As we enter into 2008 there are so many things that we have to be thankful for, God has been so good to us in helping us find a house and get settled in Niger. (I was thinking this afternoon that sometimes our house has more bathrooms than towels, but they tell me that is an intentional thing in Niger to ensure that you generally have at least one that works. Sometimes we get to play “progressive hygiene”, where you use one bathroom for the toilet, another for the sink and the last for the shower!). It has been encouraging to see His hand leading us in so many ways.
However there are still a number of things that you can be praying about through this coming year:
--Dave and I are studying “Zarma” a local language in order to be better able to communicate the gospel here in Niamey. Please pray that we are able to focus on our studies, that we will be able to remember what we learn and to use it effectively. The other day a neighbour came by and told us that she wanted to visit “almari” (tonight in Zarma) unfortunately we thought that she wanted to visit “mardi” (Thursday in French).Please pray that these kinds of misunderstandings become less frequent and especially for me (Jennifer) as I struggle to communicate in both French and Zarma.
--pray for opportunities to connect with our neighbours in meaningful ways, developing good relationships that we might have opportunities to eat with them, bless them, learn with them and see God at work in our community.
--pray that God will bring others alongside to work with us in our ministry in Niamey
--pray for the boys and their adjustment to life in Niger (especially for Cole who has asperger’s syndrome, making it all the more difficult for him)
--pray for teachers for their school (as of right now neither of them will have a teacher for next year, unless God provides and they are desperately in need of a Math teacher in the high school for this semester)
--please pray for our health and safety (especially when traveling –we have a fairly long drive to get the boys to school and see car accidents regularly). Along those lines, pray that we would have wisdom and good judgement as we need to replace our car in 2008 and aren’t really sure what would be the best thing to replace it with.
Most of all pray for peace in Niger. There is some fighting in the Northern area going on that at this point only affects us indirectly (ie.the price of gas has gone up to about $1.50 /litre) the people living in that region are having a hard time receiving food and other supplies which is especially hard because a large number of Nigeriennes struggle to provide food for their families. (I heard a statistic somewhere that most Nigeriennes live on less than a dollar a day). The other problem with the conflict is that there is no guarantee that the unrest will remain there and there is always the possibility of it escalating and ending up in the capital city where we are.
Blessings to you in 2008 where ever it may find you!
However there are still a number of things that you can be praying about through this coming year:
--Dave and I are studying “Zarma” a local language in order to be better able to communicate the gospel here in Niamey. Please pray that we are able to focus on our studies, that we will be able to remember what we learn and to use it effectively. The other day a neighbour came by and told us that she wanted to visit “almari” (tonight in Zarma) unfortunately we thought that she wanted to visit “mardi” (Thursday in French).Please pray that these kinds of misunderstandings become less frequent and especially for me (Jennifer) as I struggle to communicate in both French and Zarma.
--pray for opportunities to connect with our neighbours in meaningful ways, developing good relationships that we might have opportunities to eat with them, bless them, learn with them and see God at work in our community.
--pray that God will bring others alongside to work with us in our ministry in Niamey
--pray for the boys and their adjustment to life in Niger (especially for Cole who has asperger’s syndrome, making it all the more difficult for him)
--pray for teachers for their school (as of right now neither of them will have a teacher for next year, unless God provides and they are desperately in need of a Math teacher in the high school for this semester)
--please pray for our health and safety (especially when traveling –we have a fairly long drive to get the boys to school and see car accidents regularly). Along those lines, pray that we would have wisdom and good judgement as we need to replace our car in 2008 and aren’t really sure what would be the best thing to replace it with.
Most of all pray for peace in Niger. There is some fighting in the Northern area going on that at this point only affects us indirectly (ie.the price of gas has gone up to about $1.50 /litre) the people living in that region are having a hard time receiving food and other supplies which is especially hard because a large number of Nigeriennes struggle to provide food for their families. (I heard a statistic somewhere that most Nigeriennes live on less than a dollar a day). The other problem with the conflict is that there is no guarantee that the unrest will remain there and there is always the possibility of it escalating and ending up in the capital city where we are.
Blessings to you in 2008 where ever it may find you!
1 comment:
Happy New Year!
*The Cockrams*
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