MEHANNA ROAD

Our last day in Niger.  What a trip.  Our journeys have filled our hearts with memories of a people hungry to hear the Truth.  There has been plenty of smiles, laughter, dust, bumps, singing, acting, playing, and new perspectives for the entire team.  Each of us has come away with a new appreciation for the work being done on the Mehanna road and the Songhai people.

In the morning, Brad and Sally came by to talk about our week and discuss next steps for future teams.  Afterwards we had lunch at the Womble's and then Brad escorted the team on one final shopping excursion to the local markets.  We then returned to the guest house to pack our bags for an early check-in at the airport.  We arrived at the Air France office early and had to wait nearly an hour in line but were eventually able to get our boarding passes and baggage checked.  Niamey's airport consists of exactly one gate although that generally means that the amount of visitors is kept to a minimum as they don't service many flights each day.

Upon returning to the guest house, we finished putting together our carry-on bags and then enjoyed dinner at a nice Lebanese restaurant across town.  The food was quite good (a pasta fettuccine dish) and the chocolate mousse dessert was very tasty.

After dinner we came back to the guesthouse, gathered our bags and made our way to the airport.  After one final last-minute round of buying things from the vendors inside the airport, we boarded the plane for a midnight departure.  Paris, here we come.

In His service,
"The Seven"

Our team's last day on the road (for this trip anyway) was a tad bittersweet as we'd been enjoying God's favor on us as well as the hospitality of the people of each village.  Our trip to the road requires a trip on the ferry which crosses the Niger River.  Each day we crossed the ferry we were always met by the same three boys who enjoyed having their pictures taken, talking with our team and playing with the bubbles we brought.  We noticed even the adults on the ferry watching and smiling.  It's sometimes amazing to us that the things we take for granted can be such a source of joy for others.  What a blessing to see smiling faces.

Each day's drive takes about 1.5 hours to get to the ferry from Niamey due to road construction and detours.  Depending on what time we arrive, we may only have to wait a few minutes for a ferry run across the river.  Some days we had to wait almost an hour for the ferry.  Once we've crossed the river, it takes another 1-2 hours to reach the village of choice for the day.  We've kept ourselves busy going over language phrases and learning songs in Zarma.

Today we stopped first in KK to pass out cassette tapes and visit with the villagers.  We were able to speak with a few teachers who invited us to come in and take pictures of the classes in session.  We found that two of the teachers were from Ghana and spoke decent English.  They gladly accepted the tapes and welcomed us.  The kids showed us their hopscotch games they had drawn in the dirt outside the school house.  They even played once or twice with Yvette.  Mark G, Ginger, Tim and Jeff led the children in songs while walking through another part of the village.  Once we handed out all of the tapes we prayed with the people and returned to the road to head to our last village to perform.

We arrived and parked the van on the outskirts of the village and walked into the center of town passing out cassettes and looking for familiar faces.  We had a photo of the chief to deliver and Yvette was looking for a young lady she had her picture taken with the last time she visited Africa.  Once Yvette found her, we took photos of the reunion and proceeded to the main market area to set up our drama.

We were able to perform under a large shade tree (which was a good thing and this was one of the hotter days with less breeze blowing) next to the "brick pit."  The low hanging branches were a potential problem when we raised the cross with Markus portraying Jesus, but Laoulay was able to hack most of the lower branches with a macheté.  The crowd that gathered to watch was mostly women and children with a few men scattered about.  They listened and watched intently as Jesus was nailed to the cross and then resurrected from the dead.  The crowd cheered when he came back to life.  After we finished, the people gathered in and we told them that we came from a long way off to tell them this truth.  We pray that they understood the significance of our drama and the words spoken by Hama.

After we prayed for the people, we had a miniature "hoe down" dancing and singing praise songs.  The women and children clapped and sang songs with us and it was a great finish to nearly a week of ministry along the road.

We returned to Niamey and had a tasty dinner at the Womble's of hamburgers and iced tea. Isa and Hama invited us to their church for evening service and we were privileged to attend.  We listened to the pastor who was originally from Ghana as he preached from Luke about "First Things" related to following Christ such as "personal comfort," "family loyalty," and following God "above any cost."  It was a great way to end our week to attend church.  The team posed for one last photo with our fabulous translators before returning to the guest house.

In His service,
"The Seven"

Good news and bad news for Day #4.  Mark G. was feeling mostly back to normal but our two ladies, Yvette and Ginger were both down with sickness.  We did what we could for them to help them feel better before we left but ended up letting them stay at the guest house to rest.

Today we were heading to Y, a village that we previously had been asked not to return to when we attempted to show the Jesus film.  A previous team from FBC was able to spend two days this past January providing vaccination shots to the children and we determined that a return trip to attempt storying was in order.  Unsure how we would be received, we drive to Y to see what we could find.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a man who took Jeff, Tim and Laoualy to meet with the chief while the rest of the team visited with a very nice man who was surrounded by the local children.  He told us he was from Y and occasionally had to leave his village to find work in Ghana to help support his family.  However, he said he always returned in the planting season to help with the millet farming.

Soon the chief arrived and stopped by the van greeting the team members there before inviting everyone to follow him back to his home.  Jeff and Tim were surprised to see the rest of the team following the chief as he entered his courtyard area.  Chairs were brought for everyone in our team to sit upon while the chief himself sat on a modest wooden stool.  The courtesy and graciousness of all village along the road is enormous.  Every stranger in their village is treated like a king.

The chief, who previously had prevented the Jesus film from showing, informed our team of the best location to perform our drama just off the main market square.  We found out later that the man we'd been speaking to while waiting for the chief was actually the chief's son.  We drove the van to the location and setup the drama while some of the team sang and taught songs to the children.  When the children were asked if they could sing a song for us, they replied "we don't have a song."  Our hearts broke when we heard them say this so we immediately taught them a song, Irikoy Saabu to the tune of "Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord."  Smiles erupted from all involved and the children really enjoyed the singing.

Our performance was one of the best attended so far with the largest number of adult men showing up and watching it all.  The crowd was very respectful and cheered for Jesus when we healed the demon-possessed man and also when Jesus rose from the dead at the resurrection.  The story of the "prodigal son" (pictured at left) was especially touching as Laoualy portrayed the son who finds forgiveness in the arms of his father. Just as we portrayed the son's forgiveness, so does God desperately desire to bring the Songhai to Him when they understand that He wants to live in their hearts.

At the end of the performance, a fervent prayer was lifted for the village and the people as many had never heard the Gospel preached before.  We continue to pray for this village as well as the others that the seed that has been planted will take root and grow in their hearts.  Our team firmly believes that our success at performing for the town was made possible by prayer and previous visits by other FBC teams to provide favor for us to perform in what we previously considered a "closed town" to the Gospel.  Praise the Lord.

 In His service,
"The Seven"

Our third ministry day on the Mehanna road greeted us with one of the team members not feeling well.  Mark G. awoke early in the morning with nausea and decided to ride at the front of the van to help minimize nausea.  This morning we made a trek almost as far as the day before.  Luckily for us, the morning had more of a breeze than the previous two days and we were able to see two dust whirlwinds on the way to the village.  With the exception of Mark's slight nausea, the team was upbeat and ready to perform.

One piece of good news was that Mark K's missing bag of luggage with the remainder of the costumes and props showed up at the airport the day before.  We finally had enough costumes for everyone to use, a doll for baby Jesus and a proper stuffed animal for Abraham's lamb sacrifice.

We've been using a large wooden cross in our drama that was built and used by another church from South Carolina who left the same day we arrived.  It is a great prop and allows us to dramatically depict Christ crucified for our sins.  To transport the cross, we've had to tie it to the top of our van every morning before traveling to the villages.  Our our way this morning, we realized that we've been traveling "under the cross" literally as well as figuratively.  It's a welcome thought.

When we arrived, we were unable to find a decent non-sand covered road into the town so Jeff, Laoualy and Markus hiked over the nearest sand dune towards the village.  They were met by the chief of another nearby village who brought them to the chief's house while he called for the chief of K.  After a short while visiting with the first chief, the second chief arrived.  Jeff and Mark inquired to the chief's health as the last time someone had visited him he had dysentery.  He said he was feeling fine now and seemed in very good spirits.  We prayed for both chiefs and the village.

After returning to the van, we lugged our gear over the sand dunes into the village.  Our team was shown a central open area with a single shade tree to perform in before returning to the van to fetch the props and other team members.  Everyone hiked across the sand and were met by children as we entered the village talking to the people and passing out cassette tapes.

We set up our stage area with our green rope that we'd been using to hold the cross to the roof of the van.  We performed to a decent sized group of children and women who listed attentively and quietly.  A few women with children watched from a distance but still within earshot to hear the Gospel truth that Hama was proclaiming.  What a blessing to work with Laoualy and Hama with their heart to bring the Gospel to the Songhai.  The Gospel was presented and we prayed for the village and the people.

While we packed up our props and performance items, Mark G. brought out his guitar and harmonica and taught the children songs in Zarma and even got the children to sing one for us.  Clapping and singing songs with the children has been a great source of joy and encouragement for the team.  We've been using printed songsheets with the words in Zarma to help get the words right.  The children who gathered to watch sang songs with us and even sang one song for us.  They loved the guitars and harmonica that Mark G. was playing.  Once again, the smiles of the children and those gathered fueled our hearts with love for the people.  It's easy to smile and have fun with the people when everyone you meet has a smile on their face.

After leaving the town we had lunch and returned to Niamey to clean up for dinner at the Womble's.  Markus left early to continue work on the http://www.seekingthesonghai.net/ Web site with Sally and the rest of the team arrived at 6:30 pm.  We enjoyed another tasty meal prepared by Heather and finished the day with some restful sleep.

In His service,
"The Seven"

Our trip today to M was fantastic (albeit long and dusty -- this is the furthest town along the road).  At the ferry crossing, Yvette was able to read to the children from a book she made and had Hama translate the English to Zarma.  It included photos from previous trips and scripture verses.  It was a big hit with the kids each time it was brought out and allowed us to witness to folks without the immediate need of a translator.

We passed through all of the villages to our destination, dodging the donkey-drawn carts, wild livestock (goats, sheep and cows) roaming the countryside, and deep ruts and potholes in the road.  Well, I know we didn't dodge ALL the potholes and ruts because it was a bumpy trip. As we drove into the city, our team leaders went to meet the king while the local children were entertained with bubbles and a picture story book that Yvette had created and had translated in Zarma.

When the team returned with the permission of the king, we were able to perform on the river for over 150 children and adults.  There were some logs off to the side of the area we were going to use for the stage so we carried three of them over to the van and made a makeshift "square stage" with one side van and three sides log.  The children happily sat down and waited for us to begin.  The crowds were very enthusiastic and welcoming.  Our stage was right next to the main thoroughfare for townspeople coming to the river to fill up on water so it was like performing on the side of the highway and the back part of the crowd had to watch out for wayward cart-driven livestock.

We didn't have any shade today for our performance so it got a little hot (it was over 110 degrees in the early afternoon as we drove back to Niamey). At least we were getting a breeze off of the river to help keep us a little cooler.  Performing the story of Christ for the village was a joy and a blessing for all of us.  Hama shared the story aloud while the rest of us took turns holding the books and showing the colored pictures to the crowd.  All of the children were scared when Tim came out as the demon-possessed but applauded after they saw him healed and looking normal again.  Jeff shared with the crowd at the end and then prayed for the people and the village.

We then took a short prayer-walk around the village singing songs and praising the Lord while talking to some of the village residents and handing out cassettes.

The team is very upbeat and ready to serve.  As we continue tomorrow, pray for strongholds to be broken down and the name of Jesus to be praised.

In His service,
"The Seven"