Well, I don't expect to be winning any awards in blogging.  Here are some pictures from the past few months.  It is so strange to think that I am scheduled to leave Nigeria in about 4 months.  I appreciate your prayers as I make decisions about when I will leave and what I will be doing when I get home. 

 Our kids had the opportunity to perform at a Christmas celebration with a local TV station.  A couple of missionaries and Nigerians taught them some songs and dances.  We were so proud. :)

 We thought this would be a good idea for a thank you card when people give to Cornerstone.  This is in class 1 (1st grade).  Of course some of the kids that didn't get to hold a letter weren't so happy. 

Karis and Maimaiki.  Maimaiki means surprise in Hausa.  She is one of our girls that lives in Gyero.  I love spending time with her!

 Hanging out with Nkarena and Enoch.  Nkarena is a staff kid and Enoch is one of our boys. 

 We came to greet the girls on Christmas.  They all got new dresses. 

 Our last night in Ghana.  We had a great time relaxing and wandering around. 

 Canopy Walk in Ghana

cornerstone kids!

cornerstone kids is the name of our school in gyero! we wanted something that would remind us of Christ and came upon the verse Ephesians 2:20 where it says that we are the building and Jesus Christ is the cornerstone.  we are super busy right now trying to get things ready...uniforms, textbooks, furniture, classrooms, training teachers...so please pray over the next two weeks that God would give us direction, clarity, and energy! Please pray for our staff. We have six teachers and an additional five staff members...(including missionaries)

we covet your prayers and support! if you would like to help financially, please email me at hrlacroix@hotmail.com.  hopefully sooner than later i will be writing about some of the needs that we have. we are beyond excited about doing this but realize that it is a huge undertaking and prayer is so important! love! heather

run of the bulls

This past Sunday, four friends and I set out to visit a Nigerian friend of ours at his home near Bauchi.  We met Wade when we went on an outreach up north earlier this year.  You say his name like wah-dah. He is a missionary as well.  He has an amazing story of coming to Christ.  I guess all of our stories are amazing! He is a Fulani.  Fulanis are the largest nomadic people group in the world, and are about 98% Muslim.
Part of the adventure was getting there! Two of my friends have been to his home before, so we thought they would remember the way...but what should have been a 3 1/2 hour trip turned into a 5 1/2 hour trip! To their credit, Nigeria isn't the easiest place to travel in. There are not a lot of street signs, and the scenery is very different between dry and wet season.  When we finally made it to their house, we ate and visited with his family a bit.  He has two sons and his wife is about to have another baby.  The four girls slept in the same room. We attempted to go to bed around 11, but ended up staying up until about 2 making animals on the wall because of the mosquitos!
The next morning we got up and Wade showed us around his village.  Then we went to the Fulani market.  We didn't really know what to expect, but it ended up being a lot of fun! They had some cool crafts and cloth.  I bought a stick. Sounds weird, but it will remind me of Nigeria and the Fulanis herding their cows.  Dustin wanted to get some milk, so we ended up in the section where they were selling cows.  They had the cows in a fenced in area, but there were also a lot of trucks coming in and unloading cows.  The market was very muddy because of wet season, so we were having to step carefully.  Before we realized it, we were in a pretty tight space with hot coals and people behind us, and an angry bull in front of us! There were three guys holding ropes that were attached to the bull's nose and legs and they were having a pretty difficult time controlling it! It was one of those situations where you start to laugh, and then realize, hmm maybe this isn't the best place to be! I don't know who said what or how we decided, but we made a run for it through the mud, crowd, and cows coming in!
Now I can say it was a memorable and fun experience, but I'm pretty certain that I won't be booking my flight for the run of the bulls anytime soon!

Feeling Overwhelmed X 2

I have been back in Jos for a week now.  I took Karenina to the airport yesterday.  It was so great to have her here. It's unbelievably special to me that she came here to see and experience my life here.  I will post more on her visit soon! 
While I was home I got to spend some time with lots of friends and family.  It was a great encouragement to me to find that people were interested to hear about Nigeria.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of support that I receive from everyone through prayer, words of encouragement, donating supplies, and money.  It was special to me that people are interested in Nigeria.  I think coming home helped me to realize how much I do love this place.  So I was overwhelmed, in a good way, by my time at home.
While I was at home I had the opportunity to share about the school that we are starting at one of our care centers.  We are starting a school in Gyero.  Gyero is in a village about 15 minutes out of Jos.  We house and feed over 100 kids at the care center.  They currently attend the goverment school, which is often on strike.  If you want to learn more about what we are doing, watch the video that I posted on my blog.  We are in great need of your prayers and financial support.
After being on vacation for a month, which I am extremely grateful for, I am realizing that we have MUCH to do before school begins in September.  We are currently painting the classrooms and trying to figure out issues like desks, storage, cirriculum, and teachers.  We also need to discuss discipline, class placement, schedules...the list goes on!
I am asking you to please be praying for our team over the next few weeks.  This is much bigger than us!
Please pray:
**for discernment and wisdom in all the decisions that need to be made.
**for the teachers...that God would prepare them and provide us with the resources to pay and train them.
**the children that will be attending the school...that we be wise about what is most important and meet their needs!

Kings Kids from Dan McCain on Vimeo.

This video was made to give you a glimpse of one of our ministries in Jos.  The kids you see in the video live in a village called Gyero.  We will be starting an education center here in September. We are employing teachers for grades K-5.  We hope that this will provide some consistent and quality education for the boys and girls.  As a part of my support team, I would love for you to be involved in this project.  You can do this by praying, donating school supplies, or helping financially.  I will be returning to Jos on July 20.  If you would like to send money or supplies back with me, please let me know! Soon I will write more about specific areas of need.  We are in great need of your prayers.

Sweet Home Alabama

In a couple of days I will be home for a visit! I am so excited to see my family and friends! I will be home for a month, and then return to Nigeria.  My good friend Karenina is coming back with me for a visit.  I told her to bring all her things just in case she decides to stay. :)

I sent this out in an email, but wanted to make sure that everyone sees it.  If you would like to be added to my email list, please let me know!

Sannu! I hope this finds you well! I cannot believe that I am coming home this weekend! I am excited to share what life has been like in Nigeria over the past year as well as hear what has been going on in your lives.

I am also excited to share about what I will be doing when I return to Nigeria. I am transitioning from teaching at Hillcrest School to City Ministries. City Ministries has care centers around Nigeria for street kids and orphans. My focus will be in a village called Gyero. We are opening an educational center for the 100 boys and girls. We will be employing six teachers to teach Preschool through 5th Grade. We realize that this is a huge project. We would love and appreciate your help in providing resources for the center. Listed on the next page are resources that are hard to find in Jos. If you would like to help by purchasing some of these items, we would be so grateful. I leave to come back on July 20, so if you could get the items to me by July 17, that would be helpful.

We also need financial help. We will be providing six teachers with a monthly salary as well as providing desks, textbooks, and materials for the boys and girls. If you are interested in giving a one time or a monthly gift to the center, you can donate it to my ministry account with a note for Gyero Education. You can give online at http://www.sim.org/giveusa. My account number is 029555. If you have any questions, please email me at hrlacroix@hotmail.com.

Most importantly, please join me in praying for the boys and girls in Gyero! They have come from many different backgrounds and have had unusual and sometimes difficult experiences. We have the opportunity to provide them with a stable and loving environment and quality education. Thank you so much for your partnership in this!

Resources for Gyero Education Center

glue sticks
 scissors
cardstock
colored paper
wall stapler
marbles
dice
dry erase markers
crayons
colored pencils
pencil pouches
felt tip pens
calculators
staplers/staples
erasers
flashlights
batteries
pencil sharpeners
children’s books
coloring books
small learning games
stickers
small items for rewards
soccer balls
jump ropes
math manipulatives
educational dvds
inflatable globe
stopwatch
cubes

Pictures from Outreach

Playing with the parachute!

Ladies waiting in line at the clinic

Having fun before church!

To see more pictures from our trip go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/hrlacroix/SpringBreak?feat=directlink