Itinerary, or "Tracking the dude through Paris and Africa"

Hello; thanks for visiting my blog. Thanks for your interest in my trip to Niger (and possibly for your interest in my pointless occasional NFL ramblings).

Here we go: Leave Saskatoon Boxing Day at 11:40; get to Paris via Toronto at 8:15 AM December 27. Follow fellow team members past le Tour Eiffel, l'Arc de Triomphe, l'avenu des Champs-Elysees, Notre-Dame et Musee de Louvre, for two days while we adjust to the time zone 8 hours ahead of CST.

Leave Paris at 11:10 AM December 29 and arrive at Niamey, capitol of Niger, at 4:40 that same day. The next day we travel 5 hours east to Madaoua with the Schmidt family. On New Year's Eve we visit a local church and assist with singing and Sunday School. We then travel to the nearby Galmi mission hospital where we help stage at New Year's party for 40 staff and their families.

On New Year's Day, there will be no College Bowl games in Niger, but we do get to visit the Centre for Malnourished Children where we will distribute gift packages, including knitted hats and wraps. We will also start our first soccer camp with help from Peace Corps volunteers.

On January 2 we hold a day camp for 100 local children. Activities include songs, games, drama and crafts and a story told by local teachers. The second soccer camp follows later in the afternoon. We will distribute gift bags from Emmanuel Baptist Church kids, including stickers, gum, crayons and note pads.

The next couple of days we will spend with the Schmidt family in and around Madaoua. They will show us around the community and district where they live. We will be able to enjoy the sand cliffs, giraffe sitting photo ops and camel rides.

On Friday January 5 we return to Niamey. The next day we set up for the Spiritual Life Conference where we will be arranging teaching sessions and group activities for children of SIM workers who are attending sessions at the conference.

From Sunday to Wednesday we teach and encourage the approximately 65 children (ages ranging from preschool to teens) from 8:00 AM to 12:30 and again from 3:30 to 6:00 and the teens from 7 to 9 each evening. Our sessions include worship, drama, stories, crafts, games and workshops in art, drama and music. Special thanks to my sweetheart, Mrs. L, for helping me to fine tune my craft ideas.

On January 11 we clean up, pack and debrief. The next day we do some sightseeing in Niamey. At midnight on Friday we depart on our flight to Paris, and connect with Air Canada for Toronto. The team is scheduled to arrive back in Saskatoon at midnight on Saturday January 13, after a long layover in Toronto.

There it is; stay tuned for more. Thank you for your support and please keep praying for us.