And now I'm home!

So, living in Africa for two months and then coming back to life in America is WEIRD! The first conversation I had when I got off the plane in America was with a woman about her little dog and how it had to have its vocal chords removed!!! HOW WEIRD!!

I have been home for a few weeks now though so it no longer feels like I am trapped inside of a dream world :)

God is good, and even though I had an in sane summer filled with hard things good things weird things sad things and happy things and so much more, the only important thing is that it was for God and that He is and will use it for the good.

When I got home I had alot of confusion about my summer, because more things happened in Africa than I was able to post obviously. I didn't understand why God did or allowed some of the things to happen that happened, but I have been praying about it and He has finally given me a peace about His plan. I have so much reassurance that I was supposed to be in Africa this summer and that He used me to glorify his name.

For everyone that read my blog, prayed for the people and our team and supported us, I cannot thank you enough. Your encouragement while I was in Africa gave me incredible strength to keep serving. Just to know that what I would blog gave you all strength and gave God an opportunity to work in your lives, that was enough for me. That was some of the strongest encouragment that I have ever recieved. It was hard to see what "God was doing" in Africa sometimes, because He worked on His time, not mine. Because of this, there were many times that I asked myself "why am I pooping in a hole and living in the bush in general?" but it was so encouraging to be reminded that God was and is working, and so much of the encouragment came from the blog comments. So thank you so much, you'll never know how much you impacted my summer.

I hope to send letters out to all that supported me with a summary of the summer and the ways that I saw God work. I hope to keep in touch!!!!

Love, Hailey

Baptisms and Amebas

(This update is very unorganized so I am sorry if it is hard to follow…pray for God to help you)

Well time is almost up and I am ready to go home, but at the same time this place has become home and the village that I am living in has become my village. My neighbors in my village and my team mates have become my family. God is really working here, but as you probably already know, at his own pace and in his own way.

Six men received Jesus since my last update!

The day after I posted my last update, men in our village (and the neighbor villages) started a stronger interest in the gospel. I am contributing this to the amount of prayer that went out for the men, so if you prayed specifically for the men, please know that the Lord answered that prayer. Lauren and I found ourselves sitting in front of the Mosque, playing the Jesus cassette for at least ten men who had just finished their Muslim prayer. They all listened, a few walked away, but several asked for cassettes to keep.

The boy on our team, Cody, led three men to Christ in the past two weeks, and a team from Kanesa’s church in Texas came into Kollo and ministered with the men also, and in total 6 men became Christians! We got to see 3 of them be baptized and two women who were already believers got baptized as well. I will try to post a video of the baptism on here.

Lauren (my partner) got an ameba and had to stay at Brandy and Kanesa’s house for a few days, but Tiffany stayed in our village with me while she was getting better. She took ameba medicine and the ameba should be dead now, we named him Buck.

The past week we have had the opportunity to work with the Texas team in our villages and it is amazing how such a big group of Christians can spread so much light here. The Holy Spirit was all over this place and in them, and they brought so much light and joy out to the Africans. We really enjoyed them and they did a wonderful job letting God use them and stretch them, and as a result 6 men came to Christ!

Dani is not feeling well so please pray for her healing.

There is a woman in out village named Faati, and she is a Christian. She is our closest friend in the village, she is also the lady who cooks for us and does our laundry. Her husband is not a Christian and he has another wife, but Faati is still a Christian and she will defend her faith. For the past few days we have been able to study the bible with Faati and it has been very good. Please pray that we can continue to have opportunities to study the Word with her, and that she will be able to take the Truth and not only live it out, but spread the good news. I think she is the only Christian in the entire village, so please pray that God would bless her and lift her up and use her to spread who He is.

Please pray for the women in our villages, that they would continue to show and interest in the gospel. Pray that they would receive salvation, and that they would not be afraid to live as Christians, even if their husbands are Muslim and disapprove. Pray that their chains would break and that God would set them free, and please pray that our last few days in Niger can be used for God’s glory, that He would use us in the fullest measure.

Yesterday we got to ride camels and our butts are really sore. Dani almost got bucked off of our camel, and three African men took the liberty of picking me up and placing me on the camel very quickly, which was very awkward and uncomfortable, especially since I was wearing a skirt.

Also pray that Lauren and I would not let our sense of adventure consume us on these last days so that we can stay out of trouble.

Sometimes I forget that I am American

Greetings blog followers!

The past two weeks here in Africa have been a blur of business and meshed together events that I am not really sure how to sift through but I will do my best. Also, Niger has religious freedom at the current moment so I will not be writing in code this time, that was just an extra precaution anyway.

So, living in the bush is pretty fun. I didn't think I would get used to it, there are some things that go along with "culture shock" that I didn't think I would ever get used to that have become a part of everyday life to me. Here is what a normal day in bush life consists of:

Me and Lauren sleep outside because it is too hot to sleep in our mud house. We wake up at 4 a.m. to the sound of the muslim prayer. The prayed plays through a loud speaker in our village, and every house in the village can hear it clearly when it goes off. I have struggled with being fearful of this prayer and waking up in the dark to it, but through prayer the wickedness of it has become a speck on the bottom of my shoe. When it wakes me up, if I cannot fall back asleep I use that time to pray to God and thank Him for being the King and already winning the battle.
We get up out of our beds around 7 am, because that is what time our village wakes up. The morning sounds consist of goats, roosters, sheep, birds, neighbors, donkeys, and cows. We move our beds into the house, put on our skirts and go out walking. Me and Lauren walk out of our village every morning, prayer walking/exercising. On our way back into the village we purchase Labon which is yogurt in a bag, and we eat that for breakfast. We then go back to our house and read our bibles and pray until about 10 or 11. Around that time, we go out into the village with our cassettes and we go to different compounds and greet people and play cassettes with God's word on them. The cassettes are in their language, and we always give interested people a cassette to keep. We go to about 3 compounds in the morning, and we come in around 12 or 1 and eat lunch (which usually consists of a rice dish cooked by our friend Fati). We then take naps until about 3. After our naps, we go prayer walking again out of our village. We stop at another village called "Zongo" where we buy a soft drink and farimasa (which is fried bread with sugar...tastes like donuts). We sit and eat/drink in the shade and visit for a while with each other and the Africans. We then head back into our village and spend time with our neighbors, playing with their children and sitting with the women. Fati brings us dinner, we eat it, and right when it gets dark, Barbara comes on.

Barbara is a french soap opera that our neighbors play out of their tv and 50 tall ghetto antenna each week night. It is not common for bush people to own tv's, fyi. But at night, all the married women and children in our village gather around this tiny tv right next to our house and watch Barbara. They love it. They give their commentaries in Zerma and I try my best to follow, but I am unfortunatly usually always out of the loop.

After Barbara, we pull out our beds and go to sleep. Our days are very simple and we have worked into a routine, but adventure still happens, and we are lucky if we ever get a day that follows that scheduale closely. That is just a general idea of our days.

The other night as I was washing my face in the bowl in the back room, I heard a screech from our front room. I ran into the room only to find Lauren attempting to kill a GIANT scorpian with her flip flop. I screamed "You can't kill it! It's too big!!" because it was the size of a kitten (maybe a little smaller..) and so Lauren screamed for an African child to come. Along comes Ali, our 12 year old saviour. He killed the scorpian by first hitting it with a shoe. He then stabbed it through its heart with a stick, and finally he grabbed a stone and he smashed it. He looked up at us in the moonlight and said "A Bon" which means "it is finished."

Some exciting things that I have been able to experience include riding on a donkey cart, taking a bush taxi across town, riding on a boat across the Niger river, peeing outside in a dust storm, and holding a baby goat.

As far as Jesus' work is concerned, the people in our village are starving for him and flocking toward his word. People come to us asking for cassettes, asking about Jesus, and just the other night a younge girl came to our house asking for me to play the bible for her. It is obvious that God is leading these people on a path toward Him. It is obvious the people who are interested in the gospel and those who are not. We experience God rawly out here, and it is very obvious where the work of the Spirit is. I am overjoyed by the way that our love for the village people spreads among them. We love the children, and the children run off and love each other. We love our neighbors, and they leave with smiles on their faces. The most beautiful thing about the love is that it belongs only to Jesus.

The men in the village are becoming more and more interested and accepting of the gospel. The more we pray for them, the more they open up. We have one team mate who has lead a man to Christ already.

It is hard for people in this area to make a decision to follow Jesus because they are controlled by fear and oppression. When we prayerwalk to pray the God would break down strongholds and continue to lead these people toward freedom to follow him. When I first started living in the bush I was very discouraged because I did not see any fruit of God working in the people in the village. I wanted to see people become Christians. I am not worried about that anymore because God has given me a peace that His work is so much more than anything we can measure. There is so much trust that goes into following Jesus, and every day he commands us to love like he loved. I am able to do that with his strength now, and I am able to see fruit everyday.

Please pray that God would help me and Lauren work well together, and please pray for the men of the village to become hungry for Jesus and fearless to follow him.

Thank you so much everyone for supporting me. I know I say this everytime, but honestly, everytime I call home and check my email and the comments on here I am encouraged GREATLY and I cannot thank you enough for that. Also, I feel the supernatural effects of the prayers from back home, so keep praying!

If God is teaching me anything in Africa it is to not take life so seriously, to trust Him, and to love. I am learning how to REST in Jesus' peace, and even though I am living in the midst of lost people in a foreign land, God is giving me supernatural peace and joy that does not match up to the obvious circumstances, so praise God for that.

I will report back sometime between the 16th and 19th!!!
Love Hailey

"The path is fraught with severe difficulties but also with incredible joys"

Everything here is good but hard.

Living in the bush is alot like living in the middle of another dimension, a dimension where you pee on a slab of concrete that is also the area that you "shower" in, (or take a bucket bath). A dimension where you poop in a hole in the ground but you have to greet the owners of the poop hole for ten minutes before you can use it, a dimension where you eat on the floor with your hands alongside Africans as their chickens try to steal the food and the goats are eating the fence next to you. Aside from bush living, which is very different, we feel like we are being sent out like "sheep among wolves." (Read Mthw 10).

I don't have alot of time to post very much, but just know that your yarps are encouraging me greatly, and that to hear what the King is doing in the states is encouraging me enough to go back to the bush for another two weeks. It is hard to see His fruit here, but to know that He is working for the good keeps me going. Please continue to yarp because I am affected by your yarps, and thank you all so much for your support.

I am looking at each day as an adventure, and I am excited to see what He has in store. Hopefully I can type out a more detailed update next time! Know that all is well here, we are all in good health and happy, and we are being stretched every second!

The night before THE BUSH!!!!!

Wow, the support and comments that you all have left me have given me so much strength. Thank you all so much, I can never communicate the amount of encouragement that I have received from you all. Thank you so much for your love and support and encouragement.
Tomorrow our team will move out into K town, or "the bush." We are separated into teams of twos, and I will be staying with a girl from Ohio who I like very much. We get along well and I'm excited to spend the summer with her!
Being here is hard because it is so foreign, but it is so good because in everything I do, I am using His strength. I mean it- from the moment I wake up, to when I take my nap, to when I go to sleep at night-- it is all by His strength that I am moving forward into what He has. Seeking Him is not hard, because He is already there. When you get to a place where you can't do anything without Him, it becomes easy and wonderful to live in the Spirit. I am thankful that I am in such stretching circumstances that I do not have to worry about myself all the time.
We have been staying in the city for a week now, but tonight is our last night! We ate lunch with our hands yesterday. We sat on the floor, tucking our long skirts between our sweating legs and leaning down to scoop up soggy rice, beans, onions and peppers with our RIGHT hand (if you use your left hand then that is just not acceptable--people wipe with their left hands..and I'm left handed so changes have quickly been made). People in Africa not only eat with their hand, but they all scoop out of the same bowl! The people here are incredibly friendly, and in African culture, people are the first priority. People always have time to spend time with people--"things" just don't matter here. It's all about community and people.
Things in Africa are becoming normal here, but I will try to continue to keep my updates vivid. I am getting used to the culture, but I'm sure that once we move to the bush we will experience culture shock. As a team, we have mainly just been interacting together, but as of tomorrow, we will be surrounded by a foreign people group constantly.
The people group that we will be living with are very friendly, dramatic and loud. They are very excited that we are coming to stay in their village, and this eases my nerves greatly because I was afraid that they would not want us there. But they are already fighting over who gets to do our laundry!
My appetite has been increasing greatly, and every night at 11 o'clock I start starving. I think my body schedule was just messed up, but I am eating well now, so no worries mom.
We saw our first African roach yesterday. D woke me up screaming, and I went to kill it, but I freaked out when I saw how big it was (it was on our shower curtain), so we got K to kill it. She is so hard core...
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement, they have given me supernatural strength and even joy that has uplifted myself and those around me. He has done more than just provided for me here, He is giving me extra joy!

We will get back to the city on June 17-19 and that is when I will be able to update again. We will come to the city for two days every two weeks to take a break from the village. Thank you again for supporting me and I will continue to stay strong through Him!
Also- one more thing-
Today we ate lunch with a group of University African students (they were all young African men in their 20s). They spoke English, and we were able to really connect and share with them. They were all believers, but they told us that they were the only 5 believers in their university of 500.
Their joy was beautiful, and even though our language prevented us from communicating flawlessly, I received life from their vivid facial expressions, their loud talking and laughter, and their joy. The people in Africa are so expressive and energetic that it's almost impossible NOT to communicate with them, even if you speak different languages. It brings me to tears to see the energy inside of these people. It's contagious and so beautiful.
Please yarp for our interactions with the village people, yarp for divine appointments and for supernatural communication of His word. The people here (esp the women) are very oppressed for various reasons, so please yarp for a breaking of the chains that they live under daily.

Know that yours yarps are being heard, and that I am having an amazing time. I love all of you and will report back soon!!!

Fo-Fo!

Hello to all! I am in Africa at the current moment and it is about 10 pm. This is our 3rd day in Niger and it has been amazing so far.
When we got off the plane, everything was orange and brownish like a dessert (since it is), and the air was hot and dry. When I say hot, remember that I live in a hot climate and I know what hot is. I like the heat and I enjoy the weather when it is 90 degrees. Well, here is gets up to 120. It was probably about 110 or more when we stepped off the plane.
The airport was interesting, there is really no way to describe anything here effectively which is frustrating because I want to share my exact experience so far. I will do my best to describe as much as I can! The airport was more like an open dusty building, and we walked off the plane into the doors to stand in a line and have our passports stamped by sweating African men in linen and cotton suits, tired and French speaking. We walked into a joining room (it was like an old abandoned department store with open windows and doors) and we waited by a multi colored ancient conveyer belt for our trunks. "Number 10" helped us with our trunks and we carried them out to meet our host ladies. They greeted us and handed us each 1.5 liter bottles of water. Many African men were friendly with us and were standing around greeting us and talking to us in French as our host ladies loaded their old trucks with our trunks. The second that I stepped off the plane was also the second that my body entered a constant state of sweating, and I have never sweated so much in my life. It is actually kind of nice, because sweat cools your body off, and everyone here is contantly glistening and glowing in the African heat. (everyone here glows and the people are so beautiful!) Every part of my body was sweating, even the skin in between my toes. I am actually enjoying this experience of sweating in this new way. I feel very clean somehow.
Africa has a smell, I can't really describe it. It's strong, maybe like a strong sweaty and musty smell. Maybe it's like the way an African smells when they sweat when all they eat is corn and mangos. It's a smell that I've never smelled before, and it's overpowering, and it made me naucious at first, but I like it now. All of my things smell this way now.
We arrived at our house that we are staying at for one week, and we were all able to hike up a hill to a tiny house in a closet like room where we called home through headsets connected to computers that were brought by those here.
There are rainbow colored lizards here the size of iguanas. They are EVERYWHERE and they run really fast, up trees and across your feet. They fascinate me! They are like the African squirrel!
So far we have had intense language training, a visit to the market, seen camels, walked over the Niger river bridge, experienced our first African rain and dust storm and met some amazing workers here who are preaching so much raw truth and supernatural mystery that I am in tears while they speak.
I love it here, but every night so far I have woken up in the middle of the night very upset. The enemy is trying to discourage me, so please yarp that I can stay strong in Him. It makes it easier to be surrounded by a wonderful team who I get along with so well, they are very encouraging.
I am a bit homesick but there is no time to think about that. There is no time to do anything here, only time to submit to Him. If you wallow in anything or let your thoughts run, it will kill you. ( not to be to dramatic haha..but seriously).
We are going to the bush on Monday and I am ready to go. I'm getting more and more adjusted to the heat, and we all took our temperatures today and our natural body temperatures here are over 99. It heats everything up in you, it's almost to the point where you wonder how people can survive here. But actually, they don't usually come out in the hot part of the day- they nap, and so do we!
We are staying in the orientation house and so we have electricity now, and american food. It's hard for me to eat because it's so hot, so please pray for my appetite to increase.
I am having so much fun and I feel very alive and joyful.
You don't really appreciate the way water tastes until you feel like you will die without it, you don't appreciate sleep until you feel like you will collapse in exhaustion, and you don't appreciate rain until you live 48 hours in 110+ degree heat. When it rained last night we stood in it and rejoiced in it.
There will be struggles here but I am not using my own strength, but His. He has me on a crazy ride.
Please yarp that we will all be prepared to live in the bush, that we will stay in good health, and that the enemy will not get into our heads. We have to stay strong and I know we will. He wants us all here for a specific purpose. We have already seen an impact in the people we have contacted, and we know that nothing goes wasted when it is aimed at His glory.
I will post again as soon as I can, but I have no clue when that will be. I try hard not to think about home and my boyfriend and family, because it prevents me from being here and makes me very homesick. Contacting home and posting will be minimal so I can stay focused!

Peace be with you lovely readers, thank you for all that you give and support with :)

One week left!

Well, everything is wrapping and we will be leaving from the Houston airport in one week. God has been using this trip to Africa to change alot of peoples' lives; people who I never thought would be affected by it. It's wonderful, and we aren't even there yet.

But we will be there on June the 2nd, and once we are there we will have a week of language training and an orientation where they basically prepare us for the next two months in every way that they can. "They" being the missionaries who are there that will be taking care of us and guiding us.

I have not stopped recieving donations and notes through mail from people who are supporting this trip. There has been so much support and I am thankful to everyone who has helped me, and to everyone who is praying. I know that God is preparing us all right this very second for the tasks that he has specifically for each one of us in Africa. We are all going to be called to work in different ways for his kingdom and I am very very certain that he is already preparing me, and he has been since March when I committed to go. What he has in store for us I cannot imagine, and I know that it will be nothing that I expect.

Today my dad gave me good advice. He told me to stay stronge in my body, in my mind, and in my spirit, because the best way to serve others is to do it as someone who is healthy and stronge and in tune with what the Lord is leading you into.

There is no worry existing inside of me right now. I have tried to explain this to others, describing it as a "supernatural peace" that He has given me. As a person who is usually afraid of simple social interactions, I am fearless about living in Africa for two months. That is hard to understand. But at the same time, it's not, because He has made it very clear that I am supposed to be there this summer, as well as my good friend. It has been a crazy trip for her and I but through this entire process, we are more and more convinced each day that the Lord has a plan and a purpose and He wants us specifically to be in Africa this summer. That reassurance has not always been there for me. When I first committed to going to Africa, I saw it as an opportunity that I was taking advantage of. But it has become more than that- it has become a part of His plan and a very specific plan that He is calling me for.

It is easy to get stressed out about last minute things that have to be taken care of, but at the same time, there is no point. I already know that everything will be taken care of on time, even though I still don't have my Visa or my airline tickets or my passport. Ha! It's ok though, I know that everything will work out. All of these things should come in the mail before we leave. They only thing I have left to do is get a backround check run on me.

I received some sporty things from my family, like some underwear that dries super fast after you wash it, within two hours! How amazing. What a great invention. I also got a hat and a cool purse that I can keep all my passport/ticket/visa stuff in for when I am in the airports. So thank you family for these practical gifts!

They want us to bring enough gatorade to drink 16 oz a day. My mom and I were disturbed when we heard this, until we realized that they make those little powder packets of gatorade that you add to your water. I was wondering how we would transport that much liquid, but we don't have to- just the packets, so that's good news!

I will spend the next week packing and such, and if I do not post before I leave, which I will try to, then I will post for sure before the second week in June, while I am there.

Peace until then

Thank you for your support

Hello Friends and Family

Alot has been happening lately since the previous post. I have recieved alot of money for my trip, I have about 31oo dollars right now. Most of this has been coming from friends and family. A large amount of it, about 1000 dollars came from my school; they payed me back some money that I borrowed for a loan and never ended up using. Thank you for donating to this trip if you did, and thank you for praying. I would not be able to go without donated money; the response to my support letter asking for this has been overwhelming. Thank you so much to those who are supporting, I am so encouraged by it.

Sunday was my 20th birthday and I received some money for it--I put it toward the trip. My parents let me order a pair of Chacos for my birthday present from them. Chacos are hardcore sporty sandals that you can do pretty much anything in. They will be very nice to have in Africa.

Here's a picture :

I wrote a check for my plane ticket this morning and mailed it this afternoon. The ticket was about 2100 dollars and the itenerary has us flying from Houston to Washington to Paris and then finally to Niamey, Africa. D and I are flying together.

Also, I am very thankful because a family member has offered to order my mosquito tent for me. This means I may not have to sleep with the African spiders after all :)

I have stopped worrying about all of the things that I need to do right now. I still need to apply for a visa, and I just recieved my passport in the mail. I am storing my passport in an ancient passport/travelers checks/railroad card holder; a present that I received a couple of years from my aunt.

Tomorrow I will fill out my visa application and mail it with my passport and money.

An interesting thing to look at: We recieved a list of items that we need to bring to Africa. It is insanley detailed. Here it is:

Alarm Clock
American food (Bring any that you would like because everything here is from scratch! If you want Mac & Cheese, PB, chicken, cereal, or any snack foods, etc). You will be eating meals with a family and won’t have your own cooking supplies. American outfits (You should bring two or three American outfits to make you feel at home on days off or at English church…can be jeans, skirts, etc.)
Athletic pants for girls
Baby Powder (the girls will want it between their legs when wearing skirts)
Band-Aids
Bandanas for head coverings for the girls
Battery Powered Fan (You will want a fan to keep in your mosquito net at night, since you have no electricity.)
Bed Sheets (1 pair of Twin Sheets)
Bible
Bible Study books (optional)
Body Wash/Bar of soap
Books to read (optional)
Bug spray/Mosquito Repellent (bring 3 or 4 bottles)
Camera bag so the sand doesn’t get in it
Camera charger/batteries
Camera/film or digital cards
Cash for souvenirs
Cereal (If you want for breakfast at times)
Chap Stix
Comfortable shoes to walk a lot (I wear flip flops or chacos every day, but I prefer flip flops)
Clothing (You should bring a lot more snack food than you do clothing because the Africans wear the same clothes every day. You can have a couple traditional outfits made for about $10 each if you would like to bring money for that. Otherwise, bring a few ankle length skirts and t-shirts for girls and pants and t-shirts for boys.
Conditioner
Contacts (enough for your time here)
Contact solution
Cotton shirts (T-shirts or short sleeved shirts are good)
Cough drops and sinus/cold medicine
Decent shorts for sleeping and possibly tank tops if you’re in a closed compound
Deodorant (Aluminum deodorant helps you sweat less)
Ear plugs (It can be really noisy at night between animals and people…you may get some on the airplane)
Earrings (They call girls a sheep’s mom if she doesn’t have earrings on)
Extra contacts
Face wash
Family Pictures and things that make you think of home
Feminine Hygiene (You can only buy a few places and it’s super expensive)
Fingernail clippers
First-Aid Kit (Lunchbox size one is good)
Flashlight/Headlamp (Headlamps are flashlights you wear on your head and free up your hands…they’re great for the bathroom at night or cooking without electricity!)
Foot scrub/pumice stone (If you want, your feet will be super dirty from the sand every day)
Floss
Girly things to make you feel good (lotion, etc.)
Glasses (the dust may blow a lot to where it hurts to where contacts some days)
Gum
Hair Bands (The girls will want to put their hair up every day)
Hand Sanitizer (a couple bottles)
Insulated water bottle and or Nalgene bottle
Jewelry (Just don’t bring expensive stuff, but they do where jewelry here)
Journal/Pens
Laptop and Case (This is optional and will be left at Kollo house while your in villages but you may bring it if you like. The heat and dust is hard on them, but that is up to you..)
Laundry Bag (optional)
Lotion
Louffa
Make-up (You don’t need much, but it’s nice to feel pretty sometimes)
Malaria Medicine
-Prescription Meds need to go in your carryon and should be enough for your time here
Mini fan (They’re less than $1 at Wal-mart and use 2 AA batteries)
Mosquito Tent (This is OPTIONAL because we will provide you with a net, but the tents are much more convenient. They are called “Single Mosquito Bar” and can be purchased at www.sportsmanguidegear.com or on other websites. They are between $60-$100)
Music (You’ll want to listen to music out in the villages…MP3 player, etc.)
Nail Polish (Optional)
Nail Polish Remover (Optional)
Neosporin
Passport
Passport wallet
Peanut Butter (Optional)
Pepperoni (Please bring 1 pack for our American weekend pizza)
Pictures of family in small photo album (Africans love seeing your family)
Pillow to sleep on (Mattress will be provided)
Q-Tips (Your ears will be filled with dirt every day)
Razors/Shaving Cream
Safety pins (these will be used to tie the girls skirts…I use at least 3 when I do it)
Scissors
Sewing Kit
Sewing Needles
Shampoo
Shot records (Make sure your yellow card book is with your passport at customs…they’ll have to check it before you come through so it shouldn’t be in your suitcase but in your passport…Also have your address of where you are staying to put on your customs form…”Mission Baptiste” B.P. 10038 Niamey, Niger”)
*You must have your boarding pass to get off the plane since it will continue to Burkina Faso
Skeeter Stik (to put on itching bites)
Skirts that cover your ankles (you need a few before you get outfits made)
Small flash light
Sunglasses (The sun is super strong so you’ll be squinting all the time)
Sunscreen
Swimsuit
Tank top or spaghetti strap shirts to sleep in
Tennis Shoes/Socks for sports
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
T-shirts (5 or 6 should be plenty)
TSA locks for bags (even for carry on b/c they might make you check it at the gate)
Tuna/Chicken in a bag or any other sides to make in the bush when you just need some American food
Undergarments (Sports bras, panties, bras, socks)
Vitamins (Very important!)
Wash Cloth and Towel
Zip Lock Bags (Opitonal)

Snack Food ideas (They are expensive here and hard to find):
Granola Bars, Power Bars, Peanut Butter or Cheese Crackers, Beef Jerky, Animal Crackers, Dried Fruit, Chex Mix, Peanut Butter, Oreos, M&M’s, etc. (Most chocolate will melt in seconds!), Mac & Cheese

My parents and I will be making an extreme Walmart visit before June 2. I'm not sure that they are aware of this yet..

Thank you to all of you who are helping me right now. I would not be going to Africa if it was not for your prayer and support. I am being blessed with strength, confidence and supernatural peace as the days inch closer to June.

3 a.m. post

I probably shouldn't be awake at 3:10 in the morning, posting this blog. I think there's a point when the desire to sleep leaves you, and I am there.

I recieved 200 dollars for my trip the other day, which is wonderful. I have gotten my Hepatitus A shot, which left my arm sore for two days, but also completed my vaccination process. I have all of my required shots now to go to Africa. There is an oral medication that they want us to take, but I think I'm allergic to it, so I'll have to look into all of that.

When I got my Hep A shot, the nurse was very friendly, and she asked me about my trip. It seems like everyone that I have come into contact with, weather they be people who are giving me shots, helping me with my passport, or answering my scattered questions about Visa applications through telephone--they have all been so friendly. It's making this process so much easier than I thought it would be.

Tomorrow Dani and I are going to see about plane tickets, we should purchase them within the next week. My passport should be arriving through mail any day now. The last step, after plane tickets, is applying for my Visa and then something about travel insurance?

Everyone that I come into contact with who knows about the summer is very nice to me, always asking me about the trip. Friends and family are very supportive and interested, and it's so encouraging. It's really nice to have interested loved ones ask me about it.

I am going to send out more support letters tomorrow, after I go to my math class. There are a few people from church that I have addresses for. I have to edit my letter for these people at the bottom, with a breif summary of my family tree.

Lately God has been clearly telling me that I CANNOT worry, and I cannot freak out--about anything. His voice has been clear. I'm starting to listen, I should have started a long time ago. We are so small in comparison to Him. He controls everything...I am fooled into thinking that I have a tight grip on most things.

Thank you to those of you who support me and pray for me. It's a blessing to have so many people supporting this trip.

I still need a good bit of money, but I am confident and I have peace that money is not a worry. No matter what happens, I just know that I cannot worry. I will post more soon. Also, I found out that we will not have internet for 2 week intervals. So while I am in Africa, I will only update the blog once every 2 weeks. Hopefully I can figure out how to put pictures on here...we will just wait and see.

Email From K

Once again - I have edited out certain words for security purposes

K, the girl that's living in Niger now who is in charge of my project, sent me an email:

Hey Niger Gang!
We now have 6 of you signed up for this summer. We are hoping to have 16 summer workers, 8 guys and 8 girls. At the moment we have 5 ladies and 1 man, so you can ask that the other 10 slots will be filled. I wanted to let all of you know a little more of what the summer is going to look like and who all is signed up at the moment so that you can start talking to each other. Also, I'm going to write my e-mails with secure language. Niger is currently an open country with r*ligious freedom, but we never know when that will change, so it's just better to talk about chr*stian things in code. If you forget and don't write me back in code, it's not a problem at all, but it will be good practice if you want to try. So I'll just use different wording, and feel free to ask if you don't understand something. You'll find that I write my newsletters that way as well, just as an extra precaution. You'll find that much of Niger is very open to the Gspel at the moment, and you will be very well received, so there is no worries that they won't like you or kick you out. Most of the places that you will be living have specifically asked B and I to bring some people to live in their village, and they all know that we are followers of JC and are here to share the truth. T and A are coming from GoNow in Texas, and they will be living with B and me for the summer. Their work will look a little differently then the rest of you because they are both nursing students. Their main job will be to do basic First-Aid, and they will hopefully get to work some in the new Chr*stian Medical Clinic that has been open for about a month. We would like for them to do some health and hygiene classes, and then they will also be doing the same things that I describe for the rest of you below. So, our desire for the summer is for you to bust K and the surrounding villages with JC. You will each, other than T and A, be living in a neighborhood with a partner and eating the local food with a family we assign you to. All of your days, including T and A, will be spent living life with the people, going compound to compound asking for yarp requests, sharing a story from the Word that has to do with that request, and then sharing creation to Chr*st with the compound using a cassette. You will also be making a simple map of your neighborhood so that we can follow-up after you leave. At night times, you will have a Proclaimer (a digital dramatized version of the NT), that you can share more with interested people. Every two weeks, we will pull all of you together and take you to the capital city where you will be able to do e-mail, call home, and have some good American food and fellowship. We will usually be staying in a nice guesthouse where you can take a break from the heat and have some A/C and homecooked food. We'll take a couple days every two weeks to refresh you and get some good fellowship in. Throughout the week, B and I will be visiting each of you in your area to help you with questions, pray with you, and just be a source of encouragement. We are asking you to live really simple and on the edge, but we believe that it's going to make a HUGE impact on this area. You are going to be some piercing light in a dark world. I have sent each of you a folder of information, so please let me know if you have not received it. Also, I haven't heard back from some of you at all, so please let me know when you get this e-mail. Otherwise, I will need to contact Student Mobilization and let them know that it's not going through. We would love to start answering questions that you have. It's hard to tell you exactly what things will look like b/c it won't make sense until you see it. However, you are going to have 5 days of intense orientation and some language in the city when you first arrive, and that's when you'll know and understand a lot more. Much of the details are included in the file of information that I sent you. We would also love to know how we can start pr*ying for you as you prepare. We know that it's challenging to not be anxious of the unknown, but just claim the truth that the King has great things in store. It will be a life changing experience for you. Also, if you want to see some old pictures, you can look at my blog that I haven't updated in about 2 years. the address is www.westafricahut.blogspot.com Our team also has a website that is www.zermateam.org, and you can look at gowestafrica.org for info and pictures about all of West Africa. There are even the People greetings on that site that you can listen to. Please feel free to start contacting each other and begin lifting each other up. We look forward to getting to know all of you! Have a blessed day, and we'll talk to you soon!Blessings,K :)

work to be done..work being done

Yesterday I was able to finish my support letter for the trip. I am mailing a few of them out today, but I still need alot of addresses before I can send the majority of them out.

In the past 24 hours God has pushed me foward into some situations that have been uncomfortable for me. I have walked into them, like walking into the light, and I am glad that I did. It seems like the hardest people to love are the people who you love the most. That doesn't make sense, but somehow it does. People who are very close to you and who you have an in depth, serious relationship with; people who you have known for a long time; people like your family and your best friend-- these are people who you have to work so hard to keep a healthy relationship with. It's really easy to sit down with a stranger and care for them, buy them lunch, and spend an afternoon with them. It's alot harder to exist with someone very close to you in a way that is always moving foward. It's harder because it is the real deal, it's not this switch that you can turn on and off. Living with someone is the best way to get to know them. Spending alot of time with someone, seeing them at their best and their worst, being completely honest and smoothing through bumps in the relationship is hard. And I have realized that it is almost impossible without God doing it-- without Him restoring the relationship and renewing it daily. It calls for a daily effort of us seeking God.

When relationships are centered around Christ they will not stand if Christ is not persued first and most. It may appear "hardcore" on the outside to go to Africa and love on people in a foreign land in less than comfortable living conditions, but it is harder to love the people closest to me who I exist with daily than to love these temporary others who will fade into my life and then out.

Yesterday God pushed me to restore a relationship that I had been ignoring and neglecting, and it was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a while. I had to be honest and volnerable and spill my heart out with a trust that God would take control of the relationship. I had to risk rejection and hurt and anger. But the funniest thing to me is that doing that, listening to God and following Him when He told me to stop hiding from this distant relationship was so incredibly hard. I would have been so much more comfortable loving on a stranger. This doesn't seem like it should be like that on the outside, but it is like that on the inside. It's very ironic to me.

It's so easy for people to be temporary and to turn their attitudes on and off, but it's not about that. The status of our hearts is where Truth lies, and existing with someone for years, loving someone for a long time and commiting to someone for the rest of your life--to be their friend and to never give up on them--that is where the real stuff lies. It's so easy to run away to temporary "loves" just to justify or prove to yourself that you are doing everything right.

God keeps pushing me to be uncomfortable so that these barriers can be broken through, and I'm thankful for that.

It's just funny how I don't have a problem with going on these extreme missions for God but I have huge issues following God in ways that should seem to come so naturally and so simply.

But He keeps working.

This is my first entry..

For security purposes, I will be leaving out many specific details in my writing.

So this is a blog that I will be keeping as an easy way for everyone to stay informed about the trip. Here's a little bit of information:

I am going to Niger Africa from June 1- July 31. I will be flying with my best friend D..we will go together. We will meet a team in Africa of 12 other Americans who have volunteered for this project. It is a mission trip through the International Mission Board that D and I (and our friend R who ended up not going) applied for on the internet. D just found out today that she was coming. I found out that I was going about a month ago.

Going to Africa seems like a big deal, but to be honest, it hasnt really hit me yet that I am going. I try not to think about it too much because I tend to worry...But so far I have gotten my passport and my yellow fever shot. I still need to apply for my visa, get a hep A shot, and buy airline tickets. The girl who is living in Niger (but originally from Texas) is my "field supervisor" and her name is K. She is who I have been communicating with through email and she will be with me in Africa.

K has emailed me a huge packet of information about the trip. In it is a list of things I need to do before I go, the process of getting them done and so on. There is a 3 page list of items that I need to pack for the trip. I have to find a mosquito net because we will be sleeping outside on cots. She enclosed a document called 30 days of prayer for the People, People being the people group that we will be living in the villiage with and having community with. I copied it and put it at the bottom of this post.

Prayer is needed for this trip. Alot of things are needed for this trip, but God is providing. The process of getting ready to go is overwhelming at times, but it's really not even that important. God has been swinging doors open in front of me and all he wants me to do is walk through them at this point. I know that He is where I will have to draw all of my strength from, and it will only get harder from this point on.

I originally thought that I would be going to Africa alone, because I didn't want to have high expectations for D only to be dissapointed. But now that I know she is coming with me, I am so relieved. I am just now realizing that we are going to need to lean on each other and be there for each other in crazy ways, and I'm starting to wonder how the two of us are going to even make it to the Niger airport. The two of us combined equals a crazy mixture of unorganized thoughts and energy, and we are usually both tagging along behind people who "know how to get stuff done." When we are together, we usually are confused and/or lost. So it will be interesting to experience total leadership from God...because I know that there is no way that we will get to and from Africa on our own.

30 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR THE People

1. Pray that the stronghold of Islam would be broken in Niger and among the People.
2. Pray that God would reveal Himself to the People through dreams and visions.
3. Pray for those who have little or no food, that God would provide for their needs.
4. Pray that the Holy Spirit would nurture a desire in the People to know the Truth.
5. Pray that the People Christians would display integrity and faithfulness in their daily lives.
6. Pray that God would send Christians to live, work, and minister among the People.
7. Pray that the People Christians would have a vision for planting a church in every village.
8. Pray that People Christians would have a hunger for God’s Word and hearts that thirst for righteousness.
9. Pray that People Christians would learn to understand and apply God’s Word in their lives.
10. Pray for the widows and orphans, that their physical needs would be met.
11. Pray that the People Christians would learn to depend fully on God for all their needs.
12. As the People Muslims prostrate themselves in prayer at the mosque, pray that God would convict them of their lostness and that they would seek the truth.
13. Many People have seen the Jesus film and have heard the gospel on audio cassettes. Pray that they would understand clearly what they see and hear. Pray that they would humble themselves and receive Christ as their Savior.
14. Pray that People Christians would make prayer a priority in their personal lives.
15. Pray for the children who have trusted in Christ. Pray that, like the mustard seed, their faith would grow and become strong.
16. Pray that People Christians would resist temptation and remain morally pure.
17. Pray for those who preach and teach, that they would do so with wisdom and discernment and by the power of the Living God.
18. As the seeds of the gospel are planted among the People people, pray that they would take root and grow and bear much fruit.
19. Pray for unity among the People Christians, that their hearts would be united in love and oneness of purpose.
20. Pray that People Christians would resist the evil one and stand firm in their faith. Pray that their lives would be characterized by power and love and discipline.
21. Pray for the physical needs of the People—that those who are hungry would have food, those who thirst would have water, and those who are sick would be healed.
22. Praise God for People believers who are sharing Christ with their friends and neighbors. Pray that God would grant them perseverance and discernment as they share the Good News.
23. Praise the Lord for the sufficiency of Christ. He alone is able to meet all the needs of the People.
24. Pray that the minds and hearts of the People would be open to hearing and responding to the gospel message.
25. Pray that the Lord would strengthen and encourage People believers. Pray that they would feel His presence today in a special way.
26. Pray for People believers who are undergoing trials and tribulations, that they would know the “peace that passes understanding.” (Phil. 4:7)
27. Pray for the Muslim religious leaders, that God would reveal the way of righteousness to them, and that they would have the courage to follow the One who is the way, the truth, and the life.
28. Pray that People Christians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Col. 1:9)
29. Pray that there will be an indigenous church planting movement among the People.
30. Pray that God would be glorified among the People.


I have alot to say but not much time to say it, so I will post back later. Also, I love to write so these entries will probably be pretty lengthy. My mom is the one who gave me the idea of starting the blog, and hopefully I will be faithful to keeping it up to date.

-Hailey