made sure they told me “I was able to cook”. “A wawi, Hawa, A wawi” “You are able, Hawa, you are able.” It’s the small things that make a difference. I may not be very good at Fulfulde, but I can sure cook! According to them at leastJ

The day passed with little excitement. We went to the well a couple of times and I sat and read my book or my Bible or wrote in my journal. That night we had pounded millet and sauce for dinner. As it got dark we all pulled out our mats and I got my sheets out for my foam mattress. I have a headlamp flashlight that my teammate, Kav, in Nigeria gave me for my birthday. It’s an amazing tool let me tell you. Well *May (11 years old) was sitting with me in the dark and she was coloring but couldn’t easily color while holding a flashlight. So I put on my headlamp and sat and watched her when all the sudden I was swarmed with little tiny bugs in my eyes and up my nose! AHHH – talk about annoying. I quickly turned it off and used the regular flashlight away from my face. I have found that the headlamp is better while moving.

The next day as I was sitting on my mat reading my book “A Voice in The Wind” by Francine Rivers. The cover shows the Christian slave in the story with her hands lifted in praise to God. Surrounding her are lions. She had been sent to the Colosseum when she refused to denounce her faith in Christ.

All the kids like to look at my book covers and know who is who and that sort. They were really confused at the picture of the slave girl. Well, I hadn’t gotten to that part of the story in the book, so I didn’t know how it ended. But they wanted to know the story. So I told them that it was like a story in the Bible that I would tell them instead… I was afraid. I was worried that I would mess something up and get the story wrong and then they would hear a Bible story from me that was completely not correct. As I began telling the story of Daniel, the Lord reminded me that He is faithful. He reminded me that despite my inadequacies He will prevail and use me if I am willing.

The story of Daniel in the lions’ den was the short version, cut in half and divided by three (because of my limited Fulfulde) BUT I TOLD IT! It was my first Bible story that I have been able to tell and I did it in Fulfulde! Praise Him! My fear allowed me to let the Lord take over in a situation that I new I was inadequate for.

The children were amazed that God did that for Daniel and that he lived. After it was all said and done with I wanted to cry from the excitement of having told my first story – “that’s why I’m here!” I told myself, to share the Lord and His faithfulness! I felt victorious, but I knew that it wasn’t I, but the Lord who had been victorious that day, because I had felt like I couldn’t do it and like I said earlier, Daniel trusted and God prevailed… Thanks for your prayers everyone!

 

 

So tomorrow starts the Fulani Counsel meeting and I will be staying with all of them. This is another area of inadequacy that I had to give to the Lord. It’s all in Fulfulde and I only know a couple of people that are going to be there. As far as I know I am the only one who can speak English except for my friend Estephan, and he speaks about as much English as I speak Fulfulde. I’m excited about this opportunity to learn and be with so many Fulani Christians I just ask for your prayers that they Lord would help me to understand and be able to communicate effectively.

I will have an update at the end of the week!

Stay tuned!

Lately

Just want you to all know that I haven’t forgotten my blog or my faithful readers! I am having a great time here in Niger and things have been very busy. Not to mention my very limited internet access. So I’m writing up a blog and will get it posted as soon as I get to Niamey next week.

I am headed to Niamey for a Fulani Youth meeting (somehow I got put on the list of officers and I’m not sure how that happened). I will explain more of all that next week.

Thanks for hanging in there with me, I just wanted to let you all know that I’m alive and doing well! Until later - AnnaK

Picture problem and K’s update

So, I’m having major difficulties with getting my pictures posted on here. WordPress has changed the way you upload photos and since that has happened I’ve not been able to get them up. The one way that I can think to let you all see my pictures is to place my facebook link in the right column here on my blog. So that’s what I’ve done with my Italy pictures!!!!! I have posted the link to three albums and they are all Italy pictures. All you have to do is clink on the link and it will take you straight there! All together there are 120 pictures… so please take a moment and look at them.

Update on K: After I posted the last blog and ask you all to pray things started getting a tad better. That Monday Susan and I drove him to the hospital in our town where they admitted him and immediately started him on an IV. He was so weak that he couldn’t stand and he wasn’t able to walk by himself. He hadn’t been able to keep any food or drink down and was below 100 pounds. Within the next few days of being in the hospital he regained some of his strength and was able to begin eating. By last Saturday he was ready to come home! I had to leave on Monday morning for Niamey because my team had a team meeting. Monday the hospital began testing him for TB. I’m leaving in the morning to head home from Niamey and as soon as I get there I’m taking K back for a check - up.
He is now walking on his own and keeping all food and drink down! He looks SO much better than he did and I’m very thankful to the Lord that his life was spared, but he still a ways to go before he’s back to 100%.

I haven’t been out to the bush in over a month now because of vacation and then being with K and Fati for the past couple of weeks. So I’m hoping to get out there as soon as I can next week.

Prayer requests:
Safe trip home for Melissa and I as we leave tomorrow
That I will be able to get rested up completely before I head to the bush for a week or so
That the test on K’s TB will be correct (positive or negative) so that we don’t have to do the testing again
I have a silent request at this time that I would appreciate you all lifting up for me, I’m getting down to final details and should be able to share before too long

Thanks for all your love and support! I couldn’t do what I’m doing without you all
AnnaK

PLEASE PRAY

I am asking that you all join me on my knees and pray for my guard, K. When I got back from Niamey after vacation on Wednesday K was very sick. He is already a very skinny person and I would say that he has probably lost close to 15 - 20 pounds since I left for vacation. He was lying on a mat when I got there and has to have help from someone in order to move or stand/sit up. His strenght is gone.

Please remember that he is a brother in Christ.

Susan took him to the hospital about 45 min from here this morning and I went back to get him. They did an HIV test and that came back negative. They took chest X-Rays today and then I brought him home a few minutes ago and will take him back on Monday to have a TB test done. He will have to stay in the hospital for 3 days to have those results.

Please pray that those involved will cooporate in order to get the test and rehydration done that needs to get done.

Pray that K’s health will be fully restored. (The doctor told me today that if he and the others continue to refuse care for him that he may olny have months if not weeks to live. He was refusing all care until I got there and talked him into it.) Pray that he can keep all fluids down.

Pray for Susan as she is letting us use her vehicle to go to and from the hospital.

Pray for me as I’m staying with Fati and doing the odds and ends “running” and trying to help out in any way that I can.

I will give you all an update as soon as I can. PLEASE PRAY!

Kissed by an Italian…

Since last year three of my friends and I have been planning a vacation together in Europe. As the days and weeks went by, it felt like April 11th would never come… and now it’s come and gone…
Mallory had flown in from East Asia, Daniel from Tokyo, Japan, Paul from South Africa and I from Niger. We all met together for the first night in Rome, Italy and had a wonderful dinner of Pizza and Pasta. Boy, was that a treat compared to the food I eat here. Sunday morning was day one and our first official day together again. We headed to St. Peter’s Cathedral where we were able to see a Polish Mass and the Polish Bishop inside the Cathedral. Daniel and I found a confessional and got our picture taken inside. Unbeknown to us - what we did was illegal and a police officer came over to shoe us away! Crazy what American’s can get away with when they’re quick enough… The rest of the day we just hung around Rome and visited, ate a ton of food and talked more than we ever thought we could in one evening. The week was already looking great!
Monday I woke up with a sore throat and still had the cough from the day before but I was determined to not let it slow me down. The weather was cool but nice and there was no rain in sight. We all got up early and headed toward the Roman Ruins and the Colosseum. I was in for a wonderful surprise once we got to the Ruins because I didn’t know that you could go in and walk around! We all bought our tickets and started off in what seemed like a mystery. All the pathways going one way and the other, the staircases that were blocked off and the wonder behind every door that was closed.
Daniel picked Mallory and I flowers and Paul snapped a picture for the three of us. We just continued to walk around and have a good time, enjoying the beauty of what used to be a Palace. Daniel stopped to fill his water bottle at a fountain and Paul, Mallory and I walked on. We all agreed to meet Daniel on the other side of the circle walkway. The three of us walked on to see what else we could find… we found that the walkway didn’t continue like we thought it did. Surely Daniel couldn’t have gone too far. But, how far is too far? Far enough to be out of sight by the time we got to where we thought he might. He was also out of hearing distance… I tried to holler for him and I got no response. So here is Paul, Mallory and I walking all over the ruins trying to find none other than Daniel! We did a documentary of the whole day and it’s quite humorous.
We all decided to leave the ruins and head toward the Colosseum. Maybe he went there to wait for us at the entrance. So we sat down and waited a while. My shoes had rubbed blisters on my feet and they were now open sores so it was good to just sit and rest for a few minutes. After about 20 minutes we headed inside hoping that he would be there somewhere. The Colosseum was amazing. It was so big and wasn’t busy at all. The age of the Colosseum showed in every detail. It was a really neat feeling to be there and see where the Apostle Paul was at one time. Mallory, Paul and I had been there for over an hour and ready to head back. Our plan was to train to Florence that evening where we had reservations to stay in a hostel. We knew that Daniel would meet us back there if we didn’t find him in the ruins on our way back. As the three of us were rounding a corner to go down the stairs and exit the Colosseum, we find Daniel walking up the stairs to tour the Colosseum! FOUND! We got a picture of the four of us while there and headed out.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were spent in Florence. We went to a city called Siena to see a couple of huge churches. It poured down rain on us the whole day and it was freezing. But with the four of us together that day was a ton of fun! We saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa and spent a whole day just walking around Florence and shopping. Friday morning we trained to Venice.
I’ve been told that Venice is the most romantic city in the world… I was excited to see for myself if that was true or not. I was amazed at all the glass jewelry and diamonds you could buy. The city in itself was beautiful and it was really cool that you could take a boat taxi on the water! We didn’t though, it wasn’t worth the money
Me and Mallory had wanted to get our picture taken with an Italian the whole week and this was almost our last day. Well I saw two Italian men standing there asking if anyone wanted a gondola ride. I walked up to them and asked if I could have my picture taken with them. They agreed happily and one of them asked for my boyfriend to join us in the picture. I replied with “Neither one of them are my boyfriend” and the man said, “well then, nobody will get jealous, you should stand in the middle!” He wrapped his arm around my waist and after the picture he bent down and kissed me on the head and said in my ear “I get off work at 7, you should come back”. Whoa! Needless to say, we high tailed it outta there! We continued with our day and ended the evening with playing cards back at the hostel. The next morning we had a late breakfast and parted ways at the train station. The guys went to Rome and Mallory and I trained to Milan where we would fly out the next day.
The overall trip was what I needed to keep me going here. When the going gets tough, call up a friend and head to Italy!
I wouldn’t have said that Venice was the most romantic place in the world… until, I was kissed my an Italian

(((PLEASE be patient with me as I get these pictures up…)))

GOODBYE AFRICA!!!

HELLO ITALY!!!

So this time tomorrow I will be on another continent! I love Africa and all, but I need to get away for a few days… (really I wouldn’t be saying this if my friends were coming here. It’s just the fact that I get to see them for eight days!!!) Can you guys tell that I’m excited?

So the lizard left, but another one came. He is now in my room and likes to hang out in between my wall and the headboard of my bed. He hasn’t bothered me in my sleep so far and as long as he stays there and doesn’t try to snuggle, I’m ok with him staying. Not to mention that the bug count in my room is down right now too.

So the story of the last couple of weeks… well, I’m not sure that I can remember a whole lot about it. My mind isn’t with me right now… it’s in Italy. But I do know that I spent 4 days in the village with my family last week and that was a ton of fun. I forced them to let me go to the well with them so that I could bring back my own bucket of water. I feel like I need to do SOMETHING out there… They were not happy and said that when the chief found out he would not be happy with me. I told them that I would deal with the chief. So three days in a row I went to gather water with the girls. There was around 25 - 30 women there each time and they just looked mockingly at me as I stood with my empty bucket, waiting for it to be filled. They spoke in Hausa and Fulfulde about me and then they would laugh… it’s almost like they think that I don’t know they are talking about me? Oh! But I’m more perceptive than they think I am… (I’m sure one of my family members will comment about what I just wrote.) When they pull water from the well, one takes the ropes and lifts, and as soon as she lifts the other one takes the rope and lifts and so on. It’s an on-going process and they work together until the water bucket is at the top. I watched a lady try to do it alone and she seemed to struggle a bit. So when the girls were almost done pulling the water from the bottom of the well one of them called me over to see if I wanted to try. With all the women watching I took the rope and helped her pull the water up. But I was stronger than she was so as I was lifting the water, *Hana (One of the chief’s daughters) was not able to keep up with my speed so she backed away. The women standing around watched in amazement as I pulled the bucket of water all the way up by myself with what looked like no struggle at all.

Now let me tell you, I kind of surprised myself with this too. How in the world was I able to go SO fast and do it alone when these grown women who have been doing this for years struggle without a teammate? There are two things that I think of when I try to reason this is my mind… 1) I had worked up my adrenaline and didn’t want to be seen as a “weakling”, or 2) that the women here have more strength in their backs than in their arms. The second is more reasonable in my mind knowing that I have a weak back and they do everything with their backs. I’m not sure. But what I do know is that after my bucket was full and I lifted it to my head and walked away, I didn’t hear another laugh or snicker from anyone…

I came back to my town and Melissa stayed a couple of nights with me. Melissa is a journeyman serving on the same team as I am (Sokoto Fulani) in another town a few hours away. She had to have some things with her truck taken care of and stayed with me while that happened. That was a blessing to say the least. She is 25 and just got back on the field from serving her first two years. She back for another three. We took evening walks and she taught me a ton about learning the language and relating to the people, etc. It was a good visit and I look forward to her next one.

So my original plan was to fly to Italy on the 11th. I called the man that works in our office in Niamey on Monday and asked him if he could call and confirm my flight for me. He called me back and told me that it had been cancelled. It had been cancelled. Cancelled? Huh? Wait… what did you say? AHHHH! CANCELLED - WHAT????!!!!!?!??!?! He said that I could fly out on the 10th or the 12th. I chose the day early so that I would be there when Mallory got there. I knew that meant that I would be there for an extra day alone, but I didn’t want to miss out on my whole day with Mallory before the guys got there on Saturday. So I asked him to get me the ticket for the 10th. All this meant that I would have leave my home the next day instead of two days from that point. So I packed things up quickly and got on the bus in my town the next day. On my way in the man from our Baptist Mission office called me and said that I couldn’t have the flight on the 10th but that I had to take the one on the 12th. Reason was that when I bought my ticket it was non-refundable and non-exchangable. When they cancelled my flight on the 11th they AUTOMATICALLY changed my flight to the 12th. So for me to leave on the 10th would mean for me to “change” my flight. Nothin’ doin’. They wouldn’t let me. I cried. I pulled my shoulder cover over my eyes as we’re driving down the road and I let the tears fall. I was going to miss my whole day with Mallory.

I called Mallory right away and told her of the problem and she assured me that it was all going to be ok… I love her! So to make a long story short, she is in Italy right now waiting for me to get there tomorrow.

Things will all turn out, no doubt and we are all going to have a wonderful time! I know this!

Please be praying for safety as we all four travel.  Pray that it will be a blessed time as we all share what the Lord has been doing in our lives and countries over the last nine months.

I can’t wait to come back and show you all pictures of the trip as well as many from my town and village that I want you to see.

Love you all and thanks for your support!

Just a quick update

This is going to be a short post today. I just want to fill you in on what the last two weeks has been full of.

Tara, Susan and I attended a Fulani Believer’s Conference two weeks ago for a few days. The drive was about 9 – 10 hours East in Niger and it was really fun to see more desert. Haha!!! We did get to see lots more greenery in one place specific place though and I’m not really sure where it came from. I guess just out of the blue. We were able to stop at my supervisors house on the way there and back. That was cool for me because I hadn’t been there yet. They live quite a few hours from me.

The conference is held annually in a different part of Niger each year. There is normally a few hundred people there but this year we were topping off with about 100 total. White people were the minority (meaning that there were 7 of us – I think) and most of the time the Fulani men would lead the sessions. In the mornings there were Bible storying classes for everyone and then in the afternoons and evenings there were just teachings and sermons. I didn’t understand any of it, although a few times Tara was wonderful and had the time to translate for Susan and I. Susan understands more Fulfulde than I do but not enough yet to catch it all. Susan and I were both thankful for Tara and her speaking skills!

Since then I have been back to the bush and stayed a couple of nights with my family out there. They were really disappointed that I wasn’t saying for longer. I wanted to spend Easter in my home though and be with Fati and Belki all day. Easter is an interesting short story…

I woke up and wanted to be able to feel like an American in America with my family. Although I knew that I was an American in Niger alone, I didn’t care. My dad always makes breakfast every Sunday morning and I wanted a taste of home. So I made scrambled eggs and grape jelly toast. My mom always asks my dad for chocolate milk on Sunday mornings with her breakfast so I even had some of that. The meal wasn’t the same but it was wonderful. I thought about them the whole day and it was great to start Easter out that way. Then I read all four versions of the Easter story and I’m still trying to decide which one is my favorite. You guys can let me know in your comments on this blog which one you like the best. I know which one I like the least and I think that it’s Mark’s. I say that because if I can remember correctly I think that his has the smallest amount of detail in it. Why would I like his least? Hmmm…..

Right after breakfast I started feeling not so good. Belki was also sick as can be and was throwing up everywhere and had a fever. I thought that maybe I was just getting what she had. As the day continued I developed the exact same symptoms as I had when malaria hit me at the end of February. I couldn’t believe it! I called my supervisors and talked to them about it and Jennie said that it may have been a relapse instead of a whole new case. None the less, I had Susan pick up malaria treatment meds for me and started them on Monday morning. I’m feeling 100% better! Praise the Lord!

Since then I have been talking with Fati non-stop and been getting a lot of Fulfulde practice in. It’s been really good for me and I’ve enjoyed it. Sometimes I like it more to just be able to practice with Fati. Because when I’m in the bush I have about eight people at any given time trying to explain something to me. When one can’t get the message across, another one tries in a different way and sometimes it’s overwhelming for me. But with Fati, it’s just her. She also knows how I speak Fulfulde and then she tries to talk like she knows I will understand. I just love her so much!

Fati and I found the other day that we are the same age! She was really excited about that and asked me when I was going to get married… I’m not far enough along in Fulfulde to explain those details to her yet!

So last night I was walking outside to say goodnight to K, Fati and Belki and lock my door when I saw a huge lizard in my living room. He is about eight inches long and Fati came quick enough to see that he was in my house and then he disappeared and I haven’t seen him since. So as long as he doesn’t crawl into bed with me and he eats my spiders, roaches and crickets, he can stay. It would be kind of comforting to just know where he is though. He may have made it back outside by this point but I’m not so sure about that…

The next week looks like more bush time. I am also getting ready to start Fulfulde lessons with a Fulani woman that speaks Fulfulde and English! Tara introduced me to her before she left for Mali. I was supposed to have my first lesson on Monday but the malaria shot that idea down.

 

Prayer requests during this time:

Language learning (your prayers have been working so far!)

My health (Had you all not been praying for my health before I’m sure that I would have been sicker than I have beenJ so thank you so much!)

I headed off to vacation in Europe in a couple of weeks with three other Journeymen. Please pray for safety in all of our travels – we are SO excited about this trip!

There was a situation that came up this week concerning some cultural issues that will have to be dealt with in the very near future. Please be in prayer for my supervisors and I as we sort it out. Also pray for the other person involved, pray that this person will see the Lord in us regardless of the outcome and that the decision made will only effect our witness in a positive way.

 

Thank you all more than ever for your support. Love you so much and will be back to update you all soon!

The Kingdom

*Names changed or shortened for security reasons at this time.

            Currently I’m sitting in my kitchen with three young Muslim girls at my living room coffee table coloring in my coloring book. Since my house in right off of the main road and my guard and his family live on my compound, I have people in and out of my house everyday, all day. They don’t knock, they just come in. They don’t ask for water, they just get it themselves. My home is their home. I love it here.

 

            I’m back from the bush and doing well. I had a great time with the family and I’m slowly picking up a little more of the language everyday. That’s really been encouraging for me too =) And it’s great when they notice and tell me that I’m doing good, I love the small victories in life…

 

            On the way to the bus station in Niamey last Saturday, my taxi, who was early (!), went by the SIM compound (SIM is another mission organization) to pick up a man that was traveling. I feel so bad but I have already forgotten his name, so we will call him Sam. Sam works for the international department in America so he is in the process of visiting many of the West African personnel that are here. He looked mid thirties and I’m guessing he was married by the ring on his ring finger. He had only been in Niger for a few days and had never been here before. He seemed kind of jittery and on edge a little bit. I’m sure that had a little to do with the fact that he was by himself in a new country? Who knows.

            Once we got to the bus station since Sam and I were together in the same taxi, we boarded the bus at the same time. I followed him on and took the seat behind him toward the back of the bus. As I was walking down the isle there was another white guy that I saw! Crazy to have three white people on the same bus that aren’t traveling together. He was about my age and gave me half a smile when I walked passed him. I was so tired from no sleep the night before that I dozed off right away and forgot about Sam and the other guy. Our bus had taken off at 5:20 am and wasted no time anywhere on the road, very unlike my last trip.

            I woke up when the bus stopped a couple of hours into the trip and it was light outside as well. I’m not sure why we stopped but it was only for a few minutes. People were getting off the bus and by the time I woke up Sam was gone. The white guy that was sitting up front was looking at me and began to make his way to where I was sitting. All I was thinking was “Smoothly, Anna, smoothly. I know that you just woke up but you have to think about what you’re saying and make complete sentences…” The first words out of the guys mouth I didn’t understand. He was speaking in French. “Oh, great, some French guy coming to talk to me now… can I just get another English speaker for once?!” I’m taking a wild guess here and saying that he was asking me if I spoke French. I replied with, “No French,” and I made a hand motion with both hands saying letting him know that, “it’s gone – it doesn’t’ exist – there is none.” (It’s hard for me to explain hand motions if I can’t show you… but you should know what I’m trying to say). He cocked his head a little to one side and said almost excitedly, “Oh, do you speak English?!” I answered with a relieved, “yes”. I’m not sure how the conversation began but I do remember one of the first questions he asked was “so you’re with him?” and he pointed to Sam’s seat in front of me. I let him know that I wasn’t and we had just met that morning. He didn’t say anything else about it. I quickly found out that this guy wasn’t one to give a lot of information about himself. He never told me his name (I didn’t give him mine either though) and all I know about him is that he is traveling through as many West African countries as possible and has to back in Senegal by May to get to London in time for… he never said. He was a cute guy and he was nice, but I thought he was kind of weird. He asked me what I was doing here and I told him that I lived here and that I was a missionary. I asked him if he was in the Peace Core and he just answered with, “No”. Then I said, “so you’re just here alone traveling as many West African countries as you can before May?” His answer was “yes”. People were getting back on the bus by this time and the driver had started it so he made his way back to his seat. I’m going to say by the choice dirty words that he used that he didn’t know Jesus. I almost wished I had asked him to sit next to me in the empty two seats in my row, but I didn’t think fast enough. I’m not sure that he would have listened for very long about what I had to tell him about the Lord. He seamed kind of scattered brained and mentioned the hangover that he had had the day before. And that was it. The bus pulled into my town at about 11:30 (record time!) and I told Sam goodbye and was going to wave at what’s his face, but he was deep in conversation with a girl that looked Korean. It was a very strange morning.

            A sense of relief flooded through me when I walked through the door of my home. I was finally back. After so much traveling in the last week and having Malaria, all I wanted to do for a solid day was rest. And rest I did.

           

            Sunday morning Susan came over and we had church. There is only one church that I know of in my whole town and it’s Assembly of God (not the problem) and all in French (the problem). So her and I sang and “fellowshipped” for a bit (as much as two people can fellowship) and then we began the disc set of Woman’s Conference DVDs sent to me by my Aunt Amy. Her church held this conference on a weekend last fall and she sent me all the sessions! The rest of my day was spent getting ready to leave for the bush the following day…

           

            Monday came and I was excited to leave for the village. It was up to me to get my own bush taxi and tell them where I wanted to go and pay them. It was a challenge and that’s why I liked it so much! I did fine and the driver let me sit in the front seat with another Hausa lady since we were the first ones there. We didn’t leave for another hour or so but once we were on the road it wasn’t too long of a trip. He didn’t make too many stops and we got to my drop off point and I asked him to let me out. I was the only one getting off there so I made the 30-minute walk to the village alone. I was happy for that. It gave me a good chance to talk to the Lord and pray for time there and that He would bless it. It’s a beautiful walk too. There is a section of the path that is covered with trees and mostly in the shade. The whole walk is in the sand so I was getting a good leg work –out.

            I can’t express the thrill that I was feeling during that time. It was so unlike the time before when all I was feeling was fear. This was an adventure and it was “mine”. From the beginning of the day I was in this alone and I felt proud of myself for doing it. It was fun for me to set out with a specific destination/agenda in mind and go for it. Not to mention that I was more comfortable with the little bit of Fulfulde that I knew so I was being forced to practice what I knew and it was so good for me.

            Once I got to the chief’s house I was warmly greeted by the whole family. Some of the girls were pounding millet and others were back and forth from the well bringing water throughout the rest of the day. Once it got dark the mother, *Dez, laid out a mat and brought my foam mattress (bought by the mission here in Niger specifically for our village time) to place on top of it. They keep it in their house standing upright along the wall at the end of one of the beds. The Fulbe (Plural for Fulani) call anything that keeps you warm “cold medicine”. So during cold they make sure that you have or are provided with a sweatshirt or blanket = cold medicine. So after my mattress was brought out she told me to get my cold medicine = sleeping bag. The children and I sat on it and they sang and we played with the Speedstacks that I had brought with me. At about eight o’clock the boys got back from the fields with the milk from the cows. I have checked the time every time they have come in and it’s always at eight o’clock, almost on the dot! They gave me some of the fresh milk and I prepared it over the fire and had hot chocolate. They used the rest of it to sour for their chewtum.

            The children had placed a mat next to me on the ground outside and everything began to get quiet as the younger ones fell asleep. I drifted off and *Dez woke me and all the kids up at about 11 to go inside the house and sleep there. It had gotten a tad chilly but I liked it. The house was hot and muggy and I began to sweat as soon as I laid down. It wasn’t long though before I was fast asleep again.

 

            Tuesday brought it’s own fun times, blessings and challenges as I visited with the family, studied Fulfulde but also got lost in 9 out of 10 conversations. But… when I did pick something up and I really did understand, the children and *Dez were encouraging as they rejoiced with me…

            I had taken a meal for the family out and they prepared it on Tuesday morning. It was a bag of rice, a bag of macaroni noodles, tomato paste, onions and chicken seasoning. They just mix it altogether and boil it until the noodles and rice are tender. This is kind of a typical West Africa meal. I was thinking to myself that this type of meal isn’t really supposed to be eaten for breakfast… but then I was brought back to reality when I remembered that they didn’t care. This was going to be the only food that they would have for the whole day and possibly the next. And it was. I always take out granola bars or beef jerky for myself, things that are small and one serving and don’t have to be cooked. They always ask me if I have eaten my white people food and if I’m hungry. I never eat in front of them so I guess they never know if I’m telling the truth or not. But I also try not to eat unless the family has food. When they do have food they always offer me some. I eat a few bites and slide the bowl back to them and they divvy it up for the rest of the family. I want to be very respectful of what they have and don’t have and if they saw me chowing down on their food or mine every time I got hungry I’m not sure that it would make a great impression. I’m sure that some of you are wondering why I don’t share my food with them or take out meals for everyday that I’m there. It’s very hard for missionaries (or people in general I guess) at times to resist what seems to make sense at the time. So it would just make sense to take a meal out for every day that I’m there, I mean, come on, it cost me about two bucks. So what’s the big deal? Why not share my Oreos or trail mix with the whole family three times a day? I have tons of supporters in the states who desire to provide what is needed… it’s the same reason why a missionary cannot tithe to the same church every week and can never tithe their full amount to any church at one time. If I made $400 a week (which I don’t) and I tithed 10% of that to the same church that I went to every Sunday in Nigeria and then left when my time there was up, the church would die. There is a level of dependency that these people should not have or experience with us. During our stateside training (FPO) before leaving America all IMB personnel is trained on how to deal with things like this. The biggest issue that would come out of this is dependency. There are times that I don’t even comprehend why it would be a bad thing to do what I have already mentioned. Except that I don’t want them to begin to depend on me and want me there because I provide for them. That would take away the need to trust in the Lord for what He can and will give them when they are faithful. There are many times when I’m in the village and feel a little hungry, but I know that I’m not dying. If anything I’m just copping out of the extra calories that I let myself intake the week before when I was at home. PLEASE – PLEASE – I don’t want anyone to think that I’m EVER starving – because I’m not and have never been. But I thought it was important for me to describe a glimpse of what life for them is really like in that area of their lives.

 

            Wednesday *Dez woke up with a bad headache and asked me if I had any medicine for it. She had complained the couple of days before about it but hadn’t asked for medicine until then. So I knew that it was bothering her quit a bit. Seng had left a bottle of Aspirin in our trunk at their house and I got some out and gave it to her. She laid around a lot of the morning and the Lord burdened me to pray for her. But I wanted to pray for her with her. So I went to her bedside and knelt beside her and told her in Hausa that I wanted to pray for her headache. I don’t know the word for “pray” in Fulfulde so I said it in Hausa knowing that all Fulani in Niger know Hausa. She was almost shocked when I told her but she thanked me. I closed my eyes and prayed in English for the Lord to heal her of her pain. Just as I was finishing up a couple of the kids walked in. *Dez was so excited and thanked me a few more times but also told everyone that day that I had prayed for her. Such a small thing to me seemed to mean the world to her.

           

            I haven’t yet said anything about the… “poop field”. Some may prefer for me to say the “#2 field” but I can imagine that most of you might wonder what the “#1 field” was, so it’s just easier for me to come right out and say it. So, my apology if anyone takes offense to that. Every compound will have a place for you to go #1, but you HAVE to go to the poop field/place to go #2. Niger is a desert, so the poop fields are always sand. In this specific village it is located right outside of the village and is about 4 acres or so. If you walk far enough you will reach the bushes, which you are able to use during the day to hide yourself when people can see who you are. But at night when it’s dark you just walk out and find a place and go wherever you want – no bush needed – because you can’t tell who anyone is… on the phone earlier this week my Aunt Amy gladly told me while laughing (paraphrased) “Oh, but they can tell who you are because you shine in the moonlight!” That brought a new perspective of me using the poop field at night…

            So all of the above to say that every night the girls will gather to go to the poop field together. Remember when you were in grade/high school and you would take “bathroom trips” together and it was “fun” or “cool” to go in groups (I never have figured out why that is…) well it’s just about the same here! Except the reason here is that the girls go to just watch out for each other. It’s not as safe to go alone at night as it is during the day. So every evening when it got dark me and the girls and *Dez would make our group outing to the poop field… strange for me, but oh so normal for them!

 

            On Thursday morning I packet up my things and told the family goodbye. The chief told me that he would be in my town later that day and that he was needing to charge his cell phone. I told him to come by my house and do it there.

            I walked with *May (the 11 year old) until we got to her school and I left her there and continued to the main road. I reminisced over the past few days and thought about what I had learned and experienced. I got to the main road where I was to wait for the bush taxi at about eight o’clock. There wasn’t one that came going in the direction that I needed to go in for over an hour. In the meantime there was a mother and baby that was sitting on the rock next to mine who was waiting also. I talked to her a little bit and she knew Seng and asked where she was. I told her that she was on her way back to America. Her baby and I played peek-a-boo for a long time and he ended up laughing every time he or I appeared from hiding behind our hands. He was so cute!

            There were two busy taxis that came at the same time and I hoped the first one that I could get to the fastest. I should have taken a better look at the other one before I boarded the one I took. It was full of sticks and small chopped down trees with about 10 people already in the back. As I was climbing up with my backpack the driver began to take off so I hurriedly took my seat. As we were driving I was trying to situate myself in a comfortable position – yea right. I finally ended up sitting on top of my backpack. I was a good 2 ½ feet above the tail gate and facing the road/back of the truck. There is a bar frame on most bush taxis and it normally stands about 5 feet tall. So because of the all the wood that I was sitting on top of the bar was perfect for me to hold and lean on. I had to put my hand under my armpit every time we went over a bump, because I knew I would end up with a bruise there if I didn’t. My backpack began to slide and I had to situate it again. There was a man sitting next to me on my right and a Muslim woman sitting kind of behind us both but in between him and I. She was fully covered from head to toe with only her ankles and hands showing. She had a thin black layer of material sewed onto her head covering so that she could see through it but so that no one could see her. That’s the first time I have ever seen that before.

            At one of the stops that the driver made there were children selling beans that were warm and freshly cooked. I bought a small bag for 25 cfa and placed it in my lap I was planning on eating them for lunch… We took off again and few miles down the road we hit a good bump and my beans went flying from my lap. “Aw man!” I couldn’t believe it! The man next to me was very sorry it had happened but I just told him “leyfi wala” (“no problem”). He shook his head sadly. It wasn’t the 25 cfa that I had lost, it was my beans! I have had them before and they are good, so I look forward to the next time I can get them.

            When we got to my town the driver was just cruising through at a normal pace. Since I hadn’t ridden one back from the bush I wasn’t sure where their normal stop was. He started to drive right past my house and I quickly told the men closer to the cab to stop him. They beat on the roof and he pulled over to let me off. I was very thankful at that point to be able to be on my feet. The entire ride (almost two hours) my deodorant that I had placed in the top of my bag had been digging into my left bum cheek – and it was sore! I’m going to pack my bad a little more accordingly next time

            As soon as I got home I took a shower and then hand washed all of my outfits. I didn’t have ANY clean ones at all. I don’t have a washer or dryer here in Niger like I did in Nigeria. So I was bent over a bucket in my bathroom when I heard the door open and close. Thinking that it was Belki (my guards daughter) I took my time ringing out my clothes. I was walking to the living room and I heard Magaji (Hausa for “chief”) say “Hawa?” Oh! He was here! He already had his phone plugged in and was making sure that it was charging right. I asked him if he wanted hot tea and he said yes. Then he changed his mind and asked for coffee… ohhhhhh. At that point I was wishing that I had taken time to watch Tara prepare his drinks for him… I had NO clue what I was doing! I knew that he liked sugar and that he would want milk powder in it. I don’t like my coffee strong so I wasn’t even sure what normal would be! I made it how I thought it would be good, I tasted it and it was ok – I wouldn’t have drank it, but then I only like my coffee with chocolate in it… so I took it to him and wondered what in the world was going to happen. He took a drink and commented on how hot it was – normal – ok I was doing good… then he said that I needed to put some milk in it. “I like my coffee with milk in it” he said while laughing. I laughed too and thought better of telling him that I had already put two scoops in it! I added three more and took it back to him and he was very happy with it! He left a little while later and headed across the border to Nigeria where he was going to visit his 2^nd wife.

           

            Friday was spent cleaning my house. Deep cleaning. Crick and cranny cleaning. Spiders out of every corner cleaning. The inch of dust off of everything cleaning. I must say that by now, Saturday night, my kitchen is spotless and organized to a T and my living room and dining room look great! I have pictures hung everywhere and have my bookshelf in my living room looking like it came from a magazine (well, I like the way it looks anyway J )

 

            I’m walking to Susan’s house in the morning to have church with her and then using her internet to post this. It has been a doozy of a week to say the least and I have loved every second of it! I have had sweet times with the Lord and I’ve been encouraged in so many ways. I have learned new things as I have observed the lifestyle of these magnificent people. But this week has also been a week of homesickness as well. During FPO we were all told that about our 6^th month overseas is when things would start to hit us and things would possibly get hard. You might feel homesick more than normal and may even at times question why you are there. Anytime I have questioned why I’m overseas the Lord always brings me back to my calling. But I never anticipated homesickness like this before. During my 6^th month I was in the middle of language study in Niamey. I didn’t have time to think about anything outside of Fulfulde. And on top of that I was getting to start what I came here to be a part of… why would it be “hard”? I’ve been overseas almost 8 months now. I’m in my new home and settled in my town and know the ropes of bush life, and I’ve been able to slow my mind down just a tad. That tad was enough to make me realize the real amount of time that I’ve been away from those that love me more than anyone else in the world.

            I got an email from my mom yesterday. It had been sent on Monday but I didn’t get to check my email until Friday. I couldn’t believe the emotion that overwhelmed me as I read her words. She talked about my Dad too. It made me appreciate but also miss them so much. I called Mom at 7 am her time and she could tell that I was crying. I shared with her all of the above in much more detail (sorry readers, but she’s my mom) and to be honest it felt good to just cry. Once I had shared my heart with her she reiterated my calling and reminded of why I’m serving. I’m here for the Kingdom.

My first full week in the bush

With not much to do I put myself to work with writing letters and journaling. I spent a lot of time with the Lord during those 7 days in the bush also. Those were just about the 7 longest days of my life…

12:31 pm Friday, February 8, 2008
“God, I ask You right now for a new level of love for these people and this place. Make my heart more content than it already is…”

12:42 pm Wednesday, February 13, 2008
“I’m sitting here with two of the chief’s daughter’s, under a huge tree in their compound…
Tears were ready to overflow my eyes as Seng and Tara and Susan got ready to leave this morning. Alone. I knew that I was going to be alone in this village where these people don’t know me yet. Nor do I know them.
I asked the girls to pray me this week and Seng asked if she could pray for me right then. She took my hand and her and Tara stood while Seng voiced a prayer to the Father on my behalf. Then as they were getting ready to go the chief walked over to our circle and took the hand of his second oldest daughter. He walked her around the circle and placed her hand on my arm. He told her in Fulfulde to watch over and protect me while he was gone. Whatever I needed for her to give it to me and told her to help me with all I needed. Tara had translated what he said and all got a good laugh out of the chief and his words. But the truth is – that showed me how much he and his family love me.

9:41 pm
As I stood and held the bowl of warm milk in my hands I no longer had tears ready to overflow. It had a creamy taste to it and I wondered if it was the fresh milk from last night or maybe even this morning. I had to have it over the fire for a while until it was almost at a boil. I’ve never done milk like that before, Seng taught me last night.
I’m here. I’m in my new home in the bush with my new Fulani family. I love it. I think. This morning I had such mixed emotions about watching the girls leave and here I was – on my own. There is NO way to describe the feeling I had, of complete reliance, trust and faith in Christ.
The chief left with the girls and he’s the one in the family that I know the best, I can’t communicate any better with him than anyone else, but he has a way of really helping me understand what he’s trying to tell me.

11:26 am Thursday, February 14, 2008
I wonder why I was called to this life. I feel at times that it’s not fair that I was the one in my family given a desire for something so unfamiliar and almost uncomfortable at times.
Every bit of everything in me wants to be with my family right now, except for the huge part of my heart that loves these people. I feel torn between two of the most magnificent loves in my life… my family and the lost.

9:47 pm
Once it got dark I grabbed a mat to sit on, my headlamp and my Bible and sat down to read. The chief’s wife came and sat with me as I read a few chapters from Hosea aloud. She just sat there and listened, not understanding a single word. I don’t care, I know that there is power in the Word of God and I pray that the reading of Scripture will scare Satan far away from this place. I want to be able to reach beyond the chief’s compound walls, into the depths of this village with the Gospel. God, I ask you for courage and strength.”

Living in the bush that week forced me to be more dependent on the Lord than I ever have before. The Lord has been teaching me during my whole Journeyman term how to be reliant on Him alone. While I was in Nigeria I was forced many times to fall back on Him with nowhere else to go. But this is a much deeper level of dependency than I have never experienced. In Nigeria, when I would really need to talk to someone, I went to my supervisors and they listened and talked me through it and then encouraged me to pray about it. Now I go to the Lord and He listens and asks me to talk to Him some more about it. In Nigeria when I needed to pick up the phone and call my mom I did so. Now, I have to call on the Lord. In Nigeria when I needed a good cry, Katy was normally not far away for me to go and talk to and cry with. Now, Jesus is the one who hears my cries and wipes my tears. My life changed 100% when I moved from America to Nigeria and my life changed 100% when I moved from Nigeria to Niger.

Bush life is easy. I can sleep with spiders and crickets on the walls next to me. I can go to the bathroom behind a bush everyday. I can drink warm milk every morning and night given to me by the chief’s family even though I don’t really like it. I can take bucket baths and only feel half clean afterwards. I can drink brown filtered water that taste worse than ever. I can eat the occasional food that is questionable, knowing that later, I will be visiting the bushes a few more times than normal. I can go without electricity and running water and I can wear my clothes for three days in a row, wash them and put them back on for another three days. Bush life truly is easy for me. The difficult part of this life for me right now is my inability to communicate. It’s the hardest and most discouraging thing that I have ever dealt with. Even with bush life being easy for me, it’s different and it’s new. So take that and add the major communication factor in and you get how I felt. I was alone. I felt alone. The only English speaker out there was God and let me tell you – we had some good talks!

Tara came out on Saturday and took me to her village about an hour walk through the desert. She kind of got turned around and lost her way a bit. It had been a few months since she had been to her village due to work that had to be done at our home it town. So we walked here and there and she took me far and near and finally found the right path and we went for it. She introduced me to her village and showed me the hut that she lived in. It had her hand made bed/mattress in it and a water jug that put water from the well it and it had room for her trunk of belongings. She lived there a little over a year.
We went to visit her crippled friend who lives just a few huts from where Tara’s is. She sells small items to the village people like matches, cigarettes, incense, etc. She is also the village braider. She braids many of the woman’s hair in the village. I watched her walk on her hands (with flipflops) and knees out to the sand, situate herself on the mat and start braiding the girls hair who had come that day with probably 50 cfa (about 8 cents).
There were lots of people that came and went, children, men and women, some to say hi and others to just get a look at the white girls that were there. While we were at her house we were served wet leaves with a spice in them to make it a little more “tasty”. They were gross. I can’t explain it, but it was leaves with some sort of, with some sort of, of, I don’t know – but it wasn’t good. But I tried it and that’s all that matters to them.
We visited others in her village and made our way back to the chief’s home later that afternoon. When we got there all the children were really excited to see us and immediately told us that they knew we got lost… Tara was shocked! She asked they knew and they children said that a Hausa person had come by and told them that their white people were lost in the desert! That was almost scary to Tara and I to know that people know who we are and who we live with! It was crazy to say the least. The children were laughing about it and thought it was really funny, they said they thought maybe Tara just wanted to “show me the bush a little bit” but that they knew she was really lost.
Tara stayed the night with me on Saturday night and headed home on Sunday morning as planned. She had made the trip out just to introduce me to her village, it was a blessed day and I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to lost in the desert with

3:09 pm Sunday, February 17, 2008
“Tara and I talked about the language and how difficult it is for me to have to wait to talk to them as I learn. One thing I do know is that these past few days have been sweet times with the Lord. I have learned, yet again, what my family truly means to me. I have seen a new level of trust from me towards the Lord. I also know from this week that I have to trust – I have to BELIEVE that the Lord will give me this language and I’m not sure I’m totally convinced of that yet. Will I be convinced when I can actually speak Fulfulde or will the Lord hold it from me until I believe? ‘God I want to BELIEVE, take away my unbelief!’ “

Seng came on Monday afternoon and stayed the night with me. It was my seventh day/night in the bush and I was having mixed feelings about leaving. I didn’t feel like I could speak the language any better or communicate on any new magical level, but I did know that I had begun to build relationships with these people and I knew that they loved me. Every last one of them.
Tara came early on Tuesday morning to pick the two of us up along with the chief. My first week in the bush was complete. I was thinking it all over and running the week through my mind and just sitting with the Lord about it when He just confirmed that my first week in the bush was for Him and I more than anything or anyone else. He wanted me to learn how to place myself wholeheartedly before Him. When I found myself falling to let myself fall and trust that He was there to catch me…
I know that I’m here to minister to these people, they are my people and I love them. But more and more everyday, the Lord is showing me that He brought me to Bush Village, Niger for Him and I. To continue what has been a beautiful relationship thus far, and to allow others a glimpse of what Christ looks like. I want to be transparent.

This is my “boy” Ibrahim (Abraham) and I love him SO much! He’s the oldest daughters son.

This is me trying to be Fulani

So I was helping them catch their goats so they could tie them up for the night. I caught the last one and they didn’t have the rope ready. So I just had to stand there and hold it - the chief thought it was so wonderful that I would catch a goat! He told Seng to take my picture!

This is “my bedroom” and I’m taking this picture while sitting on my cot.

This is my water as it’s being filtered. And yes, it’s the same color after it’s filtered as it is before…

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I realize that this blog was not a whole lot about bush “life” but this is what the Lord led me to share with you all tonight. With my access to the internet being scarce, I’m going to try to blog everytime I get on. Meaning that I will write it during the week or over the weekend and then when I make it to Susan’s to do my online things, I will post it. Please pray that I will be diligent in keeping up with it. It’s the least that I can do for those that are so faithful in keeping me lifted so high.

I am just now getting over a not – so – fun case of malaria. It all started last Friday and I thought that it was just a bad cold… yea right, a cold that makes you feel like death?! I just kept thinking that I would get better… tomorrow. I was not able to sleep at night because of the pain being so intense. Tara, Seng, Toby and Bradley, (two Journeymen who’s terms are also over), Judy (she is all four of their supervisor) and I, headed to Niamey on Tuesday. By the time we got here six hours later I knew that something wasn’t right. I was in severe pain in the back of my head, my neck, shoulders and lower back and was having consistent hot/cold flashes. That’s when Tara said “Clinic here we come!” The doctor gave me some pain medicine (because NOTHING I had taken thus far had touched the pain. Not Advil, Tylenol, nothing.) That night I slept for 10 hours! It was amazing and I didn’t feel better the next day, but I did feel rested. The next morning I went back to have a blood test done for malaria and it came back positive. I started on the malaria treatment that night and by the next morning (yesterday) I was already feeling a little bit better. Today I finished the treatment and I’m feeling really good. The medicine is like fast working magic! I love it! I’m headed back to my home in the morning. On a bus… just like the one before… I already called the taxi man and he’s coming at 4:30am to pick me up. It’s already 1:15am and I’m just now getting this posted and packed up. This bus ride is going to be AMAZING! (***sarcasm***) I’m going to try and take it easy until about the start of next week and then I’m headed back out to the bush.
I will try to update you all again about in about 7 – 10 days. Thank you ALL for your prayers during this week when I was sick. Continue to pray for me as I regain all my strength and get back to work in the bush on my language study.
Can’t wait to fill you in on what this next week will bring!