Jesus loves the little children and this little light of mine!

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world!

This little light of mine, I going to let it shine
This little light of mine, I going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Shine it all over this world......

There is a name I love to sing, I love to tell its worth
T'is music in a sinner's ear, the sweetest name on Earth
O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus, O how I love Jesus
Because He first loved me!

These old songs of the faith bring much hope and joy in the midst of our daily work.
These old songs of the faith bring much peace and purpose in the calling of God to serve here in Niger for 6 months.

We have come to shine our little light in dark places......

• To children born with congenital malformations
• To children with incurable diseases 
• To family members who cannot communicate due to language barriers
• To family members who cannot afford the necessities of food, clothing and medicines
• To children who long for affection and affirmation
• To those who cannot read or write
• To staff members struggling with life issues
• To those who feel sick or lethargic due to the extreme heat day and night
• To neighborhoods overwhelmed with poverty
• To those we rub shoulders with day by day whose thinking is darkened and longing for some LIGHT to bring gladness and purpose to their labors

But what is that little light? It is our cheerful attitudes, abilities, access to medical/surgical treatment to offer to those in need?

These would never be enough. 

No, the Light that we bring, in all that we are and do, is the Light of Jesus Christ. He is the Savior, Lord, Healer and Helper. He alone can bring the Light of Truth, Wisdom, Encouragement and Perspective to our dear colleagues, patients and family members.

We have been studying in our morning devotions and prayer time the fruit of the Holy Spirit. These are the characteristics that God wants to develop in all His people:

Love
    Joy
      Peace
            Patience
                    Kindness
                              Goodness
                                         Faithfulness
                                                       Gentleness
                                                                   Self-Control

This dear one is having multiple surgeries for burn scar revision so that she can function normally.

After several surgeries this little angel as I called her has done marvelously well. The arm splints are to keep the skin grafts and prevent skin contractures. This gal had such a super attitude and was often seen singing and dancing.....always smiling!

Joel our CURE Storyteller, journalist, photographer who genuinely cares for these little ones. He is able to calm those frightened or crying with his soothing voice and strong arms showing our Heavenly Father's care

 

Emmanuel and his 'groupies'! The children love him so much. He plays with them and tells them about God's love.

Can't help giggling!

Love my little ones who fall asleep in my arms

One cute fellow all bundled up in a knitted hat and sweater by the ladies in the Workers' Together Circle from Boca Raton Bible Chapel. What a sweet and shy boy!  His mother was a precious one too, taking special care of her son before and after the surgery.

Iya is one of our longstanding patients with a complicated wound. After nearly a year, he is finally able to walk and put a little weight on his foot!

One of my patients who was abandoned by his parents, loves to have a cuddle and makes sure everyone knows that I am his and no one else can sit on my lap.....so cute! He waves at all the other children.

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Dr. Paul, aka Papa Paul, daily, quietly, expertly, gently, compassionately cares for our patients during their surgical experience. He is so loved by the children! He shows Jesus love to these precious ones. He knows how to help them through the fear of the operating room.

After morning prayer time, I am almost always snuggled by precious ones like these

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Living Water

While in Ethiopia we visited a monastery that was over 1000 years old. It had a natural supply of spring water that many believe has healing properties. We shared with the priest and our guide how Jesus healed me back in September 2017 when I was so near to death.

Listen to the birds and the running water....reminds us of the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, bubbling up to joyful and eternal LIFE!

The beauty of this part of Ethiopia cannot be captured in a photo...but I tried!

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

 Reflecting back on our trip to Ethiopia, we saw many wonderful and beautiful things. We visited many churches carved from rocks from the top down into the earth. We visited a monastery that was reported to have holy and healing waters. We were in awe of the history, the legends and the preservation of Bibles and sacred items by the Orthodox church.
All of this was very moving and humbling to know that we are living in a very tiny sliver of time in the history of Christianity.  It is such a privilege to hear of the many who have suffered for the cause of Christ in this world. Even today in many parts of the world there is much persecution and discrimination of those who follow the LORD Jesus Christ as the one true Savior and God. He is our refuge and strength! We love Him because He first loved us! It is a joy to serve in Niger at CURE International where we can love and live out our faith daily with our colleagues and patients.

Nursing Conference in Ethiopia-Old and New Friends

We are off to the long awaited Nursing Leadership and Governance Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We nearly didn't make it due to health issues. Paul was so very sick requiring IV re-hydration and strong antibiotics. It is very hard to keep healthy here, even with all the precautions we take. We pray daily for strength to do the work the LORD has given us. Even in illness, we are learning so much and identifying with the dear folks that we work with and minister to daily.

We usually fly Delta and affiliates so it was a different experience flying this airline. We didn't eat any food as we were scared after all our illnesses. The flight was just under 5 hours and we enjoyed the rest, reading and listening to music.

We made it!  The picture of the monkey (on the poster behind Paul) is for our grandchildren. They are always asking about what animals we are seeing in Africa. Of course in the city we see only donkeys, camels, goats, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats in the streets. We have seen the giraffes outside the city. We did manage to see some monkeys in Ethiopia but they were so quick and hard to photograph.

This is a picture of the Hilton garden. This was a great rest spot before the conference began. We needed to regroup and put final touches to our presentations. I was desperate for a hair cut and manicure!

Day One of the Conference. Here I am with Fatchima the Nurse manager of our Ward at CURE Niger. She gifted me with the material and we had same dresses made. We are twins! We have the same Father in Heaven! The uniform, same material for outfits is very common in West Africa. The women at church select at Christmas, Easter and other special occasions, a pattern of fabric for their 'uniform'. Of course in the USA, women would die if they showed up to an event in the same dress as someone else. Love these cultural differences. Fatchima and I get along so well. She is the mother of three boys. Her husband works with an NGO and does trauma counseling.

This is a view from our hotel room in Addis Ababa. The view is of the bus station. It was very noisy!! This city has a population of 10 million. Every morning instead of the call to prayer by the Imams as in Niamey, Niger, we had the call to prayers and worship by the Orthodox Priests.  In Ethiopia, it would go on for hours if it was a special saint of angel's day! Seriously, the singing, chanting and prayers in Ghez (ancient church language related to Hebrew) on many days was 3 hours in the morning and more in the evening. It was pretty convicting about praying and worship.

Ah, this is the good stuff! Paul and I needed to get some healthy food after all the illnesses. Ethiopian food is so good and healthy. On this plate at 9-11 o'clock is injera the local bread made with protein and iron rich teff flour. at the top of the plate you are looking at two kinds of wat.....what is wat? It is a sauce. The caramel colored one is made with lentils. The redish one is made with ground beef, tomatoes, onions and spices very different to the USA. The rest of the plate is covered with fresh lightly steamed veggies. Oh this was so delicious. The blue labeled bottle in the background is called AMBO. It is a local spring water that has been carbonated. Paul and I were quite addicted to it. It was good to find something that Paul would drink to keep his fluids up!

This is a  group photo after dinner. We are missing Fatchima who went staight up to bed, after not sleeping the night before!

Here we are, matchy-matchy! How very West African!

On the left is Trudy, the chief nursing officer at CURE's Oasis Hospital in the UAE. Trudy asked each nurse manager to give a ten minute presentation about their hospital. I helped Fatchima to prepare the PowerPoint but insisted that she present in English. She practiced with me and it payed off. She did a smashing job!

Here she is presenting with Trudy and I looking on proud as can be!

My joy was to present the Christian Worldview of Nursing. I get very animated as it is a passion to see CURE Nurses give excellent care with Christ's Character, CURE Values and Biblical Perspective!

Why not? As Christian Nurses we must serve to bring glory to God!

On the left is Dr. Becky (PhD Nursing and new Director of Nursing of CURE Network), Anne (Nurse Matron CURE Kenya), ourselves and Trudy from the UAE....TEAMWORK!

Diane Lawrence the American Heart Association Course Trainer and Irene the Theater Matron of the Beit CURE Hospital in Zambia are two precious colleagues. Diane had to leave the conference early to attend to a family member's health needs back in the USA.

 We had an unscheduled visit from the Spiritual Directors across the CURE Network who were having their conference in another town outside of Addis Ababa. We took a few moments to greet one another, take a quick photo and pray together before getting back to our nursing sessions.

Paul and I enjoyed an evening after meetings with a dear friend from many years ago. Mismak has a restaurant and we were spoiled with a wonderful meal.

The whole team of servers and the chef Abby (in the blue) came out for a picture.

We had our own coffee ceremony which includes parching the green coffee beans, pounding them, boiling the water over a charcoal fire, burning of incense.....and of course served with popcorn! It is like this all over the country. I had not had any coffee since my illness in Sept 2017 so I wasn't sure if I could handle the coffee but I had a very small cup and it was good! I don't think I'll necessarily be a coffee drinker again but it was good that I didn't hurt anyone's feelings by not participating in this special ceremony.

Mismak and Paul.....brothers!! So grateful for our Ethiopian family!

Oh, yes, matchy-matchy again! We had so much fun at the conference meeting, learning and collaborating with such wonderful people!

Here we are visiting the CURE Ethiopia  Hospital. Paul went back another day to visit the OR, He had such a good time and enjoyed collaborating with the surgical and anesthesia team,

This is the Spiritual Director of the Tebow CURE Hospital in the Philippines. Pastor W is so joyful and passionate about serving the LORD. I have enjoyed the privilege of working briefly beside him in the Philippines.

A parting coffee ceremony at the end of the Nursing Leadership and Governance Conference.

Coffee, coffee, coffee....Bouna? (Amharic for coffee)

Everyone is getting ready to leave but one last coffee has to be enjoyed together.

Paul and I are with Juliane from Zambia. We have enjoyed the times with her family and look forward to visiting Beit CURE Zambia in the near future, Lord willing!

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. 

Proverbs 27:17

Come to Me, all you who are weary and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

100 Days!

Our children and grandchildren have celebrated 100 days during the school year. Today, Paul and I are celebrating 100 days in Niger. We had planned to go to the giraffes and eat lunch at Cap Banga the riverside restaurant that we like so much. It didn't exactly work out the way we planned. Instead we spent the day very quietly in our apartment. Paul had a fever and was dehydrated etc. I spent the day counting drops for his IV infusion that Dr. Diane kindly put in. I counted the number of messages from my prayer warriors, I counted promises, I counted blessings, I counted the number of visitors who dropped by......and I was trying to keep this on the hush, hush as Paul's new resident here seems quite nervous about getting sick. (The cat is out of the bag now!)
God always has a better plan. The resident Dr. Jake had a wonderful day without us! He got to see the giraffes, the sunset over the dunes and eat supper at Sahel Academy Mexican Restaurant night. God is so good!  Every little detail that we could be concerned about is being lovingly, carefully, and thoroughly handled by our God who is sovereign over all our circumstances. He makes no mistakes.

• We have enjoyed a good week of caring for our patients at CURE. Papa Paul and young Dr. Jake went over to another hospital to give lectures and demonstrations. 

• We are building intentional relationships within the local medical community.  

• We had the joy of bringing donated gifts of toys to the children this week. 

• We had the joy of preparing for seminars in Galmi and Ethiopia. for the coming weeks. 

• We had the joy of learning together what it means to be connected to the true vine Jesus Christ---drawing life and strength from Him so that we can produce more and more fruit. 

• We enjoy the daily routine of the hospital and loving these dear children and young adults. 

• We certainly have more than 100 blessings in the lives of the staff and children of CURE Hôpital des Enfants au Niger! 

The following Psalm seems appropriate.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good and His love endures for ever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Gifts

One of the nurses made a delicious soup for me from a cows tail like this. It was a labor of love. It took hours and hours of cooking!  The nurses are so kind to Paul and me! They do not like it when we are not feeling well. I was getting over my second round of malaria and they thought I needed something for my health!

There was a designated gift for toys for the children so the Executive Director's wife Georgiana and I went to a large store to buy toys for the children in the hospital and in the long stay hostel called Case de Passage.

What a pile of toys for boys and girls of all ages! These will be precious gifts for the patients.

Fatchima is my beautiful nurse manager of the ward (Pavilion) She is my sister in the LORD and a gift to me working here.

Fatchima had this dress made for me. She has a matching one which is a tradition when people are working, worshiping or celebrating together. Men and women wear outfits made from the same material. What a gift!

Gift giving a part of many cultures. Here in Niger, the giving and receiving of a gift is a huge thing. So often it is a huge sacrifice as most people have so little compared to the USA or Canada. We try to be as generous as possible but do not want people to feel that they need to reciprocate. These sweet gifts of food and the dress touched my heart so much. The gifts we purchased for the children with the donated money will bring such joy to the children. The children here get excited about playing with an empty water bottle! Many have nothing!
I get a little distress some days with all the poverty.  There are so many children and adults begging on the road as we go to the hospital in the mornings. We could never give enough to supply what it needed for these dear ones. We know that God has called us to help the poor. When it is not appropriate to give money, one can offer a piece of fruit or bread....and if that is not on hand, one can offer a smile, a listening ear and acknowledge the person's presence. Everyone likes to be noticed. Even small gestures of kindness are important. We have a call to serve at CURE Hôpital des Enfants au Niger. The Lord called us to invest our time, talents and treasures in these children and their caregivers. We hope that there will be a ripple effect of love, generosity and kindness as the children return to their villages and homes. We are so grateful to be here to share the best gift of all in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ. Thank you for praying for us!

Psalm 9:18 

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Proverbs 14:31

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 

This week in Niger-Workers together and a new discovery

I know this doesn't look like work at the CURE Hospital, it isn't! We are having dinner with two dear friends who are very involved with various ministries in Niger, including CURE. After a day of work at the hospital (mostly administrative stuff for me) We had supper by the river. It was a delightful change of pace. There were swarms of bats (I told Paul they were swallows or else he wouldn't have been able to eat there!)

Friday, I worked from home while Paul went to another hospital to help out. At the end of the afternoon I invited two precious sisters in the LORD over for a little tea party. Paul joined in for a little bit then left us women to chat alone!

And we did chat a good long while. Maman Soula on the right lives in Montreal and is very involved with the widows group called Dorcas project. Lucia, Soula's daughter is on the left . She has been in Niger for more than two decades. Lucia and her husband Scott train teachers in how to teach Math. They are wonderful folks! We love being together. It was a great time of sweet fellowship with yummy tea time snacks. We finished our time together praying for one another.

Here is a camel laden with woven mats. Note the contrast of the ancient carrier and the modern containers in the background. Africa is a continent of vast contrasts.

Sharing the road

The Niger River was flowing very fast today!

These same type boats have been used for many centuries!

Cap Banga is a simple and rustic restaurant on the river. We were picked up by motor boat and delivered to the dock of the restaurant. It was very beautiful and tranquil to be by the river. The menu was limited but delicious and inexpensive.

We discovered a terrace up in the trees and enjoyed God's creation together.

The terrace was up in the tree.

The Niger River is not very clear or clean although people bathe, wash clothes and do some boating on it.

There is such contentedness in God's beautiful creation. After hospital work, we were so glad to come here today. It is not very far from our apartment. 

For the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth

For the beauty of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Refrain:

Lord of all to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise 

For the beauty of the hour

Of the day and of the night

Hill and vale and tree and flower

Sun and moon and stars of light

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For our gentle thoughts and mild 

For each perfect gift of Thine

To our race so freely given

Graces human and divine

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

Some weeks at the hospital I forget to take pictures. The work is sometimes routine or so hectic that picture taking is not on my mind. This week I had a lot of paper work to do which does not make for exciting pictures. Paul was in the operating room at the CURE hospital and another hospital in Niamey.  We were blessed this week with a visit from Marcia Lanoha and Brian Decker from MADALA which is an organization that most generously supports many missions including the CURE hospital. It was great to have time to be together for a couple of the evenings.

We are so aware of God's goodness in allowing us to be in Niger. We do lift our voices in joyful and grateful praise! God alone is worthy of our adoration.

Thank you for your interest in reading these blogs. Thank you to Josh Korn for explaining how to find Cap Banga. It was a little tricky as the road was so bad we had to use the four wheel drive to get there! Fun!