Arrival in Niger

Well, we are now back in Niger.  Welcome to the warm!!!!

Speaking of warm it was amazing to meet our family again.  What a blessing to have this wonderful family to greet us when we came to Niamey.  We are currently staying in a SIM house in Niamey with Sani, Sara and Samuel.  It is taking some time but Samuel is warming up to us again.  He really is an energy buster, especially in this heat.  Sara has been inviting family and friends over to the house so we have been very busy. 

On our way to Maradi we will stop in at Galmi for a couple of days to meet and greet people.  We have dinners lined up with the mission community and Sara has a meal lined up for us in the village. 

We are having a wonderful time but it has also been taxing as we try to adjust our bodies to jet lag and to the heat.  We have had some trouble getting into a proper sleeping pattern.

We have been so blessed that we received funds to purchase a vehicle in Niger.  With the funds we bought a 2003 Toyota Rav4.  The paperwork (customs, police check, registration, etc.) took about 3 days to complete but we feel that the vehicle actually adds a level of security to our lives in Niger.  The funds will also allow us to purchase a generator which will be important as there are frequent power outages and some can be quite lengthy as in days.  This will allow the fridge and freezer to continue to operate without losing their contents.

While Sani left early to return to work in Galmi, Sara is staying with us with Samuel and will return with us to Galmi.  When we were leaving Canada we spent several weeks working out at the YMCA to get ourselves more active and able to deal with our ministry.  When we told Sara about this her reply was that we should not worry because Samuel liked to play - a lot.  She was right.  The little guy can keep you going.  Who needs a gym!!!!

We are looking forward to getting to Maradi and starting Hausa language training.  We can honestly say that when we arrived, despite the temperature change, our reaction was - this is comfortable, this is where we belong. 

We just wanted to send this quick note to let you all know that we have made it safely to Niger.  They checked everyone at the airport medically to ensure there was no Ebola.  The country seems to have had a good rainy season and crops were good so we praise God for this blessing.  With the rain, however, there is lots of malaria so please pray for the people and the medical workers involved in dealing with this.

Thank you all for blessing us with your support.  Please continue to pray as we venture forth into our new life and work in Maradi.

Blessings,
Orest & Grace Pelech