February 2006-02-21

Dear friends of Reformed Faith and Life

Niger is a country of West Africa which few people take notice of, despite its reasonable size (twice as big as France).  With less than 12 millions inhabitants (80% of them being Muslims) it is overshadowed by its powerful Southern neighbour, the predominantly English speaking Nigeria, rich in oil and turmoil.  Niger comes in the news when the famous Paris-Dakar rallye takes place every year, and also when a disaster strikes the population.  Last year’s unprecedented drought was one of them, and might have caused the death of some eight hundred thousand people...  In 2005 Niger was classified as the poorest country in the world.  Is Niger a country forgotten by all, even by the Creator Himself?

I had never received any letter from Niger until last year there came one: a listener living at the border between Niger and Burkina-Faso indicated that he listened to “Reformed Faith and Life”, both on Sunday evening and on Tuesday evening. The Tuesday evening broadcast he was mentioning is the one aired on SW by FEBA Radio from the island of Ascension.  Since the start of this collaboration with FEBA Radio three years ago, we have received many letters from people otherwise difficult to reach, especially in this part of Africa.  Even more exciting, though, was the mention by my listener that he was tuning to RFL every Sunday evening: I was not aware that any FM station in Niger was airing RFL...  I quickly realized that such a local station was receiving and resending the signal sent by way of satellite every Sunday evening from the Indian ocean.  There may be several other stations in this region tuned towards this satellite transmission, without me being aware of it.  I only discover that such is the case when a listener like my new friend from Niger mentions it in passing in a letter!  In the meantime, I have received a few other letters from him, one of them mentioning the following troubling fact:  Niger has been flooded with anti-Christian literature coming from the very active center for Islamic propaganda based in Durban, the largest harbour city of South Africa.  My distressed correspondent asks me how to put an end to this state of affairs...

Later during the year I had an opportunity to learn more about the religious situation of Niger while visiting North America: I met a young pastor from Niger devoting himself to the spreading of the Word of God through the means of radio in his native country: we had a long exchange and he expressed his great interest in using the material produced by RFL:  the national policy in Niger is that no specifically Muslim or Christian radio may operate, while the seventy or so community radios already implanted may broadcast Christian of Muslim programmes from time to time.  He also mentioned to me with great concern the following: radical Muslim elements coming from the two states of Nigeria where the Shari’a (Muslim law) is strictly applied,  have started campaigning heavily in the villages of Niger at the border between the two countries: they want to export their brand of Islam there...

Is Niger a country forgotten by God?  Certainly not, insofar our calling is to preach the Gospel there, with the means put at our disposal by the divine Providence.  The Sovereign Lord commands his Church to proclaim His Kingdom up to the remotest parts of the earth. As partners in the mission, you and I have received this commission.  Without your concrete support, RFL cannot carry out the Great Commission to Niger or elsewhere.  Thank you for faithfulness in this regard!

Pastor Eric Kayayan