MEHANNA ROAD

Bats, scorpions, spiders of all sizes, blood and lots and lots of dirt is what we found in the Clinic in village M.  This 10 room concrete and stucco building is the only medical center in this entire region. Staff by largely untrained villagers and run by a 2 year program "nurse" this clinic is operated by the Nigerian government.  For me it was shocking to see the filth, reused needles and dozens of sick children and adults coming everyday for help.  The staff is taught to diagnosis the symptoms, ie. you are vomiting - you have the vomit disease and they give you something for vomiting.  They rarely get to the real problem.

We met in our village gospel storying a young family with a toddler that was near death.  They had been to the clinic twice and the baby was treated for malaria.  Obviously this was not his real problem and he was now unable to stand was severely dehydrated and was nearing death. We encouraged them to come back to the clinic in the morning when it was open and watched the staff perform some simple tests to rule out meningitis, etc.  We were able to give him some antibiotic brought by our church and they seem to help.  The mom was so relieved.

One life changed, we hope to live on and have time to hear about Jesus.  That is our real goal, the clinic will be dirty again; the brand new green paint will peel again and the new medicine's and equipment will run out, but the message of the love of Jesus and the transform that HE brings will live on village M. Please pray for this village of 7,500 people and the over 600 who heard the 20 minute Creation to the Cross stories in dozens of small groups; the 500 who sat in total awe of the Jesus Film; and the 700 gospel cassettes that will be played to over 4,000 people in the coming weeks.

Greetings from Team #10 from First Hurst.  We are here in the new Terminal at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris resting, brushing our teeth, checking email and waiting to board our 5.5 hour flight south to Niger.  We are so excited about our upcoming week in M village.  The six of us will be working the village clinic cleaning, painting and stocking to build credibility in the village. We will also spend much of our storying and sharing Christ via testimony and cassette distribution in the Village.  We [the whole team] also are planning on spending the night in the village the 31st and 2nd - a first for First Hurst!

Pray for our health and focus. We have encountered tremendous difficulties [as many of you have of late] raising $ to come, leaving family and business and getting focused for our trip. Village M is a pretty dark and frankly creepy place that Satan has controlled for hundreds and hundreds of years.  The enemy does not want out team there!  But we, as the pastor says a lot are desperately depended on our God and Savior Jesus Christ to provide what we need when we need it - it all about Him and His will.  We deeply need your prayers during the our entire trip, especially our five days Oct. 30- Nov. 3 in the village. 

This is a no spin zone - just the facts. Marc reporting!

Many have asked for an update on the Mehanna Road work. I wish we could give one.  With our Songhai team missionaries back in the US for the summer things have been pretty quiet from Niger.  I want to encourage everyone to continue to pray for Laoualy and the believers in KK and T villages. 

As you know the summers for the Songhai are long, spent waiting for new crops to grow. Pray for their spiritual growth as new believers in this dry and forbidding land for followers of Christ .  As pray also pray for growth of the millet that is the staple crop along the Mehanna Road.  Pray that with the fall harvest of millet comes a harvest of new believers responding to God's call to them  through visions and dreams, evangelistic cassettes and drama and storying efforts over the last year.  Pray that Laoualy will be strong in his walk and that the Holy Spirit will protect and guide him in his difficult work on the road.

I have now been home almost two weeks. Still the faces of the women and children we ministered to and befriended are etched in my mind. The women with their beautiful smiles and colorful jewelry and clothing were so friendly and eager to hear the story of Jesus. It was a rare opportunity for them. Many of the men were out in the fields planting which meant the women were home with the children. The women were able to stop their work briefly to hear the good news of the gospel. What a joy it was to see them nod their heads in agreement or smile at us to show their understanding of our communication to them. Thank God for the translators!

The children, oh, the children. So many of them. They were so hungry, not just for food, but for our attention. And, of course, they were very curious about these white-skinned people who wore pretty bracelets and watches or even eyeglasses. Everywhere we went, there they were with their runny noses, dirty skin and hair, distended bellies or herniated belly button, bare feet or even bare body.  It was so difficult not to just want to scoop them all up and clean them up and give them new clothes and shoes.  A stranger can easily see that the Songhai children are not nearly as valued as American children, especially the girls.  Some of the girls are absolutely beautiful. Their skin is flawless and they have beautiful teeth and smiles to go with them. The children all love to touch and be touched. They so appreciate a smile, hug, or simply holding their hand. It was so hard at times because there were so many of them. The other women and myself learned to spread our fingers out on our hands and let the children grab one finger each so more of them could hold on as we walked around the village.

My first impression of the village itself was of the lack of the color. Everything is the color of sand; the road, the houses or huts and the bricks or adobe used to make them. There is not much vegetation because it's the desert. Maybe that's why the women wear such colorful clothing, to contrast with their environment.  

They have so little. It is amazing what they can claim as theirs. Obviously, to those of us who have far too much, it was shocking to see. It made me feel guilty for having so much and for not being more thankful for everything I have and can claim as mine. It also made me feel so very fortunate to have been born and to live here in America. We are most definitely an affluent society, and yet, we still want more. We never have enough. God really spoke to me regarding my attitude toward material possessions. I pray that he will continue to change my attitude and my heart where they are concerned. The only thing in life that is eternal is God and my relationship with him.

Everyday he continued to stretch me as I learned more and more about the Songhai culture and its people. They are so unlike us. They are not pressured by time and rushing here or there to do this or that, and then off to the next thing. They just live for that day. Of course, the dark side of that is they have no hope for the future. However, there is one who has more hope than the rest. There is a new believer among us; we have a new Christian brother. His name is Hamza. We had the privilege of baptizing him in the Niger River the last day we were in Koulikoira (I finally learned how to spell it!). Our team leader, Michael, waded out into the water with Hamza. That very day, Hamza sought out the team who ministered to him, and he helped them pass out cassettes to the people of his village. We need to continue to pray for his spiritual growth as Loauly disciples him.

God brought me, along with five others, to Koulikoira, West Niger, Africa to tell his story, and that we did. However, there are still many more Songhai who need to hear it. God wants other believers to answer his call to share his truth with the people in the villages along Mehanna Road. Many are needed to share so many may hear and know. The current generation of the Songhai may not be the one that is changed so completely by knowing God; it could be the next. But, unless we are obedient to God, we won't know. So, I encourage you, if you have ever considered going, God will equip and prepare you to meet him in a new and refreshing way. I told God from the beginning, if you want me to go, then you will have to provide the means for me to be able to go. He did just that! All my funds were raised before I left; I even received more than I actually needed. When I thought I wasn't going to be able to get all the immunizations that were necessary, he helped me find a place and people who were willing to provide me with all that I needed in a friendly cooperative environment. He taught me that when I am faithful and obedient to his call, he will provide and make a way for me. He can do the same for you, too. If you feel God nudge your heart, I urge you to say yes to him. You WILL be blessed!  

In Him,

Pam Hardisty

Now, maybe that doesn’t make any sense to you, but to those of us in West Africa it does. There are four of us from Hurst and two from Tennessee.

How does that equal -7 you say? Well, at the airport in Niamey, between the six of us we had seven boxes of cassettes confiscated. Brad told us God just has a better plan for them. But, he is sending someone out tomorrow to see if they might release them.

On another note, ALMOST all luggage arrived. Only Michael is batting 66% in the loss column. Both of his did not arrive, and he was already familiar with the routine for completing the forms. So, he was attacked for the second time. Tomorrow another flight comes in, so maybe it will have his two suitcases on it.

Last night the electricity was out in the restaurant where we had reservations and where Brad was planning on doing orientation with us. Satan has begun his attack. We just adjusted our schedule, which is something you have to do around here, I have already learned. (People don’t wear watches too much and they do things very leisurely. Boy, Americans could learn something from that!) We oriented this morning, enjoyed lunch and then went on a trip to see the GIRAFFES. Whoopee! We saw a total of 7 giraffes. Drove right to them. It was great.

The Womble’s daughter, Ruth, is graduating from the French school. Tonight is her graduation party and we were included.

Tomorrow is our first day out on the road to Kuli Koira. Pray for safety in travel, the Person of Peace, open hearts and minds among the Songhai, wisdom and discernment among us, as well as confidence in our storying to them.

We know you are praying for us. We all appreciate our faithful prayer warriors who lift us up daily. It helps us.

God’s blessings,

Africa Team