Little Copy Cat

Who come's flailing into our house screaming "How are you? How are you?" Meet Ba Mari: next door neighbor boy: mentally challenged mother, uncaring father, 3 1/2 years old, loves icecream. (Guess who introduced him to it?!) He spends a lot of time at our house since his mother often leaves him behind.

In the past, he hasn't known very much English so we say what we want to say and he hasn't understood. Lately I've been realizing that he is watching and understanding more than I realize. The other day I called our cat a dork, and instantly I heard a little voice say, "Dork." Just like I had said it. A few weeks ago I got a bad burn on my leg, and had removed a piece of aloe vera plant to spread over it. I don't even remember him being around but this morning I looked outside to see Ba Mari reaching over the aloe vera plant. He grabbed a chunk off and opened it just like I had and smeared it over a wound on his leg. Gone is the freedom and saying and doing what I want! Little eyes and ears are here!

Going to Grandma's House (or the village)

A few weeks ago, I really wished I had been one of those children who LOVED attention. A friend was going to a wedding, and asked if I wanted to come. I decided it was a great opportunity to make friends, so I quickly agreed. After a bumpy ride through dunes in a lenge-lenge (a big truck with an open back where everyone crowds in) which left four hours later than scheduled, I arrived in a village 20 kilometers from where we live. Next came 2 1/2 days only communicating in the local language from sun-up (5:30 am) to midnight. The attention was not only on the four brides and four grooms to be married but also very much so on this foreign woman speaking their language. They asked lots of questions and then began talking about me thinking I didn't understand. I heard things like "She doesn't know any Manga" to "She knows everything in Manga" to "In the U.S. they get married when they are 25 or 30 sometimes?? If you wait that long there are no men left and you're too old to catch their eye! Kanjiallai!" (their expression of surprise which I heard over 20 times in one hour).
The highlight was one evening hearing my friend retell to her sister the story of creation which she had heard from our mp3 player a few months back. And the next day I was taken to a sick little boy and was able to pray for healing for him in front of the village leaders. May God open doors here!

Digging up a tree growing in our kitchen...and why can't we get plants to grow in the yard??

A Wedding

Just a few glimpses from a local wedding, a 7-day event full of family and friends and special moments.

Perspective

It's sometimes too easy to consider the unfavorable things here:
-Black trash bags scattered everywhere, decorating trees and littering the ground.
-Dirty smells rising up from the lack of proper sewage.
-Temperatures that soar and give no reprieve.
-Isolation from life as we used to know it.
-Lies and deception that cause people to not look for change or truth but to go along as things have always been.

But then, there are the moments of wonder:
-The healing of our friend's little boy's eyes after praying for healing.
-People asking us health questions, giving us the opportunity to teach some basic good health tactics.
-The many friendships we have developed with wonderful, gracious people.
-The progress we've made in a very difficult language.
-The help of God through difficult circumstances.
-The presence of God, always.

So, yes, we try to be JOYFUL as we live here. God is worthy.

Crisis in Niger

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8751000/8751252.stm

Kids teaching how to sort millet