Niamey

Tomorrow, we leave the capitol city of Niamey for Galmi. Although we were here mostly to do some shopping and errands, this past week has definitely not been void of adventure! ;)

These are some of the highlights of my time in Niamey...

All of us at an outdoor restaurant on Friday night.

The food was DELICIOUS! Chicken, beef kabobs (they have a Nigerian name that I can't remember), french fries, a coleslaw-like salad, and spices!

While we were outside waiting for our food, we got caught in the middle of a giant downpour! Dripping wet, hungry, and crowded under a tiny awning...what better time for a group selfie?! ;P

 The week has been full of great food! A very sweet family friend of the Zoolkoski's invited us over for a traditional Somalian meal in true style with one giant plate of food in the middle for everyone to share.

This meal, too, was outstanding! Rice, fish, eggplant, sweet potato, onion, okra and other things!

We had the amazing opportunity to visit a French/Tamasheq church service. It was an experience that I can't even put into words! What an incredible blessing to be able to worship with these believers. Different language, different culture, different race, same God, same Father, same faith.

This is a picture of both hymnals (one in French, one in Tamasheq). Hearing the congregation sing and praise the Lord was awe-inspiring! They worshipped with so much passion! A few of the songs sounded familiar, including tunes to "Majesty", "There Is a Fountain" and "Kumbaya". 

One of the songs from the Tamasheq hymnal: "Psalm 23"

I took a picture of this little girl listening during the service, partly because I love seeing kids worshipping in church, but mostly because I just love her bag!!

Selfie in the back seat of the Desert Rocker!

Cows, goats and sheep are all very common to see along city roads here.

I can't say I didn't warn you that I might come back with a little African baby!!!

We did a fair amount of shopping for a variety of goods, including fabric and canned foods.

While a majority of the food has been a new experience, I have seen a few familiar brands, including Oreo's, Twix, Snickers, (all pictured) Nutella and Skippy!

Yes, I'm drinking water out of a plastic bag, which is actually really a thing here! They sell these little half-liter baggies of pure water all over!

Maddie, Joel and I often enjoyed playing Bananagrams on our down-time. It took me almost all week, but I FINALLY won a game tonight (barely, but it still counts)!! This is the winning set! ;)

 This is the Niger River. One of my favorite movies, "Sahara", was filmed on this same river, just in a different place. Pictures don't do this view justice!!

A panoramic view compound courtyard where we've been staying.

I sure had a great week in this city, but I'm so excited to head out to Galmi tomorrow!

We've been blessed to have a good internet connection here in Niamey, but that most likely won't be the case in Galmi. I will do my best to keep up with email/blog, but it may be a bit patchy.

A big thanks to everyone who has messaged/emailed me in the last few days! It's been so great hearing from you! God has already blessed and taught me so much this last week, and I can't wait to see what else He has waiting in store for me!

God bless!