monthly focus ~ they came - they worked - they smiled

THEY CAME . . . THEY WORKED . . . THEY SMILED

On January 5, a group of 12 joyful, smiling, weary workers boarded Air France at the Niamey, Niger airport.  They had completed their projects.  Eleven days earlier, December 26, they had flown from Florida to assist two of their missionary families who serve in Niamey—David and Anora Totman (working with an MK school) and Chris and Diane Marine (Regional Directors for West Africa).  All of these volunteers are members at Faith Baptist Church of Winter Haven, FL.

During the summer, 2006, they had learned of a need for a work team to come to help with the French Elementary School that was established by EBM, but is now completely indigenous.   The school was in great need of a new roof, new desks for students, and clearing the area of underbrush, fallen limbs, and trimming trees away from the building.  Missionaries had organized the materials so that the group could be involved from the first day on site.  They worked hard and wrapped up their work a day early. 

Because the children were out of school on vacation, the men were able to remove and replace the tin roof without having to work around the school activities.  Although some of the team had experience in roofing, working with replacement of a tin roof was a new experience for all of them. 

When the children returned to classes on January 3, the roof was completed, the trees trimmed, the area cleared, and 30 new student desks were ready for use.  What a blessing it was for the team of 10 men and 2 women to see the kids that study at this school. Team member Peter Brock commented on how seeing the kids gave a “face to the work.”  It was a touching time for the team to not only see the kids but to hear them sing and know that’s the reason they had flown across the ocean and 2 continents.  The French elementary school has a tremendous testimony in Niamey for its education.  Most of the children come from Muslim families.  The teaching staff are all believers and teach the children Christian lessons along with their academic subjects.   A number of years ago, EBM missionaries turned the school over to national Christians to operate.  What an incredible opportunity these Nigeriens are having in shaping young minds for spiritual issues in this stronghold of Islam.

On Sunday, the Faith Baptist team split up and visited 4 national churches with EBM missionaries.  Peter Brock commented about the great blessing the time of worship with brothers and sisters was for him as well as the rest of the group. 

Mission trips are a lot of work, but they are full of blessings and exciting experiences.  Before the group left, missionaries took them sightseeing and they had the fun of riding a camel and seeing hippos and giraffes in the wild.   In their spare time, they enjoyed renewing time with their missionaries  the Totmans and the Marines and meeting new missionary families that make up the missions community in Niamey. 

Perhaps your church is looking for a similar missions experience.  Email ebm@ebm.org for information on how to develop an adult missions trip.