The Angel

I think God sent us an angel today.

We were driving along, the four of us, in Big Jim, when suddenly a “machine” with a passenger (a motorcycle used as a taxi) dodged right in front of us and we hit him. It was so quick, the driver and passenger were bouncing off before I finished my hands-to-mouth gasp. Their cat-like reflexes were amazing. They (and the machine) bounced to the right into the traffic “lane” they had come from, and in mid-air they had both turned, mouthed “SORRY,” and made sure they were not going to be immediately plowed over. God is good. We pulled over (a parking spot was available!) and Devin jumped out to see if they were OK. The boys and I remained in the truck and started praying, first “thank you,” and trying to sing. Jack interjected that now he knows he doesn’t want to get in a car accident, and we prayed a bit more.

Wouldn’t you know it, “Yellow Fever,” the Nigerian police department was RIGHT there. Now, this is not generally thought of as a good thing. Three of them may have seen the accident happen, and they were ready to let us just go (to keep the flow of traffic), but in the time it took for Devin to walk from the tailgate to the seat and close the door, at least 20 Nigerians had surrounded us and were shouting. I kept saying to the boys, to calm us all, “do not fear, continue to pray, God is in control.” It seemed as if every machine fare operator in the area was suddenly there – like a union of sorts – and wanted us to pay something. For a minute, someone got in league with Yellow Fever, who told us we needed to pay because the machine is spoiled, but the driver and passenger were continue to say the accident was their fault. It got loud and many fists were pumped in the air. As I was praying, “Lord take over this situation,” He sent and Angel. I saw a huge black man – huge as in taller by head and shoulders over everyone – come and stand right in front of the center of the hood. He didn’t look angry; he looked like he was on a mission. He was so tall and his voice was booming. He didn’t enter into the fray, but led the others to let us go. In less than a minute. I didn’t really even catch his eye, but before we knew it, we were being shooed along!

Just to give detail – they’ll use that machine, but it will need work. Big Jim has a miracle mark along the front grill and bumper, but all the precious cargo is fine.

Tonight I pray for those two young men, and for Nigeria. Can’t we all just get along?? I am living with my head partially in the clouds, knowing everything will change as Jesus continues to penetrate this area, and that it will be a whole lot better around here! I have heard a call to assemble to battle – was this Angel already a General? He was somebody. He was authority. Tonight I thank God for his sending help in time of need!

A snapshot of a blessed day!

Up at 5:30 to say goodbye to Reverend Joel and Reverend Ubak. They were visiting from Akwa Ibom State to officially open the Etiose school on Friday and to provide some teacher training on Saturday.

Hebrews Precepts for me, more sleep for Devin

It was hot!

We went out to the Assembly Hall at 7 a.m. to help arrange desks and chairs for church, and to sweep. Jack made a breakfast of “Frosties,” which are Frosted Flakes, complete with Tony the Tiger, and ice cold powdered milk. Frosties are about seven dollars for a regular size box, so they are a special treat. Topped with bananas, of course, and with a nice cup of coffee. Of course, it was already hot and the coffee made us sweat, but it was OK!

Showers (no water heating necessary), getting dressed, talking to people about this and that detail… I put my ipod on and did my Sunday morning sing walk/stop/prayer time, with an awesome amount of joyful tears. Some kids were playing soccer, several came to listen to my ipod for a minute. The catfish pond had been drained to just a couple inches deep and was being filled. Devin tried to fix the Wii transformer, which, unfortunately, fried. The boys really look forward to a little time on the Wii on the Wiikends, so there was a small tear for that as well.

By a bit after 9 we were out to church, setting up the podium and loudspeakers and such. It’s hot. The boys are just milling about. At 9:30, I teach the children’s Sunday school (I had maybe 20 kids today, in the clinic today, on 4 long benches), while Devin goes to Sunday school. Today was Isaiah 6 – I love teaching that to kids, but it takes longer when you have to explain “imagination” for a good five minutes before they can begin to try to imagine the scene. Then I keep stopping and checking, because “train of a robe” and even just “robe” are unknowns… etc. And, of course, I have to ask how to pronounce Isaiah, which was different, so I am thankful I asked. In the end, we had a wonderful time. Devin went to Sunday school in the Assembly Hall. They discussed the same passage from the perspective of Committed to Change. There were some good questions, he said, including “so you mean if I haven’t seen God like this in all His glory, I might not be saved?” We all join together at 10:15 in the Assembly Hall where we discuss Sunday school until 10:30.

Then church, which was hot. Lots of singing with clapping. A drum kit, but no other instruments. One of the moms has a stick she whacks kids on the head with. I had to leave to spank Ben in the middle of the service (but he escaped her stick!). Just about the entire Fulani boarding camp sat at the back and listened to every word today, so that was wonderful. They kept each other still and quiet. Church was short today, over by just after 12. There were less than 50 people if you leave out the 20+ Fulani kids.

Chicken hot dogs on wheat bread with Heinz catsup for lunch, with sliced cucumbers and carrots, Pringles, and drinkable yogurt. The ingredients for yogurt here are “powder milk, sugar, vanilla,” but it has a great tangy, coconutty flavor. Shortbread cookies for dessert. The highly processed food thing is so we can give our caterer Sunday off.

We planned to go with Phyllis at 2 to see our security guard’s baby boy, born on Tuesday. At about 2, we learned he wasn’t around, so we switched our plan around.

It was so hot, so Phyllis suggested we go to the river. So, 25 kids and 4 adults loaded into Big Jim and drove maybe a mile up the road and tops two miles down a dirt road to the Niger River. It was so wonderful. I was in my one piece swim suit and some capris (the whole swim). The muck was sick if you thought about it. The water was very warm with less warm streaks, and you couldn’t see your hand two inches in. It was awesome. We could go out very far and it was still pretty shallow, so no swimming skills were necessary (only a couple had any). We returned to the house and sprayed all the boarders off with a hose. We showered.

Devin popped over to Emi-woro because Phyllis wanted to splurge on “minerals” for the boarders (Fanta, Coke, Sprite). She payed an extra 50% for the convenience of location, so 48 bottles was $17. They were HOT, so we didn’t drink them, but put them in the freezer. I prepped dinner and then we drove over to Umar’s house, which is a very cool hut of mud and a cement floor with a beautiful thatch roof. Wow, newborns are so amazing. When asked if this is the first baby, we learned that it is the fifth, and this one makes 3 living. They will name him in a ceremony in a few weeks. The mother is experiencing pain, so we called the nurse and asked her to make a visit.

Came back, I finished dinner (spiral noodles, in a mushroom sauce (canned mushrooms, of course) and a yummy fruit salad of pineapple, papaya, and bananas and ice water to drink) while Devin got set up outside for a movie in the Assembly Hall. He put a slideshow of pictures from this week on, with WOW worship music, came in and ate with us and Phyllis and even Bassey at 6:45. Chronicles of Narnia at 7. I stayed in with Ben, who was “grounded” from the movie as a consequence for bad behavior. He was in bed at 8, after talking at least three hours’ worth. I came and wrote and got organized a bit for homeschool.

It’s almost 10 – Winter Olympic highlights (we have satellite for this month so we can see them!). And probably another quick shower, and bed – with air conditioner running.

Life is very, very good!

God bless you!

I Testify to His Faithfulness

Every Sunday in church, there is a time where two or three people can do a testimony and/or “special number,” which is when the person either performs or leads a song. Today I shared a testimony, so I’ll share it with you! The Bible says the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy, so when we tell of the great things Jesus has done, they carry spiritual weight into the future, and can happen for others. So let me give a testimony of the faithfulness of my Lord!

This is actually in a few steps…

First, my friend Meegan sent some coffee for our private stash. This was such a blessing, as the only thing available locally is Nescafe instant. Yuck. But, we wanted to share! Who better to share good coffee with than our team from Wenatchee, northwest connoisseurs?! We were talked out of it for a couple of days, but we made the decision to put the coffee in the community coffers. The next day I got an email that our friends are shipping some in a care package! Paul Frazier, as he was leaving this week, left his stash of coffee and a big tin half full of CoffeeMate. Not something I’d usually buy (I’m cheap), but a treat for us above and beyond. Now, I didn’t include that part in the testimony today, but many of you can relate, and it was significant to us, as a lesson that we may not always have everything we want, but we’ll always be blessed enough to share what we do have.

When the Wenatchee team was here, we needed sunscreen for a long day in the sun. The enemy says to me “your family will need the sunscreen you brought. You are here two years, and you can’t replace it. Take care of your own.” Ridiculous! I’ll share! Well, guess what, the team left behind sunscreen, so we have more than we had before!

Last weekend one of the boarder students hurt his knee pretty bad and I cleaned him up and bandaged him out of our personal first aid kit. I hear in the back of my mind, “your boys are dangerous! You might need this stuff, and you can’t get this quality here, or find it when you really need it.” But I had it, and was blessed to be a blessing to the boy, and dressed it again the next day. I said to Devin when he returned – “if anyone asks what they can send in a care package, we’ll need bandaids.” The day after I mentioned it, Paul gave us his Ziploc of bandaids without being asked.

At breakfast the next day, I was telling this story of how the Lord provides to Carol and Paul on their last morning with us. As we were preparing to leave the U.S., several missionaries told us that we will be amazed at the Lord’s provision on the mission field. We are still in shock that we are funded for this mission, but as their stories went, it would be the little things that are just as amazing – like you need red balloons and they suddenly and “impossibly” show up. So Jack said – “So let’s say I really pray for like a bunch of glow sticks to come – they’ll just fall from the sky??” I hope his doubtful tone translates…

HA! The night before, Carol had given me SEVERAL TUBES OF GLOW STICKS. Now – you can say it is a coincidence that of all things Jack picked THAT, but I won’t believe you. Sometimes God just blesses us in an unusual way to show that He is able, and just because He loves to give good gifts to His children. It was a faith builder for us all! We got a good laugh and said a good prayer.

So, leaving out many of these details, I tried at church today to give God glory for how He provides, and tried to express how thankful I am that He is teaching me generosity even now when we are unable to work for more and provide it for ourselves. With Jesus there is always enough. I am trying to let Him teach me this well. I know we will continue to be surprised by His blessings – and it’s exciting!!

OOOPS and AHHHHHH

How I want to learn first time obedience.

All afternoon, the Lord was speaking to me, wooing me, saying “come away and praise me and look at all I’ve done.” We were having an ongoing chat and I was making notes on whatever was in front of me, looking forward to evening when I could drop everything else. It was lovely and a longing at the same time.

Because school gets out early on Fridays, by about 3 it was very quiet around here – much quieter than ever! I was singing to the Lord as I made dinner, and let the boys play some video games while I stole away to my darkened room to pray for a few minutes. Devin was out of town, so I knew by evening I would have some soaking time with the Lord. I have an iPod shuffle (thanks Kelley) loaded up with WOW Hymns and some other worship songs, with some of my favorites being from the California Baptist choir. I knew our time was coming. I kept making little notes and was so irritated that my pen wasn’t working, because I didn’t have time to make a big list or wait for ink…

But Friday night is our prayer meeting.

I love prayer meeting! It is much smaller than church, with somewhere around 10 adults and 10 children fidgeting and finally sleeping on benches. There is no set schedule, but it seems to include about a half hour of getting your heart right through confession, listening, and speaking to the enemy to flee and the Holy Spirit to take over. Of course, much of this speaking is through song. Then there is about a half hour of teaching. Then there is a solid hour of prayer where our Pastor gives us a guide and we all pray out loud at the same time, then we move on to the next topic together. There is always opportunity for a song to drive the prayer home. Sometimes it includes walking out over the school grounds, sometimes laying of hands for healing but ALWAYS prayers for healing and protection. Sometimes it is more passive than others, but it quite often gets violent, or should I say authoritative.

Anyway, at 7:30 I was enjoying the boys, anticipating the prayer meeting and then special time in prayer alone after. We walked over at 8. As the flow began, I was just “trying.” In Nigeria this is a compliment, showing that you are really giving it your best effort, but in this case I know God was seeing it as STRIVING. I wanted to be there to support my Pastor, my church, and also I just love it. About 8:45, Pastor John was looking for an “amen” from the congregation to back up a good scripture he was using. He shouted “Wake up, church!” Now, a pastor shouting is NO PROBLEM around here. Things tend to get loud. But this time it was like a ton of bricks on me from the Holy Spirit – OOOPS.

“Wake up! Don’t tell ME ‘I’m coming,’ – COME!” So, I left the prayer meeting, and walked across the courtyard home. We got ready for bed, and I was blessed to have the boys sleep with me since Devin is gone. I plugged in my iPod to listen to WOW Hymns and various other favorites.

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! For hours, I prayed and sang and prayed over the boys, but mostly just praised my sweet Lord. He is so incredibly faithful. Now THAT is where I am supposed to be! I don’t know about the men reading this – can you have the feeling of stealing away with a lover? The intensity of the love is enough to carry me forward for days and weeks!

We train our kids that obedience is right away, all the way, without complaining – or it is disobedience. I know I am forgiven. Now, I pray I can rise to this level of obedience. Not my will, Lord, but Thine! And Thy timing!!

First Thought

Steve B:

The great paradox of overwhelming numbers of people yet very empty spaces. Exhausted resources with dry pastureland and declining forests but incredibly motivated people trying to get ahead. The age old conflict between the migrating pastoral peoples and the farmers who are fixed in location. Christ’s spirit is very obvious in so many of the brothers and sisters in Christ that we have met. I sense an overall spirit of humility that we can learn a lot from.

One cute story……I was sitting among a group of the resident children who board on site and talking with several of the older boys….I felt three of the little ones stroking the top of my arm and the back of my leg. When I looked at them they smiled shyly and said through one of the older boys that they just wanted to see if the white would come off.

Pat Lewis:

Great to be here after all the planning and waiting. So many new sights and smells to take in. Our systems are on overload for a few days. I feel so fortunate to be a part of God’s plan here. We have a lot to be thankful for that we take for granted. It is amazing the hard work of the people and their good attitude. They make it easy for us to try and do as much as we can to help them, and show God’s love to them. They are such loving people.

Jon Picard

Very Humbling. When I first visited the Philippines, I had the same impression. We as Americans have so much. We are blessed beyond what any of us deserves, but with the blessing comes the responsibility to give back. Trips like this serve to remind me of that which I should already know, but too easily forget. The people are so very friendly and such hard workers.. Particularly the women. They carry all the heavy loads…I’m serious..

Mike Babst

I am surprise of how much being here reminds me of the mission trips to Chile. Pastor Mike told us to expect sensory overload and that is a true description of what we are experiencing. The temp. Is very hot and we are learning to pace ourselves. It is so good to be here with Phyllis and Devin , Bridget, Jack and Ben. The Nigerian children are full of life, like kids anywhere, but have so little. I feel so blessed to be here!

Pat Raymond

I am so taken with the spirit of humility and servant hood of the people. I have a long way to go to measure up to these people. The children are beautiful and everyone is so friendly. The differences are mind boggling. There is so much to process.

Steve Raymond

My first impression is just the reality that I am in Africa, an opportunity that the Lord has given us. After a long flight, we have arrived in the crowded city where we are staying, then into a van and out to the Hope Academy in a rural area. The school is just re-starting after the holidays and its fun to see the excitement of the children. It’s great to see Phyllis and the Myers family again, and we have two more people from Pennsylvania. I am moving slowly with a bout of gout, but am confident the Lord will use me in spite of it. Am very much looking forward to whatever the rest of our time brings.

The Lord Sustains

I am going to learn not to say “I can’t,” I believe.

I wouldn’t have believed that I could do an all day fast with no food or water at all day after day. I have joined our local church in fasting this week each day until 5, going to a prayer meeting from 5 to 6, and then eating one meal at 6:30 or 7. The first two days I had some water, because I had been many days with diarrhea, (which stopped completely). Since Tuesday I have endured the heat and all without water. I have been joyful, even soft! The prayer meetings have been special times. Tuesday night I was invited to lead, and I really enjoyed it. I know I was difficult to understand for some of the attendants, but pray the Holy Spirit was speaking. The way here is to flow in and out of songs and prayers, and I don’t know that many songs, but the congregation helped me. Although many in the congregation joined in fasting, there have been probably only 10 adults in the prayer meetings, and about 15 children. They meetings were widely varied, from soft and repentant to loud and authoritative. I was thinking about it today, and since we arrived on December 13^th, 29 days ago, we have attended church 16 days. We have been invited to join the church leadership. Devin has been invited to handle the finances, and I have been appointed over the children’s Sunday school. Pray that God will guide us!

Yesterday we went to the market at about 9 a.m. and returned home at 4:30, just in time to wash my face and walk over the 40 feet to the church and join in the prayer meeting/walk in continuance of the fast. We sang and prayed for about 20 minutes together and then broke into two teams. We walked to some nearby church members’ homes and prayed with them. It was wonderful to be welcomed as a friend into their evening chores and resting. One man, a successful police agent, has a home in the village. It is part of a complex, with 6 connected houses on each side of a covered corridor. Parked in the corridor, which was lighted only by the sun at each end, was a motorcycle, and several small children were playing around. He had a cloth over his entry and an actual wooden door. The inside was dark, as he had a thick cloth over the window and evening was approaching, but there was enough light to see. The four of us slipped off our shoes and entered the plastered, cinder block room, which was about 7 x 7. He had two couches and a very nice stereo. A flat plastic, not as thick as linoleum, covered the majority of the smooth cement floor. His sleeping mat was propped against one wall. He is recently married and has a new son. He graciously turned his stand fan toward us and welcomed us in with many “you are welcomes.” We chatted about the fast for a few minutes and our pastor told him he was missed, and then we prayed together. We prayed thanksgiving and blessings over the new year. Then we walked out together. He mentioned that now that he has a child, he is finding that his work is too much (he works every other 12 hours, 7 days a week, as a communications agent for the police force in Lokoja). He is loving being a daddy!

We prayed with a woman and her daughter. She explained that she had been involved in the fasting, but had been farming all day and couldn’t join the meetings. As we left her house, a Muslim woman who was sitting in the courtyard under a big cashew tree, sorting out rice, called US over to ASK for prayer. Wow. She knows Pastor John from the clinic and his role as administrator there. What a blessing! Pastor John prayed for her, and as he did, the Lord gave me a picture of her in my mind joyfully, but with difficulty, stacking big blocks. There was as sense that God was smiling on her work and that she was completing heavy tasks with joy. However, she kept building and the stacks would fall over. She wasn’t much affected, but she would begin again and again. I related this to her and she got a huge smile of recognition. I told her God wanted her to know she needs to start her good works on a solid foundation, and that is on Jesus Christ. Pastor John knelt down and explained the Holy Spirit, and that He had given me a word for her, since I am His child and we receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus. The look of recognition of truth was washing all over her face. She was so thankful to receive our prayers in Jesus’ name.

A few more stops, many more smiles and handshakes along the way, and we walked home by 6:45 to a wonderful meal prepared for us by Pastor Bassey. I tell you, a cup of cold water never tasted so good! Even without it, even before the thought of it, I was refreshed and sustained by the blessed power of Jesus in my life to bring light to others. I’ll admit a love for fasting. Perhaps because I tend to be strong willed and self focused, it is a necessary discipline for me ahead of some others. It makes me so much more aware of my weakness, my inability to accomplish valuable, lasting things on my own strength, and aware of the tip of the iceberg of the gifts available to us who would believe and call on the name of Jesus!