When it rains, it pours

I'm learning that Niger doesn't do things halfway. When it's hot, it's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And when it rains, we get 2.5 inches in a span of 4 hours. When it rains, it pours. Then it floods everything and washes away homes (made with mud and straw), killing both people and animals.

credit Boureima Hama/Agence France-Presse

While I'm thankful for my secure apartment, I also feel like I'm "treading water" in the flood of my current circumstances. I've been struggling with frequent migraines, which seem to be mostly related to the fluctuating humidity, and my friend passed away in the States, and last Monday, I was the victim of a sneaky theft in a taxi. The driver and passenger worked together to distract me so that the passenger could take my wallet and my phone from my purse without my knowledge. It was such a disappointing and frustrating experience. Fortunately, I don't carry anything important on me (no one takes credit cards here, if you can imagine that back in the States!), and I didn't lose much cash. I was even able to recover all of my pictures with my Google account. I will get a new phone next week from a fellow traveler who is returning to Niamey.

I learned from African friends that the incidence of crime around Niamey increases before holidays, such as now before Tabaski (the local name for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha). It puts a lot of strain on each family to buy the required sheep for sacrifice (between 40,000-60,000 cfa, or $69-104 US equivalent). So, my friends explained, a lot of them turn to theft in desperation, in order to avoid the shame of failing to provide the sacrifice. They were not excusing the behavior, but they warned me to continue to be more vigilant. Speaking of sheep, the local cell phone carriers are holding multiple contests to give away sheep leading up to the holiday on Wednesday. I have not entered any of them, for the record.

When I look at the reason for the holiday, to commemorate Abraham's submission to God's will and celebrate God's provision of a suitable sacrifice in place of Abraham's son, I shake my head in frustration, that some people have twisted the spirit behind the holiday and resort to thievery instead of trusting in God's continued provision. But it is the same with many of our American holidays, is it not?

So what do we do in the flood? We grasp the hand of the One who walks on water. And then we splash in the puddles.

image: "Hand of God" by Yongsung Kim

Goodbye, my friend

Today they are burying my friend in Minnesota, and I am an ocean away. (Here is her obituary.)

I was friends with Wendy for about seven years, since we got to know each other through the Young Adult group at Wheaton Bible, or the class formerly known as Ecclesia. I gravitated toward her warm smile and we found out that we had a lot in common. We both loved our rescue dogs, we were both fascinated by biology and God’s purposeful creation of the human body, we both loved watching movies and were learning to knit, we both had sweet tooths, and we both loved Jesus. We enjoyed going out to eat together… she was famous for ordering a big stack of chocolate chip pancakes! We loved taking our dogs, Stormy and Angel, to Red Mango for frozen yogurt. Wendy was an avid sports fan, especially for the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bulls, and you could count on her to know the score of last night’s game. Speaking of games, she had a competitive streak! If you had dominoes, watch out! One of our favorite memories was going to the Cascade Drive-In to see “Wonder Woman”… Stormy and Angel loved it, too! We also went to a couple of Newsboys concerts, since they are her favorite band, and I’ll never forget how we screamed and jumped up and down when we saw their drummer lift up in the air and spin vertically, while drumming to “God’s Not Dead!” I can only imagine that Wendy had about the same reaction when she met Jesus face to face.

Wendy and I were in the same small group for over four years, and when I would give her a ride, we would discuss how our lives were going, our hopes and fears, the difficulties we were facing as we followed our Lord. We could sit in her driveway for an hour after small group just talking. She told me that God had called her to help people by becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and I shared my calling to missions with her. I knew that she had more obstacles to overcome than most, but with her passion for studying medicine and with lots of prayer, she found a fulfilling career. I am humbled by her determination and perseverance through it all. When she told me that she got up at 4am every Sunday in order to work the camera at WBC, I was amazed by her dedication. I will miss our talks in the car, I will miss her smile and her sense of humor, I will miss all of the sweet messages that she would send me to let me know she was thinking about me in Africa, and I will even miss her giggle when she beat me at a game… but most of all, I will miss her hugs. I am not very good at asking for hugs, but that didn’t matter, because Wendy was great at giving them.

This morning, I ate chocolate chip pancakes in her honor.

One day, we will eat them together again, with Jesus our Lord.