Finally Here

Greetings to everyone from Niger! It is so great to finally be where for so long I have felt called to be. Before I left, the most common question asked was, “has it sunk in yet that you will be moving to Niger for the next two years?” I was excited, but it still didn’t feel real. But as I flew over the desert it began to settle. And when I was greeted by new family, Brent (the 14 year missionary from Texas), Dave (2 year missionary from MCC), Rodrigo (4 year missionary from El Salvador), and Boureima (a pastor who sits on the board of the National Church) with “Welcome Home” the reality of the situation finally sank in. This is home. I’m not moved in to my apartment yet, and I am still living out of my suitcases, but this is most definitely home.

Reasons I know God wants me in Niger:
1 I had window seats on both plane rides… score
2 The seat next to me was empty on the first plane (7 hours)
3 How excited all the missionaries and pastors were at my arrival
4 How perfect my new apartment is

Ok, maybe those are just details that have gone in my favor. But I like to see them as God smiling on me, showing me in little ways that I am doing as I am supposed to.

I have experienced a huge change of pace from the life I had gotten used to in the States. Contrary to what one might expect, I am way more busy now than I was before I left. That’s partially because I didn’t have anything to do in the States, but also because there is so much to do here. I came in the company of a medical team from the states that will be running a free medical clinic in the villages for two weeks. The team includes two surgeons, two PA’s, a general physician, a couple of nurse practitioners, an OBGYN and two dentists from El Salvador. My first two days I assisted the two dentists from El Salvador, translating where possible, but mostly assisting them as needed since I am the only one, other than Rodrigo (who can’t stand to watch) and Juanita, who understands them. If you ever want to feel stretched, come to work in Africa. In my first two days I have made dentures for a pastor, pulled teeth, translated from Spanish to English and French, where possible, and already had 3 hours of French class.

So instead of moving into my apartment, I am currently living with Dave and his family, which includes his wife Hope and sons Sam (2) and Nathanial (5 months). I’ll be living here until I get fixed up with a cell phone and a way of getting around town. I’m currently shopping for dirt bikes, which means the Mechanicsville redneck in my head is doing cartwheels. I’ll probably move into my apartment soon after the medical team leaves and things settle down.

As a side note, Ramadan ends on Tuesday, which I am pretty excited for. As I understand, the holy month culminates with a great feast and ceremony, including mass goat sacrifices, commemorating how God provided for Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac as Christian doctrine teaches. It’s exciting to see and learn all of these differences first hand.

All in all, I am so happy to be here and things are going really well. I know this initial excitement will wear off, which is why it is reassuring the best things for me are people and places that will endure. When the honeymoon ends I will still be in a place I love with people I love, and that is what matters most.

Countdown: 6 days

Less than a week until I leave. On the 24th of September I will finally be boarding the plane that I have been waiting for since December 2005. Everybody asks me if I am nervous. Of course I am. But it’s the same mix of excitement and anticipation that I felt 4 years ago when I left for college. My excitement far outweighs any apprehension I might feel. These past two years I have done all I can to prepare myself for the adventure that lies in front of me. I am as ready as I can possibly be, minus the packing.

This past week I learned exactly what my living arrangements will be. I will be sharing an apartment with another American, Jeremy, at the Bible school in Niamey. I will have my own bedroom and bathroom and will be sharing a kitchen with Jeremy. I will have electricity, running water, and access to internet at the Teague home. This is better than I expected to have, and sooner than I thought I would be living in the Bible school, so I’m pretty excited about it. This living arrangement will definitely be more conducive to my French language skills.

There are things that I do not look forward to leaving. Most of those things are not things, but people. I hope to connect with as many of those people as possible over the next 6 days. But, inspired by Turner, I have come up with a “bucket list” of things I want to do before I leave. It’s pretty short with nothing too drastic, but here it is:

Drink at least one 7-11 Slurpee every day
Play 2 rounds of Frisbee Golf
Call as many of my cell phone friends as possible (goal: 40)
Finish “The Fate of Africa” by Martin Meredith
Eat a Giovanni’s Stromboli
Go to the movies one last time
Run my old 10 mile loop
Have a River City Diner milkshake
Salvage my struggling fantasy football team

But, more important than this list of things I want to accomplish, I just want to enjoy the last remaining days with my friends and family. My last Saturday of college football (please beat UAB, Gamecocks), my last Sunday of English speaking church, and my last meal with my family (even Benjamin is making the voyage home from Tech), these are the things I look forward to most.

Anyway, that is all for now. Hopefully I will have another about a week after I land.

A page from my Niger Journal, December 11, 2005

So I thought it would be interesting to see what was going through my head during my first trip to Niger.  I think it's good to look back and remind myself just how deep my love for this country goes.

Saturday December 11, 2005

Today I found myself caught up in a love affair.  I don't know yet if it is God speaking to me or just me being caught up in the novelty of my experiences.  I know there is something I am supposed to take from this journey, I'm just not sure what it all means yet.  Or maybe I do know, and that certainty is what surprises me.

These past few days of seeing all that God is doing in Niger has been nothing short of incredible.  Spending time with the missionaries, seeing the countryside, visiting with nationals and doing children's camps has been eye-opening, to say the least.  But here is what got my wheels turning. Today we went and saw a shop that was owned by the church.  The man running the shop was a recently converted Christian.  When he gave his life to Christ, his Muslim family shunned him.  They kicked him out of the home and the family business.  With nowhere else to go, he went to the church.  They took him in and put him in charge of their nearby store.  Working at that store sustained him in many ways.  Not only did it sustain his physical needs, but it also sustained him spiritually.  Now his family is wondering at a church that loves its members so much.  Amazing.  This experience, among others, has caused me to fall in love with the people and the country.

So here is where the love affair begins.  I love it here.  I still am not totally sure if it is God's voice or my own, but I definitely feel something changing in me.  I feel guilty because my first love is Japan.  I love the Japanese people, the friends I have there, their culture, the people in the States I work with and share my love.  I also have a fondness for Latin America after 8 years of studying Spanish and hispanic culture.  But I am definitely in love with all of those things here.  The Teagues are such an amazing couple that are doing such an incredible work.  Rodrigo and Juanita I have loved from the moment I met them.  Boureima and the other pastors are the most loving people I know and I only wish I could communicate better with them.  The younger men of the Master's Commission that I have worked with have become brothers.  The people in the villages are so different.  Maybe it's my white skin, but they are so friendly it's contagious.  The culture speaks for itself.  

But am I betraying my first love?  I have a vision for this country unlike any I have had for Japan or Latin America.  I can see my place here so clearly, creating jobs or training nationals so they could generate their own businesses.  I have ideas of how to prepare myself: learning French, researching African business case studies, studying abroad in Africa.  I have no such vision of my place in Japan or Latin America.  And by coming here I would be joining a work that God is already doing, not seeking to start something new abroad.

I have a lot to ponder over this Christmas break.  All I know for sure is that I am coming back.  My part in God's work here is only beginning.