Midnight snack made easy...

Midnight snack made easy...
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

It's amazing how easy it is to spread peanut butter for a midnight

snack when it is 97 degrees in the kitchen at 12:45 am. The 91

degrees is the outside temperature...



I am not complaining, I just thought it would be fun to share.

Lemae (Lee-MAY)

Lemae (Lee-MAY)
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

This is Lemae, the daughter of a very important friend of ours from

the village. She is eight years old. She fell out of a tree,

dislocated and fractured her elbow. Thanks to the support of

individuals and churches, she received orthopedic surgery and is

healing well. God has used this situation in amazing ways to

encourage her family, especially her father that Jesus loves them and

came to save them. Please pray that her father and the rest of her

family would come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

My four new teammates

My four new teammates
Originally uploaded by dkoepke.

To my teammates back home

We here in Niger have come to a time of goal-making for our respective teams and ministries. This is an exciting time to look ahead with anticipation and expect God to do BIG things. Making goals for something so unpredictable is a daunting task. I either feel like I am being unrealistic and reaching too high or that my faith is too small and I am not expecting God to work supernaturally. I want to be obedient in all things, making the most of every opportunity. Please pray as I seek God's will for these goals that He would direct me to the places He wants me to be. Pray that He would give me His goals for my ministry.

New Name!!

My original african name, Zeynabu, was given to me by a small girl in the first village that I visited. I loved the name, but the fact is that it is not a traditional Fulani name. It is descended from Arabic and is known throughout the Arabic world. I did some research to find a truly Fulani name, was helped by a few friends in a village near Konni. 

The results of the search have come in and my new name is........... Danejo.

It slightly resembles Danielle, which is a very cool coincidence, but it means lighter skinned. Idiomatically it is used to connote a very pretty girl in the Fulani culture. 

I apologize to those of you who already know me as Zeynabu; I understand if it takes you a while to make the switch ;) but thinking long-term I really enjoy having a traditional Fulani name. 

God is aware of the name change too, so don't worry if you mix them up. He will most definitely understand. 

If you post it.... They will comment... Right?

So, I did not get to post my first day back. I am sorry about that, but I will try to be better about it. I have posted since then, but this was sent to our team's prayer blog and not my personal blog. If you have never seen the Team prayer blog, check it out:

www.prayforfulani.blogspot.com

For those of you that don't know, I met some really cool people the week that I was in Tampa and they gave me some feedback on this blog. They sort of expressed concern on the frequency of my posts. They still understand that when I am in the villages that it is impossible to post, but for those times when I am in the capital or even remotely have the chance to check email and update the blog then I am under obligation to do so.

For those of you that are loyal (or obsessive) checkers of my blog I will be better. The problem lies in the uni-directional flow of communication on the blog. That is just a interesting way to say that posting on my blog is great, but if I do not receive feedback/ comments on posts or emails I am not so encouraged to post. That is where you all come in. Please comment on my posts. The deal is that if you comment, I will post more. Got it?

Take care!!

Thanks again Wickland!! I had a great time with y'all in Tampa!!

Success

I do not know how to measure success in a storying group, but God's word says that His Word will never return void. God's Word was presented in story form on Monday to a small group of women and children from our neighborhood.

It went off without a hitch, and was accepted well by all who came. We are praying that this meeting will become regular and will be used by God to bring the Fulani to Himself.

Some teammates of mine will be showing the Jesus Film in a village on Easter Sunday. Please pray for open hearts to understand the sacrifice that Christ made for us as they hear about the significance of this holiday. The cheif of this village has asked some very pointed questions regarding Jesus and his death, and this is his first opportunity to hear the whole story in his language. Please pray for this cheif as he has influence over many people and his choosing to follow the Jesus way would have serious consequences but never ending joy!

4 pm -- time for rejoicing and prayer

This afternoon a believer and I will be leading a bible storying group at my home with praise songs and bible teachings in Fulfulde. I am so excited to be part of this new step in our ministry and helping my friend S share her faith with her friends and neighbors is such a joy.

Please pray that each person that attends would feel the Holy Spirit tugging on their hearts. Pray that they would realize the power of Christ in their everyday lives and the love He gave for them on the cross. Pray that they would come again, yearning for more teaching of the Truth. Please pray that this would be the beginning of many outreach groups that would share the Gospel throughout this whole land.

Your participation is so vital to my ministry. Thanks for rejoicing as I rejoice and comforting me as I am down. I don't know what I would do without this amazing Father that we have in God. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.

Faith

Do you ask, "What is faith in Him?" I answer, The leaving of your way, your objects, your self, and the taking of His and Him; the leaving of your trust in men, in money, in opinion, in character, in atonement itself, and doing as He tells you. I can find no words strong enough to serve for the weight of this obedience. "

--George MacDonald

What a great return...

I almost hesitate writing this for many different reasons, but I do not want you to get the wrong idea of what it is like here. This life is not easy. I am not suffering in a physical sense, but many things are difficult emotionally and spiritually. Thanks for sharing in them with me.

On my first day back, after suffering jet lag and severe lack of sleep, I was driving around with my friend and had this horrible thought. It was a fleeting, momentary lapse of will, but into my brain flashed the idea, "I am not glad to be back." It was sudden, confusing and scary that I would feel that way. I did not want that to come from my heart, but it did.

God was so good, allowing me to share my thoughts with others who understand and I really believe He is preparing me for the future. I am praying that this term will be my first of many and that God would let me serve Him here in West Africa. This is rather scary to pray because I understand that the answer could be no and my first reaction is to refrain from that specific of prayer until my path is more discernable. But, God has taught me over the last year (yes it has been a whole year already) that my only fears are justified being away from His will for me.

I get to wake up every morning knowing that without a shadow of a doubt I am exactly where God has told me to be. I know that everything I am was made and prepared for this. My feeling of not being glad to be back has vanished as I see God at work here in Niger and among the Fulani. I lament leaving friends and family and really important relationships behind, but God has a plan for this time, for me and for the awesome Fulani people.

Please pray that I will be faithful in my tasks and that God's Spirit would shine in my life like a cool breeze here in the hot, dry desert wind.