It's Grasshopper Time!

At this time of the year each year, the grasshoppers come in.  One day, we wake up and they are EVERYWHERE.  Some years, they literally cover the whole front and back of our house by the time we get up in the morning.  This year, there weren't as many in our area of town, but there were still enough to say, "It's grasshopper time!" 

I love walking through the yard at this time of the year, because grasshoppers cover the ground, even though they blend in so well you can't see them all. As you walk through, they spritz up everywhere around you, and you could just imagine you might be a princess walking through a meadow, singing beautifully as wildlife and nature spring up, whirling in a dance to the rhythm of your breathtaking melody. Maybe, just maybe, you could imagine that...  But this IS Niger.  And they ARE just grasshoppers.  But I still can't help feeling that that way every time I go outside at this time of the year, and I feel that irresistible urge to burst forth in song and dance, as grasshoppers whirl around me. 

The kids have fun running through the yard catching the grasshoppers.  They spend hours at it, actually, which I think is simply GREAT!  :)  They then come to me and show me their treasures...

 

The mighty hunters with their prey...

 

Inside the box!

Jonathan went out to a village to check out the location of a new church building we are building.  While he was there, he got to see this sign that it's grasshopper season:

A whole pallet of grasshoppers: caught, cooked, and ready to be sold.

 

The Christians in the village had caught and cooked these in preparation to sell them in the market.  Guess they had more in their area than we did this year.  Jonathan tried to buy some, but they wouldn't hear of it.  He got a bag as a gift!

Which he then brought home for his family!

 

The kids were very excited. 

 

To be honest, these were boiled, so we didn't enjoy them as much as we did the FRIED grasshoppers we had a couple years ago.  Even our Hausa friends agreed that fried are "more delightful" than boiled, but since they LOVE them either way, we gave the rest of the bag to them, and they were gone in seconds.  Everyone was happy.  But who wouldn't be?!  It's GRASSHOPPER TIME!

 

 

Toddler Tales (A Chance to Use the New-Term's Resolution)

Everyone has one of “those” moments in their lives…  “Those” moments are the ones that it is probably best that you DID NOT KNOW all that would take place AFTER that moment, lest you suddenly feel a wave of exhaustion, an overwhelming feeling of discouragement, or downright dread.  It is in “those” moments that we need to rely on God, moment by moment, in order to get the grace we need for the NEXT moment.

I had one of those moments just after writing my last entry, My New-Term’s Resolution.  It actually began as I typed the last line, a pleasant feeling filling my heart as I sighed in relief, “I did it!  I actually wrote a new blog entry!”  (It’s been almost 2 years since I wrote last.)  My 2 year old walked in the room, looking as innocent as ever, handed me a pencil and said, “Mommy, nose…NOSE!” 

I stared at the pencil.  I started at Micaela.  That sickening realization that settles on a person when they realize one of “those” moments may be upon them began to rest on me.  The eraser on the end of the pencil was gone, apparently chewed off.  A pencil missing its eraser is not necessarily an uncommon occurrence in our house, but when a pencil is missing its eraser and the 2 year old is holding the pencil and emphatically saying, “NOSE”, a mother’s heart sinks to the very lowest of the “mother-dread” region.  Upon casual examination of the nostril, nothing could be seen, but, alas! upon looking up in it with my otoscope, there IT was.  The renegade eraser wedged up in the nasal passage. 

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  What’s a mom to do?

No ER around here.  I went to my usual source for health information.  Google.  With a sigh of relief, I saw several pages load that looked quite promising.  Also, I was happy to see that thousands of other moms had had this same occurrence with their toddler. I was in good company.  As I started browsing information, the internet died.  No more info available until the connection returned.  Grrr…  Surprisingly, none of my nursing books had good info on how to retrieve objects from tiny toddler noses.  I was stuck for the time being. 

I tried to gingerly remove the eraser with tweezers multiple times, but who can do that effectively with a squirming toddler?  Not to mention, toddler nostrils are tiny!  Never really thought about that until now...  I realized that we’d need backup.  Daddy.  Who happened to be at a pastors' meeting, but would be back soon.  I knew this was exactly what he DIDN’T need!  But then, neither did any of us!  Our life is full enough.  We don’t need this story in our story bag!!!

Ok.  Daddy gets home.  He agrees to hold down said toddler.  I gingerly used a small portable vacuum that I’d just brought back from the States.  No luck.  Jonathan held the now-screaming toddler firmly.  We tried to gently pull the eraser out, but still a no-go.  What to do?  We dusted flour into her nose, we brushed pepper up her nose, but it seems that our little tyke is SNEEZELESS.  I tried sucking her nostril with my mouth, I did the “Mother’s Kiss” (mom covering child’s mouth with her own and blowing air through while plugging the non-offending nostril, allowing air to burst through the offending nostril, hopefully blowing the object out with it), and we used a bulb syringe.  We retried the vacuum, this time duct-taping an empty syringe to the end so as to get better suction.  While these attempts DID move the eraser closer, it remained jammed in the nasal passage, and simply sat there jeering at us.  Who knew pencil erasers could jeer?  Oh, they can. 

We ended up waiting until the next morning, hoping she might sneeze it out.  We checked first thing in the morning and there it was, doing its thing - just chilling way up in, still visible.  Since Micaela was in no obvious distress (she was actually spunkier than usual), we went to church as usual.  That afternoon, the debate began again.  What should we do?  We tried the vacuum again, and then tried extracting it again with a small tool I had made from a paper clip.  Still nothing. 

Time to call a doctor!  At least for an opinion as to what we should do next.  We called a doctor friend who works at a nearby mission hospital.  He immediately said that we should meet him at his office at the hospital, where he would try to extract the eraser.  He said it was better to get it out sooner because the longer something is in there, the harder it may be to get out, not to mention complications such as infection or the possibility of it slipping into the lungs. 

As the hospital, I held Micaela on my lap while the doctor inserted a thin catheter into her nose, blew up the small balloon at the end of it, then slowly drew it out in hopes that the balloon would force the eraser out with it.  After 2 failed attempts and multiple “Mother’s Kisses”, we were back at square one.  Our friend said we would need to head to Galmi, the big mission hospital about 3 hours away.  There, if necessary, they could sedate her to extract the eraser.   

Enter a feeling of disbelief...  How had one moment in my life led to another moment, that led to another moment, that led to this moment?  We have always been thankful that there is such a good hospital “so close” to us.  The road to Galmi used to be dreadfully bad, but it has been repaired, so the drive would be relatively easy.  We had always imagined that if we ever had to go to Galmi, it would be in the state of some great emergency, perhaps a broken limb or something “really bad”.  And here we were, in need of going because our toddler stuck a pencil eraser up her nose?  REALLY?!!!! 

It was about 7 pm Sunday night that we learned we’d need to go to Galmi.  That gave us a couple hours to pack food and clothing (just in case we needed to spend the night) and get ready to be up by 5 and out the door by 6.  The doctor at Galmi said the earlier we were there, the better, because it was a Monday and things would be BUSY.  We were already exhausted from the weekend.  It was by God’s grace that we got everything packed and ready in time to collapse into bed by 11.  Stress was a bit high, to say the least.  Would Micaela be ok?  Could they get the eraser out?  What if she had to have anesthesia?  Would she come through ok? 

And yet, I couldn’t help but think of the blog entry I had just written, My New-Term’s Resolution, the one I was finishing as Micaela came into the room saying, “Mommy, nose!”  I wrote about how I needed to rely on God’s grace on a moment-by-moment basis, and that I needed to look to Him to get me through each day and each situation that came my way.  This was a great opportunity to put into practice that which He had shown me just days before.  I needed to trust Him, and to look to Him for peace in the midst of this stressful situation.

Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  Ps 37:5

And that is exactly what we did.  We committed the whole thing to the Lord.  We placed our trust in Him, and we handed over our fears and worries for Micaela and for a long morning drive. 

We woke up just before 5, pulsing with adrenaline.  I got the 3 older children up before Micaela, because she wasn’t able to eat or drink anything 6 hours before any procedure (just in case she had to be sedated).  The kids ate quickly and stowed their water bottles out of sight.  We all made a pact that no one should mention food or drink in the hearing of Little Sister.  I was SO proud of them.  They were awesome helpers and such great troopers.  We tried to maintain a sleepy atmosphere in the car, because who wants a wide-awake, hungry toddler who can’t eat or drink screaming in the car with you for 3 hours?!  God was so good to us!  Micaela slept quite a while, then when she woke up, Anna played with her and distracted her from her first few plaintive cries of, “Mommy, I hungy.”  

We pulled into Galmi at 8:15 am.  It was supposed to be a 3-hour trip and we made it in 2 hours, 15 min.  It was a miracle.  Because we left early, we hadn’t hit regular traffic and Jonathan had driven faster than usual, but to shave off that much time was incredible, even miraculous.  We called the doctor who was just getting ready to start his workday to let him know we had arrived.  He met us at his office and ushered the whole family into the little room with several chairs and a few desks.  All our kids shared chairs with each other and we somehow managed to fit everyone in with room to spare.  The doctor had a look up Micaela’s nose, something which she was ALL TOO familiar with by now.  At this point in the game, a look up the nose generally invoked a small whimper.  He didn’t really see anything up there and asked, “Are you SURE there’s an eraser up there?” 

There HAD to be an eraser up there!  We had seen it clearly last night before Micaela went to bed, and I had checked it that morning and was pretty sure I had seen it.  There was NO WAY we had come all this way to have that elusive, stubborn eraser NOT be up there!   

The doctor took us over to the ENT building, which turned out to be a nice, clean room with 2 dentist-type exam chairs.  We were happy to meet the ENT specialist who had us sit Micaela down in one of the chairs.  It then became my job to hold her down.  There went on quite the sequence of both doctors taking turns looking up the nostril, opening it with a nasal-examining tool.  Was there anything up there?  Maybe?  Maybe not…?  Finally, the ENT specialist announced, “There!  I see something there!”  Another flurry of discussion, a catheter just like the one used the day before was pulled out.  I was torn between relief at the fact that they had seen something and distress at the thought of re-doing the catheter, and the possibility that it might not work again.  And yet, I was relieved that we might not have to sedate her. 

The threading of the catheter commenced, along with thrashing and screaming of Micaela.  A first attempt failed, so it was reinserted, this time much further in, enough that I could see it in her mouth.  She began gagging and snarffling, and it was all downrightly unpleasant, but necessary.  Thankfully, my nursing “nerves of (relative) steel” kicked in and I was able to hold fast to my kicking, screaming toddler.  The balloon was inflated.  Slowly it was drawn through the nasal passage.  All of a sudden, POP!  The balloon flew out of Micaela’s nose.  Everyone held their breath in hopes that the eraser popped out with it.  We looked around, but saw nothing.  My heart sank.  Upon reexamination of the nostril, it was determined that there was now NOTHING inside.  It was clear!  The doctors said the eraser may have gone into her stomach, but it was definitely no longer in her nose.  We were happy that her nose was clear, but did wish we had hard evidence that there HAD, indeed, been an eraser in there, and that it HAD, indeed, been extracted. 

We thanked the ENT specialist profusely and walked outside of the ENT building to chat with the other doctor for a moment.  As we were talking, we heard a shout from within the ENT building exclaiming, “I found it!  I found it!”  The specialist appeared, arm outstretched, the eraser lying in the palm of his hand.  He had found the eraser on the floor.

Wow.  What relief.  It was over.  We knew for sure-sure that there HAD been an eraser up her nose and that it WAS now out.  And Micaela was fine!  No sedation necessary.  We were so thankful to the Lord and to the doctors who helped us!

 

As we said our grateful goodbyes and piled into our Land Cruiser, we looked at the clock to see that only an hour had passed since we pulled into the hospital.  Micaela happily ate her breakfast of French toast, stuffing piece after piece into her mouth, beaming happily.  Hopefully, she has learned a lesson about putting things up her nose! 

As we drove home, we felt such joy and peace embrace us.  Everything seemed so surreal as we whizzed by millet fields, ready for harvests and women dressed in brightly colored clothes, pounding millet, or carrying large, yellow containers, on their way to the local well to get their family’s water for the morning.  Several camel trains, decked with Fulani families and all of their earthly possessions, lumbered by as we made our way home.  Herds of goats, sheep, and donkeys, shepherded by young boys, grazed at the side of the road.  Men walked with machetes and knives in hand, on their way to harvest their grain from their fields.  Some days it seems hard to believe we're living our everyday life in sub-Saharan Africa.

We arrived home by 12:30 pm, having left 6 and ½ hours earlier.  Talk about the Lord working everything together!  On a trip that should have taken 3 hours one-way, in a nation where ANY procedure can take hours just waiting in line, this kind of timing was clearly a blessing of God’s favor.  We may not live in a place that has an emergency room just around the corner, but we DO have a God that cares for us passionately and graciously.  All we have to do is look to Him to give us strength and grace for whatever we’re facing in this moment, whether or not it is one of “those” moments!

My New-Term's Resolution

We have been back in Niger for over a month now!  The time flies and it’s hard to believe how much we’ve been up to in less than 5 weeks.  That’s the thing that always gets me in blogging about my life in Niger.  Life here is absolutely packed with all kinds of things that happen to us or that might be interesting to write about, so... Which story to tell?  Which picture of all 2,000 that I took this month should I share?  If I let too much time go by, I start to get overwhelmed and give up writing all together.

 

BUT, hope springs eternal, right?!  With the beginning of a new term in Niger comes the hope that, once again, I could write and keep up better with what’s happening.  It’s like a New Year’s resolution.  January 1^st starts with fresh hope budding in the soul that this year, one could and WILL, “be faithful in ALL things, (for me) be an awesome wife, a loving mother who never speaks harshly to her precious little flock, a woman who keeps the house in ship-shape tidiness, a perfect missionary (whatever THAT is – hellllo-o?!), start that new exercise plan to really get in shape, read the Bible faithfully each and every day (maybe even all the way through it twice this year, even though I only made it to the Psalms last year)…”  The list goes on when looking at a New Year’s (or a New Term’s) list of resolutions.  Isn’t it funny how we do that?  Or maybe it’s just me!  Always looking for a fresh start to get the chance to do things perfectly THIS time! 

Oh, PERFECTION.  Definition: “the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.” (dictionary.com)

Hmmm…  That’s not what God’s looking for, is it?  He’s already told us in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” He’s not looking for us to attain perfection.  He already knows that we don’t have it within ourselves to complete any resolution list we make for ourselves.    

Stirring from within me, I hear a still-small voice saying, “His mercies are new every morning.”  I think God knew we would never do anything perfectly on this earth.  Thus, He made sure we knew that He creates EACH DAY NEW with a fresh start – new mercies for the new day.  We don’t have to restart at the beginning of a New Year (or a new term in Niger) to get it right.  Each day, as we go to Him to seek fresh mercy and grace for that day, He gives us grace to do what He’s called us to do that day.  It’s not about being perfect.  It’s about daily seeking Him, knowing Him, and having Him lead us.  It’s about relationship.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lam 3:21-26)

Just now, as I was sitting and pondering on what I demand of myself versus what He asks of me, I became aware of the children’s music playing in our living room.  The old song, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Amen. Amen.” was playing. (from Matt 6:33)

Jesus also said in this same passage as He talked about how much God cares for us and wants to provide for us, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt 6:34)  God knows each day has its struggles!  He also gave us the key to facing them.  “Trust Me.  Know Me.  Seek Me.  Don’t worry about those other things.  I’ll take care of them.  I’ll take care of you.”

So what does this have to do with blogging?  Or being a missionary in Niger?  Or being a mom, or a wife, or a friend?  It means instead of striving to do anything in this life with perfection, which is my natural tendency, I want to go to God first, to seek love and purpose from Him, to take some time to read His word, sing a song to Him, and soak in knowing He loves me and can order the steps of my day.  Once I’ve given my day to Him, everything seems to fall into place.  I have grace to love my children and joy in loving my husband.  I have energy to do what I need to do in the house, and patience to homeschool my kids.  These are all fruits of the Spirit!  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Wow – those are all of the things I want to be!  All the things I tend to strive for in my own strength.  And yet, these are the things He freely gives when He pours out His Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit (and His fruit!) to those who ask Him!”  (Luke 11:13)

He’s waiting for us to ask.  He loves to give “The Helper” to those who are seeking help. (John 14 & 15)  I don’t know about you, but I need HELP to run this race well.

My New-Term’s Resolution is to throw out my resolution list and look to God for strength, grace, joy, and direction on a day-to-day basis.  To run the race He’s set before me, looking to Him, my Helper (Mai-Taimako in Hausa), to pour out His love into my heart.  As I think about that, I feel a weight lift off me.  I can do that.  I can look to Him.  I can go to Him.  One day at a time.  His grace is sufficient for me, and His strength is made perfect in weakness.

As I was finishing the last sentence of this blog entry, my 2 year-old stuck a pencil eraser up her nose.  I’m off to put this lesson into practice.  His mercies are new every morning!   

Let It Rain!

After months and months of no rain and temperatures that reached over 120 degrees Fahrenheit outside and 100 degrees inside the house, there is nothing like the joy that comes with a storm.  Our rainy season came about 6 weeks late this year, which makes the falling of rain and the blowing of cool, stormy winds all the more appreciated and celebrated.  I took these photos while we waited for a storm to come in a few weeks ago...

There's a storm on the way!
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This is the most delightful feeling.  After the heat of a Nigerien day, the cooling breeze and the darkening clouds feel heavenly.
    

Sitting, waiting for the rain, and enjoying a little Micaela sunshine!
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And here comes the rain!

This storm is a rare treat, because there wasn't thunder at first.  This meant the kids could run in the rain, and boy, did they run!
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When the wind picked up, we called them up on the porch to watch.  Look at the puddles forming in our yard!
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A penny for your thoughts, sweet girl...
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We all just watch, soaking in the beauty of wet and of water!

 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

Psalm 147:7-8

A Rainy Sunday's Drive

This past Sunday morning, we traveled to the village of Rigiyar Bagware to worship with believers there.  Halfway through the service, a typical rainy-season-downpour started and continued for at least an hour.  There's nothing like sitting and hearing the rain (especially when it's been 10 months since you heard it!) pelting down on an African tin roof.  It's like a balm to the soul. 

 Taking up the offering.  What does your offering plate look like?  This is how we do it here.  Usually it's a small bowl. 

Right after the offering was taken up and blessed, the rains began.

After the service ended, it was still raining, so we sat chatting with people inside the church until there was a slight break in the rain.  These are some of my favorite moments.  I wonder what people think sometimes as I bumble along in their language, trying to communicate.  I think times like these when it's just me and my family, and them and theirs, that we are really able to connect.  As they see me running around after Micaela, pulling out a snack to share with everyone, and pulling my kids out of the rainy doorway for the millionth time, then changing my mind and deciding to let them enjoy putting their hands and heads out under the torrents of water...they'll dry soon enough!  ...as I see them running after their little ones, calming down a tantrum, soothing a bumped head...  We chat about mommy stuff, cooking food, challenges we're facing, and suddenly, it doesn't feel like we're from two different continents, two different languages, two different worlds.  We're just lovers of Jesus, moms, women sitting together, talking as the rain pounds down around us. 

Micaela and a little friend chat...  and exchange "toys" (pieces of paper).

Grace looks out through the church door and watches the rain fall as it fills the pastor's yard with water.  She can't resist sticking her hands, feet, and head out to feel the cool, wet rain drops.

When the rain let up just a bit, Jonathan said, "If we're ever going to get home, we're going to have to go now!"  "Okay," said I!  Thus, we found ourselves wishing our friends farewell, then running pell-mell for the Land Cruiser, knowing if we waited too long and the rains kept up, the roads (i.e. dirt paths) might be impassible.  

Our Land Cruiser awaited us across the small rivers of water...

Jonathan was soaked as 

he hopped in the Land Cruiser after his run through the water!

Waving goodbye to our friends!

 Off we go into a water adventure-land.

We saw a lot of this on the way home!

Here's a bit of our drive...  The kids' commentaries are priceless! 

We made it home safely!  We were relieved to see the paved main road after 10-20 minutes of driving through gushing water on the sand paths.  What adventure!

Please be praying that the rains continue to fall in Niger!  We need them to come regularly in order for the crops to grow well and in order to avoid nation-wide famine this year.  Thank you for praying!

"Do Not Be Afraid" -Jesus

“Do Not Be Afraid” – Jesus

(Matthew 14:27)

by Jonathan

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30) 

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.  For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.  Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.  And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,” (Philippians 1:21-25).

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

On Saturday, January 17, dozens of churches were burned throughout Niger.  In almost every major city, there were targeted attacks aimed at the church properties.  Several of the pastors that we know lost their homes and churches, just escaping with their lives and the clothes on their backs.  At our main church compound (where our Bible school is located), one pastor and seven youth held the front gate against a mob of hundreds trying to burn the church and Bible school down.  For over eight hours, they literally held the front and back doors to the compound shut against a crazy mob trying to get in.  They did not even have time to get a drink of water or eat anything all day, but stood firm and held the gate of the compound until the police arrived and helped to control the mob.  It is a miracle and a great answer to prayer that these eight men were able to hold the front door even as they were being hit by stones thrown from outside the compound and the gate was set on fire.  If the pastor and youth had not stood fast, we are certain that the Bible school and main church would have been destroyed, and the mob would most likely have attacked the next church on their list.  This is the kind of amazing faith that we are seeing as the Nigerien Christians standing fast for Christ even at the risk of their own lives. 

Another great testimony came out of this wave of persecution last week when pastors met with the government leaders in our city.  The leaders (Muslims) apologized on behalf of the ones who had carried out the attacks against the church.  Because of the way that the pastors came to the meeting in a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, the leaders were in awe of them.  They said, “Is this really what Christians are like?” and, “We have never seen or known anyone like the Christians.”  The church has great favor with the local authorities right now and even many of the media and radio channels have been talking about this.

The security situation in Niger continues to be high.  Last weekend, the government of Niger (along with Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria) decided that they needed to set up a regional task force to fight B-ko Har-m in Northeastern Nigeria.  As a result of this decision, B.H. has started to attack most of these countries, including Niger.  Since last weekend, there have been numerous attacks by B.H. in the Diffa region of Niger.  We have several pastor friends and know many Christians who live in that area.  Most of them have fled, some of them coming to our city which is about a day’s drive away.  We have also seen within Niger this last week several suicide bombers, a car bomb, and other terrorist activities.  Even in our city, several caches of bombs and guns brought in by B.H. have been found by the local authorities and confiscated. 

How is the church responding to all of these things?  This last Sunday, the Sunday school children did a skit in the morning service explaining how to stand fast during persecution.  The children are between six and twelve years old.  They started by splitting into two groups.  One group represented the church where the “pastor” (an eight year old) was speaking about persecution to his people.  The other group represented the “terrorists” attacking the church.  As the “pastor” was preaching to his little group of followers and encouraging them to stand fast in the Lord, the other group (representing terrorists) came in and “executed” him.  Then they “killed” the rest of the Christians except for one.  As the terrorists questioned this last Christian, the Christian forgave them and began to preach to them saying, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.”  The terrorists were “convicted” and repented.  The skit ended with the group of terrorists choosing to follow Jesus.  Wow.  That is the season the church is in right now in Niger. 

After the children’s skit, the pastor then launched into his message about how it is necessary for Christians living today to have a solid Biblical perspective towards persecution.  He read the Scriptures above and then made one comment that really impacted us.  He asked the question “Why are we afraid to die?  The one who is afraid of death is the one whose treasure is on this earth and he is afraid that he will lose it.”  The pastor went on to say, “Paul considered it better to be with the Lord, death was only gain.  But even though he knew that to be with the Lord was better, he chose to stay to encourage the believers.  In Paul’s mind, however, being home with the Lord was better than being on this earth.  The Christian’s perspective of death should be gain, not loss.  Our treasure is with Jesus in heaven, not on this earth.”   

We are learning from our Nigerien brothers and sisters that as Christians we must learn to renounce the fear of death in any shape and form that can paralyze us and hinder us from serving and fulfilling the will of the Lord on our lives.  We have been saved from having to live in fear.  Fear itself was nailed to the cross.  Each believer has the ability through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to overcome fear and to influence the world around them by walking in peace, joy and faith.  In the end times there will be paranoia in the media, news, nations, and even our own cities and towns, but we must realize that Jesus is King and He reigns above these situations.  As the Church, we are called to live above our situations and circumstances and to point to the only One who can give hope and salvation, Jesus Christ.  Our responsibility is to look unto Jesus and to lead those He brings our way to Him as well.  But if we let fear take hold of our hearts, we will not be able to influence or to lead others to Christ.  This would be a great tragedy in the church today if Christians in the last days, the only ones who have any real lasting hope in this life, look at outward circumstances and “hide” their light because of the fear and cares of this world.   

Let us remember that this world is not our home.  Our home is with Jesus and nothing can take away the place that He has prepared for us with Himself forever.  Let us live with the reality that we belong to Jesus and our future is in His hands.  Jesus is our past, He is our present, and He is our future.  Let us run the race looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!  Let us not allow fear to disqualify us from running the race that Jesus has set before us.  We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.  Let us instead be of the mind like the apostle Paul, who said, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Let us boldly shine for Jesus today!  He is worthy! 

In His Grace,

Jonathan and Dani Bowden