Easter in Galmi

We had a pretty relaxing Easter although we have been doctoring our two little ones back to health the past few days. Eli was sick first with this cough, runny nose, and fever and then a few days later Hailey followed behind. My mom commented today that it is quite amazing how well they have been since we have been here. They each have had an episode of febrile diarrhea that we ended up treating and now these colds, but that has been it so far. They probably would have been more sick at home in Wichita while in daycare! We are thankful for your prayers even in matters like the health of our children.

There are two church services that we normally attend here in Galmi on Sundays (when Marc is not on call). One is a local Nigerian church (that is spoken only in Hausa and sometimes French) and the other church is with the other missionaries on the compound (and is in English!). We were sad to miss the Hausa church on Easter because all the SIM missionaries had a little song prepared (African style) that even had some choreography to go with it. We heard the church members really liked it.

We did manage a little egg hunt on Sunday morning before it got too hot. I made some homemade Easter baskets from plastic bowls out of our kitchen the night before. Eli loved them and they certainly served their purpose well.

Eli finding an egg next to our sheep pen (see below for that story)

Looking for some treasure inside!

Eli liked the "eat as you go" method which was actually a good idea since the M & Ms were quickly melting.

The evening service is held near our house so Marc and I took turns each attending part of the service while the other stayed home with the sick kids. After that we had a big community dinner with roasted lamb as the main dish! The lamb was actually kept in a pen in front of our house a few days before he was sent to the butcher. Our kids had grown quite fond of him so we decided not to explain to them that he was their Easter dinner. :)

My mom sent Hailey a sweet little dress.... but she was not feeling up to smiling at this point in the day.

We attempted a few Easter pics but again, there were no smiles to be found with the Carrigan children. (Notice that I finally got to cut Marc's hair. Ha!) :)

This holiday weekend I found myself missing our family, friends, and home church that are so far away. I must also admit that I was slightly envious of the GREEN grass in everyone's Easter pictures on facebook. :) However, God is here with us... in the heat... in the desert... and with the Hausa people. And he loves us so much that he has placed all these beautiful people here to dine with us and celebrate that Christ is risen!

I still have some more days to post on our trip to Maradi so check back soon!