When we returned from our short (1 year) time in Niger, West Africa we brought a lot of bits and pieces with us. They say that once you have been to Africa it gets into your blood and I’d have to agree. Close to ten years later I still have my African pieces hanging up around my house and they are treasured. Each one has a memory attached (I’m a person of layers, hate having things for the sake of it). The hat you see Miss L wearing below is one of those treasures.

Its an original Fulani hat, worn by the Wodaabe of West Africa. The one she is playing with is a smaller version acquired after one of the dorm students at the school we taught at (Sahel Academy) didn’t want it. I have a much bigger one hanging on my wall which we bartered for and paid only around 4000CFA (at the time this equaled about $16AU). We got to meet many Fulani people as well as many of the missionaries who work tirelessly with them. Maybe I’ll share more about the Fulani people in the future. For now, this hat is a playhat for Miss L but I love that it has meaning attached to it.

Today is day three of my recovering from this nasty throat thing so I have sat here at the computer (moving too much = dizzyness etc…) and done something I have wanted to do for a while. I have gone back through my photos from our year in Africa and reworked some of them. Back then (sounds like ages and ages but we’re talking around 10 yrs ago) we only had film. I actually thought my photos were pretty reasonable at the time as we had a nice Pentax camera. Going back through them is a bit cringeworthy after using a digital camera for the last 4 or 5 yrs (yes we were late getting digital but they were very expensive at first). Not only were my shots not that great but I scanned them in crooked, at low res or didn’t crop them very well afterwards. Ah well, we live and learn.

So here’s a comparison for two of the shots I have reworked. You can’t really adjust film photos that well but then I suppose they have an interesting quality to them. I’m only using Picasa and Gimp, nothing fancy so I’m sure someone else who knows what they are doing could do a better job.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could go back into our past and do a bit of tweaking here and there. I wonder if I would do it if given the opportunity.

Before

After

Before

After

The letter G poses some interesting opportunities within SIM worldwide. Many of them start with the word ‘General’ and some start with the word ‘Guest’. Then theres ‘Gospel’, ‘Geography’, ‘Graphic’ and ‘Global’.

Generally Speaking….

Most of the Generally titled opportunities within SIM are medically related and all are in Africa. Here is the full list of ‘general’ opportunities;

General Practitioner (Angola) in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS
General or Specialty Surgeon at ELWA Hospital (Liberia) also in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS
Generalist Physician, ELWA Hospital (Liberia) also in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS
General Surgeon for Egbe Hospital (Nigeria) also in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS
General Nurse/Nurse Midwife – Luampa (Zambia) also in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS
General Surgeon, Mukinge Hospital (Zambia) also in the area of Health/HIV and AIDS

and one that is not directly medically related although it is in a hospital in Africa:
General Helper (Galmi Hospital, Niger)

Guest House related Opportunities

Two in Africa and one in South America, these opportunities are for anyone who loves to be hospitable and sees the need to support our missionaries on the ground;

Guest House Hostess–Quechua Ministry Support (Bolivia)
Would you like to play a vital support role in one of our main ministries in Bolivia? You could provide logistical, emotional, and spiritual support and encouragement to our rural Quechua missionaries by hosting a guest house available to them for rest and relaxation.

Guest House Manager (Niger)
Have you ever thought of using your natural inclination to hospitality in ministry? Maradi is the second largest town in Niger, and it is an important stopping place for people traveling to and from the east of Niger or to Nigeria. We need a guest house manager to oversee guests’ stays and to maintain the house well. God could use you in amazing ways to encourage His people.

Guest House Ministry at Galmi (Niger)
Do you have the gift of hospitality? Here is an opportunity for you to meet the needs of travelers and newcomers to the ministry of Galmi Hospital.

Perhaps you are a Geography Teacher and would love to go to Ethiopia or maybe you are a Graphic Artist who would be willing to serve in the Philippines. There is a need for a Global Research Assistant in the USA and finally the Sudan is in need of someone for Gospel Mentoring for Oral Learners Using the Arts (Use your gifting in drama, art, music, and DVDs to bring God’s message to Sudanese. Music, drama, media, and mime are but some of your options to share the teaching of the Bible.)

Perhaps you are thinking of an opportunity that starts with one of the 25 other letters of the alphabet. If so, feel free to explore this page on the SIM website. The SIM Australia website can be found here.

Today I thought it was time to do the next installment of current opportunities to serve overseas with the mission SIM. SIM works worldwide in around 40 countries and covers many areas of skill, training and expertise. Here are a few examples of opportunities starting with the letter ‘F’.

Foreign Languages

Can you speak (and teach) Spanish, French, German, Japanese or Korean? If so there are currently opportunities in Mongolia and China (long-term)

Or maybe you would love to teach French to kids in grades 6-12, this time the opportunity presents itself in Ethiopia (urgent and long-term).

Food Opportunities

There is an opportunity in Ethiopia for a Food Security Project Manager (development and relief). As the information page says;

While we’re in Niger there is a position available for a Farm Manager/Maintenance Supervisor

Female Physician (Malawi)

The information page says that, ‘Our need is for a female doctor. Your responsibilities will include providing general medical and HIV/AIDS care in the private clinic and care to registered HIV+ patients in the public AIDS clinic, training Malawian clinicians and nurses in general medical and HIV/AIDS care, assisting nurses in outreach programs, exploring God’s calling for a specific area of ministry, and developing opportunities for personal professional growth.

Would God be nudging you into this opportunity?’

Forgotten People Focus (youth leader in Kenya)

This opportunity comes from a church in Kenya. Here is the job description;

‘This is a highly strategic position for SIM Kenya as New City Fellowship is a church intentionally working towards racial and tribal reconciliation and one of the few ministries specifically reaching out to the 100,000+ Asians in Kenya. They have asked for a youth pastor specifically to reach the Asian youth that they might, in turn, reach others in their community. You would help the church by working directly with the youth of the church, reaching youth outside the church, organizing youth camps and other activities that will bring youth together, leading and organizing a youth service at least once a month, and meeting weekly with the pastor to discuss how the church is achieving its goals in reaching the youth. Is God leading you here?’

You can view all of SIM’s opportunities by visiting this page. Please feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll do my best to find out answers for you.

I hadn’t forgotten about this little series, just hadn’t gotten around to moving to the letter ‘E’ until now so here goes. E is for things such as English teaching, ESL teaching, Economics, Evangelism and Epidemiologist. There are so many SIM opportunities in each category (except the last one, only one of those is currently needed) that I have decided to list the opportunities under job type rather than individually this time.

English Teachers (either teaching language or the subject) are needed in the following places;

Asia-Pacific
Mongolia
Paraguay
Sudan
Peru
Bolivia (ESL)
South Korea
Thailand
Ethiopia
Angola

Elementary (primary) school or other Educational opportunities can be found in;

Ethiopia and here also Economics Teacher
Niger
Peru
Pakistan
SIM International (in the USA)

Opportunities including Evangelism (and discipleship/church planting/Bible Teaching/Children’s Ministry) are needed in;

Ecuador
Mali
Namibia
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Singapore
Tanzania
Thailand

The last two ‘E’ opportunities are for:
An Epidemiologist in Angola
and
an ELWA Radio Administrative advisor in Liberia

I hope that you can find an opportunity to serve God in amongst all these ‘e-opportunities’. Don’t forget, the entire list of SIM needs can be found here.

So, its time for another opportunity instalment, this time those starting with ‘D’. You will once again find a range of options for serving with SIM overseas in this list. Perhaps you are waiting for God’s direction as to where he wants you, read on and something may jump off the page!

Doctor and Leprosy Programme Manager

As a doctor managing the leprosy program at Danja’s Centre de Sant’ et de Leprologie and introducing Jesus to each person you treat, your influence in Niger is beyond your imagination! If you would like to see people come to faith in Jesus, this is a fabulous opportunity.

(We visited this centre in 2000 and it’s quite an amazing place!)

Danja operating table (2000)

Director of Library Services for JETS

In Nigeria SIM still has a significant role in outreach and in leadership training as well as many other ministries. We work closely with our partner church. Jos ECWA Theological Seminary (JETS) trains men and women for spiritual leadership in Nigeria. The Director of Library Services is a key person to keep the seminary progressing toward a top quality theological institution in the country and the continent.

Dorm Parents for Murree Christian School – Pakistan

Come and be dorm parents for children whose families live and work in Pakistan. Murree Christian School has reopened, and we need dorm parents for the next school year. This is a vital role!

Database Programmer- MS Access (VBA/SQL)

Are you a tekky who would like to use your gifts to further the work of God in the world? SIM is fully committed to the use of relevant information technology to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its ministries and administration. We use a mix of commercial software and custom-developed applications.

In this role, you will be the main developer in the International Systems project team and will need to identify, understand, and prioritise requirements for modification development, bug analysis, coding, implementation, training and documentation.

There are of course plenty of other opportunities starting with ‘D’ such as more
Doctor’s needed in Angola and Niger – Galmi and Maradi,
Dakar Academy Teachers (Senegal),
a Dentist in Liberia, Africa,
in the area of Discipleship and Training of Women in Ghana,
a Dialogue Language Progam Instructor in Bangaldesh
a Dorm Parent Assistant in Niger,
Dental Hygienist in Nigeria,
Discipleship and Mentoring in Sudan,
Development Director for Hillcrest School in Nigeria,
Director of Carachipampa Christian School in Bolivia and
a Director for a Community Development Project in Bangladesh.

All available opportunities can be seen here and SIM Australia’s website is here.

Continuing on from the other day here are some current opportunities to serve with SIM which start with ‘B’.

Basketball Coach and Discipler

Could there ever be a finer way to interact with people! We require basketball coaches in Asia to coach basketball in middleclass English medium schools and colleges. Basketball helps to make friends, but we also hope for a dedicated life of discipleship so that Bible Clubs may be set up in the high schools and colleges.

Boarding Home Parents in Bolivia

This is a wonderful opportunity for an energetic couple! Do you enjoy relating to teenagers? Nuturing and guiding young people?

While these MKs’ parents are following their ministry calling in another location, you can have tremendous influence in the lives of these growing young adults. And you can reap in eternity the results of ministry their parents have been freed to be involved in as you meet the needs of their teens.

Bible Teacher for Sherkole Refugee Camp

Sherkole refugee camp in western Ethiopia is home to approximately 18,000 Sudanese refugees from many tribes. SIM desires to teach, train, and prepare Sudanese for their return home by focusing on literacy, Bible training, and discipleship. Young men in the camp have started a TEE program (Theological Education by Extension) and are studying English course material produced by an SIM missionary. They are working towards a diploma in Biblical Studies. You would have the opportunity to meet with students for discussion, teaching, discipleship, prayer, and to build relationships. What a great privilege to play a role in the lives of the Sudanese before they return to their various homelands!

Builder for a Radio Studio

Are you an experienced builder just waiting for an opportunity to build something for God? Now is your chance!

We need you to oversee the construction of a new building for radio Frequence Vie in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. This will include some supervision of personnel, and it will require a good working knowledge of general construction, electrical work, plumbing, tiling, etc., as well as specific issues that relate to achieving maximum sound control for a recording studio. Also, a basic level of French is required.

There are of course many more opportunities starting with ‘B’ starting with words such as Business, Bible School, Bookkeeper, Bio-technician, Builder/Engineer and Builder/Handyman.

Once again, if you feel that you may be interested in any of these opportunities feel free to contact SIM. You can contact Michael and I here in Western Australia for more information by emailing sim.wa[at]sim.org.au.

Most Saturdays my wonderful in-laws take K for the day and we get a lot of things done that are easier without a toddler tagging along. She loves her days at Granny and Poppa’s place and always comes home happy. This morning Michael dropped her off and took L so I had the house to myself for a couple of hours. That’s a pretty rare thing so I took advantage and spread myself out on the floor with all my jewellery findings and handmade beads.

In November I’m taking part in two market events. The first is the Melville Baptist Church (our church) Fair at which I’ll be selling my polymer clay items. The money from all sales at the event go to local chaplaincy so keep November 1st aside if you are in Perth. The second event is November 15th, the next Made On The Left market at the Hyde Park Hotel in North Perth (this time my sales will go to the work of SIM around the world). This will be my first really big event. The only other event I’ve participated in where I’ve sold my wares live is at a Curves market night last year.

I have exactly 9 weeks before the first of these events so I’ve been trying to do as much time snatching as possible and create stock. If I don’t have to empty my Etsy, Wahmania and MadeIt online stores I won’t. 9 weeks seems like a good amount of time but not when I have to balance family life, SIM work, events, travel and a myriad of other things in between.

So, back to today. I think I spent about 4 hours or so in total making things and then taking photos (this time for my own records, not for listing in my stores) and then more time editing the pics and putting them on my flickr page.

I had a really great time today and in total put together 7 necklaces, 1 necklace and bracelet set, 1 bracelet, 7 pairs of earrings, 2 phone charms and 7 bookmarks. I also got to go through my current stock and separate what I think I can sell at the markets in November. Now, if I don’t get to do any more time snatching this week then I won’t be so stressed!

Here’s some shots of today’s results:

Bracelet

Dragonfly Earrings

Purple Pansy Dragonfly Earrings

Inspired by India Earrings

A hoard of Bookmarks

Oceanic Necklace and Bracelet Set

Seashore Necklace

Keyrings (made these the other day)

Anyway, I’m not planning on listing any of these in my stores BUT if you see anything here or on my flickr (where the rest of today’s work is displayed) then contact me and I’ll let you know my planned prices.

By the way, today was the last day for the money from my sales going towards the work of SIM with Pastors in Malawi, I’ll be putting up the project for September and October sometime this week and letting you know the results of the last two months. Thanks for reading my blog and for those who comment, I get a little buzz out of it every time so thank you! : )

In the last few days I’ve had three separate orders so I’ve been busy. Its so nice to have a custom order and get back into claying again, even if I’m juggling things between two kids. The exciting thing is that these sales will be enough to train two Malawi pastor’s in AIDS and HIV knowledge.

On top of this, I feel as if I’m back in the saddle as far as creativity with K. She sat at the table for a bit and played with her playdough today while I polyclayed. That was fun!

So, here’s my bit of creativity for this week so far:

I wasn’t the only one being creative in our house today. Michael got very clever with Kezi’s lunch and she quite enjoyed eating it too!

Africa got into our blood after spending just one year there in 2000-2001 so its appropriate that our house reflects this. That year was a turning point for us. We both feel that it was at that point that we found where God wanted us for the long term, working in some capacity with overseas missions, specifically with SIM. Now, close to 10 years since our first association with SIM (April 1999) we are still involved and at an even higher capacity than ever before (Michael is the WA Ministry Director). I think that this is why we still have our African memorabilia out, it was a significant watershed moment for us.

As I’ve slowly been regaining my ability to move freely (don’t worry, I haven’t been lifting anything!) as well as losing my pregnancy brain I have been rearranging things in our new house little by little. We decided to go with an African theme for our lounge space and its coming together slowly, although, due to Ikea being short on the specific furniture items we need to make our space livable, its still in temporary mode! Small parts are complete though like these:

Entry table, complete with a beautiful bunch of flowers sent from our SIM office (I realise that my painting is crooked! There’s a mirror behind the table too that will be on the wall at some point).

The wall hanging that my Mum made for me with the African theme. She designed this herself, amazing isn’t it! (the orange is not as bright as the picture shows!)

Some of my own paintings around the place. (also, not as dark as the photo shows, sometime I’ll take a proper photo of that)

The top of the china cabinet

Oh and baby cards!!

Now we just need to finish off the lounge area after a trip to Ikea sometime this week and things will feel more settled. Its so nice to be able to move around without discomfort!!