Niger eyes, looking back at me.
Flickers of hope, escape the dungeon of despair,
pressured from within, paired with an outward gaze.
The flickers will find a friend in another's flame.
The flame of hope defined and magnified, Jesus Christ.
How intimate is an extended gaze. Not only is one's existence acknowledged, but many emotions can be expressed without words in this few second encounter.
Each time I make eye contact, I'm exposing another facet of our Creator and Savior. This responsibility is not one to take lightly. Sometimes I catch myself becoming too comfortable in my new home and do not value each passing person or opportunity to display the love of God through my eyes or smile. However, I'm not suggesting we plaster fake smiles on our faces constantly. I just realize here, where communication isn't always possible, that a smile can reveal much.
This display of Jesus also applies to our missionary team here. In the midst of conversing, giving, laughing, preparing, and potentially shedding tears, isn't it all for one purpose? Isn't it to encourage eachother's hearts toward the lover of our souls, to the Prince of Peace, while giving others an opportunity to know the Lord.
We have been involved in a lot the past two weeks and God's faithfulness has been shown. I'm going to highlight a few to share with you.
Plumpy'Nut News:
Provision-The Lord is faithful to take care of His children. In the village of Gueladio there are 9 children who have climbed out of the severely malnourished category. Are they still malnourished? Yes. The Lord is rehabilitating their health through a peanut butter based paste. I've started decreasing the rations of Plumpy'Nut to those who are no longer in the severely malnourished category.
There are two babies who are still severely malnourished. As their weights are barely changing every two weeks, we may have to stop distribution based on Plumpy'Nut's criteria. Please pray that the mothers will properly give their babies the nutritional supplement. Also, pray that the babies' bodies will digest and absorb the nutrients as purposed.
We are distributing children's vitamins, worm treatments and will follow up with these children's progress in Gueladio. We are praying and planning to go to another village to assess and help more children become healthier.
Thanks to God's provision through travelers on short term missions who have seen the children of Niger firsthand, we have adequate funds to continue distributing Plumpy'Nut in other villages. Thank you all for joining me in praying for these babies and mothers, AND for sharing your resources. None of us can fully know the impact it will make. Merci.
Au Revoir GLUTEN:
Through a series of hints and years of researching and praying, at last the Lord has clearly made known the reason for my unexplainable iron deficiency anemia. Maybe some think its odd for me to mention this on my missionary adventure in Niger. But let me tell you, it's something to rejoice about! And it's an adventure. Frustrating adventure too:)
So my body is allergic to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye as well as all the foods containing even trace amounts. Since I've been consuming gluten everyday for years, and my intestinal wall lining called villi(they absorb nutrients) have become damaged, I'm unable to absorb iron and other minerals efficiently. This gluten thing isn't a disease I want to cling to, but I am extremely thankful to the Lord for giving me the knowledge and revelation, FINALLY!
And of all places to be completely sure about this, Niger is the the place He's healing my body, much like He started the healing process of my heart 2.5 years ago. I'll keep you updated about the gluten free lifestyle.
The Jo's have been super supportive. Dave helped make it possible for me to obtain millet flour which is gluten free. Monmouni, our day guard bought the millet, took it home to his wife to pick through and clean, took it to a mill (cleaned before processing the millet) and brought the flour to me. He surpassed his responsibilities and blessed me. I plan to make millet bread and millet pancakes tomorrow morning.
Celebrating Jesus' Birthday: On Christmas Eve we went to the orphanage with our Nigerien friend dressed as Santa. The children absolutely loved him! We gave out Christmas bags donated by the children's sponsors and each child took a picture with Santa. The funniest part was having Santa lead the children in worship. Imagine 50 plus children with gigantic smiles on their faces...that was our morning!
Christmas morning..."Happy to You, Happy to You..." little Sammy sings while the candles burn on a cake (this time a Niger style crown cake for Jesus-Daniel's tradition) before Dave reads the story of Jesus' birth, and Hope gives thanks to Him. Being the youngest of six children, I've always been the most excited about the family gathering, waking up super early, opening stockings, and just hanging out. However, this year without my family, I was blessed with another family...the Johanssons! Yep, having 2 kiddies around made Christmas so much more joyful. I'm usually the one waking everyone up (yeah, even at my old age) but this year Sammy came in my room and said, "KK, up!"
Even though I missed home during Christmas, the Lord showered me with love here. We ate delicious meals with our missionary team and French missionaries, I went shopping with Amina (a Nigerien friend of mine), had gift exchanges, and lounged around, like I would at home.
Also, I'm extremely thankful for skype because I was able to see my family. I hadn't seen my mom and dad since I've been here, so that was a HUGE blessing. Because of Jesus' birth, I know God and because of Him, I am here in Niger. Even on the mission field, it's easy to focus my eyes on things other than Jesus. But he seeks us even when we aren't faithful.
Sleeping Under the Stars:
The Johanssons and I went camping with their friends Beth, Steve and son Tim. We went to a village about 2 hours away from Niamey, where we live. This was my second camping experience in Niger, however it differed greatly. Camping brought many memories to my mind, mostly from when I was a little girl camping with my dad, to youth group camping, all the way to my adulthood camping trips. Sitting by the fire, staring at the grand sky of stars, eating, talking and sleeping on a hard ground while tossing and turning all night, waking up to the crisp Niger air, having less than ideal bathroom facilities and situations and exploring the land of wilderness all reminded me of God.
I could write an entire blog on these two days alone but here's the short version...
Hope sang Beautifully at church on Sunday. We took a walk, graciously guided by the pastor's son named Samuel. I couldn't stop seeing the Lord's majesty in the design and size of the baobab and other trees.
On the way out of the village, Hope pointed out one tree with three trunks, representing the trinity. Those of you on the Jerni retreat may recall similar words from my share time. He is so faithful to remind me of previous encounters and defining moments where my heart connected to His. Likewise, looking at the stars was another reminder of His goodness, provision, involvement and desire for us to really know Him.
We are in Niamey for a couple of days and then off to the game park known as PARK W! Our missionary team is going, so I'm sure we'll have lots of fun. We'll be ringing in the new year in the park. Then on Sunday we're going back to Gueladio for reassessment of the children on Plumpy'Nut.
The Lord is faithful and loves reminding us. If you're like me you need a reminder or two every now and then.
Happy New Year!
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