Notre travail ici

Our work here. 

Several people have asked what work are we doing in Niger?  What is keeping us busy?  Are we doing what we expected we would be doing?  This blog is to talk about the kinds of things we do at the Center and in Niamey. 

First off, we are doing very few things that I thought we would do.  In fact I am amazed at what we are doing.  I came here to be the Center Manager.  That was what the job description said.  As I learned more, it was to train in a new manager as well.  The Center has three conference rooms that it rents out, a dorm rooms that sleep 12 people, and 9 guesthouses that can sleep individuals in rooms/suites or families.   I was to manage and systematize the rental process and upkeep for it all.  Well it hasn’t turned out that way.  My lack of French, local customs, and a dozen other things make being a manager out of the question. 

So what have we done? We have gone through and inventoried every item in four living units, the kitchen, laundry room, and leisure library.  We have made a list of what is missing, what should be in place, and what needs repair.  Every living unit is filled with things that the previous renters have left behind.  Most of it was left behind for good reason.

In each place we have created four piles:  toss, sell, store, and put away.  The “sell” piles have been the biggest by far only because you don’t throw things away here.  So we have planned a Yard Sale for some time November.  Actually there will be two yard sales, one for the employees and one for all others.  I have found the employees carry a lot of weight here.  We can’t imagine anyone buying some of this stuff let alone wanting it for free.

I have gone to the bank once a week with the finance guy here, counted money, sorted money, entered in cash withdrawals, bank transactions, and other complex financial transactions.  I discovered that the cost of the generator is about three times what they thought it was and while I have tried, I have not found a way to allocate those costs to income sources.  I’m not sure anyone wants to but I tried anyway.  They have electricity and specifically air conditioners on meters and so people pay for usage.  The generator, which is much more costly, (it is needed because of city power outages at least 8 times a day), is a center expense.

I have given two power point presentations to the director on such tantalizing subjects as a new system for keeping track of keys and a recommendation for signage at the Center.  Note:  I did not say new signage there is no signage (See blog on the need for advertising.)  Both presentations included taking a picture and then using Power Point to put in a representative sign or number.  I threw in a recommendation to make the Paillotte, a rather big open cabana like structure that is unique to SIL, the icon of the center, and as such, it needs to be cleaned up and the two truckloads of dirt in front of it and are the first thing you see when you enter the center, need to be removed.  I have also worked on, not presented yet, a presentation or business plan to address the sustainability of the center.  I think I can say with some certainty that my efforts to date have earned me the distinction of being the center’s loud, pushy American.  But, as we were told, be our thorn.  Help us get things done. 

I have developed rental contracts for all of the living units, work orders, and a cleaning checklist.  None of them are in use in anyone’s mind.  Wait, that’s not true.  I filled out a work order for some leaks in our unit and mentioned them to the director.  A month later I filled out another work order and gave it to the receptionist, Florentine.  She had two men over to our unit that day.  We love Florentine.

We are numbering every door in the Center and labeling every key to fit the number.  We have a box of loose keys.  No one knows which locks the keys fit.  So Sally and I have been testing them one by one on all the doors in the center and then tagging them.  I can’t remember whether it was classes in law school or business school that prepared me for this work.

Sally is making a collage for the Day Of Prayer here on November 11^th.  The verse is Philippians 2:9-10 and so she is putting Jesus Christ is Lord in many languages on the tables, on the walls, and on a bookmark.  They keep telling her that themed events are not the thing in Niamey but that doesn’t slow her down.  She’s terrific.

We have been to prayer time every weekday and the one on Wednesday lasts over an hour.  We participated in a translation graduation ceremony, learned all about the different people groups/languages that they are working with, and met many missionaries who are still going out East even though it is in the red (do not travel) zone.

We teach English to a couple from Toga twice a week for one hour and we are going to do after school tutoring at the Sahel School once a week.  I am also the after school playmate for the third grade girl next door.  Sally visits a orphanage once a week and teaches English to two women once a week.  She is also doing a Beth Moore Bible Study with expats from the Western church service.

Yes, we ask ourselves, “Did we need to come Niger to do these things?  Will this make the world a better place?  Are we helping to bring in the Kingdom?  Why are we here, again?  We believe we have contributed greatly to God’s sense of humor.  The fact is, we are here, having new experiences, meeting people who are unlike us in many ways and have much to teach us, and loving it.  We are sure that God is at work here in us and maybe even at this center – just exactly what that looks like we have not figured out yet and know that we may never know.      

So in the meantime, I have to count out dirty paper money into packs of ten.