We locked Dave in the spare room this week in order for him to get somewhere with writing his thesis (I think that he is about a chapter or two behind). It seemed to have been working until today. I was outside hanging clothes on the line when I heard him yelling "turn it off!" I guess there was smoke and a big poof sound that he had been responding to. One of the boys (who will remain nameless) had plugged in the tv and wii to the 220V plug on the transformer instead of the 110V. Dave was afraid for all who were in the room and reacted a little loud--making those involved all the more scared. Luckily, the smoke is clearing and nothing seems to have caught on fire. We are waiting to see if the tv or the wii will work (it will be a slightly sad Christmas, if there is nothing to play the new games on), but we are truly grateful that no one was hurt (except maybe Dave's concentration).
It doesn't look like we will be able to get away for our holidays with the amount of work that Dave has (his first draft is due Feb.1 and he has two and a part chapters to write in that time). But I have been enjoying some restful days of Christmas baking and reading between the regular routine of caring for the family and checking on the building progress. (It looks like we have a foundation now --pictures will follow shortly). Hopefully we will all find some refreshment before we return to the regular school schedule.
We had neighbours from our old neighbourhood come and visit last night and invite us to a wedding this Saturday. When I mentioned it to my house helper he said, "You are going right? Because you are pretty important to them if they went to the trouble of going out of their way to invite you." Please pray that we would continue to make good relationships and that God would use them for His glory.
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
PS. It looks like the wii is ok and it is just the tv that is toast (which is very good because it is much easier to replace).
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Week of Ups & Downs
We had a great visit with the Mowchenkos and Dan Sheffield and were sad to see them go. But, after Jay's glowing review of our hospitality I have to say that our Nigerien friends put us to shame. We went to have "tea" with them at a 11 am thinking that it would be about an hour to have three rounds of tea. Instead 6 hours later we left having shared a delicious meal, two rounds of tea and Jay and Marilou had Tamjek outfits to wear in Canada. I was completely humbled by our friends generousity. What a way for the Mowchenkos to end there trip! Hopefully, they didn't pay for it on their trip home.
Since they have left I have been going crazy getting ready for semester exams (which start today for our boys--mine is given Wednesday) and trying to get caught up on my marking. I made an extra trip to school to work on this earlier this week and found myself in a divine appointment. Shortly after I started working one of the French teachers came into the staff work room and said that he needed to use the phone because he thought he wife might be having her baby (a first after 12 years of marriage). I asked if he needed a ride to get to the clinic and spoken like a true first time dad he said no I need to drive my motorcycle home, but then realized that he did need someone to get his wife to the clinic! So I got to chauffeur them to the clinic and do my marking in the car while I waited to hear if they would keep her, send her home, or send her somewhere else. Thankfully, Zachary Othniel was born around 4pm last Wednesday and both he and mom are doing well.
The low point this week came on Friday, when we found out that a package Grandma had sent from Florida went to Nigeria instead of Niger --we aren't sure if we will see any of the contents of it, but it was the first time that it happened to us in 7 years. I guess I will get by without those extra sandals and Ben will have to make due with the shoes that he has (hopefully, they will still fit Ben if they eventually do make it through). But I will really miss the Starbuck's coffee!
To top off the lows, Friday night Dave got sick, so we missed our staff Christmas party (one of the highlights of the holiday season) on Saturday. And if that wasn't enough he had to give his stomach bug to me too. Please pray that they boys don't get it. They really can't afford to be sick when they are writing exams.
Please also pray that Dave will be able to make up for lost time in writing his thesis. We are supposed to be taking holidays over the next few weeks but I am not sure that Dave will be free to do that with the deadlines for his thesis looming. Please pray that we find rest and refreshing in the midst of it all.
Since they have left I have been going crazy getting ready for semester exams (which start today for our boys--mine is given Wednesday) and trying to get caught up on my marking. I made an extra trip to school to work on this earlier this week and found myself in a divine appointment. Shortly after I started working one of the French teachers came into the staff work room and said that he needed to use the phone because he thought he wife might be having her baby (a first after 12 years of marriage). I asked if he needed a ride to get to the clinic and spoken like a true first time dad he said no I need to drive my motorcycle home, but then realized that he did need someone to get his wife to the clinic! So I got to chauffeur them to the clinic and do my marking in the car while I waited to hear if they would keep her, send her home, or send her somewhere else. Thankfully, Zachary Othniel was born around 4pm last Wednesday and both he and mom are doing well.
The low point this week came on Friday, when we found out that a package Grandma had sent from Florida went to Nigeria instead of Niger --we aren't sure if we will see any of the contents of it, but it was the first time that it happened to us in 7 years. I guess I will get by without those extra sandals and Ben will have to make due with the shoes that he has (hopefully, they will still fit Ben if they eventually do make it through). But I will really miss the Starbuck's coffee!
To top off the lows, Friday night Dave got sick, so we missed our staff Christmas party (one of the highlights of the holiday season) on Saturday. And if that wasn't enough he had to give his stomach bug to me too. Please pray that they boys don't get it. They really can't afford to be sick when they are writing exams.
Please also pray that Dave will be able to make up for lost time in writing his thesis. We are supposed to be taking holidays over the next few weeks but I am not sure that Dave will be free to do that with the deadlines for his thesis looming. Please pray that we find rest and refreshing in the midst of it all.
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