Mango Camp

Some people have lake houses. Some people have beach houses. Others have mountain houses. Well, there are no lakes, mountains or beaches here. (Though Kevin will argue that there is plenty of sand for a beach, just no water!) What we do have is the river. While we don't have a house beside it, we now have the next best thing- a mango camp! Mango camps are so named because of the (can you guess...) mango trees that grow next to the river. There are small plots of land for rent, and just recently one became available. Along with Winsors, Cetons, and Chamberlains we are the new renters of a beautiful water front location about a half hour from home, by the Niger river. It's got water on two sides (a little inlet on one side, and the river on another) and lots of shady mango trees. Don't worry- it won't break the bank! Our share of the rent, including paying the custodian/guard and some odd repairs will cost us less than one night at a nice hotel. Here is part of the road headed down hill toward the camps. It drops out of sight in the picture, as it goes steeply down, and comes out where you see the small trees below. This is still the nice part of the road. It gets a little rougher at the end. Yes, we have a 4 wheel drive!
I had never been out there before, so when we arrived yesterday for a picnic with the other families, it was very exciting! It's got a beautiful view, is away from the city and is so peaceful. Well, except for the 10 kids and two teens we brought along...
The guys have plans to fix the fence around, (we don't want the kids swimming-on purpose or accidentally!) as well as improve the "bathroom" facility. (currently a covered hole with a 4 1/2 foot mud brick wall around it) A small hut will recieve some roof repairs, so that chairs and things can be stored there to use each time we come. Then we will be able to picnic or camp in comfort.
The kids were thrilled with the tire swings Chad hung up, and spent a good portion of the morning swinging. They also spent time digging in the sand, and playing with their friends. Even a bit of "wildlife" joined us for our picnic. While the adults enjoyed the sighting of some distant hippos out in the river, the kids were entertained enough by the passing herds of cattle and small fish swimming by.
There were feathers all over the ground, and Kira insisted that I share this picture of a pretty colored one that she found. It was gray at the bottom, then a band of white, and the top was red. It really was quite pretty! I wish we could have seen the bird it came from.

Everyone enjoyed the time outside, and it was even a bit breezy, and not too hot there in the shade.

I look forward to many camping trips and picnics out there. Guess we'll have to think of investing in a new tent next time we are home, though. Our family seems to have outgrown the two person tent that we own. =)
Here is the road headed back up the hill towards home.

It was a great weekend, and is a great place for family time away after the extremely busy time Kevin has had lately. He jokingly said this week that instead of four ten hour shifts like some people put in for a week, the SIMAIR guys just went for two twenty hour days. Unfortunately they still had to work the other days too! So the kids and I were glad to see Kevin a little on Saturday. We can't wait for many more times with family, as well as friends out by the river at the mango camp!

Never a dull moment!

I'll start out with the cute, just for fun pics. Here's Silas being his handsome self!


and Laney being her goofy self! See the cup she's holding? It's her security blanket. She walks around all day saying "Mommy, I'm thirsty!" and trying to get Emilie to fill up all the kid cups in the cupboard for her.

It's been a busy day around here! It's now 10pm. Kevin got up at 5am to leave for a flight as co-pilot for a French company who have an outfit here. (The SIMAIR guys do occasional flights for them to make a little extra money for SIMAIR, in an effort to make it as inexpensive as possible for other missionaries to fly!) After making his lunch and sending him out the door, I was able to at least sleep another hour before my day started. Kevin returned from the flight at noon, only to get caught up in an inspection on the plane. After running into multiple problems Kevin, Dave, and David are still working as far as I know! This is before they will be up early tomorrow AM for another flight! Ed hasn't been slacking in the meantime- he was co-pilot for another flight this afternoon, and isn't home yet either! So we have some tired guys! Please pray for their safety, as there are flights each day for the next three days, and they are all worn out.

As for me, while it's busy at home, my only downside-other than missing Kevin- is that I missed my weekly scrapbooking night with some other ladies since he wasn't here to keep the kids. Thankfully I'm mostly ready for leading Bible study tomorrow, so that shouldn't be a big deal- as long as Kevin is home to keep the kids for that!

We still await the arrival of the "baby"- er, plane that is! It sounds like it's all set with the new engine and ready to go. Now we just wait for the ferry pilot to return from another trip. So another few weeks and we hope to have it here. Of course, we've said that before...

The girls enjoyed having Andrea and Joel over last week to play. They had a fishing theme day- playing in the water outside, and fishing with Brynn's magnetic fishing set. Then they came in, and we read some fishing stories from the Bible, and sang "Peter and James and John in a sailboat." Their favorite part was the snack though! We recently found some goldfish-looking (though NOT tasting!) crackers and we used pretzel sticks (which we can buy here!) to dip in peanut butter and "catch" goldfish. Snacktime took a while, but they enjoyed it!

Today Kira tried something new- baking a pumpkin pie! OK, she had a little help! =) We are going to wait until Daddy is home tomorrow to try it, since he didn't make it home in time to see the kids today.

Well, as I was writing Kevin arrived home, so I'm off to see him while I can!

Things I've learned today

1) Don't try to explain to the man selling clothes outside the store (while he is following you and your four children across a busy street to get to the car!) why you don't want to buy his beautiful green linen skirt because it is a maternity skirt. The words French words for pregnant, having a baby, and pregnancy are apparently not in his vocabulary. Of course, neither is "No, I don't need that" so I guess I was just expecting a little too much.

2) When baking pumpkin bread, don't leave to feed the baby and ask Emilie (our house help) to get it out of the oven when it's "a little more firm in the middle." It's a little more firm all right! =)

3) When you see a large hairy spider on the porch, don't step on it. When you do, the hair might turn out to be hundreds of tiny baby spiders who suddenly spread in every direction, including in the front door.

4) Cockroach spray does not kill large no-longer-quite-as-hairy spiders, or their offspring. At least not quickly. Neither do Crocs, apparently, as this is the same spider stepped on in #4!

5) Elayna can't swim. (OK, I did know this one, but usually we try not to test it out without her floaties! She was only under for a few seconds before Kira yelled, and she was rescued. No worse for the wear, she jumped right back in once her floatie was on.)

6) Don't bother making potato salad with boiled eggs. Just make boiled eggs. It's the only part the kids eat willingly anyway.

So, much wiser than yesterday, ;) I sign off to go make sticky buns for my weary husband after his L-O-N-G day of flying.

Changes!

Today little buddy is 8 months old! His baby days are going by so quickly. I enjoy seeing all the new things he's learning- saying mama and dada, giving five, and getting into anything he can scoot himself to. But it's also sad to see my baby grow so quickly. Before long he'll be running around at top speed with the other three, and I'll have no baby left.

As I write I can hear he and Laney (who are supposed to be napping!) chattering away to each other. She yells "Buddy!" He then shrieks in delight, encouraging her to do it again... so, of course she obliges. Maybe they'll get some sleep eventually, but for now it's sounding like a big party.

Kira has just discovered the joys of paper dolls. As we were punching out and cutting a new set yesterday she said "Mom, this is the first time I've gotten to do this! We read about it in Betsy-Tacy, but I didn't get to play them before!" This is a treat reserved for naptime, when her wrecking crew youngest sister is not around. Paper dolls wouldn't stand a chance against "hurricane Laney." =)

Brynn has lately taken over Kira's title as "drama queen." Playgroup was an adventure this morning for her. First she got "a blood spot," (a pinhead sized drop of blood on her leg) causing much wailing. Then she managed to swallow a piece of chip that was still too large. More wailing. I wondered if she would survive the morning with all its tragedies, but she made it home in one piece, much to her surprise.

Another change in our lives is that Emilie, our house helper, will be going on maternity leave at the end of October. She has brought in a friend to work for us while she is gone. Terese is a Christian Togolese woman from Emilie's church. This week she has been working with Emilie, so she can show her what needs to be done- how to bleach the vegetables, how to fill the jug with purified water, what to clean with, how to heat the water to wash dishes, etc. This saves me from having to teach her everything, which is wonderful. There are so many "new" things here that she doesn't know about, and it can be frustrating when things get ruined or broken due to lack of knowledge. She has never seen most of the appliances I have in my kitchen. Mixer, blender, bread machine are all new things to her! I don't always think about telling details like "don't wash the blender base under running water!" Emilie is doing a goob job showing Terese the ropes. Terese seems like a neat lady, and we'll see how things go once she is here alone. I think she will be easy to have around.
It's an interesting struggle, this having house help. While it's a great deal of help, especially with the extra workload Niger, it's hard to have someone around so much. Five days a week she is here, watching me playing and doing school with the kids, and just being in my space. If it's someone I'm not comfortable with, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be in my own home with her here so much! Plus, I have to try to be patient with things that she breaks or misplaces, or does in a way that I would not do... On the other hand, if all she ever did was dishes I would probably love her forever. =) With no dishwasher, cooking totally from scratch, lots of company, and a very small kitchen, I could easily spend half of each day washing dishes and nothing else. And I have to admit, that is my least favorite chore. But then she also hangs out my laundry, cleans my vegetables, and cleans my very dirty floors. So all in all its worth it. That's one huge blessing about living here! I just need to remember that when I have to search every cupboard in the kitchen just the find the one utensil that I need... =)

Sweet little Elayna!

For those grandparents, aunts and uncles out there who need a little "Laney fix" here she is singing "I love you so much" to Brynn's Belle doll. The long version of the song is one that I sing to the kids every night at bedtime.
"I love you so much, I love you so much, I can't even tell you how much I love you.
You're special to me, you're special to me, I'm happy to have you as part of my life.
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you ,I love you, I love you.
I love you so much, I love you so much, I can't even tell you how much I love you."
Elayna has started singing this to dolls, as well as to Silas when he fusses. She calls him "Buddy!" and sings to him sweetly. Some nights listening to them through the baby monitor is great entertainment.

Fingerpainting

While Kira and Brynn were gone with Daddy on Sunday, Laney got to stay home with Mommy! At first she was sad that her sisters were going somewhere, and she wasn't. Then I told her she would get some time with just Mommy. (Silas was napping)
She put her arms up high and said "Yaaay!" We had a fun time together reading books, snuggling, eating lunch. But the highlight was fingerpainting. She loved being the center of attention for a little while, and getting to make a mess at the same time!

Our NUTS weekend

We had a lot of fun over the weekend! It was NUTS- the name of the tournament, that is. Kevin played on the Niamey competitive team, and had a lot of fun. They won first place this year.

We were sunburned and happy cheering for him. Elayna would say "Go Daddy!" every time she saw him. The very end of the last game when Kevin was up to bat all three girls starting cheering "Go Daddy go!" It was so cute hearing those three little voices cheering for their daddy! I think the girls had more of an audience than the softball game! Kevin got comments about his great cheering section!
Silas even "cheered" with his little outfit that says "Home Run!" He was so good, even with our busy schedule. He even took his afternoon nap here in the stroller.

The Sahel students set up a snack shack outside for the games that were played there. I had brought lots of snacks and treats for the girls, but their favorite part of the weekend was their first experience with the cotton candy Daddy bought them! I'll say- "What fun- we got to go swimming three times this weekend!" their reply "and we had cotton candy!" Me: "We got to have milkshakes for breakfast!" Them: "and we had cotton candy!" You get the picture...they loved the cotton candy! I only wish I'd had the camera to capture them enjoying it.

One thing I did get a picture of is one of the unique things about softball here at the rec center.
This is Kevin in the outfield, accompanied by George the tortoise. He wanders around the rec center, and occasionally gets himself in the middle of a softball game in his search for more leafy greens to eat.

The busy softball weekend didn't give Kevin a break! Friday he flew to Ghana, Saturday was softball all day, so on Sunday he and Dave went to refuel the plane, and get ready for yesterday's flight. Kevin took along our older two, and Dave took his 3 year old, Andrea. They all rode bikes, and had lunch with their daddies at the hangar. Those were some happy little girls! They returned for the last softball game, and we went home for supper after a quick swim, then put the kids to bed. A tired Kevin got ready for his early morning flight to Tombouctou. He stayed there last night, but I look forward to a text message any time now saying he has landed here in Niamey. We can't wait to have him home! It's not the same with him away.

At home!

It's been fun sharing about some of the more unique happenings in our lives, but I thought I'd take a little time to take you into our every day life.
Kevin is gone on a flight today. He'll be flying for 7 hours by the time he gets home! He left this morning at 5 am. He hopes to make it back home, and drive into town in time for the first game of this weekend's softball tournment. Missionaries, US embassy personnel, and Sahel Academy kids will be playing, among others.

The kids just returned from playing in water outside. I took the hose and sprayed them all down a little while ago, as well as filling their sand buckets with water. What could be more fun on a hot day than playing in water? Silas had his morning nap. We are enjoying a comfortable 90 degrees in the living room- it's much hotter outside! After reading some books, and talking about how SOME places it's fall... the girls decided we should make a pumpkin pie. That's next on the agenda, followed by lunch and nap, then off to watch daddy play softball. (If he gets back in time!)

Silas is sporting his Red Sox outfit from Aunt Amy, and is ready to watch some softball.
The girls might watch a bit- in between playing on the playground and chasing lizards.

There are a few recent happenings that I haven't yet shared. One was Brynn's half birthday. She turned 3 1/2 on Sept. 19, and we had Andrea over for a half birthday party. We celebrated with a "half" tea party. We cut paper plates in half, served half cups of tea, and the girls each had half of their hair fixed. I think they had a "whole" lot of fun, though! ;)

Kira's has really been doing well with her reading, and enjoying any time I take to read with her. Brynn is starting to learn the sounds of a few letters, and wants to read like Kira! She's a ways from that though. Elayna is still her funny self! She has decided that Silas is now named "Buddy." I've always called him "little buddy," and the girls have picked up on that. Well, this week Elayna dropped the "little" as well as the Silas! Now he's just Buddy. "Mommy, I give Buddy his cup?" "Mommy, I play with Buddy?" Her other new phrase that she uses all day long is "Could you, Mommy?" She tacks it onto almost every thing she has said in the the last few days. She's doing great with potty training. She even tells us when she needs to go at the pool, so we can get her out and to the bathroom in time. We're not attempting night quite yet!
Elayna's biggest news is her move into her big girl bed. She has slept in it for two nights now. Silas is still in the pack and play, so yesterday we asked her if we could move Silas into her crib now that she was in the big girl bed. She said "Yes!" followed a minute later by "Actually, no." We agreed to wait a few more days before her crib gets handed down. Silas likes the pack and play anyway, and may be not be too thrilled to move.

After coming and going on this post multiple times- Kevin is home and we are ready to head to softball! Bye for now!
I just wanted to share another picture of "Buddy" with you. This was the day of his haircut, after his curls were gone, and he looked like a big boy. (and after mommy was done crying...)
He does, by the way, have more clothes than just this outfit- he just happens to be wearing it all the pictures lately. =)

Our day in Makalondi

Yesterday we, along with our SIMAir team, had the privilege of spending the day with our friends and fellow SIM missionaries, Gary and Joy at their home in Makalondi. We drove the hour out of town in a caravan of three vehicles. For me it was especially exciting, since it was the first time I've ever been that far out of Niamey. Kevin gets to fly all over West Africa, but I'm usually "town-bound." Being out of the city not only changes the view, but also my perspective on the ministry we have here in
Niger. Along the road, besides herds of sheep and goats, cows being chased by young boys with sticks, and the occasional camel ,we were able to enjoy a lot of green. Rainy season just ended, so things are about as pretty as they get around here!
We arrived at their house, and settled in for some good fellowship! They barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs, and served us under a shady tree outside. While I wouldn't say life is completely modern and easy where we live in Niamey, there is no comparison having electricity only when you run a generator, and water hauled from the local well by their house worker! Surprisingly, with their open windows, and a slight breeze, the house felt fairly comfortable even without fans! When our power goes out and I'm in the hot, dead air at home, I need to just be thankful that I have electricity most of the time!

Silas enjoyed being outside, and watching the other kids play, as well as some hammock time with fellow SIMAir MK, Chris.
After our meal had a little time to digest, and the babies tried to nap under battery operated fans, we took turns having tours of Makalondi, and the ministry they have there. The men went out first, and upon their return to keep the kids, we women ventured out around the town.

The first things we saw was the tutoring program Joy has started. The public education system here is greatly lacking! Often teacher strikes or lack of funding mean missed weeks or months of the school year. Sadly these days are not made up, and students are forced into the next level, even if they are not prepared. If they fail their exams to move on, then they are kicked out school, to make room for others. Often they fail simply because the year wasn't completed, even though they are bright and want to learn. The tutoring program just finished a session of summer school, where a Nigerien tutor worked with several kids to catch up for the time they had missed. The parents were able to pitch in and pay the $1/hour fee he charged. Now their kids have a hope of continuing their education. With donated books in French, and donated computers these kids are being trained so that they can have a possibility of better jobs in the future.

Another neat ministry they have going is a dorm for Christian students. (the building pictured with blue doors and windows.) Students who live in the bush come to Makalondi for school, and board with local families. Often the boarding families are Muslim, and they do all they can to make life miserable for these Christian kids! They even give them extra work to do on Sundays so they can't attend church. With some US government funding, they were able to construct this dorm building. There is a room for about 15 boys, and a small room for 4 girls. The dorm parents are a neat Nigerien Christian couple who are doing a great job according to Joy! They have had nine children, but seven died when they were toddlers. (likely due to RH issues during pregancy) Now they are doing a great job caring for a whole dormful of kids! Living in the dorm also means they don't have to be separated from their two living children, which would have been hard for the mom!
This year they will have a helper, as cooking and caring for so many is quite a chore!
Here is the stove built outside for the dorm mom to cook with. There is a hole for a large pot, and one for a small pot. With just one stick of wood in each side, she can cook the whole meal!




Next to the dorm is the church "building." There are between 60-120 people who attend this church on Sunday mornings. I imagine it's quite hot all packed in that little building together. It kind of makes some of the fights churches have over paint and carpet seem even more ridiculous! They are getting ready to undergo a building project.-now that rainy season is done they will redo the sticks and the roof mats. It has taken quite a beating due to the rain and wind!
The church building is not the most common way things are made out here. Most things are built with these mud/ straw bricks. They mix it all up, put it in molds on the ground, and then let the sun dry and harden them. I can almost picture the Israelites making bricks in Egypt when I see them working hard in the sun making bricks. Unfortunately over time the rains take quite a toll on these bricks as well, if they don't get covered in cement.

After a great day we loaded up to drive home. After seeing where they lived, I have a little better picture of the lives of some of the other missionaries we are serving here in Niger. It's so hot here, and they sleep with just these little 8-inch battery operated fans to keep the air moving! I think it was a good lesson for me in thankfulness for the situation we have here in Niamey! Life here is not like North America at all. There are things we do without, and many extra things to do just to live each day. And have I mentioned that it's hot? =) But it's nothing compared to some of the things they deal with on a daily basis. Even with what they face, they are not in a remote location like many missionaries in Niger.

Our trip to Makalondi was a lot of fun, but it was also a great experience, and exposure to other ministries in our area. I'll end with a picture taken heading out of Makalondi, and on the way
home.