Not what you think...

Being a missionary is not what you think. I have met and come to respect many of the missionaries here. They struggle just to carry out everyday tasks in a very tough environment. Not only that: they strive to make Jesus Christ known were he is not, and endure serious persecution. I don't mean their lives are in danger of brutality, but....well, I will let you read about them. Read Their Story

Amina and Mustafa

Amina and Mustafa
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is my language helper Amina with her three year old son, Mustafa. I usually go visit her in the afternoons when she has a little time to sit and talk with me. She is very patient and lets me struggle with my Fulfulde to try to get across my meaning. She also helps me and talks about subjects that I have learned vocabulary for. She also uses words that are new to me and I try to figure out the meaning by asking for clarification. It is a very humblin experience, but I am glad to have it.

The dialect she speaks is just different from the dialect I am trying to learn. There are very few people in Niamey who speak this dialect, so talking with Amina is a good option. As soon as I get to Konni I will begin to learn the exact dialect that they speak.

In Niamey people also speak Zerma, Hausa, Tamasheq and French so I am learning a few greeting in each of those while I am in Niamey. Later, in Konni, I will want to learn a little bit of Hausa because a majority of people speak it in the eastern part of the country.

Until then, please pray for my language studies!

My House in Konni -- Grand Tour

Welcome to the first ever, international tour of my house in Birnin Konni, Niger. It is still being worked on, but we hope to move out there in August, when we are done with language learning in Niamey. It is situated about 4 blocks from the main road that stretches the length of Niger and is about a mile west of the crossroads with the main through road from Nigeria to Niger. Needless to say, Konni is a busy little town. I am very glad my house is situated a ways from the road because it is close enough to walk there easily, but far enough away to shield a little from the hustle and bustle. It is much quieter there too. The house is right on the corner of two dirt roads. Across the street on one side is the City Hall and across the street on the other side is an Assemblies of God church. There are many people that live in the area and even a few Fulani families just down the street. Well, I hope you enjoy the tour, lets get started...

GRAND TOUR -- ROOM 1

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Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Living room

This is a view from the front porch looking into the main room. The room is nice and very comfortable. It has a small window that looks over the front yard.

The doors (as you can see) do not let alot of light into the room, so I will try to have a screen door made to fit the front. That way I can leave the doors open to let in the light and breeze and not have to worry about mosquitos.

Towards the back right of the picture you can see the small hallway that leads to the bedroom and the kitchen.

GRAND TOUR -- ROOM 2

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Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Extra room/office/guest room

This room looks out onto the front yard. Right now it is filled with painting supplies but will have a grass mat for guests that come visit to sleep on. Also, there is a chance that another single woman will come to work in the Konni area and if that occurs then she will most likely be my roommate.

The wall has alot of character because of its curved corner. I really like it!

GRAND TOUR -- ROOM 3

Kitchen
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Kitchen

There was no existing kitchen in the house so they have installed a sink and cabinet. There are plans to install a gas range as well! To the right of this picture, on the other side of the room I will probably have a table and chairs. This room also has the really cool curved walls!

GRAND TOUR -- ROOM 4

Indoor Bathroom (when there is water)
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

Indoor Bathroom (when there is water)

It is a real blessing to have an indoor bathroom with shower. I think I can probably sit on the toilet, wash my hands, and take a shower all at the same time!

My front porch in Konni

My front porch in Konni
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is the first of a series of pictures of my house in Konni. This is the front porch and you can see the yard. The porch is a nice size and it is shaded pretty much the entire day. That makes a big difference when there is no Air conditioning and it is cooler outside than inside the house. I am making plans to sleep here on the porch under a mosquito net during the dry season. It will also be a place to entertain guests that come to visit.

The guys are unloading a closet for my room.

I am also looking for a possible way to hang my hammock out here on the porch too.

Pictures of the inside to come...

Fulfulde Church Lamorde

Today is Sunday and I went to the Fulfulde church. I wanted to write about it so you can understand how cool it was, so here it is. The road to the Lamorde chuch leads us off the main road, to the left dodging muddy puddles in the dirt road left by this week's rain storm. As we near the house, it looks like any ordinary house. It is small, cement block, like most in the city. We enter the front gate, and see the house to our left and to the right is a one roomed, tin-roofed shelter. It had woven millet stalk walls propped up by tree branches tied together with wire. Previously it was shaded from the sun by millet stalks laid across more tree branches overhead, but due to the fury of the wind and rain it collapsed. The pastor and a few others worked all this week to erect this new shelter. It is a blessing to them. As we sat down, women on one side and men of the other, and the service started, the Pastor welcomed everyone in French and Fulfulde . We sang two songs in French, one in Fulfulde, one more in French and finally one more in Fulfulde. The beautiful voice of the Pastor's wife, Ruth, led the songs from behind me. The pastor invited anyone to choose a song that had ministered to them and that they wanted to sing. Shelley chose a translated hymn that we knew. Next, people shared testimony of what God had been doing in their lives. One man thanked god for the safety of his fiancee who survived an armed attack on her home, and a missionary introduced his two volunteers that came to work with Fulani children. Everyone clapped, thanking God for all he has done and we rejoiced. Another man got up to preach, and he preached in French with a translator translating into Fulfulde. He preached on Acts 18 and the trials faced by Paul in Corinth. I was not able to understand all that he said, but that was okay. I did understand a few words from French and a few Fulfulde. Especially "nuddinbe" which means "believers." During the message you could hear a rooster behind the shelter and distant livestock. There was a small breeze coming in, which kept it relatively cool for the service. After the preaching, the pastor came up and shared his heart about the message. Then he read a letter from their mother church. It reminded me of the letters from the apostles read to the new testament churches. He also mentioned an event that was happening in a few weeks that interested the group. As we left, we greeted everyone with a sort of handshake. It is more of a grasping of hands than a "shake." The pastor's wife and I are friends, so I greeted her in Fulfulde. Then, we headed off, back to the other side of the bridge, towards home. It was great to be able to hear a message in Fulfulde, even if it is not my dialect that I am learning. God is working among the Fulani and I am so glad to be here with them.

Fulani Women

Fulani Women
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This picture was taken on our first trip to Konni, our target town. We will be moving there in a few months after language study to begin working with women such as this. We will do our best to live among them and get to know them.

They are such a unique culture.

Please pray for unique ministry opportunities for us to share the Gospel with them.
Pray for friendships to be formed
Pray for people to help us find Fulani villages in the bush.
Pray for ministry opportunites for volunteer teams in the future.

Fulfulde practice

Today was day 5 of fulfulde class and it is tough. There is so much information being inputed that I don't know how or where to store it all. Classes run three hours a day/five days a week. That gives me time to go out and practice with people around town. Sumana is the Fulani man that I first was able to practice with. I went back to his house yesterday and asked to speak with his wife. She was very patient with me and allowed me to sit on the mat with her talking about all the words I know. She is very sweet and has a beautiful smile. After we ran out of words to talk about I began to ask for new words by pointing and asking. She took me into her small store and pointed out each thing telling me the fulfulde name so I could write it down. Then she took me into her house and pointed to everything in there. It was great! At this rate I will be speaking Fulfulde in no time! I went back the next day and she was preparing farimasa for her family. Farimasa is a fried sweet balls of bread made from flour, sugar, yeast and water. She told me how to make it, named off the ingredients and showed me just how to do it. Then, when they were finished she put sugar on top of them and shared some with me. They were comparable to Krispy Kreme, I would say. :) Maybe a little different, but so good! I decided to share something that I like to make, so this weekend I made chocolate chip cookies and took them to her house. I told her in my fledgling Fulfulde that she had shared with me and I was grateful so I baked her some cookies. She understood and took them into her house. I really enjoy our visits. She has three children who are very sweet, and the youngest one is a riot! He makes me laugh everyday. I can't wait to go see them tomorrow!

Niger River and Canoe guides

Canoes
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is the Niger River where we took a canoe trip to see hippos. It was really neat even though the water is brown. That is due to the color of the sand and the rain we have been getting washing the sand into the river. We got to see the hippos but stayed a good distance away because they are very dangerous.

My favorite part was passing the small villages along the river while the women and children were washing clothes. The children would chand "kaado kaado" which means gift and wave and yell. I did not like being singled out because I am a westerner, but I did enjoy seeing the culture and the people as they go about their lives.

Giraffe

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Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This proves it! I'm really in africa! :) I got the opportunity to visit one of the last herds of free roaming giraffes in West Africa and it was awesome! We ate lunch out there and saw three different groups of giraffes. The babies are so cute!

This one did not seem to mind having his picture taken!

By the way... Lions have prides, fish have schools,
What do you call a group of giraffes?
Click on the picture to see more!

My new african outfit

My new african outfit
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is the shirt and wrap skirt made for me by the tailor. I chose the fabric at the market and bargained for it.

I will be wearing head scarfs once I move out to my village, but enough foreigners are in the capital that not everyone wears them.

I LOVE the colors!

Just another rich, white person?

As I drove the impoverished streets of the neighborhoods of Niamey I could not bear to look at the faces of those that I passed. "Another rich white person," I am sure they were thinking about me. I was disgusted by the fact that I have so much more than they will ever have. What makes me deserving? Uhhh! I wish they would see the love that I have for them! I wish they would know that I am different! I am not here to take what I can, and flaunt my privilege! I love them! Jesus loves them! I was feeling very powerless. Then, I thought, "They will know." "They will see Christ in me. They will know." As the Holy Spirit calmed my fears and let the disgust leave my heart I began to pray as I drove for all the people I passed. Food to eat, health, jobs, Christ in their hearts. The prayers of love were comforting me as God made sure I knew that he cares about them. He is drawing them to himself even now. I just have to follow my calling and share the love that Christ has for them. I am not a miracle maker, here to bring money and make it all better. That is impossible for a person. I am to love them. Simply love them.

Fulfulde class #2

Today was a very fun day! We had fulfulde class with our tutor from 9-12 and learned about numbers, two common verbs, two sets of vocabulary and simple sentences. We have been moving quickly, but it has been going very well. There are wonderful things about the language that make it less difficult to learn. One such thing is that the verb does not change like in spanish and french. The verb stays the same for all the present affirmative statements. The only thing that changes is the subject pronoun. That makes is a little easier. Of course it has its difficult points, too. One very interesting cultural difference that I have noted lies in the third person plural pronouns. In english we say "we" and any other languages I have heard do as well. Fulfulde has two pronouns for "we" one connotates we exclusively; excluding the one being spoken to; and the other connotates inclusively; including the one being spoken to. It is an interesting difference that really makes conversations easier once you can use it well. After lunch I went over my fulfulde notes again, typing them into the computer as I review. Then I took a short nap. Then I went to the tailor to pick up the last of my clothes that were being made. They are awesome! I was very pleased with the shirts and skirts. I spoke broken french to the others in the tailor's shop while I was waiting. I am never surprised by how much God can use my friendly attitude and almost zero language ability to begin conversations. After that I headed for a small shack that sells sugar, flour and basics like that. The owner is a fulani man that my supervisor knows pretty well. I got out my notebook and made a complete fool of myself trying earnestly to practice what I learned today with him. He was very patient and only laughed a little as I repeated the phrases and flipped pages in my notebook to find the meaning of what he replied to me. It was very encouraging, very fun and very good practice. I asked his name, age, where he is from and told him about me. He has three children and Mustafa was there with him so I asked his age. He is three. I got to play and with the kids and they warmed up very quickly. I learned their names and ages, too. Then I purchased sugar, the other reason for my visit and left with smiles and waves. I want to go back tomorrow!

Orientation, driving and street food, OH MY....

Wow, I can't imagine that just a week ago I was in Florida saying goodbyes and packing my things. I had no idea what I was in for. This week in Africa has been so different for me; asking me to adjust to a place where nothing works the way I know it. It has not been as hard as it could have, and I know it will get worse, but for now I am having a blast, having a new adventure everyday and loving it. When we arrived in Paris our departing flight was already late so we knew we would not arrive on time to Niamey. When we landed though we had to wait another hour on the plane because of some problem with the "parking spot." It was not that big of a deal, we just had more time to talk to the Nigeriens seated next to us. By the time we got off the plane, we were three hours late and were sure that we were never going to see our luggage again. But we were wrong. After we left the passport stamping desk and the yellow fever vaccination checking station we waiting a grueling 45 minutes around the baggage carousel and retrieved all of our bags. Between the three of us we had 12 bags. The drive home was quite the introduction to Africa because the main road was blocked off for some unknown reason. The three truck caravan had to meander through the back neighborhoods to get back to the guest house. We passed houses and entire villages made from millet stalks weaved together to form walls. This is common here. The millet stalk mats are sold by the roll all over the city. Driving here is not as typical as one would think. It is quite crazy. I described driving in Ecuador while I was there like playing a race car game. This is nothing like that. Driving in niger is more like driving a 4 wheeler everywhere. The streets are mainly dirt with a few exceptions in the city. Then, the dirt roads are bumpy and even hilly so that you almost can bump your head on the roof of the truck if you are not careful. To make matters worse, there are taxis, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians everywhere! I am not discouraged about driving, It is actually quite fun! But that is just me. During these days we have learned all about Niamey and where to get what we need. We have visited grocery stores, markets, vegetable stands, where to refill our gas bottles and coke bottles, pharmacies, clinics, bakeries, and where we can get other supplies as we go. They encouraged us to drive as much as possible so that we can know our way around. They are so smart. We have eaten street food twice now. There is a stand right down the street from our guest house that has good rice and beans and cooked manioc. Today for lunch I paid 200 cfa for a bowl full of it and was only able to eat half of it. It is so good. (200 cfa is about 45 cents) Our guest house is located on the same road as the French and American Embassies, as well as the american recreation center. They play softball there every Saturday and have a pool, playground, and basketball court. I don't know if I'll spend too much time there, but it was nice to see. This afternoon we are going to visit the tailor. We haggled for fabric in the market a few days ago and are having african clothes made. I can't wait for that. Please keep our upcoming language study in your prayers, we start with Hamani, our language tutor, on Wednesday, as well as our upcoming trip out to Birnin Konni on the 15 and 16th of June. Other than that, please write and let me know what is happening in your lives. I would love to know and to be able to share it with you.

Street scene

Street scene
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This man is wearing pretty common clothes for Niger. He has pants and a long shirt made from material that can be purchased at the market. They have great fabric. The men wear more typical, plain fabrics while the women wear all the fun patterns and colors.

This type of clothing is much cooler and preferable here. Wait till you see my new clothes!

I told you the traffic was crazy

I told you the traffic was crazy
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is a look into the African culture. It is pretty much undescribable.

Niger River

Niger River
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

We drove along the Niger River road (affectionately named by the missionaries) as we were being oriented to clinics and pharmacies.

Right now the water level is very low, but the rainy season is expected soon. Most of the pictures I have taken so far are from the front seat of the truck. I hope very soon to be able to visit more with the people as we learn language and talk to more people.

Roadside

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Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is the view along the roadside on the way to the mission. It overlooks the Niger river and didn't I tell you that you can see for miles?

Africa is Amazing

It has been an incredible journey thus far and proves to keep getting better. We arrived 2 hours late into Niamey on Tuesday, but without any lost luggage, or bother. Tuesday was very difficult as we were very tired from not sleeping much on the planes. Starting Wednesday we have been busy orienting (and being oriented) ourselves to Niamey. We have learned that there are not many Sokoto here in Niamey. The dialect spoken here will not be similar to the one spoken in Konni, so we will have to be doubly sure to work with our language helper to learn the correct dialect. The culture here is amazing. The colors don't even compare to the most amazing pictures I have seen. I am anxious to be able to speak to more african as I learn more language but for now, learning about the culture of africa and not to forget the "missionary culture" is important to learn too. All the missionaries here have been wonderful in helping us adjust and transition. It has been nice to get to know the Western Fulani Team as they are almost a "sister team" to us. The phones are pretty bad, and the internet is not a good connection either. That is okay, Things are going very well. It is so crazy to me still that I'm in Africa. Tonight I am taking it easy, because we were in the market all afternoon bargaining for cloth for african clothes. I will send pictures as soon as I get them uploaded to the internet. Driving here is insane. I feel like someone is going to die around every turn. They don't go very fast, but that is not the problem. They are everywhere. Cars, trucks and motorcycles jet out in front of you all the time. I will only be riding my motorcycle inside the mission compound and when we get out to Konni. We are learning a lot about our town, Konni and the Fulani that live there. Also, Sokoto is not a very good name for them because of the shared culture that they have and the region in which they live, but we still have much more to investigate. The 15 we will be heading out to our town for the first time. We start language study with our tutor on Wednesday. Until then we will be visiting different places around the city to learn our way around and where to buy things. We bought food, cloth, soap, powdered milk, and lots more. The culture here is pretty different from what we will find in Konni we are told. That is not what I wanted to hear because it only means that much longer until I get to study the appropriate culture, but I am learning a lot about the african culture in general. Today we ate street food with our supervisor. I will be doing that often because it was really good and super cheap. We ate rice and beans and a different sort of yam that was almost like Ecuadorian yuca. Manioc or cassava in English I think. It is about to rain here, which is rare, but the amazing part about it is that a big dust storm just went through. It came like in the scene of that movie Hidalgo.... I haven't seen it, but everyone else compared it to that. It was basically an orange wall of dust. It came slowly over the horizon (you can see everything for miles) and crept up until it blocked out the sun causing an eerie orange haze everywhere. It was very exciting to me, but pretty eerie I want to write so much, and I can, the trick is to get it sent online. I'll post some pictures later tonight. In Him, Danielle