Easter and such

This is a little late seeing as Easter was last weekend...But here are some pics featuring our last weekend. Easter was nice...I think I'm still full from eating too much! We went to church in the morning, and went to G'ma and G'pa Jonas' for lunch on Sunday, and then for a nice drive downtown Edmonton. There was actually a little bit of sun out too, so we enjoyed rolling the windows down as we cruised. (Notice Danny's kid-sunglasses...they make me laugh...they're not actually his)
Once we got back to the West End we went for an hour long walk with Danae and Danny, and their little yorkie Zhen around the West End. And I of course enjoyed the tire swing at the park...one of my childhood favorites, although at times Danny would push me a little more aggressively than I would have liked!!!






And then we had ANOTHER Easter dinner on Monday at Danny's Grandma's house too. Fun times with family. We are a strange bunch. especially when you put a camera in front of us!

Africa Part One

Well things have FINALLY slowed down a little for us, so I figured I would squeeze it in to do some serious blogging about our trip. There is just TOO much to write to do it all in one go, so I will spilt it up for you in a few parts...and that way you wont get as bored. It has been interesting adjusting to being home because the experience was so wonderful, it is hard to get back into the routines of life here and actually enjoy them. And it doesnt make it any easier that it is SNOWING in Edmonton today. Don't even get me started. arg. Anyways, back to Africa...well I told you a little bit about our adventure getting to Niger in the first place. Such a gong show, but we made it nonetheless. The team kept an EXTREMELY positive attitude, so we were all happy just to arrive. We arrived in Niger late at night, and were greeted at the airport by some local missionaries who took us to our "base" for the 10 days we were in Niger. We slept in a nice "house" in Niger standards. But when I say house, I dont mean anything like a North American house. It is the place where short term teams stay, and they call it "the offices". There are 2 bedrooms, and a main room on each side of the house, with a kitchen in the middle. The air conditioning was only in the main rooms, but we hardly had it on because it gets expensive. We all had fans in our rooms though, but trust me, there wasnt much of a breeze to keep us cool. We slept on these little cots with a small foamie on them when we were at the base. And I slept under a mosquito net that Sara had brought, for safe measure. I like the airy feel. haha. My roomies were Carrie and Sara-good times!! Anyways, we got to sleep in the next morning, and went for lunch at a local missionaries house. She served us an authentic African meal, african style. Boys in one room, girls in the other. We all sit on a mat, and there is one big platter in the middle with rice and meat sauce, and you eat with your right hand. Very messy, but enjoyable. We had to do it a few times on our journeys, so it was good practice for us. At night we helped put on a church service for the local missionaries and their families (approximately 150-200 ppl), and then got home to pack for our trip to the village of Fakaye the next day. We were up at 6 am, and drove for hours, in a truck and a small SUV. Squishy! We were greeted very warmly by the adults and elders of the village, and tons of kids too. They had never seen white people before, so the children were always staring at us. But at the same time, they were very respectful, and would never grab at us or touch us at all. (The adults swat the kids with a stick to discipline them, so I think they like to avoid getting in trouble.) They would all bow every time they saw us and would greet us each individually, it was crazy!
We went to 4 different school rooms and they performed dances for us, and songs, and we did some songs for them too and handed out notebooks, candy, and pencils to them. Later in the afternoon we played games with the children. We had brought our a giant rainbow parachute, bubbles, soccer balls, beach balls, jumping rope, you name it. The kids had so much fun. (So did we) Besides the fact the heat was DRAINING.





















While we were sitting in on one of the classrooms later on in the day, a few of the adults from the village had brought us a gift of live wild guinea hens. (A guinea hen is pretty much like a big chicken) I covered my eyes, without the people noticing because I knew if I looked at them for too long, I wouldnt be able to eat them later!!!
The 2 female school teachers that were a lot of fun, cooked our team the dinner. It took them nearly 3 hours over the hot pots! They made macaroni noodles and the guniea hen in a sauce. I am not sure what parts of the birds were in there, but it was dark by the time we ate, so I couldnt really see what I was eating. It was very humbling to recieve this gift from the village, because they literally have nothing out there. We didnt want to offend anyone, so we all forced ourselves to eat what was given to us. It wasnt horrible though. (But everybody from Capernwray can probably remember that I am quite the picky eater!!!) After dinner we ended up having this random "sing-off" with the 3 school teachers. They would sing an African song, and we would sing a north American song. I dont even know how it started, but we were all laughing and having a good time. Us Canadians sounded awful, and some of the songs we sang were "In the Jungle the Lion Sleeps tonight" and Christmas carols because it was all we knew! haha. :) We were pathetic. Later that evening we were actually able to show the Jesus movie projected on to a sheet in their language (Hausa), which was pretty cool because I dont think any of them had seen a movie before, and it was really amazing that we had it in their language. Everyone there lived in straw huts, and the only form of civilization that I saw was clothing and flashlights. Everything else was quite tribal. The reason we went to this village was because one of the guys on our team, Nathaniel, was a missionary in Niger last year, and he was connected to one of the school teachers who was placed in this village by the government. The teachers were all in their mid-twenties. Thankfully, they could speak French, so we were able to communicate. (not me but those who know how to speak French) The people were amazing in this village. All the young students (ages 5 to 8 I think) even built a straw fence around one of the school teachers huts that we were connected to, so that we could have some privacy while we were there. And then what seemed like one hundred kids would just peak in at us all day through the fence. Or they would just come in and stand along the fence and not say anything.They treated us like royalty, it was completely humbling. And overwhelming. I had so much fun enjoying their culture. NIGHT AND DAY to what we have here. We slept under the stars in tents that night, falling asleep to loud donkeys and goats. It was cooler at night so we were actually able to sleep a little. We also had a make-shift bathroom...which was pretty much a box with a bucket in it and a toilet seat on top. And there was a small straw fence surrounding it. A frog was living in the area by the end and a cockroach in the bucket. Gross I know! The next morning we woke up and the chief had summoned us all to say a final goodbye and take some photos. There were tons of the village people waiting for us...when we got to the other side of the village.











That was the other funny thing. They loved getting their pictures taken, whether they were young or old. There was one teenage guy that was making fun of us with his friends, pretending that a broken flip-flop they had was a camera... and they would all pose for the broken flip flop, and laugh their heads off. So I took a picture of them. haha. And the kids would all crowd in front of you for you to get one shot. At one point I think I was surrounded by 40 children, and I wasnt sure how I was going to get out of the crowd!!

An hour before we left, a few of us girls were sitting in our fenced in area with the female school teachers and the kids kept crowding in. Eventually they all started dancing for us. All the female children. It was such a fun moment. I loved it! So we had a wonderful time in the village. We all have very fond memories of that time.

Weekly Update

Hey all! So sorry the pics and details to our trip arent posted just yet. We dont have enough memory on our computer at home to download the pics to it, so we had to put them all on Danny's work computer, and I somehow have to get the pics from there to blog it up! Ahh. I think its time for a new computer. We are pretty much out of memory and there is a line through the screen now. It's falling apart. Thankfully I have my computer here at work!!! :) Anyways, I thought I would write a little somethin somethin to fill the space until I can write my big blog. Things have been good since we have been back. But I am actually getting a little angry with the Edmonton weather. It wont stop snowing, and I feel like we are being jipped of spring. Why do I live here?!!! AHHH! Anyways, we have had fun this week catching up with family and friends since we've been back. Our sister Darla left for YWAM, Hawaii on Tuesday, so we did a family dinner/lunch thing on Sunday with the Taylor's and then on Sunday night a bunch of us went to Earl's restaurant to do this menu-sampling evening where we got to try all the features on the menu as a last hang out, good-bye thing with Darla. There was SO much food!!! And since then we've had dinner at my families house as well, and last night I got to have coffee with my good friend Danielle (which is always a nice treat!), and Danny spoke to the youth on baptism at the weekly youth service. Tonight we are having our Africa team over to have a mini "we're back" party. I will post pictures later if I have time. I am thinking of baking some cupcakes. Any excuse to make cupcakes! (and eat them) yum! :) :) So we have been keeping busy, but also trying to get over this jet-lag business. It's tricky stuff! Well... hope all is well with everyone. You'll be hearing more from me soon!

We kissed the Rains down in Africa...(its from a song...by Toto...nevermind)

Well hello everyone! We are back!!!!! And although I am not going to post many pictures now, or write all about our trip just yet... I thought I would let you know that we are all ALIVE and well! Our trip was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. It is hard for us all to be back, but good at the same time. It was very life changing, and I think its important to come back so that we can create more of an awareness of what is going on over in Niger. Plus I cant avoid the real world forever, as much as I would like to. :) :) The one thing I will tell you about is the gong-show madness it was to even get us there in the first place. I will write more very soon! But until then, here is a little glimpse of our adventure... On Thursday morning, we were all driving to the airport in separate vehicles in Edmonton, when Danny gets a call from my Mom who is already at the airport letting us know that our flight from Edmonton to Montreal has been delayed until 5:30pm that night!!!!! Therefore screwing up the rest of all our flights, therefore we would be 3 days late getting there. So we rushed to the airport while Danny tried to sort things out, but we couldn't tell the youth what was going on at the time because we didn't want them to panic. Eventually after talking with Air Canada, Danny came and talked to the team and parents, and we all prayed in the airport that things would get worked out. We EVENTUALLY were able to leave on 3 separate flights that would take us all from Edmonton to Calgary. Once we were all in Calgary, we flew to Frankfurt, Germany, and from Frankfurt, Germany, to Paris. Spent one night in Paris, and then flew to Tripoli, Libya, on Afriquiyah Airlines...and let me tell you it was freaky. As we were taking off, there was a guy talking on his cell phone, the security checks to get on the plane were HARDLY thorough, if at all, and at one point the pilot walked past me while we were in the air!!!!! As the flight attendants assured some of the youth that the plane was on auto-pilot. Sheesh. I almost kissed the ground once we finally reached Niger, but it was really dirty so I managed to hold back. We were only one day late, as opposed to 3, so it worked out okay in the end, but we have a few things to sort out with insurance now!!!! Yikes. So that is just a little tid bit of the craziness we experienced! Hope you enjoy the few pics I have, I will definitely have more to come. We took over a thousand I think so it will be hard to narrow it down!!!!!!

Niger Here We Come!

Fly from Edmonton to Montreal, from Montreal to Paris, from Paris to Niamey, Niger, WEST AFRICA! AHHH. (equals TWO days of flying.) Eat your Malaria pills, don't drink their water, watch out for dogs with rabies, wear sunscreen, wear a hat, dont step on thorns or rusty nails, don't get sun stroke, dress modestly, only shake hands when first asked, sleep with a mosquito net-NOTE TO SELF!!!
Well its official, its only a number of hours before we leave. I am getting SUPER excited, and a little anxious. Can you tell?!!!! This past week has been a VERY busy one for us. We had our last 5 hour Africa meeting on Sunday, and all we did was plan, plan, plan. All I am doing tonight is pack pack packing (and I managed to fit a hair appointment in too! haha) I cant have the Africans see my roots. I am such a girl, I apologize. haha But it has been over half a year I think, so it is desperately needed!
So just wanted to let ya'll know if you want to get updates from us while we are gone you can email projectniger@gmail.com and you will be added to the list. I mentioned briefly what we will be doing in Africa before, but here is a tiny update. We are travelling to 2 different villages in the time we are there. The main city we will be in is Niamey, the capital of Niger. We will be teaching University students basic and intermediate English. Spending time in an orphanage, AIDS/HIV prevention and education to children and youth, kids clubs, distribution of solar lights to villages with no electricity, food distribution, prayer walks, and visiting with some military something rather (I don't really know). I am getting so excited to see what God is going to do through us. On the way home we will be stopping in Paris for 2 days to debrief, and muffle some of our jet-lag. I am REALLY excited for that too, although I have a feeling it will be major culture shock. I don't think I'll be able to post until we get back, so I apologize for the boring-ness of this blog until then. Thank you for those who will be praying while we are gone, and for those who have been already! We really, truly appreciate it so much. I don't like to fly very much!!!! Well talk to you all in April!

Pictures from the WINDY CITY

Well here are some photos from our trip to Chicago. Due to the early mornings, Danny I would drive ourselves to get Starbucks so that we could function normally. MMM Caramel Macchiatos...

These first two pics are of Willow Creek Community Church, where the Youth Leadership Conference was held. They made a really cool set for the conference giving the stage an urban youthy feel. I could NOT get over how big this place was.

A few nights into our trip I was fortunate enough to have a good visit with my friend Charisa from Capernwray in New Zealand! She took me to one of the largest Starbucks' I have ever seen, so I was a happy camper. She lives in the Chicago area, so it was nice to be with someone who knew their way around.

On our travels we were able to eat at a handful of different restaurants. One of the more exciting ones was the Rainforest Cafe. This place is literally a "mock" rainforest, that has life-like animals everywhere that move or make noise every 10 minutes, and misty "rain" that falls from the ceiling every once and a while too.
The food was relatively good too, which is always a bonus. :)

What a nice little lion.

We spent all of our last day there in downtown Chicago, shopping, and seeing the city. It was fun because there was so much to see, but holy smokes was it ever windy and chilly! The boys went crazy over the Apple store, checking out all the latest tech stuff. The architecture inside the store itself was really cool too.

Here I am outside Tiffany's the jewellery store. I was REALLY happy as you can tell, because I love looking at diamonds...and this was my first time at the store. Very pretty, but much too pricey.

Eventually we made it to the John Hancock building that was so high up, at times it was almost too scary to even look out the window. But it was right on the lake, that I am still convinced is actually an ocean. We even got the chance to clean their windows. haha

It was absolutely beautiful up there as the sun was setting, to see all the lights of the city. It really was breathtaking.

On our last night we went out to this delicious restaurant called the Macaroni Grill. The name kind of throws you off, but it was actually quite fancy inside. It was suprising however, because they gave us crayons to color on the crisp white paper table cloths. Hey I'm not going to argue if someone wants me to color! Bring it on!

And here we are waiting for our FIRST ariplane. But of course, if you read my previous blog, you would know that we ended up getting off that plane, and were put up in the HILTON instead, for the night...Not too shabby. I'm just glad I didn't run into Paris Hilton there. YIKES!

WE'RE BAAAAAACK

Well I know you are all just anxiously waiting to hear how our trip went. Eagerly sitting at your computer to catch my latest blog...so here it is! However, there is some bad news along with this. The pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. Except for this one taken at the top of the John Hancock building downtown Chicago. It was SO gorgeous up there! But I will get more pictures up soon, I promise! Okay, so now where to start? Well overall, the trip was AWESOME. The flight there wasn't too bad, although at one point I thought for sure I was going to die because we are on some tiny United plane, and we dropped I swear like 200 feet. Which is probably a HUGE exaggeration, but it was the biggest drop I or anyone else had ever done on a plane. I was actually floating. Okay, I am exaggerating again. haha Oh, and Danny had food poinsoning, so he was puking in the loo. How nice. Anyways, we arrived in Chicago late Tuesday night, and drove to South Barrington, missing one exit, and adding an extra hour to a 30 minute drive. Good times. We had rented 2 vehicles, both stinkin nice and brand new, WITH heated seats-which I LOVE. I think every person should be so fortunate to drive with heated seats. Anyways, the weather was nippy there, same as Edmo...cold and a little snow. We went to the conference Wednesday to Friday, which was SO GREAT. I wish it could have been longer, but there was a lot of info to digest so it was probably a good thing that it ended when it did. Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors was the highlight speaker for me. He was very humble and easy to listen to while at the same time being extremely subtly funny. If you haven't read his book "Blue Like Jazz" that is a MUST read book in my opinion. Anywho, the conference had some great speakers from across America, some who really did "preach it" and others that simply taught. The worship bands were good, and the church was seriously HUGE. I think in a regular week they have about 25 000 people attend at least one of their services. Crazy hey? It was really neat for us to see how they do their programs and run their church. Overall, the conference was great, I feel like I want to implement some good things we learned sooner than later. The shopping in South Barrington was fun too, did a lot of that. I didn't buy that much, but it was fun to see all the shops, and eat at different restaurants. I was fortunate enough to get to see my friend Charisa from Capernwray too! We went to the largest Starbucks ever, I wish I would have taken a picture of it. Very nice to catch up.

On our "last" night there, our crew went to see the sights and shop the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. I went into Tiffany's for the first time, which was so great. I love diamonds-HOLLA! And there was so much shopping, it was nuts. I didn't buy anything though because it is all high-end, and well let's be honest here, I'm not a millionaire.

Our adventure on the way home was, well exactly that, an adventure. We are sitting on our plane at 8:30 pm waiting for take off for nearly 45 minutes. Eventually a voice comes up on the speakers saying that they needed to add more fuel to the plane because they weren't sure they would be able to land in Edmonton, so they would maybe have to go to Calgary as an alternate root, therefore they needed more fuel to get there. I'm thinking, okay... now let's go. But nooooo. Because of the extra weight of the fuel, they asked that 13 people would get off the plane, and they would give you travel vouchers and your luggage. 13 people! There was only maybe 70 of us on the plane in the first place, so that is a LOT of people to kick off. So, Danny and I decided that we were sick of waiting, and got off the plane, along with Rod Stewart's band and their groupies. haha, yeah I guess Rod Stewart's band was on the plane with us. But then once we got off the airline told us we couldn't have our luggage anymore....there was a mistake. So I was a little frustrated to say the least. Rod Stewart's band then got back on the plane because they needed their hair gel. ha I don't know. Anyways, then the airline had to go back on the plane to start begging that 3 more people would get off. Eventually Chet and Dee, a couple that we were with came off the plane, and this other dude. So the plane didn't leave until 10pm, and they arrived back in Edmonton around 1:30 at night! We were put in a HILTON hotel at the airport that was quite nice, and they gave us travel vouchers. But I was so worked up from everything taking so long, and bothered that I had to wash my face with a bar of soap and sleep in my clothes, that I didn't sleep that well. We got home in the afternoon yesterday and I went straight to work. We were exhausted. Not exactly the best way to end a trip, but hey we got $800 American towards a flight to any destination of our choice, so I can't really complain!