props from Kige =)

Just want everyone to know that we got OFFICIAL props from Kige Ramsey himself!!! Check out his latest youtube video featuring TCBC!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_VNaCfMjac&feature=player_embedded

Thanks Kige!!

live and in person

If you are interested in hearing the story of how God has changed our lives and how He is working in the lives of the Songhai (and seeing lots more photos and videos) LIVE, in person - we will be sharing NEXT Sunday, July 17th at our home church...Trammell Creek Baptist Church at 11:00am CST. PLEASE join us if you can - we have lots to tell!!

If your church would like to have us - we are scheduling on Sunday nights. Give us a call at 270-565-5252 or email me at kaseybratcher@yahoo.com.

friendship

We are HOME!! After 28 straight hours of traveling all in the same day (yes, all in the same day - longest day EVER), we made it home this morning around 12:30am! And as much as I learned this week that God is STILL in the business of miracles, He showed Himself again yesterday as NONE of our flights were delayed and ALL of our luggage showed up!!! We were met at the Nashville airport by a slew of our parents, siblings and friends and a HUGE "Welcome Home" sign (thanks Gracie)!!

And although I am super excited to be sleeping in my own bed, playing with my children, walking barefoot in GRASS and eating mexican food for dinner, I somehow still long to be in Africa as well; I already miss my dear friend, Parker and her husband Mark. It's funny how God blesses you with friendships throughout your life; some for a short period of time and others, although few, meant to last a lifetime. Serving the Lord alongside one of my life-long friends these last 10 days was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Although we had not seen each other in almost 10 years, it was like nothing had changed. And we learned more than we will ever be able to recount from this humble couple who not only served the Songhai, but US all week!

Thank you Mark and Parker for your inspiration!! PLEASE follow their blog www.seekingthesonghai.blogspot.com and pray for them daily as they continue to serve the Lord in Niger.

our last day

Doug here....We are leaving on a jet plane and don’t know when we can post again! No really, our time here is officially done! A school and a clinic have been painted, the name of Jesus has been shared in a place where many had never heard of Him before, perspectives have been changed, faith has grown, understanding of God’s Word deepened…all in a week and a half.

Today started out with debriefing…which sounds totally boring. However, when you get to hear how God has worked in the lives of 12 young people (and two old ones) it could have gone on all day and I wouldn’t have minded one bit. I cannot stress enough how wonderful the missionaries here have been. While some of them have been friends to Kasey and me for a while, all the missionaries we came into contact with have been amazing. There are true heroes of the faith and our churches should point to them more often as examples than we do (just my opinion…but its right).

After that we enjoyed more of the Niger culture with some henna tattoos. They are part of the culture here for ladies only; however, some of our guys were a little jealous so they begged to get some too. The girls that did the tattoos laughed when they found out that men wanted them also, but did not refuse them. You will see them soon enough moms and dads. I know you are excited.
The highlight of the day was going to an American style restaurant. On the menu was PIZZA and ice cream (dairy has NOT been part of our diet the last 10 days)! We asked if we could bring our friends from the week; Ide, Bilo, Cephas, Biba, and Hama, and luck for us they could all make it. While we have been getting culture all week it was cool to see Bilo, Hama, and Ide eat their first pizzas! In one more reminder of how lucky we are, it was brought to our attention that Ide had NEVER eaten in a restaurant before. Let that sink in for a second. One of my prayers is that our work this week has had as much an impact on Ide and Bilo (both Muslim) as on the village of Tagabati.

I almost forgot, IT RAINED TODAY! I know there were some happy farmers in this area of Niger today. The rain came hard and fast and then we saw a temperature drop of quite a few degrees. I know its rainy season so its suppose to rain, but I have no doubt that it is an answer to prayer.
Its bed time because 2:30am is going to come fast. After this post, you won’t hear from us again until we are in New York. We will be in contact as soon as we can. If you get bored, pray for no delays because the Nashville airport closes and we don’t want to be stuck in NYC another night and NOT get home.

SEE you soon!

Our henna tatoos!

Don't worry mom's and dad's - they wash off in a week or so!!

All of us, Mark & Parker and their kids, the Saleeby's, Mark's parents, Emily & Erin (2 summer missionaries), Cephas and his wife Biba, Hama, Eday, and Billo!! What a great bunch!! It was the first time a few of the Africans that helped us this week had EVER eaten in a restaurant. Needless to say, there were a few tears shed after this "last supper" together!!

IT FINALLY RAINED IN AFRICA!!
I didn't edit this picture, because I wanted you to see how dark it was!!!

I'm sure the people of Tagabati were celebrating tonight.

a few more photos

One of the hippos we say in the river.
Don't worry mom's and dad's - this was REALLY zoomed in!!

A bush taxi LOADED down with stuff.
And this is actually not even close to the tallest one we've seen this week.

My little scorpion friend who I thought was a piece of dust as I was cleaning baseboards today. But when he moved, I realized he was not something I wanted to touch!!

EVERYONE in the hot sun trying to finish the school!!!
What a hard working bunch!

dirty feet

Let me first say that this week, from the first time I set foot in the village of Tagabati, has given me a COMPLETELY new perspective on the life of Jesus. I must admit that before this week, I really did think I had quite a decent understanding of the Bible, especially the New Testament, but walking the "streets" of the village of Tagabati all week has somehow pulled wool from my eyes that I didn't even know was there.

I'll start with dirty feet!! It's amazing how dirty our feet have gotten this week. The hot temperatures force everyone here to wear flip flops or some sort of sandals. Sand and red clay-like dirt replace the neat lawns and carpeted floors we would see in the states. It is inside every place we've been and follows us everywhere we go. Despite the fact that we swept and mopped multiple times today, there was still a thin layer of dirt on the clinic floor when we left. It's just life in the desert. Our feet our NEVER clean!!

I think I posted a picture earlier of several of our feet after a long day of work. Some of us think we've gotten a great tan only to realize it washes off in the shower (too bad), but our dirty feet have caused me to reflect on the real meaning of Jesus' humble act before his death and resurrection. John 13:5-20 tell the story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet; a mineal task in America alone where we wear nice shoes and socks and pay people to paint our toenails. But THIS WEEK; ah, this week I have come to realize how exponentially humiliating such a task would have been in a place like this; a place where people where flip flops or walk barefoot all day along dirt roads, working in dirt fields, and living in dirt-floored homes. How much more meaningful it must have been to the disciples that Jesus, their KING, their MESSIAH, would lower Himself to such a place as to wash the dirtiest part of their bodies.

How thankful I am tonight, that Jesus has washed the dirtiest part of MY body; my heart. I find a calm assurance in Hebrews 10:22-23...

"Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil concience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hop without wavering, for He who promised is faithful!"

I hope and pray that my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ has sprinkled your heart clean by the power of His blood. If not, I sure would LOVE to share with you how easy it is to LET Him him clean you out from your heart to your dirty feet! I have learned this week, that there is NO foot too dirty for Jesus to wash and no heart too filthy for Him to sprinkle clean!!

it is FINISHED

Even though we put in a FULL 7 hours today in 115 degree weather, most of which was finishing windows and doors OUTSIDE, we FINISHED the school and the clinic!! Take a look at the before and after.

a SUNDAY in Africa

What a day!! Sunday in Africa was an experience to say the least!! We attended the Baptist Church of one of our translators, Cephas. Eli and I got to sing a few songs (accompanied by Mark on the guitar) and Doug preached (with the help of Cephas translating), but we still got to experience the vibrant atmosphere of a people so few who know Jesus!! There were about 50 of us total in the church and their choir sang many songs (some even in tunes we knew). And the coolest part was that the pastor himself was BLIND!! He had a braille Bible (picture below) and a few of the men escorted him in at the beginning of the service and in the middle of the service, he stood up and started speaking very fluent English - welcoming us and blessing us!! We were all kind of shocked, but what a blessing he was.

After church we headed out to the river to enjoy some hamburgers and hot dogs on the "grill"!! We rode camels and some took a boat ride down the river and spotted a few hippos, even though it was hard to get close enough for a good picture.

Overall, it was a very good day, relaxing and enjoying the culture and beauty of this country; an experience we will not quickly forget.

Please pray for us as tomorrow is our LAST day of work and we MUST finish painting the school. We have a few loose ends still at the clinic as well....one room left of doors and we'll clean EVERYTHING. Then we have one more room at the school that needs a second coat, we'll paint the chalkboards (yes, the chalkboards are just black paint on the wall) and the windows and doors. It doesn't sound like much, but it IS!! Please pray for cooler weather so that we can work harder without overheating our poor, white bodies!!

Here are some photos from today!

Our team at church.

Eli in his element!!

Doug waiting for Cephas to translate.
(He is wearing a choir robe - can you believe they have choir robes here!!)

the pastor's braille Bible

An "American" cookout at the river!!

Me on a camel - I almost didn't ride because it was SOOOOO hot - I ONLY got on so Leah and Lex could see me!!

Saturday on the field

Half of us went to the village on Saturday morning and the team I was with (Ted, Molly & Breanna) had a GREAT morning. There is a mute man in the village who seems a little "off" and he almost always interrupts our storying with adults and children trying to sell us things or just being disruptive. You never know what he will do and sometimes it is a bit scary. Sometimes the villagers will shew him away and other times, they'll try and calm him. On Thursday, when I was with Justin's group (Justin, Paul & Megan), Justin and Paul were sharing with a group of men and he came to interrupt. The men who they were talking with, who also know that he is mental, asked Justin to heal him. Cephas explained that Jesus could heal him, but that it would take MUCH faith from those that were praying (us) and the african men themselves. Justin prayed for him and we continued on our way.

On Saturday, "crazy guy" came back around when I was with Ted, Molly & Breanna and we were sharing with another group of men. But THIS time, he moved the children who were crowding us, as if to protect us. He was calm and listened to what Ted was saying. Ted asked Cephas if he could take him aside and pray for him while Breanna continued to story and he did. He walked across the "road" and sat down with him, held his hands and prayed for him (all while Molly and I were praying silently across the way); praying that God would HEAL him, that he would SPEAK today so that ALL would know that Jesus is real and He is capable of such miracles. When Ted finished praying "crazy guy" went on his way.

We moved on to another family who had invited us to come and share with them the day before. And as we entered their home, "crazy guy" entered as well. And before we knew what was going on he spoke, LOUD and CLEAR in fluent French (a language only educated people would know). He sat down by Ted, held his hand and listened as best he could. We tried to get him to say more and the people walking by would say "why are you asking him to speak, he doesn't speak." But the women with us testified that he did!! Before the storying was over, he had spoken in FOUR different languages and although he was still a little off, almost as if he were fighting with himself, God performed a miracle in the village!! There is so much MORE to the story than I can write on the blog, so you'll have to come to hear us share when we return to the US!!

Here are some photos from Saturday...

Ted riding a donkey!!

working hard at the school

our potty =)

an African woman traveling the "roads"
I am amazed at how they do this!!

a few videos

Eli, Hannah & Shawna with the kids in the village.

This is PART of our ride from the village back to the clinic in the bush taxi.
There is no such thing as a "road" here.
I'm pretty sure this sucker is a cousin to the Humvee!!

H.....O.....T......

It's Doug again....Today was a HOT one! We had a very hard time getting painting on the clinic finished today because there were so many women and children there getting shots! In a couple hours tomorrow it should be done. The painting group moved to the school, which was a dubious, dusty, dirty mess. It is only four large rooms which means less trim work and more roller work, so we should be able to get it done faster than the clinic.

Did I mention it was hot? It is starting to take a toll on all of us and we don’t even realize it. Kasey was “lucky” that she didn’t feel good this morning so she stayed back and did not feel the wrath of the sun. The heat is a dry heat and it is so hot that when we do sweat it evaporates so fast we don’t even know it was there. This means that when we are covered in sweat, we have really lost even more hydration than we realize.

This became a scary truth when Eli had a mild heat stroke today. One minute he was fine, the next he told me he just felt a little “off”, and only seconds later we are carrying him to a place with shade and rubbing cool water on him while we waited for the bush taxi to zoom through the village streets (which were NOT made for a van). Getting him to the van made him feel better, but when he tried to get out he almost lost consciousness.

No one on the team panicked, everyone helped out, and the veterans of the area knew just how to handle it. Eli is PERFECTLY FINE right now! We will check how he feels in the morning to see if he gets to go out. Just know that we are playing it on the safe side for everyone!

That being said, I got to go out in the village with two different groups thus far (June/Natalie/Matt and Eli/Shawna/Hannah) and I could not be more proud! They know the truth of the gospel and have NOT been afraid to share it to a people group that does not believe Jesus is the Son of God. We proudly walked the streets sharing with those that would listen on the day when most Muslims attend mosque.

We learned more about the culture today as well. It is important to show them that we are interested in how they live and do things because they are a very relational people. When we give weight to what they share and say, it means they will give weight to what we say. The group I was with today got to watch a family building a house. Not with wooden beams, brick, or finely crafted stone, but with mud bricks strengthened with straw. They then use a mud paste to make the mortar. It is strong when it hardens, but it is back breaking labor that can only be done a few layers per day. Their patience is something we can learn from!

THIS is an African village school.
Cephas was showing them some arabic letters.
If we ONLY knew how good we have it in America!

Justin sweeping the school floors so that "most" of the dirt was gone before we painted.

Outside the school with some kids!

This was actually from yesterday, but after Eli's episode we could all use a reminder from Shawna, "CHUG THAT WATER!!"

day #???

Doug here! I tell you that so when you realize how poorly written this is you won’t wonder if Kasey has lost her touch. That being said, I have honestly lost track of the day of the week here. All I know is that today was work day number 3. After a hard day yesterday (the village elders went around and told the people to avoid the white people and their lies/magic) we met people today that seemed to really want to hear what we wanted to say. Some groups even wanted to hear the Gospel after older men would tell them that they should not. That is a victory in and of itself.

It is amazing to see how well the youth do in sharing the word of Jesus without fear. My prayer is that this bravery will translate back into their schools and community when we get back to the states!!! There will be a missionary here in Niamey in a few weeks that will be ready for the village (Tagabati) in a few months (after language training to learn Zarma/Songhai) and I hope that the work done this week will provide an “in” for them.

On a down note, we are behind on painting which if you know our group is super unusual. Being in the heat seems to have slowed us down a lot. With luck we will start on the school tomorrow. It is only four large rooms so that will reduce the amount of edging/trimming that will need to be done so we hope that ground will be made up there.

The students (along with Kasey and I) have been able to do and see things which I would have never thought we’d ever have an opportunity to. We have pumped water, ground millet, seen a dust storm, used primitive farming tools, seen poverty on a level that would make every person in Greensburg feel like a king, and basically have been transported back in time to something much more similar to how Jesus lived.

Being in the village and seeing how important water is has allowed for a much fuller understanding of some of the things Jesus said. He is the living water! I have a deeper appreciation for how the woman at the well must have felt when Jesus told her she would never have to draw from the well again. Water here is so vital, no matter if it is the well or the Niger River. Without water there is no life…none! It is hard work to walk down to the river, where the hippos destroy their crops and just as hard work to pump water and carry it home, but it must be done EVERY DAY!

Water is vital and necessary for all aspects of life. Jesus is the living water…that makes sooo much more sense to me now.

Here are some photos we took of the village today.

Eli and Hannah sharing the gospel with some welcoming villagers! I think they spent the whole afternoon with them!

Hannah in her element!!

PART of the village of Tagabati - you can see the river in the background.

day 3 on the field

Our internet was down again last night so here is the post I wrote to share with you!!

WOW!! What a day we had today!! Someone back home MUST be praying, because despite the opposition and indifference we faced as we tried to share yesterday, God opened hearts today!! There were many groups of villagers who were willing to listen to our stories about Jesus. Several had questions about how Jesus could be the Son of God as they believe he was just a good prophet. With the help of our translators we were able to break through to many groups today. One group of men, in particular were joking around with us trying to get us to give them money so they could have full bellies without having to go into the fields to work. We joked back saying we had none and Justin shared the Parable of the Sower with them (connecting to their knowledge about farming). Then he and Paul, with the help of our translator Cephas, shared the gospel message and although the men were questioning everything they said, they always had a response and by the time they were finished they were asking us to pray for them and thanking us for coming to tell them about Jesus. It was so cool to sit back and watch TEENAGERS share their faith!! I’m pretty sure that EVERYONE had the chance to share today (even our shyest ones) and everyone was met with gratitude and a desire to learn more. Continue to pray that we will keep poking holes of light into a village darkened by Islam.

We also worked hard in the clinic again today, but we didn’t finish!! Hopefully tomorrow we will and we can move on to the village school. Here are some photos. Kala tonon (see you later)!!

June's arm after a long morning of painting!!
Good thing that is water based paint and washes right off!!!

Our sweet Natalie - doesn't she look like a natrual missionary!??!?!!!
I think if we let her, she'd stay here.

Eday says, "Abodeh-gomo" (very good) Doug!!

SEVEN loads of laundry (for 14 people after only 3 days on the field)
Not sure how the Lindsey family does it!!