Well, we made it to Easter Break. That’s what Spring Break is called when you live within a Christian community where people don’t necessarily equate March to spring. It’s the middle of hot season in Niger, and many expatriates hail from locales that are currently in the swing of fall. So, we are in Easter Break. Of course, that doesn’t work for Muslims, but on we go.
Shortly after Christmas, I had a meeting at the offices of a local Christian non-profit organization. As I entered the gates, I passed a young man whose face seemed familiar. I stopped. He called me by name. Actually, he called me “Uncle Jeremy.” I remember faces, but I often forget names. He thought that I wouldn’t recognize him. I did. And, I remembered his name! When I was in Niger from 2012 to 2015, I regularly visited an orphanage. I frequently brought boxes of bananas and mangos for the kids, and so I became the fruit friend. I also taught a Bible study for some of the older children. The young man had been a resident at that orphanage. He is still a Christian and attends a nearby annex of the state university where he studies law. Incidentally, since I rarely meddle with Facebook, my profile picture is of me sitting with him on my last day in 2015 saying goodbye.
A few weeks ago, Mikey and I were invited to go on a motorized boat tour to view hippos. When I first started living in Niger, seeing hippos from the rickety seat of a thin wooden, oar-powered canoe was one of my favorite things to do. Maybe the danger factor made it more enticing. I don’t know. Maybe I was just young and… dusty. Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. I wouldn’t do now what I did then; but in my defense, my boss (he will remain nameless) arranged the trips and went with us. Anyway, apparently the local hippo tour industry also realized the risk and upgraded their boats, which are now about ten times bigger. Still, I wouldn’t want an angry hippo to be in the water with us. So, we went and had a good time.
We are rolling along with daily life. Thankfully, in comparison with other parts of the world, Niger has not felt a great impact from COVID. We do wear masks at school and occasionally while shopping. And any fever is taken very seriously. I teach a handful of English classes at the international school where Mikey attends. It was displaced due to a flood in August, and the new location is close to where we live. I also recently started leading a new converts course for our local church. They call it “baptism class.” We study a New Testament book to learn about basic Christian beliefs, and at the end the members will be baptized. The three students all come from Christian families and represent second-generation Christianity, something that is rather rare in Niger.
In my last update, I expressed my appreciation for the many people who had chosen to financially support us. About a day after I sent that update, I checked my accounts and saw that someone had donated an additional $1000. I continue to be grateful for your prayers, thoughts, and support.
I edit documents for a wing of Assemblies of God World Missions called Africa’s Hope. My most recent project concerned the Poetic Books of the Bible. In my research for my editing process, I came across a book by the late Larry Crabb, a pastor and Christian counselor. He wrote a book called 66 Love Letters in which he has a conversation with God regarding each book in the Bible. In the chapter concerning Ecclesiastes, God is speaking to a human who has asked difficult questions. In the book, the following monologue (the italics are original to the source) is placed in the mouth of God; God says: “Until you fall into the dignity of despair… until the wisdom that comes easily fails… until available pleasures… no longer satisfy… until time with friends doesn’t energize… until… deeds of kindness that win… applause… no longer… help you feel worthy… until the activities of church become lifeless and dull… until you have nowhere to turn for the satisfaction of your soul’s desire; until all this happens, you will never dance to heaven’s music as I have designed you to dance.”
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Here are links to a few videos. If you hold the Ctrl (control) button and then click on the link, a new window will open so that the window you are reading will not close. After the links are some pictures.
Peaceful Song: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gSFfnTEEeGQ4CdXcUDFjsEDvIrl-aqux/view?usp=sharing
Exciting Song: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wVhQvVX64tShrXlrgyRwwJlJ5AgAMCBx/view?usp=sharing
Kids Song: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GNQkZKGMDM2v-mnlfuhyZQkUPWrYUwrO/view?usp=sharing
Driving with Cows: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZvUNsbFIvceWpOjsxXTALi__23Dnjnd7/view?usp=sharing
Hippos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g12bwtPpwlIxMrtneV8Qr3O1YBasV6ne/view?usp=sharing
More Hippos: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K00WnGXmQCgNBsLYGPQ8HOoG9vLqitSX/view?usp=sharing
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