Lizard Mishap and Introductions

Blog #9 from Galmi, Niger, West Africa (#1-8 below this blog)

Our three boys were playing with a local child this morning when I had a very close encounter with a lizard. Rasheed noticed an 8-inch lizard caught between the closed bedroom window and the screen, so I took it upon myself to free him. In order to free the lizard, I had to quickly open the little “doggie door” in the screen and push open the window. I cautiously opened the screen and as quickly as possible I pushed open the window. However, the lizard was faster than me! It jumped toward the open screen “door” just as I slammed it shut pinning the lizard in the door! I’m screaming and shivering all at the same time (I might add that this is the first time I’ve shivered at 100 degrees Fahrenheit). There is the lizard – half it’s body inside my bedroom and the other half hanging out the screen door. I knew if I slammed the screen down hard, I’d cut the lizard in half and I sure didn’t want this mess, plus, I didn’t want to traumatize my audience too much. But, if I let go of the screen I’d have a lizard in the bedroom. Screaming, I told the four kids to go get help, but I knew my three boys didn’t know where to go so I, in my best “sign language” told Rasheed to go get help – “go get a man,” I said as I gestured for him to go get someone tall. All four boys went running out of the house while I precariously held the screen closed (not too tight, but not too loose). Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was probably only 60 seconds, in walked my Hausa Hero! Laughing, he grabbed the lizard by the neck (as the lizard opened his mouth like he would bite if he had teeth!) and took him outside – where lizards belong! Ten minutes later Ben came down the walk and all four kids went running to tell him the story of Mom and the lizard mishap. Rasheed doesn’t speak a lick of English, but he watched and understood the entire retelling of the story about the white lady and her lizard.

Now on to goats: I saw another goat going at high-speeds, but not on a van – this time a passenger on the back of a motorcycle was holding it. “Gee, the Nigeriens must really be attached to their goats,” I thought. Then I asked a local about the importance of goats – they EAT them! And all along I thought they were traveling with the family pet.

Yesterday I bought raw beef from the back of a motorcycle – at least that’s what they told me it was! There is very little refrigeration available, so the cow is slaughtered in the morning and then the man on the motorcycle drives around the SIM compound selling beef. We don’t get to choose a chuck roast or a steak – it’s just “beef.”

I got to go to the market again yesterday. “Everyone wants to say hello to the white man.” My escort didn’t need to tell me, it was quite obvious. Some children wanted to touch me and others were afraid and went running when I said, “sannu” (hello). Now, if being white was not enough to attract stares, I managed with all my grace and charm, to trip on a rock and almost fall on my face. Thank God I was able to save myself from a complete fall, but not from total embarrassment.

The markets are very much like one of our farmer’s markets where vendors sell everything from food and drinks, to clothing and perfume. However, one “booth” caught my eye in particular because from it I heard the cries of a baby. I glanced over very briefly to see a man with a knife cutting small marks into a baby’s cheek. My escort, Rahilla, and I quickly walked away. She explained that in Niger Muslim culture the leader of the church cuts tribal marks into each baby’s face. I had previously noticed these markings on most adults in the village but did not know the origination. One of the missionaries later told me that after cutting the face, ashes are rubbed into the wounds and some babies get severe infections and can become permanently disfigured from this ritual.

Ben was called to the hospital two nights ago to do a c-section; the baby was wedged far into the birth canal and stuck. The c-section was so difficult for Ben that he was literally drenched in sweat, even in an air-conditioned operating room. Ben pulled and pulled to get the baby out, but during this process he noticed no movement from the baby. After struggling for a considerable amount of time, Ben finally freed the baby, but he had died. Ben assumed the baby had died long before the c-section, but there is no way to tell. As an obstetrician in America most of Ben’s experiences are happy ones, with good outcomes. But not in Galmi. Ben was devastated at the loss of life that night, but no one else in the room seemed phased – in Niger, infant mortality rates are so high, it’s almost expected.

I went to the hospital a few days ago because I wanted to find out what the local evangelists experience. I met with Nana. We had our conversation through a translator which made it a little difficult, but I was able to learn a lot. She told me she preaches in the various “wards” (i.e. maternity, surgery, etc.) and people are open to hearing about the gospel, but most hear it without making life changes. There are, on occasion, people who give their lives to Jesus Christ, but it’s very difficult for people who are hearing about Jesus for the first time to make a commitment to Him. I told Nana I would ask people to pray for her and for the “seeds” she is planting.

I’d like to introduce the other missionaries here with SIM. The long-term, lifetime missionaries are:
Christopher and his wife, Helene, and their three children ages 6, 10 and 13. He is the Chief Medical Officer of the SIM hospital here and is a Family Practice doctor, but since he has been in Niger on and off for 17 years, he can now do just about anything! They are from Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Esther is from Germany and works as an Obstetrician.
Henri is a Family Practice doctor and is also France.
Jeannie is from California and works in Community Health. Jeannie goes into the villages and the “bush” to teach the locals about health issues such as AIDS awareness, how to get clean water, when to go to the hospital (many locals try to have their babies at home and need to be educated about when a labor is going poorly and they need to get help), breastfeeding and more. She also has local Christians share their testimony at gatherings.
Genevieve is from Singapore. She works with the local youth, and this Saturday she will move into a mud hut in town to have more of an influence on the locals.
Dorothy, 80 years old, teaches Hausa to missionaries and hopes to teach English to the locals. She also works as a translator.

Ben and I have also had the pleasure of meeting many short-term missionaries. David and Lois, here for one year, are from New Zealand as “operations” people – David oversees the SIM compound/property and works in maintenance and building projects. Lois is in charge of hospitality – she gets the houses and apartments ready for new occupants and arranges welcome meals for new-comers like Ben and me!
Norman, from Northern Ireland, works with David on building projects.
Alice, 77 years old, is Helene’s mother (Doctor Christopher’s mother-in-law) and is here to help their family and to care for her daughter. Helene is dying of skin cancer. She wants to stay here, in Galmi, because this is where she feels God wants her and her family, but her health is very unstable – some days she feels good and other days the pain is so bad she cannot get out of bed. Please pray for Helene and her family.

Finally, there are three college guys (Jared, Michael and George) here from the United States and Canada. They are here for the summer working on building projects, computer programs and Michael (who is a son of a missionary family from Niamey, Niger), is starting a soccer program for local children where he organizes teams and shares the gospel.

These three guys gave Ben and me the best anniversary ever! On June 23 Ben and I celebrated 17 years of marriage. “The guys” offered to baby-sit while Ben and I went to the SIM compound Community Center to watch a movie by ourselves (bonus: the TV room is air-conditioned!). After the movie, we came home and the guys told us to leave with the kids while they made us dinner! One hour later, we returned home, put the kids to bed and enjoyed a romantic dinner of beef and onions, rice, gravy, green beans, and mango lycees (a special drink made with milk, yogurt and mangos). The guys even made heart-shaped ice cubes for our drinks! Now aren’t these quality people?! Two of the men are single and going to medical school.

It’s so hot in Galmi, my pillow has no “cold side.” I frequently flip my pillow at night hoping the other side will be cooler. It doesn’t work.