When we arrived at the bus station in Zinder we met with Pastor Akin, a missionary from Nigeria. He had done CPx (Church Planting Experience) with me the previous year in Cape Town at All Nations. It was great to see him and his family again.
They gave us the church’s guesthouse but we spent most nights on the veranda under the stars. It was just too hot inside. Right next to the guesthouse was the main Mosque in town. It had a giant green Minaret rising up into the sky and it felt like the megaphone was pointed straight at us. Every morning at exactly 4am we were startled awake by the Imam blowing in the microphone and cleaning his throat before letting it rip. It was deafening.
Our only relief from the roaring minaret were our outings into the surrounding villages around town. These were wonderful times. We paid the fuel for the church’ s two Land Cruisers and with their Jesus film equipment on the roof rack we spent a few nights at a time in a different village. At night we would set up the big screen, projector and generator and show the Jesus film to whole town. During the day we would do the same thing the rest of the village did- try and survive the intense heat. The temperature gauge in the Land Cruiser regularly read 51°C.
In the first town of Dogo we were lead by the local pastor to an old couple’s hut who had just become Christians. He wanted us to pray with them. While praying two Muslim men walked by and were interested in what we were doing. They peeked in the door and having heard of Jesus for the first time asked who it was. The men, being Muslim, knew the story of the prophet Noah, and the pastor used this story to explain what Jesus did for us. “Jesus is like the boat,” he explained. “Get into it and you will be saved.” Immediately the men agreed to ‘ get into’ Jesus. I was astounded. For most of the year we had seen very little in terms of fruit or people committing their lives to Jesus. I had become desperate and a few weeks earlier I had begged Jesus to see some fruit. And here it was. Out of the blue, without having to convince them, they were kneeling on the ground and praying to Jesus. I couldn’t believe how seemingly ‘easy’ it was and just realised that it’s all God, and all we had to do was to be ‘present’.
In Dogo we were also invited to go and greet the local chief or king. He was dressed up in his royal robes and seated at the end of a type of outside hallway. At the end of our meeting he even agreed for us to share the gospel with him and pray for him. Even though he was Muslim the doors were wide open to us!
From Dogo we visited a few other villages. In one of them specifically the pastor and his family had been staying for years without seeing any breakthrough. We encouraged and prayed with them. One of our highlights were the town of Tanout, north of Zinder. One evening after ministering to the church we started praying for some of the visitors. One of them a lady covered in traditional Fulani fetishes. As soon as Madeleen touched her she fell to the ground squirming. Unsure of what was happening we stood back, but another Nigerian missionary and our translator, Paul, recognised it as a demon manifesting. When we started calling on it to leave her she jumped up and became violent, lashing at us and swinging her arms wildly. Having never seen anything remotely similar I won’t be honest if I say I wasn’t afraid. But Paul took charge of the situation and continued cursing the demon until she was more under control but still lying on the ground, shaking and foaming from the mouth. I’m pretty sure what he did next is not in the Bible, but somehow it played a role in releasing her from the demon or demons, however many there were- he anointed her with oil by pouring a little bit down her throat. Next Johan and I felt the obvious step was to get rid of the fetishes so we cut it all off with a knife and threw it into the fire. All the while praying for her. Suddenly, as if in an instant she sat up completely quiet and peaceful, under her breath she kept on whispering: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…” She was healed!
Since it was so hot we usually slept in our tents without the cover sheets on. Madeleen’s tent was made out of netting, so one could see right through. The next morning she woke up with the previously demonised lady sitting right next to her staring straight at her. She was so thankful for being released from the demons. Apparently she went out from there and walked through the whole town telling people that Jesus had saved her.
From Tanout we went straight into the desert to visit some of the nomadic Fulani believers. We spent two nights at two different wells, ministering to the believers and showing them and other Fulani the Jesus film. Throughout our time in Niger we were amazed at how open and ready the Fulani were for the gospel. Literally like a ripe harvest. Because this nomadic tribe had kept on moving around through the desert and they had been looked down upon by the Touareg and other Muslim groups Islam had not taken root in their culture. They were nominal Muslims but more than ready to take on Jesus. They were also very impressed with the fact that they could read and understand the Bible in their own language, other than the Arabic Quran of which they had no knowledge. We need to send someone into this this harvest field!
Next on the list was the last town we would visit, Aderbissinet, even further up north and deeper into the desert. Here we also ministered to local believers and showed the Jesus film in the market. From the movie two more Fulani gave their lives to Jesus and we spent the next day discipling them and explaining the gospel to them. We also met a local Touareg king and his family here and could pray for them, it was the first time we met people from the famous Touareg tribe.
Our time in Niger was drawing to a close and we were readying ourselves for our next destination, Abuja the capital city of Nigeria, a 710km, 11h journey. Here would stay over for a few days to get our Cameroon visas before taking on the infamous jungles and roads to get there.
From top to bottom: The old Touareg King, a few of us in front of Millet store houses, slaughtering a goat, typical Fulani herdsmen, ministering to the Fulani in the desert, a Fulani showing off with his camel.