Niger – Day 5


We spent the day at Peniel and KAMNA again, teaching music, sports, crafts, sewing and cooking, and the medical team continued to do physical examinations on all the children at Peniel. Still so many more children to see, but we will be back at Peniel on Friday and can finish the exams then.

Tonight we will be out in one of the local villages again, singing and preaching. We are all looking forward to what the Lord has in store again this evening.

I am writing this blog before we leave this evening, so that I can actually get to bed before midnight tonight. So – it is rather brief. However, I’ve made up for that by sharing a group of photos … Many more to come.

Blessings,

Teri

P.S. Day 5 was posted on Day 8 due to no internet service. So more will follow as soon as possible.

Niger - Day 4

My kingdom for a pair of shorts and a tank top! Phewh - probably the hottest day so far. What a great day though. Colette and Maureen went to the Kamna Vocational School in the morning to teach the women how to make macaroons. One of the women pastors even suggested that making the macaroons would be a great way to raise money for their ministry.

The rest of us went to the Peniel School. Wow - what a gift this school must surely be to the community. Driving through incredible poverty and then on the other side of the wall, the school has sturdy walls, with multiple classrooms, desks, chairs, chalk boards, large meeting room and a huge playground. The children are all dressed in burgundy and black uniforms, and any time you enter a room, the whole class, in unison, says "Hello Auntie" or "Hello Uncle". They are absolutely adorable children; well behaved and full of enthusiasm to learn.

Cindy, Ann, Carol, Jana and Kaitin set up the clinic and began doing physical exams on every student there. They saw about 56 children today, so still about 150+ to go!! At one point, a little boy came in with cracked feet with sores. They soaked his feet in a tub and cleaned the wounds. Kaitlin got down on her knees and wiped his feet - the mirror picture of Christ's love for us.

The computer team took pictures all morning of each student. Later in the afternoon, they installed 10 computers and put in a wireless network. They also taught a computer class that afternoon to some pastors and missionaries.

The sports team had the kids running after frisbies and playing games in the sun. The best game was "Catch the white boy" and Cade and Cole would run as fast as they could while all the students chased after them!!

The music team taught recorder to all the students today. Lisa did a fine job showing all these little ones how to play a flute of sorts. Teaching the "blow it softly" technique, she used soap bubbles, which were a huge hit.

The evening was completed by all of us going back to a village and along with some of our pastor friends, we sang some songs, and preached a message in the dark, about the love of Jesus. Some men came forward and asked for prayer for a woman in their village who has not walked in six years. The men went to her and prayed for her. The pastor then told her that they have prayed for the Lord to heal her, and if she has the faith to believe this, she will be healed. She stood up and walked slowly at first, but then was walking around the hut several times, rejoicing and singing at her healing. God is good. Miracles still happen.

Correction from yesterday - It was Brian Decker not Brian Moe who sang Amazing Grace with the team at one of the churches, and there were nearly 1,000 people in attendance at the big concert last night, rather than 500. (I like to write, but anyone who knows me, knows math is not my thing!!)

Blessings,
Teri

Day 3

OCTOBER 25, 2009 – Day 3
Sunday morning – off to church. We broke up into three separate groups and visited three different churches. The music team and Marcia went to Yantala, where we got to sing for the congregation. Cindy, Kyle, Brian Moe, Maureen and Kaitlin wanted me to be sure to let you know that they too were asked to sing when then visited the Nouveau Marche Church. They sang two verses of “Amazing Grace” and were given a hearty round applause afterwards.
Our service at Yantala was awesome. This is Pastor Ali’s church. You may remember his wife Hadiza who sang with us on the worship team for one Sunday while they were visiting Grace about a year ago. The choir at the Yantala church sang a special song just for us. The main lyrics were “ We’re so happy you are here – happy, happy, happy.” Of course there was dancing and clapping involved as well!! They also sang another song in English about Moses, but it wasn’t until nearly the end of the song that I realized they were singing in English. Colette leaned in to me and said, “That’s probably how well they understand our French, too!” Marcia was the guest speaker at the church this morning, and she did her entire message in French. It was impressive, and honestly, we even understood what she was saying much of the time even though she was speaking beautifully in French!
After church (2.5 hours) we had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Walking through the gate at the restaurant was a feat for the eyes; palm trees, green plants, flowers and water gardens. Whoa, where are we? Inside, the restaurant was air-conditioned. It felt glorious. As an appetizer, we were served deep-friend grasshoppers. No – seriously! Jana, the consummate food aficionado immediately volunteered to try one, and then had to try another because she forgot to add sauce. Brave grasshopper eaters included both Brians, Shaun, Kaitlin, Carol, Cindy, Kyle, Perry, Cole (who ate several), Daniel (our trusted driver and new friend), and Marcia. The rest of us passed on the … um, delicacy. Maureen ate Pepto Bismal instead (go figure!)
And finally, the evening ended with our big concert night. I’d say there were approximately 500 people present, which included a couple hundred people who were in the program (not kidding). It was sort of like Battle of the Bands! It started at 4:30 and the last thundering song rang out at 8:15! Speaking of thundering, I know volume has been an issue at Grace Chapel for many years. In fact, it seems to be a universal church issue – or at least in the US of A. But Africa – volume not a problem! It’s just “ON” all the time. We need to come up with a new word for “loud”. Still, the gospel message was spoken and sung loud and clear throughout the evening. There was quite a diverse crowd there. Christians, Muslims, and those in-between, but they listened. And they heard the message that Jesus Christ has set us free through his great love for us, and sacrifice on the cross. May His saving power touch the hearts of those who came to with ears to hear.
Blessings, Teri

Day 2

OCTOBER 24, 2009 – Day 2
After a delicious breakfast this morning, we set off in vans and SUVs to go to the city and participate in the men’s and women’s seminar services at two different locations about 3-miles apart. The women’s meeting included guest speakers Dr. Cindy Martin and Maureen Yockey from our team. Through an interpreter, Cindy shared with the women about the importance of taking care of themselves nutritionally before getting pregnant and during pregnancy, as well as the types of foods that have the proper nutrients and can be found here in Niger. Maureen talked about nurturing your child after they are born, and building the bond of love and trust. The interpreter did a very good job keeping up with the ladies, though at one point, Cindy was talking about using a clean washcloth dipped in chamomile tea to aid in calming colicky babies. After seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of some of the women, we realized that the interpreter thought Cindy was telling the women to us camel milk! Yikes!!
This afternoon, we went to a football (soccer) game. The young men playing are part of a local athletic club of sorts. We drove about 15 minutes and then turned on a road that drove through make-shift homes, cattle and children, and trash everywhere, everywhere, everywhere. Then we parked. This is the soccer field? … Just dirt, unleveled ground, junk all around and cinderblocks serving as goals. Where’s the bleachers??? Apparently you stand to watch these games … okay.
Two men beating drums and two men blowing horns marched through the village to announce the beginning of the games. People came out of every corner – children and adults followed the pied-piper to the “soccer field”.
What struck all of us so deeply were the people. You know those pictures you see in National Geographic? … the ones with children’s faces and eyes that grip your soul? They live here. We could feel the love of the Christ calling each one of us to love on these dear little ones … so many people, with so little hope. I pray we can share true Hope with them.
There’s much more to tell you, but our internet access is slow right now, so I will write more later.
Blessings,
Teri

Niger - Day 1

OCTOBER 23, 2009 – Day 1
Looking out the window as our plane came in for a landing in Niamey at about 3:30 Friday afternoon, that’s when it really hit me. We are about to land in Africa. AFRICA! Holy cow – we just came 6,500 miles to a completely different culture and a world so very different from ours. A plume of heat wafted over us as we disembarked, and then got on to some vans to take us to the Niamey “International” Airport just a couple hundred yards away.
When we left Denver at DIA, we checked 32 bags. I know – that is tons, but we were bringing many teaching aids and gifts with us … and of course, clothing. The concern, of course, was that we would get to Niger but our bags would enjoy a vacation in the South of Mexico or something. Amazingly, ALL our bags arrived, with not one glitch through customs; truly a miracle.
We rolled out of the airport doors with a caravan of luggage and 18 people, and were joyfully greeted by a hundred or so Nigerians; children and adults from the Peniel School, pastors, missionaries, and ambassadors. Our little singing group decided this was the closest we were ever going to get to feeling like rock stars!! Ha!
Again, that overwhelming feeling hit me and I got a bit choked up looking out at those darling little cherub faces on the children, the colorfully dressed women and kind gentlemen who had been standing there for who knows how long in the heat, waiting to honor us with this tremendous welcome.
Driving to the pastor’s seminary where we are staying was a real eye-opener. People were walking all over the place (yes, in the street where people are driving too); goats and longhorn cows and some bulls – and yes, some donkeys pulling carts. People driving cars, many motorcycles, bicycles and just a general flurry of activity with nobody seemingly paying attention to the other. Makes C470 heading west at rush hour look like a cakewalk!
We were treated to a delicious meal of spaghetti, green beans, salad and bread for dinner. It really was wonderful. Tomorrow morning, we will be attending church for a men’s meeting and a women’s meeting. Our singing group will sing a couple songs at each of those meetings. Then, the rest of the day is pretty open for us to set up all the computers and the temporary clinic in preparation for next week’s activities.
I’ve posted a couple of pix, but they are pretty large, so the download time may be too much. Between now and tomorrow, we will try to figure out a way to downsize the photos so we can send lots more to the blog.
First day in Niger: God has made it very clear that He has gone before us and prepared the way. We are all safe, joyful and healthy (Colette and Shawn, who came down with strep a couple days ago are both feeling much better) and the rest of us are just looking forward to getting some sleep tonight.
God bless you. More wonders and news from Niger tomorrow.
Teri – Niger Team Blogstress

paris

We're in Paris on our plane to Niamey. All is well. Thank you for your prayers!

We've arrived in Atlanta and waiting for our flight to Paris. The real adventure begins tomorrow as we fly in to Niamey. We'll post an update then..Lord willing