Christmas in Rennes

It is just starting to sink in that we are indeed celebrating Christmas in France, with Melissa, and with Andrew, Lindsay and Erika.  What a gift from God!  Lindsay and Erika arrived a few days earlier than the rest of us; Tom and I and Andrew(from Minneapolis) arrived at the airport on Saturday morning, the 24th, and then took the fast train to Rennes.  The girls were waiting for us at the train station.  What a reunion!  To be all together for a week...a dream come true.
 
After catching up on the first round of news and making a few Christmas goodies, we went to downtown Rennes to see the Christmas market.  Crepes with nutella were the top choice.  

Donna, thanks for the yummy peppernuts.  I love sitting down with a cup of hot tea and dunking my peppernuts.

Thanks for your prayers as we traveled.  We have celebrated together God's tender mercies.

Old Home Week

We have just arrived home from a week in Togo, a small country in West Africa, for a conference grouping the staff in Francophone Africa.  We have been in this area of Africa since 1987 (24 years); long enough to have made many dear friends. Some we've seen more often than others.

As we walked around the room on Tuesday morning shaking hands and kissing the cheeks of precious friends, I had tears running down my face.  Many of these dear, dear friends have suffered through civil war in their countries or are currently dealing with serious health issues and don't have the means to get proper help.  They know what it is to live without.   There was the noticeable absence of  those who had gone to be with the Lord or, in a few heart-rending cases, are no longer walking with the Lord.  I know the pictures will mean very little to most of you readers, but I wanted our children to see some of those dear friends who played an important part in their growing up, friends who spent many hours in our home and in so doing, built in them a love for Africa and it's people that is deeply embedded in their hearts.

Djas and Cosette are from Chad.   We were at their wedding 13 years ago.  Djas also visited our parents' farms in Kansas a number of years ago. Tom has frequently been with them in Chad.  We count them as some of our very dearest friends.  Their love and commitment to the Lord is astounding as they work in a very difficult country and Djas suffers from some very serious health issues.


Hey, kids.  Do you remember this lady?  We arrived on Monday afternoon in Togo at the little hotel we were assigned to and who should walk out of the door but Marceline!  She was such a part of our family all of our years in Bangui.  That's been a long time ago and I hadn't seen her since.  She remembers so many funny things about the kids, especially Andrew's reaction at Erika's birth!  "Another girl?  I don't want her.  I don't like her!  We were supposed to have a boy for me."  Remember when she showed up the night we were to leave for our first furlough and spent the night on the living room floor...because that's what good friends do in their culture!

We were unprepared to see Abel, as he was not going to be able to come, but at the last moment, someone helped him buy a plane ticket. His diabetes has taken it's toll on his body and the 48 hour bus ride would have been too much.  What a dear, dear friend since Bangui days.   With deep emotion, he said, "thanks for coming back to Francophone and suffering along with us."

Of course, we loved re-connecting with our staff in Burkina Faso.  Tom gets to talkin' with those guys and the guffaws can be heard from a long way off!

 The last day was picture taking day and hats were all the rage.  Aren't they just charming?

Now for the fashion statement of the conference:  we, the women from Niger, decided to wear the national costume from the city of Agadez, Niger.   I have never been dressed in sequins before and felt quite angelic! The photo doesn't begin to show how we glittered.

Nest Building

Three countries.
Three homes.
Three sets of living room furniture.
Three sets of sofa cushions.




Tom ordered our living room furniture last June when he was here so it would be completed by the time we arrived.  It was finished and stacked at the carpenter's workplace when we arrived in October and stayed there until we found our house.  I thought you might want to see his carpentry shop.

Then the great day came when we were ready for the furniture to be delivered.

Then my work began.  The couch and living room chairs needed foam cut to size and fabric chosen for covering them.  The foam cutting was the easy part (the factory did that) and Tom picked it up in a taxi.)  I looked in the two fabricstores several times before I finally found one that had enough fabric on the bolt for my job.  As you can see, it's not easy rummaging through the bolts that are stacked on top of each other.

The final choice was made and the fabric was measured and cut.

I had hoped to sew them myself but realized the job was a bit too big for my lower end sewing skills so found a tailor who did a magnificent job... and all with a treadle machine

 Our African friends often say:  "Little by little a bird makes his nest!"   Slowly, little by little our house is becoming a home.  Next is curtains... more fabric shopping...

I'm not Julia Child!

I love the movie "Julie and Julia".  I got it for Christmas last year and Lindsay and I watched it again the other night on my computer.  Both of the women loved to cook and I could almost smell the Boeuf Bourguignon as it was cooking on the screen.  I wish smells like that were emanating from my kitchen, but alas, I haven't as yet arrived.  I was momentarily inspired and googled the recipe but it said the difficulty level was "difficult", so I will settle for boiling my chicken bones from Thanksgiving in hopes they will give enough tasty broth for noodle soup.

One of the challenges for me in moving to a new place is learning to shop in new places and cook with new and local ingredients as well as with a different kind of stove.  This always takes a while to master and in the meantime we eat baguettes plain, baguettes with butter, baguettes with tuna, baguettes with cheese and more baguettes (local bread).  

I find it fascinating to shop--even though I can't coupon--because I love discovering what is available.  Because Niger is mostly desert, a lot of the fresh vegetables and fruit are imported, even what is sold on the streets.  I'm told that January and February, the cooler months, are the prime months for buying locally raised fruits and vegetables and stocking up on them for the 10 months to come.  I'm excited to see what will be available then.  For now, grocery shopping involves learning which stores carry what, which open markets are the best for vegetables and fruits and then keeping my eyes open for interesting items along the street.  I had a great guide my first week here -- she knew where everything was.  When I can't find something I give her a call!   (Thanks, Kimberly).   Here is a glimpse of shopping Niger-style: 

         Lining the streets are wheelbarrows filled with seasonal vegetables.  Bartering is a way of life. 

Last week Saratou (staff friend) and I taxied down at 6:15 am (it was pitch dark) to find fresh produce bargains as that is the time of day the gardeners bring their produce in to sell to the "middleman".  We had a good time, even if it was difficult to tell the difference between a cucumber and a zucchini in the dark!  Saratou was a bit frustrated because she couldn't get rock-bottom prices due to the fact that she had a white woman in tow.

The women sell fresh peanut butter and greens.

 Sometimes the pickins' are a bit sparse...but I did find fresh ginger.

Imported fruit from neighboring countries are sold by the kilogram at the crossroads close to our home.

             Our noses always let us know when we are close to this outdoor stand.

Every neighborhood has a local boutique with the necessities for sale:  tomato paste, oil and a few other items.

I love shopping here as I can stand in one spot and see everything in the store.  I get my flour and sugar here (if it smells fresh) since it is just a hop and a skip from our house.

 There are several BIG grocery stores in town.  About the size of a Walgreens or gas station store or even smaller.  They have a lot of the same items but each carries somethings that the others don't.  I just found out that Talit's carries cocoa powder.  Yeah, for Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes!

In Honor of my Favorite Son

Happy Birthday to you, Andrew!  In honor of your 25 years I listed 25 sweet memories I have of you.  Here goes:  

1.  You were such a beautiful dark-haired chubby baby.  I loved you from the start! 
2.  You were so content to lay in your little basket and look around.  You slept through the night early on so I could continue in language study in France and our landlords were so thankful that THEY could sleep as well since their bedroom was underneath ours.
3.  You loved coloring flags with Clement on the terrace.  The "F" encyclopedia was the most worn book of the set. 

4.  You and your yellow blankie that always made your thumb go into your mouth. 
5.   We tried every means we could think of to get rid of your thumb sucking.  Nothing worked until you decided yourself to quit!
 6.  Going on trips with your dad--and Abel--"what town is this, Daddy".  Abel said you talked the entire trip.
7.  You were such good friends with our African staff and students.  They all loved you. You even formed your own airplane company with Norbert.
8.  You would sit with your head cocked, listening intently. 
9.  You had such beautiful blue eyes and blond hair. 
10.  All those softball games in the backyard-- "imaginary man on first!!" 
11.  You were the star of the class in 4th grade when you knew all the states and capitals. 
12.  Your French teacher gave up on trying to improve your handwriting, saying that she was glad for your sake that typewriters had been invented!

13.  Homeschooling.  I loved teaching you...except for the dawdling over those math assignments!  
14. You have always loved history.  You could remember so many facts and correct me when I got them wrong.
15.  Sending you in the bathroom with a broom and dustpan and the promise of 500 cfa if you came out with a dead gecko.
16.  Setting up little stands to sell junk you didn't want anymore or kool-aid.  
17.  Writing dog stories in church. 

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18.  Playing football with  your dad and friends...a birthday tradition.
19.  Being so proud of you when you hit that double in your first ever baseball game in Potwin in 4th grade.
20.  Being so proud of you again when you and dad won the award for the best father/son team at the Nuts tournament.
21  Watching you graduate from ISO and being able to hand you your diploma since I was VP of the school board
 22.  So amazed at your desire and tenacity to play college football--"look, Dad, I've been recruited!" 
23. Your artistic side came out in this gorgeous work of art! Made us all hungry. 
24.  Seeing your love for the Lord develop and your faith in Jesus Christ become your own. 
25.  Watching you love and be a great big brother to 3 sisters. 

We love you dearly, son.  May the next 25 years be filled with awesome evidences of God's continued grace in your life. I've included some of my favorite Ando pictures.  All your "little guy" pics were adorable but I don't have any with me in Niger.  

The Neighborhood

Well Come to our neighborhood. (That's what the graffiti says on the wall by our house!)  Lindsay and I took a stroll this evening just to discover more of the place we call chez nous (our home).  There is always so much to see and cameras don't to justice to the sights nor the smells that are getting more and more familiar.

The lady who lives next door fries flour/onion "pancakes" every morning under the tree on a little fire and sells them to passersby.  I had one the other day and it was quite tasty.  They have three boys and her husband is our night guard.  (You can see our yellow gates in the background.)

They also have a little portable stand to sell little bags of sugar, candy, matches,single cigarettes, laundry soap, etc.

The matriarch of the family can't speak French but we have had some good laughs together.  The first time she met Lindsay and we told her that she was my daughter, she was aghast because she figured that we (the woman and I) were about the same age and how could someone as old as I have a daughter so young!  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

There are always swarms of kids and they love to have their pictures taken.  

Sometimes I just sit in front of our gate with the neighbors and watch the sights.  You can tell on the pictures that they are putting in a new road in front of our house.  We often see groups of women going to or from the market.  One of these women was carrying a huge computer monitor! Go figure.

Some more photos from our walk around the block:

Thanks for your prayers for us. 

 We are daily aware of our neediness and grateful to our Heavenly Father who is:
                  our Shield,
                      our Strength,
                         our Fortress,
                            our Deliverer,
                              our Strong Tower
                                  our Strength
                                      and our Ever Present Strength in time of need.

Welcome to Chez Dorsch!

We moved into our new house on Tuesday and we have been busy, busy getting the house live-able.  It's been so much fun.  We fall into bed  exhausted at night--a good feeling after weeks of waiting around.  We don't have internet at the house yet--hopefully soon. 

 We are getting used to seeing nothing but cement walls out of every window of the house.  It makes the pictures of green grass in Kansas extra special.  We hear the calls to prayer at all the set hours of the day from the mosque on the next block.  We hear and smell whatever is going on at the neighbors and I'm sure they know what is happening at our house as well.  

 My incredible kitchen.  Now I'm trying to find recipes and local foods to prepare.  I went to the local market yesterday to see what I could find and came home with onions, tiny green peppers and a type of dried bean.

 The same carpenter made all our furniture and cabinets.  Not quite "Laurence style" but very
                                                            adequate and sturdy.

  Here are a couple of items that are necessities here:  a voltage regulator for our fridge and washer, as well as our water filter (below).  The store will guarantee the appliance for 1 year IF we use this.  Brownouts and sudden spurts of electrical current are not uncommon.

 A challenge when we move to a new place is:  what do we do with trash and garbage?  In Ouagadougou we had a garbage collector (donkey cart) that came by the house once a week and emptied our barrel.  Tom asked for a half barrel so we could burn our personal papers in theyard, and this is the fancy trash can that was delivered yesterday!  Handles, legs, and all.

The rest gets dumped here, on the side of the road across from us--usually there are goats eating to their heart's content.

                      This photo is for my kiddos! 

 I brought the Dorsch family of elephants along and set them up this morning.  

Can you figure out which one is which and why they are spread out across the shelf?