Fulfulde


To Family and Friends…
Fulfulde is the language of my people group. There are many different dialects within the language spoken throughout West and Central Africa. The dialect I am learning is spoken in Eastern Niger and Northern Nigeria.

What I have done...
November—
*Began Fulfulde language study with Mariama, a Woodabe Fulani believer who speaks a similar dialect to ours
*Explored the streets of Niamey
*Went to a picnic with missionaries at the Plateau, an overlook of the Niger River
*Went to a Fulfulde church and took part in the Lord’s Supper
*Got sick with malaria & infection

What I will be doing...
November – Settle into home base in BK, spend time language learning in my village and debrief in Niamey the 24th-27th

December – Language learning and worldview research in my village, return to BK base and debrief in Niamey the 24th+

January – Storying training continued and prepare for summer volunteer teams to come from Hmong Baptist churches


Thoughts
I was 11 years old when I made two of the most important decisions of my life.
I was going to believe in Jesus and in God, and I was going to discover great things about the world and about people. I didn’t have a clue how much my first decision would transform my second.
For some people, a life of faithfulness is a hard lesson to learn. For others, God has left His mark of faith in their lives and they will never be the same. In this rambling, I seek once again the faith of a child for myself and others. As many blessings and gifts I have received, I would give them all up if all my loved ones would know and faithfully follow the Lord. But I want it selfishly and this is useless. I don’t know God’s will for them but I know what He wants for me today: to be faithful in the relationships and conversations He’s given me, to reflect His love and truth in my words and actions, and to lay all my hopes and fears at His feet in every experience I have on this earth.
In this way, I’m still 11. I still believe in Jesus and in God, and I’m still discovering great things about the world and about people. New experiences are just as valuable to me but they are meaningless if God is not the reason for it. At 24, I am making a new commitment: to pray every morning for those I love and for the will of God to be done in their lives because His thoughts and His ways are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Praise
o Beautiful faces and places already discovered in Niger
o The Lord’s Supper with the Fulfulde church was a powerful reminder of God’s call for all believers to always share Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection
o Thank God for children! Once again they are a blessing to me. Love on yours at home, they are God’s precious gifts to us all

Prayers
o Language learning with partners is difficult for us all, me for sure. Pray for patience, love and encouragement on a personal and intentional level
o I am sick but improving: case of malaria, daily nose-bleeds and infection. Pray for continued healing, physical and spiritual, and being smart in taking good care of myself
o God has burdened my heart about my family at home. Please keep my sisters Amme, Yaly, Go Chee, May Cheng and Linda in daily prayer
o The Tuareg Team, Bradley and Toby, left yesterday with only a bag of necessary clothes and toiletries. Pray they would have their physical and spiritual needs met in amazing ways as they settle into their new home in Saharan Niger
o The Fulani Team, Tara, Bekah and I leave this morning with only the bare essentials as well! Pray that we would clearly see God’s will for us as we get to know the Fulani in our villages and focus on language learning in order to build better relationships
o Safe travels always! 6+ hour drives often, even longer for the Tuareg Team

God bless and thank you for your prayers.


Seng