Mission Accomplished

This house is so glad to have Daddy back at home! We accomplished a few missions over the last week and a half:

1. I survived 8 days of single parenting. Props to y'all that do this all the time. Whew! It gives me fresh perspective and gratitude for all that Geoff does for our family.

2. Geoff spent a lot of sweet time with Leila and in his words he "connected with her in a way he hadn't before." This made it very hard and emotional for him to leave. It was his hardest trip, he said.

3. God answered our seemingly impossible prayer (though "impossible" is not in His vocabulary)! After 3 trips to the embassy and a 5+ hour wait for Leila's 5 minute visit with a doctor, he was able to complete his portion of the medical exam as her parent. Normally this wouldn't happen without US immigration approval, which we are still waiting on. Our Niger friends have taken her to a few follow up appointments since Geoff left - today she tested negative for TB, and by next week we hope the doctor will submit our complete medical packet to the Embassy with his finding. Sweet Lord, we are close!

Keep those prayers coming. US Immigration is reviewing a huge new packet of evidence that we hope will be sufficient for them to approve a visa. 

And please also pray for Leila's health and for supernatural vitamins/minerals/etc! Geoff said she seemed to have more energy than when he saw her in November, but she is only 43 lbs. She is so little. With her English lessons 3 times a week she is getting meat and vitamins, so we know that will help. 

Final Trip Update

FINAL UPDATE | DEPARTING NIGER

WOW! This trip has been unbelievable. This morning we sat together to share about our experiences and what God has shown us in Niger. For sure, we will never be the same and our hope is that your life has been changed too, because of your partnership with us on this mission.

This afternoon we spent time worshiping God with the LINK™ Niger staff. What a blessing to sing and dance with our Christian brothers and sisters. 
 

Afterward, we shared our last official team devotion and a meal with the staff before packing to go home.
 

In a few hours we will return to our western lives. We will reconnect with our family and friends with excitement and a deeper love and with appreciation for their part in supporting us on this mission. We will also be returning home with bigger hearts because of newly acquired family and friends in Niger, Africa. God bless everyone who prayed for us during our time here. We hope you know the difference you made in the success of our mission!
 

 

** According to Air France, the team's flight has departed from Niamey. If you wish to track their flight, you may do so at Air France; Niamey to Paris (AF547) Paris to Washington DC (AF054). For your convenience, you may wish to consider using FlightTrack (this free smart phone app is available by clicking here). We will let you know once the team has arrived in the United States. 

Trip Update Five

LT24 DISCOVERY MISSION

SATURDAY

We went to see giraffes in their natural habitat and it was as if God shouted, loud and clear, "See Me in My creation."  These creatures were far more magnificent in a giant land mass than in a zoo. It was a long trip, but well worth it for the opportunity to get outside our everyday reality.
 

 

After a quick lunch and a short shopping experience, we went out to deliver a solar kit to a local church.  While there, we were able the share the gospel with 40 neighborhood kids and lead them in a prayer to begin following Christ.

The big tourist event for the day was a camel ride up giant sand dunes but first, a little detour on the way allowed us to walk through the streets of a Nigerien bush village. Words are inadequate to describe what we saw. We experienced an acceptance that seemed to say, "You're not what we thought."  We believe they felt the same from us. In the midst of this great poverty, there was a real community where no one seemed to be alone. Every face had a smile, every hand reached out to touch or be touched, and the children followed us all through the village. It was Africa just as one would imagine it. For many on the team, it was the high point of their day.

 

 

After the walk, we rode camels through the dunes where we stopped to have a memorial service for Denny Case*. Denny's life had been profoundly impacted by his time spent in Niger on several LINK™ missions. His wife, daughter, and son are part of our team and they brought his ashes with them to spread over the dunes.
 

It was a beautiful ceremony filled with loving words honoring Denny and worship to our great God. This will be a deeply touching memory to be cherished forever by all of us.
 

SUNDAY

Today began with a visit to a local church, where one of the LINK™ construction missions had built a roof years ago (Raise the Roof). For every previous traveler who said we would be blown away by the worship there, you were absolutely right. Such joy! Such freedom!
 

After lunch we went to CSEN Orphanage. The children were so happy to see us. We took them out to their property to see the progress on the construction of their new orphanage.
 

 

After a quick tour, we held a little kid's camp under a tree on the property. As the story of the little lost sheep was being told, four little shepherd boys came over and sat down to listen. These four boys also prayed with us to become followers of Jesus.
 

 

CHURCH REPAIR MISSION
SATURDAY

These past couple of days have been a whirlwind! Today we traveled out to the church the men's team had painted last November. The pastor is a wonderful man of God who's got a huge heart for his community. When we found out he had been targeted in the January protests, we knew we had to return to support him. When we arrived, he told us the story of how the demonstrators broke into his home, took all the possessions he had piled into the back corner of the church, and set them ablaze. When the men's team went there to paint in November, it was because he had been firebombed so this was the second time he has lost everything but the walls surrounding him. Still, his faith has not wavered. As we finished painting and began cleaning the equipment, Tommy sensed the Lord was leading him to step out and share the gospel with Ali, a Muslim who has been traveling with us all week to tint our paint. After Ali made a decision to follow Christ, the first words out of his mouth were that we needed to paint the cross on the outside of the church!
 

A few boys from the community came in and began singing and clapping and reciting John 1:1 (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) What a cool way to show thanks!
 

When we were finishing up, our five team members and Ali painted our hands and placed them on the outside of the church. Definitely a high moment for our team. 

On our way out to the dunes, we had an opportunity to walk through a village outside of Niamey and see what life is really like for the majority of this country. What a humbling experience.
 

SUNDAYWe attended church in what used to be an outdoor theater where Tommy, Kennie, and Denny* (see story above) had helped build a roof years ago as part of a LINK™ construction mission. This also happens to be the church where several LINK™ Niger staff attend. Their service is not for the faint of heart. The church prays with great fervency and a conga line even broke out in the middle of the exuberant singing. We happily joined in the ruckus. There are no words to explain the power of worship in a unfamiliar language, in a now familiar country, with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 
Afterward, we went to CSEN Orphanage. Directors Bernard & Josee and the children are such a joy! They took us to the site of the new orphanage to see the building currently under construction. God is providing a wonderful new home for these precious children and a place for the community to receive support and hear about the love of Jesus.

Our experiences this week have brought us together as family. We have partnered with God in so many amazing ways and He has shown us His majesty and splendor. Our prayer is that our transformation will last and produce fruit for years to come. Niger is not the same and neither are we. We are thankful for your support and prayers and we look forward to being with you all again soon.

Trip Update Four

LT24 DISCOVERY MISSION

THURSDAY
Where do we begin to try to communicate the joy that has been felt these past two days? It starts off at a school for the deaf where we watched as members of our team were able to pray for these students through sign language. 
 

At Banifandou School, we were swarmed by over 800 children from kindergarten through middle school. Banifandou has grown from 160 students in 2003 to over 1300 (including high school) today, due in large part to support from Schools for Niger, Africa (and Chick-fil-A). This is also one of the many schools damaged by the violence in January. Surprisingly, the school's director told us church attendance has been up since those attacks.
 

 

Before returning to REMAR Orphanage for some crafts with the kids, we stopped by to show our support to the construction team that traveled to Niger with us. 
 

We were able to make a few blocks as well as point out where they missed a few spots painting. :) Now we can say we actually helped the local church by working on their building.

 

FRIDAY

We began with a journey, over an hour away, to the Africa we usually think of and the religious people about which we hear more often. We visited a clinic for women and children which offered prenatal care and assisted childbirth to women living far out in the country. Most of the women walk to this facility, traveling miles to receive medical care or deliver a baby. Because of the clinic's high demand, these women are released to their own care only six hours after delivery. Incidentally, we learned culturally they are not permitted to receive any pain medicine or cry out during their labor and delivery. For many of these women, the care they receive in this clinic may be the only glimpse of Jesus they ever see.
 

 

This afternoon, the construction team joined us as we visited Good Samaritan Orphanage. As our vans pulled in, the children lined up to welcome us. They sang songs for us and the boys played soccer and the girls braided hair and painted finger nails. What a time we had playing together and loving these children. 
 

 

 

CHURCH REPAIR MISSION

THURSDAY
Our second and third days of church repair were just as inspiring as the first. Once Paul (LiveTen24 Niger Project Director) realized we had completed two churches on the first day, he upped the ante and told us we were going for three churches on day two. 
 

 

We loaded our equipment and headed down those wonderful, dusty roads of Niamey. We had a few complications with the paint sprayers and the repairs required utilizing the epitome of teamwork. 
 

We had American, English speaking guys attempting to repair paint sprayers with Nigerien, French speaking guys who have never worked with this kind of equipment. With smiling faces and waving hands, we were able to get them up and running. No language barrier or unfamiliar machinery was enough to stop the work that God wanted accomplished for that day. We were able to paint the first two churches in rapid succession and headed for the third. The walls of the third church just seemed to soak in the paint as we sprayed it on. We discovered the most beautiful part of painting these churches isn't the freshly painted walls which make the church glow, but the prayers we have the privilege of praying with the pastors and their families before we leave. That's what restores hope. We know the pastors appreciate the work, but, for us, knowing they are doing God's will in the face of opposition and that these pastors are not shaken, has been an inspiration for how we should live out our faith back home. 
 

FRIDAY
We began our third day by returning to the church where all the paint got sucked into the walls. While men were outside making mortar blocks to expand the church facilities, we finished the painting. We moved on to the next church where the congregation had already primed the walls. We got right to work, two man teams switching off on the sprayers while our LINK™ Niger co-workers, Paul and Edouard, rolled out any runs in the paint. We finished early and were able to accompany the LT24 Discovery team to the Good Samaritan Orphanage. 
 

 

There are no words to describe the simple joy of demonstrating love to these children, even though they aren't our own. We spent four hours with them and it was simply a blessing.

Our prayer is that the churches we have helped will teach future church leaders in Niger and that God would multiply their efforts.

Trip Update Three

WEDNESDAY 
LT24 DISCOVERY MISSION
Words cannot describe the love of the Nigerien people. Our experiences today began in MGD day care. There we were blessed with the opportunity to do crafts with the children and help take care of their daily needs. 

Afterward, on the way back to the LOC, we stopped in at a Sara Mission, a sewing school for women. This school's mission is to sow the word of Christ into the students while teaching the life skills of sewing and embroidering. 

After lunch we headed out to visit two schools supported by The LINK™, throughLiveTen24. 

Unlike back home, where roads are well-defined and maintained, the roads in Niger are often just tire tracks in the sand. On our way to one of the schools, we encountered one such sand trail. Our van sank right up to the chassis. 

In just a few minutes a little boy from across the street came over with a board for traction and six adult men. They took over the vehicle rescue, sent us off to walk to our destination, and delivered our truck to us about a half hour later. 

The next stop was REMAR orphanage which is self- sustaining, using solar power for electricity, drawing water from their own well and providing most of their food through amazing gardens. 

We traveled 6000 miles to one of the poorest countries in the world to see a 21st century farm...all under the guidance and care of our great God. How amazing is His love for all of His children.

CHURCH REPAIR MISSION
It is great to be serving an unshakable God. The church repair team set out this morning and arrived on site to a disturbing scene. When we opened the gates of the wall surrounding the church, we noticed some gashes in the gates. We were informed the February protesters, who burned many churches in Niger, used machetes, axes, and whatever other tools they could find to gain access to the church. Once inside the gates, we saw the true extent of the damage. The pastor's home had been destroyed and will need to be torn down and rebuilt. Inside the church, burned bible pages littered the ground. 

There were holes in the windows and roof, the purpose of which, we learned, was to fuel the fire with more oxygen. 

As we prayed with the pastor and his wife, Tommy reminded us of Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."  

As those words resonated, we got right to work. With the generator running and both paint sprayers roaring, we were able to finish ahead of schedule. 

When the pastor returned and saw the church, he had the biggest smile on his face. We heard him mention that this was miracle work, We don't know if it was truly a miracle but we do know God is alive and well in Niger and these dedicated pastors and their families are living proof. Originally, we had only one church to paint on our schedule today, but obviously no one got the memo we had brought two secret weapons (Tommy and Kennie) and we were able to complete the painting of two churches.

There was a lot of laughter, a lot of ribbing, and a few tears. We count the biggest blessing of the day as being able to serve God and our brothers and sisters.

From all of us on the 79th LINK™ Mission, we want to say thank you for your support and most of all, for your prayers.