Messages from
Niger

We are back home in Battle Creek after an absence of five weeks. We returned Saturday night into the welcoming arms of our grandchildren and their parents who met us at Detroit Metro Airport. By the time we finally went to bed it was 5:A.M. on our time schedule.

We are still a little bit foggy as we process our experiences and consider the next steps. We want to thank all the website viewers and those who lifted us in prayer. We are convinced that we were wrapped in prayer and God's grace was an abiding force in our responsibilities and travels.

We left Niamey after a sendoff from the EERN Church. They had a dinner for us which included a roasted ram. This was another example of the giving hospitality of a gracious people. Eight elders accompanied us to the airport and we made the 12:55 A.M. flight with no difficulties. We slept a little on the five-hour flight to Paris arriving there at 6:15 A.M. After clearing luggage and customs we headed straight for the Euro-rail train station and found a train to Brussels and Amsterdam. The Euro-rail is a wonderful way to travel through the countryside at 187 miles per hour. We did not have reservations for the night so we had to find a hotel which we were able to do through a broker at the train station. We chose a nice hotel which was supposed to be "a five minute walk" from the train station. We pulled our luggage, each carrying one small piece, and pulling two others .........along the cobblestone walkways and over tram rails we pulled and rattled along! It was much farther than "a five minute walk!" When we reached the hotel we were met by uniformed doormen who quickly handled our luggage. They asked where we had come from....I'm sure we looked pretty bedraggled! They smiled kindly as we explained we had left Niamey at 1:A.M. and then directly left Paris, and now had just arrived in Amsterdam. The overnight stay in this grand hotel was very special! We could not afford to stay there during our week in the Netherlands so late the next morning we hit the streets to find an affordable hotel that would meet our needs: we did find a nice hotel at 30% of the other price. Our room was clean and large and included a wonderful breakfast. We checked in thinking we'd stay one night and then go on to visit other cities, but we ended up staying there all week and taking the tram, bus, and train other places.

We enjoyed the sights (and food!!) and visited both of our fathers' birthplaces. We went to Sassenheim to visit the old family church and early home of William VanVelzen and to Utrecht to visit the Neal Vonk birthplace. Although, we had been there almost thirty years ago it was still a thrill to imagine our fathers, as boys, skating on the canals. We visited several large beautiful old churches and cathedrals, but they seemed cold; quite unlike the vibrant witness of those in worship in the mud-brick churches in Niger.

We are grateful for the people we met and the experience we shared during our fact-finding trip. We will continue to be involved with advancing Christian Education in Niger. There is an urgency as the government of Niger is presently allowing new schools to open. The existing school system is dysfunctional and the Church realizes that this is a great opportunity to open quality Christian Schools. We will be working in four areas to promote Christian Education in Niger. They are:
(1) Training Christian teachers
(2) Building a new Christian School in Zinder.
That is funding, constructing, equipping, and staffing
a middle school in Zinder, Niger
(3) Promoting Student Scholarship Funds
Full scholarships for AIDS orphans
75% scholarships for children of pastors and evangelists
25% scholarships to other students of need
$120.00 will support a student's education for a full year
(4) Promoting and subsidizing the Talking Bible in the Hausa language

These projects will require funding, coordination, and evaluation. All funding will go through the RCA Office. If individuals or organizations are interested in supporting Christian Education in Niger they may contact us at etvonk@aol.com We will be formalizing all these details in the weeks ahead.

Thanks again for traveling this journey with us and for sharing the vision. The work is just beginning.

In Christ,
Ted and Eleanor
Ephesians 3:20-21