Say (sigh)

Me and one of the ladies from Say

In the last three posts I've shared some of the more extreme experiences we had while in Niger. Much of those experiences involved me being a bit scared or shaken or even sad so I thought I would share a really wonderful part of our time in Niger that was probably the stand out for me.

Kris and Shelley

Many of the SIM short-termers were good friends with Kris and Shelley Riggs who work in Niger with the Southern Baptist Mission and one weekend they offered us all a wonderful opportunity. They invited us out to stay overnight in a village they were working in and meet the lovely people. The name of the village was 'Say' which is pronounced sigh.

Michael with a baby

Outside of a hut

Ladies pounding Millet

At the well

From memory this village was only an hour outside the city of Niamey and yet there were people there who had never been to the city. The photos here tell the story. They are very poor, they had already harvested their crops and lived with very little shelter. We were able to go to the well with the women and see how they drew water, pounded millet and take a look inside one of their huts. The men got to go off with the Fulani men and herd some goats and they also got to eat the food first while us women waited with the village women (tradition). A friend and I got to sleep inside a hut for the night.

The most memorable part of the stay in Say was meeting the only Christian in the village. This is him holding the cup. This is a real village, not a tourist village, the people are real, not actors, they are also without hope.

Me and some of the ladies of the village at the well

I'm not sure how far Kris and Shelley have come with the people of Say since our visit over 5 years ago now but Kris has a blog so perhaps you could ask him! Please pray for their work amongst the Fulani people of Niger.

Part 1 - Position Available
Part 2 - The Year was 1999
Part 3 - Red Dirt or Green Grass
Part 4 - Preparations and Going the UK
Part 5 - But I's Dark and it's only 4.30pm!
Part 6 - Laying Out the Fleece
Part 7 - Oh, That's Why We're Here!
Part 8 - Shakin in my long skirt and sandals
Part 9 - You won't mind teaching history will you?
Part 10 - Gas Canisters on the Roof
Part 11 - The Tree Attack
Part 12 - Galmi and the Toebiters