Prayer for Nigeria

Hello my friends! I'm sorry that I have been out of touch for a few days. Electricity and internet are two things that are a huge blessing here when we have them. Last week our internet randomly stopped working and the service provider said we were getting an "upgrade". What that really means in Nigeria is that they might send someone out to try to fix it in a weeks time. Such is life in a third world country. So, I'm learning that little things that I take for granted every day in the US are answers to prayer and huge blessings here.

Anyway, the real reason for my post is to ask you to pray for Nigeria. There is a long list of things to pray for, but today I have a specific request. A few days ago, about 3 hours North East of where we are in Jos, there was a Muslim sect uprising against the police force. Apparently the police arrested someone and put them in jail and this particular sect became furious and attacked police. As of yesterday over 400 people had died in the uprising. Now, I don't tell you this to scare you that I am here. We have been told that there is nothing to worry about here in Jos. We have seen no signs of tension here, and if we do we will travel south to Abuja to be out of harms way. So, please don't stress. What I want you to do is to pray.

Jos is the northernmost city that is at least 50/50 Christian/Muslim. It is the base for many missionary organizations, some who are very faithful in ministering to the Muslim community. The missionaries over the past 40 years have done a fantastic job in Jos when it comes to Muslim/Christian relations and for the most part the two live peacefully together. When you go north of Jos, it is primarily Muslim. I blogged a week ago about a Muslim who converted to Christianity. It is very dangerous for someone to do this. And yet, God is appearing to these people and showing them the truth. My prayer is that God would soften the hearts of this particular Muslim sect that is causing all the trouble and show them the truth of His love and grace. Anger and bitterness comes from a heart not surrendered to God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22) I cannot imagine not having these qualities in my heart, and so my heart breaks for those who are fighting God so hard that they experience the exact opposite in theirs. I can only imagine the lonliness, fear, anxiety and hate that these men and women feel on a daily basis.

Please pray with me, not only for peace in Nigeria at this time, but also for the men and women here who do not know Jesus Christ. I have seen first hand that poverty will be the death of so many, but without the hope of God, they are already dead. Please pray that they would live...and live lives that matter, lives of purpose and love.

Clean Water

So, I said I would elaborate on the bore hole...so here goes. The group from the Vineyard Church in Cincinnati that has been here with us all week is connected to both Back2Back and our partner ministry Self Sustaining Enterprises (SSE). SSE has many different aspects to it, like helping create businesses, jobs, etc...but one of the parts is drilling bore holes so that the people of Nigeria have clean water. On Thursday we were able to witness one of these drillings. It is a process to get to the depth that they need for clean water, and while we were there we never actually got that far, but we did get down to the final meters. As of today, the village has clean water.
A lot of the disease in Africa comes from the fact that there is not always clean water to drink. There are tons of parasites and other diseases that people get because they have to drink from an unclean well. Their food is washed in it. They cook with it. And the result is exactly what you can imagine. So, clean water is a necessity if the people here are ever going to be healthy. For the past few days we've been doing a medical outreach and we saw first hand the result of poor sanitation and the consumption of unclean water. It is overwhelming.
But...there is hope. The hope is that with this bore hole, (and it is the 50th charity bore hole that SSE has facilitated!!) this village will have the water that leads to life. Not only that, but recognizing it as God's provision for them, they are able to share about the living water that God brings us through Jesus Christ. So it is not only for their physical needs, but it also translates to their spiritual needs.
While we were there that day supporting the drilling process, hundreds of people from the village came out to celebrate with us. There were children running everywhere, having the time of their lives. One of my friends, Mark, was walking toward the bus when one of the men we work with stopped him. This man told Mark that these children will remember this day for the rest of their lives. Then he said that he wished that he would have had a day like this growing up. It broke my heart. These kids...these amazing kids...will remember the day that the church group from Cincinnati came to spend the day with them. They will remember the games, the singing, the laughing...for the rest of their lives.
I was also able to visit a neighboring village that got a bore hole last fall. We got to taste the water and talk to the people about how it's changed their lives. People just kept saying over and over again how great it is to be able to be healthy...and that their kids are growing up strong. I am excited for this new village...that they too will have the opportunity to be healthy. What an awesome experience!! And I think about how Jesus offers us all living water...what an amazing visual for me now of what that looks like in our lives. What an amazing God we have to want us to be healthy (physically, spiritually and emotionally). I want to drink more of this water. I want to experience more of the abundant life that God has offered. It is truly amaing!

Counting the Cost

I rarely count the cost of my faith. In America, I don't really have to. It may not be the most popular thing to be a Christian in some circles, but for the most part, people don't really care. Today I met a woman who had to count the cost. She grew up in a Muslim family and then, as expected married a Muslim man. She was lying in bed one night and was awoken by a really bright light. In the midst of her fear, not knowing what was happening, she felt God speak words of encouragement to her about Jesus. She woke her husband while it was all happening and he was confused because he didn't hear anything. When she told him what she was experiencing, and that she felt Jesus calling her, he got very angry and kicked her out of the house. As she began to grow in her faith she was put in prison for 7 years. While she was in prison, her husband took her twin boys to Saudi Arabia and told them she was dead. For the past 7 years, this amazing woman has been the head of a ministry to Muslim converts. Men and women from all over (even other countries) have come to live in this little village that supports them...they go to school (many of the Muslim women were not allowed to have educations or occupations), they have people discipling them, there are even some of these converts in Seminary learning how to be pastors.
The story is amazing of how God is still showing up in huge ways to reveal Himself and His grace to people all over the world. But what really struck me was this woman's conviction and courage in taking a leap of faith. She knew straight up that as soon as she professed Jesus as Lord in her life that she could potentially be killed. Yet she couldn't deny the power of what she saw and heard, and as she began to read the Bible, she came alive for the first time. Understand that in Islam women are property. Women have no rights. Men do not allow women free thought, education, occupation, or opinions. This woman is now living a free life in Christ, and helping others to do the same. But it did not come without cost. It came at a huge price...her family, her home, and all that she had ever known. But as she tells her testimony, a huge smile engulfs her face. Her passion is contagious. She shares with conviction and purpose...to let the world know about the power of God in Jesus Christ.
Everyday, she says, they must rely on God to provide for them. She does not have many full time supporters of the ministry, and yet, they do not go hungry. Many days food just shows up from random places. This month we have been studying the idea of God's shelter found in Psalm 91. These lives in this village are perfect illustrations of God's shelter. "Those who dwell in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
We spent the entire day today with the people of this village, many of the Muslim converts. We were there to support the drilling of a bore hole, which will provide clean water for the village. (The bore hole and water issue is a whole other blog post that I'll get to eventually). About 150 kids just showed up from all over the place to play. It was a day I will never forget.
But as I settle in for the night, there is a question that is on the front of my mind. Do we have enough trust in God to count the cost of faith? I do think there is a cost, even for those of us who live in America. I think it's a question of priority in our lives. Where do we find our shelter? Do we strive to do life on our own, or do we trust God with the details of our lives? Do we pour ourselves out for others, knowing that it might mean giving something up for ourselves? Are we willing to, as Jesus says, do for the least of these? Where is my treasure? All of these questions aim at the central point that if we are really wanting to experience God, we must lay down our lives every single day...just like these people I met today.

Birthday's and Banana Cake

Today was our first group day. The Vineyard Church in Cincinnati drove in from Abuja today and we hit the ground running. As soon as they were fed lunch and got a quick run down of our campus and how to function in our community we were off to do ministry. We went to two places today. The first was kind of a fun stop for the group...it's a "shop" called Giden Bege where they sell Nigerian skirts, outfits and purses. But the real magic is that it is not only a shop but also a ministry to widows. In Nigeria, widows are considered worthless. They cannot get great jobs and most of them really struggle to support themselves and their children. This ministry walks alongside widows and helps them to learn to sustain themselves by teaching them sewing and business skills. They give them a place to live (their building used to be a brothel and they have transformed it into apartments for the widows and work space) and over the course of a year or two teach them all they need to have a self-sustaining seamstress business. The stuff they make is just beautiful. And in Nigeria, it is common practice to wear skirts that go below the knee at all times, so it is a much needed occupation. Today it was fun to go there and watch the women get excited over the group that came to support them and make purchases.
After that stop we headed straight for CLAPAI to have a birthday party for the children who's birthdays were in May, June and July. And I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to have to share my birthday with 4 other kids on a day that isn't even my birthday. But I cannot begin to express how much these kids appreciated and reveled in the fact that it was "their turn" to be recognized. We gave them each a package with a few little toys in it, had some amazing banana cake and then had a huge balloon fest. At first some of the kids were pretty timid and seemed to not know what to do, but after about 30 minutes they were all running around like crazy with the balloons and the Americans having a blast. It does not take long to fall in love with these children. Today I was playing catch with a 12 year old (she just had a birthday) named Loveth. She has a twin sister named Lovina. When I was playing with her I asked her if she liked school. When she said yes, I moved a little bit deeper and asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told me she wanted to be a doctor. I know why. Each of these children at CLAPAI have been impacted in one way or another by the HIV virus. Either their parents have it, have died from it, or the kids have it. (Right now there is only one child at the home who is HIV positive) But it makes sense to me that Loveth wants to be a doctor. Without CLAPAI she would never even have the chance. But now she is getting an education and has people around her who believe in her. I have no doubt that it is possible. I am going to ask you to pray for her. I think about the students I work with in Cincinnati. If one of our 12 year olds walked up to me and told me they wanted to be a doctor, I'd be almost 100% positive that if that's what they wanted to do, they would do it. It's a different story for Loveth. Pray that she will make it...and make a difference in the life of someone in her shoes.

Whatever I have

As my mind has been full and my heart heavy with the idea that there are so many children who are not taken care of, I ran across something yesterday that I wanted to share.  In Acts 3, Peter and John are walking into the temple courts and they see a man lame from birth who is begging at the gate.  Peter calls out to him and says, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." (Acts 3:6)  And then they healed the man in the name of Jesus Christ.  

I thought about that for a while.  I do not have very much silver and gold to give.  (i.e. money) But God is not asking for me to always give money...God is asking for all of us to give what we have.  Right now what I have to give is my time and my love.  It's my forgiveness and grace.  It's my desire to pick up a small child and hug them, to let them know that they matter in the grand scheme of things.  It's to smile at a man in the street and say hello...and really look him in the eye to let him know that I value him.  It's to serve someone in our house without asking for them to serve me back, just to let them know that I love them.  

I don't know what it might be for you or what you have to give.  But I think that God really does ask us to give it away, whatever that is.  And in turn, what I'm finding is that we receive much more than we could ever give.  Remember that when help someone in need we are really serving Christ.  So, go do it.  Today...give what you have to those around  you!

Abandoned

I've been thinking a lot about abandonment today.  We were driving around Jos, going to a few different pharmacies to get medicine for a medical outreach day with the Vineyard next week.  The pharmacies were a whole new world, as you can walk in off the street and pretty much ask for any kind of medicine and if they have it I'm not sure you need any kind of prescription to get it.  We have a medical student with us and he knew quite a bit about what we needed.  

Anyway, we were sitting in the car at one of these stops and a little boy came up and waved at our windows.  Our driver Alfonsis (not sure on the spelling of his name), eventually rolled the window down, gave this little boy some money and then began to tell us about him.  He said that there were virtually hundreds of these kids all over Jos, and it's the same in every city.  Their parents will bring them here from another village and just leave them to beg.  They will never go to a school, never get an education, have no place to live, and spend their days begging for money so they can buy food.  My heart began to break.  I asked Alfonsis about the police...do they do anything to help...is it illegal for parents to do this to their children...is there anybody who cares???  His answer made my heart hurt even more.  He said that there are no child protection laws, or if there are, nobody cares to follow them.  He said that a woman can have a baby and just toss the child away if she desires, and nobody will do anything.  We talked a little bit about the neglect laws in the States, and although they are far from perfect, at least someone takes an interest in the well-being of the children.  We saw many children today, just walking around the streets from Jos, virtually abandoned.

And then I read this..."For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. (Deut. 10:17-18)  He defends the cause of the fatherless.  I know there is justice because we serve a God who is just.  I know there is someone looking out for these children because our God looks out for everyone.  I know that this life is not all there is and that there will be a day when the Lord does bring justice and peace to all of these hurting children.  But for today, I am struggling in the reality of the here and now...and it seems like an insurmountable task to provide for all of these children.  So I will pray and I will do whatever I can to help in whatever small way God has called me.  And my hope is that others will do the same, wherever they are.

  (And for those of you at home, I also found out today that Nigeria does not allow international adoption, so if you were afraid I'd come home with one of these children...put your fears to rest.) 

Arriving

I'm here!! It was a long trip, and I'm just trying to take it all in one minute at a time, but this place is amazing. We spent over 24 hours in travel...from Cincinnati to Chicago to Frankfurt to Abuja. In Chicago I had a 5 hour layover so Pete and Jocelyn picked me up from the airport and we got lunch. It was a huge surprise to be able to see them before I left. When I got on the plane I met Zak and Emily. I was relieved to see that they were sitting right next to me...which means I didn't have to search very hard for the other two people that were coming to Nigeria. (I believe there was supposed to be one more with us who dropped out at the last minute for one reason or another). Anyway, after an 8 hour flight, a 4 hour layover and another 9 hour flight we landed in Abuja. From the beginning it was "welcome to Nigeria" with a convenient (read the sarcasm here) power outage while we were standing in line for immigration. But it was soon over and we got through customs with no problems. We spent the night in a Baptist guest house in Abuja and got up this morning to travel the 3 hours to Jos.
I can't describe the scenes between Abuja and Jos. Abuja is a bustling city with people moving everywhere. Most looked like they has some sort of purpose. The traffic is something like I've never seen. There are lines in the road but nobody really follows them...sometimes there were 3 cars in two lanes. Honking is a must because it lets the person know you are coming from behind. There are no crosswalks and people just walk out into the street...and surprisingly enough they don't die.
Anyway, as soon as you leave the big city, everything changes. There are shacks and huts and small places of business that line the road. And people walking around everywhere. Little motorcycles are everywhere (which are actually "taxis" and are not allowed within city limits so they stay outside the city.) The picture that sticks in my mind is one of the little taxis carrying a woman who had a sash around her body and a baby in the sash on her back. No helmets, just riding along, with cars dashing in and out of the lanes, passing the cycle with no more than 5 feet in between. As we sped past, I looked out of the window and this beautiful little boy looked at us. He was georgous. And I fell in love without even knowing him. The people here are beautiful. I cannot wait to meet the people in the village and the children in the homes.
Once we got here we had lunch and then training...I'm not sure I heard half of it because by this point my eyes were kind of glassed over. I think it's time for some rest. Tonight is down time and then tomorrow we get to go to CLAPAI, a school that we work with. Next week the Vineyard is coming with 15 people....so excited to be a part of it. Thanks for all your prayers!!

One Day

So it's less than 24 hours until I get on a plane headed for Nigeria! I am so excited to be there...but there is almost 24 hours of travel time standing in the way of me stepping foot in Africa. Let me tell you how much I love to fly...NOT AT ALL!! I used to be terrified of the entire process. Now I am only really afraid of the taking off and landing parts...the parts when I'm closest to the ground, moving at high speeds. It just doesn't seem very safe. But is hanging out in Africa safe either?

This summer, Back2Back's theme for ministry is "Shelter" from Psalm 91. Here are the first two verses....
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

If God is truly my shelter, than what do I have to fear? The reality is that we have nothing to fear at all in this life if we trust in God as soverign. This has been on my mind since February when I decided God was leading me to Nigeria this summer. At first there was a little bit of fear in my heart...fear in the unknown and in me confronting the unknown head on. But God has gently whispered to me time and again since then that I have nothing to fear. Does this mean that I won't get hurt or that nothing bad will ever happen? Not at all. This world is a mess and devistating things happen every day all around us. But it means that I trust my life to God and know that eternity is forever. I am confident as a daughter of God and I know that whatever happens to me is all a part of God's plan.

I think of Paul and him saying, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." I get that. If I am going to continue to live on this earth it's going to be giving myself away in the name of Christ, because nothing is more important than that. And if I were to die today, I would be face to face with my Savior...how awesome is that????!!!!!

I'm not sure we are "safe" no matter where we are. Even driving a car is more dangerous than most of us realize on a daily basis. But when we are resting in God's shelter, we are secure. He will take care of us and lead us in the right direction, wherever that might take us!!

See you all on the other side!!

Preparation

Well, it's one week and counting until I get on a plane bound for Nigeria. There are so many things swimming around in my tiny brain, and just trying to keep them straight has been a challenge. I still need to pack. I still need to shop before I pack...you know, for the small stuff - a flashlight (which I'm not sure how I've gone 5 years in Cincinnati without one, but whatever), snacks (I'm quite sure I will be eating a lot of Cliff bars), bug spray (which I have found does not come in 100% deet at any of your local stores...now I'm needing to find a specialty store), and other random odds and ends.
But this is not where most of my energy is going right now. I've been on many mission trips in the past, so I'm pretty sure figuring out what to pack is the least of my worries. On the top of the list this week is making sure everything will be covered at home while I'm gone and spending some time just being quiet before I leave. The "being quiet" part has been the most difficult...mainly because I'm having trouble finding the time. Youth ministry is always busy. Summer, when you'd think everything would slow down a little bit, has been crazy so far. And with my type A personality, there are always kids to hang out with, people to see and things to do. So, I guess my prayer today is that I would put aside the things that aren't urgent and find that time to be quiet. I am always blessed when I do it, and I know with this huge trip ahead I'm going to need it.