We headed to the ferry, where I was able to see Fati. It was always nice to have to wait for the ferry because it meant I was able to spend more time with my new friend. While we were standing around waiting, another little girl came up to Fati. Fati got something that was hidden on her tray of cola nuts and went over to this girl. It turns out that Fati was putting some makeup on this girl. It was really more like black paint or something, but Fati put a couple dots on this girl's forehead and then was painting some of it in her eyebrows. It was really neat to watch because it reminded me of how girls their age might enjoy playing and putting makeup on one another here in America.
I was able to give Fati a package of Pop Tarts by slipping it onto her tray when there weren't any other kids around. She seemed very thankful and after awhile, she sat down to hide it better on her tray so no one would find it when they were picking out cola nuts. Fati then walked off for a few minutes to sell someone some cola nuts and when she came back, she gave me a plastic bag that had three coconut slices in it. This was again such a sweet gift. I really felt bad and hoped she didn't feel like she had to give me something in return, but Cephas assured me that she didn't. These gifts from Fati meant so much to me. It reminds me of Mark 12:41-44, where Jesus told the story of the widow's offering:
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
Now of course Fati's gift to me is not the same as the widow's gift to Jesus, but there was certainly a similar sacrifice involved, which made it all that much more meaningful. Brad was with us again that day, and I asked him after we left the ferry if it was alright for me to eat the coconut. Unfortunately, he said I couldn't. Because they were slices of coconut (as opposed to a whole one), they had been exposed to the water there, which would make me really sick. So, I gave one slice to each of our translators, which they were excited about since their bodies are accustomed to the water there.
As we stood there, Fati had her tray on her head, and so I asked her if I could try putting it on my head. I was able to do it, but man, I sure felt like I had to be so still and make very slow movements. She thought it was pretty funny. They make it look so easy there. They do it so often and are able to move around without any problems. You may notice in the picture above where Fati is putting the makeup on the other girl that they both had their trays on their heads. I was surprised at how heavy that tray was, and Cephas told me that people often carry up to 30 pounds that way. I can't even imagine!As always, I was sad to leave Fati for the morning, but I was excited to get to see her later that afternoon on our way home.
Worship in the village was wonderful, and it became evident throughout the day how we were all becoming more comfortable with one another. As we walked around the village, we were able to share the gospel with several more groups of people. It was neat because sometimes the same people would follow us around and hear us tell the stories two or three times.
After evangelizing in the village, we all gathered at the Brazilians’ home and hung out for a little bit. Ryan even got a brief lesson from Issa (our translator) on how to play a jimbay (drum). He and Dr. Martin also got a lesson in Songhai dancing from one of the men who had started coming to hear the lessons that week. Anyway, my husband, as I’ve mentioned many times before, is seriously so good at everything he does. Playing a jimbay and Songhai dancing are no exceptions. He did such a great job! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of Ryan dancing, but I did get some videos of both him playing a jimbay and him dancing.
There were often children who gathered outside of the doors that enclosed the Brazilian's property. I was able to get this really cute picture of them when the door was opened at one point.Our time with the Brazilians and new believers was really fun, but we eventually had to pile back into the bus to start our three hour trip back home. Fati was working at the ferry when we got there. I knew she worked there all day each day, but I was always a little worried that for some reason she wouldn't be there. Sweet Fati bought me another bag of ice water that afternoon, and I gave her my bag of trail mix.
While at the ferry, I also took a picture of two really cute, young children. The little boy looked so happy just walking along with his mom. Both kids were so precious!
On our way home, that day, we stopped at another market to look at some jimbays and swords. Ryan was so cute and excited to see both of them.
That night, our routine was slightly different. We all headed over to the Wombles' house earlier than normal for dinner. This was so we could go with our translators to Wednesday night church, which was such a neat experience. The service was held in this area that was up against two buildings, so these buildings made up two of the walls, and the other two were open to the outside. There was a roof overhead, but the night air was able to flow through. There was a prayer time going on at a nearby mosque, so there was a regular hum of one of the Muslims crying out in prayer over the loud speaker. We began the service with prayer. The pastor, who was from Ghana and spoke English, assigned us topics to pray about and would give us a few minutes to pray on our own. Everyone prayed on their own out loud, and it was really cool to hear all those prayers going up to God in different languages, knowing that He hears them all. We all sat in lawn chairs as the pastor preached. The service was to start at 7 that night, but people trickled in for the next hour or so. The concept of time is so different in Niger, which we learned starting our first day there. People aren't really as concerned about schedules, which may be largely due to the fact that there are so many circumstances that you can't control and may keep you from staying on schedule.
Anyway, the pastor did a great job. He taught his lesson in English, and then one of the translators who was working with the Hurst team translated it all into Zerma. Afterward, we all said our goodbyes and headed back to the guesthouse.
There was quite a bit of work to do each night to prepare for the next day--mainly disinfecting all the water bottles and jugs and preparing lots of ice. Everyone worked to get it all done, so it didn't take too long, which was good because I think we were all pretty tired by that point.
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