Hello again my faithful friends,

Amy and I took 2 weeks vacation the last two weeks of May, during which we visited Niger! What an adventure. We were blessed by the generosity and kindness of the Schmidt family, who warmly welcomed us to stay with them in Niamey. The trip to Niamey from Parakou was a 12 hour long bus ride, which we took from 10pm to 10am in the morning. Not our most comfortable trip, but it meant we were able to arrive in Niamey in the morning with the traveling behind us. I had assumed Niger would be a variation of the same West-African theme, similar to Benin with subtle differences. Nope! Immediately crossing the border the green of Benin is left behind and trees become scattered few and far between. Even the the red road of Benin becomes yellow in Niger.

We crossed the bridge in the dark at around 3 in the morning, desperately trying to fill out our paper work and run back to the bus in time so that it wouldn’t leave us behind at the Niger/Benin border (which it nearly did twice)! Quite stressful at the time, but something we can laugh about now. :)

Upon entering Niamey we noticed the people also looked quite different- the population being 98% Muslim, there is a large Arabic influence. The vast majority of women wear the hijab, and many have ornate embroidery on clothing and henna tattoos on hands and feet which are less common in Benin. 

We had a wonderful time with the Schmidts, who showed us the sights of the city, gave us a tour of the SIM Niger office and Sahel Academy (the international school), played ping pong with us, and wisely suggested we get a pass for the nearby pool- somehow we planned our visit to Niger during the hottest months of the year!  

During our time we went for a short visit to see Galmi Hospital, a SIM operated hospital 6 hours by bus to the west of Niamey. This had particular interest for me as my grandparents had known the hospital well and my parents had worked there short term, my mom as a nurse and my dad as a medical student in the early 80s. The Bembéréké and Galmi hospitals are very different- I thought that Bembéréké was in the middle of nowhere, but Galmi is actually in a much more remote location! Since Galmi is still owned by SIM, there are many more westerners/missionaries- at least 40, in fact (including children). On average about 5 western doctors,  a pharmacist, and even an occupational therapist. It was interesting to compare and contrast the two hospitals. We enjoyed the hospitality of the wonderful missionary community there who greeted us warmly and took great care of us for the two nights we spent there.
All in all it was a wonderful vacation, surprisingly relaxing for the 36 hours of bus travel we made, and we were very thankful for the opportunity to see another African country. 

Then we settled in back in to hospital work- have I mentioned how much I love my patients?? With the few Bariba and Peulh words I know I have made great friends with many of the patients. Many who come into Chirurgie with more complex problems are there for 3 or 4 weeks before being transferred to Soins Minima, located just behind us where they might stay for another 3 months until they can go home. They call me “Baké Péno”, which means “third daughter”. It started with just “Baké”, the Bariba word, and they added the Peulh word “Péno” when I started to wear the white, red and blue beads that the Peulh characteristically wear. When they greet me with their chorus of “Ka we ru Baké Péno!” it puts a huge smile on my face. I wish I could learn Bariba more quickly, but I remind myself that 10 months ago I hardly spoke French, so I really shouldn’t be too disappointed.

I am now quite comfortable in the Chirurgie unit, no longer getting vertigo at the sight of the traumas, and have also started accompanying the ambulance with evacuations to Parakou- it’s amazing when I think back to my first few days, stumbling through the French, asking a million questions, always needing help or translations. So thank you for your many prayers, God has truly answered them!

I now have just over 2 months left here in Benin- departure date is September 6th- and I know the time is going to fly by.

I would love your prayers to FINISH WELL. To stay focused, to bring joy and positivity, to work hard, to share Jesus in word and in example.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to move, revive, challenge, grow, to break up the fallow ground of hearts that are hard or are satisfied with a works-based Christianity and to transform the church here into a brilliant light, joyful and multiplying. (Great book recommendation: Life in the Spirit by A.W. Tozer.)

I love you my Christian family, thank you for supporting me and for sticking with me!

With love, Charity