Mighty to Save

The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
–Zephaniah 3:17

Every time we go to Gueladio for reassessment of the children and distribution of plumpy’nut, my eyes fall on the words above as soon as my notebook is opened. I have written this promise in the front of the notebook as a reminder. I don’t fear I’ll forget this promise but sometimes I get distracted and don’t fully believe His promises to be with us, to save, to delight in us, to quiet us with his love, and to rejoice over us. It’s a lot to digest! I can sing the song “He is Mighty to Save” all day but practically, in real life, do I truly believe this? Do I believe this for the children?

When children’s weights are increasing, I eagerly believe the Lord’s promise to save His children and therefore give Him the glory for his faithfulness. However, difficultly arises when a baby does not gain weight, due to sickness. What is even worse is that a baby lost the weight that he had gained. After I weighed him, feeling discouraged and helpless, I glanced at the verse in the front of my notebook. Yes, He is mighty to save. Even though it appears otherwise, the Lord is with this baby and his wasting body. We prayed for him and will check on him this Sunday. Please pray with us. With the intention to bring glory to the Lord and not dwell on the negative, I can’t disregard that the other babies are gaining weight! There’s much to be thankful for but that one baby clenched my heart. I called my sister hours after we returned from Gueladio and expressed to her with tears the best way I could using these words, “I’m not seeing malnourished babies on tv from afar… they’re in my arms.” I hope my honestly doesn’t discourage anyone. The truth is that the Lord is with me and His desire to heal these children is greater than mine.

Preceding the plumpy’nut distribution, Hope and I told the story of Samuel to about 20 children at church, in FRENCH! We translated the story to French in advance, had colorful visual aids (thanks to Hope’s artistic abilities), and had Dave pretend to be God, calling “Samuel, Samuel.” I was slightly nervous before the Bible lesson because I had to speak in French, and I’m more of a one on one person. However, as soon as I was standing in front of the children, scanning the room, periodically catching their eyes and glimpses of smiles, any feelings of anxiety fled and were replaced by joy and purpose. Leaving Gueladio, I had many emotions and thoughts. Oh the contrast that can exist in them.


Living in Niger still seems surreal most days. How blessed I am for my feet to touch the sand of such a land every day, see the African sunset, hear the sounds of French, Djerma and Houssa languages, take taxis or walks with Amina, share everyday life with the Johanssons, worship God with Nigeriens, and just exist here!

Probably one of the most surreal times I’ve experienced was this weekend when my little girl from the orphanage, named Kadidja came over and spent the night with us. Upon arrival, she was shy and scared of the Johanssons’ dog, and rightly so with a bark like his. We made Christmas sugar cookies, took a walk to buy eggs, colored, looked at pictures, ate a delicious peanut chicken and rice dinner, played djembes and sang, went out for ice cream, went to the market to buy supplies for Amina to braid Kadidja’s hair, watched Toy Story in French and then went to sleep.

The next morning Kadidja took a warm shower, which may have been the first time for her (you should’ve seen the smile that appeared when I let her feel the temperature). Hope made us pancakes and eggs for breakfast and off to church we went. After church we ate at a restaurant and came home to rest before taking her back home to the orphanage. Seem overwhelming? I think it may have been for this gentle spirited, polite nine year old who has never been inside a white person’s house, or been so lavished with food. While she was here, I was very content yet I couldn’t fully absorb her presence. Especially when she was sleeping in my room with me, I was thanking the Lord and thinking, is she really here in my room? If only I could read her mind in regards to her experience with us. We plan to have her and a friend over in the future. I wish you all could meet her but incase that doesn’t happen, here is a photo of beautiful Kadidja.


It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The three missionary families have Christmas trees in their homes, accompanied by stockings, Christmas music and the aroma of freshly baked cookies (well some days). At our house, we’ve spent down time making ornaments out of paper, sewing letters on our stockings, baking cookies, dancing to the rhythm of seasonal tunes. My two year old friend, Sammy Pie as I call him these days has made these activities much more enjoyable, in particular the dancing! The decorations and preparations clearly show it is that time of year, but the temperature is enough to fool me. To help you understand, Dave said the temperature the other day was 100 degrees. I'm excited to spend another Christmas in Niger. In December 2006 I came with a team and assisted missionaries Rodrigo and Juanita when they lived 12 hours North of Niamey, in Agadez. One thing I don't miss about home is the commercialism before and during the Christmas season. It's easier here to focus on the birth of Jesus and his saving grace. The Lord is Mighty to Save!