A well driller arrived at the house on June 10 with plans to drill 100 meters deep.  He still has not reached that depth because of various maladies with his equipment.  We have been 2 months and 10 days without water. On July 4 we had from the city water for 1 hour.  We were able to get water into the reservoir tank, amount unknown, since the tank is black and has no measuring device. On July 8, we had another hour of water from the city.  Well diggers still have not attained 100 meters.

Mama A’i has abdominal cancer, she has had surgery in Niamey and is currently receiving chemotherapy.  This is Saratou's maternal grandmother and a wonderful Christian woman.  Please pray for her. 

Pray that disciple classes in the local churches will strengthen the body of Christ.

Pray for our friendship and support of a local pastor’s family.  They face extraordinary challenges in their service, not just from outside forces, but from within their peer group.  They are deeply committed to operating with integrity and in obedience to God in all matters.

Sani and Samuel came and spent 10 days with us.  We had a great time.  We introduced Samuel to the washbasin pool.  What a delightfully bright child!  He has a very extensive vocabulary, and seems to learn very quickly.

Rain:  The first rain was early in June. Then no further rains in Maradi until this past weekend.  Saturday night we had a 4-hour rain.  We have never seen the likes of it before in Niger.  Rains generally last 1 hour, coming hard and fast.   The rain left us with some mop ups around the house.  Window systems could not handle the volume and spilt over into the house.  Entrances also could not manage the rain.  We are learning the uniquenesses of the house and adjusting.

The generator was purchased so there will be no more 3 days without power, creating a fridge and freezer crisis.  A very nice knowledgeable local friend came in and changed some of the wiring and lights in the house

Surprise, Grace has been writing Hausa children’s stories.  We purchased some plastic molded animals for Samuel's toy box here.  Because toys like this are not part of their normal experience she thought it would be nice to write some stories about each animal to help him understand what the animal is and general interesting child facts.  She was hoping this would also help give him the idea he can create his own stories for the animals.  We will wait and see. 

This has also become a language learning exercise with our language helper.  At first she did not get it, but now after 10 stories she is getting the process.  One of the first stories I wrote was about the camel that belonged to Souley's family and carried things on his back to take to market each week.  She struggled with why I would say he carried the things on his back, it was obvious to her that the camel did not carry it on his head or tail, everyone knew that.  Now she is understanding the concept and encouraging Grace to continue and publish so other Hausa children can enjoy the stories.  Currently, there are no books of this nature available in that language.  It had started as a love gift to Samuel and gives her great pleasure in the process and is a rich learning exercise

Interesting new development at the women’s prison. One of the team members, upon request from the ladies, has started literacy classes with the women.  They are eager, willing participants.  We hope this will be the beginning of literacy learning and the appreciation of education.  The literacy is being done in Hausa, not French, since these woman are Hausa speakers.  

Blessings to all,
Orest and Grace Pelech

Mailing address: B.P. 121, Maradi, Republic de Niger, West Africa
Canadian mailing address:
721 Swailes Avenue, Winnipeg, MB  R2V 4N6