The year 2021 was a tough year for the SALT program in Niger. We launched the program in mid-2019 and added our second facilitator in mid-2020, only months before we were forced to leave due to security concerns.
By the beginning of 2022, we were all back in Niger ready to invest in the program. We organized regular facilitator meetings and addressed the problems plaguing the program be- cause of our absence. Our goal was to build a team spirit and impart a vision for the program. Through many prayers, God prospered the program beyond what we expected. Today we have 5 facilitators, 44 groups, and about 1,500 members.
Ninety-nine percent of the people in Niger profess to be Muslims, yet there is freedom for Christians to practice and share their faith. At a recent meeting, our facilitators shared how the SALT program provided them with opportunities to share Jesus with their communities. Following are some exciting stories from our facilitators.
From Boubacar, a facilitator who has really caught a vision for the program and has opened over a dozen new groups this year:
We don’t always get to talk about Jesus, but we just interact with people all the time and let them see Jesus in us. I can testify that since they spend time with us every week in the SALT meetings, their perspective of Christians has changed.
From Pastor Omar:
Recently when I arrived at a meeting everyone was discussing a rich man who keeps marrying women and divorcing them. After a while, they turned to me and said, “You Christians don’t have those problems, do you? You just marry one wife and are happy together.”
From Zangui, our first facilitator:
I try to pay attention to the SALT members at each meeting. If someone seems troubled, I reach out to them privately afterward. Often just the fact that you noticed and care about them will open their hearts.
Stories like these are rewarding. Please join us in praying that God will take the seeds that are being sown and cause them to sprout for His glory.
—Rodney Yoder, SALT staff member in Niger
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