nigerluke: A Town Called Tera

Jan. 11, 2008

Friday, 2:07 pm

Tera, Niger – DeValve House

Yesterday we drove three hours up to Tera, where my new friends the DeValves, who are SIM missionaries, live. The drive was not bad, only 3 hours or so, and we were able to cross the Niger River on a ferry. I got some decent pictures.

So the DeValves (John, Nancy, Suzanne, and Daniel who is in college) are the only SIM missionaries up here in Tera. In fact, they’ve been the only missionaries at all here since the Southern Baptists left a few years ago. Just recently they’ve decided to move back to Niamey to live, so they can be closer to their daughter Suzanne who goes to Sahel Academy. It’s kind of a hard move for them since they’ve been here for about 16 years, but they feel it is where the Lord wants them.

All that to say I was invited to join them and help them pack up their place this weekend. I’m really glad I’ve been able to come since I’ll be sticking around the Niamey area anyways for the next few weeks before heading out to Maradi. In this part of the country (which is northwest of Niamey), they speak primarily Songhai and some French. It’s amazing to think of all the different languages just in Niger. At conference, each area gave ministry reports on praise and prayer points from this past year. It was cool because now I am so much more informed about the country, and especially how there are many different people groups. Even within the Fulani tribe, for example, there are many different dialects (West Fulfulde, East Fulfulde, Chadian, etc).

The DeValves are very generous and I’ve enjoyed being here with them. I’ve been helping pack up books, move boxes, and do other odd jobs as needed. This is way better than just sitting around at the CBN guest house in Niamey! Life is slower out here in Niger, that’s for sure. In the early afternoon, they usually even have a “siesta” rest period. When it gets really hot later on in the year, no one can work outside in the blazing heat of the day, so most people just rest inside (the heat can be so draining)!

Another thing I’ve been learning or realizing since I’ve been here is flexibility! Let me say that again: flexibility! It’s not like you can really wait to be served or expect other people to do things for you. I’m realizing more and more that I need to be very proactive in getting things done, asking questions, and helping out. There’s no real room for complaining, especially since everyone is in the same situation as I am. The things that we care about in the States aren’t so important over here. I can talk about this more later, because there is a lot that can be said. That’s it for now.

Luke