Just Dani and Myself

journal entry: Wednesday, June 10, 2009

So today, was our first day all alone in our village. It was a good day! Truly it was :-) I carried water on my head back to my house, took a bucket bath, pooped out in the bush, greeted every person I saw, and even had the opportunity to share my testimony. I am learning a lot and adjusting and getting use to the culture. I'm going to love it I know- minus the sand that is on me 24/7 and everything else. I feel so dirty all the time but its growing on me. Well good night tonight to the loud rap music on the scratchy radio, kids playing, adults talking, and all the animals(cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, and birds) makaing their noises. Nights are not quiet out here.

Our house (on the left side, the other side was a storage house for their grains):

All the children that came over the first night... they are so precious!

First Day Out and About

Journal entry: Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Crowded corners, bumping into many Africans, and trying to keep up with Zalika(the young girl with us), yet being overwelmed by all the sights and smells that entered my mind for the first time ever in my lifetime- some good, some bad, but most simply unfamiliar. Yes, this is the busy market in Niamey. Taking in so much, the people began to really stand out to me- their faces especially. The joys so many had, though the majority had nothing. The persistance of those wanting to sell me something and the urgency of the beggers. Then from across the crowded street stood out an older man with one leg as he was hobbling around on crutches. How challenging it must be to get around on the bumpy dirt streets in this intense heat. He was moving so well- must have been on them for quiet sometime. Then there was the begger with no fingers on either of her hands. The man of bones and I think blind crawling through the tiny market pathways. On his hands and knees moving so slow, not asking for a thing just seemed to have the ambition of getting some place. The market, the people, and interactions were hard to take in. I thought I had prepared myself and built up the strength, but in reality words cannot portray the reality of life here. Its like one of my teammates said earlier today "we are living out the national geographic" and its intense.

Three days later...

Coming home became an unwanted adventure within itself; therefore, after many miles, much waiting, feeling miserable, running off a couple hours of sleep in 48 hours, and spending the night in both Paris and Dallas, three nights later I was able to make it back to Alabama. For those who did not here the story, Thursday night those wonderful african dust storms delayed us two hours and caused us to miss our connecting flights. I now know my way all around the Paris airport since we spent about 24 hours there trying get a way back to the States. Saturday morning we were able to fly to Germany and soon after board the plane that would fly 10 hours to Dallas where each of our families would be waiting for us! We spent the night in Dallas that first night and hit the road Sunday morning for our 9 hour drive home. I was simply give out from getting little rest and having both malaria and stomach problems. Yet now I am in the comfort of my home and with my family and feeling much much better!


Since I was unable to post pictures and tell details of God's work in Niger these past two months, I have decided to update and leave a few stories on my blog over the next couple of weeks. Enjoy!