Niger: Day Two

*Please bear with me in the length of this post. I think they'll get much shorter as I go, but there's so much to describe in the beginning.

Ryan didn't get much sleep the night before (only about two hours) because he was up revising the lessons he was to teach. This audience of new Songhai believers was so different from any Ryan had taught before. First, everything would be done through a translator, meaning Ryan would say a couple sentences and then stop while they were translated into Zerma. He was warned that it may be difficult not to lose his place in the lesson while waiting. Second, many of them were illiterate. Third, these people all had a background in the Muslim faith. Given the history of so many baptized believers turning back to Islam, it was so important to teach them to persevere in the faith.

I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll start from the beginning. I'll begin by saying that this day was our sixth anniversary. I would never have thought we would spend an anniversary in Niger, but there was absolutely no other place we would have rather been.

Anyway, we all piled into this small bus at 6:30 in the morning and headed out to one of the villages. Before leaving Niamey, we picked up our translators, and then headed out of town. The plan was to drive for about an hour before arriving at the ferry, which we would ride to cross the Niger River. It was important to try and be at the ferry by 8 because it only ran every hour on the hour. On the way to the ferry, however, we got a flat tire. It didn't take too long to fix it, and we made it to the ferry in time.

Our first ferry ride was a little nerve-wracking just because there was Niger military standing guard with machine guns. We didn't know how they would react to us being there. On the ferry, we got out of the bus and saw this girl selling cola nuts (they're pure caffeine and apparently taste horrible). There were lots of children, but this girl stood out simply because she was so beautiful and her face looked so much older than her body seemed. We also got to watch some women coming to fetch water from the river.


Once we crossed the river, we continued our trek. Along the way, we picked up a man, who is the only believer in his village, so that he could sit in on the worship and teaching. Let me also mention that this was the bumpiest road I'd ever been on. They're in the process of paving the road and are hoping to complete it before the rainy season hits.

Just a sidenote--I'm leaving out the name of the village we went to as well as the names of people to protect the believers.

Some missionaries from Brazil live in the village we went to. Each day, we would meet at their home, which consisted of a large open area, two homes and a wall around the perimeter. Both the homes and the wall were made of these mud bricks.

There were seven Songhai believers who were there to be discipled through the teaching of each of the Southern guys. We all introduced ourselves and then gathered on some benches under the trees for worship. Worship each day consisted of someone playing the guitar and a couple of people playing jimbays (drums). The first song we sang was "This is the Day that the Lord Hath Made". We've sung that song many times before, but it never sounded as beautiful as it did in this West African village. The song was being sung in four languages (English, Zerma, French and Portuguese).

The next song we sang was all in Zerma, so we had no clue what was being said, but we mimicked all the movements that were being done. Watch the video to get a glimpse of what it's like to worship in Niger and to see what we were doing. After we finished, Cephas, one of the translators, told us what they were singing.



There is no one that is like Jesus
There is no one that is like Jesus
There is no one that is like Jesus
There is no one that is like Him

I walked and walked, but no one, no one
I searched and searched, but no one, no one
I turned around, but no one, no one
There is no one that is like Him

There was something that was really touching about seeing everyone act out the song and then learning afterward what it all meant. Anyway, worship was wonderful and was one of my favorite parts of each day.

After that, Ryan, Cephas and I stayed behind with the Songhai believers while the others from our team went out into the village to evangelize. Ryan taught two lessons--one on God's Holy Word and the other on the Assurance of Salvation. He was the first one of the group to teach, so he didn't quite know what to expect. He began by learning everyone's names, which was helpful in asking a question to a specific person. It was really neat to see Ryan teach in this environment. I imagine it wasn't too different from what it was like when Jesus or the apostles taught the early church. What I mean by that is that I can picture them sitting under some trees, dirty and hot, but being cleansed by the Holy Spirit as they were washed through the teaching of God's word.

Ryan did an exceptional job teaching, and we were both very impressed with the maturity that God has already granted these new believers. One of my favorite things Ryan said had to do with how Satan spoke through the serpent in the garden. He then said something like, "And Satan still speaks today...he speaks through Mohammed." I was so excited but couldn't believe he had just said that to all of these people who just turned from Muslim backgrounds. It was crucial to point out, though, seeing as how so many turn back to Islam.

We later found out that it was an answer to prayer that these believers would even worship and be together. Apparently the Brazilians have really been working with these new believers to break down walls of prejudice that exist between people of different villages, as well as between gender. The fact that the men allowed a Songhai woman to worship with them was huge. This was a huge step toward loving one another as Christ loves us.

Here's a picture of Ryan and Cephas.

Everyone came back from evangelizing, and we all then loaded onto the bus to head back to Niamey. The drive was good, and on the way back, we saw that same beautiful girl on the ferry. We stopped at a couple of markets on the way back as well. At the first one, we were immediately swarmed by kids as soon as we stepped off the bus. There were so many of them, and for that reason, it was often difficult to even move. At one point, Ryan and I kind of got trapped (not in a scary way--just the kids were so excited). Dr. Martin managed to slip away somehow because he wanted to get a picture of us being swarmed. He was able to get a few pictures, but then the kids all ran to him because they were excited about his camera. He didn't intend for it, but it was a great diversion so we were able to walk again.

The Songhai children are so precious. They were so excited to shake our hands, to feel our skin, to have their pictures taken and to see their own faces afterward on the digital screen. Many of them were begging for food or money, which was heartbreaking. We weren't supposed to give them anything for two reasons: it could literally start a riot or lots of fighting and also because we wanted them to know we were offering something better--eternal life.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, playing Bo Bo and feasting on another wonderful dinner at the Wombles. What an incredible way to spend our anniversary!