Guess What Is In My Drain...

Sanu! I have made it safely to Niger. I have been here almost five days. Wow. It seems like I have been here weeks already. My flight here was pretty uneventful. Nothing too exciting to report on that. I met up with Ashley, the OR supervisor, at the airport in Paris and we flew the last leg of the trip together. It was great to finally meet. We arrived in Niamey and stayed three nights at a guesthouse there before we could catch our final flight here. All my previous trips through Niamey were really short so it was great to look around a bit. Found an amazing Indian restaurant close to where we stayed.

On Wednesday we flew the last leg of our flight to Maradi. Had a rocky start to the flight but the rest of the two hour flight was smooth. I’m still in awe as we fly across Niger. With there being only one paved road across the country and tons of small villages converged upon by small walking paths, it’s no wonder why VVF exists.

I was thinking the other day how God changes our hearts. I never imagined I would be living in the desert. Not in a million years. I grew up on the beach and love the water. I definitely have sand, but no water. Take away all the times I have jumped or screamed the past two days from random things that have spooked me and I can almost say I love it here. Daily I have been getting more relaxed with where I am. I am not as afraid to open a cupboard and think that a snake will jump out at me. Tonight I was in my bathroom and jumped then laughed and stood in disbelief as I watched a gecko shove its fat little head down the drain in my sink. He is now down in my drain and I don’t know if he can get out. He’s chilling right under the drain. I’m afraid to use it. It was the most random thing to see. It’s little body was wriggling all around as it forced its head down the drain…

The last two days have been filled to overflowing with information overload. There are four other houses in the same compound where I am living that house four families with enough mission experience to last multiple lifetimes. They have all been great in teaching Ashley and I how to live. Tonight we got a good introduction on how to light our stove. Yesterday we did the market. In all the time I have lived in West Africa I have not had to do all my own cooking and cleaning and clothes washing, and I mean by hand. I saw the market yesterday in a whole new light. It was great to have people to translate for us and tell us how to find the best produce and what to do with it once we got home. I bought flour and sugar by the kilo from a nice man on the corner with a scale. I now have flour and sugar in my freezer to kill the weebles in it. I was told the stuff I bought was fresh so I didn’t have to do it but at this point if you tell me there is a chance I have bugs in my flour or sugar I will do anything I can to kill them. Things that back in the states would take minutes to do can and do take hours here. After the market your day is not over. Now you have to clean everything. By cleaning I mean first washing it with soap and water and then letting it soak in bleach then rinsing it again. Lettuce is the most annoying one. Every piece of lettuce is washed this way. You definitely learn how to appreciate what you eat. Something else I learned was that you need to know what you find in different seasons. Right now as you drive through Maradi you see sellers with plates of carrots on their heads. Carrots are everywhere. It’s carrot season. I’m told that in a few months you won’t find any so now is the time to freeze them so you will have some to eat later. After going through the long washing process now you cut them up to freeze them. I have carrots, bell peppers, onions, cilantro and flour and sugar in my freezer. I’m so thankful I went to the Brown’s for dinner tonight. I would have stuck with a granola bar if I hadn’t.

Yesterday evening we went to see the hospital. Once it is cleaned it will be so beautiful. I can’t wait to see it filled with women. The ward is huge. The operating room is amazing. The hospital has been locked up for months except for a construction team and it is FILTHY. It seems like an overwhelming project but starting Monday we will start cleaning, hopefully with a team of workers. The amount of spiders everywhere in there could possibly set a record though. We opening one door and in the door frame was a gross pregnant spider. What scared us even more was the egg sac next to her. This egg sac was cream colored and covered with spikes. I came home a googled it and I’m wondering if it is a brown widow spider??? I kind of don’t want to know. Either way it is still there and we are hoping the eggs don’t hatch anytime soon. SO GROSS! That is how I feel about that.

We met with our hausa teacher today. We’ll start lessons next week. That is really the biggest prayer request I have right now. I am awful at languages and not only do I need to learn hausa, I need to eventually learn French as well. Hausa is first since most of the women speak it since they don’t live in the cities. Everyone else speaks French though. Please pray that I will be able to pick them both up quickly.

Tomorrow is a new day. I think I will try and cook something on my gas stove now that I think I know how to fiddle with it to make it work. I can’t thank you all enough for your prayers. Please keep them coming and let me know how I can be praying for you too!