Chronicles of our Journey

When the journey is hard

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 10:31:00 +0000

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:22

I haven't blogged in a long time. Sure I have several mostly written as drafts, but I just have not been able to post them. I felt conflicted. How do I continue on a blog about the journey of life and yet not address what was shattering and altering. But I couldn’t put it into words. I’m not an eloquent writer like some. I’d much rather sit down over a cup of coffee and talk it out in person. But many months ago I started to write drafts about it, read articles about it – this thing called grief. This fog called brokenness.

It’s hard to explain what it is like. If you’ve lost loved ones through death or broken relationship you know what I mean. It’s hurt- not in a shallow way or an over exaggerating way, but gut wrenching, knee bending, tear inducing tough. It’s nights awake, tears that come unbidden at moments when a memory is triggered, or internal conversations in my head about how to make things better.

The summer of 2015 we suffered losses and hurts. The most obvious and cruellest was on July 12, 2015, when we lost my brother in law Colin and my baby niece Madeline in a car accident. My sister in law and two nephews were injured, but survived. I re-live that day often in my head. The kids and I were in Canada already, and thankfully had spent two days with them just the week before. They were headed down to be with the whole McIver family for a few days. They never made it. I re-live in my head hearing the news while in church and being pulled out. I re-live phoning Paul (who was still in Niger for 6 more days) and the gut-wrenching feelings of working to get him home a few days earlier than planned. I re-live being in the hospital room when the boys were told their Daddy was gone to heaven, I re-live being in the room when she got the call that Madeline would not live. So many hours I play these memories back and weep. I can’t forget them.

We are close to Colin and Leanne. I say are. I can’t speak about Colin and Madeline in the past tense yet. And Leanne and the boys are precious and vibrant and beloved. So many beautiful memories, so much laughter, plans we had made for vacations together, etc. I’ve known Colin since High School when we played basketball together. I have regrets for all the things we planned to do together but never can, and regrets for all the things they should be able to do with their lives, but never will. Thankfully no regrets on the state of our relationship as nothing was left unsaid, broken or unloved. Love was known and it was good. Thank you Jesus for that.

But the hole is real. In our hearts and I can only imagine the size of the hole in Leanne’s and the boys hearts as we walk this journey with them. I’ll be real, at times I’ve been in that stinky, yet honest, spot where no amount of good platitudes are received well at all. It’s just a horrible thing to have happen. I didn’t want to hear a Christian “thought for the day” about how it’s for the best, how one day we will see the “reason” for it etc., even though I fully know it is delivered in love by people who care. We live in a World of SIN. Bad things happen. There was nothing that their family did to “deserve” this. That’s just ludicrous. I believe this is heartbreaking and God carries us through this, carries us as His beloved to get us through this time, equally heartbroken at the consequences of this World.

It’s been hard being overseas and not directly with our family while we wade through brokeness, this grief. I wonder if they are “getting used to” a physical absence in their house that will still take my breathe away. Not that you can get used to something like that, but that after a year and more in the same space, do they no longer expect at any moment that Colin and Madeleine will come in. Maybe I’m crazy for thinking that. Do they expect them to walk in at any moment? Show up for holidays? Hear their voices turn their heads with anticipation of seeing them? I know life has to go on with new patterns, new schedules, new joy.

But these losses have produced such a season of leaning into God, tearing up at my inability to “fix” things, waiting on His intervention and what might seem like miracles at times. Lost relationship and death of a loved one is the single biggest wound to my heart, me,who is 100% relationally oriented and driven. I can’t make heads or tails of those losses and hurts and they are staggering.

But here is what I have learned this past 18+ months. I’m keeping myself focused on what I know to be true. God is present and He is precious and loving to me. I’m not allowing myself to get side-tracked by blaming the author of my story. Grief and brokenness is making me a stronger, more self-aware, more God centered (and aware of my need for God) than I was before. And I pray that journey would continue every day in growing and being shaped by our Creator and less of this World and sinful human nature and stink of being broken. It’s shown me the end of my own limits, places where I cannot go, relationships I cannot fix, and times I need to release people/situations to Him who can handle them. I am both more vulnerable and desiring to delve deep into relationship than ever before with people who value our relationship. Don’t waste those moments we are afforded on this earth.

I loved what an article said about grief (seems I read a lot about grief, loss, forgiveness and reconciliation these days). “Navigating through disappointment, betrayal, loss, death, sin, failure, and trials involves heartache. It’s scary and messy. It requires us to feel our way through the sense of loss produced by suffering. The danger in running from it, however, is that it can actually hinder us in our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. In order to truly heal the broken places suffering has touched we must face it. We can't gloss over it, ignore it, and hope it heals itself. It won't. It is work that you have to do."

I’m not sure where you are today but if you’re in the midst of a hard journey, read and believe this;

When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

Through the pain of that summer season I pray that God continues to work miracles. To draw me, and my loved ones, closer to Him. He is the healer.

In loving memory

Update on the Women’s programs- sewing, growing and glowing!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:18:00 +0000

We are almost at the end of this year’s program for the Girls at Risk school (www.nvoc.ca). Our school year ends in June when the rainy/planting season begins here in Niger and some of our girls travel back to villages to be with their families. This is the first year of our second cycle of girls and it has been a great year to really get to know them well. Many of these girls and their families are already connected to our program as they have siblings or neighbours who were with us in the first cycle. I love that we can continue on with the same family and established trust to keep working. It is also evident that we have both a more serious group of girls and invested parents as our attrition rate for this year has been remarkably low, especially when compared with our first year attrition in 2010. I believe the community knows what we are all about and we have proven that and how much we want to partner with them and honour them. All of our staff are also back full time and we employ 6 local women vocational skills and who teach and who cook for the hot lunch program.

We have continued to tweak our curriculum as well although it’s core still remains the same. We have a strong vocational skills focus (sewing, knitting, embroidery and tailoring clothing) and also teach Math, French, health, hygiene, women’s health and childbearing, prenatal and postnatal and moral stories to become respected young women in their own community.

We break some classes into two different groups based on their prior education. We have some girls who are almost totally illiterate and others who have gone up to Grade 6. So for French and Math and business they are separated. But we all come together for the other half for what we call “life skills”.

We also hosted a 2 week batik making class in the end of March where we taught fabric dying and batik making from scratch. So much fun! We had a visiting team from Red Deer here to help with that as well. If you want to read more about the batik weeks you can check out the school blog at: http://nvoc.ca/2015/03/24/lots-of-new/

This year we area also working with 8 of our graduated young ladies to start a next level group of advanced sewing skills, taking community tailoring orders (which will be the bread and butter of their own shops when they are ready to launch out on their own) and making lots of adorable bags, table runners, aprons and more for the expatriate community which we market internationally.

I honestly love this group of gals. We have been together since 2010 with them now and to see them go from teenagers to young adults, half of whom are married and having babies and transitioning in life, is so fantastic for me personally. I love to come into the room and sit with them and chat, work on projects together, hold their babies while they sew and just to talk and laugh and do life together. We go and visit them in their homes, celebrate their milestones, and have developed deep friendships with some of them. This relational side of the school has always been a huge goal for me.

Sitting and having lunch with our 8 apprentices.

We also host “parties” from time to time when these young ladies come to our homes for events such as Easter and Christmas. We have a big meal and sit and laugh and share stories, etc. We are trusted people to their families so they allow their women to come out and spend time with us. Tuareg women are in general “protected” once they are married with kids and often are just at home in their courtyard. So they also love the chance to go out and get dressed up!

Visiting Miriama in her home. Her daughter comes to school often with her and is such a delight! I love that in this culture you can always bring your child to work Her and Ella are buddies now.

In this culture, you often purposefully will wear the same fabric as friends or family. It is done all the time for weddings especially or other special celebrations. It is something that shows “togetherness” and honours the person whose special event it is. I have often has these uniforms made for weddings of friends and we also have a custom made fabric for the girls school that we will all be wearing at the end of this year! (Check back in a month for the pictures!) My best Tuareg friend Miriama had a baby in July and I sewed us these outfits for the baby naming celebration day. In North America you don’t normally want to show up to big events all wearing the exact same thing (unless you are a bridesmaid I guess) but here it is a reason to smile, high five and cheer that you are together in life!

I am so lucky to have made good friends here. To step into their culture and language is not always easy, but they are so gracious and I love the time we spend together each week. I bring Ella to many visits with me and the big kids when they are not in school. It makes me smile laugh when Ella is comfortable sitting with them and playing with the cooking dishes, chasing their goats and wrestling with their kids. Bennett plays soccer all the time with their kids and Arielle likes to help with the cooking I love the worldview and big picture we are able to share with our kids.

So that is what we have been up to on the women’s side of the program. A mix of running the school and teaching the girls and visiting them in their homes and mentoring and walking through life with them.

Men’s program update– teaching, building and gaining speed!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 13 May 2015 17:30:00 +0000

I have promised you an update on ministry. Thanks for your patience.

Paul- the Men’s apprentice program and his “fix it” ministry.

Paul’s work at the shop continues to grow each month. It has been almost a year now that we broke ground and were working on creating a shop space from scratch on an uneven, hot, rocky/sandy piece of ground. But in a prime location with big trees and shared space with a ministry partner organization.

The beginnings of land preparation in May 2014

Getting the trusses for the roof up after the land was even and the side containers were in place.

The space is finally covered and the guys are out of the hot sun! The machines are in and now they are building shelving and racks and looking to pour a cement part this summer 2015.

Paul has four full time apprentices in his training program, with various other guys joining them depending on the size of the contract projects they get and his capacity to teach certain skills to larger groups. The 4 guys are all Tuaregs and we are thrilled to see how much determination they have and how they desire to learn and do good work.

After the hands on work part of the day, there are also theory classes taught later in the afternoon. You can see their blackboard in the foreground and their “class” space. They choose to stay at the shop area to learn rather than going to our actual classroom space at the NVOC school so they would not have to waste time moving around. So far it has really worked out great.

Some of the projects they have been working on has to been to refurbish 40+ desks that were burned in a fire at a Christian school and to build approximately 60 new desks that had been stolen so that the school has all their desks again. This kind of practice with repetitive cutting and welding has been great for their learning and the school is thankful for the quality and oversight the shop provides.

A burnt out classroom with bent and burned desks

New desks getting their coat of rust paint before the wooden tops were attached and they were delivered.

Happy kids with their new desks!

Other projects they have been working on include a custom topper for the back of a truck, a custom drill bit for water drilling, shelving units and a truck hitch! They are just looking at upcoming projects of church benches, a new outdoor church building frame with a tin roof, water towers and maybe a whole contract to be the fabricator for a huge radio antenna tower! He has enough interest and clients that they can be picky and take only the jobs that will best benefit the learning of the guys!

So how does it work? The guys get a small daily stipend to be in our program through the normal day in and day out, even if there are no paying contracts. This allows them to stay in the program and yet still provide the necessities for their families. When we have paying clients, their daily rate increases and they sometimes add an extra day of work. So they love getting jobs. Plus they really do enjoy seeing a finished product delivered and the pride of knowing “We did that!!”

Please keep praying for these guys. During morning prayer time many of them are engaging and requesting prayer. Paul is navigating the next steps of starting some more formal storying or bible studies with them. One of them recently asked for an mp3 player with bible stories on it. Two of them are married and can use prayers as they desire to be good husbands and fathers to their children. We want to continue investing in their lives and visiting them in their homes as well. Chantelle loves to spend time with the two wives, both of whom are Tuareg young ladies.

That’s it for now- you are up to speed on the Men’s program! Coming soon- the Women’s side program update!

It's been too long! Life in Niger update

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:03:00 +0000

So, it has been a long time! Rest assured we are still here in Niger happily occupied with life. I find this term I am much busier with my family , and then my ministry, and thus time for things like blogging has taken a back seat. If you want to hear regularly what we are up to, you can send me an email and I can add you to our weekly update email, which always contains little snippets of what we are up to and a few photos each week.

Since we last wrote, we had Christmas, a trip to Turkey, lots of family adventures, Paul made serious progress on the mens shop and we are busy as always at the school for girls we run.

But all in due time. That would be one very long post indeed! So let me start by giving a short-ish family update and what we have been up to in general life the last 5 months!

Ella turned one year old on October 18th and since that time she has really taken off to develop quite the strong personality, love of books, pizza, lip balm and pens/markers. She is so funny and keeps us on our toes. Arielle is in Grade 3 this year and she loves to read as well as do crafts, swim and play games (as long as they are not too strategy oriented). She is a quiet girl who shows a love of cooking with her Mom and helping others. Bennett is in Grade 4 this year and he is all about action. He loves sports (especially soccer and hockey), math, board games (especially if they are very strategy oriented) and snuggling. He is very compassionate to others and asks lots of great questions to understand better the world around him. He also loves music. Being a Mom is so rewarding and takes most of my effort and energy and I am blessed to be able to form and invest in the lives of these little people. The greatest gift given to Paul and I!

We also got to go to Turkey for a work conference at the end of December and since we were going to be there anyways, we went a week early to enjoy a bit of a break as a family with most of our teammates to spend the actual Christmas holidays. Such a great idea! So blessed and so encouraged and educated by this trip!

Back here in Niger we enjoy the city where we live, the many amazing friends we have, celebrations in their lives like marriages, baptisms and school events. So many faces we have grown to love and spend much of our time with in their homes and in our schools with them. I will write a ministry update on both the mens and womens program in the near future, but these are just a few snapshots of the joys we are surrounded with!

And then of course, one more thing. Some of the beautiful sites of Niger that we get to enjoy from natural sites, animals to man made beauty! The dunes, Parc W, the giraffes and more! Come and visit us and we promise you will get to enjoy these wonders alongside us!

And so it begins…

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 19:39:00 +0000

Today was the first day of school for our new cycle of young ladies at the “Girls at Risk” school program here in Niamey, Niger. If you would like to know more about our school you can check it out at www.nvoc.ca

We were so excited to see each and every girl who had registered show up and ready to start. We have 11 girls on a waiting list and more today showed up to try to register. Sadly we do not have the physical space to be able to hold all the girls who would like to enter, but we are thankful for each one we do have!

Last week we had our community open house where we verified all the registrations, expanded our waiting list and fielded lots of questions from parents. We are so thankful over the years for the support we have gotten from the parents in the community!

Then today we started. All of our new girls came and we spent the morning doing entrance interviews, Math and French placement tests and health statistics like their weight and height (to track their progress with our medical clinic and nutrition program). It took a long time and it was hot and sweaty, but we broke it up with snacks, cold juice and lots of laughter!

I am so excited to meet these young ladies. We will be working this year with 25 new girls between the ages of 11.5 and 18. I am excited to see how much they want to learn and how eager they are and I can just imagine all that God will do in their lives and how they will blossom. We also will work with 10 graduates from our previous program as apprenticeship and leadership training.

We started the morning off in prayer with the Girls. We know it is important they see us as people of prayer who care for them and will pray for them and journey with them. I look forward to every week as we will ask for prayer requests and pray for the issues and people dear to their hearts.

Speaking of prayer, we will soon be sending out prayer partnerships. If you would like to be included in our list of partners and be assigned a young lady to lift up in prayer, please let us know.

And so it begins. A new group of 25 girls and a returning apprentice level of 10 returning grads. Each and every one a gift to us. We are blessed indeed.

4 of our returning graduates, all excited to be back!

Miriama (returning grad) and her baby Fatima. So excited to see how these young ladies have grown into wonderful mothers with healthy children!

We have Kerri-Jo Fehr, from Fort St. John, BC (Canada) joining us as an intern this year. Here she is with Raichatou.

Our youngest students! A new dynamic with some of our staff and returning grads having babies around! On some days there will be 6 babies present!

Weighing and measuring the girls.

Amina giving the French placement exams.

After giving out a quilted thick blanket to each girl as cold season is coming, the girls listen to basic rules and instructions from our sewing staff.

The new girls class for 2014! Thanks for praying for them!!

From birth to a new name

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 08:06:00 +0000

Here in Niger there are very specific events that follow a birth. My last post here talked about the process of birthing here in Niger and some of the unique places and situations that happen.

Exactly one week after the baby is born, there will be the naming ceremony called a bapteme. This is not a baptism like we are familiar with in North America, but more like a naming and presentation ceremony. Until this day, the baby's name is kept a secret from all but the parents and close family members.

Because of my close relationship with the mother and the fact that the father walked away from the marriage, I had the honour to be asked to be part of the naming process for the new baby girl.

I had told Miriama about how in our culture back home you can buy books full of names and their meanings. She asked me to pick some culturally appropriate names with good meanings that she would like for her little girl. Another friends of ours told Miriama that she thought she should name her little girl Sarah, after the story of Sarah in the Bible. When I submitted my list, the local variation of Sarah was also on this short list. Miriama said we both felt this was the right name and she approved, and thus she decided to name her daughter AZAHARA.

The works for the party starts the afternoon before. We went to help out and enjoyed the quiet time of working alongside our friends. We were given a huge platter of garlic flowers to shell. My poor fingers were smelly garlic nubs after that!

The sheep hung out with us for the evening, not realising his fate to be our main course the next day! I didn't take any pictures of his slaughter, but early the next morning a specialized meat butcher came to their courtyard and slaughtered and cut up the animal to go into the large pots immediately after the prayers were finished.

The party chairs were delivered. With weddings and baby ceremonies being strong cultural obligations and big parties here, there is a booming business for those who rent cheap plastic chairs and somewhat questionable tarp tent roofs!

All the early preparation was happening right here in this kitchen. Pots and buckets and fire and platters and food, all tucked into this open air kitchen space. Late into the evening, even when all light was gone and we were using a flashlight we continued to cook. In the dark under the flashlight we had the kids tying up baggies of popcorn to give to women the next morning when they came, after the traditional dates and kola nuts had been handed out to the men. (Check out Arielle enjoying her mortar and pestle role in the background!)

Bagging popcorn by flashlight

During this time we also got to enjoy the first real bath for the baby (before this it was just wipes they had used while the umbilical cord dried up). So fun to see Grandma taking the active role and showing her daughter how to bathe the baby. Loved seeing this bonding moment!

The next day dawned clear and beautiful. Because it was still during the period of Ramadan and most people were fasting, there was very little food present during they day. Only nursing Moms, the elderly, the children and the sick would be eating. So the noon meal was very light with few people. The large crowds were expected at sunset. But even the lack of food did not dampen the festive atmosphere around the large cooking area!

There is a prickly tree in their courtyard that has a large shade footprint and is nice for sitting under. Its thorns also steal my veil off my head quite often. All the community women come and chop up food, stir and gather around huge pots of rice and meat and sauce. They stir and sweat and LAUGH laugh laugh! There is so much conversation in several different languages that it is hard to follow, but I also enjoy sitting and watching this distinct cultural experience.

As the afternoon wore on and the food smells became tantalizing, more and more people showed up. Those cheap plastic colourful chairs became full of people. The local young men pulled out their guitars and started to play. Thankfully guitar music is highly appreciated by Tuaregs and thus these young men actually had some great music for us to enjoy!

And of course the young children played. I barely saw Bennett all day as he played soccer all day long with the other boys. He was sweaty, dirty and completely happy! Arielle was thrilled to sit with the women and cook and she liked to have her chance to use the heavy wooden stick in the mortar and pestle.

The view of Bennett while sitting in the hut with Mom and baby at one point.

And then finally it was time to eat. As dusk drew near and the sun hovered on the horizon they got the food ready to be eaten right after the evening prayers when they break their fast. I don't have pictures of the meal itself because we ate it in the dark And in true McIver fashion, Bennett was running in the dark after the soccer ball and ran smack into a lady carrying a platter of hot meat and veggie sauce. It ended up all over him.

Cutting up chunks of bread baguettes to be dipped in to the meat and sauce.

The star of the show- baby Azahara. I see her every week and cannot believe how she is growing and chubby and healthy and happy. I am so thankful she has a wonderful Mom and community around her. We had the opportunity to pray over her and invoke Gods protection and calling on her life. May the Lord be gracious to her and an ever present source of comfort and joy to her.

Giving birth in Niger– risky business!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:22:00 +0000

*note- all pictures were just taken with my camera phone as I did not want to bring my big camera into this setting, so sorry for the low resolution!

My dear Tuareg friend Miriama was pregnant. I remember when I came back from home assignment this past December that she was newly pregnant and processing all the changes that would mean in her life. As this precious baby grew inside of her we had many long talks about being a Mom, what birth was like, cultural practices for Tuaregs about babies, who gets to name them etc. It was my first time being really close to the expecting mamma so I could ask all my questions about how things went here in a Niger cultural setting and she could ask all of her questions to me.

Just before we went away for 2 weeks vacation this end of June we talked about when she would give birth in mid-August. She really wanted me to be able to come into the clinic with her and deliver with her. I told her about birthing classes that we can take in North America and she asked if when I came back from vacation I could prepare and teach her birthing classes. I was a little intimidated by the idea but know it is a real need here! Young women have no idea what childbirth is about. No one talks about it and they are scared and misinformed and nervous. They WANT to know about it, but either won’t ask culturally or else have on where to ask. So her strange and outspoken but bestie Canadian friend was the perfect person right?

I came back from vacation late at night on Tuesday July 15th. On Thursday the 17th at noon I got a frantic call from Miriama’s sister that she had been tested at the clinic and shown to have severe pre-eclampsia and they were headed to the central city maternity hospital for an emergency c-section. Wow! That definitely took all my plans for the next week and threw them right out the window! The idea of a 35-36 week preemie in Niger was terrifying, a country where even full term babies fight incredible odds to survive. There are some simple facilities and baby incubators for preemies, but no where near the range of options we are familiar with elsewhere in the World.

I called Paul home to take over the kids and as soon as he walked in the door I rushed out to the hospital. When I got there they had Miriama in an emergency triage room, along with about 30 other women. This small space only had a dozen beds so they women were all lined up sitting on the floor as well. And there were no doctors. The few nurses took care of any absolute necessities but kept waiting for the doctors to come. I sat with her sister just outside the emergency room (we were not allowed in- armed military at the doors) and we waited. And waited. At one point Miriama came out to pass on a message to another Tuareg family waiting and when she returned to the waiting room, someone had stolen the $1 plastic sheet she had had to buy for her “clean delivery” kit. Unbelievable. Her sister told me that since it was Ramadan and everyone was fasting all day it was not uncommon for people (doctors) to not come to work until after they had broken their fast at dusk and eaten. I can’t say for sure if this was the reason, but sure enough, after dusk and eating time, the doctors filtered in. They decided to giver her some medication to try to reverse or stabilize the pre-eclampsia overnight. So she was hooked up to an iv overnight, while sitting on the floor on a plastic sheet. I went home around 8pm and her sister and another friend set up their plastic mats and a few blankets outside on the courtyard under the trees to stay the night and watch over Miriama if anything was needed. Here, if you need a new medicine, they call out to your waiting family member and give them a piece of paper with the medicine name written on it. You go to the pharmacy yourself and buy this medicine and then return with it to the ward where they will administer it. So you dare not be left without a support person standing by.

The next day just after noon I arrived back at the maternity ward to spell off her sister so she could go home and shower and rest and change while I was on call as Miriama’s support person.

I sat outside under the trees in the courtyard with a group of other Tuareg women who were there visiting other people. 2 other women from the Tuareg community were also in this same hospital at the time. It was actually a good time of visiting, practicing language, asking questions, watching culture and just being with them. But the place we were sitting did not feel like any other waiting room I had ever been in.

There were dozens of little groups of women scattered around a treed courtyard, with their bright plastic mats set up on the dirt and their little pails of food, water, clothing, etc beside them. The mosquitos circled overheard and at least 4-5 different languages could be heard. Because the majority of them were fasting you heard the constant noise of spitting as they would not even swallow their saliva and many were lethargic and lounging and waiting for news, or pharmacy calls, for their loved ones. If you don’t get your name called to come and get information, don’t even bother trying to get it yourself. Not only are there armed military guards at the door who are quite serious about their job of keeping you out, the nurses were quite abrupt and kept telling me I just had to wait for the doctor and they didn’t know anything. I know medical care is very different in this culture and I found it hard to accept that the family was not involved in their care and there was no information available.

Sitting with the groups of women in the “waiting courtyard”

The second day Ella came with me as I am still a nursing Mama and can’t be away for that long! All the ladies loved her and she went from person to person and smiled and cooed at them all.

While I was waiting and chatting, Miriama’s name was called (thus actually calling her support person- me). I went and saw Miriama and she said the medicine did not work and they were going to go do a c-section. Right now. And here was the list of stuff I needed to go buy from the pharmacy! So I ran and bought the items, gave them to Miriama along with her “clean delivery items” and walked with her to the operating room. At the door I asked the attendant if I could come in with her. I hoped, but knew it likely would not be allowed. Sure enough, No. ( Another teammate was also there who would have taken Ella for a while so I had hoped to go in). I held her hand, with fear in my heart that something could go wrong and quickly prayed with her. She looked scared but also resigned. She walked in and I had to go sit back down with the ladies. They called me a few other times over the next few hours. Once to take a bag with all her clothes in it. Another time to bring the yards of clean cloth we had ready for her. Another time to go buy a clean razor to cut the cord and then one more time to bring a diaper and first outfit for the baby. By this time Miriama’s sister and other friend were also there and we sat anxiously awaiting the news. Finally the one nurse told us it was over, it was a GIRL and that despite being a preemie, she weighed 2.45 kilos and had good lung function! (Okay she didn’t actually offer all that information but I sure asked!) Praise God!! She did not even need to be put into an incubator! We were so relieved after hours of not knowing what was happening, being told they were “working on” the baby and feeling helpless.

We waited more hours to see how things went. As dusk came and the official “fasting day” was over, I saw all the women in the courtyard prepare. About 30 minutes before they could eat or drink the tea pots and charcoal cookers came out. The pungent smell of burning charcoal and bitter tea filled the air. Many women mixed a sweet drink made of yogurt, sugar and millet flour to be drunk right when they broke the fast. When the time came, you could hear the mosques around the city calling it out on the loud speakers. Women around me raised their hands to praise Allah and then they picked up their drinks and drank deeply and enjoyed liquids for a while. Then they went and did their ritual washings and would lay down mats right wherever they found an empty spot and do their prayers. Then they came back to their mats and meals were pulled out of buckets and everyone ate together. This evening a couple of my previous NVOC student girls happened to be there as well visiting family members and it was a sweet time to visit with them and their families under the trees and dim bulbs with the aroma of all kinds of food being cooked all around us. As dusk fell the women who were staying the night pulled out mosquito nets and hung them from trees and rods or walls and put blankets out on their mats and settled in.

We did not see the baby that day. I left to go home in the evening. I saw Miriama only through the window of the recovery room where she told me she was okay and that she knew it was a girl. She did not see her own baby that day either.

The next day we returned bright and early to the Maternity. This time Arielle and Ella both came with me, as well as a couple of teammates. I was told by her sister that Miriama had seen the baby but she was not with her yet. No one else was allowed to see the baby until the baby was with the Mother. There were more armed military at the doors to the “Neonatal” wing. This is likely in response to the recent arrests over baby stealing and baby selling that had been happening in the country and NO ONE was getting through those doors. We had more hours of sitting outside with the Tuareg families and visiting their loved ones as well.

We were told in the afternoon that she was ready to be moved to her own room, and that they would then bring the baby to her. Of course 20 minutes turned into 2 hours. We got Miriama her own room. It was $40 for a private room for the entire 4 or so days they expected her to be there. With a half functioning air conditioner, no meals and no medication included in the price. Still- quite the deal I snapped up!!

While waiting for Miriama to arrive, we sat on a mat in her room and waited for her. Apparently very culturally appropriate although I am not sure I would want a waiting party if it had been me to just have a c-section and not even be reunited with my baby yet!!

Miriama was finally wheeled in and we rejoiced with her, but were also told it would be several more hours until they would bring the baby as they were still “working on her”. I hate those words. Miriama said she had seen the baby in the night and that so far in the 24 hours or so she had been able to nurse and see her twice. Heartbreaking. The time came and I had to go home, still not seeing the baby!

Of course I returned the next day again and this time our precious little girl was finally there with her Mom. They had brought her in late the night before and of she course kept Miriama and her sister and friend up all night, but i am thankful in this culture you are never alone and always have a support person or two with you. Miriama’s mother came while I was there and met her first grandchild for the first time. Precious moments.

Miriama’s mother (second from right) meeting her Granddaughter

This precious little girl, who was 4 weeks preemie, looked so healthy, with only minor jaundice, that I praised God for His protection of this little family I love. How beautiful she was!

Momma and her baby

Ella doing a “safety check” on the new mosquito dome bed for the baby

We visited again the next few days and were encouraged to see the baby doing so well and that nursing had started. We talked about names for the little girl. The name is not announced publically until the baby “bapteme” (akin to a dedication ceremony and party) a week after the birth. Stayed tuned for another blog about the dedication party and baby name!

All of a sudden my own baby girl, who is lightweight at only 3rd percentile for her age, looks like a giant compared to this new baby!!

We are so thankful that Miriama and her baby girl made it through this surprise early birth and c-section so well. Hallelujah! I am also feeling so blessed to be called on in this time to be her support person, to be present and go through all of this by her side. Blessed indeed. Thanks for your continued prayers for Miriama and her baby!

Men’s apprentice training program update

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 14 May 2014 11:20:00 +0000

During the past few months we have been working hard to get our Men’s apprentice training program off the ground. Recently we cleared two major hurdles. We finally got our container out of customs. This container was packed with items for both our Men’s and Women’s second chance schools, and we are thrilled we finally got through all the paperwork and hassle to have it released. Phew!

We are very happy to have the men's program truck out of the container and it is getting ready to be insured and to clear customs shortly.

The second hurdle was finding a piece of land. This is tricky. We are not allowed to buy land here in Niger. There are also not a lot of empty lots in areas with good electricity (a must for a welding shop) that people want to rent out. After many months of looking we struck an agreement with our friends at the Baptist Mission to rent a piece of their property. They have a huge piece of land that already has good electricity and a good water supply and there were several large open, unused spaces. We are so thankful they are willing to partner with us in this way as we look to train and disciple young men from the community.

Beginning to level the land and build the access road into the area.

So now Paul is going full steam ahead trying to get the shop all set up. First up he needs to bring in fill and level the land. To help with this him and Sidimou (our day guard/welding apprentice) are building a bulldozer blade for the front of the new men's program truck! This will save us lots of money hiring local dozers to sit around for when we need them.

After the land is level and prepped we will bring in our shipping containers, unload the tools and work stations and pull up a heavy tarp roof over the work space. There is lots to do and we are thankful for your prayers as we work to get this all done! We are also thankful for another young man who is a welder who is a new expat to Niger who is helping us out two days a week to weld. He is currently working on rebuilding the 30 foot long trailer that was cut into pieces and put into the container. This trailer will be used to haul our shipping containers into place to be used as shop buildings.

We will keep you up to date. Thanks for checking in with what Paul is up to!

An Op-ed piece on the kidnappings in Nigeria

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Thu, 08 May 2014 15:26:00 +0000

If you are online at all these days, or watch the News, you are undoubtedly aware that over 250 young women have been kidnapped and are being held my terrorists in Northern Nigeria.

I find I am both encouraged and discouraged at the same time by seeing the variety of responses on the internet and Facebook after this took place. I am very encouraged to see their plight receiving so much attention, people personally praying for them, and people hearing of the plight of many here in North/West Africa.

Personally, I find it a bit aggravating that some people are saying it is getting very little attention when in fact it is on the front pages of most news organizations, constantly on the radio for here and BBC, it has trending hashtags and twitter and is in the papers. Even before I started seeing people complaining it wasn’t in the news, I was in fact reading about it in the news. Just because it is not on the nightly news of their city does not mean it is not international news if you are normally attune to what is going on in the World. So let’s not be too quick to judge news organizations too quickly is all I am saying. If you are someone who usually reads or has an interest in things around the World, it has been in the news there from shortly after it happened. That’s all I am saying. Ok, got that off my chest

As I said, I am thrilled that the plight of these young women is getting international attention. I am all about fighting for the rights, lives, education and freedom of young women in Africa. It’s even what I do for a living. (You can see our school in Niger for young women at www.nvoc.ca) But I am wondering why it took this specific act to wake up the rest of the World to what is going on? I wonder why these young ladies were targeted specifically and why has it pulled such heart strings of the rest of the world that all the previous terror events didn’t? I like how one writer put it-

“In a part of Nigeria where 72% of the population never attends elementary school, they were in high school. In a country where a war is being waged to oppress women from getting an education, they had left their homes and families to pursue one, living in a boarding home because for many, there was not a good school in their local village. In the small farming town of Chibok, hundreds of girls were doing the hard work of pursuing dreams that were not easy given their circumstances. “

Educating girls has been proven to be the highest return investment for solving poverty. If you look at the research you can see it has been shown that an extra year of primary school boosts a girl’s income by ten to twenty percent. An extra year of secondary school boosts a girl’s income by fifteen to twenty-five percent. When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. Children born to educated mothers are twice as likely to survive past age five. Educated girls are more likely to change the world. All the stats show that educating a young woman truly does make a world of difference. I have seen the effects personally and I am passionate about these efforts.

I think it is great that #BringbackourGirls is trending on twitter and there are rallies and a whole bunch of support being thrown towards this issue. Apparently other countries are offering to intervene and help like Britain and France among others. But it is also not a new issue. Here in Nigeria and Niger, Boko Haram (the terrorist group) has been an issue for years. Since 2009 it has waged war in this part of the World. They have been planting bombs, blowing up and burning down schools, and massacring villages and villagers. They target schools, forward thinking individuals and families, and Christians. They have killed thousands of people in the last few years. In fact, the kidnapping occurred the same day as an explosion which killed 75 people on the outskirts of the capital Abuja. Monday May 5^ththe same group attacked another city, Gamboru Ngala , “The attackers stormed the communities in the night when residents were still sleeping, setting ablaze houses and shooting residents who tried to escape from the fire.’”. Hundreds of people died.

Have most people heard of Boko Haram before the kidnapping I wonder? They have killed 2300 people since 2010. This February alone they killed over 300 people, with 59 of them being school boys from a single attack and burning down a school. They cross the border into Niger and replenish their supplies and recruit uneducated young men to join their groups, paying these young men who want money even if they don’t buy in to the ideology of Boko Haram. They also pay for information about the security movements on border officials and anti-terrorist agents and have easily evaded lukewarm efforts to really crack down on them.

I follow a lot of organizations that work on women’s issues in developing countries. Organizations like “Girl Rising”, “Girl Up” and “Smart Girls” are raising awareness about this horrific kidnapping but thankfully they are also shedding light on the deeper issues. This isn’t a unique case (only unique in numbers). It has been happening for a while. It is going to keep happening. Until the root causes are addressed, it is just a matter of time. Culturally young women are not seen as having value. They are not educated or protected. Forty per cent of Nigerian children aged 6-11 do not attend any primary school with the Northern region recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls. Northern regions report up to 79% of girls not attending school. In Nigeria, the overall national percentage is 39% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday. But the prevalence of child marriage varies widely from one region to another, with figures as high as 76% in the North West region. I spend a lot of time researching child marriage and know this is a tricky issue with roots that reach deep into values, religion, and history and into their poverty and circumstances.
The trafficking of children for the purpose of domestic service, prostitution and other forms of exploitative labour is a widespread phenomenon in Nigeria. Violence, coercion and deception are used to take victims away from their families. Regretfully, Nigeria is a source, transit and destination country for trafficked women and children. Prostitution, domestic and exploitative labour continues to fuel this modern from of slavery.

One reporter apparently was trying to get some answers from major networks about why this was not getting more airtime in their opinion. The anchor said the people didn’t want to see it because it was not intense,flashy or exciting enough, and also that they could not get reporters and photos from the region, making it difficult to report in an age where people expect images and video. Then the writer makes this comment-

“That may be true, but many (that writer included) fear there is a more troubling reason for the lack of coverage: these are African girls. I feel certain that a group of American or European girls, sleeping at a boarding school and stolen by armed men in the middle of the night, would absolutely be the top story all over the World. But African girls are Other. The distance, the difference, the ongoing challenge on the continent . . . have these things made us discount their humanity? Do we discount terrorism and death in Africa as just part of their “normal”? Are we failing to identify with these parents because of racial or cultural differences? I hope that isn’t true. I fear that it is.”

CNN had a few good points as to why these events should matter to the World.

Just imagine if 276 girls had been kidnapped in the United States. The response would be mass outrage and a forceful demand for a response. As borders become more irrelevant for terrorists, the whole world needs to take notice of the likes of Boko Haram. Nigerian militant activity has already spilled over to neighbours such as Niger and Cameroon, whose government has warned that clerics have been recruiting members in mosques in the country, said Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Nigeria's Abia State.
"In this era of accelerating globalization, it appears Boko Haram hopes to align itself with extremist forces in Niger, Mali and potentially in the Middle East, which raises the specter of coordination on the stockpiling of munitions, intelligence gathering and future assaults," Kalu said.

Girls matter. Everywhere. Child slavery, forced early marriage, burning schools, blowing up bus stations and burning down schools. It ALL matters. It took this kidnapping to bring it to the attention of many around the World, but I pray that even after the resolution of the situation with these kidnapped young ladies, that the World will not just quickly forget about the whole thing. The war is far from being won, and it will continue to happen over and over again unless we address the bigger picture. Let’s not lose this new found interest just as quickly as it came.

Death and funerals

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 12:06:00 +0000

In the last couple weeks we have talked about death at our house. We had a favourite street seller in town named Adan. He was confined to a wheelchair but he hung out on the street where he sold local postcards and made children's toys and crib mobiles out of twisted round wire to make it look like animals, trucks, etc. He was always happy and grinning from ear to ear. When we returned from home assignment in Canada this Fall we found out he had died. Details are sketchy but the story goes something like he fell over in his wheelchair and laid in a ditch for a few days before someone saw him but he was already dead, or at least almost dead but died in the hospital with very poor care, depends which version you listen to. A very sad way to die.

Bennett wondered why he could not have gone to a good hospital, which led to a long discussion about healthcare and insurance and death among the poor. We also drive by funeral processions regularly and the kids were also asking questions. Death is so much a regular part of life here that it does not receive the same attention and scale of grief we see in North America. It is quieter. It is expected. They say it is “God’s Will" (Insh’Allah) and are resigned to it. They watch it happen and many of them feel they have very little they can do about it. The roads are dangerous, disease and sickness take awful tolls.
Niger has horrific mortality rates. They are among the worst in the world for Infant Mortality rates and Child aged 1-5 mortality rates. Their adult life expectancy is only 58 years , compared to 81 years for Canadian adults. We live close to the large Muslim cemetery and everyday if you drive by at the right time you will see convoys of people and vehicles heading to the cemetery.
In our community of the poor urban Tuaregs, they have a problem getting vehicles to carry the body and mourners to the cemetery. Our team has an older pickup truck and Paul and Tim have in the past become the drivers to help care for the community in this way. The men all go to the burial and the women all stay at home. Women do not go to the cemetery. So I had no idea really what happened there. My friend Scott Guptill attended a funeral out East in the country a few years ago and took these photos below, which explains what happens at burials here.
A little bit of cultural insight into death ritual in Niger. Photos all courtesy of Scott Guptill. Other info/insights courtesy of Paul.

* * * * * *

First the body is washed by friends and family. Other friends go to the cemetery and dig the burial hole themselves. It is wrapped in white cloth, then wrapped blankets (sometimes) and then in new woven mats. It is laid in a truck, surrounded by as many people who can cram into the truck bed with it, and driven to the cemetery, followed by their friends in other vehicles or motos. Only men. You pull over to the side when you see the “body truck” coming. The body is then carried by friends into the cemetery. In most cases, this happens all on the same day the person died.

The body is taken out of the woven mats and laid into a narrow hole. They are laid in there on their side with their faces pointing towards Mecca. It is the covered with sticks as shown. I believe this is partially to keep animals from getting easy access.

The woven mats are laid over top of the sticks

Straw is then laid out over top of the woven mats.

All the men around will then help to fill in the hole with sand, making sure to well saturate the straw with sand as well.

After the burial is complete there are certain sets of Muslim prayers that are said. You can see the big crowds of men who attend the whole process.

After the prayers the men all file out and visit with each other. An important opportunity to reconnect and see many contacts in the community. A small group will stay and wet down the sand (to help it settle) and but up branches over top sometimes to also help keep animals out of the grave. This is most common if they are not buried in a wall enclosed courtyard.

In this culture, death is one of the important community occasions that people feel obligated to attend. Not attending a funeral without a really good reason is seen as very disrespectful to the community and family. Even if you were not in town, you will make sure to visit the families and pay your respects to anyone who died in your absence.
After the funeral, most of the family and close friends will go back to the family home of the deceased where the women have been waiting. They will have sacrificed an animal (goat or sheep usually) and will have prepared a big meal to feed everyone. They will go into debt and take loans to make sure this happens. People will come and go all day long. One thing you will very rarely see is tears. I have sat with the women when a child had died and outwardly I was more upset than the mother, although I am sure her heart was broken on the inside and I have no doubt it signalled dark days in their lives. I struggle to remain “calm and collected” sometimes when my own heart is broken for them. Outward signs of grief and tears and wailing are mostly discouraged in this culture.
Death is seen as so inevitable and to the outsider it seems almost like they don’t care. But I know that is not true. Many of the things they do in their religion is to try to make themselves “good enough” or the follow the rules enough, to gain entrance into their idea of heaven.
Please continue to pray for these people. God meets us all in times of grief and as we evaluate our own mortality. May He speak to their hearts and make His path clear to them.

Arielle turns 8

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 13:02:00 +0000

Please excuse the lateness of this post! We have had lots of power outages, and a shipping container arrive this week so our internet time has been limited!

But we did not want to forget to write about our sweet Arielle’s 8th birthday! Every year we like to look back at how our children have grown and I love to see their personalities emerge.

Arielle has grown up so much! Now that she is 8 I realize she has spent half of her life here in Niger, and it is reflected in how well she adapts here and how at ease she is in the homes of our African friends, out in huts, in the streets, in her school etc. This is just her life and she is content!

We have great friends here and on her 8th birthday we had a pool party and cake with our friends. While she misses her friends and cousins in Canada, we are blessed with good friends and teammates here as well.

Arielle, each year I am amazed at how much you grow as a person. I love how your eyes light up when you really smile (no more fake smiles!) and how you giggle and love to be hugged and snuggled. You are also pretty excited you lost your first tooth!

You are not afraid to try new things. You may be timid to speak up and you stay so quiet, but you will also climb onto the donkey, or try that new food you have never tasted before. You like to help out in the kitchen at home but also in the homes of our friends. You are a great helper.

More than anything, you love family. You don’t need to be with anyone else. Bennett has for years been your very best friend. Every single day you two play board games, card games, hall hockey, cards, etc. together. You come home, do your homework, and rush to do things together. I am sure when you are teens you will lose some of that, but I hope you remember these days when it was the best part of your day to play with your brother!

You are also a wonderful big sister to Ella. You calm her when she cries, you hold her in your lap, or hold her soother and rub her forehead if she is crying in her car seat while we drive. You love to help change diapers (eww!) and you can’t wait until she starts eating real food so you can feed her. I am thankful for how much you embrace your role as a big sister. There has never been a single day when you have shown anger, or jealousy or any negative emotion towards having this new little baby in our lives who can take up more of our time than you are used to before. You have embraced her and you wrap your heart around hers. She will be so lucky to have a big sister like you to look up to.

My wish this year for you is to continue to see you grow in confidence. You have so much to offer people with your great ideas, generous heart and desire to help. But you often stay quiet and watch from the background with other people. I pray you would realize how special you are and find your courage. I am so blessed to call you our daughter.

Happy Birthday Arielle!

Goodbye Sweet Sanka

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:42:00 +0000

Yesterday was a very hard day for us. We didn’t say much because events were unfolding and we were getting information at the same time we were celebrating Arielle’s 8th birthday and we did not want to let the news bring sadness to her special day.

Early yesterday morning I found out that our beloved chocolate Labrador Retriever Sanka, back home in Canada, had been hit by a car. I don’t know all the details except that his leg was shattered really badly. It could not be fixed with a cast and required pins and surgery and x-rays and potentially multiple surgeries and he might never walk again. This was also tough on him since he is an old dog, 10.5 years old. We have always trusted our family and our dear friends who took Sanka when we left that we all make the best decisions for his ongoing quality of life, and we trust them completely as they sought multiple opinions and talked etc. In the end, the best decision was to let him go peacefully without putting him through the pain and immobility and troubles in life to come.

Heartbreaking. Truly, I can’t explain enough how heartbreaking it was for us here on this end. But we knew this day would come. Anyone who has a pet that they love dearly and who has come to be an “old dog” knows they will have to face this day, no matter what specific incident brings it near.

We have seen beautiful, tear filled videos and pictures and know he was loved, petted, held, kissed and cherished in every moment even as he fell asleep forever.

I am grateful that this one old dog had so many people who loved him dearly. He split his life between two families who shared him back and forth continually and he never left any of our hearts for long, and now he never will.

I would like to show you a few photos and remember a few special memories. Sanka was truly a dog that was amazingly gentle, especially with children, and hugely loyal. He never forget anyone and loved us all to the end as well.

We got Sanka as a little tiny puppy at 10 weeks old just before Christmas 2003. He immediately broke through Paul’s “no dog upstairs” rule and slept at the foot of our bed, or after the kids came, in the middle of the hall halfway between our two bedrooms.

He came to all special family occasions with us, and we even celebrated his special days too. I am not sure how many camera takes it took to finally get him to not paw off this hat!

He loved the outdoors and water and running and grass and camping. That is one of the reasons we choose to leave him with friends rather than coming to Niger where his quality of life in the things he loved would seriously decline and he would be in danger. We loved him enough to keep him safe and happy.

When we went canoeing he would jump out of the canoe and swim along us until he got tired, and then he would yelp to be pulled into the boat where he would sleep and warm in the sun until he was ready to jump in and do it all over again. He brought us so much laughter and joy.

Hiking Heart Creek, Canmore.

He was so loved by all our family members. We would lay on the floor with him and wrestle and snuggle and nap together.

He especially bonded with Bennett when he was born. This is a grainy old photo, but Bennett is playing under his play arch and Sanka has his head laying right on top of Bennett. In the other picture he is right at his feet. He would never be too far away.

As Bennett grew older, Sanka was his best friend. He would crawl all over him and throw his ball and fall asleep next to him. Sanka was always patient, would never snap or get mad, and took everything in stride just to be with him.

When Arielle joined our family she was very afraid of dogs. While she did not have many months with Sanka before we went overseas, he became the first dog that she would snuggle and put her arms around and really trust.

Sanka had another member of our family completely under his spell. His number 1 babysitter, for all 10.5 years of his life, was my Dad. He was his best little buddy, his walking and riding partner, his wrestling partner, stick thrower and companion. I am so thankful that my Dad was with him at the end even though I know how painful that must have been emotionally.

But Sanka wasn’t just loved by our family. Halfway through his life we had to make a hard decision and we shared his love and amazingness with good friends of ours who took him in as their own. I wrote a blog about it here: Lessons and Loss- my dog Sanka

The Sorianos gave all their love to Sanka and had everything he loved that we could not offer him in Niger. Their three kids adore him, they take him for runs and of course let him eat all the crumbs I cannot think of better people to have shared his life with and I am eternally grateful for them. Any time we were home in Canada , be it for a year and a half recently or just vacations before that, we got to spend lots of time with Sanka as they shared him back with us, knowing there was always a giant Sanka sized hole in our hearts.

Sanka and Calliana

Sanka and Jenn

Recently we were home for a year and a half and we got to spend a lot of time with Sanka again. He would come to stay with us for weeks at a time. He was my walking partner.

He continued to be loved by the kids, although in his older age he couldn’t quite run after then for as long as before! Amazing how this is the same boy and his dog from the earlier picture where Sanka would lay under his baby play arch!

Just before we left to come back to Niger we had him again for a few weeks. We took this family photos with all 4 of my “baby loves” together. I will always cherish this photo.

The day we left I snapped this photo of Sanka in the hallway. I told the kids to make sure to say goodbye to Sanka as we might never see him again, knowing we would not be home again for another year and a half this time. The kids hugged him and whispered they loved him. I am thankful we got to say goodbye.

Goodbye sweet Sanka. I cry even as I write this. You meant so much to us. People will say you were only a dog but you brought us joy, you cheered us up in the hard times, made us laugh so much, showed complete loyalty and had our hearts. We miss you deeply. We love you.

NVOC Graduates reunion!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:34:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we hosted a Girls get together for our NVOC training school students. We had received the final batch of graduation certificates from the “Ministry of the Promotion of Women’s Affairs” and we wanted to get the recipients together to celebrate their success! This is the last batch of Girls who graduated and wrote the exams. It takes months here to process them through the right offices, thus the delay in getting their actual certificates. I was so proud of all these ladies who worked so hard the past three years with us to achieve their goals of being excellent seamstresses!

Here are pictures of a few of the recipients

Zeinabou is one of our oldest students and she was a lovely, quiet, peacemaker in the class.

Miriama was our youngest student. She came to us when she was just 13 years old. Her family is very poor and she was very frightfully skinny and she spent many days after school in the markets lugging a large basket of fish on her head to sell to support her family. Now she is healthy and confident and she no longer sells fish in the market. Now she is apprenticing as a seamstress in the community!

Nafisaa is a beautiful young lady who overcame many family and health struggles to be able to pass the exam and receive her certificate. She continues to persevere, walking a long distance every day to be able to go to a market where she is apprenticing as a seamstress, bringing her new young daughter with her.

It was exciting to see many of the young ladies who are now married and have new babies of their own. A few of us sat down together and it was fun to see the babies interact. We weighed and measured every baby who came with their mother and charted them and we were so thrilled to see each and every baby thriving and their mothers were so proud to tell us they were breastfeeding and were confident in caring for their children and none were sick! Praise God for all they learned!

My best friend Miriama loving on baby Ella. They both look lovely in purple

And what would a party be without food and fun. I didn’t take too many photos of the party side but we had so much fun talking and catching up with the girls who came and their lives. Arielle came as well and she enjoyed being a helper in our kitchen by washing dishes and cutting up veggies. After all was prepared we had a great meal of rice, thick meat and veggie sauce and bissap juice.

Good friends. I miss seeing these Girls every week!

And finally, a picture of Ella Sahara Grace and Sahara. When we named Ella, we had 3 reasons for choosing Sahara as her middle name. One of those reasons was this young lady, who embodies the work we do in Niger. She was 14 when she started with us and she was a shy, illiterate, sad young lady. Now she has blossomed, she has a huge wild fashion sense and a great sense of humour. She lives big and makes us laugh every time we are with her. She works hard and is sewing all her own outfits now. I hope my daughter will blossom, tackle life, embrace joy and work hard just like this Sahara. I pray also she will find a passion and mission in her own life just like we have working with young women here in Niger. Sahara absolutely loved the fact that they share a name!

As time passes after graduation many of the girls are getting married, having babies and moving away. I value so much each opportunity to gather with some of them and continue to pray for their successes and God’s richest blessing in their lives.

Hippopotamus and the Niger River

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 16:31:00 +0000

It has been quite a long time since we went on the Niger River. This river is one of the longest in Africa (third to the Nile and the Congo River) as it extends about 4,180 km. It starts in the highlands of SE Guinea and runs a crescent through Mali, Niger and on the border with Benin then through Nigeria and out the Niger Delta.

The Niger River is a relatively "clear" river, carrying only a tenth as much sediment as the Nile because the Niger's headwaters lie in ancient rocks that provide little silt.Like the Nile, the Niger floods yearly; this begins in September, peaks in November, and finishes by May. By flooding I mean more like high water and low water in a normal way that does not overflow it’s banks, except for exceptional years like 1.5 years ago now. Right now the water is getting lower and we can see sandbars start to pop up and more rocks and little islands shows.

The Niger takes one of the most unusual routes of any major river, a boomerang shape that baffled European geographers for two millennia. Its source is just 240 km (150 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean, but the river runs directly away from the sea into the Sahara Desert, then takes a sharp right turn near the ancient city of Timbuktu (Tombouctou) and heads southeast to the Gulf of Guinea.

This strange geography apparently came about because the Niger River is two ancient rivers joined together. The upper Niger, from the source west of Timbuktu to the bend in the current river near Timbuktu, once emptied into a now dry lake to the east northeast of Timbuktu, while the lower Niger started to the south of Timbuktu and flowed south into the Gulf of Guinea. Over time upstream erosion by the lower Niger resulted in stream capture of the upper Niger by the lower Niger.

The northern part of the river, known as the Niger bend, is an area because it is the major river and source of water in that part of the Sahara desert. It runs right through the capital of Niger, Niamey, and makes our city much more beautiful because of the increased greenery and capacity to grow things here!

But as much as we see the river and appreciate the river, it is pretty rare that we actually interact with it (we surely don’t swim in it) or go ON the river! We had two sets of visitors in the past month and took the opportunity to arrange two different trips on the river in a traditional pirogue. Think of it as a long, wide canoe with a thatched straw and fabric roof and foam mats across the floor to lounge on. Quite comfortable actually!

The first trip Paul went out with the visitors and they had the extra special privilege of seeing a newborn baby Hippo with it’s Mom outside of the water on an island! Chantelle was not there with her camera, so thanks to Joanne and Rob for sharing some of their photos. Then the second trip Chantelle and Bennett and Arielle went, along with our friends Tim and the Chens, while Paul stayed back with Ella. She is just too small to go out on the river yet!

We had a wonderful time letting the cool breeze cool us off in the boat while a fine mist came off the water. The kids loved searching for the hippos and where they would pop up in the water and seeing the life of the people as they interacted on the waters edge is always fascinating.

Enjoy the photos below! (a mix of Chantelle’s, Rob’s and Joanne’s)

Bennett turns 9!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:24:00 +0000

9 years ago today my life took a significant turn. 9 years ago today the most amazing, life changing event happened with the birth of our first child, Bennett. It is so hard to think it has already been 9 years!

I love the spirit of this boy. He is rambunctious and loud and like a “tornado” of energy. He loves playing games more than anything else and always wants to learn new ones. He also enjoys outdoor sports like baseball and soccer that he can play with his friends here in Niger. He is very social and “quiet time” is not in his vocabulary.

He also has a very soft side. I remember him at a park last year when an older boy who was 12 or so was calling him names and being mean. Bennett was crushed that this boy somehow didn’t like him. He feels so sad for the underdogs in life and his heart goes out to so many of the beggars we see on the streets in Niger. He is quick to share his things, and to ask us how we can invest in helping other people.

When the floods in Alberta happened last year and lots of people were displaced from their homes, he decided to save some of his allowance every week to donate to the rebuilding charities. He still asks about their homes and how it is going even though we live on the other side of the World.

Bennett also loves his sisters dearly. Arielle is his best friend and they spend so many hours together every week playing soccer in the yard, playing board games and games, and he loves to help her with his homework. He loves to snuggle and hold little Ella and run to her as soon as she cries. I could not ask for a more loving, protective older brother for my two girls.

I love that he has a heart for the downtrodden and hurting. He fits right in with the heart and purpose of our family and we love that he is being shaped and formed to mold his already sensitive heart into an even more effect and sensitive place that God will use throughout his life to reach into the lives of others.

Don’t get me wrong, our boy is far from perfect! But we love that he is teachable, gentle and loving in his core. We love being his parents and while these past 9 years have flown by, we are so excited to see glimpses and peeks into the young man he is growing to be, while we get to enjoy the love, hilarity, snuggles and eruptions of laughter that are his everyday!

We love you Bennett. Happy 9th Birthday!

Visitation

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 21:30:00 +0000

Lately, one of the biggest parts of my ministry is reconnecting with women. As we work through and plan our next incoming group of Girls for our Girls at Risk school we want to continually connect with the women around us, whether they are incoming students, graduated students or whole families of people we have come to love.

We do a lot of visiting, sitting, listening and mentoring in our work here and it really is one of the joys of my heart as well. I love to sit with the women who are dear to us and to hear them tell their own stories, to share in the highs and lows. To have them openly ask for prayer and to journey through big decisions with them. I get to ask cultural questions, to dig deeper into their own cultures, traditions, religions and preconceived notions. We often laugh about just how different our preconceived ideas are between Western and Eastern cultures.

Below are just a few of the photos of the precious women I have been honoured to spend time with this past month. You will notice a running theme of a certain itty bitty lady who accompanies me most places these days too! She is a trooper and doesn’t mind being passed from lady to lady who all want to tap her cheeks and give her kisses and cluck over her like Aunties all over the world know to do!

Banking for the Poor

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 13:49:00 +0000

In Africa, you often hear many stories of despair, failed projects, bribery, corruption and suffering. The stories of success and lasting hope seem few and far between. However, one of those stories of success exists in the form of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA). You might have heard about these member operated savings groups that exist with no outside cash, but did you know this model actually has its roots in Niger? The first, and most famous group, is called Mata Masu Dubara.

A Village Savings and Loan Association is a group of people who save together and take small loans from those savings. The activities of the group run in cycles of one year, after which the accumulated savings and the loan profits are distributed back to members.The purpose of a VSLA is to provide simple savings and loan facilities in a community that does not have easy access to formal financial services.

I bet you thought that the poor had no extra money to even think about saving right? In Niger, the truth is that the poor often deal in small amounts of money daily. They get a small amount from a sale of an item, a small shop they run, a small salary or a gift or something. They buy their food often one meal at a time at little corner stores that you find on every street. The fact that they deal in small amounts of money, like maybe even 50 cents a day, makes it infeasible to open a bank account, pay interest and bank fees, or even to save with a local lender who charges high interest rates. So they just keep it and spend it each day. And when an emergency arises like a sickness or doctors bills or even annual school fees are due, they just don’t have the money saved up to be able to pay for it. The VSLAs revolutionize money savings in small communities because it gives them a way to save.

A VSLA savings group meeting outdoors in Ghana.

The system is very simple; but the result is powerful. In a VSLA, savings is flexible across members and over time. Members do not have to save the same amount as each other; and they do not have to save the same amount at each meeting. Also, by saving more frequently in very small amounts, the poor can build their savings more easily; and this contributes to improving the security of the household.

So what’s the quick version of the system? I’m so glad you asked!

- Members meet weekly to save. They can save between 1 and 5 increments of the base savings amount. So if the base is 25 cents per share for example, they must save between 0.25 cents and $1.25 a week.

- After a month of this saving there is a basic fund of money available for people to take loans from. The group must agree on the loan. There is 10% interest. Historically the loan fund is quite active and thus the overall “bank” of the group grows with interest payments.

- There is also a small social fund donation given each week (usually one share worth) that people can request to access (not a loan) for funeral or serious sickness for example.

At the end of the year, the amount of money is divided by the number of shares sold. So if you bought 50 shares over the year for 25 cents, but there were lots of loans and now each share is worth 30 cents each, that is how much you get. The end of the year payout allows them to make major purchases like paying a school year fees all at once, invest in new agricultural inputs, etc.

VSLA Key facts around the World:

Repayment rates are the highest in the microfinance industry;
Over 90% of groups continue to operate more than five years after receiving training;
The average annualised return on assets is 35.4%

You might be sceptical to think that this could work, but in fact it has been more successful in Africa than in any other continent. AS our young women have graduated from our three year Vocational Training program, we hope to see them using their skills and sewing machines to earn money to support their families. A VSLA group will help them to save some of their money so that it is available to them for future plans!

Our NVOC girls in a savings meeting.

So one of these groups, with young ladies from NVOC, has already started. There is another group, with some of the local Tuareg moms and potentially also NVOC grads, that we hope will start up soon as well. As soon as we bring a few groups through one cycle they can split and reteach other people in new groups.

Cecilia and I went to Ghana back in 2012 to get the training on VSLAs and Cecilia recently re-taught the system to some of our teammates. We are thrilled to get them slowly starting up here in Niger. The women we work with especially want to find little ways to improve their families financial security and we hope that VSLAs will be one vehicle that will help them to do that.

Cecilia and I flying in a teeny tiny plane to Ghana

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Banking for the Poor- it can be done!

Christmas in Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 11:12:00 +0000

Over the years, many people have asked me what Christmas looks like in a country like Niger. It is a predominately Muslim country (between 80 and 98% depending on how you look at the stats) and there is no snow, no pine trees with lights or decorations on houses or anything else like that. But no matter where in the World we live, we celebrate Christmas with people. We celebrate Christ’s birth in ways unique to each location but also in ways that reflect our deep roots to family, friends and neighbours.

Here in Niger this Christmas some teammates noticed that the “sermons” from the mosques that they say over the loud speakers 5x a day are getting longer. A local friend says they are speaking out against Christmas, against Christ and telling people not to celebrate. However very few of the people here actually speak Arabic and thus few understand what they are saying at all. With multiple mosques in ever community it can feel oppressing but we sense God’s presence.

The “Grand Mosque” in Niamey

So for us when we are here in Niger, Christmas is about community and worshiping and celebrating together. Each year the International church has a carols, candlelight and cookies service where we sit outdoors with candles and sing carols and worship and enjoy fellowship.

We decorate our house with a little tree and we make homemade ornaments

I also enjoy setting up my nativity collection around the house on the holidays. I am slowly collecting them in my travels and love their unique styles and materials. Here is a sample of one table set up These represent Ghana, Burkina Faso, Spain, France and a Paul McIver original!

Two of our Christmas seasons here we have also been really blessed to have family visit us. It is a great time of year weather wise to be in Niger and we love every minute of spending holidays with our families!

One of our favorite parts of the holidays here is the time we spend with our team. Depending on who is home in Canada on furlough and who is visiting and who we have for volunteers, this group of people looks a little different every year. We love the way God has given us family here in this group and we laugh so hard together! We have great times of fellowship, worship and laughter!

Another special part of the holidays here is the visits we have with our National friends. We go and bring treats and share meals and share the Christmas story with many of our dear Nigerien friends. Here is Bennett and Arielle in 2011 with the daughters of our friend and co-worker Mohammed.

And finally, we enjoy special times with just our immediate family. Nothing is more important to me than my family and our Christmas holidays are full of baking, stories, games (lots of games!) and laughter and hugs and Christmas traditions. No matter where we live, these follow us. I am so thankful!

So from our home to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, no matter where in the world this holiday finds you! May it be filled with loved ones, special traditions, memories and joy as we celebrate Christ’s birth!

Transitions- Pain and Joy mixed together

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 10:32:00 +0000

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”

We have just arrived back in Niamey, Niger. Our second home in this world and arriving is exciting and brings tears of joy to our eyes, but also we realize there is great sadness in the leaving. One of the hardest things to do is big transitions. Where life looks so different on one side as compared to the other. It takes weeks and lots of purposeful time talking, praying and preparing to do this as well as possible. We have spent lots of time talking through it with our kids to help them do it well this time. Now that they are older, the transitions are harder and more real to them.

The leaving

The hardest thing to leave is people. Nothing can replace the dear family and friends we have at home in North America. We find that almost everything else is a willing sacrifice, but leaving loved ones hurts and truly costs us something in our hearts. I always say the leaving would be easy if we could only bring them with us. So many of them support us deeply and encourage us and we are so thankful, and while some don’t support us, we are assured none the less that this is where we are supposed to be. God has clearly placed his call on our lives to the work He is accomplishing in Niger, and the work He is doing in our own lives and characters through our time here.

Leaving this time after 17 months at home in Canada has sent us out with such an amazing group of supporters. We have connected deeply with so many of you on so many levels. I made so many rich friendships in different places. We tabulated it up and we had 76 speaking engagements and we drove just over 10,000 km in those 17 months, not including flights for work to Ontario, BC and Saskatchewan. You welcomed us and we were inspired by your own passions in your communities and for God’s work around the World. We were touched to see your generosity and partnership in the work He is doing in Niger. I can’t wait to see a bunch of you come out to Niger sometime in this next term to see first hand the Tuareg people, the school, and so much more. To experience this beautiful land and it’s people and challenges yourselves.

There are indeed little things we will miss. Coffee dates at a cafe (and good coffee in general). Easy grocery shopping and a large variety of food. Sane driving. Holidays celebrated and decorations. The colors of Fall, the amazing beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Camping. Activities like libraries, sport teams to join, weekend getaways to beautiful places. So many parts of everyday life that look a little bit different here.

The arriving

Coming home to our house in Niamey felt like home. Driving down the streets and seeing the same sights and smells and so many of the people we love, it felt like we had barely been gone at all. While the leaving was especially hard for our two older kids this time, once they were in our house they were excited to see some of their toys, their own beds, and to remember all the good memories here. What a blessing to have our home still here and not to have to start over setting up at some place new. It gives a good sense of rest and belonging already, even though there is a lot of work ahead to get it cleaned and set up again and unpacked.

The greatest joy in arriving is the people, which ironically was also the hardest to leave behind! While we can never replace the family and friends we left behind, we have been blessed with an amazing community here in Niger. We have a wonderful team we work with day in and day out. They are surrogate siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents to our kids and us, they help to fill that gap in our hearts and it is beautiful to see community work as God intended. We have great sets of friends here in our team and in the general community. I personally count many of these women as sisters. Women who love me, walk with me, know me deeply and love unconditionally. We go through life together and I am so happy to be back among them. Our kids are thrilled to see their friends here again and we look forward to re-establishing family traditions and outings and community times as a normal part of our life again. Thank you Jesus for this community here in Niger of people who are full of grace, who seek your heart and serve you.

Already our Tuareg friends are also showing up to greet us. Our guards and their families re-embrace us in their lives. Paul’s apprentice Hama was waiting outside the gate on our second day here, eager to see Paul again. While we were gone we put him through a program at a local trade school so he could keep learning. He exceled and got his certificate and has been working at the International school as a welder/handyman where he has become known for his great work ethic and attitude. He is eager for the Men’s program to launch again so he can keep learning.

I can’t wait to get out next week and starting visiting our Girls and their families. Some have gotten married and even had babies as well in this past year. I have missed them and I can’t wait to hear more about the changes in their lives and what is new and exciting with them.

In posts to come we will reintroduce you to the country we are in, it’s people and the things we are experiencing like for the first time!

Until then, a few pictures of our travels!

An early morning flights out of Amsterdam has us enjoying our last Starbucks and rolling our carts through the quiet hallways.

Ella was an amazing first time flyer!

Bennett’s picture out the window of sunrise over Paris.

Introducing Ella !!

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 23:06:00 +0000

Dear blogging friends. While many of you know us in person and have heard the news, I realized there are also a good chunk of you who follow this blog who live elsewhere around the World and thus I am sorry I am late with this blog! (In my defense- we are moving, packing and having a newborn , so pastimes such as blogging have been put on hold!)

We are so thrilled to announce that our precious daughter, Ella Sahara Grace, was born exactly a month ago today on October 18th!

This amazing miracle gift from God is already such a joy and blessing to us. I am reminded how special it is to be a mother. I love the late night snuggles while she nurses and I can gaze into her eyes and pray blessings and protection over her future. I am excited to see her grow up and to see the wonderful child and daughter she will be. But I don’t want her to grow up too fast either! I am determined to enjoy this stage and every stage, to embrace and slow down and snuggle and be present in each and every moment.

Now that Ella is here we have purchased our return tickets to Niger, leaving December 10th and arriving in Niger on the 12th. Please join us in prayer for all of Ella’s paperwork for her passport, visa etc. to come in on time and for all the stresses related to packing and moving our family back around the World. Pray also for our hearts and that of our families back here in North America. The absolute hardest part of moving back overseas is saying goodbye to the precious members of our family who we will not see as often. We will miss family events, special moments and lots of family birthdays, vacations and hugs. We know clearly we are doing what God has given us in this time, but the distance is still hard, as any International Worker can attest to.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made

Psalm 139:14

The opinion and judgement factor

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 02:04:00 +0000

Ephesians 4:29

New International Version (NIV)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Over the past while I have been ruminating, and even written several drafts, on a post of opinion and judgement. Maybe it is just because I have become more aware, or maybe it is a return to North American culture thing that triggered me to notice it more, but more and and more I have become aware of the judgement factor.

I understand that everyone likely has an opinion on most things in life. We all take the information available to us and make choices when faced with decisions. Some people research and study and use all available methods to make the best decisions. Others do a little research and talk to people, others google, others go with a gut feeling. But whatever it is, you make a decision. What has surprised me is the way that people judge other people based on their decisions. And personally, I feel that women are especially susceptible to this (though men are by no means off the hook).

Let me give you an example. Being pregnant and just about to deliver I can assure you that it seems everyone out there has an opinion on what I should do. Especially about how I should deliver this child. Now I know a bunch of women that I love and respect who have given birth in the past few years. Their experiences range the gamut from those who chose caesarean sections for the ease and convenience, those who had medically urgent caesareans, those who had hospital assisted normal vaginal births, those who chose to stay at home with a doula or midwife present, and those who chose to give birth alone in their shower (and even other options in between but you get the point!). I know each and every one of these women love their children dearly. I know each one wanted a healthy child and a healthy recovery and was concerned for their own body as well. I do not judge any single one of them for the type of birth they chose, even if they chose something that I personally would not consider in my own life and situation. In fact, I think it is fascinating to sit and talk with them and hear their decision making process and research and thoughts that led up to their choices. Not because I think what they did was right or wrong, but because it interests me in how we make choices and the different way or angle that we can all approach the common female experience of childbirth. (However not all women are open to discussing their decision- potentially because like me they feel that society is often judging their decisions and thus they would need to defend themselves- so sad!). I believe they all made what they felt was the best decision and no one can tell us that their choice was wrong. Each one has a healthy child now. I have been doing a lot of reading, talking to people and online research. My last childbirth experience was 8 years ago and did not go real well with some medical hiccups at the end that led to a temporary adductor muscle paralysis for months ( I am trying to avoid that this time!) , so I want to see what is out there for best practice and knowledge and research from all different sources, levels of training and medical professionals. I find it frustrating when there is contradictory evidence, even from people who are on the same end of the spectrum. For example when a birth coach and a long-trained doula and midwife all have strong different opinions on a certain practice or matter. But why do people feel they need to impress upon you their choices and what they believe to be right? Do they think that I love my children any less than they love theirs, or that somehow I don’t care and want the best for my child and my delivery? It is hurtful to hear some of their comments sometimes and feel their disappointment if I am choosing something other than what they chose.

But that is just one example. There are many types of situations where we do the same thing to each other. Why is it that we feel the need to judge? Why is it that we feel the need to put our opinion out there to convince or guilt someone into agreeing with us or feeling they are disappointing us? I feel one of the gravest things I fear in this society is that we are not encouragers or cheerleaders of each other. I went for a pedicure with my sister in law today and we were discussing this exact thing, that we face enough pressure and judgement from the world around us that our close community and families should be each other’s best advocates and cheerleaders. We should be the ones to champion and love and support each other, EVEN IF they make a decision that is not the same as one that we would make. I personally am doing everything I can do avoid a c-section delivery and it would not be my choice to have that unless there was really no other choice in a medical emergency. I am also hoping (and trying some natural methods) to have this labour start at 39 weeks because a smaller baby and earlier birth will lessen my chances of nerve paralysis this time and any chance of a medical c-section. But I have no problem supporting and loving the people in my life who do choose to have a c-section or those who wait until natural labour starts even if it is 42-43 weeks. Because at the end of the day, unless they are choosing something dire and radical and endangering their lives with something crazy, I trust them. I choose to love the person and support them and trust they are making decisions, along with their spouses or whoever else is involved in their decisions, that they will think it out and do what is best for their family, their health and their situation.

Why would my opinion matter and I would waste my time trying to convince them what they are doing is wrong? I can see so much hurt and broken relationships that emanate from that type of thing. I have seen broken relationships emanate from choices where we judge. Who stays at home as a Mom and who goes back to work. Who spends their money in what way. Who stays close to family, who moves away for jobs and future. Who uses public schools vs. who uses Christian school vs. who home schools. Do we really think any of those people love their children or families any less and did not really think through and work through their decision? How much easier it would be if we knew we had support and care in our corner and the judgement was erased.

I believe God created us to live in community. To care for one another and exhort and encourage. We are pitted against culture and forces and society who can often be against us and make this life hard. We need to be more of each other’s cheerleaders. More of the people who support, encourage and celebrate our choices, not those who judge or pressure or make you feel stupid for a choice that you make just because it is not a choice that they make. I personally would feel so much relief from that, and I think all of our relationships would be better for it. Let’s not judge. Let our words be a gift to encourage, lift up and exhort others.

Summer update Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 20:50:00 +0000

Well here is Part two of our summer update. If you missed part 1 go back and check it out!

We continue to hang out with family as much as possible over the summer. We like to drop by unexpectedly (or expected) and just make even little visits count where we can. We went camping with cousins and had a hoot too! Once again, these photos are by no means exhaustive but representative of people and events!

We saw old friends and made new ones. We were active, camped, biked and did a lot of geocaching! We built epic sand castles!

Daddy’s Mayan ruins

Finding geocaches

We wipe out on our bikes! But she was a trooper and got right back up!

We take fun family photos. I take lots of photos of my kids. But sometimes better than others haha!

Summer update Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:57:00 +0000

I realize that this year in Canada I have been horrible at updating the blog. What was normally once every 10 days or so in Niger have turned into once every three months. But since this in part was created to keep our family and friends updated while we were overseas, I guess during the time at home I have not felt inspired to write. In truth we have been quite busy. From September to July we had 70 separate speaking/preaching/teaching/meetings going on to do with our work in Niger, as well as a 10 day trip to Niger for Chantelle in June for graduation of the Girls School. Wow, no wonder we felt tired at the start of the summer! Since then we have tried to take it a little slower, with the kids being on summer break and all, to get some of that rest that is supposed to be associated with furlough year home!

So I thought i would put together a two part update with mostly photos to show you what we have been up to this summer. We are in Red Deer until mid Fall as we await the birth of our child in early October so there is still time to catch up face to face as well!

First of all, Paul and I went on a short little trip for our 13th wedding anniversary down to Florida. The time away together was priceless and relaxing and I am so thankful for the wonderful husband God has given me!

We rode bikes on the boardwalk

We took a tour of the Everglades

We went to the Seaquarium

And we just hung out and enjoyed the time together!

We also got to spend a lot of time this summer with our favourite dog Sanka. For those of you who don’t remember, Sanka spent the first 5 years of his life as our dog before going to join the family of our good friends when we went to Niger in an environment that would not be healthy for him. We love him dearly to this day and he is an old dog now, almost 10 years old!

We went to Invermere/ Radium for a week to relax and enjoy boating, swimming and exploring.

We also got to see my Niger teammate Lisa who has just arrived home for her own year of furlough. Yes these are wild big horn sheep behind us!

We got to be a part of Auntie Rebecca’s engagement scavenger hunt day!

Recreating the famous painting “American Gothic” in our own style.

We house-sat for friends out in the country and enjoyed the country life for a week

I am a huge fan of canola fields in the summer. My hard drive is full of photos of them. So beautiful!

And we also had the joy of spending an afternoon picnic with our teammates from Niger the Cheungs who were around for a brief vacation. I stayed with them while I was in Niger this June and we love them to bits! This is the “Tuareg team” of the larger Niger team!

Stay tuned for part two!

What gives my heart joy–a surprise trip to Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:07:00 +0000

Each one of us is created differently, a masterpiece made unique by God. One of the most diverse things about us is found in our passions, our heart and our joys. There is such a great diversity about what brings people joy, gives them Goosebumps and stirs their passion. For those of you who know me or have read our blog you know that one of my greatest passions outside my family is the Girls we work with in Niger, Africa. It is a work that feels less like work and more like joy. Less like struggle and sacrifice (most days!) and more like a blessing and a gift. This year away in Canada has been wonderful for many reasons, but I have deeply missed my Girls and our teammates are our work at NVOC. (www.nvoc.ca)

Four years of work is just wrapping up this season of our ministry. We did a year of prep and planning and then spent the past three years working with the same group of amazing young Nigerien women as we took them through a three year program of Vocational Training coupled with life skills of health, hygiene, business, etc and a lot of mentoring. We walked a lot of tough roads with them in their times of crisis and deeply bonded and enjoyed these ladies. And now they graduate. We send them out back into their lives, with many shortly getting married, becoming mothers, and hopefully using their sewing machines as well as all they have learned to be the most successful wives, mothers and young women possible. I have seen the impossible occur with tribal/ethnic lines being broken, enemies becoming sisters, bonds being formed and horizons expanded. I am so proud of these girls. And it made me very sad to not be able to be present for their big graduation since it was our year in Canada on furlough.

But God knows the deep joys of our heart. Many of you know we are expecting our third child (a great joy in itself!) and that also means we are delayed returning to Niger another 4-5 or so months than planned. But I am also at the perfect middle spot of the pregnancy when I feel great and am out of the risk of miscarriage and before any risks of delivering in a place like Niger. And as my heart yearned to return I found great blessing from other people. My husband encouraged me with all his blessing (and money!) to come back to Niger to be there for this huge event in the life of my ministry and heart. My doctors gave me full medical permission to fly. My churches encouraged and prayed for me to go. And so….. I did.

I am writing you this blog post from Niamey, Niger. Literally the joy I had today and the tears that run down my face are a testament to God’s goodness in my life. This morning we had the first day of celebrations for the Girls School. When I drove into the courtyard and some of the girls started to see I was there , pandemonium broke out. We cried, there were huge group hugs and embraces and greetings for quite a while. Everyone was so happy I was there with them. In many ways I feel like a mother to these ladies and coming home for this was important to me. My best friend Miriama and I both broke down and cried too and stayed close all day. I felt so blessed to give each young lady their certificate from the Ministry who overseas Vocational schools and to give them their own sewing machine and a start-up kit consisting of items like thread, scissors, rulers, receipt books, and a variety of other start up supplies for their fledgling seamstress careers. Some of them have already taken the next step to start working as formal apprentices with tailor shops to learn more. And this is all the first group of girls who wrote the exam early. The girls who just wrote the exams last week will wait for the results and then we get to do this all again.

I will be writing more this week about the celebrations and reunions here in Niger. We have surprised most everyone and I am enjoying every moment with all these people who are dear to me. If it seems like a surprise to you reading this, be assured it is to most everyone It only happened in the past few weeks to make it happen and we kept it quiet as we waited to see, even at the last minute, if there was any issue at all with the pregnancy and then we would cancel without hesitation. And yes I bought extra medical insurance.

But God is good. I feel great. I was plagued by headaches in Canada and I am headache free here and the heat is not bothering me. My husband is an amazing blessing and has given me a great gift in this and I can’t thank him enough. And my heart is full joy. Rejoice with me this week as we celebrate together all that these Girls have achieved.

When I first arrived to surprise all the Girls.

A huge wave of crushing hugs, being embraced by love.

My best African friend Miriama shows up and sees me.

Lots of hugs all day long

The girls and many parents sitting to hear speeches as we tell the parents all they have achieved.

Our teammate Ace gave a great speech and story and a challenge to the Girls to remember God’s love for them and to use the skills they have acquired.

Posing with their certificates

Posing with her certificate and her own sewing machine and a bag full of sewing supplies to get her business going.

I love all the Girls and I am so happy to be surrounded by them. I told my teammates after, it feels like coming home.

Why we do Justice and Compassion

noreply@blogger.com (Chantelle) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:44:00 +0000

reposted from my friend and co-worker Curtis Doell. He also works for the C&MA and he is the Regional Leader for Justice and Compassion in the Sun region, whereas I am the leader for the Sand (Africa) region.You can check out his ministry at http://livepassion.ca. I am always so encouraged by him and his wife Linda and he answers the question so well- Why do we do Justice and Compassion? This really is just the beginning of an important conversation but I think that this is a great start for getting us all to think and re-think!

What is Justice and Compassion?

“ I think it’d be good to have some sort of discussion, theological or otherwise, as to what “justice and compassion” means in God’s eyes. I find that these are topics that most people haven’t considered theologically. We know we’re supposed to have compassion and seek justice, but that’s about all we know. The question of ‘why it’s important to God’ doesn’t get much play in Christian circles… “

The Problem

The problem is that public service is becoming “in-thing” to do all across North America. Our good intentions have unintended, negative repercussions. “Our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency. We converge on inner-city neighborhoods to plant flowers and pick up trash, battering the pride of residents who have the capacity (and responsibility) to beautify their own environment. We fly off on missions trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways – trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in “turning my people into beggars“ ” Excerpt from Toxic Charity ©2011.

The stories go on and on. A church in Mexico painted 6 times by 6 different groups in ONE summer. Villages that have frequent teams visiting having pre-planning meetings about who is going to “go forward” this time. Entire wardrobes are thrown out knowing that there is another team coming with “new” clothes. And the kicker, people heading back to suburbia or their city or their country feeling blessed by being able to help someone who is “less fortunate”.

Biblically…

God reveals himself as compassionate and just towards the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, the fatherless, and the widow. Throughout Scripture God instructs His people to be a community that reflects his nature; a people of compassion, justice, and mercy. Thus, acts of compassion and generosity are important spiritual disciplines that we must cultivate in our life; to care for the poor and oppressed; to live generously toward others’ needs. In doing so, we carry on the ministry of Jesus and reflect an accurate image of God to the world.

Justice ensures that all people are valued and treated with dignity and fairness because all are loved by God and made in his image. Sin causes humans to have a distorted worldview that allows for prejudices that devalue others. As a result, people suffer injustice. Jesus came to redeem our relationships with God, one another and his creation. We are called to be ministers of this message of reconciliation and serve people, releasing them from spiritual, physical, social and economic bondages.

How Do We Move Forward?

So how do we become ministers of reconciliation and serve people to release them? How do we do this so our helping does not hurt? How can we build steps to sustainability and support? I encourage you to comment.

I leave you with The Oath for Compassionate Service by Robert Lupton

Never do for the poor what they have (or could have) the capacity to do for themselves.
Limit one-way giving to emergency situations.
Strive to empower the poor through employment, lending, and investing, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements.
Subordinate self-interests to the needs of those being served.
Listen closely to those you seek to help, especially to what is not being said – unspoken feelings may contain essential clues to effective service.
Above all, do no harm.