following the LEADER

2008 was an awesome year for us.  We want to share a few of our fondest memories with you.

Dave and I love to go camping.  During the first several years of our marriage, we traveled all over with our tent, our whisperlite single burner stove, our 20 degree bags, thermarests, and a ton of other gear that we had fun collecting and using.

Not so since Sam.  When I was pregnant with him, Dave dragged me and our friend Sarah to a state park in VA.  After that, it’s been a two night trip to Arkansas when Sam was about 10 months old.  That’s it.

This week, all of that changed.  And we couldn’t be more thrilled.  We’re back in business, baby!

Camping with kids is really different from camping as a couple, but it’s really fun too.  Dave and I left Niamey with Sam, Nata, Krystal and our friends Beth and Steve and their son Tim.  Beth and Steve hooked us up with the location, but don’t ask me to get there again, because I couldn’t tell you.  They had a friend of theirs, a Nigerien, guide us to the spot.  Beth and Steve stayed in one of the two huts in the little fenced in yard, but we preferred to make good use of our (and Danika’s) tents.  It was so much fun that we plan on doing it again really soon before the weather gets unbearably hot again.

One of the best things about traveling is meeting new people.  We had a really sweet moment with the Pastor’s son, who proudly greeted me in English on Sunday.  That afternoon he went with us on a little walk.  We ate berries off of bushes, admired Baobab trees, and pointed out the goats and cows to Sam as they wandered a little ways off.  Dave and this boy, whose name in Gourmanche means “Samuel” had a sweet conversation comparing the names of things in French, English, and Gourma.

We arrived home after two nights and three days dirty, tired, and very happy.  Camping in the bush is a little different from a state or national park.  The stars are brighter, the locals friendlier, and the camp stores a little more few and far between (or non existant).  We kept saying to eachother, “Man, this is the life.”  Roughing it couldn’t be more fun, especially with such great company.

entering the village we stayed near

We had the privilege of spending Christmas Eve at the orphanage.  It was awesome to see the reactions of 60 children surprised by Santa, most of whom had never seen him in person.

I love this verse from the 91st Psalm.  When I was a little girl, my parents would pray for my sister and me every night, and the prayer would go something like, “Keep all bad dreams and all bad and evil far, far away.  Put your angels around her to guard her and guide her.”  This became somewhat of a mantra for Laura and me.  We loved those quiet times with Mom and Dad, and we refused to go to sleep unless they came in to pray the special prayer.

These days, I find myself doing the same thing with Sam, and I imagine I will very soon with Nathaniel as well.  I pray the Lord’s protection over the lives of my children especially in the moments when I’m not there to protect them myself.  I comfort myself in knowing that their heavenly Father loves them more than I ever could and wants (even promises) to protect them.

Why am I telling you about this?  Because of the week we’ve had, of course.

Last weekend Sam was sick with a pretty violent stomach virus.  Many of the other expat children were in the hospital including our good friend Amber T.  Sam spent many hours hovered over a bowl.  Last Sunday we visited Geladio again to hand out Plumpynut to malnourished children there.  I realized that if any of these starving village children were as sick as Sam, they wouldn’t survive.

Then, a few days ago, I put Nathaniel down in the kids’ room to play.  I was in another part of the house and came running when I heard him start to cry.  I found him in the bathroom with an opened bottle of toilet bowl cleaner spilled on the floor.  I cannot explain to you my feeling of helplessness.  I immediately grabbed him and tried to determine if he had swallowed any of the poison.  His mouth smelled and tasted like the cleaner.  I immediately took him to the sink.  Normally, we do not drink water from the tap here, but I didn’t worry about that, knowing that these chemicals could be way worse than a little bacteria in his digestive tract.  After this I began to nurse him (praise the Lord it was just about time for him to eat anyway).  Then I called Dave.  He came home with Krystal and Brent.  Krystal had the excellent idea of calling poison control in America using skype.  Praise the Lord again for technology.

Long story short, Nathaniel was totally fine.  It seems he didn’t really swallow very much of the cleaner, but probably only tasted it. Also, the cleaner seems not to have been very harmful.

I think this story is important to tell because, for me, there were so many details of God’s provision and protection of my 7 1/2 month old son.  First of all, he didn’t drink very much of the chemical.  Also, God gave me the exactally the right insticts.  I didn’t know for sure that diluting the chemical was the right thing to do.  Should I just try and make him throw up?  Did I need to rush to the emergency clinic or try and immediately feed him?  It was God that guided my actions.

It’s amazing to think about all the things that could have harmed us, all of the accidents that were prevented because “[angels] lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

I’m glad to report that we are all happy and healthy.  Sometimes I forget that this is a huge miracle in itself.  Thank you for praying for us.  We know that we are in his hands.