The events of Christmas while living near the desert.

-The first choice for a party on Christmas Eve is to go to the sand dunes for a picnic and bonfire.
-You notice that the sandstorms ‘almost’ remind you of a snowstorm with the grayish, whitish color in the air. Then you realize it is 90 degrees instead of 0 degrees.
-You feel cold when the temperature ‘drops’ to 65 degrees F.
-Your Christmas tree is a thorn tree branch!
-You have donkeys walking by your door all day to remind you of Mary, very pregnant, riding on a donkey.
-Missing family, but remembering that no matter where “home” may be, it is so great to rejoice in the huge sacrifice our Father gave in sending His son to save us. We, His complaining, sinful, and selfish beings. There’s no sacrifice too big for us to make in response to this amazing sacrifice.

A Tax-ing Experience

Riding in a taxi here in Niamey is always an experience. The other day we flagged down a taxi on Tillabery Road just in front of Kwame's house. I knew there were going to be a few problems when the engine of the taxi died as soon as the taxi man pulled up in front of us. We tried not to think too much of it and hopped in the taxi. After a few minutes of the engine shutting down and the taxi man restarting it, he turned to us and asked if we minded. We said, "No," and so he kept on going. We noticed he wasn't going the normal direction to the Stadium area so we asked him where we were going. He just smiled and said, "I have to go to the garage." You would think that if you were going to go get your car fixed, you wouldn't bother to pick up passengers. But then again, this is a different culture here. We sat at the mechanic's shop for about 15 minutes while he tuned up the car. Finally, we were off again. We drove for about five minutes this time before the taxi man decided to stop and get some gas. It was a good thing we weren't in a hurry… the taxi man sure wasn't. But then again, this is the pace of life around here.

A Day of Bureaucracy

The other day I traveled into the city to buy some fiscal stamps, a stamp that's kind of like a money-order used for acquiring government documents such as a new driver's license. The director of SIM told me that I could buy them at the post-office. I jumped in a taxi and headed to the post office, ready to accomplish all that I needed that day. I walked into the post-office with a smile on my face only to be greeted by a woman at the window who obviously didn't care to be at work.

I timidly muttered in my best French, "Can I buy some fiscal stamps here?"

"Fiscal stamps? Go to the Domain Services up the street on the left."

I quickly made my way out the door and up the street, thinking, "No problem." As I walked up the street, the only building on the left was the Minister of Finances but there weren't any signs saying anything about "Domain Services." Across the street I noticed some buildings looking a little more inviting with signs saying, "Services of Taxes." The needed stamps are actually a kind of tax-stamp so I thought that I'd try it out. As I began to enter the first building, a man outside the door asked if he could help me.

I cheerfully said, "Yes. I need to purchase some fiscal stamps. Do I do that here?"

    He smiled and responded, "Go to the building to the left. There you can buy them."

I think the day is going to be a good one after all. I walked over to the next building and popped into the first office I saw.

    "I need to buy some fiscal stamps."

    The woman nodded and pointed towards the hallway, "Down that way."

    I walked up the hallway only to find a large African woman sitting in front of her computer playing solitaire.

    "Excuse me, but I'd like to buy some fiscal stamps."

    "How much do you need?"

    "10,000 CFA ($20)," I responded.

    Shouting down the hallway even further, she beckoned to another office where another large African woman was playing solitaire as well.

    "You can't buy them here. Go to the building on the left."

    Shrugging my shoulders, I went back to the building I had first come from.

Still smiling I said, "They said I need to get them here." He briefly spoke with another man and told me to go two buildings down on the right. I entered the building and found the first person who looked like he knew what he was doing.

Struggling to still smile I said, "I need to buy some fiscal stamps." He nodded and led me to the back of the building where a small group of people gathered around a couple desks noisily chatting away. Again I noticed that one of the computers displayed that ever-present card game, solitaire. The man pointed me to a woman sitting at one of the desks and said, "He needs some fiscal stamps."

"How much?" she demanded.

"I would like 10,000 CFA of fiscal stamps please."

"Oh, you can't get them here." Another man chimed in and told me I had to go to a building next to the radio tower building. I thought he meant nearby, so I left the building, and went next door. Stopped at the gate by a guard, I was asked, "What do you want?"
    "I need some fiscal stamps."

"Go to the building you see on the left there." Disappointed, I slowly made my way back to the building where I encountered the office of people. They didn't seem any happier to see me than they did the first time I was there. Exhausted and tired of French, I said, "I still need some fiscal stamps and the guys next door told me to come here."

    One of the men told me that I had to go all across town to another tax office located next to the radio and television building. This was going to be a long day I thought. Luckily, or by divine intervention as I like to think, another man chimed in and finally said, "You can buy the stamps at the Treasury building which is just down the street."

    I hope and prayed that he wasn't just leading me on another wild goose chase. Thankfully, and to my own sanity, when I asked the woman at the window for some fiscal stamps, she promptly pulled out a sheet of them and asked, "How many would you like?"

Words from the Wise

It was a moment I'll remember. Her name was Mary Ann. This little woman with long gray hair, big glasses, and a big smile wandered up to me after we'd finished sharing about Niger at her church. She began by telling me about all her grandkids and what each was doing. When she was about finished I said, "Mary Ann, what words of wisdom do you have for a young woman like me?" She paused and said, "What? What do you want to know?" I asked again, a little louder this time. She paused and then said, "Make sure to thank the Lord every morning for His blessings. You pray every day, don't ya?" "I try to!" I responded. As we continued to talk she asked, "Now, what can I pray for you about?" I told her a few things and before I knew what was happening, Mary Ann grasped my arm and began asking the Lord to bless our ministry, to do His work in Niger, and to take care of us on the airplane. I'm sure it was one prayer out of thousands she had prayed in her lifetime, but for me, this one was special. Someday, maybe I'll be like her. She informed me before we said goodbye that everybody in the church knew her. I assured her that I was certain they did! And I was certain, because after my 10 minutes with Mary Ann, I sure felt like I did.

The Things You Learn in France...

When I came to France ten months ago I never expected that I'd learn more than just the French language. But thanks to an English friend here at the language school, I have also learned a new trick.

That's right... I can now swallow fire. Katie's not very amazed about my new trick, but I know that she will come around. It's just a matter of time. When our funds are low and there's no food on the table, she'll turn to me and my new fire-swallowing ability.

Strength Found in Weakness

Lately, the Lord has been humbling me by showing me my weaknesses. It's hard sometimes for me to accept because I've always had a "superman" complex. I mean, I've always considered myself able to do anything... able to do anything I set my mind to... impervious to the world around me. However, I've come to realise how little I really know and how weak I really am. When I hear others speak about the Scriptures, I realise how much I don't know. When people ask for my counsel, I see how much wisdom I am lacking. When I think about my French learning, I realise my inability. It is easy to be discouraged...

However, the Lord has also shown me that even with all of these reasons, I still have no adequate reason to be discouraged. I won't give into this deception. My hope rests in the Lord. My hope rests in His faithfulness... in the fact that in weakness His power is made perfect. Over and over again, God has used the weak to shame the strong... the foolish to shame the wise.

I have learned that my strength does not rest in the acceptance of my own abilities or powers. My strength rests in the acceptance of my weakness. It is through my weakness that the Lord will be glorified. The weaker I am, the stronger He will be displayed in my life. When I am able to quote Scripture or give wise counsel, it will not be because of anything I've done, but only because of what He has done in me. When I become fluent in French and other languages, it won't be because of my abilities, but only because of what He has done in me.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will all boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Cor. 12:9-10

What does sewage, classical music, and the Tango all have in common?

Well, these are all things you can do in one day in the romantic city of Paris. When most people think of Paris, they think of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre. Well, what do you do after you've seen all those sights a half-dozen times? Well... you go underground.

We took a short tour of the Paris sewer system. It's really not overly interesting, but it still was a little bit. We saw how Paris has over 2100 km of sewer pipes (that's over 1300 miles) and pumps out over 1.3 million cubic meters of sewage water every day... that's equal to 35,000 35-ton trucks of liquid.

After our wonderful tour underground, we went to Saint-Chapelle, a chapel in the city center with beautiful stained-glass windows. Instead of taking the normal 10-cent tour, we waited until evening and enjoyed the chapel's beauty while Vivaldi echoed throughout the hall. A stringed quartet along with a harpsichord played classical music as the sunshine from the windows made a myriad of colors across the floor.

As the evening came to a close, we grabbed a pizza and took a stroll down by the river Seine. We enjoyed our cheap dinner on the bank of the river with all the others gathered around watching some tango dancing. Instead of pizza and a movie we opted for the more economical and romantic... pizza and a tango.