FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Gentleness

When I first began the Living Beyond Yourself bible study series a few months back, I can honestly say that the week I was most looking forward to was week 8, the week on gentleness. God first really began speaking to me about gentleness last summer, when I taught my first ladies' Bible study at church on Colossians 3. In one of the French commentaries I read several months back, it was mentioned that a big part of God's business is "crafting (as a master artist works his craft) gentleness" into our lives, because a big part of biblical gentleness is a teachable spirit, one willing to learn of God. I started praying then that God would teach me about gentleness, that He would make the gentleness of His Spirit a characteristic of my life. I know I've got so much still to learn about gentleness, and the methods He's chosen to teach me are not what I myself would have picked, but I hope and pray He is molding my heart into a teachable one that desires nothing but Him.

I remember the first time I ever heard someone teach on gentleness - and being surprised that it wasn't exactly what I imagined. In Living Beyond Yourself, Beth Moore includes a detailed description and then a beautiful "word picture" of what gentleness is:

1) Gentleness (praotes is the original Greek word) is an "inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God's dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him."

2) One of her daughters had allowed a huge tangled knot to grow in her hair, because each time she tried to comb it out herself, it hurt. Finally the knot got so big and so tangled, the girl called for her mother to help her. Beth writes:

I sat down beside her...and began to brush - one hair at a time! I tried to hold her hair as tightly as I could so that she would not feel it pull, but finally the knot was too close for me to fit my hand between it and her head. The tears streamed down her cheeks. I asked, "Do you want me to stop?" "No, Mommy. If you do, I'll never get it out. Keep brushing." It took us many minutes to get through those tangles, and those minutes seemed like hours. Totally submitted to untangling the mess she was in, she rested her head in my lap and endured the pain. Her tears were not those of resistance. They were tears of submission: knowing that the end was worth the means.

Maybe this word picture speaks to me so much because in our house, we've got 4 heads of long, blonde thick hair - and we don't have the luxury of conditioner every time it is washed. I've spent more minutes than I want to count untangling "rats' nests" (that's what my mom used to call them), unwrapping expired rubber bands, unwinding braids - while the child in question submitted gently or not so gently to what had to be done. The process moves along much more quickly, with fewer tears and less frustration on my part when the child sits still and quiet, allowing me to do what needs to be done. On the other hand, if the child in question decides to do a drama queen routine, crying and wailing, little siblings will come running to see what all the ruckus iss - making it impossible for me to work. If she does not sit still, turning her head, grabbing my hands, the brush or comb, wrapping her arms around her head in a self-protective gesture... it just lengthens the process and sometimes achieves nothing more than making the tangles worse.

When I picture God untangling the messes, knots and yucky places in my life, this word picture helps me to see exactly what my position and attitude should be before Him - I should rest from my typical resistance, and allow Him to do whatever it is that He deems necessary... with no strings attached. Unfortunately, I quite naturally tend to avoid, move away or attach strings. Instead of thinking, "God, continue what you are doing here and right now and I'll submit," I add, "... just don't bring any difficulty or suffering or change in this area - only touch that part of my life in a way I'm comfortable with..." Rather, I need to seek a teachable heart, such as is described by Jeremiah -

As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

Jeremiah 26.14

Butterfly photo from JanLill Resources.

SUCCESS!

CHEERING GOING ON AROUND OUR HOUSE THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS.... 'cause she's a big girl now... well, at least most of the time.

YEAH, Elsie Mae!

Wordless Wednesday - A Dog Called BEAR

Note: These photos were taken back in January, 2008 - Stateside.

And what do we do when it is HOT outside?

One Unbelievably, Incredible Journey

I don't know what you think of when you think of the Antartic, but this painting, by Eric Shackleton, pretty well sums up what I've always imagined... cold, majestic...

And then I read an amazing book that made the Antartic seem not just forbidding, but ferocious...

Painting by Xavier Cortada

"He [Shackleton] was...an explorer in the classic mode -- utterly self-reliant, romantic, and just a little swashbuckling." (p. 11)

...ENDURANCE Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. While we were back in the States for our vacation/Christmas holidays, we were spending more time traveling in the car than we typically do here in Niger. And, since the roads in the States are mostly decent, I CAN keep my eyes focused on a written page since... I am not hanging on for dear life as we bounce in and over potholes or slip and slide through thick patches of sand,... I am not so worried about slamming into the dash because Tim had to brake suddenly due to the unpredictable pedestrian, animal or vehiclular traffic,... so I often read to Tim and the family as we travel.

Polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton, planned an expedition - the Imperial Trans-Antartic Expedition. His goal was to be the first to traverse still unmapped and uncharted Antartica on foot. He knew his goal was an ambitious, even an "audacious" one, but he never dreamed just what a challenge it would be. He and his mostly hand picked crew departed England on the 8th of August, 1914. They sailed to Grytviken whaling station on South Georgia Island, where they made their final preparations. Then, on the 5th of December, 1914, they joyously and excitedly sailed away from the whaling station, anxious to begin the adventure before them... Just two days later, they encountered their first pack ice.

The Endurance herself was a masterpiece, the last of her kind, designed and constructed for this very purpose. Many of the sailors first found this ocean of fluid and moving ice and ice bergs fascinating. "...though the pack in every direction appeared to stretch in endless desolation, it abounded with life. Finner, humpback, and huge blue whales, some of them a hundred feet long, surfaced and sported in the leads of open water between the floes. there were killer whales, too, who thrust their ugly, pointed snouts above the surface of the ice to look for whatever prey they mmight upset into the water. Overhead, giant albatross, and several species of petrels, fulmars, and terns wheeled and dipped. On the ice itself, Weddell and crabeater seals were a common sight as they lay sleeping. And there were penguins, of course..." (p. 27)

Hoping to take advantage of the Antartic summer, Shackleton originally hoped to be on the continent by the end of December. The heavy pack delayed their progress, yet by January 15th, 1915, they were within approximately 200 miles of their destination. January 18, a northeasterly gale began to blow - 6 days later, after the wind had pushed and pressed the ice of the Weddell Sea against the land, the Endurance was trapped, held fast by a sea-sized ice cube. Or, as one of the sailors wrote, the boat was "...frozen, like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar." (Orde-Lees, p. 30)

The men lived rather comfortably on their trapped boat for the next nine months, even surviving an Antartic winter before Shackleton was forced to give the order to "abandon ship" on October 27, 1915. The men worked quickly as they watched and listened to the pressure of the ice literally crush their home.

And thus began the real part of their adventure...

Photos taken by ship photographer, Frank Hurley.

...as they lived on the ice floes until April, when the warming weather and melting ice forced them to attempt to reach land in the much smaller lifeboats they'd brought with them. After a desperate sail through icy and stormy seas, they finally reached the forbidding coast of Elephant Island, where almost immediately, Shackleton and a small crew took the most sea-worthy of the lifeboats and departed, attempting to locate South Georgia Island and assistance for the remaining crew "camped on a precarious, storm-washed spit of beach, as helpless and isolated from the outside world as if they were on another planet." (p. 220)

This picture is a reconstruction of the James Caird, the boat that made that 870 mile journey carrying 6 men through some of the worst seas known to sailors (rolling waves 80-90 feet high, moving at speeds of 30 knots), navigating by the use of a sextant - taking sights when there was a break in the clouds - and gently peeling the pages apart of a soggy navigational books.

After a harrowing 2 week journey, they did reach South Georgia - the wrong side of the island and with a boat no longer sufficiently sea worthy to sail around the coast. Shackleton and two other men then crossed the 29 mile wide island on foot. It seemed a straightforward, simple proposition, but in the 75 years that men had used this island as a whaling base, it had never yet been accomplished. "A few of the peaks on Sough Georgia rise to somewhat less than 10 000 feet, which certainly is not high by mountain-climbing standards. But the interior of the island has been described by one expert as 'a saw-tooth thrust through the tortured upheaval of mountain and glacier that falls in chaos to the northern sea.' In short, it was impassable. Shackleton knew it -- and yet there was no choice." (p. 258)

Miraculously, Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean reach the whaling station on May 20, 1916, 21 months and 12 days after first departing from England.

Photo by Frank Hurley

And although it required several efforts and tons of persistance and perserverance, the rest of the crew (those on left on the uninhabited side of South Georgia and those who remained on desolate Elephant Island) were all finally rescued by August 30, 1916.

No where in this book does it mention that these were men of faith, or that they relied on God as they faced this incredible ordeal. However, as I read the book, God's hand of protection and preservation is unmistakeable. One of my favorite moments was when Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship: forseeing a harrowing trip over the ice pack, he greatly limited what the men were able to take with them. He himself, however, chose to tear out the flyleaf of the Bible given the expedition by Queen Alexandra, the 23rd Psalm, and the following passage from Job:

"Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of Heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are hid as with a stone. And the face of the deep is frozen."

I think my initial picture of the Antartic (remember the pic at the beginning of this post?) was way too neat and "pretty," wouldn't you agree?

And why am I writing about all this now? Maybe it is because a video documentary/re-enactment made by NOVA/PBS is due to be released May 2, 2008 and I can't wait to see it... Maybe it is because I'm not sleeping as well - the heat has been bothering me the past few nights - and blogging is more entertaining than tossing and turning... But maybe it is also a comfort as I'm wondering, "Is possible to die from the heat?" - that the same God who took care of these men nearly 100 years ago in unimaginable circumstances is the same God taking care of me right now, and thinking about all this puts my "hardships" into perspective...

For more information: http://www.south-pole.com/p0000097.htm , a general biography of Ernest Shackleton; http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton/1914/ ; and/or http://main.wgbh.org/imax/shackleton/index.html .

PHOTO CREDITS

• Re-enactment Photo Credits: 2001 WGBH and White Mountain Films, LLC, Reed Smoot Cinematograpy & Reed SmootPhoto.
• Frank Hurley, photos, The Macklin Collection
• WGBH, Photographers: Kelly Tyler and Stephen Venables, working with the co-production of White Mountain Films and NOVA/WGBN (PBS), Boston.

Elsie Mae & Salamatou

Last month,I wrote about watching Elsie Mae and one of her little friends playing together at church. I finally have a photo! Check our ministry page for a little bit of video of the two girls!

Better Late than Never Installation - Elsie Mae's Swing is Up and Swinging

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess who this dear lady might be?

Nadia and Anna thoroughly enjoy the time they go to spend with Mrs. White each week - we are so thankful for her little investment in the lives of our girls.

Driving Distractions

I drove to the English service last night - and got stopped at my LEAST favorite traffic light in town. Now, there are several lights in town that are just never working and theoretical rules that are supposed to be followed at those intersections, when the light is not working (i.e. right of way to the person on the right...).

But what do you do when the light is sort of working, but wreaking havoc all at the same time? This particular light, going towards our house on the main road, shows both red and green at the same time. In the other direction, heading toward church, the light is red, goes completely blank for 15 - 20 seconds, comes back on red and after a few seconds changes to green. It never has a yellow cycle.

And you know, these lights would be nothing more than minor irritations, maybe a bit dangerous if you weren't paying close attention to what cross traffic was doing, and just typical of life in the capital of a developing country except -

- except - well, there are almost always police standing at this light and they can decide, on a whim, to stop someone who innocently runs it because they don't know its peculiarities. There really is no rhyme, reason or predictability to whom they stop. I know. Fortunately not from personal experience. But I now have had three different friends tell me it happened to them.

You'd better believe (since I'm STILL waiting for my replacement Nigerien driver's license... promised now for over a month... but don't get me started on THAT... *smile* ... or is that a *grimmace*) ...yes, you'd can guarantee that no matter how many angry drivers behind me honk on their horns when that light goes blank for those 20 seconds or so to pop back on red again, I sit there and wait........

Making Tortillas

Our family loves to eat tortillas (soft tacos, quesadillas, chili casserole, fajitas, breakfast fajitas...) - but we can't just run to the grocery store and pick 'em up. We get to make them.

In recent weeks, this job has been assigned to Brendan. In recent weeks, it is a job that has required much less work, as we have friends who let us borrow their tortilla press (rolling them out by hand takes forever and is tiring, but we've also done it that way, too. Usually though, we'd just ask our house help to do it.)

Boys sure can be silly!!!

After we use the tortilla press, we actually cook them on the stove - it is much quicker that way.

And then we enjoy!

Quick disclaimer: These aren't actually pictures of dishes we've made - but for the sake of expediency, ones I found on line of recipes we've tried, using tortillas. Unfortunately, only very occasionally will our "plates" look this pretty, and when/if they do, they are expediently consumed before I get a chance to take a picture! Oh well... LOL!

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT FRIDAY: Faithfulness

This week, I was working through week 8 "Keep Believin'" of Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself study of the fruit of the Spirit. As I started to answer the second question asked in Day 1, the Lord took me on a bit of a sidetrip...

DOES GOD CLAIM TO BE BELIEVABLE? WHAT DOES GOD'S STATEMENT THAT HE IS "ABOUNDING IN LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS" MEAN TO YOU? (EXODUS 34.1-6)

The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain." So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..."

As I was thinking about the question, wondering how I was going to answer it, my eyes flitted over to the list of cross references in my study Bible, and so I decided to look up the cross references for the phrase "abounding in love and faithfulness." The very first one listed was Genesis 19.16:

When he (Lot) hesitated, the men (the visiting angels) grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

The very first reference listed was not a definition or even a description - it was a concrete example of God's abounding love and faithfulness! When Lot hesitated, the angels literally grabbed him and his family by the hands and pulled them out of the city of Sodom instead of leaving them to suffer a terrible fate.

(Gutenberg Image)

God, who abounds in love and faithfulness, will not leave His own to complete and final destruction: we couldn't save ourselves - He sent His Son; when we hesitate to flee imminent destruction - He may go so far as to send angels to grab us by the hand and pull us from danger (in a literal or figurative sense). And when we are facing hard consequences for things that we've done - He's the One there to pick up the pieces.

I find it encouraging that it is this same abounding faithfulness of God, manifested by the Holy Spirit, that can characterize a life submitted to the moment by moment authority and leadership of the Holy Spirit. So whether it is faithfulness in believing and trusting God, or faithfulness in relationships or circumstances, this faithfulness is only present when I'm abiding in Him.

SHINE

Is is OK if I brag on Nadia? Just a little bit?

Each couple of weeks, the students at the girls' school learn about a new "virtue" - what it is, why it is helpful or important and how it can be demonstrated or lived at school and around the home. Then, each class votes on a member who best demonstrates or represents that virtue. Nadia, our "Miss People Person" and "Friend to All" has been chosen to win these awards several times during the course of the year, and most recently, her class selected her to win the certificate for ENTHUSIASM (seen below).

Her teacher wrote a comment on Nadia's certificate, explaining how she best demonstrated her zeal and passion - for school and for her classmates:

"Nadia has demonstrated enthusiasm when she uses her imagination to accomplish her work. Her enthusiasm for others shines brilliantly in her smile. She is wonderful."

This is not the first time her teachers have commented on her ability to relate to and encourage others. Her teacher made the comment at the end of the year last year that in all of his years of teaching, he'd never met a student like Nadia who was so good at caring for and being a friend to her friends and classmates. When I hear comments like this about one of my kids, it really just melts my heart - God is giving me small, but very concrete evidences of how He is working in my child's life, of how He is changing her heart and conforming her into the image of His Son. Is there anything more important? What more could I, as a parent, want for these precious children He's given to our family? And when teachers or parents make these sorts of comments, I have an opportunity to give the glory to God: Nadia acts this way because she wants to make Jesus happy and He is the one who helps her.

When I think of Nadia, the following verse pops right to mind:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

I've seen Nadia's enthusiasm in another specific way around the house the past few weeks. She has turned into a reading maniac! In addition to keeping up with her homework from Ecole Alliance,

she has also read the following books - in the past two weeks!

Shadrach by Meindert DeJong

Danger Guys Hit the Beach by Tony Abbott

Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest by Ann McGovern

Encylopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies by Donald J. Sobol

Encylopedia Brown Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

My Life as Crocodile Junk Food by Bill Myers

Remember My Name by Sara H Banks

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

When I asked her which one was her favorite, she said, "Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two Spies," because it was the first time ever she'd read a mystery book and she really liked trying to figure it out before Encyclopedia. She liked this one better than the other one she read, because this one kept her guessing and thinking.

Thanks for celebrating Nadia with us for a few minutes today!

Hungry as a Horse...

Most of you know we have a horse and his name is King. We really enjoy him, although we don't ride him near as much as we need to or as much as the girls would like to...

But we do have an honest-to-goodness "we've lived THAT one" understanding of the expression "He eats like a horse."

In fact, after today, I can say I have a whole new understanding AND appreciation for several things...

When our houseworker arrived this morning, she informed me that there was a man waiting out by our gate, with a donkey cart load of hay, and that he was wanting to speak to me. (You see, everyone who passes by our gates knows we have a horse because several feet from the door, our guard deposits our horse's deposits... the ones we don't want to leave laying around in his stall for too awful long. Because of this "advertising," we regularly have entrepreneurs stopping by the house wanting to sell us things for our horse to eat...so he can continue to make those deposits - but all that was totally beside the point.)

I wandered out to our front gate, burning my feet because the sun had already heated the sand THAT much and Elsie had been playing with my shoes and I couldn't find them. We usually do have a guard, but he's on vacation in Benin, so for this month, I'm the daytime relief guard. That means I'm being called to the gate fairly often (at least 4 or 5 times a morning) to answer questions, hold the dog while someone comes in to get water, or some other miscellaneous thing. I greeted the young man with his donkey cart (Yeah! Zarma language practice!) and after we'd both agreed that today was a very hot day and that the heat was tiring, he asked me if I was interested in buying some hay for the horse.

Now typically, that is not part of my job description around this household. I do dishes, wash, dry, sometimes iron and fold laundry; I grocery shop and plan menus; Some days, I run a school taxi service; I cook - thankfully, because of our househelp, not all the time; I clean and pick up - a never ending job, believe me! I help with homework, teach, regulate computer use, read books and stories, cut hair, fix hair, wash kids, change diapers and potty train. And make sure everyone takes their malaria prophylactic. I brush/clean the horse and sometimes I ride him. But, I've never bought his food before. And, I have no money at the house.

So, I tell the young man that I'll have to go and call my husband and find out what he wants to do. I go back in the house, call Tim at the studio, clue him in as to what is going on. Tim says he is interested in buying the hay, IF I can bargain down to what Tim has decided he is willing to pay.

Back out to the road I dash - I was prepared for the hot sand on my bare feet this time! And, we begin the bargaining process. First, I find out how many bundles of hay he has - around 30. And how much does he want to sell each bundle for? 750 CFA a bundle. Fortunately, about this time, a friend showed up who speaks Zarma to help me with the money amounts - since in Zarma money transactions are all handled in base 5 math... I think... and I can't think quickly enough to translate --Zarma words to French words to English words to figure out what the base 5 numbers actually are in our base 10 number system, and then retrace that same mental path in the opposite direction to communicate with my hay entrepreneur-- in my head, especially with my feet burning again!

Well, 750 CFA is way more than we want to pay, so I remind the young man that I actually have enough food for the horse for several more days and don't really have to buy anything more today, but that if he'd be willing to sell his bundles for 500 CFA apiece, I might be willing to reconsider.

He shakes his head, laughs a bit and then goes on to explain that this is very high quality hay, much better than what I can find down the road a bit, that he's worked very hard to bring it from a very far place, and that his hay bundles are significantly bigger than the standard hay bundles sold in and around town. No, 500 CFA is way too low of a price. "How about 650 CFA a bundle," he counters.

Since it is my turn, I tell him: "It is a very hot day and I'm sure you've worked very hard to bring the hay by my house..." (At this point, I'm very thankful for my friend who is translating the Zarma for me to make sure I'm understanding and really saying what I'm wanting to say), "...your bundles of hay do look very nice,..." (Please don't ask me what I really know about hay.) "...and I can see that they are a bit fluffier than the ones currently stored up on the roof of the horse's shelter. So, I do very much appreciate your hard work and effort. However, my husband has set a maximum limit that I can spend on hay for the horse today and that is 600 CFA a bundle."

After much hemming and hawing, he finally agrees to that price (which, by the way, is the current price on the street), I make sure that he understands I can't pay him that moment; he'll have to wait for Tim to come home for lunch in a bit, and we open the gate. He drives the donkey and cart in and begins to unload his bundles of hay.

About 40 minutes later, 38 bundles of hay are stacked in our front yard: 2 rows of 7 bundles stacked 2 high, 1 row of 5 bundles stacked 2 high... all that equals 38. Jonathan and Elsie Mae have had a ball running around outside in next to nothing and nothing, trying to get the donkey to pay attention to them while the cart is being unloaded.

Finally, it is time to do the math. Tim (I've seen him do this) squats down and does the math with his finger in the sand. Since this hay entrepreneur is not literate, that means nothing to him. So we started doing mental math (which I always hated as a kid, especially in the grocery store with my mom and sister who were/are actually good at it)!:

30 times 6 is 18, so 18,000 CFA for 30 bundles.

8 times 6 is 48, so 4,800 CFA for 8 bundles.

Add all that together and you end up with 22,800 CFA for a month's worth of hay for the horse.

Unfortunately, at least for this hay seller, that didn't translate very easily to Zarma base 5 math, and he didn't understand. So I tried again:

30 times 5 is 15,000 CFA for 30 bundles at 500 CFA/bundle (which was not the price we'd discussed).

8 times 5 is 4,000 CFA for 8 bundles at 500 CFA apiece.

So, if he would sell them to me for 500 CFA each, it would be 15 + 4, or 19,000 CFA.

But, he's not selling them for that. I still have to account for an addition 100 CFA/bundle.

38 times 100 is 3,800 CFA.

19,000 + 3,800 = 22,800 CFA (Notice, this is the same price I'd already come to once before).

After repeating this math process 6 or 7 times, he was finally assured that everything was just, I got him some cold water, brought a bucket of water for his donkey and told him that my husband would be home in about 45 minutes. He asked if he could keep the donkey in our front yard while he was waiting, but I wasn't feeling that hospitable, so after a few more pleasantries and amusement on his part as I tried to speak to him in Zarma, he was on his way to find a shady spot in the road and await Tim and payment; I could go back to my regularly scheduled program (working on Sheep Tales) - only an hour of time had elapsed.

As I went back to my work, I took a few minutes to thank God for our guard, who usually does all that for us, for Tim who takes care of so many similar sorts of things that just eat up time, for friends who show up at just the right time, for an unexpected and unplanned Zarma language and culture lesson, and for an 18 month old and a 3 year old who find donkeys enough of a fascination that they can watch one being unloaded for nearly an hour without too much supervision on my part. It was not exactly fun, but it was an interesting experience! *SMILE*

And, I can guarantee you, King was watching all of those proceedings with great interest! He definitely is motivated by and thinks... with his stomach!

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Ziva Santop

Pool Buddies

Of all of the recent pictures we've taken of Elsie Mae, I think these are my favorites.

She is old enough to really be enjoying the pool this year - now that it is warm enough to get in, and stay in for more than a few seconds!

*SMILE*

And (said in a whisper) even though it is 107' out some afternoons, she still comes out of the water with her lips blue and her teeth a-chatterin' ! What can we say? She was born on the backside of the Sahara!

In these photos, Elsie is playing with her most favoritest pool buddy, a dear lady our children call Miss Sandra. Sandra is leaving Niger tonight - heading home for a year of furlough and then retirement after 30 years of missionary service. Elsie is going to miss her pool buddy; I am too, and not just because she was such great entertainment for the munchkin crew at the pool. But we do look forward to hearing how God continues to lead and direct her life. I'm so thankful that even though family is far away, we've got adopted family here to love on our children and to be examples of a lifetime of faithful service.

Please join Elsie Mae and our family (and many other of her friends here) in praying for Sandra as she adjusts back to life and service on the other side of the ocean.