May 2007

Vol. 6. No. 12
 
Hello Everyone,

We’re finally at our home at the Dogon Gao Bible School! It is nice to be “settled.” We spent our first night here on April 28 and have been continuing to unpack and arrange things ever since, trying to make it as homey as possible.  For the most part all of our “stuff” has fit into this slightly smaller house, although we used the situation to get rid of several items that we’ve been carting around for a long time. One of the “advantages” of living in a poor country is that nothing ever goes to waste. All of our old clothes, magazines, miscellaneous papers, kitchen and dining utensils and even our cardboard moving boxes were recycled by the Bible school community here. It really made getting rid of certain things quite easy, as we knew that somebody could use them.

But there are certain adjustments to be made to the new premises. Our presence has inconvenienced several very large spiders (the size of child’s hand) that were doing quite well here before we arrived. We’ve killed about a dozen small scorpions in the house and probably another dozen outside the door (they’re not poisonous, but their stings are very painful). Termites are sneakily trying to find anything of wood in the girls’ bedroom, even crawling under the floor rug to get to our children’s play table. We’ve also learned that there’s not enough pressure to take a shower unless the water reserve tanks are nearly full. Water has been an intermittent problem, since it is pumped every two days or so into three large reservoirs by a gasoline-powered generator operated by Bible School students.  They regularly run into mechanical problems, and we’ve had to search for water in the nearby town for or six times when there’s a break-down. One day, we pray, the defective pump the volunteers brought in February for the wind turbine will make it back to Niger all-repaired and we’ll have constant water!

One section of the roof leaks—the one in our bedroom—and our metal shutters won’t keep out the rain (we’d like to get glass windows if possible) when the wind is blowing during a storm. None of these are problems that we can’t deal with and really they are all simply part of life out here in Niger’s bush. On the positive side, we find this house to be slightly cooler than others we have lived in, but that may be explained by the fact that we’re not living in the bush and not in a populated area.

Marie-Florence and Laurey don't play outside much when the temperature is 108 F.

The girls had no problems in adjusting to this new home (their third in four months), although they miss the swings they had at the Danja house.  We put up a tire swing for them here (thanks to materials left by our northwest Iowa volunteers in February). We installed a boundary fence and that keeps the girls in and the sheep, goats, and neighboring dogs out. Because of the heat, however, Marie and Laurey don’t play outside much now (108 F today). Aïchatou has had the time to re-discover sewing with a treadle machine that we bought in Niamey before we left. She and the girls have many more clothes now. These machines that your grandparents grew up with are still being made in China and can be found throughout Africa. When Aïchatou learned that they sell an electric foot pedal attachment, she insisted on getting it and finds sewing to be much more enjoyable.

Before planting, farmers in Niger must decide whether the early rains this year are likely to continue.

The rains have come early this year, and we don’t yet know if this is a blessing or a false start, as mid-June is normally considered the beginning of the rainy season. We’ve already had three plentiful rainfalls in a two-week period, and for most Nigerien farmers, two rains in a row means that the rainy season has come and it is time to plant! There’s always the risk that we’ll have a long dry spell and all of the seedlings will die. Our cloud cover has seemed rather sparse of late, causing high temperatures and modestly high humidity.

We’ve fixed our dates to be in the United States this fall. Air fare has gone up and our girls will need their own seats. We’ll leave Niger on August 29 and stay at my folks’ home in rural Oskaloosa, Iowa, until December 31, 2007. The majority of the weekends are being scheduled with churches that we haven’t visited in four years, but we should have many mid-week dates available. If you are with Reformed Church in America and wish for a visit from us, please contact your synod mission coordinator. Everyone else can contact us directly.

Prayer and praise

• Give thanks for the smooth transition we have had moving into our new home. Pray that the house will provide us a safe and nurturing environment to raise our family and to conduct our ministry.
• Pray that Tom will be able to go deeper into learning Hausa and will become more competent in this language.
• Please pray that we’ll soon develop a ministry routine that places us in regular contact with the Bible school students and surrounding community.
• Please pray for Steve De Haan, a Northwestern (Orange City) College student who will spend two months with us this summer as part of an RCA mission experience program. Pray that he will arrive and leave in good health and that God will speak to him during his time in Niger.
• Please pray for volunteers, starting in August, 2008, who can come and teach our girls. This will be, if God wills it, an ongoing need for our family while we are in Niger. If you know of any teachers or upcoming graduates that might be interested in this opportunity, please share this job description with them:

  Thomas and Aichatou Johnson, RCA Missionaries in rural Niger, are hoping to attract volunteers to come for 9-11 months at a time to teach their preschool-aged girls, beginning in August or September of 2008 (when they will be 4 and a half and 3 years old). The RCA Volunteer Office coordinates finding such teaching volunteers for missionaries with children who live in remote areas or places where English-language instruction is not available. A one-bedroom furnished apartment with kitchen, living room, running water, electricity, and basic Internet access that adjoins the Johnson house at the Dogon Gao Bible School would be provided. This would be ideal for a single person or for a couple with no children at home. Other volunteer opportunities with the ministry could be found for a spouse who accompanies a teacher in Niger. Relevant degree and /or experience preferred. Recent graduates encouraged. Fundraising is required. Contact Jay Harsevoort of the RCA at (800) 968-3943 for more information.

In Christ,

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 319