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