Annabi Issa


Dear Family and Friends…
I spent three months with my chief’s family in Beli developing my language speaking and listening skills. During this time, the chief said he believed in Annabi Issa (Jesus Christ) and he wants to follow Jesus but he has two wives. I have been away from my family for almost a month now and I honestly don’t know what I will be coming back to this week.


What have I done…March-April – village stay, craft and back-translate Fulfulde into French and English the ‘Naaman’ Bible story (II Kings 5); attend Fulani Believers Conference in Eastern Niger; visited two new Fulani villages
May – Storying and translation training in Benin; spent days on the beach; played football, volleyball, basketball and badminton; ate Moroccan, Beninois, Indian, Thai food and ice cream

What I will be doing...
June – continue language and culture study in village, research Bible stories to craft and back-translate into Fulfulde
July – attend missionary conference in Togo, build trust and relationships with Fulani story-crafters and back-translators
August – help lead Storying training for new OneStory team working in Mali


Thoughts
Over a month ago Limay, my little sister in the village, fell out of a tree and broke her arm. Bekah, Tara and I took her and the chief to a few hospitals, one near Konni, and then three in Niamey. Within a week and with a lot of prayer, we were able to get x-rays, find a doctor in Niamey willing to do the operation on Easter Sunday morning, receive full financial support from churches in the states and find a doctor in Konni willing to remove the stitches and begin physical therapy a month after the operation. The whole experience tested our team unity and revealed the depth of our relationships with the chief and his family. The whole time I kept repeating to myself, ‘things will never be the same again’. The truth is, we do more than live in their homes; we are change agents in their daily lives. And all I can do is whisper to the Lord, “Your will be done.”
We never showed the Jesus film. I dare to hope that instead we showed the Jesus way, in our Spirit-led words, actions and responses to the physical and the spiritual needs of the chief and his family.

Praise
o Limay – she is my little sister; she saw my love for her that week, surrounded by unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places, she knew I was there for her and not for any other reason; she requested my prayers for her and for the healing of her arm
o Stories – we completed our stories to the best of our abilities; we shared them and allowed ourselves to be open to criticism so that we might learn from our mistakes and be better equipped to take our work to the next level
o Chief – he has struggled culturally with understanding and working with us, but he wasn’t afraid to hear about God and pray with us about Limay and the purpose and power of God working in their lives; thank the Lord for his openness
o Travel – both teams drove down to Benin and flew back to Niger together; praise God for His protection and care for us
o Toby and Bradley – they had difficult and satisfying experiences these past three months, but through it all, their relationship with God was what sustained their relationship with each other; they gave great testimony to that fact during team time and training, praise the Lord for His truth and constant presence in their lives
o Benin – God exceeded our expectations for this trip, as we should always expect, and our physical, mental and spiritual needs were met in so many ways; our supervisor Judy loved us in ways we all recognized and so many other people came to meet us where we were at, encouraging us in our faith and our service to our peoples, the Fulani and Tuareg
o Language assessment – I know where I need to be in language skills; I thank God for His gifting in me all that I have been able to learn and I believe He will take me to where I need to be in order to communicate His stories to His people
o Hut – the chief is building me a hut because of rainy season; I thank God for the millet shack, but soon, I’ll have walls!

Prayers
o Culture–asking content questions beyond the surface, understanding their relationships in order to understand their hearts
o Story crafting process – attention to cultural values and communicating cross-culturally/linguistically key biblical terms
o OneStory leadership – dependence on the Lord in their responsibilities, growth of the Spirit in their daily walk with God
o Village stays – the Lord’s protection and providence with Bekah living and learning alone in a new village, Lemame

All glory to God! -Seng