Turning 3 ~ Photos from M&M's birthday party, finally! (Yes, I know these are nearly 5 months late...)

almost literally, diving into her gift bag

wondering what she will find

squeals of delight (and can you believe Elsie Mae's hair is that long?)

Aren't you just dying to know what that expression means?

B. U. B. B. L. E. S!!!!!

the gift EVERY three year old loves

M&M's favorite friend - she goes and plays at Richelle's house every Wednesday morning.
(Yes... that really is her name!)

with Richelle and Richelle's little sister



my absolute favorite pic of the night
Isn't it amazing how something so simple, so every day, can bring so much pure pleasure?



If I were to title this last photo, I think I'd call it ~

Simply Delightfully Satisfying

How about you? What would you title this photo?

Wordless Wednesday - Believe it or not, in a month Rebekah will be 15...

Photos were taken by these two gals - Cathy-Jo Tucker and Jessica Neff. Both are teaching at the school this year and they've really invested in the lives of the 7/8 and 9/10 classes, including leading Rebekah's weekly Bible Study group. Cathy Jo heads home to get married this summer - Jessica has worked with me in the Center for Academic Progress, and will continue at Sahel for another year! We are so thankful for them and how they love and care for our kids!

OK... so this wasn't really a Wordless Wednesday...

I try... I really do try!

sweet little sickie sprites

After a couple of sleepless nights last week - Mary Michelle was sick with malaria, then a UTI, and now a cold... that sounds like it might be heading the same croupy direction as Elsie Mae's cold... who was up crouping most of last night... We've had a bad time with croup this year - 6th episode since Christmas... sigh...

We sure would appreciate prayer that our little sprites can rest well, that their little bodies heal soon and that their mama has an extra measure of patient endurance!

Thanks!

Multitude Monday - 1000 Gifts ~ Our Spring 2012 Prayer Letter

“Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?

What have I done to displease you

that you put the burden of all these people on me?

Did I conceive all these people?

Did I give them birth?

Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms,

as a nurse carries an infant,

to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?

Where can I get meat for all these people?

They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

I cannot carry all these people by myself;

the burden is too heavy for me.

If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now

—if I have found favor in your eyes—

and do not let me face my own ruin.”

~Numbers 11:11-15~

Have you ever noticed this prayer of Moses before?

 

Harmattan winds
Photo by: Jaspreet Kindra/IRIN

It is sounding more familiar than we’d like. Crazy and nearby political events, brothers and sisters fleeing in search of safety, thousands of refugees just miles up the road, markets in town where only ashes remain, daily requests for food from friends and neighbors who have nothing, dust blowing everywhere, our little one testing positive for malaria, trying to mix medications by candlelight… and grade papers, relentless heat, still waiting for official news from EBM, sweating and praying for either sleep to come or the fan once again to move so maybe you can sleep and not feel the weight of the burden for a few blessed hours…

Needless to say, Moses’ long ago plight seems remarkably personal as these days we echo similar mental cries of “This is just too much.” And it is, without a doubt, too much - at least for us. Our heads know we need to turn to God. Please pray with and for us that our hearts don’t turn away instead. Also pray that we accept the challenge of these two truths- 

1. Faith either grows or it atrophies; &
2. God will not let our faith atrophy without a challenge

-while gently accepting His kindness and goodness shown by His sovereign choices for our lives. He’s challenging our faith to grow – drawing us into an ever deepening relationship with Him. How could we be anything but thankful, even in the midst of all this?

A frequent sight... people and vehicles trying to carry "just way too much!"

 

3… 2… 1… and… another recording starts

The first quarter of 2012 saw the completion of the Gourmantché version of the Godman film, and the continuation of 7 weekly radio programs including “The Hour of Gospel.” Most recently, we produced a series of programs with teaching and a question/answer round table on the theme of Easter. Thru the Bible radio program will soon have completed a 200th program aired here in Niger. Many special thanks to all of you who have helped financially to make that program possible. Please pray for regular, uninterrupted Internet service here in Niamey. This has been a consistent challenge since the beginning of the new year, as all of the Thru the Bible episodes must be downloaded as .mp3 files and then placed on disc. Pray for wisdom for our 2nd and 3rd quarter production schedule. We are looking at a couple of more films dubs one into the Tamajeq language and another, very different style of film, into French. One exciting possibility with which Tim is currently experimenting is new technology enabling us to put Bible stories and pictures in a format that can be shared by Bluetooth between people’s cell phones. This same distribution method is used by other religions to share their materials; we hope and pray it will replace cassette tape distribution in some areas of Niger.

Our part of the world

West Africa has been in the news quite a bit lately – coup d’état and rebellion in the country of Mali, our colleagues and Christian brothers and sisters fleeing from their homes as Sharia law is instituted in several regions, famine concerns all across the Sahel region of Africa, Boko Haram setting off bombs in Nigeria, even several key buildings and markets going up in flames here in Niamey…

Needless to say, it is a bit unsettling. We’d like to share excerpts from one of the emails we received regarding the present situation in Mali, written by a professor from the Bible school:

Preparing to evacuate

The situation in Gao is getting worse. No water or electricity, the market is still closed but few butchers in the streets. On Monday, the rebels looted the Assemblies of God Church. We did our best, when we were leaving the city to evacuate their pastor and family with 2 believers. The pastor of the Bible church, a brother from Nigeria is still trapped in Gao. I called him one time and the line was cut off. I think his phone battery went flat. I did not know where he was hiding so to go get him. I was told today that he is doing well and still trying to get out of Gao.

…We didn’t hear from two families from our church. They are not in their homes according to my friend who looked for them today. The Ansar Dine faction, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) started imposing Islamic sharia law in areas under their control. We are also told that that some 100 members of Nigeria’s Boko Haram sect are among Islamists controlling Gao. It is all over in the news that they slaughter one thief, shot the second and have cut [off] many hands. The population left in Gao is estimated at 40 % and 20% in Timbuktu.

We have a deep concern at the growing terrorist threat….. ECOWAS has raised the prospect of sending a force of up to 3,000 men to try to reclaim northern Mali. We don't know when this will happen. All [we] can do is to pray and hope. The situation in the three northern regions (Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu) is dramatic. There are no more hospitals and hunger is growing...

In Timbuktu area, one pastor (a missionary in Goundam), his wife and baby, are missing. Pastor Nouh was not able to contact him. The pastor in Niafunke was heard from on Sunday when they were looting the church, his house and the missionary station. We still have a few believers who are trapped in these different cities and they need your prayers. This (Easter) morning at 11 AM, we were 166 “refugees” from our different churches. This number will keep growing for we expect more people in the coming days.

Colleagues of ours from Mali have also evacuated; one family is presently here in Niamey. For those of you who feel the Lord leading you to help the N. Malian church, now centered in Bamako (the capital of Mali), help care for these refugees - men, women and children who have no idea when… or even if… they will ever go home - please write us for specific information regarding how you can help.

Dissolution

Many of you have written to ask how the EBM dissolution is moving along… and whether or not we will be required to sell the field properties (including the house in which we are living and the studio where Tim does most of his work) to help meet financial obligations. The long and the short of it is that we haven’t heard much… that has been part of our delay in writing this letter – we wanted to have something to share with you.

The most recent news we have received is that a purchase agreement on  the home office property in Indianapolis was signed early in March… and that we should be hearing something more definitive in the next 30-45 days.

And so… we wait… still… trusting that God is up to something grand and good!

Attention!

We want to draw your attention to a recently approved relief project that is hitting very close-to-home. In the wake of a terrible harvest last fall and an inundation of refugees from surrounding countries with bad political situations, our Nigerien brothers and sisters are at risk of severe famine this year. Conditions have been developing steadily since January. Therefore, in response to a specific request for help from the Gourmantché Baptist churches where we minister in SW Niger, we are setting up a famine relief project through our home office of Faith Baptist Mission. This project has a time limit as the funds needed to make critical food purchases must be available by July or earlier. We are asking people to give until we reach approximately $9,000. This amount would give each family a fifty pound bag of rice or grain, helping approximately 2000 people in villages where these churches exist and minister. This is current and critical need!

Tim and colleague from a sister mission assisting
in a baptismal service held by the Beneira churches last fall.

Would you, your church, or small group consider giving to the “Niger Famine Fund 2012.” If you are interested, contact us immediately; please be prompt. At the end of June we will bring out all available funds, and then the account will be closed.

Quick Recap: Petitions & Praises

ü  Pray for peace and safety for Christian brothers and sisters in both Mali and Nigeria.

ü  Praise that so many have been successfully evacuated and that they are thanking the Lord for His care and provision, keeping their eyes on Him.

ü  Pray that needed funds to help with famine relief for families from our Baptist churches in the southwest corner of the country will be quickly given.

ü  Praise our Father that He allows us the privilege of sacrificial giving, especially at this time of year when we remember the tremendous and amazing sacrifice He made for us.

ü  Pray for our family – we are tired and battling discouragement.

ü  Pray – we know W. Africa is not the only place, nor our family the only ones, struggling. Daily reading emails and the news rapidly cures that illusion. We’ve also many dear friends back in the States and elsewhere walking hard roads right now, too.

ü  Praise that no sadness, difficult moment, injury or brokenness will remain unredeemed. He is our Redeemer!

Thankful to be serving our Lord together with you,

Tim, Richelle,

Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae & Mary Michelle

this week's gratitude list

(#s 2093 - 2115)

so many have been safely evacuated

those evacuees are thanking the Lord for His care and provision, keeping their eyes on Him even though they may have lost everything

the privilege of sacrificial giving

no sadness, difficult moment, injury or brokenness will remain unredeemed

lab technician who was able to do an accurate blood test by microscope and flashlight

the little m&m has recovered from malaria and the doctor was able to diagnose a urinary tract infection quickly so hopefully this one won't last as long as some have in the past

new bookshelves and organized books

removing clutter

more consistent electricity again

the delight of air conditioning when it is so hot

gift of honey from the bush churches to our family

seeing God answer prayers through the ministry of Sahel Academy

big bill finally paid off

my new favorite song!

friends safely back from the States

new book and new movies to watch

seeing one of my favorite smiles for the first time in a long time

Mamata's reading... slowly but surely... and improving each week

looking forward to Bible study this Saturday

seeing my Gourmantché grandma friend and her granddaughter for the first time in nearly three years

delight when Salamatou came right to me and let me hold her... even though it had been three years

the testimony of that woman's perseverance even when things seemed impossible

finally able to check this prayer letter off the to-do list!

I've got a new favorite song ~

A definite highlight of this past year has been having my niece, Leandra, here with us for 10-ish months. So many laughs, kitchen experimentation, dance marathons in the living room, all-age slumber parties in the girls' room... We're so thankful that we've had this amazing time and the opportunity to so intimately be a part of each others' lives.

There have been a few surprises, however. Hopefully she (yeah, Andi) won't be upset that I'm talking about her on our blog... One of those surprises has been that she's got a friend... yeah, a guy friend... it is a Facebook official "relationship..." and his name is Joe. Their friendship has been a treat for our family. A definite second highlight of this year has been getting to know Joe as he's hangin out at our house. (We hope he's enjoyed hanging out with our family, too...  He does say he'd still come to visit even if Andi wasn't here and it was donut Saturday....)

Of course, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle are convinced he's coming over to visit them. The Jon-man thinks it is so he can challenge Joe to soccer in our sandy front yard. My gang asks, "Can Uncle Joe come over?" even more than they ask if I'll take them to the pool - in this land of 120' heat and common power cuts, that very fact must give you some idea of what a favorite he is! Come to think of it, the kids may actually ask more frequently than Andi does... of course, she's outnumbered 8 to 1! He and Andi are two of my favoritest young people in the world today: they spent a couple of hours scrubbing underneath, behind and all over - cleaning my oven/stove. Now, the oven door offers a better reflection than just about any mirror in the house!

So... what does all this have to do with a new favorite song? I'm getting to that part... albeit slowly. Consider this "blog-post-African-style" - lots of beating around the bush before coming to the point.

I grew up in Oklahoma, and I detested country music. In my opinion, it was a very sad state of affairs that country outnumbered every other type of radio station AND both my swim coach and my gymnastics coach loved country music. Unless we were preparing floor routines for competition, the gymnastics gym always echoed Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Oak Ridge Boys... blech! More than once, I'd lift my head out of the water and those same painful notes would filter down to my hears... blech again! I heard a lot more country music than I ever wanted to hear.

Then, right after my high school graduation, my family moved to New England - just a short distance outside of Boston. No radio stations regularly played country music... and  crazy as it sounds, homesickness blossomed into a love affair with country music - I clearly identified that with "home." My previous antipathy quickly morphed to love.

This enjoyment of country western music has continued. You can move the girl out of the country, but guess you can't erase the country out of the girl. Those sappy ballads get me every time! Joe likes country music, too... he's converted Andi and all the kids (my husband, essentially a redneck, well, he was already a fan - especially if a song had to do with pick up trucks or hunting squirrels and deer). So, today, we were all working and cleaning here at the house, and Joe was sharing some of his collection with us.

I heard the following song... at first, I thought it was just another round of nostalgic sentimentality... boy was I wrong. This song may be old news for y'all - but this was the first time I'd every heard it.

Voilà! My new favorite!

Read the lyrics... then there is an amateur concert video below the words, if you are interested in hearing/seeing a partial performance by Josh Turner, as he sings "The Way He Was Raised."

Be sure to comment and let me know what you think!

THE WAY HE WAS RAISED

He always wore those worn out flip-flops

Spent hours in his Daddy's workshop

he loved being on the water

Fishing with His friends

He always listened to the old folks

When they'd tell stories and crack jokes

Didn't talk back to his Mama

When she got onto Him

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

Had to finish all His chores 'fore He could go outside and play

they always went to church that's were he learned how to pray

And that's just the way He was raised

He grew His hair out when He got older

Grew it clear down to His shoulders

Started hanging with the outcasts

When He went off to town

Some called Him a troublemaker

Even some said a lawbreaker

No matter how they talked about Him

He never put nobody down

'Cause that's just the way He was raised

When people start to gossip, He'd just walk away

He always loved his neighbor no matter what they'd say

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

On a cross, on a hill

That long haired boy was killed

All our sins washed away

When He walked out of that grave

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

there's no way we can measure

The sacrifice He made

He knew He had to die

For our debt to be paid

Oh, that's just the way He was raised

It took the hand of God to roll the stone away

And that's just the way He was raised

Yeah, that's just the way He was raised

5 Minute Friday - Goodbye

Tigger and little kids have it figured out...

"TTFN!"

or

"Ta ta for now, buddy boy!"

...said with a cheery, excited voice and off they run, ready for life's next adventure.

There's no tearful looking back, except for the occasional glimpse to wave and grin about all the fun they just had... and then upward and onward they charge, grinning even bigger, anticipating the next wonder.

I'm trying to become more "tigger-ish, more little kiddish, too...

...at least when it comes to expectations and demands that I place on myself... or that I feel others are piling on me. It is hard to serve others, glorify God, enjoy people, and live in obedience to the Lord when I'm frequently fretful and worried about whether or not I've lived up to the image I hope to present... whether or not I've accomplished well what I and others think I should have done.

I snapped these photos fairly recently - because I thought it was funny, but also to remind myself that following God, walking the path that He has planned for me - is more important than what I think, matters more than the opinion of others.

A few years ago, she would have never left the house in such disarray... I wouldn't have allowed it... I would have been horrified...

"TTFN!"

...the idea that my worth as a mama

is reflected by outwardly perfect kids.

"TTFN!"

...my illusions that everything

has to be put perfectly together

and go according to my plan

for an outing to be fun and worthwhile.

"TTFN!"

...my fear that God is always disappointed in me

when and just because

someone else disapproves.

Glimpses from a Sunday Morning ~

~ baby dedication ~

~ Tim preaching, his translator behind him ~

~ Communion ~

~ Pastor Abdourahamane, Amina, and their children ~

Multitude Monday - 1000 Gifts ~ Wandering Somewhere in Between...

ndI was recently forced to participate in one of those "getting to know you activities," you know... the kind where you say your name and a few pertinent facts about yourself and then usually have to answer one other additional question. Thankfully, for this mostly introverted individual, that additional question wasn't too embarassing or revealing - it was:

"What is your favorite animal?"

When my kids ask me that question, it is usually part of a debate... or argument... and someone is wanting to prove their "superiority" (not sure why favorite animals count in that way, but with kids, just about anything is possible). In other words, they win if their favorite animal is closer to Mama's favorite animal. So, I usually teasingly tell them that their daddy is my favorite animal... they get all embarassed, giggle and the tensions dissipate.

Really, though, that's a pretty easy question for me - my favorite animal has been, for a very long time, the dolphin. As we were playing this get to know you game, however, I was interested -although not surprised- by the fact that many of the women chose the giraffe as their favorite animal. I guess I wasn't surprised because if I had to pick my favorite West African animal, it would be, without any doubt, the giraffe. 

Generally, giraffes don't make the top ten in favorite animal lists. Maybe they are too gentle and sedate. Perhaps they are so awkward and bizarre-looking that no one can really call them graceful or majestic, even though they really are. They spend most of their time wandering around eating acacia leaves or resting, although I'll never forget the story of a curious giraffe poking its head in the doorway of a local lady's hut early one morning. When a spat arises between two members (usually young males) of the herd, they whip each other with their necks and heads. It doesn't really seem like the best way to fight or wrestle.  Giraffes are also often the brunt of jokes- a frequent novelty, but even in parables and proverbs, they aren't taken too seriously.

W. Africa's only remaining free roaming giraffe herd lives a short drive southeast of Niamey. In the mid 1990s, it was estimated that fewer than 100 giraffes remained and since then, a significant conservation effort has been made. That latest estimates I heard from the guides put the giraffe population approaching 300. Last summer, when we took my sister and niece out to see the herd, the very first giraffe we saw was a pregnant female who'd left the herd, and according to our guide, had returned to the place of her own birth for the impending arrival of her baby giraffe.

It is sad, however. These absolutely unique and amazing creatures used to freely roam from the Atlantic Coast of modern day Senegal across the Sahel and into present day Chad (roughly 2000 miles); now, at "the dawn of the 21st century, their world [has] shrunk to a tiny zone southeast of the capital, Niamey, stretching barely 150 miles." 

The giraffes themselves cannot recognize what they've lost. They don't know anything different. But I know that they could... and I feel sad, and a little bit angry... because they are stuck, wandering somewhere in between...

Yes, I'm projecting my human emotions on an animal.

Why? Because I guess I've spent much of the past 9 months feeling just that way... wandering somewhere in between... in between possibility and potential, past and future, stuck waiting  and while striving to continue obeying and ministering... and yet knowing humanly, the future is totally in the hands of someone else.

I'm reading a book called The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions - and the following paragraph smacked me right in between the eyes!

"For many of us, the journey into the Land Between comes suddenly... with a conversation that drops into our lives like an exploding bomb.

• “Your position has been eliminated.”

• “I don’t love you anymore.” 

• "The tumor is malignant.”

• “The church elders are meeting to take a vote of confidence.”

• “Mom, Dad, I’m pregnant.”

• “I’m having second thoughts about the wedding.”

• “Dad, uh…I’m at the police station.”

• “Your mother and I are getting a divorce.”

• “We’re moving.”

• “We think Mom’s had a stroke. How soon can you get to the hospital?”

In a sentence we are ripped from normality and find ourselves in a new world, as if thrown from a moving train. We tumble into the world of the unemployed. We are hurled into the land of the suddenly single, the valley of the grieving, the new vocabulary of chemotherapy, or the weekly routine of nursing home visits. In our more confident, faith-filled moments, we know that we will regain our footing and find some kind of balance in a new normal, but for now we are simply and suddenly “between” and at a loss as to how to navigate the terrain. While some enter the land shockingly, others experience a gradual, almost imperceptible entry... A marriage suffers slow but constant erosion over the years before somebody walks out. The heart of a teenager drifts slowly away from her parents and from God. Key employees are released and assets are sold off as sales figures dip steadily quarter after quarter until the company is only a shadow of what it had been eight years earlier. A parent experiences gradual memory loss, and with it her independence fades little by little. Many of us entered the Land Between not with a sudden cataclysmic conversation but with the slow march of time. And yet regardless of how we enter this space, whether jarringly or gradually, the landscape is much the same..."

"The Land Between can be profoundly disorienting. It also provides the space for God to do some of his deepest work in our lives. Many seasoned spiritual advisers propose that this is the only space in which radical, transformational growth occurs. God intends for us to emerge from this land radically reshaped. But the process of transformational growth will not occur automatically. Our response to God while in the Land Between is what will determine whether our journey through this desert will result in deep, positive growth or spiritual decline. People often quote a common proverb in time of pain and tragedy: 'Time heals all wounds.' I do not find this statement to be necessarily true. Some people heal over time, while others become deeply embittered and acidic. The Land Between usually forces us to choose one way or the other. The conditions can prove so harsh that there seems little room for neutrality. While offering us a greenhouse for growth, the Land Between can also be a desert where our faith goes to die—if we let it. The habits of the heart that we foster in this space—our responses and reactions—will determine whether the Land Between results in spiritual life or spiritual death. We choose."

Manion, Jeff (2010-07-14). The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions, Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Italics and bold added by me.)

this week's gratitude list

(#s 2066 - 2092)

Brendan is home!

Just in case you didn't catch it, Brendan is home!

He traveled safely with friends several hundred miles in three different countries over some terrifyingly bad roads and came through it all safe and sound

He saw the ocean - and said "It's big!"

He had the opportunity to tour one of the Mercy Ships

Listening to him talk about climbing the mountain for a private Easter morning service/devotional with the famiy he was visiting

sitting on the waterbed, kids piled all around, AC running, watching videos projected on the wall

watching m&m watch the skit at the Easter Sunrise service - and seeing her questionning looks directed back towards me

homemade poptarts

tabouleh for dinner when outdoor temps spike over 115'

lessons from Job

new books that FINALLY downloaded at least to my Kindle for PC... now just one step further to actually get them on my kindle

finding Mt Dew again in town - 'cause it make my guy happy

listening to the soundtrack from "Somewhere in Time" over and over again

tired tears

medication-induced super sound sleep

Andi's first encounter with malaria was a gentle one

almost finishing organizing the bookshelves

waiting for an expected email

sorting and piling, getting ready for upcoming garage sales

listening to old Boubacar's thanks for what most would consider a pile of junk

Easter Sunday afternoon at the pool... for several hours (thermometer read 120+ that day)

still having enough bottles of sunscreen

most recent power outage was simply a breaker blown

the beauty of wild giraffes

the fact that I've been to see those giraffes several times

this truth: it is my choice when I feel a bit lost, wandering in between- growth or bitterness