It is available here too!

Most everywhere I have traveled I have experienced something amazing, and I found it here  in Niger as well.  There is so much that is not here in Niger.  It has the lowest standard of living of any country on the planet, I think I heard that it is the hottest country on the planet, almost no fruit is grown here, but on our first full day we were able to join with other Christians in worship.  In a country that is only 0.33% Christian, the beauty, mystery and unity of heartfelt worship of God through Christ is here.

Our team was able to visit three different worship services today – two completely, and one in part.  What a blessing!  The first was to a church plant which started six weeks ago (January 8).   It was simple and wonderful!  Most of the service was in the Hausa language, with some songs in French (the common language of Niger), and a few in English (they might have been thrown in because of one row of white skinned folk).  Christine was near to tears as she took in the service.  Without understanding a word, it still spoke to the soul.  Beautiful voices, raised in song so that all around could hear what was happening - litterally.

A church that meets in a building like this is a natural witness to neighbors.  While there is a wall surrounding the property for security purposes (and every property in the city for that matter), there were no walls in the building where we sang (and yes, we could sing from the songbooks even though we could recognize nothing but the name of Jesus (Yesu)).  Why do you need walls when winter days are still over 80 degrees, and who would want walls in the summer when the mercury shoots well past 100 every day? With over 50 Nigeriens (including the only Christian member of Parliament - who was a joy to talk with) we worshiped the Lord.  But that was only the start.

After saying our farewells, we were off to the main location for this denomination.  

We entered a construction zone.  While the first church building was recently constructed, the main church is building something brand-new.  This was a decision forced upon them this time of year two years ago.  The riots of Paris after a satirical paper enflamed passions spread to Niger as well.  While Christians were not physically attacked, their buildings were – and the building which was once here was destroyed by fire.  So now this church can build bigger, create more space for the future, and the 500 seat auditorium they are building will be wonderful.  But again, the beauty is not the building, but the people.  Filling a temporary structure out back, we entered to hear the end of the sermon, and enjoy a final anthem from the choir. The entire service was in French and Hausa, and as it ended up, we experienced the final 20 minutes of a three hour service.  A service filled with young and old, and more importantly filled with joy and love.  

After lunch at a restaurant with the pastor from the first church, and a denominational leader, we returned to our guest house to prep dinner and rest a bit before heading back out to the final service of the day. 

We were able to engage more fully in this service – because we knew the language.  While to many it would feel like a church, it really isn’t.  Most everyone there is part of a church, but those churches do not worship in their heart language.  This is a time for worship and teaching in English for people doing ministry in Niger, NGO staff, and others.  Today the worship was led by a worship team led by a man from Ohio, and the sermon was preached by a pastor from upstate New York.  It was refreshing to sing with this gathering of about 120 people, and an honor to encourage them with eternal truths. 

Then at the guest house we enjoyed a dinner with the Johnsons (it is a lot of fun to get to know the Johnson girls).

There is so much more to share about Niger – but just know, that even in the country where only 1 out over every 300 people knows Jesus, there is glorifying worship happening!