Long Overdue!

Hello again!

Yes, I’m alive! I’m here in Galmi, getting all settled in and loving
my new life, friends, and home! I know that many of you have been
anxiously awaiting an update, and I’m really sorry that I haven’t been
able to do one, but there have been some internet issues that the team
has been working through here on the compound, so I haven’t had enough
internet to upload a post.
Now, here’s the big question: how do I boil down the crazy last few
weeks into a single blog post? Well, I’m not exactly sure, but I’m
going to give it my best!

I’ll start with the compound, and what I have been and will be doing
here. The compound grounds are really beautiful! Right now, it is the
rainy season here, so everything is very green and full of life! The
hospital compound has a lot more vegetation than the rest of the
village, courtesy of the gardeners and sprinklers. My cute little
apartment is somewhat in the middle of the housing area, and the small
pool is right out my back door! Aside from private housing and the
hospital, the compound also has an administration office, maintenance
building, guesthouse/community center, several guard stations, a
trader’s shack where vendors can bring fresh fruit and vegetables or
touristy trinkets, and a co-op (a small grocery store for compound
residents). Having food, maintenance, and IT help nearby and available
is definitely a huge blessing! In addition, I have always felt very
safe here, with many friendly guards wandering around on patrol and
standing guard at the gates. I’ve even been told that they love to
deal with snakes whenever…*ahem*…IF ever the need arises! ;)

As far as my everyday life here, I’m settling into a very fun, diverse
everyday routine! The workday here is broken up by two breaks: a
half-hour tea break at ten, and a two-hour lunch break (also called
“siesta hour”), which starts at one.
Since school started at the Galmi Day School here on the compound a
couple weeks ago, I have been doing pre-school lessons in the morning
before the tea break with Jonathan and Myriam, three- and
four-year-old missionary kids. Both have older siblings who are all at
the day school, so it has been fun to both help them with the
disappointment of not being old enough to go, and also give their moms
some time in the morning to do all the things they are responsible for
around the compound. We learn a new letter almost every day, and are
currently on “H”. We also love reading books (I have almost completely
memorized “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”), playing on the
swings, memorizing Psalm 23, and making paper planes, houses, and
crowns. :)
After the tea break, I help Mrs. Zoolkoski by making lunch for the
four of us (the Zoolkoski’s, Maddie and I) so that she can be in the
pharmacy. After the lunch break, I have been doing a variety of
things, including helping in the office (mostly entering data into
Excel documents and such), teaching swimming lessons with Mrs.
Zoolkoski on Fridays, giving music lessons, and helping in the
hospital.
I love spending time in the hospital. Again, my lack of ability to
communicate is frustrating, but it’s amazing how far a gentle touch or
reassuring smile can reach during a time of hardship and need. Every
day, patients come in with diseases that are very rare in the States,
yet almost routine here. In the small amount of time I’ve spent there,
I’ve seen tetanus, HIV, tuberculosis, Pott’s (TB of the spine),
typhoid and malaria, among other things. I’ve gotten to observe
consultations and take vitals in the OPD (out-patient department),
which functions as a first stop for a majority of patients. From
there, the doctors and nurses can order labs, tests or X-rays, admit
patients, diagnose diseases and order medication. I’ve also gotten to
help some in the CREN (Center for Rehabilitation and Education in
Nutrition, roughly translated from French). It generally takes around
two months to rehabilitate a malnourished child, so during this time
period, a mother (or in some cases, grandmother) stays at the CREN
with their child, while he or she is given nutritional supplements and
carefully monitored for weight and growth patterns. In addition, the
mothers are given education about nutrition, and how to use
readily-available, local foods, such as peanuts, eggs and meringa (an
extremely nutritious, local plant) to ensure that they and their
children get enough protein and vitamins in their diet. The CREN is
also an awesome opportunity for evangelism! Often times, malnourished
children don’t really know how to play, and are deprived cognitively
as well as physically. So during my time in the CREN, I often play
with the children (at least, the ones who aren’t terrified of me!) or
even just sit with the mothers as they try to teach me Hausa and laugh
at my attempts!
No matter which department I’m in, I am learning a lot, both medically
as well as culturally! I am often struck both with compassion for this
people I am living among, as well as incredible love and respect for
them. My biggest frustration with my own lack of communication ability
is that I cannot dive as deeply as I want to into a full understanding
of this culture. However, even with this handicap, I am falling in
love with these people, whose hearts and customs, although just as
marred and twisted by sin and as desperately in need of a Savior, the
Savior, as our own, is fascinating and beautiful. It will be genuinely
difficult to say good-bye, and I think a piece of my heart will always
be in Niger.

I’ve had the amazing privilege of going to both of the Christian
churches here in town, as well as one in Maradi, a town about
forty-five minutes east. My favorite part is always the music! It is
very rhythmic, mostly lead by heavy drums and sometimes a synthesizer,
guitar, or bass in the background. The coolest thing is just hearing
everyone sing! Even though the churches I’ve been to have been
generously a third or a fourth the size of my own church back home, we
don’t even compete with them when it comes to volume. When the whole
Nigerien congregation sings, the rafters shake!! It’s an amazing
experience, being in a church with brothers and sisters living in a
completely different world from mine, who are all singing at the top
of their lungs, praising our Father with exuberance and genuine joy!
I’ve also enjoyed other trips into town, such as getting kose (made by
frying mashed bean paste) and Oriba (a Nigerien soft drink), visiting
the local tailor, or going to Wednesday market. The town is
good-sized, but not quite as big, overwhelming, and busy as Niamey.
Wherever we go, people often greet us, and chuckle when we respond to
their greetings, whether we say the right things or not. Children love
to run up and shake our hands and ask, “Kado? Kado?” (“Kado" means
“gift”) The town and people here are very friendly and warm, and
although they like to laugh and joke at our Western ways, are
generally very welcoming and accepting.

On a final note, it is quite amazing how much one learns about oneself
when one lives in a third world country. For example, how much I do
NOT do cockroaches. I hadn’t realized this before I left the states,
mostly because I had never come in much contact with cockroaches.
However, I am very aware of this fact now. The lizards that scurry
around (and in some cases, across) my feet, the flies constantly
humming about my kitchen, the big red ants that scuffle across my
bedroom floor, the moths the size of my palm that always seem to find
their way into my living room, the spiders crawling in my shower, and
(for goodness sake!) even the earwigs that get into my toilet
paper…I’ve gotten used to all of them! Most of the time, I even let
them live! As long as they are not overly aggressive in their tactics,
I usually just brush them aside, or leave them be altogether (as a
side note, trying to kill all the bugs that one encounters in Africa
would be quite a wearisome task, and although noble, altogether quite
impossible). But cockroaches? They’re big and ugly and have all those
legs and antennas and the way they walk is just creepy and even
killing them is gross, the way they crunch and snap and that one that
crawled across my foot…? Nope. No cockroaches. Uh-uh, no, nope, notta,
not happening. There’s a line people. Yes, God’s been gradually moving
it, even so that the earwigs are no longer on the other side, but the
cockroaches still have a long way to go. They are past the line, and
when I say, “past”, I mean past. My next update will probably be about
how I had to endure a major cockroach infestation in my house, and how
naught but the grace of God brought me through.
Please be continuing to pray that God will keep teaching me, but this
time add that He won’t use cockroaches as a means to a greater end! ;)

Thanks again to everyone who’s been praying for me so faithfully
during this past month! I can’t believe my time here is already half
over. I definitely have mixed feelings…part of me can’t wait to see my
family and all my friends again, but the other part of me is loving it
here and doesn’t want to say goodbye!
Anyway, if you have any questions about what’s been going on or what
I’m doing, I’d love to answer them. Just send me a message, and I will
get it and respond at some point! ;) Miss you all and can’t wait to
see you again!!
God bless!
Krista