Luke 2:8-14 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Blessings to all our friends and family.

Orest & Grace

Driving in Poor Countries

Interesting story from the BBC News below.

 We find driving in Niger, especially Maradi, to be quite stressful. Certainly not because of speed. We see the problem as bad conditioned vehicles and bad drivers. As is typical, in countries like this, you have to be ever vigilant because you have something coming at you in every direction, whether it be vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians or animals. The majority of the tractor trailers on the road would be in the scrap heap in North America. A lot of cars are those that cannot be sold in North America or Europe, so they get shipped to Africa. Of course, lack of financial resources results in garbage vehicles on the road. A large number of people on motorcycles drive without lights. Why? So it will not wear down the battery??? Also, extremely limited use of helmets (because of heat and cost). Then you have people walking on the roads at night wearing dark clothing. This can be very difficult when combined with dust and smoke at night. This is why we severely restrict any night time driving.
Poverty is a killer. Not only in terms of hunger and disease but also because of other factors such as not being able to afford proper vehicles, safety equipment or proper driver instruction.

-Orest

Here is the BBC story and link to the online story:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46486231#_=_

Road accidents biggest killer of young people - WHO

·        7 December 2018

Road injuries are now the biggest killer of children and young adults worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The organisation published figures that also reveal Africa has the worst rate of road traffic deaths in the world.
Its report says many African and South American countries still do not have sufficient speed limit laws.
But it also highlights that global road death rates relative to the size of the world's population are stabilising.
Car accidents are now the leading global cause of death amongst children and young adults aged five to 29 years old, the report says.
It contends that says more people die from road-related injuries than from HIV/Aids, tuberculosis or diarrhoeal diseases.
"These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general.
"There is no excuse for inaction. This is a problem with proven solutions."

'No limits'
The WHO report says that at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, Africa's road fatality rate is nearly three times that of Europe, which has the lowest globally.
It says nearly half of the 54 countries in Africa have no speed laws or speed limits in place.
Botswana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon have all seen death rates increase. Egypt, Angola, Burkina Faso and Burundi are among those that have seen a reduction.
Africa also has the highest rate of pedestrian and cyclist mortality.

Rises - and falls

According to the latest data, about 1.35 million people were killed in car accidents around the world in 2016, up slightly from previous years.
The risk of road deaths is said to be three times higher in low-income countries.
South-East Asia trails Africa as the second-most dangerous region, followed by the eastern Mediterranean.
But despite an increase in the number of deaths, the WHO says the global death rate from road accidents has stabilised in recent years.
The WHO attributes this to increased safety efforts in middle- and high-income countries. These include the development of safer infrastructure like cycling lanes, and "better" legislation on speeding, seat belts and vehicle standards.
Europe, the Americas and the Western Pacific have all seen a drop in road traffic death rates.

Ministry Needs

Hello everyone.

This is the season for Christmas Gift Catalogues.  While we cannot afford to produce a gift catalogue we would like to present to you our ministry needs.

The first thing of need is prayer warriors.  Our ministry in Niger desperately needs prayer support. 

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

If you would like to receive our newsletter with prayer requests, via email, please send a request to:  grace.pelech@sim.org

On the financial side, we have a budgeted need of $500.00 CDN per month for ministry costs.  Contributions can be made monthly or in one lump sum.  Please state that your contributions are to our ministry account.

To summarize, these costs go towards supporting the following Bible based ministries:

·       Hausa Literacy

·       English language ministry

·       Computer literacy

·       Youth art class

·       Kids club

·       Community outreach

Some of the specific costs that need to be covered in these ministries include:

·       Rent

·       Supplies (printing, paper, pens, markers, computer supplies, etc.)

·       Security

·       Replacement of stolen chairs

·       Utilities

·       Internet

·       Translation services

·       Travel

If you would like to help us in these ministries, please contact SIM Canada at:

SIM Canada

10 Huntingdale Blvd.

Scarborough, ON., M1W 2S5

1-800-294-6918

Please request that donations go to the ministry account of:

Orest and Grace Pelech

Missionary # 030699

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

May God bless you,

Orest and Grace Pelech

Obsession

Cease being obsessed with self, and instead, be obsessed with Jesus.

Jesus is the definer of our eternal lives.  He is the definer of our earthly lives.  Place no other in the center of your life.

The passage below speaks for itself.  It needs no human commentary or emphasis.  It just needs us to fully see, appreciate, and revel in the glory and the beauty of Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

-Orest

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

December 8, 2018

Hospitable Hearts

My hope, as we enter the Christmas season is that we remember that this is a time to focus on the fact that Jesus came into this world for all of us.  This is a time to remember a great historical event and a momentous occasion of love from our heavenly Father. 

This is an epic happening that we need to recognize in a true reverent fashion as befits the Giver.  For those of us who have welcomed Him into our lives, may we ever be cognizant of His Holy Spirit presence within us, and thusly present ourselves as worthy of His precious gift.

Today we read a devotional from Chris Tiegreen that I found very inspirational.  I have included a portion below:

“Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

-        Revelation 3:20

This verse is often used to pose Jesus’ invitation of salvation to the unbeliever.  But Jesus is speaking to those who already know Him, and there are profound implications for us.  Jesus is clear that He is interested in more than your initial salvation experience.  He does not want only to be followed and obeyed.  He wants to be savored and enjoyed.  In the dining room of our life, He wants the lengthy, personal fellowship of the common meal, not the brief acknowledgement before it.  When Jesus enters in, it is for intimate union.

Jesus invites Himself into our churches and our hearts, and most of us have probably given a formal RSVP, allowing Him in.  But perhaps we have not thought much deeper than that.  When a visitor is coming to our home, we hope to make it as warm and inviting as possible, if, in fact, we want him to stay.  We’ll go to great lengths to give another person the pleasure of our hospitality.  Will we do so for Jesus?  When He stands at the door and knocks, waiting for us to hear His voice and open the door, will He find that the atmosphere within has been prepared for Him coming?  Will He find welcome there?

From – The One Year at His Feet Devotional – by Chris Tiegreen.

December 6 devotional.

May God richly bless you

Orest

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)

7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Please see our earlier posting about ministry needs.

Blessing to all

Surrender

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Romans 15:4

Grandsons having fun on the tire swing.

Samuel working diligently at cleaning Papi's ca.

Ibrahim on the left, Sani on the right.  Planting tomatoes in our yard.

Seems that Kaleb might become a real footballer.

This is the street in front of our house.  As you can see we have a "trough" that runs along the wall opposite to our place.  This helps during rainy season but overall it does little in terms of aromatic appeal.  

This is our main classroom.  Have been grateful for the fans and the fact that we can open the doors for some air.  It does get very hot.  Only problem is quantity of flies that come in and lizards that keep entering.  Talking to students it is much better than the public school classrooms where there are frequently up to 80 students crammed into a small room with no ventilation.  Hard to keep focus in those situations.  In the grey cabinet we have our English book library where students borrow books for two weeks to aid in their learning.  Grateful to those folks who supplied the books.

The classroom is in the garage.  A rarity in Niger but a blessing for us.  When the classroom is occupied Grace will use the area next to the car, under the mango tree, as a classroom setting.  On the wall to the right of the car there is actually a big blackboard.  Our resident family makes good use of the blackboard in doing their homework.

Between Hausa literacy, English and computer literacy we are currently running 22 teaching sessions a week.  Grace is going to start an Art club ministry very soon.  We have seen some very talented work from some students.

Blessings to all

Orest Pelech

Lizards, cockroaches, crickets and grasshoppers!  These days we are returning to the second hot season of the year. This one is the humid hot season as rains have recently finished. So, I am experiencing lots of hot sweaty moments or one may say flushed.  Well, I am taking that word flushed literally.   The past 12 hours I have shared my bathroom with lizards, cockroaches, crickets and grasshoppers, and they have all been flushed away.

Generally, we don’t have lizards in our house. We do share the house with salamanders but not lizards. Lizards make bad house guests. They have no boundaries and pop everywhere unlike salamanders which have the decency to hide when people are present and to come out after dark. They both eat mosquitos and other bugs which is beneficial, but lizard grow large, unlike salamanders.

Just when I was going to wrap up this little rant I entered my work space and discovered 4 more lizards in my window casing and the stench of a dead one somewhere in the room! I quickly closed the window tight and will figure how to remove them later! Grrrr, walking back to the living room I glanced in the spare room and there lounging out on the top of the bed was 2 more, What! Really! Response: Husband bring the broom!!! It was like wrestling a slippery pig, one more gone, the other MIA for now.

Today we pick up a new door screen system we ordered from Canada. Here’s hoping it will solve the problem. The lizards are most likely coming in through the bottom of the front door drape and cannot find their way out once they entered. These days there is hundreds of new lizards being hatched daily, and the young ones are fearless.

Regarding the other critters, cockroaches are normal, we see them daily. There are many points of entry, and the way the water and sewer systems are set up it is to be expected. However, not particularly used to stepping on them in the shower. Grasshopper and crickets tend to cling to our cloths unaware when outdoors and come into the house with us.

Speaking with a friend today, she was telling me that a cat would solve the lizard problem like they do with mice. Trust me that would only add to the dynamics around the house. Buddy, our house dog thinks cats are for chasing away!

We are pleased to welcome the family of Maman to our home.

Here is mother Maria plus Ayuba, Na'omi, Esta, Rahila, Deborah, Sama'ila.

There are also pictures of their new home on our compound.

Recently our guard passed away from Cancer.  He left behind is his wife and five young children.
When Maman, our guard, passed away he went to the village of his birth to die.  In this village, his wife was settled on the fact that she was going to remain there with her children.  While there was a small church there we saw no sign of schools.  In addition, she would be living in a M... compound which would be very difficult for her and her children.  This difficulty would be greatly enhanced because she would have no income sources.

We talked to the church pastor and a close national friend about her situation.  We spent time praying about her family and looking to God for a revelation.  That revelation came in the form of an invitation for her and her children to come live with us.

There is a two room guard house on our property with electricity and water access (something else lacking in her previous location).  We have spent the last two days doing repairs and renovations to the building to make it more comfortable.  There is actually a concrete porch and we were able to install a tarp over it to give addition protection from the sun.  The weather is getting hotter and wet season is coming to an end.

We know that this is a big move for us by adding to our "family" in this way but we could not stand the thought of what they would face in their future otherwise.

They will have plenty of opportunities for schooling for the children.  The mother used to make and sell food to earn income and she will have lots of opportunities to do the same here.  Also, she will not have to worry about paying for rent or any utilities.

Our prayer is that this family will be blessed through this opportunity and that they would have a safe future here.  More importantly, our hope is that in displaying love to them in this way, that they would see the love of Christ revealed in a prominent, practical way.

Today we await their arrival.  Pray for the settling in of this family.  Pray for all of us as we adjust to life together.

We do not do what God asks because we do what our human nature demands.

We do not delight in our faith and what God has done for us because we are too busy relishing our own needs.

We do not have, or do not hear, the glorious urging of the Holy Spirits cry to action, and that is why we do not pursue others to follow in Jesus.

If we truly felt the joy and love of our Savior and understood what He has done for us, why would we not be doing our best to share the gospel word?   Why would we want to see others suffer Heaven’s opposite?

Workers are needed in the harvest field.  Workers who so love the Word of God that they are willing to give of themselves to share that wonderous Word of God.  If you cannot go into the harvest field, then fervently pray for the Lord to send workers.

Blessing to all

Orest

 Matthew 9:35-38 (NIV)

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When we have the filling of the Holy Spirit it is so much easier to help those we see in need and to be obedient to the Word of God.

Pray for us as we anticipate taking on a new challenge in our ministry in Niger.  This new challenge will be in line with the quotes from Francis Chan and Corrie Ten Boom, and the following Biblical passage.

Deuteronomy 10:17-18 (NIV)

¹⁷ For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

Blessing to all

Orest

Alheri

 

What a joy!  A second little girl has been named after Grace. 

She was given the Hausa version of Grace which is Alheri. 

Grace is always called Alheri in Niger, never Grace.

It is a blessing to have two children named after Grace.

Psalm 118:24 New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁴ 

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.

September 2018

Here is a view from the roof of our house.  I needed to go up after rains to push water that has accumulated, otherwise we get more water in the house than we already have.

The second photo shows the empty lot next to our house.  Unfortunately, people were able to get into that lot and climb our wall to gain access to our place.  After some theft and vandalism we needed to install the razor wire security.  Always interesting to look at the walls, with the wire, and contemplate that the same thing encircles prison walls.

Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Blessings to all.  Be well.  Trust in the Lord always.  Be faithful and obedient to His teachings.

Orest

Orest has been enjoying teaching these young men English.
In one class, teaching counting, Orest dribbled a ball 25 times and counted.

The students were to duplicate his mighty feat. The student on his left in the picture did 25 and then added just one more dribble. Kind of a "anything you can do I can do better."

All in good fun.

This picture is just outside the classroom.