I am very grateful for all of the prayers and concerns for my family, myself, and for our partner church and people of Niger that have been received from family, friends, and congregations from all over the country. I also want to share the tremendous need to continue praying for Niger.
A recent coup orchestrated by Niger’s military has prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Level 4 (Do Not Travel) advisory to the West African country and order the departure of non-emergency government personnel and eligible family members. The department is willing to assist other U.S. citizens who desire to depart the country. Expected to be included in the evacuation is PC(USA) mission co-worker Jim McGill, who has served in Niger for the past several years. McGill boarded a State Department charter flight earlier today and will be flown to a yet to be determined location.
“Water is life” is a statement that is heard frequently throughout Africa as many people cannot take water for granted. This is particularly true in Niger, a country that is mostly within the Sahara Desert, with the remainder lying within the Sahel, a dry ecosystem that transitions between desert and savannah lands.
A delegation representing the Niger Mission Network (NMN) saw beautiful feet in Niger — many of them — during a recent 13-day partnership trip hosted by the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN). Participants learned some of the ways the good news of Jesus is proclaimed by Christian brothers and sisters in a country where the vast majority of its citizens are Muslim.
The country of Niger in West Africa is only one percent Christian, but “the faithful witness and long-term vision of these believers is great,” said Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers Michael and Rachel Ludwig, who have worked in mission and ministry alongside the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN) for more than four years.
The 113th New Wilmington Mission Conference (NWMC), regarded as the oldest annual mission conference in the U.S., will be held on the campus of Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, July 20–27.
When it came time for my wife, Jodi, and me to accept a new call because of our children’s educational needs, it was difficult. Malawi was our home. We wondered how we could move away from our relationship with the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP), which had supported and encouraged us for more than two decades.
For the Ivyland Presbyterian Church, the Middle East was something many members read or saw in the news. There were no personal connections to the refugee crisis and displacement of Christians overseas. Members weren’t connected to the trials and tribulations facing people in war-torn regions.
At a time when Christians-Muslim relations are discussed daily in nearly every corner of the world, Niger in West Africa remains one of the best examples of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence between the two faiths.
On January 16 and 17, in response to satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in France, extremist elements in the West African country of Niger destroyed churches and Christian homes and businesses in the capital, Niamey, and the regional capital, Zinder. In all, more than 50 churches of various Christian denominations were burned. Dozens of Christian families were left homeless. The PC(USA) partner in Niger, the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN), lost five church buildings, two manses, and homes belonging to a half dozen member families.