Many wonder why I travel all the way to Africa to share the gospel when there are so many lost in America. I go because I have compassion. Imagine knowing that everyone you passed on the road this week is destined to spend eternity in hell because they’ve never heard the name of Jesus? No one in the mall, at school, at work or in the grocery store has ever heard the name of Jesus. That’s the reality of Niger. Virtually everyone I saw, everyone I passed on the road, and in the market place will spend eternity in hell unless someone tells them about Jesus. Niger is 99.9% Muslim.
On our recent mission trip, we shared with perhaps 2,000 and six believed. Since January 2014, seventy-seven people in Niger have believed and accepted Christ. How many times did you hear about God’s plan of salvation before you believed? The people we visited have only heard once. I could see their interest. That’s why I must return, and I hope others will go with me in 2015. I hope to return as long as I’m physically able. And I pray others will accept the responsibility to go. I pray God will call those who are able. I understand some can’t due to family responsibilities or poor health. I understand being afraid to go. I’ve been there. But I hope you will pray and ask God to remove your fear.
The setting in Niger is Biblical. I felt as if I had stepped into the book of Acts as I walked among the mud brick buildings and women gathering water at the wells. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit as the crowds gathered. It seems like a dream but I know what I saw and experienced.
I am nothing without God and I can do nothing without the power of the Holy Spirit. God does not need me to accomplish his plan, but I’m thankful he allows me to be a part of his plan. As I looked at the villages of 5,000, 8,000 and 15,000, I felt helpless. I was helpless. But then I prayed and witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit. I hope you too will have the opportunity to share the name of Jesus with people who have never heard his name. You will experience something I lack the words to describe.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19
