Update #5 from LINK Business Vision Discovery Mission

(received Friday, 2/17/12)

Dear Friends and Family,

We thought the first two days were eventful! Today was filled with a wide range of emotions. In one day, we experienced appreciation, sadness, humility, joy, praise, and laughter. We witnessed true gratitude when Rodrigo (the director of The LINK™ Outreach Center) shared the plaque he received at yesterday's dedication with The LINK™ staff here in Niger. The staff works diligently to help make The LOC successful and we are reaping the benefits.

We visited the Hosanna Clinic in Kollo which serves several villages outside Niamey. The director of the clinic painted a graphic picture of what the patients, specifically the women, face far too often. She told us the story of a woman who walked to this clinic from more than five miles away after giving birth to her tenth baby. Not one of her first nine babies had survived. To make matters worse, she had no interaction with the people in her village because they were convinced she was cursed. This woman appeared at the clinic broken but determined. Unfortunately, despite the hard work of the doctors and nurses, this baby died too. With gentleness, the medics continued their mission of sharing God's love with her and explaining that it was not her fault her baby died. This situation hit us hard. Imagine losing ten children and being shunned by your family and neighbors because of it. Perhaps those words, "it's not your fault" are the only words of love and support this woman will ever hear in her life.

We visited a young couple who pastor a church across the Niger River. They spread the word of God in their community while providing sustenance to malnourished children and nutrition tips to the mothers. They hope to teach women how to prevent malnutrition and maintain a healthy lifestyle for their families. This nutrition program is supported by generous donations to LiveTen24. The husband is so dedicated to his calling that he preached to an empty church for two months before anyone showed up for a service. When asked why he continued to preach even when no one was there, he said he was simply following what God had told him to do.

Later in the day, we thoroughly enjoyed our boat ride down the Niger River (which turned into a race, of course), our camel ride through the desert, and our time of praise to the Lord as we sat under the most beautiful stars on the dunes of the Niger desert: unbelievable.

We have bonded as a group in significant ways this week as we continue to do the work God has called us to do and we are excited about what the weekend has in store.





Thank you for praying for us.

The 2012 LINK™ Business Vision Discovery Mission
The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. Staff