Niger: Day Three

On our second night in Niger, Ryan and I discussed what my role would look like while we were in the village. Specifically, whether or not I should evangelize in the village. We just didn't know what it would look like if there were men in the audience. It wasn't a concern whether it would be acceptable biblically (since I would just be taking a part of sharing the gospel with the other men on the team, including my husband--not teaching), but more what would be best culturally speaking. Because Niger is an Islamic culture, we know that men there are not accustomed to listening to women.

Our method of evangelism was storying, which entails going through the biblical storyline from Creation to New Creation.

Part one covered the Old Testament, part two covered Christ's birth to crucifixion, which was the section that we were to share, and part three covered Christ's resurrection and application. We decided that Ryan should be prepared to tell our entire section, and we would look for an opportunity for me to share.

Everything on the morning of Day Three went just like the morning events of Day Two minus the flat tire. We were also missing Jared, who had gotten sick. We left the guesthouse at 6:30 that morning and picked up our translators, Cephas, Issa and Bilo on our way out of town. We made it to the ferry, where we saw the same beautiful girl selling cola nuts. I asked her what her name was ("Matu nu maha?"), and she told me "Fati."

When we arrived at the village, we were warmly greeted by the Brazilian missionaries as well as by the Songhai believers who were already gathering. We prayed, worshipped and prayed again. The groups who were evangelizing in the village then headed out. The translator for our group the rest of the week was Isa. We walked through the village looking for people gathered together. Isa would ask them if it was OK if we told them a story, and if they said yes, then we would start. During our first time, we storied to a group of women and children. Eric did the first part, Ryan did the second part and Bob did the last part. The women were somewhat distracted and just kept pounding their millet (a grain they must pound out before eating it).

After we finished and were walking to find another group of people, Ryan mentioned to Isa that the women weren't paying much attention to the stories. Isa said it was probably because women in this culture are not supposed to listen to men (other than their husband). Ryan suggested that I do his part, and Isa thought that was exactly what we needed to do. So from there on out, I did Ryan's part unless there were men present. It was kind of neat because each time, you could tell the women were surprised to hear me speak. They often would stop what they were doing to listen. God definitely affirmed me through this, especially since I wasn't sure how I would be able to contribute on the trip.

The Songhai people are very hospitable. Often when we storied, they brought out chairs and mats for us to sit on. They were also concerned with making sure we were able to sit in the shade. (The temperature, by the way, was about 110 degrees each day.) Brad said it's also common for them to offer their best food. Keep in mind that these people live on $250/year (for a family of ten), and yet they desired to share their best with us. It's so convicting to think about how often I withhold my best (time, money, gifts) from God, who has given me everything.

We shared the gospel four times that day before heading back to Niamey. On the ferry ride back, Cephas helped me talk to Fati, and I learned she was 12 years old. She even asked if we would be back the next day. I kept trying to take her picture, but she was so shy (unlike the majority of the kids there) and would rarely look at the camera and smile at the same time.



While waiting for the ferry, we also met a kid named Wahab (pictured at right). He was really nice and was eager to learn our names as well. The children didn't have much difficulty saying "Kelli," but they all kept saying "Bryan" instead of "Ryan." We would say "Rrrrrrr" and they would repeat. We would say "Rrrrrrr......yan" and they would repeat. We would then say "Ryan," and they would say "Bryan." It was really funny.

The rest of the night we just played Bo Bo and ate dinner with the Hurst team at the Wombles' house.

Here are a few pictures I took of the Brazilians' home.

The outside of their home


A close-up of the mud bricks they use to build the walls around their property


The inside of their home. You'll notice a bunch of fuzzy white dots. I initially thought it was dirt on my camera lens but then realized that it's actually all the dirt in the air.


Their roof from the inside