Dear friends, family, supporters,
Our time before leaving for our trip to the states was busy. Here are some of the highlights:
At the end of March Jean-Patrick was the director for a 5 day spring break Kids camp. Here he is with some of the kids, they are in their outfits to perform a dance. (JP is in the back at left in a blue shirt)
Teaching has been going well, it seems that there are a few more kids coming each time. Some of the older girls often come to visit me at home, they bring along friends from school.
Sometimes 6 or 9 of them will show up at my door! Surprise! I am thinking that this could turn into some kind of girls group in the future.
Our friend Ruthie has now returned to her village. We got to see her when she came back from her trip to Bamako to get treatment for her hand. The doctors weren’t able to give an exact diagnosis, but as you can see from the photos, it is much better. Before, she couldn’t open the fingers at all, the skin was scaly, and it was too painful to be able to cut the nails. It seems to still be improving and she has some exercises to do. As there isn’t a therapy ball for her to squeeze, she is going around holding on to an orange! I am encouraged that she seems to be much happier than before, the shame of the problem with her hand is gone, and I think that having received the treatment helped her to feel so loved and a great sense of worth as a person. I am looking forward to visiting her in her village when we get back from the states.
We had a great turnout for our latest educational program with the Centre. Ladies came to the Centre with babies tied on their backs and stayed to learn some nutrition basics and to hear a presentation. They were shown how to mix bean and corn flour, peanut butter, and sugar to be boiled for a porridge to feed their children. They were each given a sample to take home. 
That’s our news for now.
Thank you for making it possible with your prayers and support!
Love, Erin and Jean-Patrick
Jean-Patrick got to try rollerskating for the first time. We had a really fun time! We actually went twice - the first time with a sweet friend and her 3 energetic boys. I think it might have been a little embarassing for JP to be sticking to the wall and falling down as the 3 boys went zooming by, but he didn't let it show. He kept a good attitude and was ready to go again with my cousin. The second time showed a lot of improvement. 
Me with my cousin Steven.
