Let's play catch up!

Well, it amazing how time flies by! It has been a challenge at times to get internet access. It has also been a very African experience so far. I will try to catch you up to date as best I can, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll probably just post a few.

The flights over went VERY well. The children slept, we made all of our connections, and all of our luggage arrived with us! Thank you for all of your prayers. Samuel and Rachel have adjusted well to our new environment. Rachel loves to point to things and babble as we drive around. Samuel is particularly interested in camels--they carry lots of stuff here! Rachel is often mistaken for a boy, as her ears are not pierced. She charms most everyone she meets, and gets bananas and tangerines from the local food vendor.

We have been busy purchasing things to take out to Galmi with us. We are having our furniture made, and I've purchased enough curtain material to keep me sewing well into 2009! We have finally tracked down (after 7 weeks!) air coolers (evaporative cooling system)! We are still searching for a vehicle to suit our purposes, and may end up leaving for Galmi without one. It can take a VERY long time to get anything done.

The children are well, although we've had several bouts with illness. Samuel had the flu, and has been treated with a different antibiotic for a very slowly resolving pneumonia that he got at the end of October. Rachel has already had malaria, despite being the only one sleeping under a mosquito net. We are very thankful that she has fully recovered, and that it wasn't a kidney infection, which is what we thought it was at first.

Samuel is having a grand time playing here in Niger. Unfortunately, it means more laundry for Deb, and without the wonderful stain fighting capabilities of "home". As he is insistent upon wearing socks with his sandals, they often prove to be an especially difficult challenge.

We have been attending the local Tamajeq church, and Alan has already begun learning Tamajeq with one of the men who is helping to translate the Bible into Tamajeq. We leave soon for Galmi, and expect that the language learning will begin in earnest for Alan after that. Deb is trying to stick to French here in Niamey, and trying to bring back some of the Hausa to the front of her brain, as that will be the language she will need to use more once in Galmi. Unfortunately, Alan seems to be doing better with the Hausa than Deb at the present moment.

We are looking forward to settling in our more permanent place in just a few short weeks. Our goal is to be in Galmi by mid-January. Many things need to fall into place before then--big and small. On Saturday, the 5th of January we will be attending the annual spiritual life conference here in Niamey. It will be a good opportunity to reconnect with missionaries from the other areas of the country, as well as receive a spiritual blessing.