Trash & Blessings

I love it when all the pieces fit together, especially in unexptected ways. Turning trash to treasure, and blessing many people in the process.  

Inventory is never a fun part of any job, this year as we faced a warehouse downsize, inventory certainly was going to be a bigger challenge than ever.  We counted and sorted and the trash pile grew.  There were lots of useful things that had been sitting on the shelves not selling, in some cases for years, we needed the shelf space, so they were getting the heave ho.  So sad, these were perfectly good products that had huge potential to help someone.   I asked my boss what his plans were and he said he would like to donate them somewhere but did not know where to even start.  WAHOO... I jumped in and told him that I would ask my connections in Niamey, Niger, West Africa if they thought the items could be of use.  Doc Ace assured me that he thougth the items could be put to good use.

That was all I needed to hear, we were off and running. I packed up the "trash" and took it home.  Thankfully my husbands office has this HUGE empty basement area that we are able to store things if we need to.  So off to his office went the 5 very large boxes of "trash" to be stored untill I could figure out how to get it to Africa.  Worst case senerio it would take a couple of years and return with team members heading back after some time home in Canada in 2013.  I was o.k. with that - but kept my ears open and let a few people know that I had things to send to Niamey.  The prayers went up and I waited...


God had a much faster plan.  Just before Easter, my momma called to say that they had a speaker at their church from Niamey, and that she was going back in a week.  YIPPEE!   I sent of a quick email, asking her if she had room in her suitcase..and if so would she mind taking a few items with her.  Not only did she have room, she was only travelling with one suitcase so I could send a whole FULL suit case with her.  God certainly was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.  So I packed up 48 lbs (limit is 50 - but you never quite know how close scales are. so better to be safe than sorry, or paying the over weight charge.) of wrist supports, knee braces, cervical collars, walking boots and a few other odds and ends.  Said a prayer that they would get into the hands of those who can use them and off they went.

Yesterday I received an email from Deborah an occupational therapist that works at Galmi Hosptial, several hours outside of Niamey. The Suitcase had arrived at the hosptial yesterday, simply marked Gamli, with no "attention to" or proper address, they had no idea what it was, where it came from or who it was for.  Peices of the puzzle, coming together yet again. A doctor at the hospital opened it, took one look and said, this is for Deborah.  She was over the moon excited - and stated that she had been praying last week about their need for wrist supports.  The suitcase had just what she needed, God had answered her prayer BEFORE she prayed it.  I had picked the trash, packed the suitcase and sent it on it's way BEFORE she even uttered the prayer of need.  How utterly cool is that?   God is in the business of BIG PICTURES,  He sees them and put the peices of the puzzle together in perfect order.

I sit in awe, I am blessed beyond measure to be part of the big picture.  I wonder how the pieces will fit together for the next suitcase, there are still several boxes good "trash" to go.   Secretly I hope and pray I will be able to carry it and deliver it, to see in person the final destination.  A girl can dream.  In the meantime I am happy to put it all together at this end so that our trash will be someones treasure.  Blessing all who are part of the BIG PICTURE.

Simply sad....

So many things in my life are good.  It is not perfect, but it IS good.

Simple things truly make me happy;

Family & friends.
Watching a one year old discover bubbles.
The first signs of cherry blossoms showing their pink ruffles.
Hearing my favorite song on the radio.
A good book, or a good cup of Cinnamon coffee.
A random meeting with an old friend in the mall.
Laughter, the kind that ends with tears rolling down my cheeks . . . . . . . Truly simple things!

Too bad life is not always simple.

Sometimes things happen that strip that simplicity.

Things that on every level are complex. 

Today at the beginning of my relatively simple happy life,  I read this...
Up In Flames

A blog entry written by my friend Chantelle, director of the Niger Vocational Girls at Risk School, this is where I was in September of 2011, working with the girls, learning from these girls, falling in love with these girls.  I left a chunk of my heart there with these girls.  Today as I read, my heart was broken, deep down in a I am helpless, what can I do sort of way. 

Up in flames... very litterally,  a few days ago, the local market, the market I shopped in, bought fabric in & walked through, was burned to the ground. Chantelle's blog entry shows before and after photos, it tore at the core of my beeing.   Before I even finished reading I had tears streaming down my face, and I felt totally & utterly helpless.  WHY?  Do these people not struggle enough?  HOW will they even begin to rebuild?  It seems so unfair   So many people who had so little to start with now have nothing..... litterally NOTHING but ashes and chared messes where livelyhood once stood.

Fire is devastating in any uncontained form, but like this it is unfathomable.  Homes & jobs can be lost, all that a family has can be wiped out in the blink of an eye.  We truly have no comprehension of such loss here in North America where we have fire regulations, insurance,  built in sprinkler systems, not to mention resources to rebuild.  In Niger, where the economic situation is bleek at best, a land where water is scarce, famine has a stronghold & where refugees are streaming in from surrounding countries  by the 1000's, adding to the stress on resources, a fire like this has unmeasureable consequences. 

My heart is there with these people, as they try to look ahead to what comes next. Praying they find the strength, resources and courage to move forward.  Wondering if there is anything that can be done from here.  It is complicated...  sending $$ may be easy for us, but is it best for those there in Niamey?  Culturally is it best for them?  Is that what need?  Or do we go, with hammer in hand to help build?  Work beside them as they reclaim their livelyhoods?  No matter what happens,  one thing for sure, it is going to be a long, long journey. 





 

World H2O day.....

Awareness is key. 

Thinking about a world - or area of the world - with out water is difficult for many.  Especially those of us who live and grew up on the "wet" coast.  In a city where the annual rainfall is1117.2 mm per year finding water is not a problem.  It's simple, we turn a tap and voila safe, affordable, clean water for anything we need.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is available.  On the rare occasion the water main is turned off for maintenance, we think we suffer.  We get notice of when that suffering is  o happen and are given an approximate time line.   We "prepare for the disaster"by filling pots & containers, refrigerating, and if it is going to be a really long time we fill our bathtubs  "Just in case".  We think we suffer. HA, we do not know the meaning of the word.  In my small home alone there are 8 sources where water comes into my home or yard.  Water is available in a wide variety of locations.  From my home I can drive for less than 1/2 an hour in several directions and end up at the ocean or at a fresh water lake, where I can swim, and enjoy many recreational activities.  Water is certainly NOT scarce. We are most fortunate, we should not take this life giving resource for granted.

"Water" source ... notice the garbage and the goats

However, that is not the reality for 100' of 1000's of people who live in climates where they see under 20mm rainfall per year.  If that rain comes in "HOT" season, the water often evaporates BEFORE it even hits the ground.  Then imagine not having a tap, imagine having to walk for  2 kms or more to fetch water only to have to CARRY it back home, on your back, on your head, in buckets by hand.  Only to have to repeat this task again the next day and the next and the next, every day of your life when you require water.  This is how you obtain the water you will use for EVERYTHING, drinking, cooking, gardening, feeding animals, bathing - E*V*E*R*Y*T*H*I*N*G.  In many cases the water source is small, stagnant, polluted, shared with animals, used for bathing and laundry,as well as 100's of people who also walk several kilometers there and back daily just for water. Scenarios like this are ones we in North America can not even begin to fathom. Yet this is REALITY for millions in this world.  Water, the most basic of human need clean drinking water is not something they ever take for granted by these people.

"drinking" water in a market stall in Niamey

Women gather at the well for water

As with most things, unless you have experienced this first hand you can not fathom the issue.  Awareness and education are KEY.  That is why we need world water day.

Here is a little history of World Water Day. 

If you are looking to be able to help,  here is  a link to the Alliance Compassion Catalog  see page 4 on wells and helping get them built.  Page 22 is the form to fill out in order to give. 

This is my friend Adam, a village leader, drawing water from one of the wells built as an Alliance Compassion project. The well is just a few 100 meters from the center of his village.  It provides fresh, clean, safe water for his village of about 1000 people.  Saving them 1000's hours of "water walking" annually.  Adam has also said that the health of his village has improved since the well was constructed.  That is an invaluable gift.  It is the gift of life, of health and most of all the gift of HOPE for the people in Teppe.  It is Water.....it is life!

One word....

I was asked yesterday by a friend to sum up my trip in one word.

One word? Seriously? 

Try it, one word to sum up the last month of your life.

It is not easy!  I did manage to find one word to sum up this experience that took me from home, for almost a month, to the other side of the globe, via 4 different airports, 6 planes, several time zones, way too many languages to count, to a totally different culture, HOT climate, to work with people you have never met, to see one of your best friends on her turf, to do things you have never done, eat things you have never eaten, and just plain a long way from home...... One word....   HUMBLING

I live in a country listed as one of the richest in the world, with listings as the best cities in the world to live in.  Yet all around I see discontent, people wanting the next newest this or that, not really sure of what is of real value.  A country where many people do not know their neighbours, where family is not valued as it should be.  A country with more options for groceries than we truly need, with soil that will grow almost anything, and a climate that makes it possible. 

I visit a country listed 3rd from the bottom of UN's human development list , the people have next to nothing, the streets are littered with garbage, goats, cows, sheep and young children roam the streets at all hours, a country where people rarely have the opportunity to travel, where even basic education is a luxury.   Goods are available on every street corner, but funds to purchase such goods is scarce.  However in the midst of this extreme poverty the people are gracious, kind and generous. Family is valued and communities are depended upon. They have joy. in the midst of it all.   Experiencing and being on the receiving end of that was truly HUMBLING!
 I will never be the same after Africa......

The girls.... MY Girl!

I have left a smattering of heart pieces all over the city of Niamey, Niger, West Africa, that is no surprise as part of it was already there.   About a year ago I was asked if I would like to be a prayer partner for one of the girls attending the Niger Vocational Training School (NVOC for short) and I accepted.  I received an email containing a photo and a brief blurb about MY GIRL, her life in  etc.  So for the past year, I have prayed, for health, happiness despite hardship, that she would be a good student, that her family would have food to eat, and her parents would have work. I have prayed extra hard that she would follow through on her commitment to the school, and complete the 2 years, and NOT marry.  I have prayed that she would discover her worth as a young woman, and that she would not believe that the only worth she has as a young woman is when she marries and has babies as is the custom  in the area.

I prayed for this somber faced girl who looked so serious and almost sad, and when I met her she was none of the above.  Zeina is full of life, a little cheeky, laughs easily and later in the week poked fun at me.  She takes charge and works hard, sometimes getting in others way while doing so.  What a blessing to be able to meet her in person and to invest in her life up close and in person.  On our last day there she came into the classroom and gave me a little hug, this was HUGE, hugging is not something that is done in their culture, and for her to take the first step was way out of her comfort zone.  I love this girl, she has one of the fragments of my heart for sure, she had my heart even before I arrived there.  I continue to pray, now I pray that the time I spent with her would be something she values as well.

Home since Monday

4 days home, and I miss Africa.  I miss the people I met, I miss learning and seeing new things, I miss being able to help, I miss the energy of the girls, I just miss it.  I guess what 'they' say is true, you either love Africa or you hate Africa!  Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be home to all that is familiar, to my family & my friends, to my life here, but processing the whole trip is tough.  Finding perspective when I have been, only by luck of the draw, born into one of the richest nations in the world, and my new friends, by that same luck of the draw, have been born into one of the poorest.  Where is fair in that? 

That is where my head is at processing all the things I saw, heard, learned and experienced.  This trip was so rich, there is so much to share, I had hoped to be able to write more while I was there, but I was too busy living the experience.  So now I will write in retrospect, picking pieces from my journal, adding a few of the 1000+ photos  &  fill you in on all of the adventures.  I hope you enjoy it just the same. 

First impressions....

Here are just a few of the sights





Can you tell who has the right of way?







Visitor at breakfast - thankfully outside the screened in porch




Garbage piles everywhere, crazy huge piles. People

living by them, scrounging in them & goats & sheep

eating from them.





Street market.
Typical African road -
hard packed, washboard,
sandy streets.

 

Working with my first set of girls.  What an amazing
privilege to be here and share this time with them.



The best layed plans. . . .

Life never seems to happen as planned, however it always seems to work out.

I had planned to leave home at 2:00, go and get Royd from work then head out to the airport.  In reality I spent  spent the 20 min past 2:00 looking for some papers I needed to bring with me.. UGH.. I need a better filing system than my dining room table. Thankfully, I had printed duplicates, that I did find,  and I can write in the car -I filled them all in AGAIN and it all worked out.  Traffic was light, and my hubby never drives slower than the speed limit,  in the end  I arrived at the airport only 15 min schedule. It all works out.   I should know this, and relax a little but I get worked up at myself and have conversations in my head about how I need to be better organized, how I should have had all the things I needed in one place blah blah blah.... Yes I talk to my self, no it does not really do much good.

The longest line I have stood in today was for coffee, and that was only 2 deep. That would include the bathroom and all check in lines.  Things are working out just fine. Boarding calls have started, but I am not travelling with young children, or in need of assistance, however I must add that needing rubber gloves to put on socks,  had me wondering if I might just need some help.  I hope that the socks help keep the swelling down, I will be a happy camper....

Now I am wandering YVR looking for this guy who is living at the airport for the next couple of months - My adventure has officially begun! 

It IS a small world after all....

(so do you have the tune in your head?  te he he, sorry!)

A LONG time ago I was part of a circle journal group and the topic I chose was "It's a small world" - I loved hearing the participants small world stories.  My own story was one that happened while I was in Australia in 1982.  I was riding on a train and a girl walked past that had a Canadian flag patch on her back pack, I stopped her and asked where home was etc.  To make a long story short, it turned out that she was from North Vancouver and lived in the building that my Grandmother manages.  Small world indeed! I find it happens often if you are willing to talk to people and ask some questions and take the time to hear their stories. Six degrees of separation often applies.

Last night was no exception - We were at a BBQ at our pastors home.  The gathering was taking place to meet a fellow from Cuba who is travelling and speaking through Canada this summer.  It is a rare thing to be able to hear first hand since for many Cubans international travel is near to impossible.  There were several people there from our church, and a few others that had come because they had heard that Yoel was going to be there.  I love how pieces of puzzles work together, simply because we open our mouths.  (O.K. for those of you who know me well, you will know that I put my foot in my mouth often too. Fortunately this was NOT one of those times)  One couple that came are visiting the Lower Mainland from Fort St John.  
I pipe up with.. Oh you live in FT. St. John.. do you know.....
Sure enough they do,  1 degree of separation.  Small world indeed!
I love that when connection can be made that make people feel at ease instantly.  A new friendship is forged.  God is good like that. 
As we continue to talk and get to know each other, my up coming trip to Africa comes up.   Your going to Africa... where?  Niger, how cool, do you know Lisa.. , um, yes, I will be staying with her, she is one of my most favouritest people in the whole wild world (yes I do mean wild....) Turns out that this new friend had my dearest friend stay in her home the last 2 times she was in Fort St. John. 

It truly is a Small world after all!  I love it. I love finding that connection, I love hearing stories, I love how God brings all these seemingly little things together. 


And just in case you have forgotten the song... here you go enjoy.

Getting shot and the reaction that followed

Niamey Niger West Africa - Not to be confused with Nigeria
Niger borders Nigeria on the North is the largest Nation in West Africa. 
Ranked #167 out of 169 rated countries on the 2010 UN's Human development index. 
(Canada ranks # 8)

Simply put Niger is second from the bottom of poorest places in the world to live.
The average number of years people attend school is 1.4 (expected years = 4.3)
(Canadian average is 11.5  (expected years = 16))
Average life expectancy at birth is 52 years
(Canadian  81 years)

And this will be home for 3 weeks - And I am excited to go live in this sub-sahara desert region. That being so, there are several precautions I need to take to ensure optimal health while I am there and when I return home. Simply put I had to get shot... 345$ later I should be healthy as a horse while I am there.  I am covered for...
Yellow Fever (must have this or you will not be allowed to enter the country)
Booster of  Polio, Measles, Mumps and Rubella
Typhoid (oral to take 1 week before departure)
Hep A & B
And anti Malaria meds for when I am there & when I get home.
Thankfully my Tetanus is up to date but of course I would be one of the 5% who have a reaction to the shots.  For 2 days after I was poked I felt off, then the bumps showed up, they were itchy little bumps too & there were TONS of them everywhere. So not cool, esp when they last a whole week, the worst was the little bump under the nail of my pinkie finger. You really do not appreciate your pinkie until it is out of the game due to injury.
Praying that the orals I have to take closer to departure will not have any lingering affects, I certainly do not want to fly feeling less than 100%. I am a little apprehensive, the last time I had a Typhoid vaccine I was so out of it I fell asleep at a concert - nice date I was- that would suck if I had to fly sick.

How it all came to be.....

One of my most favorite people in the whole wide world lives and works in Niger, each time Lisa is home we talk about the "one day" when I will come and visit her at her house. First it was her African home in Benin, then she moved to Niger so our "dreaming" was about visiting there - Thinking ONE DAY.... likely a day far off when my girls were all done with school, self supporting and independent, then maybe we would make the trip.  ONE DAY was a far off & distant dream, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be going this soon, or going alone, without my husband - funny thing is that God had that planned right from the beginning..... 

Four years ago our church was planning a missions Trip to Cuba.... I was interested in going.  Cuba would be cool, I had never been and I would love to go help the people there in what ever way I could. They had just been hit with some very serious hurricanes, I am good in emergency situations, and am willing to work, I could be useful in that situation.  I attended the information meeting feeling hopeful, then left that meeting kind of sad.  The dates they were planning on going would not work for me as I would be recovering from surgery at that time.  That was Cuba trip #1 - down and out of the question for me.

The next year Cuba trip #2 was being planned, I thought, great another opportunity to go and serve.  I went to the information meeting knowing that my health was good, that there were no surgeries on the horizon, the dates could work, maybe this year was my year to go.... Nope, God made it pretty clear that Royd was to go, so I would be staying home with the girls.  Cuba trip #2 - down and out for another year for me.

Late last year the plans were in the works for Cuba trip #3 - surely this would be a good year for me to go.  As I was praying, I kept getting this impression of Africa, my initial thoughts were... Yes, one day I would LOVE to go to Africa, but right now Cuba is the opportunity at hand, it sounded good to me.  Africa came back to my mind again and again.  I kept thinking Cuba, I am willing to go, I want to go.  Then Royd came and said, I think I should be going back to Cuba and I kept thinking of Africa....  O.K. I get it God.  Royd is going to Cuba and I have to wait and one day I will go to Africa.  Cuba trip #3 - 3 strikes and I am really out this time.  

At first I was a little ticked, I was willing to go, but it seemed that God had plans for others to go that did not include me....I admit I pouted inwardly about that for a little while, I can throw a pretty good pity party when I let myself.  I really wanted to go, to meet the people Royd had met the previous year, to see the sights I had heard about, sigh, it simply was not meant to be.  Then I really started to think about the 3 no go's to Cuba and the whispers of Africa - and finally I said, o.k. God do you want me to go to Africa?  Once I stilled and truly asked what the Africa impressions were all about, I got it - God wanted me to go to Africa. I just did not know when and to do what, but I was willing, whenever that happened to be, to go.  Still thinking several years down the road.

Within days, of me saying to God "I get it" I received an email from Chantelle, the director of the Niger Girls at Risk School.  Chantelle was extending an invitation to come to Africa and help her and her team with some extra projects at school with the girls before the school year officially starts.  She was looking for women to come to Africa to help teach sewing classes / projects for 2 - 3 weeks in September.   It was like a little light came on and I could see the sign on the wall that said... "see daughter I had something planned all along, something tailored just for you"  Africa, a dream come true, needs that fit within my skill set, with girls the same age as my own, at the school where I have been paired up to pray for one of the students for the past year. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, the timing and 3 strike outs with Cuba made sense now.  I was going to Africa..... it took a bit for it to sink in but I am going to AFRICA...  it still seems a little surreal, it is how God works things out and grants us the desires of our hearts beyond what we could ever imagine.  
I am AFRICA bound.....

Dreams come true.... AFRICA here I come

I remember the exact moment in 6th grade, when the travel bug hit.  I was sitting listening to Tawney Owl (my brownie leader, yes that is really what we called her) talk about being born in Australia and the wonders of her homeland - I can see exactly where I was sitting, what I was wearing, what photos she was showing.  I knew there & then that one of my life goals would be to visit this amazing land I was hearing about. 

That dream came true in 1982, the year I graduated.  It was during that adventure that my desire to travel was ingrained in the core of my being.  I love everything about it, anticipating, packing, having a passport, long car rides, long bus rides,  airports (best place ever to people watch), flying,  all of it is fascinating to me...not to mention, new places, new people, new foods, sights, sounds, it is all exciting. 

I started dreaming of places I would love to visit.... Newfoundland & PEI, Rocky Mountains (done, Canada & USA) , Swiss Alps, Israel, Spain, Africa (planning stages), Paris (done), China, Norway, Italy, Antarctica... basically I decided way back then that I would pretty much go anywhere if the opportunity presented it's self.

I would love to be able to say that I have stepped foot on every continent & seen the 7 wonders of the world before I die... we will see if that ever comes to be, in the mean time I will go... I will take advantage of the opportunities presented and I will be thankful.

One such opportunity has presented it's self and I am jumping in with both feet and totally excited to be doing so.   Early in September I will be boarding a plane and heading to Niger West Africa for 3 weeks.  An opportunity of a life time and I am so totally amazed & excited that it is happening.  I will be helping at the Niger Vocational Training School (Girls @ risk school) teaching sewing projects, and what ever else needs to be done.  I can not wait!

Bad blogger...

Or maybe I should say distracted blogger....

Life distractions -Coming up to the end of the school year, dance year.  Spring cleaning.. or at least thinking about it, patio reno, gardening when the weather is co-operating.  I have been working for a few weeks, that is about to end (that was the plan from the beginning so no worries there) Doctors visits - I have 3 active teens - this too shall pass, for now it seems the norm. Hubby was away for a week, I am looking seriously at a trip to Africa in a few months, friends in crisis, family and friends coming in and out of town.... Canada day is coming.... just a few distractions!

Blog distractions - I have been blogging here http://kicslemonade.blogspot.com/ It is market season again.  This is a friends company, seriously the best lemonade!  She asked for some marketing help so I am helping, as well as doing the Saturday Farmers Market in Burnaby every other week.

I have also been blogging here http://frugal-is-not-a-dirty-word.blogspot.com/ - This one is my baby, couponing has become a hobby of sorts.  With the added benefit of saving us money,  it has been a huge blessing in our lives.  Not working full time I look for ways to cut corners and save some moula - this is one of the great ways I have managed to do so.

All of these things add up to not too much action here.  I have plans to change that, it is not like I do not have things I want to write, I just find it hard to find the time.  Next week when I am done work for now... then I will get my act together.  I especially want to talk about Africa!  SOOOOOO EXCITED!