February 2004
Vol. 3, No. 9
Greetings from Niger!
We are in the middle of a slight pause between visitors right
now and it is a great time for me to catch up on my correspondence
and various writing projects and to share what is happening in
Niger.
As I mentioned in my January newsletter, we hosted Ted and Eleanor
Vonk from Battle Creek, Michigan, for four weeks. The Vonks are
retired educators and have agreed to help the Evangelical Church
of Niger in developing their ideas to launch Christian schools
in Niger. The Vonks had about two weeks of traveling across Niger
and then the last two weeks they were based in Niamey, where they
taught English at night in the church and during the day they
had several meetings with church leaders and others in the missionary
community here about Christian education. They had a great experience
here and got to meet many Nigeriens and I think they left with
a good understanding of what is on Nigerien’s hearts and
minds. Best of all, they discovered that they had a lot to contribute
to the church because of their professional experiences.
I, too, discover that I benefit from visits from volunteers because
I invevitably become exposed to people and projects that I would
never have come into contact with. For example, Christian education
is really not a responsibility of mine, yet in the process of
arranging meetings and tours for the Vonks, I met many interesting
folks and learned what others are currently doing in Niger or
would like to do in the future. Such work results in my having
a much more comprehensive understanding of both the people and
practices of the Christian community in Niger. Even though I have
only been in the country for two years, I often find myselves
informing long-term missionaries and even Nigerien church members
about activities, resources, and people that they were not aware
of. So, while hosting visitors and volunteers can disrupt the
normal routine, the benefits usually more than make up for any
temporary derangement.
We also hosted the Reformed Church in America (RCA) African Missions
Coordinator, Mrs. Debbie Braaksma from the Chicago-area, for five
days at the end of January for her annual visit. It is often a
jam-packed time because both the missionaries and the Reformed
Church of America partner, the EERN, normally only see her once
a year. Imagine meeting with your supervisor just one week out
of fifty-two (many of you are probably thinking “I only
wish that could be true!”). So, I need to “share”
Debbie with Barbara, my RCA colleague, all the Nigerien church
leaders, as well as with Aichatou, who is now officially an RCA
missionary. It seems we all have a dozen things to discuss and
follow-up with her. How she manages to be so helpful and stay
so cheerful with all these demands and everyone pressing her for
opinions, advice or final decisions in this compressed time is
beyond me. And five days is not really accurate. She arrived Monday
evening, spent two days in a vehicle driving back and forth to
Maradi and then was in the airport Friday night to leave for America.
Debbie did tell us how much she enjoys coming to Niger and working
with the church here. In comparison to other countries where the
RCA works, the Nigerien church partnership has always been honest
and open. That doesn’t mean we don’t have problems
here, but there are not fundamental issues of truthfulness and
of honoring commitments. We missionaries in Niger needed to know
that, particularly when we have days when nothing seems to being
going like it should and our level of frustration becomes a bit
high.
After the visitors all left, I started organizing my first office
in Niger! I’ve been here for two years and have worked in
a variety of locations including the kitchen table, conference
rooms, guest-house bedrooms, and the business offices of various
church members. In a way, not having private space to work has
been one of the biggest sacrifices I’ve had to make as a
missionary in Africa. I know that in the big scheme of things
this isn’t a big deal, but I do enjoy a quiet place to work
and to think and to keep all my books, papers, and other office
resources organized. It will be nice to have it. It could use
a little paint and screens on the windows, but it is quite adequate
for my needs.
I took possession of an office in the church’s community
development office that has been shuttered for the last year.
Indeed, relaunching a Christian community development program
will occupy much of my time while Aichatou and I are in Niamey.
The story of church-based community development (CD) in Niger
is not a pretty one, with lots of good intentions running afoul
of unethical or unprofessional employees. Often it has boiled
down to too much money coming in to the world’s second poorest
country without enough accountability and control. It has been
a sad chapter in much of the church and not just in the EERN.
Of course, the stories one hears about corruption in other organizations
(both government and non-government) makes one wonder if foreign
money doesn’t taint everything it touches. We have a big
challenge in creating a development program that will meet human
needs and be a witness for the Church of Christ. Your prayers
are certainly needed in this area.
Aichatou received some good news this month. She learned that
she passed all her medical schools exams for year six and is now
able to enter her final year of rotations. The pregancy is progressing
well and the baby has certainly made its presence known as the
seventh month approaches with lots of kicking and squirming.
On Friday, we return to hosting more volunteers from the States.
Greg from Minnesota and Taunya and Jerry from Sioux City, Iowa,
will arrive and will work in the Danja area. In mid-March, we’ll
also receive Kevin and Michelle from mid-Michigan, who will probably
help with my office here in Niamey.
Prayer requests
- Continue to pray for the safety and health of our volunteers.
So far, we have totally avoided any serious problems with volunteers
and no one has been sick for more than a day. Pray that we will
continue to enjoy His protection.
- Give praise that Aichatou has finished her medical school
coursework. Pray that she will be able to complete her rotations
in a timely manner. Also pray for guidance as she selects a
research project for her final-year thesis, which is required
of all medical students before they graduate.
- Pray for the healthy development of the baby and for the rest
of Aichatou‘s pregancy. Pray that God will show us all
that we need to do to prepare for this new addition to our family.
- Pray for guidance as I work on restarting the community development
program of the EERN. Pray for wisdom in selecting our focus,
pray for assistance as we look at possible partners and funders
and also pray that we will attract men and women of integrity
as we commence to implent our plans.
In Christ,
Tom and Aichatou
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
44 |
