Easter Sunday Under the Mango Trees

Happy Easter to each of you from all of us here! 

Easter Sunday was such a special celebration this year with our little church.   We transported chairs, huge amounts of food and water, a grill, microphone and keyboard and other items to make our Resurrection Celebration special.  

We followed a walking path through vegetable gardens, now mostly done producing, to a grove of mango trees beside the river.  It's rare to find so much shade anywhere else in Niamey!   As I walked,  the constant noise of traffic was gone and I could hear birds singing and my thoughts turned towards that glorious morning when the women hurried to the tomb and found that Jesus was indeed risen!

Our youth group had cleaned up the area and it was perfect for our worship service.

We had special numbers by the children, the youth choir and the women's group.  New clothes for Easter Sunday is important here too!

After a great message from one of the pastors, the socializing began.  We love our church family.

Little circles formed under each mango tree.  The shade was so welcome.

The food preparation and service was organized and perfectly executed.  A lot of work.  

The grill was going throughout the service.

Plates of potatoes, chicken and bread were filled and served to all.

It was a perfect time for those unmarried, but courting couples to find their own mango tree and visit undisturbed, while being properly chaperoned, of course!

The Niger River was on the other side of the mango grove.

The celebration continued all day.  Some went home to take a nap and then the games started at 5:00. We moved to Sahel Academy with their lovely field of green grass for the sports.  There were races for all ages, (the women decided to have a dance competition instead of racing!)

And of course soccer matches.  Women first (a very short game) and then the guys.

Blessed Easter to each of everyone of you!

The Country Missionary Visits the City Missionary

We both have our roots in Whitewater, KS.  We grew up together, went to the same schools and church and we're cousins (Mennonite style).  She came to Africa in 1984 and we came in 1986.  For years we have talked about getting together ON the continent.  Finally, it worked.  Yes, April is not the best month to visit Niger as it is the hottest month of the year but when you talk as much as we did, the heat passes by unnoticed.  Kinda. Mostly. Not really.  

Meet Chris. She is a missionary in a city in Guinea and doesn't enjoy all the creature comforts we do. She is a REAL missionary!  😉  We showed her what it was like to live in the capital city.  I didn't take pictures of everything we did but here is an overview.

 I absolutely love to walk around the market close to our house.  So many sights and smells.  Walking past these spices always makes me sneeze!  But the colors are magnificent.

We even taste-tested a new seed.  

It just so happens that there is a fabric boutique at the far side of the market; I have found that all paths lead to the fabric! Gorgeous colors!

 It would have been soooo impolite to leave without buying some!

 Sunday morning we got dolled up and walked the mile to church.  There I got to introduce "ma petite soeur" (my little sister) to our little group.

We had great plans to share our campus ministry events with Chris, but Monday morning trouble broke out at the university. We could hear the tear gas grenades from the house.  By evening the dorms had been closed and the students were forced to leave the campus until further notice.  We were super disappointed to not be able to introduce Chris to our students and have her participate in our Bible studies and weekly meetings and our Easter outreach.

Tuesday we walked across the John F. Kennedy Bridge, which spans the Niger River.  This river  actually starts in Chris's country of Guinea.   She could send a message in a bottle to me if she really wanted to!  The water is way down now in dry season and the sandbars are making it possible to walk across many parts of the river.

The local laundromat on the banks of the river was in full swing.  An hour later, the green part of the picture was covered with clothes drying in the sunshine.

  A bottle of "real" coke was always in the plan but a can of pepsi at an air-conditioned restaurant was actually quite good on that hot afternoon.

 
We loved hanging out with the neighbors.

We had our weekly staff team prayer meeting so Chris could meet our staff team.

 Souvenir shopping with the Tauregs who make lovely nativity sets.  Chris is a good "bargainer."

One very special treat for Chris was to meet a couple of her former 5th grade students from the school where she taught in Nigeria years ago.  Two of those students are now missionaries here in Niamey.  Beth is the first grade teacher at Sahel Academy.  She also visited with a couple of the teachers she taught with years ago in Nigeria.  Fun times!

The days flew by and we never ran out of things to talk about.

Thanks so much for coming, Chris!