The Bible speaks of provision and God the provider numerous times. Surely many of us, as Christians, has experienced God's amazing provision at some point in our lives in the same way it is written in the scriptures. This is true also for the URN project, which raised more than R60 000 in less than three weeks to feed the needy and the hungry masses of Niger.
Not only has God blessed this project in miraculous ways with finances, open doors and heaps of favour, but He is using this project as a means to reach more and more people in Niger and especially those in remote locations with The Good News.
nOn the very first day of food distribution in the small town of Dogo, the Gospel was preached to the crowds of people upon receiving their share of millet. The message basically said that God is the One True Provider and that the food they are receiving is not from man but from Him. We must hunger for God in the same way our bodies hunger for food and in the same way we feed our bodies we must also feed our souls. All of these messages had a definite impact on the people and the reactions received from the crowds were quite positive. A Muslim man from a village in another district invited our translator, Yhaiea, to come and preach the Gospel to the different villages in the area. He said that he would like all the people in all the villages of the district to convert to Christianity because he can see that what we follow is the truth. Yhaiea is going there in two weeks time and we will continue to pray that that whole district will come to know Christ.
On our way to Kantche we caught a ride with a young Muslim man on his way from Zinder to Nigeria. Since the man had little English and spoke mostly Hausa, Paul (our translator) was the only one who communicated with him during the trip. The man was obviously curious about what it was that we were doing in this part of the world and why we were on our way to Kantche. Upon hearing about the URN Project and the food distribution the man replied that the way in which Christians show sympathy and compassion is one thing that the Islam faith lacks and that Muslims will almost never give so abundantly to others as Christians do. He later told Paul that he will definitely support Christians in everything they do in Niger and that he will stand up for Christians whenever someone speaks anything against our faith. He wants to know more about Jesus and Christianity and wants to arrange a meeting with Paul as soon as possible.
The people of Niger realise the power, love and truth that is available in Christ Jesus, the persecution and religious situation in the country just makes it hard for them to fully convert from Islam. But the truth is being spoken and people are hearing it and people are accepting it and we want to thank the Lord for that! We are seeing miracles happen everyday here in Niger and the Lord definitely has a BIG plan and a BIG purpose for this place. Together our support and prayers can help that purpose come into fulfillment and we pray that the URN project will reach hundreds more people in these last few days.