Our flights to Niger were great. All connections were made, all luggage made the whole trip, the food was even decent, but no one really slept (except Morgan--I guess when you're young, you can sleep anywhere). The ride to the Baptist Missionary compound was our first bit of culture shock. Some of the roads were paved, some not, none in what we would consider good condition. Nobody pays much attention to staying in their lane. Horns are used a lot, to signal you are going to pass another car, motorcycle, donkey cart, etc.... Shacks by the sides of the road sell all variety of goods--fruits and vegetables, freshly slaughtered goat, phone cards, prayer beads, etc... At every stop-light, our vehicle was approached by beggars or vendors. A polite, "Non, Merci" usually sent them on their way. The compound is located on Embassy Row. Embassy Row in Niger looks quite different than Embassy Row in Washington DC. Everywhere is red, dry dirt. The walls of the compounds looked like stucco (reddish) with concertina wire on top. All embassy gates are guarded by armed soldiers--with Coleman tents as guard houses. Traffic is bad, especially when cows and goats get into the road! Exactly 24 hrs. after we left Living Hope, on Sunday, we stepped into the Guest House in Niamey.
Tuesday morning, we had our orientation with Mark. He gave us some history of the Songhai people. The Songhai are 99.5% Muslim, but they have retained many of the animistic beliefs of their ancestors. They believe in the power of their ancestors, magic, sorcery, and very much fear the spirit world. Most Songhai are subsistence farmers, growing millet, sorghum, and rice. We also saw plots of Moringa--that's the active ingredient in some popular (and expensive) nutritional supplements. The climate is harsh and there has been very little rain in the last couple of years. The Songhai do not rotate crops, so their soil is depleted of the nutrients necessary for abundant crops.
When the Songhai are sick, they visit their village's witch doctor. He looks their symptoms up in his "notebook" which directs him to the appropriate verse in the Quaran. The witch doctor then writes that verse, the required number of times, on a wide paddle-looking board. He rinses the board with water and catches the ink/water in a container. The "patient" is directed to drink the liquid and they will be healed. The infant mortality rate is very high and is accepted as the will of Allah.
We met three very special people that morning: Cephus, Biba, and Ibrahim. When Mark and Parker bravely answered the call to share Christ with the Songhai people, they had to spend lots of time learning Zarma (and a little French), so they could communicate without translators. Cephus was their language teacher. When they moved from Niamey, the capital city, to the village of Ayarou, Cephus moved with them to help them with the adjustment. As each Living Hope team returned from Niger, the name Cephus was mentioned with big smiles. Two years ago, Cephus married a beautiful woman named Biba. Cephus and Biba are Songhai, but were raised in Christian homes--their fathers are/were both pastors. They are the primary translators for the visiting missionary teams. Cephus also supervises the National Partners (Songhai believers who travel through the villages evangelizing and discipling). Cephus and Biba have been trying to get approved for Visas to visit the US, without success. That morning, they had another appointment. We were thrilled when Cephus danced into the room (we called it "the visa dance") with their good news. Cephus and Biba were able to fly back to the US with us at the end of our visit, and will spend three weeks being "loved on" by supporting churches and sharing the desperate needs of the Songhai people.
The third person we met was Ibrahim. Ibrahim was the first believer in Ayarou. Folks who follow Mark and Parker's work in Ayarou and now Niamey know Ibrahim's story--from God speaking to him in dreams three nights in a row which led to his acceptance of Jesus, profession of faith, and baptism--to the death of Ibrahim's wife and his family and neighbors' refusal to help bury her unless he rejected Christianity. It was so good to meet this strong, brave man and hear him tell his testimony of faith.
After orientation, we walked out into the RAIN, and headed to the American Embassy Recreational Area for lunch. They make some good Mexican food!!
In the afternoon, Mark invited vendors he knows and trusts to come to the Guest House so we could do some souvenir shopping and practice our Zarma phrases.
Each night we met for prayer and to share our "high/low" for the day. Several of us stated that our frustration with trying to say simple greetings in Zarma was our "low" for the day. It was scary to think that we would be heading out to a village the next morning. We knew we had Cephus, Biba and Odette (Biba's younger sister) to translate, but there are certain greetings we'd need to use.
Fo Fo = Hello (and thank you)
Mate Gaham = How is your body? (yeah--seems weird until you realize it's just what they say)
Samay or Baney Samay = fine, well
Mate Zankey = How are your children?
Ready or not, rested or not, the village of Boubon was waiting for us.....
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