2011 CA Vision Discovery
Mission Team Update #6
Dear Friends and Family,
Monday was a day full of driving. Normally, a long drive would be a wonderful prospect, but here in Niger it usually means being the third person crammed into the third row seat designed for two with no a/c in 105 degrees. We spent the ride, into the bush, talking about the vision for The LINK™ which includes reaching the people of Niger through building unity among organizations and participating in well-done projects within the LINK™ focus areas.
At the end of our long ride, we arrived at a national preserve for giraffes. There, under the wise leadership of a man known only to me as "White Hat" we found a large group of giraffes and carefully walked beside them. He shared information he learned from the Peace Corps when they came to do a study on giraffes in the 1980's. The number of giraffes back then had dropped to 30, and Nigeriens hunting for food had driven them almost to the brink of extinction in this area. They now number over 300 and the local villagers have learned they are far more valuable as a tourist attraction than on a dinner plate.
After lunch, we took a tour of Sahel Academy. This school is home to 15 missionary kids and the daytime school for 150 children. The director of the school has been a life-long missionary focusing on education. This school is always in need of teachers who raise their own financial support. We have a few candidates in mind upon our return... Anyone out there want to be Radiant Church's first missionary?
Later we spent some time with the students majoring in English at the national university. They gave us a tour and we discussed the people, politics, and culture of Niger. They have a great hope for the growth of education in Niger.
Today was a good day. 
With Love,
The LINK™ CA Vision Discovery Mission | 
