We Thank God

A letter from Claire Zuhosky serving in Niger

November 2015

We thank God for our lives, for our families, and for our work.
We thank God for His faithfulness to us throughout life’s journey
in each leap of faith and in each grasp for a peaceful and honorable future.
May our thanks to the Lord be both deafening and defining.

One year of ministry in Niger has come and gone, and indeed it is very exciting to look back and see what God has done, what I’ve learned, and what I’ve overcome. The biggest blessing has most definitely been sharing my life with my Nigerien friends and family in Christ, to see the spirit of Christ living within each and every one of them as they face both the joys and difficulties of daily life. To know and love my Nigerien brethren is to know and love Christ from a new and all-encompassing perspective.

The drama I taught the youth

Teaching computer classes has been both a pleasure and an honor; the students have a deep eagerness to learn computer skills to further their educational and vocational opportunities. Many of the students have no familiarity with working with computers when they enter the doors. They are not taught how to use them at school, and most families cannot afford to buy one to learn at home; however, the world of technology still evolves, making them painfully aware that for the time being they have been left behind. That is why I become exuberant, to say the least, to see the smiles on their faces when they experience their own progress, and even more so when they realize where this growth will take them. When you think about it, computer technology is such an easy subject to teach, but it has a lasting and penetrating effect on the dynamics of poverty because it offers multiple footholds to climb the rocky and difficult wall that can lead them to success.

Another highlight of my time in Niger thus far was to both help and participate in my church’s youth service. One Sunday of the year they permit the youth to prepare and lead the entire service.   As a member of the Youth Choir I helped with the preparation of many worship songs, two dramas, and a choreographed dance. I taught a humorous sketch that depicts the cumulative effects of sin on youth, and I was excited to see them add their own flavor to it, thus contextualizing it through their own cultural concepts. It was also both exciting and nerve-wracking to participate as one of nine individuals who performed the dance, exciting because I could tell it meant a lot to the youth to see me participate and nerve-wracking because I was afraid to have one of those endearing moments where you mess up and go in the wrong direction, but luckily the guy next to me corrected me in time to avoid problems! I really enjoyed this time spent with the youth preparing and then presenting our worship to the Lord.  The fact that this shared moment came toward the end of my first year here showed me the amount of love that has been generated between my ministry and the youth.

I danced with nine others during the service led by the youth

At the beginning of 2016 I will be located in the U.S. for a few months as I fulfill my Interpretation Assignment, and I am looking forward to visiting churches that would like to hear more about Niger. Please contact me at cez108@hotmail.com and use IA as your subject line if you would like to invite me to your church.

As always I want to sincerely thank all those who are praying for my ministry, thinking about the context of Niger and what it means to live here, and who are donating to the financial needs of this vital ministry position amongst the youth of Niger.  As we approach a new year, please continue to give! If you have not supported this ministry in the past, please consider doing so in 2016.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for the youth of Niger, that the Lord would lead them in each step and each breath that they take as they seek to fulfill His will for their lives. Pray that they continue to increase their knowledge of the Word of God so that they have the resourcefulness, wisdom and energy to survive their difficult circumstances.
• Please pray for the health of my father, who will need to have heart surgery in the near future.  Pray for the Lord’s timing and hand of mercy.

Your Sister in Christ,
Claire Zuhosky, M.Div.

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 133