Some thoughts...

Dear friends and family...

HELLO. Sorry for the delay in my personal blog posts!

Oh my... where even to begin? There is SO much to share. I could spend hours going into detail about wonderful evenings at Nigerian's homes, the amazing time we've had with missionary kids here, and the many many ministries we have visited, but for this post I want to focus on more big idea topics...

Relationships, relationships, relationships - Think about this: when you walk into a party or gathering, do you greet every single person there? Do you smile or say "hi" to a stranger you pass on the sidewalk? Would you ever risk being late to a meeting or scheduled event because you were in the middle of a conversation? I know that most of us would answer "no" to all of these questions. I would. But why? And why would a Nigerian respond "yes?" Because Americans see through different cultural lens than Nigerians do. To Nigerians, relationships are EVERYTHING. When you enter a room, you greet every single person there. You ask about their parents. You ask about their children. You show your care and concern. When you pass people on the street, you often smile and say "Sanu! Yaya gajeuh!" If you're in the middle of a conversation with someone, then that conversation trumps most all other needs. You will stop any work to sit down and talk with someone. You will be late to church or a meeting because you were conversing.

In Nigeria, it's never about what you know, it's WHO you know. I know of a missionary who was guaranteed protection by the head of police's personal guards any time he needed it just because this missionary offered to buy this chief a new pair of shoes in America. If you invest in relationship, Nigerians will show you how highly they value that relationship. At the ministry where I am serving, I spent an hour or two talking to some young women who live nearby. Because I showed them that I was interested from the start, they in turn prioritize our friendship. They make an effort to stop by the ministry every day to visit, often bringing new delicious Nigerian dishes for us to taste. They love giving of their own resources, like giving me jewelry or food, to show how important I am to them.

The elevation of relationships in the Nigerian culture has taught me so much. Often, my life is structured around meetings and adhering strictly to my planner. I will tell a friend who really needs to talk that I can only spend two hours with them. I will rush to accomplish all of goals for the day, barely stopping to chat with my housemates. I will turn down a dinner invitation from my dear neighbor Anna (an extremely talkative 14 year old) because I have too many other things to do. My schedule is often more important to me than forming relationships. Now, I am not saying that it is bad to leave a conversation to go do something you need to do.     And I am not saying that you arrive late to all appointments and fail to work diligently and efficiently because you spend all your time developing relationships.

But I am asking you to sit back and think about how you use your time. Is the busyness of life keeping you back from pouring selflessly into others? Does the priority of your planner trump the richness of true fellowship? Are you too rushed to stop for two minutes ask someone how they are really doing? In America, the values of hard work, diligence, and efficiency often overrule the values of otherminded-ness and friendships. I am asking you, how should our cultural values be arranged in our lives? When should the value of relationships surpass the value of productivity? And when should the value of productivity surpass the value of relationships? Maybe we need to rethink how use our time and how we arrange our priorities.

Teaching... /preaching-but-NOT-IN-CHURCH - I have had a really incredible experience teaching while here in Nigeria. There is something about speaking to large groups of people that I just really love. Before I share about my opportunities to teach here in Nigeria, let me share with you a story from this past summer. It was during the month of July, and I was in Nicaragua for the month for a missions trip. One day, our team was doing an outreach in a neighborhood. We began a game of soccer and dozens of people flooded in from the community to catch a glimpse of the "cheles." Needless to say, our white skin did wonders for that outreach ministry. During each break from the intense soccer game, a member from our team would share their testimony. It was during this outreach that I felt moved by the Spirit like I never have before. I felt so compelled to stand up on a platform and share a powerful Gospel message. I began to see the message forming out of no where in my mind... I would speak on the transiency of life, urging my audience to look at the dead leaves on the ground and consider the fleetingness of their own lives. I felt so impelled by the Spirit to speak passionately about Christ and the abundant life found in Him. But I did not. Fear overtook me and I rejected the clear leading of the Spirit. I am so ashamed that my flesh ruled in the situation and I didn't share the Gospel (Romans 1:16...).

I vowed from the point onward that if I ever felt the Spirit leading like that, even if that meant sharing in front of hundreds of people, that I would not ignore His prompting. And I felt that prompting again when we have visited the brothels and prison here. And even in the midst of my fear and nervousness, the Spirit empowered me to share strong, passionate Gospel messages. I have never felt so filled with Spirit and so in my element. I just loved it. I loved looking each of those prisoners and prostitutes directly in the eye and declaring boldly to them the glorious Gospel. Oh how it livened my soul and brought joy to my heart!

I have also had the opportunity to teach 10-14 year old boys every day. These boys are brought in from off the streets and are given the chance to be educated, housed, fed, and taught about the LORD. Every day for two hours, I teach this group of 6 boys math for two hours. I have absolutely LOVED joking around and bonding with these boys, as well as watching their excitement and wide eyes as they compete to finish the problems before the others. They are so eager to learn... "Auntie Auntie! Give me anoda problem! I solve dis one... I want anoda!"  I feel so motherly to them. I never ever thought of teaching... but I have just so cherished it.



Well... I wanted to have three different points, but I am just too exhausted. Being here has put me on a great sleeping schedule of waking up around 5-6  and going to bed around 9-10. That's why I am extremely tired at only 10:13 PM! Thank you for taking the time to read this. It means so much to me. Please comment!

Prayer requests:
 -That our team will encourage and bless all those we come across in these last three days
 - That the Father will teach us some more deep and sweet lessons before we leave
 - That we will be prepared to enter back into life in Spokane. That the LORD will bring confidence and a fresh perspective as we return.
 - That the LORD will use this incredible experience to change us for the rest of our lives. That we will apply what we have learned and live in a new manner of life.

Thank you thank you thank you! So much love to you all. Please pray. Hopefully see you all soon!

Update #3 from Rick...

NIGERIA ADVENTURE 2012

Week 3

Learning, Networking and Engaging in Ministry

Teaching/Learning

One of the great blessings of leading a team like this is the opportunity to debrief them after each day, so full of new sites, sounds, smells and cultural learning as they process what missionary life and cross-cultural ministry are like in shoe leather, not just in the lecture halls and classrooms at Moody Spokane.  This team is sharp and ask the tough questions, showing their keenness to learn and that they are seeing things with new glasses.  Serious questions about cultural values, religious persecution and suffering, African view of missionaries, differing missionary approaches to ministry, missionary call, etc. have been raised and chewed on in the very context of observing and experiencing them.  What a perfect teaching context! 

Would you join me in praying that God would use this experience not only to broaden the understanding and appreciation of God, his world and missions in the mind and heart of each team member, but also be pleased to call some of them to career cross-cultural service.

Networking

Monday, January 9th, proved to be a classic opportunity for networking, a most important part of Kingdom ministry, whether at home or abroad.  My colleague and friend, Ralph Sauers, veteran SIM missionary in Niger, now working in the Recruitment Department at SIM USA HQs, led a team of two other men from his local church, Steelecreek Church in Charlotte, NC, to Nigeria to survey the possibilities of a strategic church planting effort in the home village of Ben, a Nigerian from Imo State, now a vital member of Steelecreek, who has a passion for reaching his people.  As a church, represented by Wes, Missions Pastor and members, Ralph and Ben, realized that  partnering with EMS (Evangelical Missionary Society of ECWA, the SIM related church denomination) would be a crucial Kingdom minded strategy and so they came to Jos to meet with the Director of EMS, my friend, Rev. Stephen Baba.  We invited Ralph and his team to meet and share with our team.  We shared our testimonies and heard more about them.  Here is Ralph's rehearsing of how we were able to have a role in this example of networking leading to potential partnerships in the reaching of people and the growth of the Kingdom

"We had lunch with Rick and his team.  What a wonderful blessing to hear the testimonies of those students and to hear of their tremendous passion for serving Christ.  After lunch, our team met with Rick to get his counsel about the church planting opportunity in Ben’s villages.  Rick has rich experience serving the Lord in Nigeria and in the U partnering churches in the US in mission.  The interaction with Rick helped clarify the important questions and issues we need to address.  We’re coming into this situation as learners, not having a clue as to what the best culturally appropriate way to proceed might be.

Part way through the meeting with Rick, God brought Brother Titus Turaki, who came to meet with Rick about the Romans Project Pastors Conference to be held on Friday.  But the Lord had him come to meet us!  Titus is an Evangelical Missionary Society missionary who faithfully served the Lord as a pioneer evangelist and church planter.  Now, Titus heads up the training of all new EMS missionaries.   Wow!  The next two hours walked us through an inside look at EMS and how the organization works.  In addition, we got to hear firsthand of the great sacrifice EMS missionaries make to serve the Lord in this country.  It is widely known that to be an EMS missionary is to accept a life of hardship, deprivation, and in some cases, martyrdom to serve Christ.

That meeting with Rick and Titus was indispensible for the meeting God arranged today with Brother Stephen Panya Baba, the Executive Director of EMS.  As the three of us shared our hearts, visions, dreams and questions about the church planting endeavor in Ben’s villages, Brother Stephen came alive with excitement."

What a joy to be in Nigeria when these men were needing counsel and to network them with Rev. Turaki, a former student of mine who is Romans Project Coordinator in Nigeria. 

Ministering

On Tuesday, January 10th and Wednesday, January 11th our team jumped right into some exciting ministry opportunities with City Ministries (CM), headed by my friend Peter Fretheim.  We traveled out of Jos about 10 miles on a rough road to a town called Gyero where CM ministers to orphans who have been rescued from various hopeless and abusive situations.  We met their leader/caregivers (some of whom were ophans just like them), their school (with beautifully painted classrooms done by a short termer in 2010), and witnessed their irrepressible joy.  We all gathered in a meeting room to sing, share testimonies and have snacks which we brought for them.  We were so blessed by their enthusiastic singing and quoting of memory verses and their faces were irresistible subjects for my camera snaps (Nigerian English for picture taking).

The next day we headed downtown Jos to the Gidan Bege (House of Hope) ministry hub and were smothered with loving hugs and entertained by the happy kids who are fed and taught life skills there.  The young Nigerian leaders of the outreach ministry showed us around and we met with the chaplain who prayed for our outreach ministry about to be embarked on. 

We went to the large Jos Prison and after proper screening were permitted into the large courtyard populated by hundreds of prisoners, male and female milling around in small groups.  Under their curious stares, we were ushered into a meeting hall being set up for our program.  Eventually about 100 prisoners came in and sat down on the plastic chairs or peered in the windows.  Soon the beat of drums led into some enthusiastic music led by an a sharp, 30-something death row inmate who had recently had his sentence commuted to life in prison.  He later gave his testimony and though he claims innocence of the crime, has overcome bitterness and is now a leader of the Christian ministry going on periodically.

Our team came through with special music (our gals blended beautifully  as they sang "Nothing But the Blood" and "Amazing Grace" acapella) and powerful testimonies (these gals are fearless) and Aaron preached a meaningful message from the Word (he is really adept at contextualizing his messages for the audience, whatever culture). 

Because we were a visiting missionary team we were given special permission by the Deputy Controller of the prison to hold services, even though we had not followed normal protocol by writing a formal request to hold such services.  I had the chance to thank him personally, culturally appropriate protocol, and he took the opportunity to inform me of the biggest problem he has, namely getting enough water for the prison population.  He lamented the fact that he needs about $250 equivalent to connect with the city water source and has to bring in water tankers at about $50 each on a regular basis, a financial burden.  The clear implication was that since he gave us an opportunity to hold our program and we are clearly people of means, we should help him with his problem.  The fact that the head of a major national prison (where a former head of state was once held during one of the previous military regimes) has to ask a visiting missionary for help is indicative of the state of things in Nigeria as a whole.  Assuming he was not planning to pocket the money (problem of corruption at all levels), it is obvious that vital human services and security functions are lacking adequate resourcing (hence the current security challenges related to the religious tensions and the just ended national strike over federal fuel subsidy cuts). 

All that said, we believe the Lord used our team to impact the lives of those prisoners and we went away thankful and joyful that the Lord had brought us here for ministry opportunities like this. 

We took a special lunch break and enjoyed our first meal of pounded yam with egusi soup and red stew prepared by Esther Wilson whom I mentioned in my November trip report.  She was our house help when we lived in Jos and became like a member of our family and vice versa.  We had the honor of naming her son, Jonathan, who is a special young man to us.  The yam she prepared was wonderful and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal and fellowship.  While eating, Esther's daughter with her new baby came to greet us.

Our afternoon assignment was an opportunity to mingle with nationals at the market in Bukuru (5 miles from Jos), pass out tracts and share Christ in "cold turkey" evangelism.  You need to understand that sharing Christ is very easy in such a setting.  People want the tracts and take it a serious thing that the white people showed up to pass them out.  Talking about God or referring to Him are part of almost every conversation

The next day we arrived at GB and joined with the outreach staff and walked around the corner to two nearby brothels to share Christ with some of the neediest women in a society where the plight of  women is often tragic and women's rights are meager, though improving, especially within the context of the Church and Christian homes informed by the teaching of the Word of God.  Our team again stood tall as Anna gave a stirring testimony  in one and Moriah gave a powerful sermon in the other.  I cannot tell you how proud I am of these young women whose messages spoke directly to the tragedy of the lives and hopeless AIDS filled future of these women caught up in the evil sex trade in Nigeria that reaches around the world.  You parents who are reading, should join me in pride but more importantly in thanksgiving to God for the character, commitment and of your daughters whom God is molding into powerful servants who delivered a caring articulate message of love and truth, as they boldly reached out to some of the neediest people in the world scourged by the sex trade pandemic of the 21st Century.

On Friday, despite the national strike and fuel costs that had more than doubled, 128 pastors and church workers arrived by car, van, taxi, and motorcycle for the Romans Project Pastors Conference held at the ECWA  Headquarters Conference Center. Of this number, 90 had completed the reading of Romans and writing it by hand in a notebook.   What a joy it was to hand them their MP3 players after seeing their enthusiastic response to the daylong teaching on Romans for Africa and the challenge to study for and preach expositional sermons.  Our team helped register and  stayed for the morning sessions.  Aaron did a masterful job connecting with the pastors when he taught the session  on How to Study the Bible  to Preach Expository Sermons. 

Knowing  that four of our team  have birthdays in January and  February and  that another four would be leaving for home the next day, we decided to have a big party on Saturday night.  It started with a fabulous meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with orange sauce, green beans and carrots and  salad prepared by our friend a veteran missionary, Rev. Harvey Stromme.  Only someone who has lived and cooked in Nigeria knows how  amazing a feat it is to pull together such a scrumptious meal here.  We and our invited  guests were joined by 44 other SIMers for the special meal  which  we all thoroughly enjoyed.  Harvey surprised us with homemade birthday cake with candles and all.

We then moved back to our hostel to continue the party with some Nigerian friends, including our team driver, Daniel and his girlfriend for another cake and fun.  

Our last day together as a team of nine was Sunday and  included a trip down the road off the Jos Plateau to  Kagoro where we enjoyed seeing another CM Care Center.  We were again barraged with loving hugs before heading to the church where kids snuggled up to us during the 3 hour service.  Our team had a chance to introduce ourselves and then Laura and Ginny shared  their testimonies before the congregation of about 300.

At about 1:30 the SIM driver arrived and  after prayer we bid farewell to 5/9ths of our team who headed to Abuja for their flights home to the joy of family and friends.  Anna, Grace, Moriah, Megan and  I continue the ministry in strategic CM ministries around Jos.  The gals are proving champions in every way as they learn more of what ministry in Africa is all about.  On Wednesday I ledi another Roman Project Pastors Conference in a town named Manchok, about 40 miles from Jos and 20 pastors attended  including three of my former students at Jos Seminary who are now the leaders of the District Church Council in the area.

Thanks for praying  for us that we finish this amazing experience well.  Here is the schedule for our last week:

Thursday and Friday, Jan. 19-20: Anna and Moriah at Gidan Bege, Grace and Megan at Gyero Orphanage

Saturday, Jan. 21: Gals to Prayer Mountain and  Rick to Pastors Conference in Bauchi; Girls have party for Hillcrest kids

Sunday, Jan. 22: Church in Jos and dinner at home of Indian friend whom Carol discipled

Monday, Jan. 23: Same as 1/19-20

Tuesday-Wednesday, Jan. 24-25: Rick teaching at Jos Seminary.  Girls to attend chapel

Thursday, Jan. 26: Drive to Abuja and  fly overnight to Frankfurt

Friday, Jan. 27: Arrive in Spokane and  Portland

Some more bits and pieces...

My reason for being in Africa: Back in 2009, I met our team leader Rick Calenberg at Moody's annual Missions Conference. Ever since then, we kept in touch, discussing my great desire to be a career missionary. After plans for a three month trip to Niger fell through, Rick informed me of a trip he was taking to Nigeria. The main purpose would be to run a Spiritual Life Conference for missionaries, but we would also be learning about different ministries in Nigeria. Already knowing Rick and desiring to work with the missions organization SIM (Serving In Mission), I immediately jumped at the opportunity to travel to Nigeria with him. A team of 11 was organized, comprised of four girls from Moody (Anna, Grace, Megan, and myself), two Multnomah graduates (Aaron, 33, married with four young boys and Ginny, seventies [?], with four grown children), one former MK (Christian, 19, lived in Nigeria for 2 1/2 years and currently resides in Texas), Laura (24, graduate of SPU, from Spokane), Rick our team leader, and Ray and Nancy Paulson (50's, from Spokane, their daughter Mary [http://mp-dearfriends.blogspot.com/] is a missionary in Nigeria). 

I decided to go on this trip because I desire as most overseas missions exposure as possible. I want to see how God is working worldwide. I want to learn what the lives of missionaries are like. I want my worldview to expand and my view of God to grow. I want to deeply understand the joys and hardships of serving cross-culturally. I want to experience different cultures and meet non-Americans, and as a result, have my personal priorities, values, and lifestyle challenged.  I want to taste missionary life as much as I can before I (LORD-willing!) dive into it.

Secondly, I needed to fulfill my internship requirements before I graduate from Moody Bible Institute. It is required that I travel to another country and serve 4-8 weeks (or 300 hours). I also must write papers, be evaluated by my team leader, and read books in preparation for and following my trip. The purpose of the internship is to learn and grow from being in a different country, working in various ministries, and experiencing a (small) part of the missionary life. 

So far, this trip has been so many things... I feel like I cannot even begin to express them all! Culturally, all the learning is blowing my mind. It has been fascinating to learn about the expectations for husbands and wives, how horribly widows are treated, and the pervasive influence of animistic beliefs and witchcraft. Every day my eyes are opened to the stark difference between American and Nigerian values. And to see the faith of these Nigerians... what an undeserved privilege! They hope despite persecution and possess joy even though they have nothing. They believe in the tremendous power of prayer and unwaveringly trust in the sovereignty of God. How real and active their faith is! Their spiritual lives do not consist of reading five minutes of the Bible every day to check it off the list. I met a 10ish year old boy who reads the Bible for 2-3 hours... every day. How have we allowed fun church activities to become more important than time in the Word in prayer? I have been extremely challenged to think about how my affections are ordered and by what value system (heaven or earth) I'm living by. 

Please pray for...

     - That my view of God will grow! I want to understand His power, sovereignty, and all-sufficiency on a deep, deep level

     - That our team will be mightily used in the lives of the missionaries and nationals here. That we will be encouraging, strengthening, and point all to the life-giving Vine

     - For safety. There is a lot of fear that the radical M* sect will continue their violence and that riots regarding the rising petrol prices will get out of hand

THANK YOU for reading this! Thank you for your love, support, encouragement, and PRAYERS. I cannot ask you to pray enough for this trip. I am excited to keep sharing of what the LORD is doing here!

Love love love,

Moriah Rose

Another update from Rick!

NIGERIA ADVENTURE 2012

Week 2

There is Another Side to the News in Nigeria!

Ministry to Missionaries and Missionary Kids

Week 2 on this Nigeria ministry adventure was another week of blessing and answered prayer in a broader context of bad news and fear in a country on the brink of disaster.  On Tuesday, January 3rd, our team loaded up the City Ministries van to the gills (9 people and luggage), captained by our winsome, fearless and competent driver, Daniel, and headed to the Miango Rest Home (MRH) in the town of Miango, about 20 miles outside of Jos for the SIM Spiritual Life Conference (SLC).  MRH is the location first envisioned and built 100 years ago for the R&R of the early pioneer SIM missionaries who served in the hot lowlands to the south near the Niger River.  The first building erected still stands and on the last day of the SLC (Sunday), it was formally rededicated to the memory of a gift given by a widow whose pastor/husband had had a great interest in mission work in Africa.  

That first day in this beautiful setting (green and lush, though dusty from the dry Harmattan winds blowing at this time of the year) was spent getting set up and oriented to the beautiful surroundings of this large compound that holds many memories for our family.  We spent our first summer (1984) at MRH after arriving in Nigeria in early June.  Carol and I studied Hausa and the four girls had a fun time running and playing with other SIM MKs.  It was so much fun and they made such good friends that Karen, then 10, decided she wanted to attend the SIM MK School, Kent Academy (KA), which shares the compound with MRH.  She had three of her happiest years growing up in that school where she matured into a leader, athlete and excellent student.

Five of our team members assigned to work under Aaron Coski with the Middle and High Schoolers moved into the KA dorms in preparation for the arrival of the SIM families the next day.  We added a team member in Sterling Mitchell who is from Vancouver, WA and spent a year of high school with his family in Jos and is back for a year to minister as a short term missionary.  He also played drums with the Worship Team that led the SLC Conference Worship.

I was assigned to a small nice room in a row of single rooms in what is known as the Maranatha Residence at MRH.  My room shared a large bath and shower with the next room occupied by my friend, Peter Burke from Australia.  The gals on our team used the shower in my room since the facilities were not all that great in the dorm.  Peter Burke is our SIM Treasurer whose dear wife, Ann, passed away very suddenly the week after last year's SLC.  A vibrant, joyful, fun-loving, lady, Ann was loved by everyone.  A special tribute was given to her several times during the SLC, including at the beginning of "Talent Night" last night.  She had been the star of last year's Talent Night and we all missed her for some many reasons.  Peter has processed her homegoing very well, but this will be a tough week.  We have invited him to join us for a fun birthday night on Saturday, January 14th when we will celebrate the four team birthdays which occur in January and February (Moriah, Anna, Megan and I).

A 13 Mile Trek for the for the History Books

On Wednesday morning, January 4th, the four Moody students on our team, I and some other hearty souls, boarded the van for a ride back to the outskirts of Jos for a truly remarkable trek reenacting a piece of SIM history.  In 1912, some SIM missionaries launched out on a trek from Jos looking for a site for a new clinic and ourtreach to the Irigwe Tribe.  They were also looking for a site for a "Sanitorium," common parlance in those days for a place for R&R.  This trek marked the beginning of the coming of the gospel to the Irigwe, who today are a mainly Christian tribe centered in the Miango area of Plateau State. 

As we all gathered from different directions (some from Jos as well as MRH), we shivered and bundled up against the morning winds which were blowing the cool dry, desert air, making it feel like it was in the 40's.  There were about 50 missionaries and nationals who had gathered initially and after prayer, we began what would be a 6+ hour trek.  We would pass through villages, cross bumpy dust-covered harvested fields of maize, carefully balance ourselves as we passed over narrow mud walkways through dry season gardens, then jump over the streams that fed them, all the while sharing the joy of participating in such a meaningful experience!  At times spontaneous singing would break out and strategic points along the way we heard explanation of the history of original trek in 1912.  As we walked people in the villages came out of their mud brick, straw roofed huts to greet us and encourage us.  The gospel was shared with some. 

The highlights of the trek for me were the long chats I had catching up with some of my  missionary colleagues and Nigerian friends who I had not seen in years who were in the group.  One in particular was an old friend, Peter Agara, whom I met when we first arrived in Nigeria in 1984.  Peter is now in his 60's but very strong and active in translating the Bible into the Irigwe language and remains passionate about training youth for evangelism.  Back in the 70's he lead youth teams on evangelism treks, sometimes 50 miles one way to reach unreached villages.  Many of the youth on those treks have served the Lord faithfully. 

In his life, Peter has been a teacher and served a term as the Bassa Local Government Chairman, the important elected official over the entire region of Plateau State where his Irigwe people live.  Back in the Summer of 1993, I led a team of three other profs from Moody Bible Institute and one from Washington Bible College to teach at Jos Seminary and we visited Peter when he was Chairman.  On this past Sunday, he invited our current 2012 team of nine for a delicious meal of Kus Kus and fellowship at his home and proceeded to show them a picture of our 1993 team.  They could hardly recognize the thin guy with a full head of light brown hair who was not their 65 year old team leader!  Peter looks the same and is just as vital for the Lord and passionate about evangelism as ever.  It was a joy and honor to introduce my team to this Nigerian "baba" leader and  man of God.  Appropriately, he is a select member of the committee planning the major celebrations of the coming of the gospel to the Irigwe tribe to be held in November.

At about the two-thirds mark in our reenactment trek, we stopped at the town where the first church was planted among the Irigwe by the pioneer SIM missionaries.  Singing, dancing and prayers marked this stop on our joyous march which was getting more exuberant with each mile.  Other missionaries and nationals joined us for the rest of the trek and the total number of people who trekked reached over 150.  By now the sun was high in the sky and it was getting hot.  Sweaters and jackets were shed, sun block applied and lots of water was consumed.  Local people in the village offered us some welcome refreshments to reenergize us as we continued the trek toward Miango town.

One story told along the way really impacted my thinking.  The rugged beauty of this area of Nigeria is marked by rugged, rocky hills protruding out of the rolling plains of the Jos Plateau which is 4000 above sea level.  A very distinctive landmark which forms an entry way into Miango town are the dual extinct rounded mounds which were volcanoes many years ago.  They are visible from any direction and in the days when SIMAIR pilots flew missionaries to MRH and KA, after they would buzz the compound, the volcanoes served as the landmark and final approach vectors as they guided their planes on to the landing strip located just to the east of the volcanoes about two miles from MRH. 

We stopped on our trek at a spot immediately between the volcanoes and heard the story about one of the legendary missionaries who served in Miango, Effie Varley. this hearty single missionary lady would don her pith helmet early in the morning and head into the rising sun and would trek from Miango to Jos on a round trip of over 30 miles in in one day!  One time, when she approached these twin volcanoes, the spiritual oppression was so great she could not pass between them and had to go around before she could continue on to Jos.  For many years, this area had been the center of occult activity and the meeting place of secret societies.  The presence of evil was very real but through the coming of the gospel, the evil power of the enemy has been broken and after prayers of victory and thanksgiving, we all passed between the volcanoes, marching to the beat of the Boys Brigade marching drum and bugle corps that had joined us for the rest of the trek.

Once we arrived in Miango we made a ceremonial visit to the Paramount Irigwe Chief, Rev. Ronku, an ordained ECWA (SIM related church) pastor, who received us missionaries warmly, expressing thanks for the sacrifice involved in bringing the gospel to the area 100 years ago.  The TV cameras were in evidence and some of us appeared on the taped television report broadcast later in the week. 

The celebration continued for another hour as the final destination in center of town was reached.  A great sense of joy and satisfaction was felt by those of us who have been privileged to participate in this historical event and had survived the hike.  The payment would come the next day!

Waking up on Thursday morning, I felt a bit of soreness in my calves but decided to do my usual jog anyway, thinking that running would work out whatever soreness there was.  Not so!  For the next three days I experienced a soreness reminiscent of what I remember of the week of tryouts for high school football in 1964!  Never in all my years of running have I experienced this soreness from walking, no less!  Maybe my 65 years are catching up to me!

The Joy of Serving Missionaries and Missionary Kids

The rest of the week, Wednesday evening through Sunday afternoon, was spent in a most rewarding time of ministry to the SIM missionary team which had arrived from around Nigeria throughout the day on Wednesday.  This was one of the major reasons we as a team had come to Nigeria, and we were mobilized and well organized for the ministry.  Aaron Coski led the high school and middle school team and Ray and Nancy Paulson led the elementary school team.  I hardly saw them for the next three and a half days but heard many reports of the effectiveness of their ministry and care for this special group of MKs.  The middle school/high school team lived with the kids in the dorm and the week took the shape of a week at camp.  Interestingly, Aaron cut his teeth in ministry working at Victory Camp in Alaska and two of the Moody gals are currently Resident Advisors over student houses at Moody Spokane.  They were well qualified, well prepared and did a terrific job of leading and loving on these MKs, while getting little sleep.  Our team was up for late night activities and fun that is a highlight of this fun week.  I can't tell you how proud I am of this select group the Lord put on this team.  they are true champions for Him and this week demonstrated it BIG TIME!

That the Lord was working through our team was evidenced in the fact that the MKs quickly bonded with our team and began to open up about their issues.  The next two weeks will give opportunity for the team to cultivate these relationships.  Please be in prayer for our gals especially as they minister to some needy and open teenage MKs.

Another highlight of the week was the opportunity for the MKs to overdose on American candy, cereal, etc.  And overdose they did on the over 100 pounds of goodies supplied by the generous friends from our home church, Gateway Church in Portland.  THANKS!

For my part, I was privileged to speak to the adults and did a series from the book of Hebrews on "Fixing Our Thoughts on Jesus" from Hebrews 3:1.  After an introduction, I focused on Jesus as God's Prophet and Our High Priest, Example and Savior.  The response was good and I felt the Lord's blessing as I shared.  A particular emphasis on Saturday was seeing Jesus as our example in how to suffer.  In light of the current situation in Nigeria which involves regular reports of Muslims attacking Christians and "Christians" viciously retaliating, it was a very pertinent topic for these missionaries.  Small group discussions each day provided opportunities to process and apply the biblical teaching.  Pray for these missionaries as they struggle with security issues and how to compassionately minister to many Nigerians and families who are affected and

grieving the loss of family, friends and churches in the current spate of uprisings many of your have read and heard about (see below).

Special events marked the week of SLC including a campfire (with chocolate, marshmallows and Graham crackers smores which Gateway Church people helped supply), talent night, hikes, special seminars, fellowship and great food.  We were all filled with blessing in every way!  I was able to reconnect and catch up with so many old friends, several who were honored at the Retirement Celebration held.  This truly is my second home and I am loving being here except for missing my soul mate, Carol. 

What is happening in Nigeria?

I can't end this letter without making mention of what is causing many of you, including the parents and friends of the team great concern and rightfully so.  Most of you have heard the reports of a number of bomb attacks by a radical M* group here in Nigeria.  After threatening and telling Christians to leave the northern states (the bastion of Islam in Nigeria) with trouble if they do not leave the north, they have carried out random acts of violence against churches and Christians, east and northeast of Jos.  I would like to quote from a recent letter from an SIM colleague here as it presents a short accurate description of the situation as I write this report:

  

"It is tragic that Christians are being targeted and many innocent women and children have also been killed and injured. In spite of the increased security in some areas including Plateau State where we live and a declared State of Emergency, the violence continues unabated. In this milieu of uncertainty, on January 2 the President of Nigeria lifted a government fuel subsidy which doubled the price of fuel. This has created economic havoc as the fuel inflation has been passed on to every commodity in the market. The wages have not been increased and now some will spend most of their salaries on transport costs to get to work. We are also concerned since our SIM allowance has also not changed and our daily costs will also increase significantly. Obviously hospital costs will also increase especially fuel. There is a great deal of anger in the country and a national strike by the labor unions is scheduled for Monday. We have stocked up on food and are praying for God’s intervention in preventing violent demonstrations." 

We are staying close to the compound here is Jos and are not taking risks as we await the outcomes of the strike and the religious strife over the next few days.  There is no imminent danger to us but we need your prayers for wisdom as we seek to continue our ministry under these uncertain conditions.  The SIM Nigeria Administration is monitoring the situation and advising us and the entire SIM community.

Please continue to pray for team unity and ministry to marginalized groups in several venues this week.  On Friday, January 13th, over I will be teaching over 350 pastors at the Romans Project Pastor's Conference to be held here in Jos.  Pray that all will be able to make it in spite of the fuel crisis.  Pray that this last week for four team members will be as blessed and memorable as were the first two!

Here is an update from our team leader Rick!

NIGERIA ADVENTURE 2012

Week 1

Faith Challenge: How Four Sets of Parents Passed the Test, On Their Knees

The exciting opportunity to minister again in Nigeria was preceded by a wonderful family Christmas celebration with three of our daughters, two sons-in-law, two great-grandparents, and best of all, three grandchildren!  We talked, laughed, ate and prayed, especially for Nigeria, security and the parents of the college age Nigeria Team members.   As you may have heard, on Christmas Day in Jos and other cities in Nigeria, bombs we exploded injuring and killing people, all the work of radical M*s.  This group is causing fear and anxiety throughout Nigeria and Jos has been a focal point because of its strategic location and heavy concentration of Christians and Christian ministries.

Well, when the parents of the younger team members heard this news, alarms went off, as they would for any good parent of a 19 or 20 year old female Bible college student.  We have four of the finest Christian Moody Bible Institute Spokane students who fit that description.  So on Monday, December 26th, the day before we were all to fly, I had chats with each set of parents.  I described the situation and answered their questions as best I could, promised to do my best to keep their children out of harm's way (the attacks to this point have not been aimed at missionaries and Westerners) and then prayed with them.  They each came back with a firm affirmation of their trust in the Lord and His work in the lives of their daughters and gave their blessing and sent their daughters, despite the dangers.  I can't tell you how blessed and encouraged I am by their faith, which I am already seeing being rewarded as their daughters grow into women of faith and in cross-cultural understanding through the experiences of our first week in Nigeria.  I am certain there are four sets of parents who are daily on their knees for our Team!

Opening the Red Sea, or How United Airlines Made a Way Across the Pond

Four of us (Ginny Klett, Laura Dailey, Anna Chernik and I) were scheduled to fly from Portland to meet the other team member in Newark, NJ for our onward journey to Frankfurt and Abuja, capital of Nigeria.  Well, God had another routing in mind and United Airlines cooperated, thankfully!  After having a bit of a disappointing debate with the agent in Portland who charged us for our second pieces (full of materials for the Nigerian SIM missionaries and not done on international flights) we arrived safely in Chicago, our stopover on the way to Newark.  We arrived at the gate to discover our flight had been delayed for one hour due to the severe windy and rainy weather in the NYC area.  No problem, we could still make our connection with the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt.  Well, about a half hour later we heard the unwanted news that the delay would be an additional hour and a half, meaning we would not make the connection!  Well, my years of air travel experience (beginning with my first United cross-country flight in 1954) helped me hatch a plan which I sensed was God opening the Red Sea for us.  I literally ran to the United Service Desk and got in the short line before being waved forward by agent, Tiffany Cartier, who would become my hero and for whom I am planning to write a glowing appreciation/commendation letter.  I asked her to attempt to book us on the Lufthansa flight headed to Frankfurt directly from Chicago (two gates down from our Newark gate).  She mentioned the problem of transferring luggage but soon became our advocate (she wants to become a lawyer, interestingly enough).  We stuck up a quick friendship as she went into action calling Lufthansa, the baggage department, checking our reservations and working to make it happen.  It took almost an hour but thankfully we all got boarding passes for the flight and I joyfully returned to the other three praying Team members with the good news!

While our travel crisis was being resolved, another was playing out in high drama in New Jersey.  Moriah Hall and her Mom, Terry, were making a snail's pace journey on the interstates and turnpikes from Philly to Newark due to multiple accidents along the way, attributable to the weather.  Whereas they had planned to be at the airport a good two hours before the scheduled departure time at 6:10 pm they were still driving and making a few wrong turns at 5:30!  At 5:40 Moriah dashed up to the Lufthansa desk to plead her case.  Denied at first, she finally convinced the agents that she had to be on that plane and the Red Sea parted, including a special pass to get through security.  As the flight was boarding she showed up, and Aaron Coski (who had arrived from Anchorage), Megan Johnson (who had arrived from Los Angeles) and Grace Fragmeni, who had driven from western New Jersey, were amazed to see her.  As the plane pulled away from the gate, Moriah was on board, less her luggage.  The wet tarmac was only a mirage because the God of Exodus had made a way on dry ground for a young woman whose doubts had turned to joyful praise to the same wonder working God who parts seas in the 21st Century as easily as He did in the 15th BC and whose parents' faith and confidence in the will of God for their daughter had just skyrocketed with hers.

That the sovereign Lord was at work in all these circumstances was evidenced not only in our being able to get on the planes to Frankfurt.  As I was finding my assigned seat, as my custom is, I asked the Lord to put someone whom I could share Him with in my row.  The guy on the window was a friendly German but before we could get acquainted a 35 year old Turkish woman studying for a PhD in psychology sat down between us.  Ranu and I would have one of the most interesting conversations for the next 3 hours. This lovely, sharp agnostic M* with a Green Card (allowing her to live and work in the US) proved to be a challenging but open person with whom my best apologetic reasoning and knowledge of Islm was demanded as we pursued topic after topic, always coming back to my insistence on the exclusivity of truth and the uniqueness of Jesus and biblical revelation.  She listened, thought, responded and challenged me and vice versa but always with a cordial spirit. 

A deep respect developed between us and she began to trust me with details of her personal life.  Turns out she has been married for eight years to a man she loves but who is struggling with his identity and life purpose.  Her desire for children has been denied as a result and she had sent him back to Turkey to try to find himself, in hopes of salvaging the marriage which in her mind may not make it as she pursues her purpose in life.  I listened as a father of four daughters her age and promised to pray for her as she was headed to Turkey to meet her husband for the first time in four months.  In fact, she allowed me to pray for our meal when it was served.

There is one more anecdote before I continue which gives insight into this Ranu's thinking and illustrates to me that she may not be far from the Kingdom.  She spoke of the idea in her mind of how the will and sovereignty of God intersects with the individual choices we make.  She spoke of the seed put in the ground by our parents which becomes the tree of our lives.  We have no choice of parents but as we grow we put out branches and have decisions to make that determine in which direction our branches extend, up toward the light or down toward the darkness.  She saw herself and her life in that analogy and I suggested to her that the sovereign Maker of her tree had put our trees together for these hours for a purpose.  She could not argue that and as we concluded our discussion, I gave her my contact info and suggested she read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel if she is willing to consider more carefully the claims of Christ.  Would you pray for Ranu and her marriage?  Pray that the Lord reminds her to by the book or better yet pursue Jesus in the Bible. 

Miraculous Meeting and Tebowing in the Maze of Rhein-Mein Airport

The story of this trip just gets better.  Arriving in Frankfurt, the Portland-Chicago four were wondering how we would meet the Newark four.  Thanks to tail winds our flight across the Atlantic arrived 45 minutes early, shortly before 7am Frankfurt time.  The agents at the Lufthansa Desk were helpful, telling us the gate at which the Newark flight would be arriving in 15 minutes.  I was anxious to know what had become of Moriah and explained my need for information on her, assuming they had rebooked her for a later flight.  They could not share that information with us so we headed out through the maze that is Frankfurt Rhein-Mein Airport.  After a short train ride and a walk down a corridor which was at least a quarter mile long, we came to a security check point and learned that only departing passengers could enter.  Inquiring where arriving passengers passed we were told to head back through the long corridor to a passport control station. By now it was the scheduled time for the arrival of the flight and we were still not sure where or whether we would meet our team.  I was hoofing it and my faithful team of four was faithfully following, wondering if it was worth it!  Well, at the passport control we were directed up a flight of stairs, met a couple who could hardly speak English, the first fruits of the Newark flight and finally found the place where our teammates would pass!  Sure enough in about 5 minutes here they come, Moriah's smiling face included!  Well, just before they arrived, I had told the Portland gals that if Moriah was with them, I would "Tebow" (prayer on one knee in a public setting) right there.  So I kept my promise and we all embraced, letting out a shout of joy.  God was going before and behind this motley crew of 21st Century pilgrims of faith.

There was one more member to connect with, Christian Rothchild, who had started in Houston and had a very close connection in Frankfurt in order to make the ongoing flight to Nigeria.  Well, the Lord came through again and sure enough, when we arrived at the gate for the flight to Abuja, Christian came running up, testifying to the rapid passage he experienced through security enabling him to make the flight and meet us.  The Team was all together and full of excitement, though two members would experience sickness and in Grace's case, pretty serious effects.  But again the Lord divided the Red Sea and right across the aisle on the Abuja bound flight were three unoccupied seats in a row.  The attendant had compassion on us and instructed us to use the space, allowing Grace to sleep lying down for the entire flight and to feel much better at the end of the flight. 

Welcome Home to Nigeria!

We arrived safely at Abuja after an instrument landing through the thick brown haze of

Harmattan dust which had blown in from the Sahara Desert.  It was thicker than I had

seen it in Abuja which is farther south than Jos and farther from the Sahara.  Passage

through Immigration got a little dicey when one man asked for a copy of the letter of

invitation which we had sent with each of our visa applications but which I had failed to

include with all the documents I had packed for the trip.  Thankfully the "ogar" or boss

was kindly disposed to pass us through and we secured the needed stamps in our

passports and entrance into the country.

As we sought our luggage, two of our team received written notification that a total of 3

pieces of luggage had not arrived.  One was Moriah which we already knew about but

the other was Ginny Klett.  Well, things got a bit confusing when Ginny insisted her

checked luggage had arrived and was right next to her but Anna complained that

neither of her pieces had shown up  The mystery was quickly solved when we realized

that the agent in Portland had put Ginny's tags on Anna's luggage in the rush of

checking in together.  Thankfully the luggage arrived the next day and was delivered to

Jos without any further complications.  The sharing of clothes, etc., only lasted a day

and a night!

After an easy sail through customs(an answer to prayer), we were met by Audu, the

SIM driver who had come to take us to Jos.  Since it was dusk, the first stop however

was a fast food place Christian knew about which features shwarmas (sliced lamb on

pita bread).  We took our first meal in the van to the Baptist Guesthouse in Abuja,

managed by our SIM colleagues, Chuck and Judy Brod, who welcomed us as we

arrived.  After a good night's sleep and a great breakfast, we were off for Jos, arriving at

Crescent Hill Baptist Hostel by 2 pm, followed by and official welcome and a helpful

orientation to Jos by one of the SIM missionary wives. Finally after two days and a night

in planes and airports, we were able to sleep in a horizontal position and sleep we did!

Christmas Party Time: Jos Style

The next three days, Thursday-Saturday were planned to be an initial orientation and

exposure to ministries in and around Jos, particularly ministries associated with City

Ministries with whom we will be working after the SIM Conference.  What a challenge

and blessing they were to all of us!  It has taken us debriefings every night and a whole

day today (January 2) to process all we experienced and learned.

On Friday our plan was to throw three New Year's parties at some of the ministry sites

where we will be working.  Our first stop was the Transition House where young men

who have been rescued from living on the streets are being transitioned into normal life,

being parented, discipled and trained for life in an loving environment where they have

experienced rebirth in every way.  Superstitious ideas had caused relatives of both

Ibrahim (Abraham) and Shadrach to attempt to kill them due to events in their families

they had nothing to do with.  They now have hope (the original ministry is called "House

of Hope") and a future (Jeremiah 29:11), one planning on being a pastor and the other

an engineer.  What a joy for our team to sing testimony songs like "Nothing But the

Blood" and "Our God is Greater" with these young men who know the reality like few of

us and then to celebrate together over minerals (soda pop) , cookies and candy we had

brought for them.

We then experienced the practical ministry of the Wheel Chair Workshop and met the

amazing man who leads the ministry, Ayuba Gufwan, crippled by polio from birth.  His

workshop produces wheelchairs for the benefit of polio victims (Nigeria leads the world

in this incurable but preventable disease).  We hear his story, saw the workshop and the

process involved in making the wheelchairs (which now includes making prostheses)

and share a meal with the crew.  You can learn more about this ministry at

www.wheelchairsfornigeria.org.

Our last party of the day was at the Widows Ministry, another place where marginalized

people in the society get their life back through the efforts of missionaries working in

City Ministries.  These lovely women whose husband died might have lost everything

but for the seamstress skills they have been able to develop and using the sewing

machines are able to support themselves and their children.  They heard we were

coming and had prepared lunch for us so we had our second lunch, this time delicious

jollef rice and then again heard testimonies of the grace of God in their lives and our

team sang for them.  Then things really got rowdy, in a good Christian celebrating way! 

They got their instruments and we all began to sing and dance around the table,

celebrating all we had together in Jesus and his love and grace.

 

Miracles like this are happening in Jos, the city which has become known for religious

violence, because God's people are incarnating the love of Jesus.  What a privilege to

be among them!

Prayer Mountains and More Miracles

On Saturday, New Year's Eve Day, we headed out through the Muslim section of town

where there have been violent skirmishes on to the road leading to Bauchi.  After a

number of police and military checkpoints we turned on to a dusty road and within in a

minute were driving onto the most beautiful Eden in the making I have seen in Nigeria. 

We were greeted by Rev. and Mrs. Sung Lee, SIM missionaries from South Korea.  I

have known them for some time and have found them to be some of the most godly

people of faith and prayer anywhere.  This site is known as the Rihzah EMS

(Evangelical Missionary Society) Training Center, a project they launched about 7 years

ago with a meager amount of money and a bushel full of faith in the leadership of God. 

Rev. Lee has worked in training Nigerian missionaries and believing that they also

needed a place for spiritual refreshment.  He built one in the Kaltungo area (which I had

visited some years ago) and now this second location had been secured and

developed.  From a rocky barren piece of mountain and a dirty stream has now come a

place of perpetual beauty with roses and all matter of other beautiful flowers, vegetation,

pine trees, someday to be a forest for quiet prayer walks.  Besides the meeting hall and

dorm, a chapel is being but the outstanding feature are two screened in prayer houses

perched on the side of the mountain overlooking the retreat site and facing north toward

the states of Nigeria with millions of M*s who are boldly prayed for each day.  We

heard the amazing stories of how the discovery of water on the site has been a blessing

to both the Christian and M* villages nearby.  The result has been the building of

trust between these communities in an area where religious bloodshed had occurred. 

Both communities now share the blessing of the water and during the recent religious

riots a few kilometers away brought them together to mutually and cooperative protect

this Christian Training Center. 

After a picnic lunch we climbed up the mountain and met a pastor who had been

praying for most of a week, staying in the prayer house 24/7.  We were totally motivated

to pray by all that we had heard and experienced and so for the next hour we did just

that and as a team really met with the Lord on the Prayer Mountain.

A side note for you who read our Prayer Letters and know about our involvement in the

Ambaricho Prayer and MIssion  Movement will be interested to know that an Ethiopian

Pastor has visited this site.  The prayer mountain movement continues to grow around

the world and again it is a privilege to witness and participate in it!

WARNINGS FROM THE PULPIT, DANCING IN THE  STREETS

New Years Day dawned cool (high 60's) bright and beautiful here on teh Jos Plateau.  Some of the Team had been so motivated by the challenge to pray, they decided to get up before dawn when the muzzein begins his plaintiff cry on the loud speakers calling M*s to prayer before the sun comes up, exhorting them that prayer is better than sleep. (To say the least I am so pleased and proud of this Team for their spiritual initiatives even before we begin our ministry this week.)

The Team was headed to an English speaking Nigerian ECWA (SIM related church in Nigeria) Church nearby but I was fighting a severe cold so I stayed home to sleep.  They were impacted by the message by the pastor which emphasized the need for caution and the need to be cautious because of possible problems.  Thankfully nothing happened but  experiencing the daily realities and powerful faith of these Christian people living in the context of religious persecution and insecurity is giving the Team a new perspective on being a Christian in a hostile world.  Peter's exhortation to a pilgrim Christianity that lives and longs for the lasting world of our heavenly home takes on new meaning.

Sunday afternoon we drove for an hour to the town where the SIM Spiritual Life Conference will be held for their annual New Year's Celebration featuring cultural dancing.  As honored guests we were seated next to the Chief and accorded special privileges including a meal and being videoed for the TV news!  From considering the cost of persecution to almost rock star status in the space of 3 hours illustrates the many and often conflicting roles and realities of life as a white missionary in Africa.  The Team continues to process each of these pieces of cultural information with maturity and wisdom.

MEETING NEW FRIENDS AND MY NIGERIAN FAMILY

On Monday the day was devoted to getting ready for the week of ministry coming this week.  Clothes were washed, journals updated, notes rehearsed and additional sleep indulged in.  In the afternoon we took a stroll over to the SIM Apollo Crescent Compound  to visit and had time with Peter and Miriam Fretheim (City Ministries Director) and Phil and Janne Andrew (SIM Nigeria Director).   In the evening we invited some Baptist missionaries working with a major unreached Muslim tribe in NE  Nigeria to share their life story and ministry with us.  Their passion and humility impressed us and the danger they face as they decide when to go back challenged us.  They had left about 10 days ago because of threats and incidents in their area but were undaunted in their commitment to continue their work.  At the end of the time we prayed for them and blessed them, something this team is very good at doing.

The biggest surprise of the day came when my Nigerian son in the faith, Rev. Dan Luke came over for a visit with his family and announced that Ruth is pregnant with twins!  I am so excited!  I will have twin Nigerian grandchildren in July!  I introduced them to the Team and shared some gifts and basked in this news!

WAYS TO PARTNER WITH US AND PRAY FOR US DURING WEEK TWO

Our blog: hiseternaleyes.blogspot.com

Our schedule:

January 3rd travel to Miango (20 miles from Jos and one hour drive) for the SIM Spiritual Life Conference through Sunday, January 8th. 

January 4th most of us will join in on a 15 mile hike reenacting the coming of the gospel to Miango and the Irigwe tribe 100 years ago (1912).

Please bombard the Throne of Grace with the following needs for our Team:

·         Wisdom, strength and Spirit filling for the task of ministering to the SIM missionaries and children.

·         Continued protection for Christians in Nigeria, for the SIM SLC and for our Team. Pray for Daniel our  driver.

·         Continued Team unity.