Day 5-First Email Update

Here is the email that I received late last night. Some of this info is a repeat, but lots of new details too...

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

The team left Niamey Wednesday morning and arrived in Maradi after 11.5 hours of driving and three flat tires (which were changed very quickly:).Along the way, they stopped to see giraffes, twenty adults and five babies. They also stopped in the town of Dosso to visit a school with many needs and meet the teachers and students there. When they arrived at the home of Dan and Earlene Ligon, (missionaries in Maradi) they were treated to a yummy BBQ chicken dinner and a good night's rest.This morning, they loaded the five hundred backpacks they brought from Atlanta and headed over to the school to distribute them. The children chanted "MERCI (thank you) Chick-fil-A". It seemed they enjoyed shaking the team member's hands more than receiving the backpacks themselves. Brad Lingerfelt and Chug Shafe are both celebrating birthdays on this mission. The children sang "Happy Birthday" to them in French and English. The team stayed until each student left for home, shaking hands and saying goodbye to all of them.Lunch was a traditional African meal of ragu stew with fried grasshoppers, prepared by the wife of one of the Nigerien pastors in Maradi. Afterward, they visited the Chick-fil-A school construction site. Brad Lingerfelt and Brad Roper laid brick while the rest of the team mixed mortar and assisted them. Later, Dan Ligon took the team on a tour of Maradi. They saw the Gobi River bed, the Chief of Maradi's palace, and the bible school where Dan and Earlene teach. Earlene prepared a delicious dinner of brochette (meat on a stick) and the Ligons surprised Brad and Chug with beautiful tea pots for their birthdays.They are having a great time and are amazed at how genuinely appreciative everyone in Maradi is to have them there. The villagers keep waving at them wherever they go. They've seen rain in the distance and are surprised at how lush the landscape appears; much greener than expected.More updates and pictures to follow soon (when their internet connection allows).

Thanks for traveling with us,The 2009 WinShape Serve Mission