So here's a weird thing, hair and nails grow heaps faster here!? Checked with two other Australian missos and they have confirmed. I'm cutting the kids nails weekly, bizarre!! Tomorrow is the national election. It is quite the focus, everyone promoting and celebrating their candidate kind of like footy fever. Please p. for this election, the direction of the country, and for the people's response thereafter. One of the main focusses this past week has been the cutting down of the huge dead tree in the yard. I was sad to see it go, the kids and the neighbourhood kids had been thoroughly enjoying playing on it. But God assured me; "See I am doing a new thing..." I looked up the verse that He was reminding me of, and it continues; "now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Is. 43:19 That was pretty encouraging! So the workers came and cut it down with some blunt machetes and axes, unbelievable. Such hard work in the hot sun. I fed them and gave them heaps of drinks. Brad thought afterward to get out his knife sharpener that we'd brought and he sharpened the machetes, the guys couldn't believe it! Such a bummer we didn't think of it before they cut the tree down, hahah, whoops!! Anyway the neighbours that I've befriended came and bought all the wood so then ensued 3 hours of every person available carting the branches from our place to next door. This also invited onlookers who would run in and quickly grab a share of the wood for home. This photo shows a small portion of who had been to and fro-ing in the yard that day. e other things that have started are language learning and French kinder for the kids. They constantly amaze and encourage me the way they so bravely embrace life here, unhindered by the myriad of differences!! The Fulani language is pretty crazy, for those that understand, their pronouns change when their tenses change, and their verb endings AND beginnings change for questions and plurals... just for starters. Anyway. I was thinking this morning, God I feel like I'm at the bottom of this huge mountain. And then I read the verse about the beautiful feet who bring good news, it says "on the mountains"!! (Is. 52:7) Oh dear, yes it is a mountain, but one that must be climbed if the news it to be shared!! God give us strength!!! The problem at the moment is that I don't yet have any female Fulani relationships to motivate me, and I'm also working overtime in the brain to use my (seemingly more and more) basic French, all day long! But anyway thus endeth the complaint.
Brad has very cleverly worked out a battery and charger system so we have a fan and a light for when the power goes out (all the time). He may be feeling like a baby again with culture and language, but he's got some sweet skills that he's putting to work! We are also having fun getting to know our guard and making the garden with him. He already feels like part of the family! Here is Belle with our neighbour Awa (means Eve), me at my first language learning session, and also some pictures from a fun day at the sand dunes just out of town. Sending our love to you all!
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So here we are in our new dusty home! The cool weather makes seeing red in every direction more appealing than it seems when everything is hot! It is quite nice having a soft dusty sandpit for a yard. Brad has already found the local 'nusery' ...a bunch of people farming beside the river, and bought a ute full of plants for the equivalent of Aus $20!! He and the guard (and me and the kids too, there is a lot of plants) have set to work planting it out. The guard is here from 7pm - 7am and he is a really warm friendly guy who we are enjoying getting to know. Together he and Brad have fixed the hose and found a bullfrog for the kids to enjoy... see pic below. He speaks French so communication between he and Brad is quite entertaining, and I chime in when they need to actually know what each other is saying. My French has been resurfacing well. The kids have been really happy and loving life. They get a bit sick of playing with each other but I think the new surrounds combined with mum and dad being around the whole time has made everything simpler. We have met two families who will be friends but it's hard to know what people have time for here, so it's probably going to work better when they start going to French kinder and make friends there. We say bonjour to the kids outside our house too but haven't properly met neighbours yet to spend more than a few awkward minutes interacting! But mostly people are so friendly and they particularly love it when the kids say bonjour, cava or fofo (common greeting). We see Sjeord and Rachel most days, helping us find things and driving us about. We get along so well with them it is so nice to have instant friends and be able to be ourselves.
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AuthorWe are Brad, Andy, Hunter and Belle. Hoping to keep you connected! Archives
May 2019
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