Greetings all! I hope life is going great for everyone back home. You all are in my prayers and if you have any specific prayer requests, please email them to me at r.colinw@gmail.com!! I would be more than happy to lift up your requests to God.
Today was my first full day at EMS. The kids are a blast! They are hilarious and do so many things you wouldn't expect. For example... several of them find it fun to take a piece of black board chalk and throw it up in the air and catch it in their mouth like its a grape or piece of food. They then proceed to blow out as hard as they can so chalk dust goes everywhere, then they just spit the chalk out and run away laughing. I died the laughing the first time one of them did it. Its been a lot of fun to help out in the classroom and get to know some of the children. I've been seeking God and asking what his purpose for me being there is ever since we found out we would be there the next 2 weeks. I won't have a huge opportunity to impact their educational future, since I can't change or effect the instruction. I don't know that I will be able to teach the class as a whole some great life lesson. I'm pretty sure God has me there to influence just one or two of the children in a way that will matter, more than just their education. I know for sure one of the kids that he has for me, I got to meet him and see a lot of him today. His name is Chalida... he reminds me alot of myself when I was his age. He is full of energy.. probably too much and spends most of the day running around throwing things and smacking his peers with books or anything he has in his hand. I don't know what it is about him, or what I might be able to teach him... but please start praying for him. I just get a feeling that I should get to know him better. So please pray that I might influence his life for Christ in some drastic way or assist him in something he might be going through over the next 2 weeks that I'll be seeing him. Pray for the other students in my classroom as well and that I might be a great role model and influence. My favorite part about the school so far... is that all the kids call male teachers uncle, and the female teachers aunty. So I have 25 or so kids running around calling me uncle, which I find hilarious.
I finished another song yesterday titled Simplify. Its all about one of the biggest things God has been teaching me so far through this trip. I've been living on no electricity most of the time, so no tv, no media, no lights. It has been a "simple" life if you will, and its bringing me so close to God. I've found that so many of those things have just been distractions for me and God is showing me what life is all about without them here. So thats what that song is about... I still have a lot of work to do on it... but I think it might turn out o.k. =D
It seems like at least once a day God will give me some revelation or my perspective on something will get completely changed. I'm learning so much from this and its amazing to see my view on things getting flipped upside down. I can't thank you all enough for the prayers in this area, God is revealing so much to me and teaching me and growing me daily.
The church service on Sunday was fantastic. So much energy and community, I'm looking forward to it again next week. Toward the beginning of the service, the head pastor introduced all the guests at the church... which of course included brittany and myself. He had heard me playing guitar once in my room when he came by to visit, so he had to include in his introduction that I was a great musician, and insisted in front of the entire church body, probably 200 people.. that I would play with the worship band the next upcoming service... hahaha
So... I will be going to band practice tomorrow night and will see exactly what I'm getting myself into. Please pray for me in that area! =D
I'm horrible at journaling, or blogging, because when I start typing I have so many different thoughts flying through my head. And now at this point, I can't think of anything else to say. So I guess I will conclude. Please keep praying for the children at EMS, for my spiritual growth, for the safety of Brittany and myself, for peace in Nigeria, and for the future God has planned for me these next few weeks.
Thank you all for reading. Until next time... God bless you!
Grace and Peace
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
My new home...
Greetings everyone! I arrived a few days ago at the JETS guest house. JETS standing for Jos ECWA Theological Seminary... and ECWA standing for Evangelical Church of West Africa.... SO, the full title of where I'm staying is the Jos Evangelical Church of West Africa Theological Seminary Guest House... what a mouthful. The new housing is great and I love everything on the campus. There is a research library here so there are TONS of great seminary level books that I will be able to access while I'm here. There is also an internet cafe which I am in right now writing this blog.
The only thing that isn't awesome is the power... or the lack thereof. Its something I'm used to at this point though. NEPA, or Nigerian Electric Power Association is in charge of all the electric work here in Nigeria. To give you an idea of how well they do their job... the majority of Nigerians refers to NEPA as No Electric Power Anytime. Haha, so we never really have electricity. It can get hot at night when your trying to sleep and makes it hard to do anything after the sun goes down, but its not so bad. Its actually a pleasant surprise when the power does come on, which usually only lasts for an hour or two. Many places, like this internet cafe, run on a generator 24/7 to make sure they have power. In any means, it has made me see more of the blessings that I take for granted in the states. Next time you hit a light switch and the light comes on.. thank God!
I stayed with a local family here in Nigeria last night and got to meet the 2 sons and 2 daughters. It was a great stay and the entire family was so hospitable! Their daughter has also been showing us around the town and teaching us how to shop in the market and get a taxi when we need to. We are going with her into town tomorrow to first pick out material, then take it to a tailor and get some real custom Nigerian clothes made. So that should be alot of fun.
I will start work with EMS on Monday, which is the ECWA Missionary School. It is a school for children of missionaries who are out in the bush and there is no school there for their children to attend. We went and visited today and got to meet all the children and teachers. It is going to be a lot of fun I can already tell and there will be some great opportunities to help impact some children's lives. So... that is about as far as I know what I will be doing, I will keep you all updated as I find out myself. Brittany and myself have a fair amount of free time at night, so I will have plenty of time to get in the Word and literature from the research library... as well as play some guitar =P
I can't thank you all enough for the prayers. They are more valuable to me than gold. Please keep praying for me and Brittany as we stay here in Jos. It is a new experience for both of us. When Chuck and Derek left, we both felt some feelings of anxiety because obviously neither of us have ever been alone in another country for this long of a period. God is going to grow us so much through it I know, so please keep us in your prayers. Please pray that I use all of my free time wisely and come closer to the Lord through it. Pray for my work at EMS and that I will be able to permanently impact several children and their walk with the Lord. Pray that the children will permanently impact me and my walk with the Lord =P Please pray for continued safety and provision from the Lord and that God will continue to shape me and grow me into the man he wants me to become. I have a long way to go until I become that man, but I'm starting to get glimpses of what he looks like more every day. God bless all of you and I hope to keep hearing from you!
Grace and Peace from God our Father
The only thing that isn't awesome is the power... or the lack thereof. Its something I'm used to at this point though. NEPA, or Nigerian Electric Power Association is in charge of all the electric work here in Nigeria. To give you an idea of how well they do their job... the majority of Nigerians refers to NEPA as No Electric Power Anytime. Haha, so we never really have electricity. It can get hot at night when your trying to sleep and makes it hard to do anything after the sun goes down, but its not so bad. Its actually a pleasant surprise when the power does come on, which usually only lasts for an hour or two. Many places, like this internet cafe, run on a generator 24/7 to make sure they have power. In any means, it has made me see more of the blessings that I take for granted in the states. Next time you hit a light switch and the light comes on.. thank God!
I stayed with a local family here in Nigeria last night and got to meet the 2 sons and 2 daughters. It was a great stay and the entire family was so hospitable! Their daughter has also been showing us around the town and teaching us how to shop in the market and get a taxi when we need to. We are going with her into town tomorrow to first pick out material, then take it to a tailor and get some real custom Nigerian clothes made. So that should be alot of fun.
I will start work with EMS on Monday, which is the ECWA Missionary School. It is a school for children of missionaries who are out in the bush and there is no school there for their children to attend. We went and visited today and got to meet all the children and teachers. It is going to be a lot of fun I can already tell and there will be some great opportunities to help impact some children's lives. So... that is about as far as I know what I will be doing, I will keep you all updated as I find out myself. Brittany and myself have a fair amount of free time at night, so I will have plenty of time to get in the Word and literature from the research library... as well as play some guitar =P
I can't thank you all enough for the prayers. They are more valuable to me than gold. Please keep praying for me and Brittany as we stay here in Jos. It is a new experience for both of us. When Chuck and Derek left, we both felt some feelings of anxiety because obviously neither of us have ever been alone in another country for this long of a period. God is going to grow us so much through it I know, so please keep us in your prayers. Please pray that I use all of my free time wisely and come closer to the Lord through it. Pray for my work at EMS and that I will be able to permanently impact several children and their walk with the Lord. Pray that the children will permanently impact me and my walk with the Lord =P Please pray for continued safety and provision from the Lord and that God will continue to shape me and grow me into the man he wants me to become. I have a long way to go until I become that man, but I'm starting to get glimpses of what he looks like more every day. God bless all of you and I hope to keep hearing from you!
Grace and Peace from God our Father
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Headed to ECWA Seminary/JETS
I'm packing up all my stuff tonight and Brittany and myself will be headed to our new housing tomorrow. Derek and Chuck will be leaving us as well, so its just us two amigos until chuck returns in July. Today was a work day... more so for Chuck than us, but it was good. I started working on another song today that titled "faith like a child"... its a work in progress. So... tomorrow will be a busy day filled with lots of new places and people, which is always exciting =)
I would ask for everyones continued prayer support. Pray for the safety of Chuck and Derek as they leave Nigeria over the next few days. Pray for guidance for brittany and myself as we enter into alot of new things. Pray for our success in Christ in whatever we do find ourselves doing. Thanks so much everyone, sorry this entry was short... but its only been one day!
I am very excited about the weeks to come. I have gotten to help do a lot of good work, but I haven't been able to serve extensively yet... which is what I really love to do. I have gotten to spectate a lot of things the past week and alot of Nigerians have welcomed and served us. So now, its time for me to get my hands dirty and do what I was created to do... serve =) Love you guys, thanks for keeping up with the blog. God Bless!
Grace and Peace
I would ask for everyones continued prayer support. Pray for the safety of Chuck and Derek as they leave Nigeria over the next few days. Pray for guidance for brittany and myself as we enter into alot of new things. Pray for our success in Christ in whatever we do find ourselves doing. Thanks so much everyone, sorry this entry was short... but its only been one day!
I am very excited about the weeks to come. I have gotten to help do a lot of good work, but I haven't been able to serve extensively yet... which is what I really love to do. I have gotten to spectate a lot of things the past week and alot of Nigerians have welcomed and served us. So now, its time for me to get my hands dirty and do what I was created to do... serve =) Love you guys, thanks for keeping up with the blog. God Bless!
Grace and Peace
Monday, June 23, 2008
Looking forward...
Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the comments and emails and messages I have been getting. They are a great encouragement to me and I am so blessed to have all of you reading and praying for me on this trip. It puts a smile on my face and joy in my heart to hear from you all, so thanks so much! I am keeping you all in my prayers as well while I'm here.
So... the trip back from Benin was interesting, but not as interesting as the trip there. We only made it to Abuja yesterday, which is about 3 hours away from Jos. The entire trip from Okada to Jos was supposed to be 10 hours, but it took us 13 or 14 to get to Abuja from Okada... so it was a long day of driving. We finished the journey to Jos this morning without any further complications. One word to describe Sunday here was rain... it rained and rained and rained some more. The main highway that we were taking home was poorly designed.... and therefore was completely flooded. We had to drive through about a foot or more of water at one point... water started leaking into the car just as we got out of it. So there was alot more praying and trusting in God involved to say the least =) God got us back safely though as we all faithfully trusted he would. The work we did in Okada was a HUGE success. Thanks so much for all the prayers involving the work we did there. We got a huge amount of invaluable material from the students and professors there so I am excited to see it put to work soon.
I tried to keep everyone from getting stressed out as we sat in dead stand still traffic for up to 2 hours at a time. I started us on playing the "wave game". The way it works, is one a time, you pick someone around you in the dead stand still traffic and start waving at them. If they wave back, you get 1 point, if they look away or just stare right through you, you lose a point. If they wave and yell something at you, you get 2 points and vice versa if they yell something angrily at you. It was very entertaining =D We also played a classic in the car game... "I spy with my little eye" The further south we went, the more and more people would see the three whites in the car and yell Oyibo! which is pronounced O-ee-bow. It's Nigerian slang for white man and since we aren't a common sight here some people tend to yell it when they see us. We found it hilarious and started calling ourselves that everywhere we went. Derek tried to converse with some locals several times in traffic while we had been sitting still for over an hour... to say the least they were angry about the traffic and just glared at him and said nothing. Everyone else died laughing in the car after every attempt he would make to socialize with the angry drivers. In fact, we found it so funny that when we got back to Jos today, I wrote a song titled the "Oyibo Tribute" and Derek recorded me singing/playing the song on the same device we used for the interviews in Okada. If we get more bandwith at some later point I might post it on the blog. We did whatever it took to keep us going on that 12 hour-plus drive.
As this entry is titled... right now I am looking forward. We just finished our trip and Derek and Chuck will be headed out of Nigeria soon. Brittany and I are working out our housing arrangements and getting ready for whatever the future is about to bring. I am excited and anxious to see where God takes me over the next 6 weeks. I know I have the potential to do some great things while I am here and the potential for spiritual growth is even more. God taught me a very important lesson on this 4 day trip to Okada we just took. I was thinking and praying one night and realized how VITAL that being uncomfortable is to my spiritual growth. The entire time I was gone the past few days, I was completely uncomfortable. I had never experienced anything like what I was going through or doing and the result was that I was constantly drawing near to God and seeking Him for guidance and wisdom. I was really "praying continuously" as the Bible tells us to do and I didn't attempt anything on my own, I petitioned God to join me in absolutely everything we did. It was an amazing weekend of growth and learning for me. I looked back on the past and realized that whenever I have been really comfortable, and was following a set schedule every day... it was really easy for me to forget God's will. Each day was so similar that I wouldn't pray and ask God for guidance and help because I thought I felt secure in what I was doing. My comfort led to self dependency which is the opposite of humility and surrender to Christ. I hope this lesson I am learning can help someone else who is reading as well =)
You all have my continued thanks for prayers lifted up on my behalf. No prayer goes unheard by our God, so please keep praying for me and the others in my team. Pray that God leads us and directs our paths over the next weeks while we are here. Pray that God continues to grow and teach me and that his Spirit grows in me daily. Pray that I don't get comfortable while I'm here and that I would be outgoing and able to form many new relationships. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers everyone, I couldn't be doing what I'm doing without your support. I hope to be posting again soon.
Grace and Peace ^_^
So... the trip back from Benin was interesting, but not as interesting as the trip there. We only made it to Abuja yesterday, which is about 3 hours away from Jos. The entire trip from Okada to Jos was supposed to be 10 hours, but it took us 13 or 14 to get to Abuja from Okada... so it was a long day of driving. We finished the journey to Jos this morning without any further complications. One word to describe Sunday here was rain... it rained and rained and rained some more. The main highway that we were taking home was poorly designed.... and therefore was completely flooded. We had to drive through about a foot or more of water at one point... water started leaking into the car just as we got out of it. So there was alot more praying and trusting in God involved to say the least =) God got us back safely though as we all faithfully trusted he would. The work we did in Okada was a HUGE success. Thanks so much for all the prayers involving the work we did there. We got a huge amount of invaluable material from the students and professors there so I am excited to see it put to work soon.
I tried to keep everyone from getting stressed out as we sat in dead stand still traffic for up to 2 hours at a time. I started us on playing the "wave game". The way it works, is one a time, you pick someone around you in the dead stand still traffic and start waving at them. If they wave back, you get 1 point, if they look away or just stare right through you, you lose a point. If they wave and yell something at you, you get 2 points and vice versa if they yell something angrily at you. It was very entertaining =D We also played a classic in the car game... "I spy with my little eye" The further south we went, the more and more people would see the three whites in the car and yell Oyibo! which is pronounced O-ee-bow. It's Nigerian slang for white man and since we aren't a common sight here some people tend to yell it when they see us. We found it hilarious and started calling ourselves that everywhere we went. Derek tried to converse with some locals several times in traffic while we had been sitting still for over an hour... to say the least they were angry about the traffic and just glared at him and said nothing. Everyone else died laughing in the car after every attempt he would make to socialize with the angry drivers. In fact, we found it so funny that when we got back to Jos today, I wrote a song titled the "Oyibo Tribute" and Derek recorded me singing/playing the song on the same device we used for the interviews in Okada. If we get more bandwith at some later point I might post it on the blog. We did whatever it took to keep us going on that 12 hour-plus drive.
As this entry is titled... right now I am looking forward. We just finished our trip and Derek and Chuck will be headed out of Nigeria soon. Brittany and I are working out our housing arrangements and getting ready for whatever the future is about to bring. I am excited and anxious to see where God takes me over the next 6 weeks. I know I have the potential to do some great things while I am here and the potential for spiritual growth is even more. God taught me a very important lesson on this 4 day trip to Okada we just took. I was thinking and praying one night and realized how VITAL that being uncomfortable is to my spiritual growth. The entire time I was gone the past few days, I was completely uncomfortable. I had never experienced anything like what I was going through or doing and the result was that I was constantly drawing near to God and seeking Him for guidance and wisdom. I was really "praying continuously" as the Bible tells us to do and I didn't attempt anything on my own, I petitioned God to join me in absolutely everything we did. It was an amazing weekend of growth and learning for me. I looked back on the past and realized that whenever I have been really comfortable, and was following a set schedule every day... it was really easy for me to forget God's will. Each day was so similar that I wouldn't pray and ask God for guidance and help because I thought I felt secure in what I was doing. My comfort led to self dependency which is the opposite of humility and surrender to Christ. I hope this lesson I am learning can help someone else who is reading as well =)
You all have my continued thanks for prayers lifted up on my behalf. No prayer goes unheard by our God, so please keep praying for me and the others in my team. Pray that God leads us and directs our paths over the next weeks while we are here. Pray that God continues to grow and teach me and that his Spirit grows in me daily. Pray that I don't get comfortable while I'm here and that I would be outgoing and able to form many new relationships. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers everyone, I couldn't be doing what I'm doing without your support. I hope to be posting again soon.
Grace and Peace ^_^
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Road Trip to Benin
Greeting everyone! I am sitting in a computer lab right now at a university in Okada, which is about an hour out of Benin. So as you can tell, we made it safely. Thanks for all the prayers of safety on our long journey... there were some complications along the way and things got very interesting, but as you keep reading, you will see how God had our backs the whole way.
Myself, Brittany, Derek, Bola (the director of missions at NIFS) pronounced Bowl-ah and Edith (Bola's assistant) all got in the car thursday morning and left Jos for what we planned on being a 10 hour drive to Benin city. Everything was going smoothly until we got about 2 hours outside of Jos. The car started shaking and making some very nasty noises. We pulled over to the side of the road, which is a very small 2 lane highway and is the only road leading from Jos to where we were going. We got out and realized that our back left tire had gone completely flat. We got out the spare and the car jack and raised up the car. As we put the spare tire on... ironically we realized it was more flat than the first tire. So, we were stranded on the side of the road with a car that could go no where...
The five of us got together and started praying for God's help and guidance in the situation. I continued praying to God as I explored a little bit of the absolutely beautiful forest around us. When I came back up to the road, Bola had decided that he didn't feel comfortable leaving us white people, "O-ebos" as some of the locals call us, on the side of the road since the area we were in wasn't the safest place in the world... =D
So I kept praying and asking that God could provide a way for us to reach safety and a new tire. A few minutes passed and a man on a motorcycle came down the road. He stopped and agreed to take our tire into the town about 10 minutes up the road and get it fixed. We have pictures of all of this, but i didn't expect to have internet access here, so once again... no pictures for now =(. Probably only 5 minutes later, a car came by us and pulled over to the side of the road.
There was only one man driving... but I noticed a bumper sticker on his back windshield that said "redeemed family". Bola talked with him and he agreed to take us into the next town where we could more safely wait for the car to be fixed. Everyone but Bola loaded up and we made it safely to a gas station in the small village up ahead. We made our way to some benches under a shady tree where we could wait for the man to bring the new tire back to Bola, and Bola to make his way into the village. We sat there peacefully for a few minutes until all of a sudden we heard the entire village around us burst into screaming and panic. We looked up toward the road, and someone had jumped out of a car and was pointing a gun at another person's face. This was only about 25 yards away from us at this point. We all did what we thought was best and ran our little behinds as fast as we could behind some cover. What happened next was absoultely amazing to watch. The ENTIRE VILLAGE proceeded to chase this man down. He went running when he realized everyone was on to him, and literally probably 200 people started chasing him. They caught him in a field 200 yards or so down the way. After everything was settling down, we heard that there were four men who had come to rob the gas station, we had only seen one of them when all the commotion started up. We didn't even realize it until one of the locals told us, but apparently one of the other robbers, who might or might not have been armed, was standing about 10 feet away from us smoking a cigarette and sort of eyeing us white people. When someone in the village recognized the man still in the car as a robber, they threw a rock at his car and started screaming for everyone to come and get him. At that point, the man close to us starting running as well. A few minutes passed and we heard the village start rumbling with noise again... the mob was coming back up to the road with the men they had caught. People everywhere we saying they were going to kill them.. and Edith told us that if we were in another town close by there called Ebe, that they would throw them all in the car and set it on fire right there in the street burning them all to death. Fortunately, the police arrived on the scene just in time and took the men away sparing us from having to see anything that horrific.
After going through all of this... I started thinking back on it and realized how amazing everything that happened was. First of all, the four men who came and robbed the town came down the very road we were on and would have passed us on their way. We got off the road probably 10 minutes before they passed. Secondly, we are blessed that a villager recognized the man in the car before him or the other man very close to us had time to do anything. God was holding us in his mighty hand the entire time. From the answered prayers to get us off the road to the capture of the 4 robbers... it was mindblowing to see how God had kept us from harm in every way possible. It was an amazing lesson to learn, and we all thanked God so much... I would also say that our trust in his protection is much greater now. So... all this to say, thanks so much for the prayers everyone. Yours combined with our kept us safely in the hand of our Almighty God. We have nothing to fear under his arm.
We got the tire fixed and headed on our way. Due to all these delays, we had to stay an hour outside of Benin... but we made it safely the next morning. The road is always an interesting place, it is completely different from the states. There are basically no rules, so people do whatever they pleace when it comes to traffic flow and speed. Bola is a great driver, so we don't have much to worry about. We have seen so many things on our travels and along the road, but I saw one of the most absoultely heartbreaking things on this trip. We were out on the highway, probably 10 miles from the closest village, stuck in dead stand still traffic. It had to be 90 degrees outside or more and as humid as it could be. I looked out the window and saw a woman walking by on the road. The only thing I could think of is that she looked like one of the holocaust victims from the videos I have seen in school. You could see her skeleton she was so bare and she was absoultely naked, just walking with her head down. She had no hope in her eyes and it absolutely broke my heart. God is opening my eyes to the reality of so many people that live in absolute poverty here. They haven't done anything to deserve it, its just what they are born into just like I was born into blessing in the US.
On a brighter note, the interviews are going AMAZINGLY here in Okada. So many students and professors are opening up and sharing really moving stories from their lives and others. This particular project we are doing is based around the effectiveness of storytelling in oral cultures. Just like when you go to a movie, and you can identify with the character, and you find yourself saying "no! don't do that!" when the character is walking into trouble or smiling and being happy when the story ends well. Storytelling is a great way to convey a message and to grab the hearts of its listeners. So, we are having well known people in Nigeria tell their stories and others stories related to Sex, Power, and relationships. These are the most important topics for the youth of Nigeria today, so this project has been created to share truth in these areas in the most effective and life changing way we know how. Thanks so much for your prayers, we have gotten lots and lots of amazing content so far on this trip.
I am running out of time... so I'll try and wrap this entry up. We are staying in Okada for one more night tonight, and then we will be headed back to Jos tomorrow. Pray once again for our safe travel, it will be greatly appreciated. I hope to start uploading pictures and videos soon, because it will help you all experience what I am so much better. Chuck Madinger, or Chuks Madinga as they call him here in nigeria, has been having lots of meetings the past few days while we have been gone. Pray that God has guided him and continues to guide him in all he does, and as he organizes what Brittany and I will be doing over the next 6 weeks. Please pray for my continued growth and that God begins to shape me into the man he wants me to be. Please pray that God will develop and grow the gifts he has given me and still plans to give me. I can't thank everyone enough, you are all constantly in my thoughts and prayers here. You all have my love. Until I can post again...
Grace and Peace from the Almighty God
Myself, Brittany, Derek, Bola (the director of missions at NIFS) pronounced Bowl-ah and Edith (Bola's assistant) all got in the car thursday morning and left Jos for what we planned on being a 10 hour drive to Benin city. Everything was going smoothly until we got about 2 hours outside of Jos. The car started shaking and making some very nasty noises. We pulled over to the side of the road, which is a very small 2 lane highway and is the only road leading from Jos to where we were going. We got out and realized that our back left tire had gone completely flat. We got out the spare and the car jack and raised up the car. As we put the spare tire on... ironically we realized it was more flat than the first tire. So, we were stranded on the side of the road with a car that could go no where...
The five of us got together and started praying for God's help and guidance in the situation. I continued praying to God as I explored a little bit of the absolutely beautiful forest around us. When I came back up to the road, Bola had decided that he didn't feel comfortable leaving us white people, "O-ebos" as some of the locals call us, on the side of the road since the area we were in wasn't the safest place in the world... =D
So I kept praying and asking that God could provide a way for us to reach safety and a new tire. A few minutes passed and a man on a motorcycle came down the road. He stopped and agreed to take our tire into the town about 10 minutes up the road and get it fixed. We have pictures of all of this, but i didn't expect to have internet access here, so once again... no pictures for now =(. Probably only 5 minutes later, a car came by us and pulled over to the side of the road.
There was only one man driving... but I noticed a bumper sticker on his back windshield that said "redeemed family". Bola talked with him and he agreed to take us into the next town where we could more safely wait for the car to be fixed. Everyone but Bola loaded up and we made it safely to a gas station in the small village up ahead. We made our way to some benches under a shady tree where we could wait for the man to bring the new tire back to Bola, and Bola to make his way into the village. We sat there peacefully for a few minutes until all of a sudden we heard the entire village around us burst into screaming and panic. We looked up toward the road, and someone had jumped out of a car and was pointing a gun at another person's face. This was only about 25 yards away from us at this point. We all did what we thought was best and ran our little behinds as fast as we could behind some cover. What happened next was absoultely amazing to watch. The ENTIRE VILLAGE proceeded to chase this man down. He went running when he realized everyone was on to him, and literally probably 200 people started chasing him. They caught him in a field 200 yards or so down the way. After everything was settling down, we heard that there were four men who had come to rob the gas station, we had only seen one of them when all the commotion started up. We didn't even realize it until one of the locals told us, but apparently one of the other robbers, who might or might not have been armed, was standing about 10 feet away from us smoking a cigarette and sort of eyeing us white people. When someone in the village recognized the man still in the car as a robber, they threw a rock at his car and started screaming for everyone to come and get him. At that point, the man close to us starting running as well. A few minutes passed and we heard the village start rumbling with noise again... the mob was coming back up to the road with the men they had caught. People everywhere we saying they were going to kill them.. and Edith told us that if we were in another town close by there called Ebe, that they would throw them all in the car and set it on fire right there in the street burning them all to death. Fortunately, the police arrived on the scene just in time and took the men away sparing us from having to see anything that horrific.
After going through all of this... I started thinking back on it and realized how amazing everything that happened was. First of all, the four men who came and robbed the town came down the very road we were on and would have passed us on their way. We got off the road probably 10 minutes before they passed. Secondly, we are blessed that a villager recognized the man in the car before him or the other man very close to us had time to do anything. God was holding us in his mighty hand the entire time. From the answered prayers to get us off the road to the capture of the 4 robbers... it was mindblowing to see how God had kept us from harm in every way possible. It was an amazing lesson to learn, and we all thanked God so much... I would also say that our trust in his protection is much greater now. So... all this to say, thanks so much for the prayers everyone. Yours combined with our kept us safely in the hand of our Almighty God. We have nothing to fear under his arm.
We got the tire fixed and headed on our way. Due to all these delays, we had to stay an hour outside of Benin... but we made it safely the next morning. The road is always an interesting place, it is completely different from the states. There are basically no rules, so people do whatever they pleace when it comes to traffic flow and speed. Bola is a great driver, so we don't have much to worry about. We have seen so many things on our travels and along the road, but I saw one of the most absoultely heartbreaking things on this trip. We were out on the highway, probably 10 miles from the closest village, stuck in dead stand still traffic. It had to be 90 degrees outside or more and as humid as it could be. I looked out the window and saw a woman walking by on the road. The only thing I could think of is that she looked like one of the holocaust victims from the videos I have seen in school. You could see her skeleton she was so bare and she was absoultely naked, just walking with her head down. She had no hope in her eyes and it absolutely broke my heart. God is opening my eyes to the reality of so many people that live in absolute poverty here. They haven't done anything to deserve it, its just what they are born into just like I was born into blessing in the US.
On a brighter note, the interviews are going AMAZINGLY here in Okada. So many students and professors are opening up and sharing really moving stories from their lives and others. This particular project we are doing is based around the effectiveness of storytelling in oral cultures. Just like when you go to a movie, and you can identify with the character, and you find yourself saying "no! don't do that!" when the character is walking into trouble or smiling and being happy when the story ends well. Storytelling is a great way to convey a message and to grab the hearts of its listeners. So, we are having well known people in Nigeria tell their stories and others stories related to Sex, Power, and relationships. These are the most important topics for the youth of Nigeria today, so this project has been created to share truth in these areas in the most effective and life changing way we know how. Thanks so much for your prayers, we have gotten lots and lots of amazing content so far on this trip.
I am running out of time... so I'll try and wrap this entry up. We are staying in Okada for one more night tonight, and then we will be headed back to Jos tomorrow. Pray once again for our safe travel, it will be greatly appreciated. I hope to start uploading pictures and videos soon, because it will help you all experience what I am so much better. Chuck Madinger, or Chuks Madinga as they call him here in nigeria, has been having lots of meetings the past few days while we have been gone. Pray that God has guided him and continues to guide him in all he does, and as he organizes what Brittany and I will be doing over the next 6 weeks. Please pray for my continued growth and that God begins to shape me into the man he wants me to be. Please pray that God will develop and grow the gifts he has given me and still plans to give me. I can't thank everyone enough, you are all constantly in my thoughts and prayers here. You all have my love. Until I can post again...
Grace and Peace from the Almighty God
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Greetings from Jos Everyone
Sorry it has taken so long to post updates. The internet as well as the phone service is very faint and unreliable here. So keep that in mind... I will try to post as often as possible, but those times might be few and far between.
The trip started fantastically. The flight to Detroit was short and sweet, I got to meet Robert, an oil pipeline worker headed up to kalamazoo, michigan. The leg from Detroid to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Abuja were both around 7-8 hours... a very long flight but the time went by quicly. We made our trip on the "Flying Dutchess" which was a dutch airlines... meaning all the flight attendants and pilots spoke dutch... =D the plane was crazy... every seat back had a tv monitor in it and each person could individually select movies, music, games, and tv to watch or listen to. There were probably 30 new releases in the movies category alone... so it helped the time pass by on the flight. I spent most of the time listening to music and staring out the window though... the view was too good to pass up.
The flight from Amsterdam to Abuja was breathtaking. The Sahara desert is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. For HOURS, all you could see was sand dunes in every direction, as far as the eye could see. It was a very reassuring thing to see from up in the air... any and all anxiety I had coming in was blown away just seeing the wonder of God's creation. I can't imagine what it would be like to be down in the desert itself.
We arrived in Abuja late on Monday night... about 4 pm lexington time, but 10 pm there. Praise the Lord that we made it through customs with absolutely no questioning or searching. We were carrying several laptops into the country and they might or might not have accepted our reasons for bringing them in. We PACKED into one car and made it to the guest house that night... 5 people... probably 8 suitcases... fun times
The city of Abuja was amazing... its hard to explain how the traffic works here... its chaotic to say the least. Its very exciting and the city itself is beautiful. We stayed at a guest house that night and met with several of Chucks contacts the next morning. We met with a man named philemon who was in Chicago at a UN meeting on aids only a few weeks ago. We met with several other people and had alot of needed conversations. All the food up to this point has been different... but good. Most everything is somewhat spicy here.
Later that day, we took the three hour drive up to Jos where I am typing to you now. Jos is absolutely beautiful! It is beyond anything I can describe to you... when you see the city and all the people and the chaos... its amazing. I wish i had more time to talk about Jos, but I will have to do that later, I'm rushed for time right now.
I want to thank everyone so much for all the prayers you have been lifting up. It has been SO apparent to me that God has been with us in absoulely everything we have been doing. From safety, to provisions, to timing of events that only God can coordinate. Please keep praying, it makes such a huge difference in our success here. I have been learning so much in only the few short days we have been here. My perspective on everything in this world is changing and God is showing me what the world is really like outside the box I've been living in.
Tomorrow bright and early, everyone except Chuck is headed to Benin City to do some work with NIFS. We will be conducting and recording interviews with college students on the topic of Sex, Relationships, and Power. The recordings will be used for content on the next up and coming T4 Global chip... the impact this can have can be HUGE... so please pray for us the next 3 days as we will be in Benin. I don't have time now to talk about Benin, or the many other things that have been going on. I have to be back in my room by 10 pm... which is in about 10 minues... because the german shepards get let out on the premise for our protection. They are here for our safety.. but will gnaw us just the same =P
So over the next 3 days, please pray for safety as we drive to Benin City, its a 10 hour drive... so it will be a long day of travel. But we will get to see almost the entire spectrum of people as we drive from Jos to Benin City, so it will be an amazing experience. Pray for provisions in Benin and pray for success in our interviews. Pray that the college students will be open and that our questions will strike to their hearts and invoke responses that can help to change the hearts of others listening in the future. Thank you all so much for the prayer up to this point, please keep praying, it makes a world of difference. Please continue to pray for me as well, and that God grows me each and every day and that I can draw more near to Him than ever before. I apologize if any of this didn't make sense... I will try to update this blog after we return from Benin on Sunday night... so until then.
Grace and Peace to you all from our amazing Lord Jesus Christ
Sorry it has taken so long to post updates. The internet as well as the phone service is very faint and unreliable here. So keep that in mind... I will try to post as often as possible, but those times might be few and far between.
The trip started fantastically. The flight to Detroit was short and sweet, I got to meet Robert, an oil pipeline worker headed up to kalamazoo, michigan. The leg from Detroid to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Abuja were both around 7-8 hours... a very long flight but the time went by quicly. We made our trip on the "Flying Dutchess" which was a dutch airlines... meaning all the flight attendants and pilots spoke dutch... =D the plane was crazy... every seat back had a tv monitor in it and each person could individually select movies, music, games, and tv to watch or listen to. There were probably 30 new releases in the movies category alone... so it helped the time pass by on the flight. I spent most of the time listening to music and staring out the window though... the view was too good to pass up.
The flight from Amsterdam to Abuja was breathtaking. The Sahara desert is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. For HOURS, all you could see was sand dunes in every direction, as far as the eye could see. It was a very reassuring thing to see from up in the air... any and all anxiety I had coming in was blown away just seeing the wonder of God's creation. I can't imagine what it would be like to be down in the desert itself.
We arrived in Abuja late on Monday night... about 4 pm lexington time, but 10 pm there. Praise the Lord that we made it through customs with absolutely no questioning or searching. We were carrying several laptops into the country and they might or might not have accepted our reasons for bringing them in. We PACKED into one car and made it to the guest house that night... 5 people... probably 8 suitcases... fun times
The city of Abuja was amazing... its hard to explain how the traffic works here... its chaotic to say the least. Its very exciting and the city itself is beautiful. We stayed at a guest house that night and met with several of Chucks contacts the next morning. We met with a man named philemon who was in Chicago at a UN meeting on aids only a few weeks ago. We met with several other people and had alot of needed conversations. All the food up to this point has been different... but good. Most everything is somewhat spicy here.
Later that day, we took the three hour drive up to Jos where I am typing to you now. Jos is absolutely beautiful! It is beyond anything I can describe to you... when you see the city and all the people and the chaos... its amazing. I wish i had more time to talk about Jos, but I will have to do that later, I'm rushed for time right now.
I want to thank everyone so much for all the prayers you have been lifting up. It has been SO apparent to me that God has been with us in absoulely everything we have been doing. From safety, to provisions, to timing of events that only God can coordinate. Please keep praying, it makes such a huge difference in our success here. I have been learning so much in only the few short days we have been here. My perspective on everything in this world is changing and God is showing me what the world is really like outside the box I've been living in.
Tomorrow bright and early, everyone except Chuck is headed to Benin City to do some work with NIFS. We will be conducting and recording interviews with college students on the topic of Sex, Relationships, and Power. The recordings will be used for content on the next up and coming T4 Global chip... the impact this can have can be HUGE... so please pray for us the next 3 days as we will be in Benin. I don't have time now to talk about Benin, or the many other things that have been going on. I have to be back in my room by 10 pm... which is in about 10 minues... because the german shepards get let out on the premise for our protection. They are here for our safety.. but will gnaw us just the same =P
So over the next 3 days, please pray for safety as we drive to Benin City, its a 10 hour drive... so it will be a long day of travel. But we will get to see almost the entire spectrum of people as we drive from Jos to Benin City, so it will be an amazing experience. Pray for provisions in Benin and pray for success in our interviews. Pray that the college students will be open and that our questions will strike to their hearts and invoke responses that can help to change the hearts of others listening in the future. Thank you all so much for the prayer up to this point, please keep praying, it makes a world of difference. Please continue to pray for me as well, and that God grows me each and every day and that I can draw more near to Him than ever before. I apologize if any of this didn't make sense... I will try to update this blog after we return from Benin on Sunday night... so until then.
Grace and Peace to you all from our amazing Lord Jesus Christ
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Journey is about to begin...
If the Lord wills it, in only 6 more days I will be getting on a plane headed for Detroit. From Detroit to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Abuja, Nigeria. Words can't really express the anticipation and excitement I have to see what the Lord is going to do in my life over the next 8 weeks.
I created this blog for all the supporters I have here in the states. I couldn't be going on this trip without the financial and prayer support all of you have given me. I am blessed beyond what I can even understand, so thank you all so much! =)
I will try my best to post regularly while I am in Jos and the other places I will be traveling in Nigeria. I hope to keep everyone updated with stories, pictures, and most importantly prayer requests while I am gone. You all will be able to send messages to me as well through this blog and/or email. I look forward to hearing from you all while I'm gone, have a blessed day!
In Christ
I created this blog for all the supporters I have here in the states. I couldn't be going on this trip without the financial and prayer support all of you have given me. I am blessed beyond what I can even understand, so thank you all so much! =)
I will try my best to post regularly while I am in Jos and the other places I will be traveling in Nigeria. I hope to keep everyone updated with stories, pictures, and most importantly prayer requests while I am gone. You all will be able to send messages to me as well through this blog and/or email. I look forward to hearing from you all while I'm gone, have a blessed day!
In Christ
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