Our Grandson

The Biki

And his name is Samuel Michael.

There was a lot of people who attended.  Men sat outside the compound in the street.  The women sat in the compound and in the house.

After a message from the pastor the baby is named and the food is served in large communal platters and eaten by hand.  It was a glorious day.

 Sani standing at the entrance to their compound.

 Grace sat with Sara throughout the ceremony.  She said it was stifling hot inside.

Sara all dressed up for the day.  She is a beautiful daughter.

Sara and Sani very tired at the end of the day.  between them is cloth that was given as gifts.

Biki Prep

Biki preparation takes a lot of effort from a lot of people.  The Biki is the baby naming ceremony.

Apparently this was the largest Biki people could remember, which explains all the food.

 

This Past Week

Sara and the baby went home.  She has neighbors who come over every morning to prepare meals for the day for them.

The weather

Reading the weather for Galmi the other day it said 110 degrees - feels like 112 degrees.  All feels the same to me.
Someone took the temperature in the sun the other day, it was 123 degrees.  Now you know why no one spends time trying to get a tan.  One of the most common things left behind by missionaries is unused sunscreen.  Find the shade, find the cool wherever you can.

Updates

The other day Sara was hit by a motorcycle.  She was checked out by a doctor and she and the baby are fine.  She is just a bit stiff and sore.  We are grateful for her safety.

Not long ago Grace was taking a load on her bike when her bike basket just totally fell apart.  Fortunately, the shop was able to build her a newer and bigger one - out of rebar.  Should last a while, they even painted it blue.

 

I remember days in Canada when we would be driving in extremely cold situations and we could see people struggling to keep their windshields clear from frost.  They would be scraping the inside of the windshield while they drove.  The car could not get warm enough to keep the windshield free of frost.  The reverse is true in Niger.  We drove to Konni today and it was a really hot day.  The air conditioning in the vehicle could not keep out the heat.  Doesn't help when you have the intensity of the sun beating through your windshield.

This week at the CEG

The school rests on a forsaken hilltop that is blasted by hot winds and has no shelter from the penetrating sun.  The school yard is riddled with large stones.  There is no place for the students to run and play.  The school rooms are made of mud straw structures with a cement cover and some are covered with tin roof and some with corn stalk roofs.  Can you envision sitting in a classroom with a tin roof when the temperature hits 50 degrees.  Then add the dynamic of no desks and sitting on rocks or metal desk frames with no wood seats or tops.  The school has neither electricity nor water.   Not ideal conditions to teach or learn.

We are so happy that God has opened the door for us to get involved with this school and these people.  I get a chill down my spine seeing all the children thrilled about their new desks.  What a sight to actually see classrooms full and quality desks full of beautiful, smiling students.  Teachers are excited that the students have a decent place to work. 

52 new desks were completed in 2 days – wow – what an achievement.  Thank you so much to an Instructor and the students who came from Sahel school in Niamey.  They worked hard and fast and their efforts paid off in marvelous ways.  The teachers and students at the local public school – junior high school in Canadian terms – are also very grateful.

We have to mention that the parents have been involved and have rebuilt 2 classrooms with mud brick structures and corn stalk roofs.  This is a major investment on the part of these poor parents and demonstrates their desire to have their children get an education.

The work will continue as we endeavor to make the school a suitable facility for these students.  We have, for the most part repaired all the existing desks – some 80 of them, but they need more.  After all there are 512 students.  At this point we are having work done to build the metal frames for another 50 desks.  We will then attach the wood tops and seats.

As work was being done, C. a fellow Canadian, who works with the shop and maintenance and others shop workers, noticed other deficiencies in the classrooms.  The major one which was the demise of support beams for the roof structures due to termites.   We need to check on the cost and viability of replacing them with metal structures.  We are also getting broken doors and windows fixed. 

The lack of a flag pole at the school was a point of concern, and important identity marker.  This was a special request of the teachers since they were the only school without one, this is currently being remedied.   

We are very happy about this week’s accomplishments at the school and the excitement in the faces of the teachers and the students.  We hope that they are seeing the love of Christ through all of the people that are coming and serving and trying to make their work and their lives better.  Please pray for the teachers and the students and that there would continue to be improvements made to this facility. 

Thank you to all who have continued to support this effort through your prayers, work and financial support.

Blessings to all

Orest & Grace