Africa, Day Three

As the chills set in overnight, Chuck sure thought malaria had come with them...silly banker! Malara won't set in for at least 10 more days so give it time! The overnight temperature is still warmer than at home but at 55 the room became quite cool. Our thin sheet and blanket were not quite enough, but the daytime high warms up quickly.

Welcome to the desert!

At 530 this morning we heard a loud siren alerting the community that it was prayer time. I confess that I went to sleep until the alarm went off and then I prayed to the One True God. We heard it again at noon and I kept eating my cheesburger and fries at the American Rec Center which is a part of the Embassy.

We orientated this morning and then went shopping. Now, I can't tell you what we bought because you might spoil the surprise...but it is cool! We went to a set of shops that were both inside and outside. The inside had taped on prices that are the "bottom line" price. If you go outside you can haggle to your heart's content...not that all of us enjoy the process...the whole guys and shopping thing I guess.

We bought groceries from a young man you will see int he scrapbook. He is a fine young man dressed in the traditional robe. We bought our vegetables for the next couple of days and then went next door to a store to buy other items. The guy in the store is an Arabian who goes by the name of Cobra due to the tattoo on his arm. He runs a tight ship and I am glad he is not my boss.

After the lunch I mentioned earlier. You know, the glorious American lunch of cheeseburgers and fries, onion rings and milkshakes. One of the items is a Niamey Burger: a double-patty-lettuce-tomato-cheese-special sauce on a bun burger. We then came back to go over interpretations and village customs. While doing we discovered a man who needed help. He knew when to return and we set up "shop". Pete was as happy and a kid in a candy store. After 27 hours of travel, bad night sleep, discussion and shopping, He got to do what he came for and that is to help people. God has really given him a gift and he is proudly using it to God's glory and the growth of the Kingdom. I can't say that his lovely assistants are worth shooting, but he is good. After that one was finished another worker at the mission center asked if we could help him and Pete enjoyed that as well. In this way we could establish protocol for working and sanitation

We ate a home-cooked african meal tonight: vegetables and rice with meat. This meal was a wonderful treat for our senses. In Niger it is considered impolite to use your left hand for anything other than hygiene. During supper we were all feeling sorry for the left-handed one so we ate left-handed while he ate right-handed. Some called it sympathy, others called it sarcasm as we laughed and enjoyed a meal together.

The rest of the evening we spent emailing and packing up for our first trip tomorrow.

Here is a scrapbook of today's fun...

Make a Smilebox photobook