Sahel Academy

Here are some photos around Sahel Academy, including Karen in the library where she works 4 days a week, Levi in front of the Sahel "See Us Shine" mural, Chris teaching a class, the new library building and Annika eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Bug Collections

For the last few weeks, my 7th/8th grade science class has been working on a insect collection project. I've never seem so many different and interesting bugs, although I hope no live ones ever show up in our beds!

Niger has been great for seeing new and different animals for us. This week, Annika caught a chameleon outside our house. We had fun letting it crawl on us and watch us with its 2 eyes going in two directions at the same time. It changed colors a few times too! After a few hours we let it go and have seen it since then nearby.

Annika's class has been studying ancient Greece, this is their Greek day.

The other pictures were taken last weekend when we visited the giraffe reserve near Niamey. We saw over 30 wild giraffes. The kids enjoyed riding on top of the car looking for giraffes.

On a Sunday morning recently we attended an amzaing worship service. People from over 10 People Groups attend this church and worship toegether in unity, celebrating their uniqueness. Church "started" at 9:00, but it wasn't until about 10:00 that things really got going. Each group had a turn to go up front and sing/dance in their own heart language, whatever song they choose. It was amazing to see the differences in dress, jewelry, body markings, dance style and hear all the different languages. Some of these languages were Fulbe, Beri Beri, Hausa, Zerma, French, Songhai.

Even us "Americanos" got up front and took a turn. After that was all done, we all sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" in our own languages all at the same time. The pastor told us this is what heaven will be like, when every tribe, nation and language will worship God together in unity. Praise God for this little taste of heaven right here in Niger!

Our kids are starting to make friends, and have had some over to play.

Boy's Work

June through August are the rainy months here in Niger and there are temporary patches of green around the landscape. Hardy shoots of grass spring up where before there was only sand. On the grounds of Sahel Academy patches of grass grow. In this country where nothing is wasted, even this grass is used for good. Boys around the age of 9-10 come to Sahel each day and laboriously cut the grass by hand, load it up into large gunny sacks, and carry it into town carefully balanced on their heads to sell by the side of the road. This is hard work, especially under the hot African sun. Rather than swimming at the YMCA, playing in a summer sports league, or just hanging out with friends as boys in the USA may spend their summers, these boys work hard to earn much needed money for their families. Pray for these hard working boys and their families.

On a personal note, we have finished 2 weeks of school now! Annika has 7 kids in her 5/6th class and Levi has 12 in his 1/2nd class. I (Karen) am working in the library 4 mornings a week. It is a brand new library just completed this summer and I feel very blessed to work in such a great atmosphere. Lots of kids come in throughout the day and I'm slowly learning their names and getting to know them a little. Chris is busy teaching a variety of 7th, 8th and 10th grade classes. The biggest challenge for him is teaching 2 secondary science classes-something he's never taught before. He's learning all about cells, diffusion and osmosis right along with the kids. Our theme this year at school is "Building Community" so we look forward to seeing that develop. We are adjusting to getting up early to be at school by 7:20. Although that's awfully early, its nice to get started in the morning before it gets too hot. School is then out at 2:30 for elementary and 3:00 for secondary.

Sunday afternoon visit

Today we spent all afternoon at a home of a Fulani family. We enjoyed it so much! They were very welcoming and prepared a meal for us, sharing from what little they have. We ate from a common plate, some of us with our hands (right hand only!) and some shared a spoon. Only the father ate with us as women and children do not eat with the men. They spoke only a few words of English, but we had another friend with us who could translate. The father of the house and his second wife have 11 kids together so Annika and Levi were able to do some playing while we talked. They even gave us African names! Chris-Illeeasoo , Karen-Ammina, Annika-Layla, and Levi's will be given at our next visit. They proudly showed us their new 2 room house they built as they were recently told they had to leave the land they had been living on. After our meal, they prepared the traditional "3 cups of tea" for us over a charcoal brasier. The first cup( one cup is shared by everyone) is strong and bitter to represent the hard times in life. By the 3rd cup, the tea is sweet and represents the blessings in life. After our tea, he took us on a tour of his millet and bean fields. The rains have been good this year, and if it continues this way, perhaps there will not be a famine this year.

We thank God for this opportunity to meet this wonderful family and hope to return to their home more times in the future. Pray for this Muslim family.