Dear Wellum’s Couples,
We would like to share a brief overview of our recent mission trip to Niger, West Africa! It was without a doubt the single greatest and most impactful week of our lives. Despite being a region dominated by Islam (over 99%), God is miraculously at work amongst the Songhai people.
Statistics: The oppression of Islam is abundantly clear in their culture. Their Muslim faith has also been incorporated with various elements of tribal religion and witchcraft. 50% of their population is under 15 years of age, while only three out of five children make it to the age of five. The literacy rate is optimistically calculated to be around 15%, with nearly all of those being men. Going to school is an optional decision made by either the parents, who make their children work, or the children who just decide not to go. The average annual income for someone in Niger stands around $250. The poverty we saw here was indescribable. The heat is intense: 110 degrees plus every day. And finally, what was the most staggering and heartbreaking statistic for Jessica and I; in the villages of Dargol and Kakassi there are zero Christians over eight years in their faith and ZERO second generation Christians. This means that, without exception, there is no believer who has Christian parents or no there is no believer that has Christian children. The spiritual darkness over this area is indescribable. Because Islam is so prevalent there, the cost of becoming a Christian is difficult to comprehend. As a Christian, you are shunned by your family and community and therefore left with no job or place to live; it is nearly impossible to survive as a Christian. Because of this, over 93% of people who profess faith in Christ, return to Islam within a couple of years. The village of Kakassi is home to approximately 10,000 people, and only one believer, ONE! In Dargol, a village of about 14,000, there are between 5-10 believers. The number here is uncertain because some of these believers have gone missing, and cannot currently be accounted for.
Missionaries: One of the greatest joys we encountered on our trip were the missionaries and translators that we had the privilege to work with. The International Mission Board has two couples in Niamey, that work with these villages. They were wonderful hosts and were an amazing blessing to us. These couples also have been working alongside a missionary team from Brazil who actually live in the village of Dargol. By living in the village they provide a constant Christian presence in the village but also live in amazingly difficult conditions. As Christians, they are under constant spiritual attack and currently, they are at risk of being sent back to Brazil because of diseases they have acquired while living in such difficult conditions. In addition to working with these missionaries, we also worked with four translators. They were sensational. All of them are Christians and some of the boldest people you could ever meet; they are willing to risk everything for the advance of the gospel. It was a joy to work with them and they quickly became our dear friends that we hope to see again soon.
How We Spent Our Days: Our team of thirteen would load into a bus at 6.45am for the villages of Dargol and Kakassi. The hour and a half drive was broken up by a stop at the Niger River Ferry. This provided one of the most shocking sights for us. The river was the place for bathing, washing clothes, drinking water, and the bathroom. The lack of concern and understanding about hygiene or sanitation blew our minds. In addition, the smells of the surrounding market provided rude awakening for anyone napping on the bus. This is also where we met Fati and Umu (the girls pictured with us below). They are not Christians, but we were able to share the gospel with them and are praying often for their salvation.
As we would drive into the villages huge crowds of kids would immediately surround our bus. We began by meeting at the Church at Dargol where we would worship together. We sang together often in Zerma (the Songhai language), French (the national language of Niger), Portuguese, and English. Despite the differences in language, the unity of Spirit was evident. Following the worship, there would be a time of teaching in the church; each man on our team was assigned a topic and a day to teach. I was extremely honored to preach about the person and work of Christ in The Church of Dargol. While the teaching was going on, everyone else would divide up in groups and go throughout the village sharing the gospel. It was one of the most humbling experiences of our lives. We realized how precious the gospel is and how often we take it for granted. Throughout the course of the week we were able to share the gospel with hundreds of people, many of whom who had never heard the gospel before. Often we would begin with a small group of ten, but by the time we finished there would be fifty people surrounding us. We rejoice that we were able to see a young man, named Bashirou, come to Christ.
Again, we would like to thank those of you who prayed for us as we were on this trip. Though the numbers are currently small in Niger, God’s work there is immense. We are so thankful that we were able to see just a glimpse of what he is doing amongst the Songhai people. We would love to tell you more about our trip, and you can visit the following website www.seekingthesonghai.net for more information.
Eric and Jessica Sosebee