by Kris Yeomans – Missionary to the Philippines and Niger
She thought it was safe. It had been quiet for a few days. No harassment. No mockery. No abuse. No threats. Yes, it had been quiet for a few days. Peaceful. Farra decided it was time to travel out to a village to collect 5000 francs owed to her. She needed money to buy food for her four children that remained in her custody. They were down to the last bit of millet they owned, and she knew that after they gathered around 2:00 pm to have their one meal of the day, they would have no more food. So she got up from the ground where she had slept, and walked out of the hut into the bright morning sun.
Upon arriving in the village on the outskirts of town, she went to the home of her friend, the one who owed her the money. She reached the old wooden gate of the home where her friend lived. She greeted the three children working in the front yard, and called out to her friend who was still inside. “Annekke….Annekke!” Annekke came out of the house, and the women began to chat, first spending five minutes greeting one another and asking about family, etc.
After a few minutes of casual conversation, Farra asked Annekke if she had the 5,000 francs owed to her. “Yes, I have it. I will go inside and get the money,” Annekke replied. As she got up to walk inside, she noticed a large group of people a short distance away. Dust was all around, and the crowd was very noisy. Annekke called over to Farra and said, “Farra, what do you suppose is happening?” Before Farra could respond, she heard a voice that she had hoped she would never hear again. Over the noisy crowd, she heard the voice of her husband call her name loudly – “FARRA!!!!!” Her heart sank as her pulse increased. “OH NO,” she thought. “Someone has alerted my husband that I am here.” As Farra stood from the bench she was seated on, her husband quickly approached her, along with her own mother, and began to physically attack her. Her mother grabbed her by the throat and began choking her, and her husband grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground. “How could you, FARRA??!!,” her mother shouted. “How could you do this to our family?! You are a disgrace!” Her husband moved closer to her, as she sat on the ground, weeping. “If you choose to remain a follower of Jesus, you will never see your children again!” With that, he attempted to kick Farra. Thankfully, she got up from the ground quickly and avoided the foot that was aiming for her head. With tear-filled eyes, she looked at her husband and mother, as she was walking away, and said, “You can do whatever you like to me. You can kill me. I am now a follower of Jesus, and I will never turn back.”
Welcome to the life of Nigerien believers. Stories like this are common in the desolate, hot, sandy nation of Niger, where a vast majority of the people are Muslim. While it is now legal to convert to Christianity, it is anything but easy. Yet in spite of the persecutions, people are switching their allegiance to Christ. The Spirit of God is blowing thru the Sahel.
God is leading us to minister and serve among the people of Niger. Who are the people of Niger? They are some of the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet. They live in the harshest environment we have ever experienced, yet they always seem to have smiles on their faces. They have needs. Real needs. Needs that you and I cannot even begin to imagine. How are they are going to feed their children as they live in a country that is consistently ranked one of the lowest on the human development index? How are their children going to get an education so they can rise above the 29% literacy rate, or keep them out of the hands of the terrorists’ recruiters, or how to manipulate the spirits to keep them safe? In the midst of their sufferings, they need Jesus. They need the hope that only He can offer, not only in the life to come, but in this current life also.
Most people in Niger, 95% of the country’s population, claim to be adherents of Islam. Yet you will find that Folk Islam is more common, especially in the villages. They claim their allegiance to Allah and Muhammad, yet they wear amulets to ward off spirits. They desperately need to know the Jesus we serve who has power over all created things, including the dark forces they live their lives trying to manipulate. They need to know that Jesus is Good News to them.
As we look forward to ministering in Niger, our goal is to see national Christ followers discipled in sound, biblical theology who will be able to work out that theology to produce indigenous churches that honor and glorify God as a reflection of their culture. Soon after language study is completed, we hope to begin an in-depth Bible study with national Christians. We envision this will start in our home or in the home of a pastor. As God leads, we hope that these Bible studies in a home will grow to become an indigenous Bible training center with mature, discipled Christian leaders teaching Gospel living in a way that makes sense within their culture. Our prayer is that the hope of Jesus will go forward, transforming the culture of Niger into a Gospel-centered culture.
In addition to the Bible studies, we plan to work with national partners in village evangelism/discipleship and have a weekly children’s Bible study. In a country where approximately half of the people are under the age of 16, reaching a young generation can change it all. So, we will have a strategy to reach out to children and youth. As we mentioned before, the people of Niger have many needs. We hope to host short-term teams from our General Baptist churches. Anyone and everyone can be used in a powerful way to communicate the Gospel on short-term trips to Niger, from teaching and preaching, to electrical work, to sports, to agriculture-related work, and everything in between. We need you!
We are seeking missional churches and individuals to partner with us. We are so thankful for our partners. We could not serve the people of Niger without all of our partners coming alongside us and serving with us. The gratitude we feel toward all our partners cannot be expressed in words. We are thankful. As we study the book of Philippians, we are encouraged by the partnership between Paul and the missional church of Philippi. Paul’s letter truly gives us a glimpse of what a partnership between a missionary and their sending church should look like. We think of our home church, Leigh’s Chapel General Baptist Church in Greenville, KY. Without our family at Leigh’s Chapel, there is no way we would be able to fulfill God’s calling on our lives. They are a great example of what a missional church is. They love, support, pray, give and go, both locally and abroad, and we couldn’t ask for a more wonderful home church family. We are so thankful for our Leigh’s Chapel family. We also think of all the wonderful General Baptist churches that we have had the pleasure of visiting. Hands down, our favorite part of the preparation process for getting to the field was being able to meet and visit with so many of our General Baptist churches. We as a denomination are truly blessed with not only great churches, but great members that make up those churches. We are so very thankful for every one of you that pray for us, encourage us by sending cards, and support us financially.
Now, you may be thinking, “I didn’t know we (General Baptists) had a mission in Africa.” You would be correct in thinking that. We do not currently have an official work in Africa, so this will be a brand new ministry for us as a denomination. Your next thought may be, “Why start a new work when we already have so many exciting works going on around the world?” The answer to that is an easy one for us – this is not a choice we simply made, to start up a ministry in one of the harshest places on the globe, it is where God has CALLED us to go. For us, it is an act of obedience. We know that God is leading us to Niger, and we know that in doing that, He will provide a way for us to go and share about Him with the Nigerien people. These unreached people need to hear about Him. They need to know that He loves them and died for them. They need that opportunity, the same opportunity that we all have had, to hear about His mercy, grace and love. They need to hear that He can save them, just as He has saved us!
We are excited about where God is calling us, but that doesn’t mean we go without opposition. Satan is constantly trying to deter us from what God has called us to do, through worry, fear and doubt. We need your prayers. As we go to one of the hottest, poorest and most unreached places on earth, there are always questions that come up. Is it worth it? Can we do it? Should we go? We KNOW the answer to these questions is a resounding YES! We know God is calling us, commanding us, to go and tell about Him to the ends of the earth. Please pray for us to go in boldness. Pray for us to go in wisdom, dedication, determination and to faithfully serve as He leads.
These are exciting times for General Baptists! God is laying new opportunities right before us to minister among unreached people groups in West Africa, in some of the most remote places on earth.
God is building His Kingdom around the world. He commands us to go and make disciples, to the ends of the earth. Join us as we work to open a brand new international mission field for General Baptists. We need prayers. We need resources. We need YOU. Lost people need Jesus. Unreached people need Jesus.
Lost people have the opportunity to hear about Christ and His power to save. Unreached people do not have that opportunity. Help us give the Nigerien people an opportunity to hear about Jesus. Help us reach these unreached people for Christ.