Please read our posts below from the days we had no internet connection. Also, you'll be happy to know that we're all back to the States safe and sound. Thank you again for your prayers and support!
Saturday, October 16th
The trip to the Oukafounou village!
The adventure began first thing in the morning with a 2 ½
hour drive out to the village.
We arrived at the village, after a 20 minute off-road
experience through the millet and maize fields, to a lively worship service of
dancing and singing – the music of Africa worshipers is truly amazing – all
acapella. The service was so much
fun – great to see them worshiping the same God in a completely different
language that none of us could understand (the native village language). Brian had the honor of sharing the
message during the service. With
two people translating the message (one from English to French, the next from
French to the village language), he was able to share the story of the prodigal
son about our loving God who longs for his lost children. At one point, the French translator got
so excited, it was clear he added some to Brian’s story and we all basked in
the joy that he exuded. Clearly
this Christian community is full of life.
As Brian shared, this is a taste of heaven.
After the service, we began the clinic. The village chief had given out tickets
in advance for those individuals who were sick so that we weren’t inundated with
mild cases and were able to address the more severe maladies. With Dr. Mark, Ashley, Lisa, Cheryl,
and Maureen (a nurse from the Cure hospital), we were able to see and treat all
those with tickets. There was
everything from Malaria to an open wound, a woman with a tumor in her stomach
to potential TB, quite a variety and the medical professionals handled it all
really well (in the midst of organized chaos).
I had the opportunity to work in the pharmacy – filling the
prescriptions that the doctor gave and making sure – again through two
interpreters that they understood how they were to take the medicine. We pray that our God who heals will
continue the healing that was started yesterday.
We left the village about 5:30 and drove back, ultimately in
the dark, to Niamey. The drive
back was uneventful, other than dodging the donkey carts in the dark, until one
of the cars broke down. Our
caravan stopped and the men all gathered and fiddled with the engine and
eventually were able to get it started again! Arriving back at the Seminary about 9:00, we had a lovely
dinner (I must say, every meal is truly a treat – I’m never sure when it comes
out what it will taste like, but when I take the first bite, it is always a
delightful surprise of flavors).
We even had a chocolate cake with whipping cream and chocolate shavings
for dessert – quite a treat.
Although it was a very full day, the joy of being able to
help some of these families at the village and to see God’s delightful work in
many lives made up for the heat and challenge of doing the clinic in the
bush. I am so thankful for the
opportunity to experience this adventure and to see what God is doing
here.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement – it is
felt and our team has blended so well – an answer to prayer.
-Leigh Thursday, October 20th
Dear Family and Friends:
With only one day remaining until we depart Niamey, our
hearts are filled with the images and sounds of children, pastors, teammates
and the bustle of this city imprinted forever. We are thankful for our days
here and look forward to tomorrow and the opportunity to bring our medical team
to a community site.
Today we did finish with medical exams at Peniel School as
well as the sponsor cards for each student. Games continued on the grounds and tooth-brushing lessons
were energetically presented, too. The staff at Peniel bid us farewell and we
shook hands, and thanked each other before driving out of the gate one last
time for this trip.
Thank you for praying for us, especially as we worked
together as a new team. Truly we feel the blessing and delight of the Lord as
we prepare to leave tomorrow night. Please do continue to pray for those on the
team who will continue on to another city in West Africa on Saturday morning.
-Maureen
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