Spring 2015 Prayer Letter

Can a Person be an Answer to Prayer?

«Alors il dit à ses disciples:

La moisson est grande, mais il y a peu d'ouvriers.

Priez donc le maître de la moisson d'envoyer des ouvriers dans sa moisson.»

Matthieu 9.37 à 38

Have you ever had someone tell you, on more than one occasion, that you are an answer to their specific prayer? It is at one moment bewildering, and at the next, humbling. Our response is first one of wonder, knowing our own insufficiency. Later, we are overwhelmed by thankfulness for the graciousness of God in our lives.

The amazing adventure God has been writing in our lives now includes our biggest transition chapter yet: from overseas missions in Niger, West Africa… to North American missions in Quebec City. We thank God daily for this new opportunity to proclaim His precious gift of salvation.

In the front hallway of the office of Aujourd’hui Espoir (Hope for Today), hangs a picture of a sower in a field. Underneath the picture is the following Bible verse:

“Then saith he unto his disciples,

The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers

into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38

Tim had the privilege of spending January and February in Quebec City, helping with the daily production of Hope for Today’s French radio and television programming. On several occasions, studio staff would say to him, “You know, we’ve been praying for two years that God would send us someone like you to come and help us with this ministry.” Wow! That’s encouraging! Tim had the opportunity to attend weekly prayer meetings with our new ministry colleagues and was heartened to see the commitment and energy devoted to prayer as the board of directors, leaders and volunteers met for an open prayer time via Skype every Thursday evening.

We believe that what has seemed, at times, an interminably long and open-ended research of God’s will for our future has actually been a God-orchestrated and Holy Spirit guided 4,800 mile ministry transfer. God hears the prayers of His children, He has a plan of redemption for His world, and He moves His team members from place to place to fill these roles.

A large portion of Tim’s recent volunteer time up in Quebec was spent editing episodes of the television program Words of Life. You can view a sample of these programs on Hope for Today’s website: http://espoir.ca/2015.La-parole-vivante.htm

Preparations

Sounds like the title of an article on home remedies!

For us it is the myriad of details to be taken care of before moving day: dentist appointments, weddings, travels, a high school graduation, visits with friends and loved-ones, assembling all of those things we need to set up house (and left in Niger), and PACKING. Lord willing, July 1st we will begin our trek to Quebec and jump feet first into this new ministry. We sincerely appreciate your prayers for this new step in our lives. 

Could you also pray with us about all of these small details and big preparations?

Leaving the Nest

Both Brendan and Rebekah will be staying in Michigan when the rest of us move north.

Brendan will continue his studies at Saginaw Valley State University. He is currently pursuing a degree in Biology and has secured an internship this summer, working at a wildlife rehabilitation center. Please pray for him as he studies, interns and keeps up with his part-time jobs.

Rebekah has been accepted at Faith Baptist Bible College. She plans to begin studying missions nursing this fall. She’ll be living with family and continue working here in Midland this summer. Either Tim or Richelle will make a trip back in August to help her with those first steps of transition into college life.

GRATITUDE CORNER

“Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.”

~ from Philippians 4 ~

It is a privilege for us to partner with you for world evangelism. We’ve got such an amazing team of friends and family standing with us!

Churches 20

Families 38

Individuals 4

100%

of our recommended monthly support has been committed!

Thinking of Friends in Niger

If you follow world news, you may have seen Niger prominently displayed there more than once in the past few months. In the eastern part of the country, spill-over violence from the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria has displaced thousands of Nigeriens from their homes. In several of the larger cities of Niger, dozens of churches, schools, and homes and businesses were burned by mobs angered over the depiction of the prophet Mohammed in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Our own church, EEB Harobanda, was attacked and burned at that time. Please pray for our dear brothers and sisters, the Christians of Niger, missionary workers, and their Muslim friends who protected them. We know that God will never abandon His children… that they are always in His Hands.

Outfit and Passage

We are thanking God! He has moved in the hearts of His people and He has provided our recommended support to live and serve in Quebec. We have been stunned by the generous and sacrificial response to our presentation of this work. We thank God for both those who have committed to support us and for those who are currently investing in this ministry.

We are now putting together our O/P budget for our move to Quebec. Please pray with us for wisdom as we approach the process of budgeting for the expenses of moving the family up to Quebec City, getting set up in a home, securing uniforms and educational supplies for a new school, and significant setup at the studio for Tim’s ministry. We are trusting the same God who is moving us on our way, Who already knows all of these details and expenses, and Who has already planned for how they will be funded.

We also don’t want to forget to thank many of you – you who have gifted us with dressers, mattresses, bed frames, chairs, dishes… and other items – all of which are God-sends as we look forward to the business of setting up house again on this side of the water.

Living Water / L’Eau Vive

We thank God that one of the few Christian schools in Quebec is located in Quebec City. Our new furlough schedule (traveling to the States for several weeks each summer) will allow us to keep the children in the same school for several years at a time. This will be extremely helpful, as the children are re-entering school in French.

Please pray for each of them. Could you imagine showing up at a new school for a new school year knowing that it was going to be in a language which is not your mother tongue?

Founded in the 1980s, L’Eau Vive has about 280 students. Initially organized as a Christian school within the public system, L’Eau Vive was privatized in 2001. It is the only accredited Christian school in the province of Quebec. Again, we thank God for meeting this educational need for our family. It fills a very important niche for Christian parents seeking a quality education for their children. We know the school would also covet your prayers.

Back to School

In January, Richelle began an online program and is working towards her certification, providing her with the necessary qualifications to teach English as a second language. Since she is working with the ESL class at Calvary this year, she’s already able to use much of what she is learning.

In April, she will be heading for Montreal for two weeks to complete the teaching practicum portion of the class. Please pray as she travels… and for Tim, as it will be his turn to handle all family logistics while she’s gone!

Praises

• Family time over the holidays
• Great ministry visit for Tim to Quebec in January and February
• Two teenagers on their way to getting their drivers’ licenses this spring
• A new-to-us used vehicle (4 wheel drive & seats 8) to carry our family to Quebec
• Rebekah has been accepted at Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankney, Iowa for the fall semester
• We have located a house to rent, located halfway between the studio and the Christian school children will be attending in the fall
• An amazing family of mission, studio and ministry partners

Petitions

• Details of the secondment agreement with our Canadian partners
• Provision of Christian worker’s visas from the Canadian government
• A very busy Spring schedule this spring - pray that we will not get lost in or distracted by all the activity
• That our family grows in godliness and thankfulness

Thankful to be serving our Lord together with you,
Tim, Richelle,
Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae &
Mary Michelle Wright

Wrights Broadcasting Truth to Quebec, Fall Prayer Letter

…He must needs go through Samaria. 

(from John 4)

Does that phrase “must needs go through Samaria” intrigue you? Have you ever tried to imagine the tension that must have existed as Christ walked this earth:  Just how could Jesus be fully God and fully man - at the SAME time?!

That begs the following question: As God, did Jesus already know that there’d be this woman He’d meet at the well and that this meeting would lead to the belief of an entire city? Or, did the God-man allow His foreknowledge to be limited, making Him completely dependent on the leading of the Spirit?...

*********************************

To read the rest of this update, please follow this link! 

And...? Thanks so much for caring about our family, taking the time to read, to pray and to consider partnering with us in this ministry! We are so appreciative of you!

Summer 2014 Prayer Letter

Fun with our friends at New Testament Church, Peruville NY.
Elsie Mae, Mary Michelle & Jonathan give logrolling a try!

“Be sober…”

We recently sat in an excellent Sunday school lesson from 1 Peter 1. In particular, verse 13 caught our attention: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

  

As the preacher shared, the admonition to be sober isn’t simply about not getting drunk. Rather, it is an exhortation to be self-controlled versus controlled by some other thing: a substance, a habit, a desire, wrong thoughts, incomplete understandings, false teachings, etc. – for that list could go on and on.

  

Continuing to meditate on those verses, however, couldn’t it mean more than just not allowing something else to control us? When someone is “under the influence,” they are also essentially unaware - either totally clueless or unable to make wise decisions because judgment is impaired or unsound. The opposite of that, sound judgment, is seeing life and circumstances with a godly perspective and an eternal view. 

   

Therefore, Peter encourages believers towards sobriety as they evaluate, respond to and live lives, face persecution, etc. We all face situations where it would be easy to slide into unsound judgment, allowing events and circumstances to overwhelm and discourage us. For the early Christians – Peter’s immediate audience with this letter, sobriety allowed them to see that not all persecution was God's judgment nor abandonment, but rather proof of lives lived reflecting a true salvation. 

   

To be sober, or self-controlled, keys in on how we are supposed to think. Sobriety therefore, is a proper perspective, judgment that is not damaged, injured or diseased by the teachings of this world and a full awareness of what is really going on.

   

How important is it for a Christian to be sober in our modern society? 

   

We live in a world with upside down values and sinfully wrong priorities. We naturally tend to value most material things and often neglect spiritual needs. The world wants control, power, popularity, and often only serves as a means to one of those ends. 

   

As Jesus followers, "sobriety" allows us to resist that pattern. When we find ourselves laboring and pursuing what everybody wants rather than what God wants for us, we have God's wisdom to help us recognize exactly what we are doing and His empowerment to help us change directions yet once again.

   

We are praying for and working towards this spiritual sobriety, where we are

• realizing God’s priorities,

• rejoicing regardless of circumstance,

• responding with discernment, and

• resolving to discern God’s choices and His will

as we continue to work on partnership development, make plans for our upcoming move to Quebec, minister in our community and raise our family.

Quebec: Canada's Prodigal Province 

Excerpts from an article written by Ann-Margret Hovsepian 

Published in Christianity Today, Montreal, MAY 22, 2012

---------------------------------

• Evangelist Walter De Sousa says “Some describe Québec as the prodigal son of Canada… But God showed the deepest grace through the prodigal son." 

• Despite its nominally Christian majority, Montreal and the larger Quebec Province are among the most underevangelized regions of North America. A 2008 Léger poll found that only 6 percent of Quebec's 6 million Catholics attended weekly Mass, down from 90 percent in the 1960s. About 7 percent of Quebecers are Protestants, and less than 1 percent identify as evangelical….

• …Quebec ranks first among Canada's provinces for rates of child poverty, suicide, divorce, cohabitating couples, and illegitimate births. Despite the historic Christian presence, new religions and secularism have a strong grip. During the 1960s, secularism gained ground during the so-called Quiet Revolution. From 1960 to 1966, the liberal government in Quebec took from the Roman Catholic Church control over public education, health care, and social services. Some 45 years later, the public's basic understanding of religion has declined….

• In light of competing beliefs, the greatest challenge for Quebec's evangelicals is to preach the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. "In Quebec, the sense of emptiness is deeper," said De Sousa. "It's a pleasure-mad society, but after a while it leaves one empty. The gospel speaks to those existential questions." …Evangelicals find that Quebecers are open to hearing the gospel when it's in the context of everyday life. 

• According to Pierre Lebel of Youth with a Mission - "The Quebecois youth today don't have the same anger toward church as the baby boomer generation, who really rejected Catholicism. Basically it's an unchurched community."

• Campus for Christ's [John] Bellingham said Quebeckers have begun to realize that secularism does not have the lock on the truth. "Postmodernism has made people open to spirituality. The challenge is that they're not open to the exclusive message of Christianity."

• Members [at Temple Baptist, a church with 80 active members} have put their evangelism program on overdrive by producing two French-English tracts with one of them translated into 10 other languages. Over 15 years, the church has printed 3 million copies, which have been distributed freely by local and international volunteers. The effort has leveraged its influence far beyond what might be expected…

Anna, Nadia & Rebekah met the youth group from Grace Baptist, Glidden IA in Chicago to minister at
Pacific Garden Mission.

GRATITUDE CORNER

“Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.  

But I have all, and abound: 

I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, 

an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.  

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches 

in glory by Christ Jesus.  

Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

We’ve been so encouraged and thankful for the privilege meeting with many of you, our ministry partners, during the course of the past year.

In particular, this summer, we’ve turned our focus on visiting with individual ministry partners – those who’ve long invested in and encouraged our ministry in Niger in the past… and who continue to uplift while challenging us to ministry in Quebec as well as seeking new members of our partnership team.

If you would be interested in finding out more about how you could partner with us (there are several possibilities), we’d love to speak with you. Please comment below.

Partnership Development

Support Update

80%

Praises

• Both Tim’s dad and Richelle’s dad have faced significant health issues over the past several months. Thankfully, both seem to be doing much better.

• A great trip to New York to visit enthusiastic and welcoming supporting churches in that beautiful state.

• Three teens with their driving permits.

• Rebekah, Nadia and Anna spent a week working at Pacific Garden Mission with the youth group of Grace Baptist (Glidden, IA).

• Camping as a family on the tip of Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula.

• Awesome visits with dear friends we’ve not seen for a long time.

Petitions

• Discernment and perseverance as we continue to work on partnership development. So far, it has been such an encouraging process.

• Three teens with driving permits – clearly also a prayer request!

• Upcoming church meetings this fall.

• Those considering what they need to do regarding our support will have clear leading from the Lord.

• A possible trip to Africa for Tim later this year.

• Timing and logistics for Tim as he hopes to spend several weeks working in Quebec this winter.

• Rebekah’s upcoming senior year.

• Jonathan and Elsie Mae to continue with the excellent progress in speech and language therapy.

Thankful to be serving our Lord together with you,

Tim, Richelle,

Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae & Mary Michelle Wright

Big Changes! And our latest prayer letter ~

In our Christmas letter, we indicated that changes were in store, and now we have the freedom to share those with you….

The last few years, God has opened our eyes to the fact that He was changing our direction.

Niger is home. We love living and ministering in that land and we’ve made many special and dear friends. Yet Tim has trained several young men and a few young women to do most of what he was doing at the studio. There are now two Christian radio stations in Niger. One of those stations is now responsible for producing the weekly radio broadcasts as well as for airing Thru the Bible each week day. Several of the other ministries we were helping to oversee are in their final stages of becoming independent of the mission and we began (reluctantly) asking ourselves if perhaps God was prompting us to consider another ministry somewhere else.

******************************************************

Head on over to our ministry web page to read the rest...

Christmas 2013

Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him.

~Luke 1.12 ~

NASB

Zacharias had two responses when he recognized he was in the presence of a heavenly being - he was both troubled and afraid. According to Strong’s, troubled is the Greek word tarássō. Properly, tarássō means put into motion, agitated back-and-forth, and/or shaken to-and-fro;  figuratively it connotes a setting into motion that which needs to remain still or at ease. It can also refer to motion causing inner perplexity or emotional agitation from getting too stirred up inside. Phóbos is the Greek word meaning withdrawal, fleeing because of a feeling of inadequacy or being without sufficient resources. According to commentators, it is a word  commonly used in Scripture – sometimes positively, as in man’s response to God’s presence, but more often with a negative significance, i.e. withdrawing from the Lord and His will.

Later when the angel appeared to Mary, her response was troubled – but there was no mention of fear. That observation has led to several thoughts about the difference between Zacharias’ and Mary’s reactions to God’s unmistakable presence in their lives...

*********************************************************************

To read the rest of our Christmas prayer letter, 

head on over to Wrights Broadcasting Truth to Niger.

Spring, 2013 ~ Our Current Prayer Letter ~

What about all the rest?

The Son is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation.

For in him all things were created:

things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or powers

or rulers or authorities;

all things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things,

and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and

the firstborn from among the dead,

so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, 

whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace

through his blood,

shed on the cross.

-from Colossians 1

So… what about the rest… all that stuff that remains after the best or most important or loudest or highest priority or most prominent or easiest and least resistant has been cared for and/or dealt with?

It could be those two or three dishes that somehow find their way to the sink after everything else is washed up? Or the bit of food that is left after dinner which gets portioned into Tupperware, shoved into the back of the fridge and then forgotten until it starts to either grow again or stink really, really badly? There’s also the junk that remains laying around our girls' bedroom (6 girls in one room really is recipe for a most of the time natural disaster-sort-of-mess). We daily hear: "I've cleaned up my part. THEY can do the rest."

And then we hear or read or even say words like these: "Do your best and then have faith that God will do the rest." Those words are inherently wrong or bad words to say. They do leave us uncomfortable... for we know what they also imply, in our hearts.

They can indicate that what we accomplish is the key and critical part. They can reveal that we’ve set the picture topsy-turvy and that somehow we are in focus in the foreground while God is relegated to the blurry background- maybe interesting or even possibly worse, distracting, scenery. Those words point a finger at our generally unrecognized arrogance - until it smacks us full force in the face.

What God does is never just (just as in by a narrow margin, barely, merely...):

• a less than whole or insignificant remainder,
• a picking up of the bits and pieces we decided we were too tired or disgusted or frustrated to deal with,
• less important or noteworthy or commendable,
• the bit that will later be forgotten and spoil and thrown away because no one wanted it,
• gathering those never ending pieces that otherwise convince the job can never be complete...

Easter unwaveringly proves that He is and does so much more than “the rest.” The truth is: “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.”

3… 2… 1… and… another recording starts

...but the end of many of the following projects IS in sight!

Tim is putting all of the pieces into place for the continuation of our radio program, “L’heure de l evangile.” Radio technician and colleague Rabo Godi with Pastor Soumaila will continue to record, edit and produce this weekly Hausa/French language program which is airs on the national government station.

Drafting a studio use agreement also occupies a chunk of Tim’s time. This agreement with another missionary will ensure that there is a knowledgeable someone to maintain oversight of the studio rather than simply renting the place to work on their own individual projects.

Yesterday, he worked with the men in the photo below to record a Tamajeq radio program. It is exciting to be a part of Nigerien church (versus missionary) initiated projects and programs....

***********************************

To read the rest of this prayer letter, please head on over to our ministry web page... Make sure you are up-to-date with all of our family and project news as well. A list of current prayer requests is also included.

January Prayer Update

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127.1

Richelle was sitting at a staff meeting for Sahel Academy staff recently when the director quoted this verse as a reminder to the staff before he started detailing “lock down drill” plans for the school campus. As this region of the world has made international headlines recently, some of you are probably aware of escalating conflict going on… literally just upriver from here. We listen to military aircraft fly overhead, are stopped at checks where military police search through our veggie bags, and we watch our first grader drag her pink “Hello Kitty” backpack into the school yard, slipping by two heavily armed guards standing next to the door.

We can honestly say we’ve never lived in this sort of a “climate” before; it is unsettling. And so we follow suggested “guidelines:” keep a few more staples in the pantry, store up extra water, keep the gas tank at half full or above, and collect all important documents and papers into a readily accessible place. We alternate routes through town, listen more attentively to sounds on the street, read the news from a myriad of sources, ask our local friends what they are hearing and generally try to be prudent and circumspect. Thankfully, all of these “changes” do not seem to have disturbed or overly worried our children.

However, as the school director so aptly pointed out, we make our plans and do what seems wise and careful, preparing for possible eventualities – but in the end, we must remember that God builds, God keeps…

Lots of other things have also been going on around Niamey. We’ve phased ourselves out of ministry at the Harobanda church, although we still look forward to fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters there from time to time. In fact, we are hoping to have a get together at our house with the church members later this week. Some Sundays, the entire family is thoroughly enjoying listening to the previous week’s sermon preached (and recorded) at our home church, back in Midland, Michigan.

Tim has spent several hours this past month archiving the 2012 radio programs and updating the studio inventory and program listings. We’ve hosted several television recordings of sermonettes in Tamajeq, Zarma and a few other languages. These will eventually be aired on the private television station, Fidelité, operated by the Institute Hosanna. These sermonettes were shot in the large basement television studio and we are very thankful for this large purpose-built room which includes an overhead lighting grid allowing for this type of videography.

The book of Psalms in Zarma has been edited through chapter 44; through chapter 100 has been recorded. We are still recording actor’s lines for the Tamajeq language version of the film The Godman. Please pray for us as we are working on a plan to facilitate the continuation of both “The Hour of the Gospel” (weekly 30 minute radio program in Hausa or French on the government station) and “Thru the Bible” (daily 30 minute radio program broadcast on the private station, Radio Lumière) during our upcoming home assignment.

Richelle has made several visits to local schools scheduled from now until March. Consulting with Nigerian Christian teachers who seek to minister to students with disabilities in the classroom has such exciting potential. Typically, these students never have an opportunity. In those classrooms where teachers have decided to love children with exceptional needs and their families in this way, God is doing some pretty exciting things. Richelle is delighted to have even the tiniest part in this effort… led by a Swiss missionary and Nigerien Christian educators! Please pray that the Lord provides a French-speaking expert in this area to help encourage and stimulate conversation and problem solving among the teachers and administrators keen to participate.

We have two additional items for prayer. Sahel Academy, where our children attend school, is looking for volunteers: 1) work teams to travel to Niamey to help in the clean-up and restoration of the school campus from last summer’s flood damage and 2) teaching and other school staff for the 2013-2014 school year. To find out more information about either of these opportunities, please go to Sahel’s website: www.sahelacademy.com , or take a few minutes and drop us an email for more specific information.

Finally, we have had the privilege of working with the Evangelical Baptist Church of Penchiango during much of our time here in Niger. They have struggled with inadequate church building facilities for as long as we’ve known them. By the grace of God, they received a new well for their church and village this past year, and they are much looking forward to having this well of water in proximity to the church, as well as to the multitude of ministry opportunities it will surely provide for them. 

Over the past few years they have been setting aside money for the construction of their new church building (approximately 30 by 45 feet). We have often remarked about their hands-on attitude when it comes to setting some realizable objectives, and then their perseverance in pursuing their goals. They have now completed the construction of foundation and walls. We have been considering for quite some time helping them with the next phase of construction­ - the installation of metal roofing, windows and doors.

 Our home church has given us permission to try and raise the funds necessary for both materials and labor to install metal roofing on this church building. The approximate cost will be $2,700 USD. If you are interested in supporting this project, please send a contribution to Faith Baptist Mission (address on the bottom of this page) with an enclosed note stating that the gift is for the "Penchiango Church Project."

As always, we are forever grateful for your partnership with us in this ministry.

 All because of Jesus,

Tim, Richelle,

Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle Wright

A Wright Christmas 2012 ~ Come walk alongside... Just be with us, for a while…

A young Muslim friend of ours was visiting one the weekend. As we conversed, she made an unforgettably convicting point:

“Most Christians I know don't know how to really evangelize. They’d rather storm the gate and fix everyone instead of taking time to walk alongside, see and try to understand the world from a different perspective…. They are always sure they have all of the answers and are afraid to consider anyone else an equal peer.”

That’s pretty serious… Ignoring, dismissing or refusing to consider even its possibility is nothing less than negligent. So we dug deep and searched...

********

Please head on over to our ministry web site, Wrights Broadcasting Truth to Niger, to read the rest of our 2012 Winter prayer letter.

Wrights Broadcasting Truth to Niger, Fall 2012

Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children; and walk in love,
just as Christ also loved you
and gave Himself up for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God
as a fragrant aroma.
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you,
as is proper among saints;
and there must be no filthiness
and silly talk, or coarse jesting,
which are not fitting,
but rather giving of thanks.
Ephesians 5.1-4 (NASB)

How did it happen that Thanksgiving time has arrived… AGAIN?!! Yes, we’re rhetorically questioning! As we read Facebook 30 days of thanks statuses, it is clear that people are thinking about giving thanks. Discussing this verse with some of our children, we also reflect on some of its inescapable implications.

Interesting…

God considers thanksgiving antonymous behavior to filthiness, silly talk and coarse jesting...

Photo by Shannon Maxwell

To read the rest of our Fall, 2012 Prayer Letter, please follow this link to our ministry page where you'll find the entire text as well as recent photos. Hope to see you there!

August 2012 Prayer Update

Edited (Sat. evening, our time) to add: This prayer letter went out last week and with the craziness of this last week, I'm just now posting on our blog. Since this was written, the Niger River Basin Authority has told school administration that Sahel Academy is now considered part of the Niger River. Until the waters recede (March/April 2013), we will not be able to use the campus. Lots of work is happening to preserve school supplies and materials and to resume the school year in an alternate location. If you've already read this... still scroll to the bottom for some pictures of recovery operations going on @ Sahel Academy.

"There's fullness in every hunger and hunger in every fullness."

Kazakh proverb

Sometimes, life in a place like Niger breaks your heart. People, including Jesus-followers, do literally starve to death; they go without many basic needs our family easily takes for granted. And then we read verses like:

• O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34.9-11)
• …for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.... But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God…. my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (selected verses from Philippians 4.11-19)
• The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

How do you reconcile the truth of Scripture with the glaring reality of life evident everywhere we look?

Pastor Tim Challies recently wrote an article, “Can a Christian Starve to Death?” addressing those questions in the context of verses like the ones above, particularly Psalm 23. He concludes:

…The shepherd is leading his sheep through the dark valley because the sheep need to get to some place better than the place they have been. There’s no reason to go through a dark valley unless there is something better on the other side of it. You don’t leave green fields and go through a dark and dangerous valley so your sheep can pick over dried up tufts of grass and waste and wither away. You lead through the valley to take them to something beautiful beyond. It’s not the valley we need to look at, but the destination beyond it. That destination may be death, or that destination may be greater holiness. But whatever it is, that destination is not nothing, it is not meaningless. What this tells me is that any suffering we experience in this life is in some way under the sovereignty of God, in some way under the banner of “I shall not want…”

That idea challenges. Can we look at our apparent lack and recognize that we need exactly such lack? How do we support our believing brothers and sisters (and others) whose lack is immediate, life-threatening and overwhelming? Do we keep on trusting God to provide when we can’t humanly comprehend how another’s situation falls under that “I shall not want” banner? Philosophical belief that “not enough” opens hearts to God’s message while sufficiency stifles portending a greater danger is different than embracing those real and daily wants.



PICTURE CREDIT: www.actuniger.com



Photo by dorm parents, Andy and Nikki Gray:  the road & remains of a house right on the other side of the wall from the dorm.



The needs, physical and spiritual, in Niger are great. We are gearing up for a second grain distribution just as we mentioned in our last prayer letter, this year’s food insecurity a result of drought last year. This year, we are having an overabundance of rain, so much so that the dikes have burst, the low neighborhoods along the river have flooded, homes are crumbling, people who’ve escaped are seeking refuge in school buildings, unfinished constructions, even some mosques. As of Saturday (8/18) morning, local news agencies were reporting 94,000 people affected by flooding, 12,000 homes destroyed and at least 20 deaths as a result. And the rains are forecasted to continue, both locally and upstream. Please join with us in praying for this land and these people we’ve come to love and appreciate. We don’t understand how this magnitude of suffering can fall under the banner of “I shall not want…” but we cling to trust and pray that He uses us to minister grace and help encourage those suffering and losing so much… all around us.

Richelle and the children started back at Sahel Academy on August 8th. However, due to flooding in all of the neighborhoods surrounding the school campus, the campus has been evacuated and classes canceled this week. Flood waters have not actually entered the campus, except where they’ve leached up in the soccer field and around the walls, but continued rains, broken dikes and already saturated earth make us wonder if it is only a matter of time. We did see a catchy phrase, though: “Rain or no rain, God still reigns.” We trust in that truth and are enjoying some extra, unexpected time at home after a way-too-short summer. (Check here for the latest updates on the flooding in Niamey that is threatening the lives and homes of so many, including the Sahel campus and SIM Bible school properties, or here for UNICEF’s assessment of the food/refugee crisis playing out across the Sahel region.) Brendan is beginning his senior year! Rebekah is a sophomore; Nadia is an 8th grader while Anna has entered junior high – attending Sahel part-time and also home schooling. Tori is the “biggest of the littles,” or a 5th grader, Jonathan is delighted to be in second grade and Elsie Mae is finding the full days of school if first grade quite exhausting! Even Mary Michelle starts preschool work this year. Richelle continues with her work in Sahel’s Center for Academic Progress; everyone anticipates a great school year, so we hope school resumes soon.

Other news? Thanks once again to our "radio preachers" Rabo Godi and Pastor Soumaila Laabo! These men diligently prepare programs week after week to air in the capital city and throughout Niger. They wonderfully touch on many themes and subjects, clearly demonstrating how the Bible addresses a rich wealth of subjects. Sometimes they ask a simple question such as "What does God's Word say about unemployment? or “Does God give specific instruction regarding the family?” Other times, they present Q&A roundtable discussions. Each theme is carefully chosen, prayed over and then prepared to present the Gospel, to advance God's kingdom here in Niger, and to edify the church. Please keep them in your prayers. This past month they presented a series on fasting, and true Christianity as a relationship with Jesus Christ instead of just another religion where man is seeking to please God.

In other activities, we have been recording the Gospel of Matthew in West Niger Fulfulde. One missionary friend shared that these scriptures will be used immediately to help disciple 19 new Jesus-followers out in one of the villages. Recordings are placed on SD cards or chips and then loaded into "Proclaimer" mp3-type players. Some of these players are powered by solar energy, which is usually quite abundant here in Niger. We also have been recording the book of Psalms in the Zarma language.

We have a number of film audio tracks in the works for this autumn. Please pray for a project to record a French language track for a film addressing the use of child soldiers (according to recent news reports, personal stories such as this one as well as this UNICEF publication, a now growing problem in our part of the world)…



Photo: H.Caux/UNHCR

Since January, the fighting has displaced some 95,000 people within Mali and has forced more than 100,000 to flee.

…as well as the testimony of how one young man came to make a commitment to Christ. Investigation and research (into the recording of a Tamajeq version of the film The Godman as well as a Tamajeq version of the More than Dreams short story on the life an Egyptian man named Khalil who came to know the Lord as a result of his study of the Bible) also continue. Thank you for your faithful prayers for wisdom, direction and God’s will to be done through this ministry and in this land.

All because of Jesus,

Tim, Richelle,

Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle Wright

Edited (Sat. evening, our time) to add: This prayer letter went out last week and I'm just today posting on our blog. Since this was written, the Niger River Basin Authority has told school administration that Sahel Academy is now considered part of the Niger River. Until the waters recede (March/April 2013), we will not be able to use the campus. Lots of work is happening to preserve school supplies and materials and to resume the school year in an alternate location. Below are a few pictures of those recovery efforts:



Photo - Lisa Rohrick
Only very large construction/military trucks can drive into the campus.



Photo - Lisa Rohrick

Computer equipment was one of the first "rescued" loads.
Photo - Nancy Devalve

Not many get to "canoe" down the halls of their high school.
Photo - Lisa Rohrick

Photo - Lisa Rohrick
"Ichabod" was rescued from the science lab. Last photo I saw of him, he was missing his lower jaw and his knee cap was cracked... but still mostly intact.

 

How many of you have ever moved a piano by canoe?
Photo - Lisa Rohrick



Photo - Nancy Devalve
Lunch break?



Photo - Lisa Rohrick
Since "rescued" materials are coming to our mission compound for either long or short-term storage, we can't be @ Sahel, helping there. When I hear there are lots of snakes swimming around (among unimaginable floaties), I'm thankful that our part is here, but I also pray nonstop for those who are sacrificing to be there. 



Photo - Lisa Rohrick
Wonder when the water will start obeying the traffic signs...???

Join with us in praying that the Lord give wisdom, health and stamina
as well as protection during these recovery efforts.

To see some "Before and After" photos, as well as a slide show with many pictures of Sahel Academy students (You can see if you can spot any Wrightlings!) doing what they do, click on over to my friend's blog, The Bee in Beth's Bonnet.