The Sahelian

What do you get when you combine approximately 80 kids, aged 5 – 18, smiling faces, proud parents, lots of sun, (and incidentally lots of suncsreen), a running track, a shot put, a high jump, a long jump and various other sports equipment? You get Sahel Academy’s Annual Track and Field Day. In tribute to the 2008 Olympics, this year’s event was called Sahel Academy Games.

This eventful day took place on Friday, November 21^st at the National Stadium in Niamey, Niger. All of the students had been divided into teams and selected a leader. The teams worked together to create a ‘country’ name, a song/cheer, a banner and a flag. All of these were judged and scores added to their total points.

The day’s activities began with each team performing their cheer and all in attendance saw and heard enthusiastic performances from Team Tanjawak, Team Sparta, Team Pantheropolis and Team Kaspia.

The entire student body was divided into teams, each of the 4 teams consisting of kids from kindergarten to grade 12. Each team member competed against his/her own grade level, gaining points for their respective teams. They received points for winning and points for participating.

Compete comes from Latin and means ‘to come together, to agree, to be suitable; to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective’. If one were to observe the dynamics of Sahel students on their track and field day, this is exactly what one would have seen. In fact, I think this particular dictionary definition for ‘competition’ could be replaced with the following words: ‘Sahel Academy students’.

One of the missions of Sahel Academy is to ‘demonstrate Christ-like character’. What better way for this to be tested than through good old competition? I am happy to report that even a casual observer could see that these students passed the test with flying colors. They definitely ‘came-together’, most of them consciously striving for victory as their objective - but not at the expense of a fellow ‘Sahel-ite’. No matter what their age or what team they were on, everyone was cheered for in a big way. If someone was struggling, you could be sure you would see someone in the same race stop and inquire if help was needed. I saw this with my own eyes!

During one of the races I observed the following: One of the older students (who shall remain nameless) had gathered together the younger students on her team to cheer for a particular race in which someone not on her team was running. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call the runner ‘Bob’. The kiddos were on the sidelines shouting, “Go Bob, Go!” They were jumping up and down wildly, encouraging ‘Bob’ with all of their hearts. I was enjoying watching them so much that I’m not even sure who won. When the race was over, one of the cheering tykes stopped jumping up and down and turned innocently to ‘Nameless’ and said in a very matter of fact way, “Who was Bob?” It was classic. They were all about encouraging whoever they could. It didn’t even matter who it was.

Sahel Academy is a Christian School, founded on Christian principles so with that in mind I’m going to take the liberty to make a biblical correlation. Track and Field Day is about competing for a prize – working together as a team to gather the most points to win. The Apostle Paul compares our Christian walk to a race too – reaching for the goal of the upward call. The Message translation says it like this. “So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—You’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.” Phil 3:14

So…running races and striving to win should be a great reminder to us to run for the prize that really matters. Let’s ‘stay on the right track’! ~Danette Childs

NUTS (Niamey Universal Tournament of Softball) is a Softball tournament that is held in Niamey, Niger, every year during the second weekend of October. There are 2 divisions during the tournament, the Social division and the Competitive division. Sahel Academy had 3 teams this year, 2 of them in the Social division and the other one in the Competitive division. The tournament is held on 2 softball fields in Niamey. The Main field is the American Rec Center, and the other is at Sahel Academy. This article follows the competitive Sahel Academy Suns through the NUTS Tournament.

Sahel Academy field: It was 7:00 am, Saturday October 9, 2008, as the Sahel Academy Suns warmed up for their first competitive game of the day against the Nomads. The average age of the Suns was 23 years with the three oldest members being Uncle Tim (Tim Phillips), Uncle Brian (Brian Bliss), and Mr. Brinkley; all three are staff at Sahel Academy. The rest of the team was made up of students aged from 16-18. The Nomads started the game off as the visitors while the Suns were out in the field as the home team. The Nomads started the scorning as they managed to bring in one run in the top of the first inning. The Suns, at bat, produced 5 runs as they closed out the first inning with a 4-run lead. The Suns played well on both sides of the ball while they held the Nomads the rest of the game to no runs and scoring 11 more runs to bring the score to 16-1 in the Suns’ favor.

American Rec Center: The Suns’ next game was at 11:00 am against the Burkina Angels. The Suns were the visitors for this game and started off getting 1 run in the first inning while the Angels managed to get 4, putting the Suns down by three. The Suns went scoreless in the second inning while the angels got 2 more in the bottom of the second. Both teams shut each other out in the third inning, putting the Suns down by five going in to the top of the fourth inning. The field of play was dominated by the Suns from that point on. The Suns put up 11 points over the next 4 innings as they held the Angels to 3 runs the rest of the game. One of the highlight throws for the Suns was a laser throw to home by the center fielder to get the runner out just before he got to the base. Sahel Suns won the game 12-9.

Sahel Academy field: 3:00 pm was the last game for the Suns on Saturday. As they had a Semi-Final spot wrapped up for Sunday, this game would determine if the Suns where first or second in the Competitive division. The visitor for the game was the US Embassy Team USA, EMB for short. EMB dominated the game as the Suns struggled to produce the same results as in their first two games of the day. The Suns lost putting them in second place of the division.

American Rec Center Competitive Semi-Finals: Sunday was the Semi-Final game between the second place Sahel Suns and the third place Burkina Angels. The game started off with neither team scoring runs in the first two innings. Burkina scored first in the third inning, bringing in 2 runs. Sahel managed to bring1 runner home. In the fourth inning, both teams scored 2 each, but Sahel was still down by 1 going into the fifth. The Angels got a run in the fifth and held Sahel to no runs. The sixth inning was a repeat of the third as Burkina extended their lead and the Suns only got 1. Bottom of the seventh was the last chance for the Suns to win. Burkina had scored two, giving them a 5 run lead; Sahel needed 6 to win; neither team had scored more than 2 points per inning. The Suns either had a to pull off a tie to play another inning or they had to score at least 7 to win the game. Sahel slowly started to bring in the runs as they brought in 3 runners. Still trailing by 2, the Sun’s first base man came up to the plate with the bases loaded. He had been hitting well throughout the tournament and was leading the team in RBI’s. He let the first pitch go then got ready for the next one. It was put right where he liked it and he drilled it out along the third base line deep into left field out of reach of the fielder. The Sahel fans and team went wild as the runners started to come in. As the batter came in to third, he had just brought in the winning runs and put Sahel into the finals!!!

American Rec Center Competitive Finals: This was it! The Sahel Academy Suns had made it to the Finals to play the first place EMB. The Suns were the away team; EMB took the field first as the home team. The Suns and EMB had played each other in several pre-tournament games with going to each of them. Both teams shut out the other as neither team scored in the first inning. The first inning was the first indication that the game was going to be hard fought. Sahel put two points up in the top of the second, holding EMB to zero with great fielding from the outfield. The third inning was another scoreless inning as both teams stayed in the game and kept the fans in the game. Sahel scored the only point in the fourth inning as Uncle Brian hit the only over-the-wall home run of the whole tournament. Sahel continued with great defense holding EMB to no runs again. The fifth inning was a scoreless one for Sahel, but EMB got 2 runs in off of a missed grounder in the outfield; as the Suns’ lead was cut to 1.  Sahel responded in the top of the sixth as they drove in another run, yet again holding EMB to no runs with several amazing running catches in the outfield by the center fielder. The seventh inning was the last chance for Sahel Suns to hold the lead or for EMB to come from behind and win. Sahel put up 3 runs, wishing for more to give them a larger lead. They didn’t need it though, as they caught everything that came near them, with the short fielder caching the last out of the game. The Sahel Academy Suns and their fans gathered on the field hugging each other and celebrating the youngest team to ever win the NUTS Tournament as well as the first time a school team composed 81% of students has played and won competitively. ~Chris Potratz

Ever want to escape to the jungle to be wild or relax? The latest Student Council event gave everyone the opportunity to do just that. Jungle Juice was a WILD evening with the Dining Hall decorated like a jungle, full of plants and wild creatures. The specialty of the evening was WILD juice drinks prepared by Uncle Brian. He came up with many interesting concoctions including the “Miss Carriger” which of course was a purple drink, the “Niger River” which was kind of brownish but delicious, and the “Cry Baby” which was a little heavy on the lime juice. There were a huge variety of fruits, juices, and concentrates which when added with some ice and water in the blender created some delicious and interesting tastes! There was plenty of food including a zebra decorated cake and some salty snacks to offset the sweet.  The evening’s events consisted of door prizes, a “Chubby Monkey” game, and the big competition for who would be the “King and Queen of the Jungle.” The competition was fierce and animated. The guys had an arm wrestling competition with Rufus Dewanou taking the crown! The girls they had to come up with a good jungle call and Bethany Sim was crowned Jungle Queen for her unique noises. There was time to play some games, do a jungle jig and just enjoy being together. A WILD time was had by all! ~Cathy Bliss

Dateline: June 5, 2008 - For the first time, Sahel’s graduation ceremony was held on the “green”, a beautiful patch of grass in the center of the campus which stands out from all the sand around it as a cool green oasis.  Especially unique this year: instead of ceremoniously marching down the aisle, the graduates arrived from across the campus on camels. This year’s graduating class consisted of three boys, all of whom have grown up in Africa since they were infants. Each one in some way commented that he was not at all saddened at what he had missed by not growing up in North America, but felt that he has been blessed by all that he has gained by growing up in Africa. Pray for these three graduates who are now saying good-bye to their home of the last 18 years.

The following 2008 Staff Commendation was written and delivered by secondary Science teacher Ray White.

“The seniors three are very unique individuals in that they have spent most of their lives in Africa. Matt was born in Sierra Leone, Adam was born in Tennessee and came to Africa at a very young age. Jonathan was born in Montreal, Quebec and came to Benin at age 3 months. Adam entered Sahel Academy in the 1^st grade, Matt in the 5^th, and Jonathan in the 12^th. I have had the privilege of teaching all 3; Matt and Adam chemistry and all 3 physics. I have seen them mature quite a bit during that time…

“All made significant contributions to class; most were good, but some were not so good. Matt and Adam had the most accidents during lab but were very good at helping others with math problems, even me. Adam added tremendously to the class atmosphere with his constant sarcasm and dry wit.

“At the end of the 2^nd semester of chemistry, I told the students that the exam would be open book and open note. That didn’t help Matt and Adam that much because they didn’t have any notes. When Jonathan joined the physics class, I gave him the option of choosing lab partners. He made a questionable choice when he selected Matt and Adam. When they turned in their lab reports, Matt and Adam’s met minimum requirements but Jonathan would submit a book. I don’t think that Matt and Adam ever allowed Jonathan to become a yak brother.

“All three contributed significantly to their softball team’s taking first place in the NUTS tournament. Adam was the leader of the Gray Goats who won the overall competition for field day. All three are interested in going into a math or physics related field.

“Now for some information about each one:

“Matt went through 3 evacuations, two of which were serious. The family lost everything. When Matt and his family were getting settled in Michigan when he was 5 years old, he asked his mother if they were going to stay until the rebels arrived. Matt likes most anything that deals with numbers. He likes computer strategy games. He is quickly becoming a fan of the Detroit Pistons and Red Wings. He looks forward to spending time with his older brother and sister back in Michigan. He has enjoyed going to the bush with his parents while here in Africa. He is a University of Michigan fan as is evidenced by the hat he wears most of the time. He despises red clothing. Last year when he was placed on the red intramural team, he had to go searching for a red shirt. Matt plans to go to a community college in Michigan and eventually end up at the University of Michigan where he plans to go into the math/physics field. I think he will end up being a statistician for the University of Michigan and also an entrepreneur for “M go Blue paraphernalia.

“Matt, I would like for you to take these verses with you. Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophesies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thes 5: 16-22.

“Jonathan likes tennis and softball, working on the computer as well as reading. He is very friendly. Normally, every morning he and I would arrive at school at about the same time and he would always greet me. He likes to organize events for people. He is very considerate of others. He worked with a church PA system in Montreal as well as the one here at school. He has worked on a yearbook committee and done public service to raise funds for an orphanage in Cotoneau. At times he has suffered with asthma and allergies.His favorite foods are pate rouge (a corn dish), spicy foods and pizza. He hates rawvegetables, onions, agouti (a field rat delicacy) and gombo.Jonathan plans to do a gap year in Montreal, get involved with a church youth group and then pursue a co-op program at either McGill or Concordia University. He would like to also attend Bible school for a year. He hopes to end up as a mechanical engineer. I think, because of his eloquence and language ability in both English and French, that he should become a speech writer for the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

“Jonathan, these verses are for you: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col 3: 16-17.

“Adam has been at Sahel the longest. His first time to live in the dorm was in 1991. He likes cheese and meat but hates vegetables. He likes softball and football, most computer and video games, math, Tennessee Titans, cars, wrestling, dry humor, the color black, hooded sweat shirts, Harry Potter and Ted Dekker, and quips on T-shirts. He dislikes soccer, people who are oblivious, waking up (alarm clocks), the color yellow, manual labor, Idrissa’s fried rice, and Chantelle’s tea. Adam plans to go to technical school in Iowa to become a radiologist. If you want to glow in the dark, look up Adam in 3 to 4 years. I’ve encouraged him to become a physics teacher but he doesn’t think that he has the patience.

“Adam, take heed of these verses: But you, man of God, flee from all this (the love of money and possessions), and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I Timothy 6: 11-12.

“May the Lord richly bless all of you and keep you close to Him all the days of your life.”

The 9-10th graders are swamped with IGCSE exams. The Yearbook team is desperately trying to have the Yearbook printed before the year is over. The Drama class is getting ready for a last-minute mini-production at final assembly. In a word- it’s chaos!

In the midst of all the pressure from teachers, the tests, the final projects and the goodbyes, it’s nice to have a break. The “Water Extravaganza” youth activity and “Mission Impossible” were two events that gave the students a chance to relax and just have some fun. Organized by Pastor Dave, the youth activity included some fun water games like relays, water balloon volleyball and “basket bash”.

Mission Impossible took place on Friday the 16th of May. The winning team was the “blue” team, composed of the field day teams “Blue Wolves” and “Killer Bees” However; it was a very close game, decided by the turning in of one agent bracelet at the end of the game. Despite a few minor injuries, the evening was a success, enjoyed by all.

On the 26th of May, the Sahel Secondary students had their Swimming Carnival. The first events on the agenda were the races. The students were separated by gender and class level for races in the four competitive strokes. A number of the races were very close, such as the 7-8 girls breaststroke, which Jacqui Bunn won, when Melinda Morgan was penalized for using an overhand stroke to touch the edge before her friend did. Special mention goes to Esther Eiger for blitzing the 9-10 girls’ races! Her time for the backstroke was two seconds faster than the winning 9-10 guy. 

After the races, there was a relay between the four water polo teams, which was won by team C and a water polo competition. The water polo games, though tiring, were great fun. Everyone was glad to crawl out of the pool and enjoy a snack provided by Mrs. Wright when it was all over. Thank you very much to Mrs. Wright and all the other teachers and parents who helped with swimming in P.E. or with rides to the pool!

For those students, teachers (and parents) who are feeling that it’s time for the year to be over, be encouraged in the knowledge that it will be soon! And don’t give up; God has promised to be with you until the end. ~Rianna Bunn

…where the grass is green, the beach is sandy and the climate is hot! The air is crisp, the weather cool and the whole community is going Hawaiian style!!  It is a beautiful day indeed as we are gathering just a couple of feet near the riverside to be a part of this great luau that Sahel Academy Student Council is hosting today.

It is 5:30 and we are all gathered here to feel - or imagine - a cool blue Hawaiian tropical breeze. Folks from all kinds of nationalities gather here today, all dressed in their own Hawaii style of clothes!! From Hawaiian shorts to complete outfits - you name it, this is one big stylish Luau!!! Even the staff are here being a part of this fun occasion to show us their good old Hawaiian grooves!!!

After chatting and conversing among ourselves, it is time to start the event!! Did you ever think aerobics and Pilates weren’t helpful - think again!! This time we are doing the LIMBO… Hawaiian style!! We all are going under a stick, flexing our backs and not bending our knees until we make contact fully with the ground! Its so great to see students and staff-young and OLD alike-test their back flexibility skills!! You can’t believe the different styles that people would even come up with to do this limbo! We are talking snake style, dance style and hip style-you name it!! Even tall people were smokin’ as they proved that they can do the limbo too!! What a great way to move your body!!

Next up, we all gather together in prayer before we feast on Hawaiian delicacies: pineapple, Hawaiian chicken, Hawaiian rice and Hawaiian salad. So much to choose from-even coffee and sodas on this cool/hot Hawaiian day!!

Later on, after  chowin’ down food and relaxing Hawaiian style- we are treated royally to a first hand experience of Hawaiian culture!! Mr. Sauers, the all mighty hula dancer, who went to college in Hawaii, is showing us the real way of doing the hula and is explaining some Hawaiian culture at the same time!! We all gather round to see the master at work in showing us how to position our feet, hands and hips. Boy, is Mr. Sauers awesome! ~Jonathan

It was a cool night, the crowd was growing, kids were laughing - this was going to be great! As the band started playing their music, I was swept into a world filled with the words, beat and meaning of the songs. I think we all have been in a state like that before: when your favorite song comes on, or you hear a song that has memories attached to it, or when you hear a song(s) that tell you about Jesus or move you closer to Him. You become so pulled into the song. It’s like the world isn’t how it is at that moment without that song playing in the background. Then suddenly when the music stops and the song is over…it feels awkward. You may still have a sense of joy or happiness, but without the music, it doesn’t mean as much. Somehow, it seems the words have changed.

I think at the concert, we were there to have a good time and enjoy that type of music, but I think God also used the band to get the real message of what “worship music” really is. Am I singing for the person beside me? Am I singing to feel good about myself? Am I singing for God? What do I really mean when I sing “When you lead me , Lord, I will follow; where you lead me, Lord, I will go?” When I sing that, I am saying that tomorrow, I would be willing to go to Afghanistan to do missions if God honestly called me there, right?

We need to worship Jesus, and we need to feel good about it, too. But we need to be aware of what’s coming out of our mouths and what we honestly want to accomplish by worshipping. ~Jessica

The Niamey English Worship Service on December 9^th, 2007 proved to be a fun time of worship led by the Sahel Academy Elementary Choir. They presented the musical, Hark! The Herald Angel. Lachlan Bunn played the lead role of Hark, and Rotimi Jones-Evans played the supporting lead role of Gabriel. All of the students were involved and had their own special role to play within the angel choir who had arrived for choir rehearsal in Heaven. They were asked to make an incredibly important announcement about the birth of Jesus Who came to save the undeserving people of earth. The music went well, the lines spoken clearly, and the power stayed on all night…until just after an announcement thanking our Big God for keeping the lights on all during the entire program! ~Kathie Golde

At Sahel Academy, assembly period on Wednesday afternoon is never boring. Sometimes students are in charge of the assembly, sometimes parents talk about their ministry, and every once in a while we play games.

Yesterday in Assembly we played one of Pastor Dave’s extremely wild and wacky games, like Djiboutian Baseball which we played last year at the plateau. This time we played Blind Flamingo Kickball which was completely different, but involved some ridiculous and challenging rules nonetheless and really mixed up traditional kickball.

Rule one: The fielding team has to stand on one leg, hold the other leg with their strong hand, and pickup and throw the ball with their weak hand.

Rule two: The kicking team has to kick and run the bases blindfolded.

As the rules would indicate this game held great potential for embarrassment as standing on one leg the whole time actually proved quite challenging. We divided up into our Field Day teams and played two games at once out on the field: Green vs. Yellow, and Gray vs. Blue. Yellow and Gray were the winners. Both the Secondary and Elementary students got a chance to play. It was a lot of fun for everyone who participated.

Besides having fun during our usual assembly period Pastor Dave actually used these games to teach important life lessons. To help the runner run the bases, the kicking team was allowed to put coaches at each base. The runner needed to know the voice of their coach and listen very carefully to it. Many times the fielding team tried to yell at the runner and confuse them. Pastor Dave talked about how we need to be firmly grounded in the Bible so that we would be able to recognize voices that are trying to lead us astray. When it was my turn to kick I made sure I knew who my coaches were so that I could know whose voice to listen for. In the same way I think it is very important to read the Bible daily and be strongly grounded in God’s Word. Pastor Dave talked about how we need to set our hearts and minds on things above not on earthly things.

Yesterday’s assembly was a good example of how fun and games can be used to teach spiritual truth. Sahel’s integration of spiritual values into every aspect of school is something that I think many students may take for granted but will ultimately be very thankful for.  ~Matt

 The masquerade was a wonderful evening of elegance and relaxation. Considering that it was placed right before a couple of very busy weeks, Student Council did an amazing job. They worked incredibly hard to bring together a wonderful banquet. There was good food, an amusing raffle and hard to beat dancing. The grassy area was decorated with Christmas lights, glittering masks and purple, black and blue sashes. The atmosphere was comfortable, yet very sophisticated with the aroma of pasta primavera, lasagna and spaghetti with meat sauce floating in the air. Everyone started out by socializing and checking out each other’s creative masks. We all then sat down for a delicious Italian buffet. As we were eating, a raffle was held that required the ‘winner’ to do something crazy to get the prize. After supper was over, you could either watch Beauty and The Beast or learn the Waltz and Two-step. The evening ended with laughter and I would say it was a completely successful evening! ~Jessica