Beebout.us

Great Grandpa, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

If you had told me last Sunday night that tonight Jeremy would be across the ocean from us, I don’t think I would have believed you. As many of you already know, Jeremy’s grandfather, Howard Beebout, went to be with the Lord on Friday. While Jeremy was unable to get home in time to say goodbye, he is now there with his family celebrating his grandpa’s life. Grandpa, who was 96, spent many winters doing mission work in Haiti, New Mexico and other places. God used him as an inspiration in Jeremy’s life for his own calling to missions. We will all miss him. I have to admit that I counted him as my own grandpa since my grandpas have been gone for many years. Thank you for your prayers for Jeremy and his family and for the girls and I while we look forward to Jeremy’s return.

Water Tower, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

Just wanted to ask for your prayers. We are in the midst of a very fun, very busy time and I am recovering from pneumonia (which is not fun!) We are so blessed to have 4 graduate students from the University of Minnesota with us. They are here to do the studies necessary to correctly set up the health cooperative or mutual for the clinic. At the same time, we have a group of 10 primarily from Tom Johnson’s home church. They are here to do several different construction projects. They have accomplished in 2 days what we thought they would do in a week. Iowa farmers know how to work! They’ve built a water tower to hold a reservoir for our new well and knocked out a wall in the office building to make a larger office space. We’re grateful for the service of both of these teams. Please pray for safety and protection over everyone’s health and that God would be glorified by the work.

Abby’s Christmas Program, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

“Mom, did God carry Jesus on his back?” This question comes from Abby, because that’s what one des with a baby, of course. A miracle so profound that we can only gaze in wonder when we stop to reflect. It doesn’t make sense. God becoming flesh to come and take our punishment for us. Thanks be to God! To quote Ann Voskamp from aholyexperience.com:
“Who will give away, and with their lives? Why is the world hungry when God’s people have bread? Are bread? What is there more to be in this life than to be bread for another man?“
I find comfort in these words. Niger often feels like a sponge of need. No matter how much I give it will never be enough. Only Christ working through me can bring change and true healing. I know that I’m not the only one feeling dry, empty, like I never have enough to offer. May we be filled as only the Spirit can fill us so that we can be poured out for a thirsty, hungry, hurting world. Merry Christmas!

The guesthouse is open!, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

We are very excited to tell you that the EERN Guesthouse is open! Our supervisor from the RCA was with us earlier this week and he was one of the first people to get to sleep in it. It looks beautiful! The tile and painting is all finished. All that remains is some woodworking which a team coming in January is planning to do, and the landscaping around it as you can see. Thank you to all of you who have given so generously to see this first level of the construction through. We pray that this guesthouse will serve as a tool for the EERN to facilitate meetings among church leaders. It will, of course, also bless many foreign visitors. You can make your reservations by phone or email!

Red Roof!, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

Greetings from Niger. Our blog has been down for a couple of months and is now sending you old news so I thought a new photo of the clinic might be appreciated. The plumber and electrician have done what they needed to in the floor and so now the floors are being poured! Next steps: tile and ceiling!

The girls are back in school and Abby has started preschool and all are doing well. I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed but God always provides at the right time. I was especially panicking about getting my 400+ exams graded (these are from the students who failed the first time around). Just at the time I was most stressed, I got pink eye and basically didn’t leave home for 3 days. I got all my grading done just before our French doctor left and I was needed back at clinic.

Abby’s new comment at almost every meal is, “This is not what I ordered.” I have to admit that I was saying the same thing to God as I was suffering from pink eye but in hindsight it gave me just the time to be home and get done what was needed! And I sound just as ridiculous as Abby when I fret and fume about what I think I need!

Extension Trenches, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

As promised, here are links for videos that show the developments in the work at CADR while we were gone. They were produced by Lee DeYoung from Words of Hope and we appreciate his work. They are a little choppy as he was expecting to film for 5 minutes and ended up filming for 52. Any of you who have been to Niger will know the people and understand. Those of you who haven’t should come!
•Rural Development: https://vimeo.com/47459578
•Medical Project: https://vimeo.com/47450479
The picture you see here is the clinic gaining another 20 feet of space. This was planned as a later addition but thanks to the general contractor saving us a lot of money plus the good exchange rate and your generous gifts, we’re adding on now before the roof goes on. This will provide the rehab room and an office for the physical therapist we are praying to hire from the US.
Next steps for the guesthouse are the addition of an efficiency apartment and a meeting room on the second floor. These are needed immediately and we are in the process of having plans drawn up and estimates made.
God bless each of you for your financial support and prayers. Please pray now for Sahel Academy, Lydia and Eliza’s school. It is closed for the week as it is threatened by flood waters. The rains have been very heavy here and upstream and the Niger River is out of its banks.
Thanks!

Extension, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

As promised, here are links for videos that show the developments in the work at CADR while we were gone. They were produced by Lee DeYoung from Words of Hope and we appreciate his work. They are a little choppy as he was expecting to film for 5 minutes and ended up filming for 52. Any of you who have been to Niger will know the people and understand. Those of you who haven’t, should come!
•Rural Development: https://vimeo.com/47459578
•Medical Project: https://vimeo.com/47450479

The picture you see here is the clinic gaining another 20 feet of space. This was planned as a later addition but thanks to the general contractor saving us a lot of money plus the good exchange rate and your generous gifts, we’re adding on now before the roof goes on. This will provide the rehab room and an office for the physical therapist we are praying to hire from the US.
Next steps for the guesthouse are the addition of an efficiency apartment and a meeting room on the second floor. These are needed immediately and we are in the process of having plans drawn up and estimates made.

God bless each of you for your financial support and prayers. Please pray now for Sahel Academy, Lydia and Eliza’s school. It is closed for the week as it is threatened by flood waters. The rains have been very heavy here and upstream and the Niger River is out of its banks.
Thanks!

Wedding Day, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

A funeral and a wedding have already been celebrated by our church community since our return to Niger. The day we arrived, the father of our pastor, Soumaila Labo, and of the former president of the EERN, Harouna Labo, passed away after a long illness. We didn’t know him personally, which is unfortunate as we have a great deal of respect for both of the sons we know well. Please pray for the Family Labo as they grieve.

Today, the former vice-president of the EERN’s daughter got married. We got there in time to get what I thought was a great seat, on a wooden (rather than metal bar) bench right in front of the window. Turns out we were in the way of about 4 women who took turns spitting over our heads. Abby says, “It was not fine.” While we don’t understand why Nigeriens despise swallowing their own sputum, they can’t see why we blow our nose on a kleenex and carry it with us!

So you can still have culture shock nearly 5 years in. In other news, our dog bit someone who came in the gate unannonced. This was the first time she has done that and complicated the poor woman’s life as well as ours. Fortunately her hand is healing well and she seems to have tired of trying to get more money out of the situation than we had offered for her medical care.

Next post…video links of our work that were taken last week!

Greetings from hot, steamy Niamey.  After 3 days of traveling including  a visit to one of our supporting churches we have arrived at home.  We were greeted by Chako and rain.  On the way home from the airport, we detoured past our office to see the clinic, which is now awaiting a roof!  Other than some difficulty getting our kids sleeping at normal hours, we’re doing well.  We still have internet and phone issues to resolve but that is to be expected.  Thanks for praying for us through this transition!

Laying out the clinic foundation, a photo by beebbuzz on Flickr.

We have been back in the US for about 10 days and are having a wonderful time reconnecting with family. We spent 4 days in NY/NJ, staying with the family of the volunteer who is with us for the year in Niger. Her mom and brother were in Niger for 3 weeks in February and blessed us by working with diabetic patients (mom) and laying tile in the guesthouse (brother)! We enjoyed staying with them on this side. We were also blessed to speak at Herkimer Reformed Church and participate in the annual auction they use to raise our support. We have been back in Iowa since Monday and are thankful to be with family to celebrate the good news of the risen Christ. Thank you for your prayers. Remember the work in Niger, too. This photo shows the clinic foundation being laid out last week after our depart!