by Dr. James Ray – Executive Editor

Their world consisted of a parcel of dried and scrubby dirt onto which they had built their home. “Home” only amounted to a ragged hovel thrown together from palm–leaf mats hung onto a few worm–eaten sticks stuck in the ground. Around this hovered a number of sheep or goats—the source of any livelihood. Their lives were stories of hardship and struggle for sheer survival. Etched in their faces were deep lines and furrows put there by years of lashing sand and heat.

The people of the Niger would live and die, only to be buried at the end under the sand and rock without much notice. When in time the blowing dust would obscure their graves into the unforgiving landscape, no one passing by would even glance at the spot where they had been laid. After the demise of a few close loved ones who had shared their primitive existence, the world would never know that they had ever lived.

Their bleak tents were cheered only by a battery radio—a prized possession. It was only a few years past when the sun came up on one of their desolate days that they heard a different sound floating across the dry landscape over the radio waves. Many of those out in the desert circling Agadez heard for the first time the voice of a missionary proclaiming a message of hope and redemption. Amazing—beyond their life of struggles and hardships there was a place called Heaven. When death came it would not be the end but the beginning—all because God, who made the desert and the world, had sent His Son. In addition to this was the promise that God loved them and would come to live in their tents and their hearts now. This God was unlike any other. The pagan gods which held the people in bondage for centuries never claim to dwell with them or to love them. Those gods were hard taskmasters who only demanded works and tedious servitude. Jesus, God’s Son and God Himself, would be their friend and companion every moment of their lives and beyond.

“Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isa 35:6).

The humble people of the Niger would never see king’s palaces but they could see the King Himself if they would believe. Yes, the blowing sands might cover their unmarked graves, but the Creator God would engrave their names in the eternal book of Heaven. True—future tent dwellers might never know that they had ever lived but the Creator Himself would say, “I know thee by name” (Ex 33:17). “I have loved thee with an everlasting love:…with loving–kindness have I drawn thee” (Jer. 31:3).

That first broadcast marked a milestone in missionaries David and Donna Eden’s 30–year ministry in the Niger. For the first time they could spread the Good News to everyone who would listen. They would invest thirty years of their lives in a place were few others would ever go:
– thirty years of unspeakable loneliness
– thirty years of dust and heat
– thirty years of malaria and desert sickness.

Through all of this, they would translate the Bible into a written language for the people that time forgot. They would spend those thirty years joyfully walking with God—never looking back!

David and Donna were like the little lads lunch. When given to Jesus, it would be first broken, then blessed and finally spread among thousands.

The iron grip of pagan religion would not release its slaves willingly. In fact few at first would be freed. Islamic teachers ranted and raved on the radio against the new religion and reprimanded all who would dare to listen. Many, if not most, of the inhabitants of the Niger would not be able to break the shackles that had held them so long. However, for the first time they would know that there was a choice—that there was a better way. The really great harvest might be generations away but the seed planted would germinate.

That future harvest could be illustrated with the story of Mohamed. This convert broke the bands of Islam to receive Christ. He stood resolutely when family and friends tried to intimidate him into going back to Islam. He stated to the missionary, “I am like a wild boar. Once the wild boar takes off in a direction, it never looks back. That is the way I feel about the old Islamic ways I used to follow.”

Here and there the message would fall on ready hearts, such as Mohamed, and penetrate the darkness for earnest seekers of light. Here and there God would gather His gems from the desert floor—gems priceless and eternal—each gem worth more in value than a thousand worlds.

In Any Language He Is Lord
From the desert to the Jordan—ISA is His Name,
the One Who lives within their tents and fills their hearts with praise.
In Honduras He is JESUS, Lord Emmanuel;
From simple mountain villages you can hear the chapel bell.
From the Black Sea to the Red Sea, JESUS is His name,
In Asia they know YAYSOO hears every word they pray.
Proclaiming JESUS...JESUS, Name above all Names
In any language, He is Lord and worthy of our praise,
His name is Jesus, Jesus. He hears us when we call.
CHRIST the Saviour of the World—the Lord who loves us all!