The Regional Synod of Canada and it's churches are supporting a Words of Hope project in the country of Niger for the next 3 years.  Here are some communications from the Words of Hope Team as they are in Niger this summer.

Communication 1:
Greetings from a very warm evening in Niger, Just a quick note while the Internet could be found. 

Blessings of safe travel and simple trouble-free border crossings are praises to the Lord.  Please share our joy for what He has done here.
It is great to hear of the progress and the amount of reception to the program.  Radio stations cover great areas well "into the bush" and off   the few real roads that there are.  The gospel is so needed here as the Moslems are in large numbers.  We hear the "call to prayers" from so many different mosques throughout the day, but especially at the evening time.  But with the Lord on our side, who can truly oppose us?!?!

Please pray for continued safe travel as we go six hours over very difficult "roads" tomorrow to Dogondoutchi, to meet with listeners who gather each Friday afternoon at the radio station there.  We hope to see many of them there.  Prayers are encouraged for Pastor Sani as he has been feeling quite poorly lately.  We are grateful that you are with us in your thoughts and prayers.  This is an extremely poor country but the people are friendly and warm and need Jesus more than any earthly possessions. 

Lee DeYoung,
Randy Bohl
Words of Hope

Communication 2:
Greetings from a warm Saturday night in Niger,

We have just returned from a very good visit in Dogondoutchi, located about 6 hours to the west of Maradi.  We met with local church leaders who confirmed the value of the programs.  They said they were especially useful in their evangelism outreach (in a country that is 98% Muslim).   They enjoyed the quality and encouragement that was provided thru the messages.  We were very pleased to hear from a pastor of a church there as well as an elder.  We also spoke with a group of listeners assembled at the radio station. 

It appears that all ten gathered were Muslims and they had some very, very positive comments on the programs. Pray that the Lord will touch their hearts as they hear the messages and reach deeper into themselves than just head knowledge.  One man said he had traveled some 35 KM from his village for Market day and then the listeners meeting.

We also met with an elder from another church who had some amazing things to say about his church evangelism program which includes the radio programs, too.  He was so very grateful for all support the programs (and that means so many RSC churches that support in prayers and gifts--Thank you!!!).  He is an English teacher at a local school so his English was quite good.  We ended up giving him a Wind up Radio to use and share.  He was really thankful and encouraged in his faith.

We continue to be most grateful for safe travel and good health.  On the way back we encountered a strong sand storm followed by a rain storm yesterday.  Then on the rest of the trip today more rain was encountered along with deep, flowing water over the road.  We had men running ahead of our vehicle to show us where to drive safely in that stretch.

Our journey today introduced us to "Fast Food Niger Style" on the way home.  We had corn roasted over a fire, plastic bags of yogurt (and my straws came in handy) followed by a brown bag of mystery meat and onions.  It turned out to be roasted mutton and red/purple onions with a separate brown bag of spices to bring some real zest to the meat!!!  We all shared to bag together so prayers continue for health.

We look forward to meeting with the Denominational President tomorrow following worship at his church about 3 hours north of here.  That means we leave at the crack of dawn and negotiate the challenging roads to get there.  We have seen many ways in which the Kingdom is growing and expanding and radio is a big part of reaching out to so many "off the main road" villages with so many souls that welcome the love of Jesus in
such a poor country. 

We feel surrounded  by your prayers and will assure the president of EERN (Evangelical Church of Republic of Niger) that your prayers are for the church here, his leadership and other church leaders and pastors.  To hear the wail of the call for prayers coming from so many mosques around is just another reminder of the importance of the work to which we all have been called. 

Blessings to all in abundance.  More later.  This comes via a satellite hookup for internet and a temporary power source unless the power has come back
on. 

Tis truly an adventure. 
Lee DeYoung,
Randy Bohl
Words of Hope