special treat nights

Every other Saturday night we have "Special Treat Night" in our house. "What is that?," you may ask. Well, for our family, it's a night where we love a little extra on our little girl who is growing up way too fast. 

 

On these special nights, we put Luke to bed and then tell Izzy's it's "Special Treat Night." That is usually followed by a very excited squeal from our daughter and then she says, "Popcorn! I help Mommy! Popcorn!" Isabelle & I traipse to the kitchen to get all the goods for making popcorn and then make our tray of goodies to meet Daddy in the bedroom. We climb onto our bed & snuggle in for Izzy's choice of movie.

So far we've watched a Curious George episode, Dora the Explorer & made our way through another children's film in installments. We usually try to keep these nights around 30-40 minutes. However, one night after watching our "movie," we thought it'd be fun to do some silly pictures with Isabelle. This will probably be a night I will never forget! She just hammed it up for the camera & was so funny. I don't know if I actually got on film what she was doing in person but I will always have it in my mind! 

 

Seriously, our daughter is pure funny! Mark & I just laughed so hard at her that night. You know those "real" laughs that only your good friends & family really know? The "laugh so hard you're crying" kind of laugh? That is what was going on in the 4 walls of our bedroom that night ... Isabelle included! She really is just growing up too fast & is such a little comedian! 

 

I'm so glad we've made this a little tradition in our home & I can't wait for Luke to join us when he's old enough!

Daddy? Check! Popcorn? Check! Eyes closed for the camera? Woops!

And this is when the silliness began. Mark thought it'd be funny to "pretend sleep" for the picture. This is Izzy's attempt ...

And again with popcorn in her mouth!

Trying to see if Daddy is really asleep ...

Silly faces ...

Her attempt at a "silly" face ...

Trying to make Mommy laugh. It was working!

Family silly faces! Isabelle's cracks me up in this picture ...

More silly faces from the crazy Phillips fam ...

And that's our daughter right there! ...

how to mop

When you live in the desert & all your floors are tile, mopping is a very important skill to learn. And why not learn it early on?

One day a few weeks ago, on a "Daddy/daughter" day, Mark took Isabelle up to our balcony to play. The floor up there was filthy dirty because we hardly ever go up there &, therefore, forget that it needs a good sweep & mop every once in a while. With nothing else to do, Mark & the Belle thought it'd be a good time to have a lesson in mopping.

So here's Isabelle showing you how it's done:


Step 1: You need to make sure you water is really soapy ...

Step 2: Dunk your cloth into the soapy water ...

Step 3: Take cloth out of water & lay, very meticulously, onto the very, very dirty floor ...

Step 4: Take mop brush & begin to swirl the muddy mess, created by the very soapy water & very dirty floor, around & around & around ...

Step 5: Receive a "Congratulations!" for a job well done!

Y'all got it?

pig tails!

Just so you know ... Isabelle's hair is NOT easily manageable. It is a wild mess of curls & every morning it usually involves one of us crying & screaming as I try to brush it!! Most people look at her & immediately say, "Oh, those curls are so cute! Are they natural? Who did she get them from?" Yes, they are cute; yes, they are natural; and, yes, she got them from her Daddy!! I kid you not!

Anywho, those lovely curls have been getting longer & longer and knottier & knottier. And the side-swept, pull back hair-do in a bow was getting a little passe. So I tried the pig tails for a change of pace. Let's just say that she was NOT happy about the extra yanking it required to pull of this masterpiece of a hair do. Nor was she happy about NOT having a bow in her hair!! Seriously? From the girl who yanks out her bow 10 times a day!! So the final product was a fair attempt at pig tails with a bow!! Classy, eh?

PS - The end of the day look of the pigtails? Not so classy!

She still wasn't too happy about the whole ordeal when I started trying to snap a shot of her hair.

But then it quickly turned into a fun photo shoot!

Isabelle, of course, had to include her little bro. This is what his hair would look like if he had cute pig tails!

She wanted to make sure y'all saw the back!

Yes, Isabelle, we see those pig tails! And they sure are cute ... even with a random bow stuck in your hair!

And the following is the pig tails after a day of hard work ...

I think we'll just stick with the easier "do" from now on!!

thanks for your prayers

When we petition your prayers I hope to get back with you about how they were answered.  That is what this post is about. 

I went to Karma yesterday and was praying the whole way there (as I've been praying all week) that the scene would be different.  We pulled up and there was Henry* smiling and waiting for us again.  He said he'd tried to find all the "believers" and all that he spoke to told him not to come back and talk to them ever again.  Needless to say, I was more than a little disappointed.  If I'm honest, I even had one of those "come on God, this is about your Name here.  How many people faithfully prayed all week and nothing's changed."  The Holy Spirit quickly prompted me to realize the many errors in my thinking but that was the raw emotion.

After our meeting, Henry said he'd like for us to visit some friends of his who were a little outside of town.  We loaded up and drove several kilometers to Bangawi ("the hippo killing" - cool name, eh) but which is technically still Karma.  There we met four older men who said they were ready to hear about Jesus, the Christ.  Not only that, several of the elders of the village were hanging around trying to hear what we were saying.  I thought to myself, "these will be the ones to squelch whatever we start here." 


One pulled me to the side to ask what we were doing.  I braced myself for a conversation I've had countless times.  I was sure he'd either tell me the people here didn't want to listen to this or that they would listen but only if we gave them gifts.  However, after I told him what we were doing he said "that's very good.  Bring your message and we will listen.  Our people need to hear your message."

After I picked my jaw off the ground I stumbled through some final good-byes and got back in the truck floored by God's grace and mercy. 

I just wanted you to know that God responded to your faithful prayers!  Please pray as we go back to Bangawi next Sunday!


*name changed for safety concerns

happy boy

Just a few cute pictures of the happiest baby on the block!

issa

Issa is our gift from God! He is our new househelper & he is magnificent! Not only does he help to keep this house in tip-top shape but he also just adores our kids. If I'm in the middle of cooking & the kiddos start melting down, he'll put down his mop & start playing with the kids. Goodness knows that it is NOT fun to cook while a baby is screaming & a toddler is pulling on your leg saying, "I help Mommy! I help Mommy!" (Okay, so that doesn't happen everyday!) 

But the kids really do love to play with Issa & Luke about jumps out of my arms every morning to greet him! Isabelle loves to play hide-and-go-seek & she loves for him to chase her around the house. It is so sweet & fun to watch. Issa sticks around every night until we put the kids to bed just so he can say goodnight & get some good ole Luke & Izzy night-night kisses & hugs!

We sure do love Issa & he is quickly becoming (if not already) part of our family!

check me out!

Isabelle wanted y'all to check out her new PJ's!! These little cuties are a size 3T! Our little girl is growing up so fast!!

PS - These cutie pa-tootey pajamas were given to her by her great aunt Patty on our trip to Mongtomery, AL this summer. I can't believe she's already big enough to wear them. I guess when your belly starts showing in your 2T pajamas, it means it's time for a bigger size!!

pray

We know that our ministry in Ayorou would not have been possible without your prayers.  We are so grateful for praying people.  And so to our prayer warriors, please take these requests.

Karma is a village we just re-entered last year.  Many have come to faith in this village and we've begun meeting there on a weekly basis.  However, this village, more than any of our other current work, sums up the statement 'where God is at work, so is the enemy.'  Let it be noted that this is widely known as one of the darkest villages in all Niger. There is a deep tie to the demonic in this village and a demon possessed man even threatened to stone our team one day (holding a very large rock he was pretty convincing). 

I went to this village Sunday hoping to meet with a group of believers and especially two men who recently prayed to receive Christ.  I took a national partner with me who has been a part of the work there.  When we arrived, no one was waiting so we decided to walk through the market and try to find Henry* who is the most faithful to come.  It seemed we couldn't walk 50 feet without the national partner pointing out someone and saying "you see him, he prayed to receive Christ a few months ago."  And yet, person after person either refused to even greet us (an unthinkable act in this hospitable country) or make up some lame excuse about why he has not been coming.  One guy even stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us and turned to run the other way!

We returned back to our truck discouraged and ready to head home when we found Henry waiting for us smiling as he always does.  We spent some time praying for these men and Henry explained to us that the level of persecution has been raised over the past few months.  People are too scared to be associated with the Christians for fear of the consequences.  One guy even told Henry that if he came to his house again to invite him for our Bible study he would beat him up!

Yet Henry has remained strong in his faith.  Even though it appears he is the only one in his entire village who is following Jesus, even though all the persecution is now directly on him, even though his wife, his wife's parents, his own parents curse him now, he has stayed strong.

So pray for Karma and pray for Henry.  Whatever level of disappointment we feel in the people of Karma, his is ten times that.  He so desperately wants a true brother in the faith to walk with him.  Pray for this former stronghold of Satan that as it slowly slips away from his grasp through the powerful name of Jesus, he does not relinquish control without a fight.

Also pray for David* of Ayorou.  David is a young man who prayed to receive Christ in 2008.  He has remained very faithful and is always eager to learn more.  He is the only believer in his entire family.  I have seen him on every visit to Ayorou until this past one.  I asked about him and I heard that a family member came from Niamey to physically remove him from Ayorou and send him to a Koranic school in Tillaberri.  Our hearts break at the thought of David being forced to recite the Koran all day long and go into the streets to beg for money.  Please pray for David to remain strong. 

Finally, pray for our country.  It is increasingly an unsafe place.  It seems that the areas of greatest need and lostness are the areas that are becoming closed to our access.  Our Brazilian partners had to move from their village because of security concerns.  The entire country of Mali (where so many Songhai live) is completely closed.  The area of work for one of our partnering churches has just this week (2 weeks before their trip) become more hostile. 

This is a long post just to say please pray for the Songhai.  God is moving in their hearts, they are responding to the Gospel like never before.  Areas where Satan has had full reign for literally centuries are being plucked right out of his hands.  The powerful name of Jesus is going forward but there is a real fight, a real battle going on.  Thank you for your prayers.


*names changed for security reasons

mr & miss independent

There is a wee bit of an independence streak running through our household! Luke "Mr Independent" Phillips is sitting on his own, drinking out of a sippy cup & attempting to self feed with cereal puffs & the like.

The Belle, "Miss Independent," is adamant that she do almost everything by herself! Her new phrase is, "I try! I try!" Here's a little picture of her "trying" to put on her shoes by herself. Good job there Isabelle, good job!