August 21st

Dear Friends and Family,
It is Tuesday night. We have not been able to get on line in Maradi, nor at the guest house in Niamey where we had such great service last year. It has been frustrating to read "Server NOT found!" Now we are downtown (?) Niamey at a cyber cafe. It was great to read our emails, and we hope you get this note. We trust you are all well.

We have been blessed with good health and stamina. Jim is suffering from shingles, but medication is helping. Many of the teachers suffer from malaria which is an on-going concern for this population.

We loved the teachers in Maradi, and after a wonderful closing ceremony we headed for Niamey on Friday afternoon at 3:15. We decided to drive to Galmi (about 4 hours) and then do the remainder of the trip on Saturday. The trip to Galmi went well and we appreciated a good night's rest at the Mission Guest House. We left at 6:45 A.M. on that infamous road trip to Niamey. It proved to be just that: at 9:o'clock the van just stopped suddenly. Jim and Ted thought it was an electrical failure. We had plenty of food and water with us: I took out my umbrella for shade as the shadow of the van yielded very little shade. After a few futile attempts to start the van, Brigitte caught a ride with a passing car and headed for Koni, a village we had gone through about 35 miles away. We awaited her return hoping for help! The sun grew hotter and we waited .... four hours we waited! At 1:o'clock Brigitte arrived on the back of a motor scooter with a mechanic. She had explained the problem and he came prepared. Wow, at 1:20 we were back on the road, and on our way.

At 2:o'clock a loud POP and a jerky van indicated a blow-out! One of the new tires was shredded. Good News, we had a spare. Bad News, the jack did not work...Good News, the driver of a passing car allowed the use of his jack. Good News, we were once again on our way. Bad News, the many road detours made for dusty bumpy trails, and we witnessed many accidents. It was a long day and we were all very dirty and tired as we arrived at the SIM Guest House, our home for the next two weeks.

The wonderful part about that bad travel day was Briditte's experience. She caught a ride to Koni by just flagging down a passing car. When she got in the car she noticed that they had Christian music on a tape: and it turned out that one of the men was her Nigerien friend's brother-in-law. They drove her around Koni to find the 'best' mechanic, who turned out to be a Bible School student she had had several years earlier. It was such an example of God's love and provision for us.

Life is hard here, but the teachers are gracious and the seminars are going well. One hundred five teachers have participated in this year's four seminars (two in Maradi and two in Niamey). Today we divided the class into small groups to demonstrate praise and thanksgiving as an appropriate response to God. One group drew a mural of people praising God. One group composed and sang a song, another group wrote a poem similar to a psalm, and the fourth group did a skit on caring for God's world. It was not only fun for us, but an inspiration as well.

Thanks for your prayers. It is a joy for us to let the teachers know that you are praying for them.
They also send GREETING to all of you.

Till we are able to touch base (keyboard) again....good night.

Love, Your reps in Niger

		Messages from Niger Home \| Next
		*Vonk's Nigerien Log*
Dear Friends and Family, It is Tuesday night. We have not been able to get on line in Maradi, nor at the guest house in Niamey where we had such great service last year. It has been frustrating to read "Server NOT found!" Now we are downtown (?) Niamey at a cyber cafe. It was great to read our emails, and we hope you get this note. We trust you are all well. We have been blessed with good health and stamina. Jim is suffering from shingles, but medication is helping. Many of the teachers suffer from malaria which is an on-going concern for this population. We loved the teachers in Maradi, and after a wonderful closing ceremony we headed for Niamey on Friday afternoon at 3:15. We decided to drive to Galmi (about 4 hours) and then do the remainder of the trip on Saturday. The trip to Galmi went well and we appreciated a good night's rest at the Mission Guest House. We left at 6:45 A.M. on that infamous road trip to Niamey. It proved to be just that: at 9:o'clock the van just stopped suddenly. Jim and Ted thought it was an electrical failure. We had plenty of food and water with us: I took out my umbrella for shade as the shadow of the van yielded very little shade. After a few futile attempts to start the van, Brigitte caught a ride with a passing car and headed for Koni, a village we had gone through about 35 miles away. We awaited her return hoping for help! The sun grew hotter and we waited .... four hours we waited! At 1:o'clock Brigitte arrived on the back of a motor scooter with a mechanic. She had explained the problem and he came prepared. Wow, at 1:20 we were back on the road, and on our way. At 2:o'clock a loud POP and a jerky van indicated a blow-out! One of the new tires was shredded. Good News, we had a spare. Bad News, the jack did not work...Good News, the driver of a passing car allowed the use of his jack. Good News, we were once again on our way. Bad News, the many road detours made for dusty bumpy trails, and we witnessed many accidents. It was a long day and we were all very dirty and tired as we arrived at the SIM Guest House, our home for the next two weeks. The wonderful part about that bad travel day was Briditte's experience. She caught a ride to Koni by just flagging down a passing car. When she got in the car she noticed that they had Christian music on a tape: and it turned out that one of the men was her Nigerien friend's brother-in-law. They drove her around Koni to find the 'best' mechanic, who turned out to be a Bible School student she had had several years earlier. It was such an example of God's love and provision for us. Life is hard here, but the teachers are gracious and the seminars are going well. One hundred five teachers have participated in this year's four seminars (two in Maradi and two in Niamey). Today we divided the class into small groups to demonstrate praise and thanksgiving as an appropriate response to God. One group drew a mural of people praising God. One group composed and sang a song, another group wrote a poem similar to a psalm, and the fourth group did a skit on caring for God's world. It was not only fun for us, but an inspiration as well. Thanks for your prayers. It is a joy for us to let the teachers know that you are praying for them. They also send GREETING to all of you. Till we are able to touch base (keyboard) again....good night. Love, Your reps in Niger
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