Letters, Letters Everywhere . . .

Perhaps it is just an "occupational hazard," but . . . ARE THERE MORE LETTERS IN THE WORLD THAN THERE USED TO BE???  Everywhere I turn I see l-e-t-t-e-r-s!  Now I know it is partly that I am living in a French-speaking country, and, as far as it appears to me, the French waste letters by putting them in words that are perfectly good without them!  But since I do not speak French, what do I know?

I remember how much fun it was to have small children in the 4-and-younger age group where you could still have a conversation with an adult by speaking AND SPELLING words, but I realize now that has backfired on us.  With the onslaught of  social media, our "once-spelled-in-front-of children" are getting their revenge - BIG TIME!  Just check out facebook and see how much communication takes place through letters that don't spell anything!  I consider myself pretty savvy;  I know that "LOL" = "laugh out loud," "JK" = "just kidding," and "BYU" = "Bob's your uncle" . . . no, wait . . . that comes from our Dutch friend, Sjoerd, and means "Then you're done!" or "See, it works!" However, I still cannot decode my granddaughter's messages on facebook!  Could there be a reason???

Recently I have learned of two more sets of letters (other than OIA = "only in Africa"), which have caused me some serious thought:  FWP and TWP.  Really, they stand for questions:  First World Problem? or Third World Problem?  (Thank you Jenny and Ruth for your thought-provoking creativity!)

Living in a "third world" country has its share of difficulties, especially for the people who claim this as their homeland;  for those of us from westernized cultures - not so much.  Yet we complain:  "Internet off AGAIN???"  "A mouse has eaten my tee-shirt!"  "How long will the power be out this time???"  "Rice or potatoes for dinner?"  "My refrigerator won't keep anything cold in this 110 F. weather!"  (So far, I only see FWP's: I have internet AND a computer to access it;  I have clothes to spare; We get electricity;  I have enough food to store some?  We have choices of what to eat, or do, or buy, or learn, or drive, or . . .)

What do TWP's  look like?  Malaria, typhoid, burned babies who die, and those who don't but have life-long disfigurement.  Crops with too little rain and trees cut down for cooking fires.  Schools where doors were stolen for shelter, and desktop wood was removed for firewood or to sell for income.

Women with too many children and too little food for them . . .

and so it could go for this country on the bottom rungs of the "human development index" . . . EXCEPT . . .

Except that God called many people here to make a difference - to be a (different kind of) "letter" from God to these people in such need here.  Like Paul says of the  Corinthian believers, "You show that you are a letter from Christ . . . written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, written not on tablets of stone, but on . . .  human hearts." (2 Corinthians 3:3)  Change has to be in God's time; obedience in ours.

Oh, and BTW - the new term is now "two-thirds world," rather than "third world," - just FYI.

Led Like a Lamb . . .

I have never been particularly interested in visiting the Holy Land, but I have  realized God has many ways of making the accounts in the Bible come alive, or become more visually accurate, which is something I have definitely experienced in our two years in Galmi!  For example, in my mind, the stable where Jesus was born is not a bed of sweet hay, with clean animals far in the background to lend authenticity, but maybe something more like this:

One Family's "Stable" in Galmi

Or, it could have resembled this (with probably an overhead covering):

A Different Family's "Stable"

Life here for Nigeriens is just so "basic."  I can't help but think that God, who came to Earth to be not a King ruling in royal robes, with Earthly finery, but to be king of our hearts and lives, would come where and how most people live --- which for 2/3 of the world is very "basic!"

It is easier for me to experience God in Galmi.  I need Him.  I have questions. I am looking for answers.  I am finding His presence more readily as I live life in the context of His calling.  So it should not have surprised me when I "heard His voice" on my way to school one day just before Easter.  I was just passing the last house when I heard the very loud "BAA-A-A-A,  BAA-A-A-A" of a small ram, which compelled me to investigate.  He was tethered to the small animal pen in front of the house, and happened to be one of the half-black/half-white kind that I see a lot of here.  They look "painted" because there is such a distinct line around their middle.

"Baaa-aa-aa-aa!"

I am not sure why, but I went up to the pen and started "talking" to the animal, which of course, was a very one-sided conversation, interspersed with some "baa-a-a" on his part.  Although I am neither a vegetarian, nor particularly fond of animals in general, I was saying words like, "Gosh, I am sorry about your fate (Easter dinner)," which didn't get much response from him!  He would be taken away, fearlessly following, not knowing his destiny, until . . . and then the impact of what would happen brought to mind another lamb --- a perfect lamb --- Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.  "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter."  (Isaiah 53:7)  He did not need to be tethered; no "baa" of protest left his lips; yet he went willingly, even knowing full-well the suffering that He would endure and the fate that would be His. But unlike my "friend in the pen" above, His sacrifice would not be enjoyed for just a day, or talked about for a week, but would be THE SACRIFICE -  sufficient for all eternity, and a joyous celebration for all who claim Him as personal Savior and Lord!

HE IS RISEN!   HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

What Do You Do With an Extra Day???

If you had an "extra day" in your life, what would you do with it?  Hmmm. . . a question loaded with possibilities???  A prompt to see if you are a "deep thinker?  A trick to see if you are generous and humble??? The correct answer would be something like, "Oh, I have been waiting for time to build that orphanage!"  Whereas an answer like "Probably sit around playing games on facebook," would win you  a loud "beeeeep," meaning you are very self-centered and don't bother "friending" me!

There is one more possible answer, though, IF you are blessed enough to be an elementary school teacher:  "Why, I would try to make all my lessons today about the number 29, or at least related to Leap Year!"   Ding, ding, ding ---- we have a winner!  So, Happy February 29th to you all!  That is just what Jenny and I did, and I might add, we were glad we only had a half-day today! 

We started the day with fancy crowns on our heads.  Every day is a better day if you are wearing a crown.  It makes you feel like a princess, or a Queen, or at its most basic, makes students look at you a little more often!  (Hey, we take what we can get!)

Princess Jenny XXIX of Niger

Queen Barbara XXIX of Niger

As a class, we are reading the book, Sign of the Beaver.  I try to have them do something different each time we read a chapter.  So --- today I read the first 29 words and the last 29 words in the book!  They had to figure out what was in the rest of the words I left out.  (We are on chapter 18, so there are lots of possibilities!)
We then divided into teams:  Team "SUN" and Team "EARTH."  Each team had to make up math problems that had the answer 29 for each one.  Tomorrow we shall trade papers and see what the answers are.  Oops, little problem:  All of them have the answer "29!"   Hmmmm . . . have to rethink that one.

Team "SUN" and Team "EARTH"

What is it about a little "friendly competition" that kids love???  After our midmorning community break for cinnamon buns (only happens on Wednesdays), each student had to do a task related to "29" --- outside paces, 29 red things to find, etc.  When completed, each made a 29-bead necklace, and received 29 M & M's from Princess Jenny.

Whew!!!  That about covered the "milking" of the number 29.  We then discussed why we have leap year, but soon found out it was "old news" to our brilliant kiddos!  Oh well, Jenny and I had fun, which makes it a "day well-spent!"

African Wedding

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and ONLY Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."  --- John 3:16


To celebrate God's LOVE in this season of "hearts" and "cards," here is a glimpse of how "love" plays out in another culture in a far away corner of the world:


Earlier this year, there was a series of weddings among the young adults in this African community, who also have involvement with people on our compound here in Galmi. And Phil and I went to one, even though we didn't know either the bride or the groom.  (Apparently that is not a prerequisite, as during the event, little half-naked kids wandered in and out, along with other people, perhaps just curious, or hoping for a bite to eat!)  

BUT - we were among the "invited!"  How did we know that?  No "save-the-date" cards came to us, no fancy engraved invitations in the mail, no "gift registries" to consult, no blocks of hotel rooms reserved (no hotels!), and no online list of "pre-wedding activities" for us to participate in!  (Hey - the bride and groom don't even take a honeymoon, let alone sponsor "pre-wedding activities!)  Then what was it that secured us a spot at this festive event???

Yes!  BUBBLE GUM!!!  Not a package; just a wrapped piece.  Apparently the "exclusivity" of the guest list is a little loose, but we were "up" for this new experience, anyway.  However, a few weeks before the wedding, I was asked to help alter the "rotating wedding dress" for the bride, since she was marrying the brother of our Nigerien Chief of Surgery here.  I was very happy to do this because 1. it put me in closer contact with those who live here, and 2. I am secretly the CEO, president, "head honcho," and main stitcher of the little-known "Save the World Through Sewing" organization.  (Shocking!  Who would have guessed?)  In retrospect, I was glad I did this because I got to see the bride, who was absolutely beautiful, which I was not able to do at the wedding.  It was a very large event!


Phil and I donned our best  African frocks, which for me was a long skirt, top, head wrap and scarf, and for Phil, he was excited to wear his new long Hausa robe and Hausa hat.  Thus attired, and armed with quarts of water, we ambled down the road under the 95 F. sun, and into the village living area to the church.  Remember, this is Africa, where time is negotiable!

When we arrived at the church, it was hard to tell what was going on, but here are some story-telling pictures, with a little explanation in between. 

Sisters or Mommy and Daughter?

Part of the Wedding Choir?

It was hard to tell what role different groups of people were playing, but I think, these beautiful young women above were part of the choir.  Below is a picture of how crowded it was!

In most of the events, whether worship, a wedding, a baby dedication, or other,  women and men are still separated, so the women here are taking up 2/3 of the church, with the men's section to the left, by the windows.

Bride's Maids?

Women Dancing in Before the Bride

 I love the way the African women sing and dance, and it seems to occur regularly at important events, also.

The Bride and Groom
(I think it's the groom!!!)

The bride and groom do not sit together at the wedding, either!  It was very difficult to see what all was happening, being in the back and the church being very full!

Festive Head "Wraps"

In this culture, women must wrap their heads, or wear a "kalabi" (pronounced "cul`-uh-bee).  But I detect a trend towards liberality here, with "wigs" being donned sometimes as an acceptable substitute for younger women, and also, as these pictures show, very fancy coverings being displayed as "specialty wear."  I was fascinated by the "sculpted" head  coverings (pictures above and below).

The Pink Was a Nice Change

"Copper Top"

I could not get the "Duracell battery" jingle out of my mind every time I saw the woman above in her beautiful copper and brown "headpiece!"

Riding in Style

If you are a baby in Africa, this is "how you roll!"  It is very clever, really, and much less expensive than all the "carriers" you can find in the U.S.  It does bother me, though, to see the sleeping tots' heads flopped back like the one above.  The other advantage, of course, is that you can carry a baby on your back AND a load of wood on your head, or anything else, for that matter!

Taking a Break!

If you get too hot or uncomfortable or bored, or anything else, just take a break, walk outside and sit a spell!  Events (including church services) are LONG and lots of people just walk in and out, or go home and come back, etc.!  But we Americans have a different set of social proprieties, so we "stuck it out!"  BUT - see how happy these women are!  We were not so happy tending to our (self-imposed) social standards INSIDE!  I was near the door,so managed to stay relatively comfortable, but anyone of the "unlucky" gender, well . . . not so much!

"Copper Top 2"

There seemed to be a "color theme" going on here, as this beautiful woman displayed in another head cover.  (I have yet to tie anything on my head that creates a look other than a pirate or something out of "Sound of Music!"

More 'Wedding Wear"

Another Wedding Head Wrap Style

(The little girl in the picture above was so cute and had these little tiny "extensions" attached to her hair.  I wanted to post a bigger picture, but for some reason it would not upload.)


I think of all the fabulous and "fun" clothing I saw at this wedding, the wrap in the picture below was the most "jaw-dropping!"  People wear their best clothes to weddings.  I kept asking myself, "That is her BEST??!!"

I'm Speechless . . .

Such is the way of life in Galmi, Niger, a town of about 8,000 Nigeriens (not to be confused with the country of Nigeria, where people are Nigerians).  And we are privileged and blessed to be here!

Thanks . . . But No Thanks! Or wait . . . Maybe I Will Take It!

People are always giving me "stuff."  The thought there is that if you are a teacher, you are either 1. desperate for free materials you can use in the classroom, or 2. so resourceful that you can take junk and make something useable from it!  I am going to "go with" the latter rationale.


We have a wonderful "guest house / hospitality coordinator" on the compound, and G. lets "no grass grow under her feet!"  She has been cleaning out the storage units here, which is no small task.  There have been hundreds of people who have lived here over the past 70+ years of the history of Galmi Hospital; some have returned and reclaimed their possessions, and some not. If you are a parent of grown children, you probably have "storage issues" yourselves.   We used to think, as you may, that when the children have their own homes, then they will take it all.  Hahaha!  All I can say is, "Have fun with that delusion!" Anyway, G. has been cleaning out storage areas around the compound, and I have been the recipient of some of the contents . . . 

Dozens of Paper Tubes

Clothes Pins

Hundreds and Hundreds of Pipettes

Over 1500 Wrapped Straws

Miles of Adding Machine Paper Tape

But yesterday, I "hit the jackpot" with this gift. . .  

Over 200 Plastic "Slides" Holders

 IF you don't know what these are, you are probably very young!!!  Go back in years from "smart phones," computers / internet,  "downloadable cameras," . . . yes, keep going . . . back from "online scrapbooks,"  "scrapbooking" as an art form, . . . back up from Costco inexpensive photo developing, . . . and arrive at . . . (drum roll) . . . the world of SLIDES!!!  NOT water slides, NOT "slip 'n slides," but just SLIDES!  PICTURE SLIDES!  You know, grandma and grandpa go to Alaska, take 450 pictures of snow or icebergs, invite you for dinner (it's a trick!), and sit you down for a showing of their slide pictures projected from a wheel of slides onto a large screen, and you slit there until you resolve you are NEVER going to Alaska!


Anyway, back to "slides."  I was about to put them deep into a storage cupboard of our own, right in the classroom, when it hit me:  the kids would love to use these, and I am tired of teaching how to write a summary!  Today we shall draw our summaries!  Onto little pieces of clear contact paper!  Each student will make his own "mini slide show" summarizing the chapter we just read in our study book, Sign of the Beaver.  So, they did!  And they had so much motivation that they did not want to go home.  They wanted to stay in and keep drawing and making slides.  Our boxes of slides had three little "viewers" in them which enlarge the slides as you look through the little "eyepiece."  Here is one student's beginning of her summary:

And I am having a "blast" in this classroom with these precious children.  And the best part is that despite all the planning I do, and all I think I need to do, I believe God is faithfully providing resources and people and ideas for me to use in this "calling," for which I have many shortcomings and which sometimes seems so far away from my "other life."  Thank you, Jesus!

You Know You're In Africa When . . .

• Greetings!  Thanks for "hanging in there" with us and checking for blog updates!  

Since my big New Year's resolution to become "Barb the Better Blogger," I have posted NO blogs, thus making me look like "Barb the Blogger Who Bombs!"  BUT --- We have been gone to "the big city," and I do NOT mean NYC!  While NYC may be called the "Big Apple,"  and Galmi, the "Big Onion," I would have to say the Niger capital of Niamey, would be the "Big Melon-Rolling-Around-the-Banks-of-the-Niger-River-While-Laundry-Dries-on-Bushes-and- Camels-Cross-Over-the-Bridge-Above!"  Interesting to contemplate on many levels . . .


We went to Niamey for two wonderful conferences - a SIM "Spiritual Life Conference," followed by an shorter education conference, and the only way they could have been any better, would have been to be able to use the internet, which was out of service!  Shocking, I know.


Whenever we leave the compound, whether just up to the road to get bread, onions, or "all things plastic," or farther away to "The Big Melon," I am reminded what a unique existence it is here among the beautiful people of West Africa.  And there are many funny things that happen just living here, so, better to laugh than cry:
                                
                                           "You Know You're in Africa When . . . "

• Your eggs come with feathers still stuck on them!
• The local people wear “ski jackets” and knit hats when the temperature drops below 75 F.
• Your water won’t come from the tap if anyone within a mile of your home is using a hose.
• The formula for transporting people and/or cargo is “What is packed on top of a car must be equal to or higher than the height of the vehicle itself.”  
• If such a thing as a “carpool” lane existed, it would be ONLY for vehicles that held at least 15 people and 7 goats.
• A “two-lane” road can be traveled by car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle AND donkey cart side-by-side.
• A “water feature” for your yard consists of hearing the water from your bathroom INSIDE enter your septic system OUTSIDE.
• You get excited when your home-grown corn has more that 7 kernels on a cob.
• The pattern of your shower curtain is selected by how easily it will camouflage a lizard.
• An 8-hour drive, along the main highway,from the capital to your home takes you through 25 villages, each with 4 speed bumps which you must navigate by first coming to a complete stop.
• In America you will see a “pothole hotline” sign; in Africa, “caution” is marked by a roadside pile of rocks.
• A sheep is distinguished from a goat only by the position of its ears and tail: ears and tail DOWN = sheep; ears and tail UP = goat.
• A child’s toy car is made from 2 insecticide cans, and his soccer ball is made from plastic bags wound and tied together.
• Your “weight loss plan” consists of “wait until hot season and sweat it off.”
• You have trouble remembering what month it is because every day looks like July 15th.
• “One stop shopping” means each time you stop your car, boys run up to it and try to sell you bananas or phone cards, attempt to wash your windshield, or beg for money.
• At “Trader Joe’s” in America, Joe will not stalk you all the way to your house until you buy potatoes from him, like Trader Ousman will.
• A “face-off” occurs when your car, while driving on the ONLY east-west highway in the country, comes face-to-face with a herd of 132 sheep-goats and the sheep-goats always have road priority.

And NOT so humorous . . . 

• A “good gift” for your house workers (gardener, house cleaner) is a bag of onions or sack of rice.
• How easily you live (or obtain what you want) is directly proportional to the number of languages you speak fluently, with three being the minimum.
• Giving the food your child refuses to eat to the “poor starving children in Africa” is no longer a threat but a daily reality.
• After you bargain with an African for the lowest price possible for your purchase, he will throw in a “come-back gift.”
• You save your bones not for the dog, but for your house worker, who weeps over your generosity.
• For an African, having meat for your family’s meal means flavoring your sauce with a 1 inch cube of it.
• Living “high on the hog,” as a description for lavish living, must be rephrased to “living high on the . . . hedgehog? . . . goat? . . . camel? . . . because Muslims do not eat pork.

AND . . . you know you’re in Africa when every day is interesting, and you see, hear, taste, touch, smell, learn, or experience something new!

Disclaimer

"Disclaimer" - a statement that denies something . . . 


I am struggling with blogging.  No denial there.  I love writing about our experiences here in Niger, and sharing photographs which can say what words cannot.  No denial here, either.  But I wrestle with the idea that my words and pictures are trivial compared to the struggle with which life is lived here by the Nigerien people.


So . . .  What's the disclaimer?   I care DEEPLY about what is happening with those who must spend their lives just trying to stay alive.  Please DO NOT think that behind the pictures and words lies an experience that sees just the "curious," the "odd," the "humorous," or the "new."   Blogging is not only my way of trying to share an unique experience God has enabled us to have, but also of coping with situations I cannot do much to change.  I daily ask the same tough questions I require of my students:  "Why?"  "How?" "What?" My students can answer those questions from what I  ask them to read.  I CANNOT answer them from what God has called us to see.


Once a month SIM has scheduled what is called "Day of Prayer."  It is a time when missionaries, as a group, gather for corporate prayer;  a time to affirm the reality of Matthew 18:20:  "Where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."  On the Galmi compound, we gather on Friday evening, rotating leadership of these events among groups of residents here.  Last night's presentation was from a group of several of the doctors, who shared pictures of some of the patients and their specific prayer needs. We prayed.  My heart wept.  Nothing here is "routine;"  starvation, extensive burns, multiple complex broken bones, pervasive HIV and AIDS, typhoid perferations, non-viable babies not yet born, and babies born but not surviving, seem to top the list.  The commonality of preventable amputations is shocking!


Because living and working here is an intense situation in whatever role a person has here - doctor, teacher, hospitality, workshop, painter, administrator, technology help (and SO MANY more!) - I have to remind myself there are only two things I have control over and that have the potential to effect change:  1- prayer, and 2- doing the job God called me to do here!  But finding opportunities to laugh with others, and photograph the  "curious," the "odd," the "humorous," or the "new," help "lighten the load" and keep life in a more healthy perspective for all.  So enjoy the picture  of "what God called me to do here," and know that I love it and appreciate your support! 

Galmi Day School 2011-2012
(They are way more fun than they look here!!!)