Back to the Niger Mission Trip pictures

Sports & Rec Plus Stuff Newsletter
December, 2008


AFRICA REPORT – GOD DOES IT AGAIN
It all started with three letters: UPG.  I first heard them in a conference a few years ago.  The letters stand for Unreached People Groups.  A UPG consists of a people of similar culture, language, interest, etc., and is only 2% or less evangelized. These groups have little or no access to the Gospel.  A UPG can live next to a reached group but be lost forever unless someone is willing to cross barriers (cross-cultural evangelism) and reach them for Jesus.  In short, if someone doesn’t tell them about Jesus, they will never hear.  They won't have a chance – not a snowball's chance in . . . well . . . the African Desert!  That realization stung me and caused me to pray about how Sports & Rec Plus could target part of its ministry toward UPGs.  I hurt for those who have never had the opportunity to hear even once or twice about how much God loves them.

Among the things that led me to West Africa, is that there are over 400 UPGs there.  My contact, Brad Womble, is a missionary strategy coordinator for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  He and his wife, Sally, work among the Songhai people in Niger and surrounding areas.  Brad directed me toward working with the Songhai people, a UPG of 3,500,000 and my heart soon followed.  God put together a small team consisting of Jennie Chandler of Chickamauga, GA, Dina Cotton of Spotsylvania, VA, and me.

Arrangements were made, dates set, vaccinations endured, visas acquired, and appeals made in prayer.  After 25 hours of travel by way of Paris, France, we finally set foot in Niamey, the capital city of Niger, on December 4, 2008.  Our first two days were filled with the excitement of orientation and retrieving lost luggage.  Our next adventure was to Dargol, where we would live and work for the week.  We were graciously greeted by the local Brazilian evangelical missionaries, Adriana, Jorgelina, and Diego.  They provided for our needs and facilitated our ministry.  They are working jointly with the IMB to establish the first church among the Songhai.

There are many words to describe the country of Niger – flat, hot, barren, breathtaking, dusty, sandy, surprising, dry, and beautiful are but a few of them.  We traveled on dirt roads and paved roads.  We even crossed the Niger River on a ferry.  Upon arriving in Dargol we were excited to discover we were the first missionary volunteers ever to stay in Dargol on a short-term mission trip.  In Dargol we lived in a mud brick hut for seven days.  The Brazilian missionaries had been in Dargol almost a year, and they were a pleasure to work with.

The accommodations in Dargol were perfect.  We had no cell phone coverage, no Internet, no running water, lots of strange noises at night, electricity only from 4:00-11:00 p.m., and tons of new sights and experiences 24/7.  Our first night there gave us a big surprise.  With no air pollution or bright city lights God seemed to have put an extra one or two thousand stars in the night sky just for us to enjoy.  What a great and giving God we serve!

Following breakfast at 9:00 a.m. the drums began to beat, signaling the gathering time for VBS at 10:00.  I truly felt like I was on an African movie set!  We held VBS in a small lot with a few trees for shade bordered by the two mud brick houses where the ladies stayed.  You might have recognized the basic elements of our VBS – songs, prayer, memory verses, and Bible stories.  Most of the kids had never heard of Jesus so our lessons were very basic.  We taught about creation, God's love for all people, sin, the Garden of Eden, Jesus, His life and teachings, and His death, burial, and resurrection.  None of them could read; so we used lots of pictures.  Of course we had snacks, crafts, and games.  Our average attendance was 37 with high attendance of 54 on the last day.  This was the first time VBS had ever been tried among the Songhai.

At noon we sent the kids home and collapsed to our lunches!  We willingly followed the local custom and rested during the heat of the day until 3:00 p.m.  In the afternoon we ministered by “wandering around.”  Sometimes our wandering included prayerwalking or visiting.  Evenings were spent in group Bible study, planning for the next day, and conferring with our translator.  As the week progressed our excitement increased.  We saw God plant the teaching of the Bible studies in the hearts and minds of the kids and in the adults who listened on the sidelines.  We pray the seeds will spout and grow into huge living trees.

There are only six believers in Dargol, which boasts a population of 10,000.  They meet together for Bible study three times a week.  Each meeting begins with drums calling them together.  They sing, read the Bible, share testimonies and prayer requests, and someone presents a message.  It was my privilege to preach on the Sunday I was there.  It is obvious the work is slow, but it is also obvious God is moving.  I realized that we were not teaching, evangelizing, and training the next generation of Christians and church leaders, but the very first generation.  What a privilege and honor God has given us.

Our last day in Dargol was the weekly regional market day.  Merchants from all the surrounding villages bring their goods to Dargol (one of the market hubs of Niger) to barter, trade, sell, and buy.  This day is essential for commerce as well as social connections.  Wouldn’t it be great to plant a church in every market hub of Niger?  These “hub churches” could become mother churches to many village churches.

After our tearful goodbyes in Dargol, we returned to Niamey for our last full day in Niger.  Our special treat for the day was a trip to a giraffe hang-out.  They don’t just hang out on the side of the road so we had to head out into the bush.  There they were just munching on the trees, but we did catch two of them necking! (Check out the pictures.)   Going against conventional missionary wisdom (whatever that is) and being very brave, I got within 45 feet of one of them.  Then I got back in the car and started to breathe again!  That’s the last time I stick my neck out to see a giraffe!