Bath Time

Yes, bath time at our house for Samuel.

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.