more catch up!

Joshua (aka Gibbo) helping to weed out the softball field
The kids showing off their new pillowcases
A friend in Indiana custom made personalized pillowcases for each of the kids.
Dae Yoen turned 11 in September.
Aunt Janice and the middleschool girls
oops this picture was taken five months ago... showing the kids doing chores
photo scavenger hunt in the marché... this is the peanut butter lady.
Uncle Tim and his Blessing
Blessing's new do... from the front
and from the side.

Spencer is helping to make cookies for the Senior Shack fundraiser.
Spencer shaved his head into a fashion statement for ''back to the future" day.
During the Fall break we took the Benin kids down to Parakou and stayed the week, eating our meals with Neil and Lisa Sim and their three kids... it was fun to see the kids on their own turf.
Mikaylah and her classmates celebrating Cowboy Day
Mi Yoen was Jean d'arc... aka Joan of Ark for Medieval day

catch up... three months worth...ooops!

We hit the road running, sorry we are so far behind.. so I will just post a few pictures from the last three months...

He's baaaack!

The children were so excited to have their daddy back.. Mikaylah had her hair braided for the occasion! Chris and Diane Marine picked us up at the dorm in the BIG truck. Jayson was SO excited he couldn't contain himself. We left for the airport at 3:30. The flight from Paris was supposed to arrive at 3:30. It arrived at 4:01. Tim's luggage was the last off the plane. The powers that be at the airport must have thought that our six and three year old children were somehow dangerous since they would not let us into the airport, so we took many trips around the very hot and sunny parking lot waiting for Daddy. Finally Aunt Diane took the kids back to the big truck while Mama and Uncle Chris waited until 5:20 for Tim to finally emerge from the airport!! WE were SO happy to see him!  And yes, Jayson is wearing one of those sleeping aids from airFrance!  ha ha!

Just Imagine!

Wow can it be 28 days since I blogged, or more precisely, 28 days since my Husband Tim has been gone! God is faithful! Tim's step-father passed away a couple of months ago and so when school was out Tim went to Oskaloosa Iowa to be with his mom. Our supporting church in Toronto, Ontario provided the funds needed to make the trip. God is faithful! even when we have little faith, we really did not think it would be possible, but God proved us wrong.
During the past month Tim was able to pack up his mom, sell her house and get her to Michigan where two of Tim's sisters will be close by. He is Faithful to do more than we could ever imagine!! On Thursday, July 8, Mikaylah and Jayson will go to the airport to meet their daddy. It has been a long month, but we are imagining the reunion to be sweet! He has been faithful to us here in Niamey. We are all in one piece and ready to be reunited!! If seeing our earthly father after one month can be this sweet, just imagine what that reunion will be like one day in our heavenly home with our heavenly Father!!
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Paul's letter to the Ephesians, the last two verses of the third chapter.

Graduation 2010

We graduated seven young people this year.  Three girls and four guys. Three Americans, two Koreans, one Beninese and one Chadian/American. One whose parents work in Cote d'Ivoire, one from Ghana, one from Benin, three from Niger and one from Timbuktou, Mali.  Four from our dorm, one from a hostel home and two who lived with their own parents.  They are going to Canada, Sweden and the United States for further studies.  They are only 17 and 18 years old but they have already experienced more than most people their age.  They have lived through many transitions and have many more to come.  Please pray for these precious young people as they leave the comfort of the known for the unknown.

 

Is this Heaven?

Our Four Graduates: Ha Yoen, Rebekah, Joon Hyuk and Rufus

We took our four dorm kids who are graduating out for Supper on Wednesday night to give them our gifts and parting words of wisdom.
We are so proud of them and yet anxious at the same time for the HUGE transitions they will have to make.  We are confident that The Lord will not abandon them even when they feel scared, that HE will always know where to go when they feel lost, and His love never fails, even when they are far from home and loved ones.  Please pray for these four when you think of it.  We love them very much and it will be a difficult transition for us as well!

"heaven means never having to say good-bye"  ah yes, that will be heaven indeed!

Bunch of Dorm kids

What a great bunch of kids eh? Left to right they are Front row: Mikaylah and Uncle Tim.

Second row: Zeb, Bethany, Nathanael, Hannah, Blessing crouching down, MiYoen, Mikaela, Rebekah and Deborah holding Jayson... back row, Aunt Janice, Asyncrite, Joshua, Elisheva, John Thar, Rufus, JoonHyuk, and HaYoen.

The Teagues invited all of us for Tacos!!  What a Blessing!

Rain!

Back up to April 26. Tim took the time to tell the kids that if the first rain happened in the evening we would tell them whether or not they would be able to play in it (depending on the intensity of the rain and the hour of the evening) and what to do (i.e. clean up before coming back in the dorm, etc.). We really thought we had another month or so before it would rain, and Tim had the kids guess dates when they thought the first rain would come. We had each child in order of age (oldest to youngest) choose a date. We told them that if their day won, they would get a milkshake and fries at the rec. The first day was April 29 and the last day chosen was May 30 (except that Tim chose June 1 and I chose June 2). After everyone chose their date I remarked to Tim that our own children never chose a date so Tim penciled them in on May 3rd and fourth because no one else chose those dates.
About 9:30 on Monday May 3rd the thunder and lightening gave way to RAIN!! Buckets of rain!! Mikaylah and Jayson were sleeping, but the little girls, (who had been in bed for an hour already) were begging to go out and play! Of course we all went out to play in the rain!! A rite of passage for most reveling in the arrival of rainy season! At about 11pm we herded them back in as the rain petered out and drank hot chocolate to warm them up again before falling into a contented sleep!
By the way, Jayson got his milkshake and fries at the rec on Tuesday! Rufus doesn't know it yet, but since his day, May 5, was closest (of the dorm kids) he will get his just rewards too!

Pirate Day

Since today was pirate day Jayson wanted to enter into the fray!  Here are a few pics of our kids all dressed up.

Arggg!  I Be John Thar!
Blessing, Mikaylah and Hannah in their finery

Jayson and Aunt Cathy Bliss in the library

Life is an adventure!

Mikaylah was overheard explaining to one of her classmates, "all my dorm kids are back!"... Finally on Thursday night we were a complete dorm family again. Thank you for those who prayed for Ha Yoen and Mi Yoen's return. All of our dorm kids returned to the dorm for the fourth quarter of the school year on Monday, April 5. All except our two from Ghana. Since their car broke down they had to be towed to a town close to the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso. Eventually they were towed back to their home town, then they took a bus the next morning to the border, then borrowed a car to the capital of Burkina Faso where they got on a plane which brought them to Niamey in time for supper Thursday night! Phew! Makes me tired just talking about it! Ha Yoen's words about it were "It was an adventure!" It was a reminder to us how God takes such fantastic care of His children!

Counting our Blessings

Well it is April... the last quarter of the school year always seems to FLY by... someone told me that there is only 47 school days left! Wow! Hard to believe that our four seniors will be leaving!! All four of them will be going to university in the United States, but only one of them is actually American! It is wild to think that we only have nine weeks left with them to make sure they are truly ready!! NOT... ENOUGH... TIME !!!!
Of course they are all chomping on the bit. We are so blessed to have such great kids! Please pray for them as their last year of high school winds down and life as they know it changes DRASTICALLY!!!


Ha Yoen J.



Rufus J D.

Joon Hyuk K.

Rebekah H. (on the left, her sister D is in the green)