Heroes of the Faith in Niger

It must seem that everyone I met at CURE Niger impressed me.....well,  pretty much, that is correct. It is by faith that families have relocated to a new place, with a new culture, and a new set of sacrifices as they serve the LORD.  Only the Lord could have hand picked such incredible people!
The man on the right is Jean Francois Negrini. He is the surgeon at the CURE children's hospital in Niger. I wrote about his wife on a previous blog.  JF is an amazing man of God. He is a loving husband and father. More than that, JF is a great doctor. He cares deeply for the people who come to the hospital. JF is a shaker and mover. He works hard to see things happen so that patients are cared for excellently. He is a great teacher, trainer and mentor for the staff.  He cares deeply for people in the community.  JF and Anne were patient teachers during my October visit as I tried hard to recall French vocabulary and verb conjugations. Their children were exceptionally helpful in correcting my poor grammar too.  But I digress...this hero of the faith has relocated his family of four children from a mission compound in Bangladesh to a busy capital city in West Africa. Jean Francois and Anne are trusting God for the education of their children in foreign systems. They are trusting God for His provision for material, emotional, social and spiritual needs of each of these dear children. Please pray for this dear family! One thing that I love about this family is that they take life in stride with humor and joy. It was such a joy to 'do life' with them. JF and Anne are intentional in their parenting. They are raising children who are multilingual, aware of the world around them and compassionate towards those who are in need. Along they way they are teaching their children to enjoy life and make the best of every situation.  Is it any wonder, that I am wide awake on Christmas eve, blogging about these heroes of the faith? When I think about the Negrini family, I think about their singing, laughing, playing, helping, welcoming and enjoyment of people. May the Lord bless this family along with the Lemans and Roarks this Christmas season.  When I go to Niger in January, I will have to get more pictures of the families for my blog! You will enjoy hearing more about these precious missionary families.  These heroes of the faith are living incarnation-ally...they are the hands and feet of Jesus in a community that is lost, lonely and in desperate need of a Savior...Christ the Lord! Happy Christmas one and all.