The year 2014 is already almost two months old. I feel like maybe planet earth has slipped into one of those Star Trek subspace anomalies, and time is being accelerated every year until… boom… until, of course, Kirk and company save the day.
I’d like to give you an update on my activities here in Niger. I have found myself involved in several smaller activities. I assist a local church by writing periodic Bible study guides and by hosting a weekly meeting at my house for new Christians. I teach part-time at two Bible Schools: one in the capital, Niamey and one in a village called Makalondi. I try to support the missionary community by teaching a Bible study for missionary kids and volunteering at a weekly English-speaking church service. I also help a non-profit organization that hosts several teams each year. Over the past few months, I have been editing papers for a seminary that caters to African postgraduate theological students. This has been an answer to prayer because it is a paid position and represents a financial supplement to my monthly support.
I want to say a big “Thank You” to everyone for supporting me through prayer and finances. I recently took an inventory and discovered that my monthly pledges stand just above my target. I appreciate your faithfulness. My cash budget is also quite strong as compared to where it was at this time last year.
Here are my tentative plans for the near future. I will not be returning to the States this summer. Instead, I am planning to be home from January to around June of next year. During that time, I will be advancing my education as well as raising funds. I will be looking for churches to visit, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of baptizing my friend, Omar, in the Niger River. More than two years ago, long before I met him, he had a dream about Jesus. In the dream, Jesus offered to take his burdens. In the culture of Niger, the family is of utmost importance. The family as a whole makes decisions concerning religion, marriages, daily tasks, friendship choices, etc. When one member decides to make differing choices, the dissenting member is often excommunicated from the family. So, when an individual ponders Christianity, it is always a major decision and the consequences must be measured. For Omar, even after receiving a vision of Jesus, he spent many months trying to decide if Jesus was worth the price he would be required to pay. While he was deciding, his mother would often send his brother to spy on him and verify if he were actually going to church. One evening, I encouraged Omar to bring his friends to church. He smiled and said, “I no longer have friends.”
I recently assisted a visiting team that provided a clinic for a village. This village sits at a confluence of various language groups; the patients at the clinic represented 5 languages. One patient was deaf, so I broke out my best charades (#humanvideowinsagain).
Here are a few pictures.
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