WBTN

Somebody Else's Kids

2009-11-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

I recently came across that expression for the second time. The first time was in the story of a special education teacher, her classroom and the children she wanted to see learning and growing, children that the rest of the educational system had forgotten and for whom they had little concern even when they rememered their existence.

This summer, I was again confronted with the expression in something I was reading. A few years ago our mission asked us to begin participating in activities that would encourage our personal growth and development and part of that has been an assigned reading book each year. We’ve read at least 3 now, and each one has confronted, challenged and encouraged me – but none so much as the book we were given to read this past summer entitled “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Sterns. The following is one of “those” sections that brought me to my knees as I realized my own sin and guilt in this very area… my own struggles with this very mindset…

“Whenever a major jetliner crashes anywhere in the world, it inevitably sets off a worldwide media frenzy covering every aspect of the tragedy. I want you to imagine for a moment that you woke up this morning to the following headline: “One Hundred Jetliners Crash, Killing 26,500.” Think of the pandemonium this would create across the world as heads of state, parliaments, and congresses convened to grapple with the nature and causes of this tragedy. Think about the avalanche of media coverage that it would ignite around the globe as reporters shared the shocking news and tried to communicate its implications for the world. Air travel would no doubt grind to a halt as governments shut down airlines and panicked air travelers canceled their trips. The National Transportation Safety Board and perhaps the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement agencies and their international equivalents would mobilize investigations and dedicate whatever manpower was required to understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again.
Now imagine that the very next day, one hundred more planes crashed – and one hundred more the next, and the next, and the next. It is unimaginable that something this terrible could ever happen.
But it did – and it does.
It happened today, and it happened yesterday. It will happen again tomorrow. But there was no media coverage. No heads of state, parliaments, or congresses stopped what they were doing to address the crisis, and no investigations were launched. Yet more than 26,500 children died yesterday of preventable causes related to their poverty, and it will happen again today and tomorrow and the day after that. Almost 10 million children will be dead in the course of a year. So why does the crash of a single plane dominate the front pages of newspapers across the world while the equivalent of one hundred planes filled with children crashing daily never reaches our ears? And even though we now have the awareness, the access, and the ability to stop it, why have we chosen not to? Perhaps one reason is that these kids who are dying are not our kids; they’re somebody else’s.”

I know about the reality of these "preventable causes [of death] related to poverty" firsthand... in my own family as I've watched my own children struggle through malaria, dysentery, typhoid... as I've sat with families who've lost a child or other family member from one of theses diseases... as I've wept because a neighbor's child is no longer there to wave and greet us... as we've handed out kilos of rice and any fresh veggies left in the fridge to someone begging for the next meal for their malnourished and hungry family... as we've paid for and given away treatment or transported children to the clinic for bloodwork and a doctor's diagnosis... It is even a small part of the children's presentation that I do in churches: "The most dangerous wild animal in all of Africa is... (and I let the kids try and guess, but no one has successfully... yet) the mosquito." Yet have I recently spent time praying, seeking what God might have me to do about this? Certainly not like I did when it was my child who was sick. It is easy to forget, to get caught up in the busyness of school programs, soccer and volleyball games, homework, H1N1 and whooping cough and forget... or just choose not to consider because it is so far away and it is easier that way.

Yet, God's Word is clear:

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
Then He will also say to those on the left hand,'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
-Matt 25:31-46

One version uses the phrase "those who are overlooked and ignored" instead of "the least of these." Just the other day, I read a friend's blog that has broken my heart anew... I've finished reading this book, I'm working through a bible study about "respectable sins" - including the sins of ungodliness and selfishness - I don't believe in coincidence, so that begs the following questions: What will I prayerfully do? & What do you think? What will you prayerfully do?

Two Roads Overcame the Hyena

2009-10-27T07:03:00.001-07:00

"A very hungry hyena went out on the plains to hunt for food. He came to a branch in the bush road where the two paths veered off in different directions. He saw two goats caught in the thickets at the far end of the two different paths. With his mouth watering in anticipation, he decided that his left leg would follow the left path and his right leg the right path. As the two paths continued to veer in different directions he tried to follow them both at once. Finally he split in two." (...found in many African languages)

Do you know a proverb from our language or culture that says essentially the same thing? I'm thinking of one...

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Story found at afriprov.org

Drawing found at dragoart.com

Some of the Finer Points

2009-10-15T14:04:00.001-07:00

One of the questions we are frequently asked is "What's it like, living in Niger." While that is a huge question that I could never answer in a single blog post, I wanted to share the following information with you about our "other" home.

GEOGRAPHY

Area 1,186,408 sq.km. Sahara desert in centre and north. Only the southwest and a narrow strip along the Nigerian border in the south are savannah grasslands.

POPULATION

2000 10,730,102 (+3.24%, 9 people per sq. km.)

2010 14,485,881 (+3.00%, 12 people per sq. km.)

2025 21,495,434 (+2.44%, 18 people per sq. km.)

Capital Niamey 1,000,000. Urbanites 17%.

PEOPLES

36 different people groups, including Hausa (43.6%), Nilo-Saharan (27%), Tuareg (12.2%), Fula (10%), Arab (2.3%), Gur (1.3%), Other (.9%)

Literacy 17%.

Official language French. Language of wider communication Hausa.

All languages 21.

Languages with Scriptures

3 Bibles, 5 NT, 4 portions, 8 work in progress

ECONOMY

Mining of uranium and other minerals has brought some economic development to this impoverished land, but in the 1980s the Sahel famine, collapse of the uranium market and Nigeria's closure of the common border devastated the economy. Ninety per cent of the population live at bare subsistence level at the best of times. Human Development Index 0.298; 173rd/174. Public debt 68% of GNP. Income/person $200 (0.9% of USA).

POLITICS

For centuries the Tuareg dominated much of the Sahel. French colonial rule 1921-1960. Military regimes with a number of coups. A brief period of democratic rule 1993-96 presaged the democratic government formed in 1999. There has been Tuareg insurgency in the north for some years.

RELIGION

A non-confessional state with considerable freedom of religion and few restrictions on mission work. Islamic fundamentalists are pushing for change and imposition of shari'a law. Persecution index 68th in the world.

Religion (Population % ~ Ann.Gr.)

Muslim (97.59 % ~ +3.9%)

Traditional ethnic (2.00 % ~ -14.0%)

Christian (0.40 % ~ +5.4%)

Baha'i (0.01 % ~ n.a.)

Christians Denom. (Ann.Gr.)

Protestant (+11.9%)

Independent (+2.2%)

Catholic (+4.1%)

Marginal (+4.8%)

Groupings (Ann.Gr.)

Evangelical (+10.0%)

Charismatic (+5.0%)

Pentecostal (+13.5%)

Missionaries from Niger

45 in 8 agencies, nearly all in Niger.

Missionaries to Niger

343 in 35 agencies from 29 countries: USA 128, Brazil 36, UK 32, Nigeria 21.

Challenges for Prayer

This Muslim land is open for the gospel, and Muslims are more receptive than ever before, yet response has been small and church growth slow. Islam is strong and well-organized. There is an Islamic university 54km from Niamey. Pray that the land may remain open, and that every social, religious and spiritual barrier to the knowledge of the Lord may be removed. The spiritual effects of folk Islam and demonic oppression are a major hindrance to people coming to Christ.
Pray that there might be a significant increase in those openly confessing Christ and in churches planted.
Significant prayer challenges:
a) Many believers are isolated, often illiterate and rarely have systematic Bible teaching available.
b) There are not enough mature leaders – there have been a number of denominational splits.
c) Leadership training – the EERN (SIM-related) runs two middle-level Bible schools and two basic Bible schools. There are also many small Bible training schools in the country, run by six different denominations. Pray for effective ways to train more leaders and give further training to those in pastoral work.
This pioneer land still needs missionaries for all parts of the country. The loving ministry of Christian aid missionaries has won credibility for the gospel and increased interest and response from both Muslims and animists. Pray for more labourers. ... Pray for sensitivity in helping the small, young churches and their leaders to maturity.
The least reached of Niger. Pray for:
a) The Tuareg, once rich, but now impoverished and resentful due to drought, famine, changing trade patterns and political changes. The selfless ministry of a partnership of missionaries ... has opened the hearts of some, and there are some groups of believers. ... Tuareg customs and their unique alphabet hint at a possible once-Christian heritage.
b) The Zarma, who are Muslim but strongly influenced by traditional practices. Only a few hundred believers are known. ... missionaries have laboured long but no significant breakthrough has yet come among this resistant people.
c) The five Kanuri peoples have a long history of 1,000 years of Islam. Missionaries ... have recently seen a change. Manga Christians, though still few, are seeing their numbers grow from near zero. Scripture portions are available and more of God's Word is in preparation.
d) The Fulbe (Fulani), both the settled Sokoto and nomadic Wodaabe Fulbe of the west, and the less Islamized nomadic Fulbe across the whole country. ... There have recently been an increasing number of conversions among the Wodaabe; there were over 60 believers in 1991 and 350 in 2000.
e) The Songhai ... Two couples are now working among them. A few have been won to Christ and a congregation has been formed.
f) The Tubu peoples in the east.

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All info taken from Operation World's book. It is an awesome tool to use in praying for God's work of missions and for those serving Him as missionaries in a foreign land.

Life in Niger - Are You Ready for some "Futbol!"

2009-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Folks in W. Africa are passionate about soccer.

An interesting, culturally, read...

...all about a local soccer championship match.

"Language Learning Level 2..."

"The Rematch" (a 2nd installment)

Hopefully, she'll write about the 3rd attempt to determine a champion

S.O.O.N!

Now I'm just dying to know who wins the championship!"

I don't think any soccer games at the high school right behind our house ever got this "exciting;" but there was no doubt (from all the cheering, booing, mass groaning and squeals as well as mass groups of people mosey-ing along in the direction of the school) of the nights they were playing games, especially important ones!

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Photos and blog by Rebecca Evans (An "all grown up" Niger MK now working in Benin, her parents have been tremendous encouragements to our family while we've been in Niger.)

September/October, 2009

2009-10-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

"I love the recklessness of faith."

"First you leap,

and then you grow wings."

~William Sloane Coffin

"Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee….

As Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, 'Follow me.' And he arose, and followed him.

…behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, 'My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.'

…for she said within herself, 'If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.' But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.'

….two blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, 'Believe ye that I am able to do this?' They said unto him, 'Yea, Lord.' Then touched he their eyes, saying, 'According to your faith be it unto you.'

…And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, 'The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.'"

Matt 9:2, 9, 18, 21-22, 28-29, 35-38

It is always good to go back and reread familiar passages of Scripture – sometimes the Holy Spirit causes truth to leap right off the page and it is like reading the passage for the very first time. As missionaries, many church services we attend while in the States are focused on the theme of missions and we've heard many fabulous and challenging sermons based on this passage, Matthew 9. So what was so striking in recently rereading this chapter? It was how Jesus responded to every demonstration of even the tiniest seed of faith evidenced by people who, humanly speaking, had to be terribly disheartened by their circumstances… a friend debilitated by the palsy… a hated tax collector… a dead daughter… a chronically ill woman… two blind men… a group of disciples willing to risk much to follow the Shepherd. These words persuade us to continue confidently, clinging tightly to faith that comes from trusting in a God who "will send forth labourers into his harvest."

What's been happening around our house lately? School… homework… field trips… soccer… volleyball… bug collection… leaf collection… learning to read – in English instead of French… building a garage… raking leaves… Our leaves are most definitely changing color now and starting to fall in quantity. This is one of those “home experiences” that we enjoy very much during our time here. We are not sure how vivid the colors will be as we have had a fair amount of rain in the last few weeks. Nonetheless we are thoroughly enjoying our autumn in Michigan, beginning with a fun afternoon at Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes (we stopped by after visiting a supporting church in that area of the state. Hope you enjoy these few glimpses of our afternoon/evening there, enjoying the handiwork of our God.

We've been keeping busy! In the last 4 weeks, have had the opportunity to visit with 4 of our supporting churches – three missions conferences included! We've also been able to share in the Elementary Chapel at Calvary Baptist Academy. Tim spends a fair bit of time trying to contact churches and pastors… although he did squeeze in some bow hunting last week and we've now got a shelf full of venison in the freezer! We are trying to catch up with individual prayer and financial supporters, as well as our churches – so if you are passing through the Tri-City area… or we are in your area, let us know. We want to visit with you!

Back in Niger, the thermometer is climbing as the October hot season has arrived, the French School is back in session (we've recently heard that the 2009-1010 academic school year has begun exceptionally well), our colleagues working at Sahel Academy are preparing for the annual softball tournament and the end of the first marking period, the studio is being used for several different post-dubbing projects and God's Word continues to go out over the radio airwaves. Please continue to remember Niger in your prayers as elections approach, and there have been many questions and political concerns in recent months. Just this week, we also saw an interesting headline in the news: "Norway is the best place in the world to live while Niger is the least desirable, according to an annual report by the United Nations.…" The thoughts that cross our minds when we read that are numerous and conflicting. While life in Niger is certainly very different from what we experience here in the US, our family feels so privileged to call Niger our earthly home and place of ministry and we long to return. We are fervently praying for a miracle as we seek to raise the additional funds we need to do so.

In our last prayer letter we shared that we are now at about 68% support. This translates to roughly $2,300 per month that will need to be raised before we can return to Niger. We thought it may be helpful to those who may be considering joining our financial team and meeting a portion of this need to know how these funds are used. Our total Niger ministry budget is $7,060. This includes:

housing/salary,
income tax (yes, we have to pay it),
medical (~ $1,000 per month),
airline tickets (for travel to and from the field for furloughs),
education funds (Public school is not an option for us in Niger, leaving us with the options of local private schools or home schooling and shipping all of the necessary educational materials overseas with us.),
ministry funds (monies that we can actually invest into the ministry in Niger, including the funds to run an audio-visual production studio),communications (prayer letter, email, etc.),
and a mission administrative fee of 6.7% (which, by the way, we whole-heartedly believe is a very reasonable amount for all they do for our family).

If you would like to consider a portion of our monthly support and would like to know the exact percentage breakdowns, we would be happy to mail or email you a detailed copy of our complete 2009 Niger Field support need requirements. We sincerely appreciate all of our present support team and the investment they have made in the mission to Niger. $2,300/month seems a huge amount, but we have already seen some encouraging news on achieving this amount. Please pray with us, that we would see God’s provide rapidly for this need. Please pray that we would have wisdom as we present this need to churches and people with whom we come into contact. If you would be interested in joining with us and supporting the ministry of the Niger Radio Project, please don't hesitate to contact us.

One final thought:

"If you think you are too small

to make a difference,

try spending the night

in a closed room

with a mosquito."

~African saying

Thankful to be serving the Savior together with you,

Tim, Richelle, Brendan,

Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria,

Jonathan, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle Wright

So Thankful for our Church

2009-10-03T20:54:00.001-07:00

What's Goin' on OVER THERE?

2009-09-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, we received a prayer letter from Steve and Julie Nunemaker - who served as missionaries in Niger for many, many years (Steve, in fact, grew up there) before the Lord moved them on to EBM's Tri-M Ministry. They still return to Niger a couple of times each year, and are, in fact, helping out the Niger field with furlough coverage while we and our regional directors are on home assignment. With their permission, we are sharing some excerpts from their recent letter...

Don't forget to keep praying for the ongoing ministries in Niger!

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My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-5 NKJV

This was today's text, Sunday, September 27, as we gathered to worship the Lord at the little Evangelical Baptist Church of Kirkossey II, one of the suburbs of Niamey (Niger). After bouncing along over a poorly maintained, pot-holed dirt road, we sat in the little cement block building with a tin roof, with outside temperatures approaching 100 degrees (typical for late September). A small but happy congregation sang praises to God, thanking Him for every blessing. Interesting, because these folks are definitely in the minority, the church being surrounded by hundreds of residential compounds, most of them occupied by Muslims. While most of these neighbors are friendly to your face, they reject the Gospel of Jesus-Christ. Many of those who do follow Christ are viewed with contempt and ostracized. It has only been a few days since Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, a major observance in a religion whose every tenet seeks by self-righteous merit to satisfy God--at least enough to access paradise. Last Sunday, during the Ramadan holiday, we couldn't even get across the bridge to the church due to traffic being rerouted because of the many, including the country's leaders, headed to the grand mosque for the public ceremonial prayers.

Today's service was simple; there was no piano or organ, only voices making a "joyful noise"... no stage, no stage-lights, no worship team with guitars or wind instruments, no PowerPoint, no sound booth, no cushioned seats, no air conditioning, no carpeted foyer, no carefully appointed men's and women's restrooms. Just believers--and maybe a few curious visitors--gathered to worship the Lord and hear what He had to say through His unchanging Word.

The preacher pointed out that the same original New Testament word is used for both "trial" and "temptation", in James 1 as elswhere. How can we tell the difference? What determines whether what we are experiencing in life is a TRIAL, permitted by God to strengthen us, or a TEMPTATION, a sollicitation to do evil intended to weaken us? James makes clear in 1:13 that God never tempts any man to do evil, neither can He be tempted in this way. The preacher explained that what really determines the difference is not the word itself, not even necessarily the context in which it is used, but how we respond to the event that determines whether or not it is a trial or a temptation! Trials and temptations both have the potential to produce in us victory or defeat--at least that is how James sees it.

And yet, although believers everywhere experience trials of various kinds (and certainly all kinds of temptation), somehow James' words (above) seem to stand out more vividly in these surroundings. In fact, it is sometimes embarassingly difficult for a western missionary to preach or teach about trials or suffering, in the face of the constant daily struggles and trials of those we seek to minister to and encourage. They can teach us so much about perseverance!

What have we been doing in the past few weeks?

French Elementary School: Julie's been working everyday in the school office with Hassane, our school director, registering students, collecting tuition, updating class attendance lists, typing teachers' supplies lists, etc. In addition to helping Hassane and interviewing new teachers, Steve has been working morning & afternoon on repairs and a couple of new improvements, getting ready for the opening of the school. Here is a sampling:

Resurfacing two classroom floors with a 3.5 cm layer of fine concrete
Repairing electrical fixtures (all classrooms)
Repairing student desks
Patching & painting blackboards
Repairing erosion damage from rainy season runoff
Resetting drainage canal grates
Repairing doors to boys' & girls' latrines and teachers' latrines
Replacing / repairing locks on classroom doors
Casting over 1,200 cement paving blocks to install a student access walkway perennially eroded by runoff

We both come home exhausted from the heat, Steve's shirts drenched in sweat. Then we shower up, eat supper, and get ready for the evening I.B.B.S. classes...

I.B.B.S. - First Module (September 21 - October 2)

Due to our prolonged stay in Niger this time we have scheduled two Bible Institute modules--one in late September, the other in November. We have a great group of serious students for the first module, for which we are exceedingly grateful. All of them are returning students, some of them in the third level (there are four levels in the curriculum)...

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Thanks, Steve and Julie, for all your hard work! We appreciate your faithful ministry in, to and for the Niger field.

Please continue to pray for the Nunemakers, the Phillips and for Rich Melvin as they serve in Niamey these next several months.

Understanding Islam in the United States

2009-09-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to the 30 Days website for an intereting article on the prevelance of Islam in the United States, as well as several good ideas for how to continue "Loving Muslims through Prayer," even though the month of Ramadan, 2009 is officially over.

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Photo from 30 Days website.

Ramadan, 2009 - Another One About the Potential of Radio!

2009-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

WBTN

Somebody Else's Kids

Two Roads Overcame the Hyena

Some of the Finer Points

Life in Niger - Are You Ready for some "Futbol!"

September/October, 2009

So Thankful for our Church

What's Goin' on OVER THERE?

Understanding Islam in the United States

Ramadan, 2009 - Another One About the Potential of Radio!

Ramadan, 2009 - Christ Makes it Possible

Ramadan, 2009 - Islam's new TV representatives

Ramadan, 2009 - Malaysia

Ramadan, 2009 - Night of Power

Ramadan, 2009 - Turning

Ramadan, 2009 - Muslims in Malegaon, India

Ramadan, 2009 - God's Message via Radio (We LOVE this article!)

Ramadan, 2009 - Jesus, the Word of God and the Messiah

Ramadan, 2009 - In the Pamir Mountains

Ramadan, 2009 - Persecution on the Rise

Ramadan, 2009 - The Split

Ramadan, 2009 - Belief in the Spirit World

Ramadan, 2009 - Mohammed's Daughter

Ramadan, 2009 - Northwest Africa

Ramadan, 2009 - "What Muslims Believe About the Cross"

Ramadan, 2009 - Dreams of Peace