The second is that with the kids,
there’s so much you want them to have that simply isn’t
available in Niger or, if it is there, is of poor quality or terribly
expensive (due to tariffs of 39 percent). Our problem was somewhat
compounded because our two children were under the age of 2 and
thus were “lap babies” with no tickets and ineligible
for their own luggage. We ended up packing two suitcases for each
of us, including the girls, which meant paying excess baggage,
but we were able to get most of what we wanted for them (along
with two laptop computers, a printer, and a fax machine).
One thing we wanted to squeeze in before leaving for Niger was
the baptism of our two daughters. The church in Niger doesn’t
do infant baptisms, just dedications. Therefore, we wanted both
of our daughters baptized while in America. With presentations
at a different church each weekend, this wasn’t so easy
to schedule. Since my parents’ church in Leighton, Iowa,
was without a pastor, we didn’t know if we would be able
to get the job done! Where there’s a will, there’s
always a way, and we found out that an elder could conduct this
sacrament. My dad, who’s an ordained elder, was able to
perform the ceremony, perhaps the first time a non-pastor had
baptized at Ebenezer Reformed in Leighton, Iowa!
Our flights between Des Moines and Niamey took about 20 hours,
although the whole travel process from leaving home in Oskaloosa
to arriving at Aichatou’s sister’s house in Niamey
made it about a 24-hour ordeal. The girls were very good on the
flights, and we didn’t experience anything other than the
normal challenges of having small children (unexpected spit-ups,
dirty diapers minutes before boarding begins, a hungry girl who
had refused to eat at mealtime, etc). When we arrived in Niamey,
we were greeted by Aïchatou’s sister and her new husband,
Aichatou’s brother’s family, Usman (my assistant),
and the new pastor of the Niamey church.
We’ve spent the past week getting settled. We’re
staying with Aichatou’s sister until we find a house, which
will hopefully happen in the next week. It has taken a while to
overcome jetlag, particularly because the kids were waking up
at 2:00 a.m. and were both ready to go. The last two nights have
been much quieter, however, and I think we are getting closer
to a routine.
It is good to be back. We’re really surprised how much
has changed in the last five months. Not only have several infrastructure
projects been completed in the capital because of last December’s
Francophonie (a French-speaking gathering), but there were several
positive changes within our partner church. Also, we’re
joined this time with a new colleague, Kara VanderKamp, a Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) missionary with responsibilities in education.
She’ll be working with the Nigerien Church to advance their
education ministries. We are really looking forward to working
with her!
Prayers and praises
- Give thanks for the safe trip back to Niger (and that all
our luggage arrived with us!). We are thankful for the time
we had in America.
- Pray that we’ll find the right kind of housing for our
family and our ministry in the near future.
- Pray for Aichatou’s clinical rotations. She’s
been told she needs to start on Monday to finish her maternity
rotation! We need to juggle babysitting, transportation, and
many other details!
- Tom got word that he will likely need special permission from
a dean to continue with his Ph.D. since a new policy (the dissertation
should be done within three years of the comprehensive examinations)
was adopted while he was in Niger. Had Tom adhered to that timeline,
he would have had to finish in 2004, so now his only hope is
that he can be grandfathered in under the old policy (no fixed
deadline).
- Pray for our reintegration into Nigerien life!
Tom
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 314
|
