Sometimes I feel like a squirrel, darting from one pecan to the next walnut, avoiding the Doberman. The next branch of life leads me back to Niger. Greetings from Oklahoma—for now.
I begin the voyage to return to Niger on April 1. Mikey and I arrived in Mustang at the end of last May. These past ten months have been quite eventful, and they have passed more quickly than a greased pig lashed to a bolt of lightning. That’s fast.
On February 27, Mikey shipped out to bootcamp in South Carolina. During the Army application process, Mikey took an entrance exam. The exam is intended to identify a recruit’s strengths; it’s not necessarily meant to be a pass-fail situation. But… Mikey failed it. So, I became Nazi school dad, and we studied multiple hours every day for the next four weeks (minus Sundays). On the day of Mikey’s retake, I went to the recruitment office to pick him up. The sergeant said, “Well, there’s good news and bad news.” I glanced at Mikey, and he wasn’t swelling with anger. The sergeant continued: “The good news is that he passed it, but the bad news is that he did so well that he needs to come back tomorrow morning for a verification process, and no one in this office has had experience with this, so we don’t exactly know what to tell you.” He had improved his score so dramatically that he was required to go back the next day and retake the exam. He did quite well on the second retake, and his enlistment became fast-tracked. And so, he has been at bootcamp for a few weeks now, and seems to be doing well. Mikey would appreciate your prayers for all aspects of his life.
I have included a few pictures of my family and a few pictures from a farming project in Niger. There are also two YouTube videos. The first is a video that was made in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the local church in Niger with which I am closely associated. That church is led by Pastor Boureima. The second video shows the entirety of a church service in Oklahoma where I translated for Pastor Boureima. The second video is two hours long, so you can watch as much of it or as little of it as you want. If you have time, Boureima tells several testimonies that are rather incredible.
Well, blessings to you. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
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