Safari in Pendjari

We went on a Safari right before Christmas, we had a wonderful time. While on the safari we saw many kinds of Antelope and many different kinds of birds, one of my favorite was the saddle billed stork. We also saw some Hippos and Crocodiles, and Baboons. While driving we saw a large group of Elephants and they started to walk toward the road, they were walking close to our truck it was an amazing feeling, it was a group of 10-12 elephants. One was so big it was about 15 feet high. We had so much fun, it was a great experience. One of the greatest thing we saw was 2 lions, one was walking on the road in front of us, I must admit I freaked out when we saw the large groups of elephants and lions, I was so excited to see them. We were so blessed to see all of those animals.

Update on Fernard

Fernard is doing 100% better he is crazy as ever, his mom told me that his life was saved, I am very thankful that God has given us the money to help others. His family is very thankful and has said so many times. Thank you all for your prayers.

Little Fernard

This morning some ridiculous birds woke me up around 6:15, but I am very thankful for them because I was awake to hear the door bell ring. At first I thought I am not going to get that it is 6:20, but I decided other wise. As I opened the door to tell whoever it was that us Americans sleep in so please do not come before 7:00, I saw it was my next door neighbor, she had a panic look on her face, she asked if she could talk to me. She began to explain that Fernard has been sick since Sunday and has been having diarrhea and vomiting since Sunday, she said he has not been eating and did not sleep all night last night. When I looked at little Fenard who is 1 1/2 I could not believe how lethargic he was, he could hardly keep his head up and his breathing was very irregular.
I told her I would take her to the hospital, we left about 5 min later.
When we arrived at the hospital it was to early, not everyone had arrived, no one knew what to do, so we found our self going up and down 5 flights of stairs about 5 times, what fun in a very hot hospital. Finally once we told them that he had been sick since Sunday they started to do something. They brought us to a room where we sat for about 45 min until some men came to take his blood. Little Fernard was so dehydrated that they could not get any blood out of him, they continued to prick him and squeeze his arm, the third time they went right into his vein and took the blood. I had to step out side I could not stand it, he was screaming, I could hear it in the hallway. When I was able to go back in the room they had taken enough blood for the analysis. After all of that Fernard just went to sleep and slept for a few hours. They will be receiving the response from the analysis around 2:00. Please be praying for this little ones body to recover quickly.

The Best granola ever.

Coconut and Cashew Granola

*Makes about 7 cups of granola
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine maple syrup, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures by slowly pouring the liquid over the oatmeal mixture and stirring well. Divide in half and pour onto two 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets, spreading out into an even layer on each sheet. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer into a large bowl, slightly breaking up the clumps. Add the raisins and gently mix until even distributed.

The hug of a muslim friend

When we first arrived in Kara I met a special woman in the market and quickly became friends with her. Since then I have been trying to cultivate this friendship. I make a point to go talk with her each time I am in the market.
Today when I made a trip to the market she was not at her table. This saddened me because I have not been able to see her for two weeks. I had many things to do so I had to leave. While walking down the road, just next to me were speakers blaring out the daily Muslim prayers. To my right was a Muslim store with many Muslim people standing around. Suddenly I spotted her; my friend was walking down the road with her arms open wide, ready to give me a hug. Do you still have the mental picture I just drew for you? All of those people standing around and here is a Christan walking down the street toward a Muslim lady with her arms open wide ready for a hug. At that moment I thanked the Lord for this opportunity to serve Him and thanked Him for this relationship, and maybe someday I will have the opportunity to show her the true way.

Things I love about my life.

I love that God is my Savior
I love that God gave me the opportunity to serve Him in Togo
I love that God gave me a wonderful husband
I love that God gave me a wonderful son
I love having the opportunity to praise the Lord
I love that I get to live in Africa
I love having Bible Hour every Saturday
I love teaching school to Joshua, okay sometimes
I love having the opportunity to raise Joshua in Africa
I love having wonderful friends in Africa and in America
I love being able to scrapbook
I love being able to cook for my family
I love my life that God has given me.
Thank you Lord.

A very special lady has passed away this week

I think one of the hardest things being in Africa is, when something happens in the States and I can not be their to comfort or help or give a hug. Today, I have just learned of the death of a very special friend in Oregon. I have known this lady for many many years and she is like a grandmother to me. She is the one person I would always seak out when I went to church to make sure she got a hug, and see how she was doing. She has been such a help and encouragement to me and I will miss her dearly. Mrs Spady was a wonderful woman and she will be missed.

Making FUFU

Joshua has been asking me for about 2 months to prepare fufu for him, the only problem is I have no idea how to prepare it. This past Saturday I asked my friend Yvette if she would help me make fufu and sauce. Of course Joshua wanted to help with this process, so last night we made fufu together. We all had a wonderful time.

FUFU: Is a staple in Togo. They always eat it with a sauce. It comes from a root called manioc. To prepare it, they will peel the manioc and cut it up like you do when making mashed potatoes. It's then cooked like you would for mashed potatoes, then they pound them like you see in the picture.

This is a video of Joshua making and eating fufu. http://www.vimeo.com/7940011