The Sahelian

The Ayorou trip was a very interesting outreach trip where a group of us went to a small town to clean up a clinic for the people living in that town. When we got to Ayorou, we went to Marc’s house where the guys were staying. Then we got out of the school van and went to visit the clinic that we were going to clean, and paint.

Arriving at the clinic we got a warm welcome from the people who ran it. We went inside the clinic and looked at what we were going to be dealing with. What I observed was a shock. It was not a place I would want to go to if there was something wrong with me. The place smelled, it was dirty, there was bat manure on the wall, and spider webs everywhere. We had a lot of work to do.

The next day we started our work. We thoroughly cleared the inside of the clinic. We swept the floor, and then washed everything in all the rooms. We were in different groups, some washing one room that wasn’t going to be painted, some cleaning the waiting rooms and some cleaning other rooms.

After cleaning everything, we painted the rooms of the clinic. When we were finished, the place was clean. We all had fun, we enjoyed helping people have a good clean clinic to go to. I was very happy that I could go and serve the people of Ayorou, and also that the Lord had given me this opportunity to go and serve. I have come to realize that there are a lot of people that don’t have as much as I do. I have come to realize more that it’s not about doing what I want, but about how I can help.  ~Antony

A few weeks ago, eleven students and three staff members headed out to a village called Ayorou, about 3 1/2 hours northeast of Niamey. That night we set up camp; the guys stayed at Mark’s and Parker’s house and the girls at Emily Elliot’s house. Once the tents were all set up, the food was kindly prepared by a couple of the girls and we sat down to a hardy meal of ‘tigea duga hoy’ (peanut sauce and rice). Once we were all moaning because we were so full, we went into a time of all out worship. It was truly powerful. God did a lot of things during that weekend, but the hardest and most rewarding part of the trip was the dispensary.

Our main reason in going to Ayorou was to serve the people there by extensively cleaning and then painting the town’s dispensary- the only means of healthcare for the people in Ayorou and the surrounding villages. I don’t know if you have ever been to a dispensary out in the bush, but to give you the basic gist, it was absolutely DISGUSTING. All of the beds, walls and floors were covered in medicine, blood, bat feces and years and years worth of dirt–not a healthy combination!

We began early in the morning scrubbing everything with a very large amount of soap and bleach. Although this may sound like the easy part of the job, it was incredibly trying for all of us. We were forced to not only go outside of our comfort zones, but we were thrown into work that many people would never want to do. We first swept the ceilings of dust and spiders along with all of their webs. Next we scrubbed the walls with soap and then did a rinse down. After about 2 1/2 hours, many people moved onto painting the walls. We painted the rooms with a boarder of a bright blue (like Smurfs) while the bottom part was painted grey. The waiting room was painted dark brown after the rest of the rooms were done.

While the rest of the group was painting, Jessica and I (Tam) noticed that the diagnosis room where all of the patients were waited on had been neglected. Seeing as no one was planning on doing anything about that room and there weren’t enough paint brushes for everyone to paint, we decided to take on the job of cleaning the blood stained beds and mop the floors. This was the hardest part of the trip for me. Bending over, scrubbing ‘past pain’ off of these beds and clearing the floor of the old needles that had offered a reprieve to some of the anguish that some of these people had felt. I must honestly say, that none of this working was of me or of anyone else on the trip. I had to constantly stop and just lay all of my own inhibitions before God and allow him to work through me because I did not want to go through with what I had come to do; I felt it too hard. Again, I was reminded of God’s great power and how He so much desires for us to call out to Him when we cannot do it on our own.

We really couldn’t have done it on our own, but because of God’s help the transformation was amazing. After our long day of work, we all headed back to the Phillip’s house where a group of us got dinner together and the rest of us were finally able to sit down and relax. It felt absolutely wonderful to take a load off. That night, at dinner we were all a bit hyper from the joy of knowing what we had done. (Paint fumes might have been part of this too, but we won’t worry about that.) That evening we spent some more time singing and thanking God for the night and then we split into groups of guys and girls, Quaker-style, and talked about the different kinds of love-brotherly, romantic and agape love-and how we should apply love to all relationships and more specifically in dating relationships. This time was a good way to end the day, but I think by this time we were all ready to go to sleep.

The next day we walked to a building that is used for Bible study every Sunday. There we worshipped in Zarma and Hausa, and while some of us stayed in for the Bible study, Suzanne and a group of us went out and helped lead a small Sunday school for the kids. They read the story of David and Goliath and colored a picture. This was really neat because we were able to connect with the kids that we otherwise wouldn’t have.

After Bible study we ate lunch, packed up, and headed back to Niamey. Our weekend in Ayorou was a long and trying one, but God truly made it a wonderful one. He gave us the opportunity to reach out and be reminded of how amazing His love–working in and through us– truly is. ~Tamarah

The ninth International School Library Day will be held on 22 October 2007. To celebrate this day, IASL (International Association of School Libraries) invites school libraries to organize special activities. IASL also provides the annual theme which this year is ’Learning: powered by your library’. Sahel Academy is joining these events for the first time.

 A display, ‘European Authors in a Nutshell’, has been set up this week through next Tuesday (Oct. 23^rd) in the main and side corridor in the secondary building. Except for the Dutch books, all books on display are from the library. Commonly read authors like Brian Jacques, James Herriot, and E. Nesbitt are presented. Some less known authors such as Jules Verne, Astrid Lindgren, Cervantes, Arthur Ransome and Annie MG Schmidt are also to be explored! Hopefully, students will discover some new interesting authors and their works, broaden their horizon, and take the challenge of reading various European literature.
~Mrs. Vander  Plaetse

This is a good-bye note and a welcome note to my teachers Mrs. Golde and MRS. Mattimoe. MRS. Golde was the first quarter teacher of the 5^th and 6^th grade but now it is Mrs. Mattimoe who is a very nice teacher and is a fun teacher. I am looking forward to have a great time with her. ~Rotimi

I thank Mrs. Golde for being so kind to teach 5^th-6^{th graders} until Mrs. Mattimoe came to teach us. We?ve enjoyed being with her a lot. Now with Mrs. Mattimoe we are getting along really well. ~Christina

Our new teacher in the fifth and sixth grade class room took quite a while to get used to. Her name is Mrs. Mattimoe and numerous amounts of time have some student called her Mrs. Golde. She gives a little more homework but that’s okay. She has been nice understanding and gives us a little more time to read. She is a good teacher and I think the rest of the year will go just fine. ~Cody

Every outreach tip is different from what we expect. No two outreach trips can be compared to each other in the same ways. For some trips, the people are different, for other trips the circumstances are different. One thing is true about all outreach trips, though, and this is that the people that go on an outreach will come back a different person. They will have new experiences, new memories and maybe even new friends or new convictions.

The first outreach trip of this year was on Oct 12-14. It was a trip to a rural village called Makalondi. Since Oct 12-14 was the last weekend of our October break, everyone was very excited and full of energy. After loading up the two vehicles, the 10 team members consisting of Collin, Casey, Ryan, Chris, Daniel, Claire, Esther, TJ, Julie, Suzanne and two adults, Dave Totman and Bob Gillespie, piled in and pulled out of Niamey for the hour long road trip.

When we arrived, Gary Freemen greeted us at his gate with a huge smile. Later we also received a very warm welcome from Joy Freeman. Uncle Gary instructed where in their big yard to set up the tents and we got to work. After the tents were set up, we met on the Freeman’s veranda and discussed what we were going to do this weekend. We had a plan, but we would never know how God was going to use this plan for his glory. The mysteries of the next few days excited all of us. We could imagine the building we were going to paint, but would the picture in our imagination look anything like what we were actually going to work on? We soon found out. The Freemans had planned to take us to their favorite hiking spot, a small hill about 10 km outside of Makalondi. On the way to the ‘mountain’, we stopped and looked at the building that we would be painting the next day. The small building is a dormitory used for kids that would like to attend school but live too far in the bush to come to school. A wonderful Christian couple runs the dorm for the school, the church and the kids. The dorm is small, one large room for the 13 boys and one small room for the 2 girls who attend. Another small room is the dorm parent?s personal space. Cooking is done outside.

Continuing on towards the ‘mountain’ we enjoyed laughing and getting to know each other better. The hike was quick, complete with prickers and antics from Chris, Ryan, Daniel, Casey, and Collin. When we returned from the hike, Aunt Joy pulled out some already made pizza crusts and the chore team helped finish making the pizzas. Everyone enjoyed eating Aunt Joy’s wonderful pizza. After dinner the team practiced some songs in French and Gormache for the church service on Sunday morning. After the serious singing, everyone had a fun time laughing and telling jokes. Finally, everyone trooped off to bed. Unfortunately, the neighbors had planned their daughters wedding for that night, and the loud music kept almost everyone awake until past 2.

Saturday started bright and early with breakfast, and everyone quickly loaded in the Freeman’s truck to head to the dormitory to begin painting. We mixed the paint into a rich blue and began painting the walls. The team worked quickly and efficiently and still had a lot of fun. By noon, we had finished painting the two smaller rooms and we had more than half of the large room done. At this point we ran out of paint, so we returned to the Freeman’s house for some lunch and rest.

At about 4, many Makalondi youth began showing up for a large soccer match. The Sahel team and some of the Makalondi kids split off into teams and played a very enjoyable game of soccer for about an hour. The score ended up being 0-0. The soccer ball was donated to Sahel Academy and was used to demonstrate the wordless book since it had patches of black, red, white, yellow and green to show sin, the blood of Jesus, cleanliness or holiness, the hope of heaven and growing in God. After the soccer game, everyone grabbed a drink, and then gathered with the Christian young people in Makalondi for supper and a time of playing games. The team from Sahel taught the youth group PIT, Uno, Twister and Mafia. Everyone had a blast laughing with each other and learning many new things.

Saturday night, everyone went quickly through the showers and to bed. The wedding was still continuing, but most of us were so exhausted that we could just ignore it.

Sunday morning everyone woke up to a large breakfast of cinnamon rolls, banana bread, banana muffins and more banana bread. Then we went to a nearby EBM church in Baniera. The church was a medium-sized building made out of concrete with rows of benches, and a pulpit at the front. Women sat on one side, men on the other, and many children were crammed in the middle. The entire service was in Gormache, although the Sahel team did sing a few songs in French and even one in Gormache!

After the church service we returned to the Freeman’s house, ate a quick lunch and packed up the cars.

After every outreach trip, there seems to be something disappointing–and that is that the time is over. Many people look forward to rest and a nice shower, but the memories from the trips will always last and the lessons that God has taught us will always be with us.

The tension’s high. It’s the top of the 7^th and the Suns are winning by a stretch. This being the finals, the crowd is filled with excitement!

The first batter for the Suns steps up to the plate as the cheers of people calling out his name echo throughout the ball field. The first pitch soars through the air and lands on the plate with a thunk. Strike one! That’s ok. Never swing at the first pitch, some say. The ball gets back to the pitcher and he loosens up and throws another one. This time you hear a ting. Contact! The ball goes bouncing along the ground and under the second baseman’s legs, giving the runner just enough time to get to first base.

The second batter steps up to the plate. The pitch comes. He swings and swish, he misses. “Come on, wait for the right one,” someone says. The next pitch comes. This time he doesn’t swing. It lands a little too short. “Ball one,” the umpire calls. I hear “good eye, good eye” resounding all around me. Another pitch soars through the air. This time it’s a little too high. “Ball two,” the umpire calls. Yet another chorus of, “good eye, good eye”. The pitcher throws the fourth pitch, this time a good one, but the batter swings just a bit early and just barely nicks it, sending it straight up. The catcher puts out his glove and catches it. Batter’s out. “Good try,” I say as I watch the batter walk off.

The third batter pats the second on the back and then walks up to the plate. The first pitch comes, he swings and misses. The second time he swings and misses yet again. “Come on,” I scream, “you can do it!” The third time the pitch soars through the air. It’s a beautiful one. The batter swings and hits the ball right over the infield. He runs as fast as he can, touching first base and then sliding into second, just before the second baseman catches the ball.

The next batter steps up to the plate. The outfielders converse among themselves and then all move back. They know he can hit. The ball is pitched. The batter swings and hits the ball deep into the outfield. Everybody watches expectantly. “Please don’t catch that,” I whisper. Swap! The ball lands in one of the outfielders’ gloves. Batter’s out. That is the second out.

The next batter steps up to the plate. The pitch soars through the air and hits the plate. Strike one. The second time the batter makes good contact sending the ball bouncing along the ground to the second baseman. The second baseman picks up the ball and throws it to first getting the batter out. The third out, but it doesn?t really matter since we’re winning anyway, and there isn’t much of a possibility that the other team, JICA, can catch-up now.

“You can do it guys! Show us some good defense!” I shout as I watch the Suns move out in the field. Various other shouts are heard around me as the players reach their positions. The first batter steps up to the plate. The ball flies towards the batter but lands too far to the side. “Ball one,” the umpire calls. The ball comes again and this time lands a little too short. “Ball two,” the umpire calls. The pitcher sends the ball soaring towards the base once more. This time the batter swings and hits. The ball goes flying into the field but lands in foul territory. “Strike one,” the umpire calls. The pitcher regains the ball and pitches it, this time a little too flat. “Ball three,” the umpire calls. Yet again the pitcher throws the ball and yet again the batter does not swing. The pitch is too high. “Ball four,” the umpire calls, as the batter walks to first.

The next batter is at the plate. The first pitch soars through the air and hits the plate. The second pitch flies toward the batter. He swings and misses. Then the fourth pitch comes toward the batter. He swings and hits the ball straight into the second baseman?s glove. Batter’s out.

The next batter approaches the plate. The ball is pitched. He swings and misses. The second pitch he swings and hits right between the right fielder and the center fielder. He takes off, as the right fielder and the center fielder run to get control of the ball. Finally one of them does and throws it to their cut-off who then throws it to home. Swap! The ball lands directly in the catcher’s glove, holding the batter at third base and getting the other runner out just before he could slide into home.

Another batter is ready at the plate. He swings at the first pitch and sends it deep into the outfield. “Mine, mine,” one of the outfielders shouts as he runs forward watching the ball all the way into his glove.

A cheer goes up as the Suns all run into the field patting each other on the back. “They did it!” I say shaking the person next to me. “They really did it! The Suns won the finals!” I run to the field to congratulate the players. I say “good game” to many of the players on both sides and then hug one of my friends saying, “I knew they could do it! I just knew it!”

Even as I watch all the people celebrating around me, I think of the other Sahel team that I had been on. The Comets was the girl’s team. We had come pretty close to winning sometimes, but had lost all our games in the end. That wasn’t what mattered though. What mattered was that we had come off that field better than we had gone on, and we had kept up a good attitude of joy, team spirit, and good sportsmanship.

As I watched the Suns line up for their team picture, I smiled. Sahel would always have a winning season, no matter what the final score was, as long as the players continued to have a good attitude, to show fair sportsmanship, and most importantly to trust God in all things. ~Julie

This year, NUTS (Niamey Universal Tournament of Softball) was an exciting, edge-of-your-seat, fun tournament to watch. While there were only three competitive teams, there were eight social teams, including the Comets, an all-girls team from Sahel Academy.

As usual, games were played simultaneously at the Rec Center and Sahel Academy. At Sahel Academy, snacks were sold at the ‘Snack Shack, a booth set up by the Sahel Academy Stucco and senior class. Some of the many goodies for sale were cotton candy, funnel cakes, brownies, popsicles, tampicos, cookies, hot-dogs, brochettes, the best quesadillas in town, coke, sprite, fanta, and tonic.

Some of the social games were really fun and exciting to watch. The best games to watch were the games between the Cotonou Zemis and the Sahel Suns. In their first game, at the bottom of the 3^rd inning, the Zemis were up 12-6. By the end of the 5^th inning, Sahel was back in the game. In the last inning Sahel scored 2 run to give the Suns a 14-13 lead over the Zemis; but in the bottom of the inning, the Zemis got 1 run to tie up the game 14 all. In the semi-finals game between these 2 teams, the Suns came alive and showed their fielding brilliance in beating the Zemis 10-7! In the finals, Sahel played the Japanese team and beat them 13-6 to take first place with an all student team for the first time in Sahel Academy history!!

The Comets showed a great effort in all of the games they played. They made some great hits and plays both offensively and defensively. Even though they didn’t win any games, they showed great team spirit and positive sportsmanship, as well as being an encouragement towards the teams they played.

Sunday evening, an awards banquet was held at the Rec Center. There was a slide show of softball pictures taken by lots of people, followed by the awards. An award for the best softball accessories’ was given to a member of the Zemis who wore pink socks and a Boston Red Sox hat. A ’king of the road’ award was given to Tim Smith for hitting three consecutive homeruns in one game while having an injured knee. Some other awards were ‘most missed’ for injured team members and ‘pumpkin pitcher’ for pitchers that wore orange shirts during a game.

Last but not least were the trophies. In the Social Division, the trophy went to the ‘Sahel Suns’ for their 13-6 win over the Japanese team in the finals. Next up was the Nomads who received the first place trophy for defeating the Sahel Angels in a bone-crushing 30-6 win in the finals!! ~Jonathan

This year, Sahel Academy has a girls’ softball team. We are the “Comets”, and are going to play in NUTS. We are all playing to have fun, not necessarily to win; but if we do win, all we would say is “HALLELUJAH!” We practice every Friday after school till five, and on Saturdays we have practice games at 1:30 pm at the Recreation Center with other teams. Last Saturday, we played the American School’s (ASN) team, which is mixed (both boys and girls). We won 7 to 5. It was pretty close, but we did our best and we won! The Comets will be playing in the NUTS the October 5^th to 7^th. Come and cheer for us!!!! ~Susana

Spirit Week is a great time that you can dress what ever you want to be.

This week we had to dress like a super hero, the suns, hobo and the last one was to be dressed as the class tells you so. Our class were pirates while 2,3,4^th grades were western.

I felt the time zooming by. Oh! You also get prizes if you win. I think it was one of the greatest time I ever had in Sahel. ~Chung Hyun Lee

Last week we had the privilege of hosting a team of four wonderful people come to Sahel to work. This work team had a special mission: to install our new phone system. Thanks to a security grant from the US government (the same grant which provided our wall), we were able to buy a completely brand new phone system which should last for many years to come. Now the system is completely installed and we say a huge thank you to Ellen, Earl, Weston and Jerry from Tech Serve who came all the way from the US to help in this way. They had a busy time while in Niger as they were able to do phone work at the SIL center, SIM office and also flew out to Galmi Hospital to spend a week working there. ~Aunt Cathy