Matthew 1:21 “And [Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
If Christmas were only about the birth of a baby, it wouldn’t be a very compelling or meaningful story. What gives this historical account its power and its significance is that it was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecies found in Isaiah chapters 7 and 9.
“…for He will save His people from their sins.” God’s view on time and the course of human events is a much longer view than ours. Before Christ was even in the manger, He already had His eyes on the cross.
At this time of year, we sing, Joy to the World. Why? Not because of the baby, but because of the promise of His death and resurrection to come. We rejoice not because He came but because of the reason He came. He came to save us from sin. “No more let sin and sorrow reign, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” The fulfillment of His joy in us (John 17:13) is the reversal of the curse. His blessings flow far as the curse is found. There is no nook or cranny of this dark planet that His Truth cannot penetrate.
May our resolution this New Year be to have the boldness to enter the dark, closed spiritual houses of our family, friends, and neighbors and help them to throw open all the doors and windows to “the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love.”
What’s Been Happening?
Education:
Our students rounded-up their first term with exams from December 12-18. For our visually-impaired students, we must read the exams out loud and then transcribe their answers. It was great to have Aminu, my administrative assistant to help me with that this time. The exam process was very informative as I was able to discover that our two new students, coming to us from 4th grade in other Nigerian public schools need some extra help. They cannot write their alphabet and struggle with shape and color names. I have met with their caregivers to explain to them ways they can help their children catch-up. I will also be working more closely with their classroom teachers to make sure they don’t get overlooked. School resumes on January 7, 2008.
Starting on December 16 and continuing through December 24, our children met on the field at 8 p.m. for Christmas “caroling”. They would sometimes start by walking through the village and singing Christmas songs. Once on the field, the singing would continue, along with dancing, preaching, and impromptu dramas. This special time is enjoyed by our children, but this year some of the evening festivities ended early as it was too cold for people to be outside – about 65º F!
Two of our students at Trinity Bible College, Moses Abraham and Agnes James, completed their certificate program and had their send-forth (similar to a graduation) recently. Moses plans to pursue his pastoral degree at JETS, a seminary in Jos. Agnes plans to continue her education at Kogi State University. Please keep them in your prayers as they submit their futures into God’s hands.
What a blessing to have our students home from secondary schools and colleges! It’s always wonderful to spend time with them, and the ministry always benefits from the extra hands. It was a particular help to me this time, as they spent a full week molding both earthcrete and sandcrete blocks for the school building project. While not complete, it’s enough to give us a good start. We were also able to buy about 100 pieces of good timber for the project and begin negotiations with the builder so that excavation can begin.
Church:
Our Sunday School lessons on the Holy Spirit have been going well. We are learning about the nature of the Holy Spirit, and we have studied the evidence of the Holy Spirit in both the Old and New Testaments. After the holidays, we will explore how the Holy Spirit indwells us today, and we will learn about the different symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible and what they mean. Pray that the outcome of these lessons will be more evidence of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives as we learn to listen to that still small voice within us.
CMML Church, Otutulu had the distinct privilege of hosting the CMML annual conference this year. This was a huge undertaking, which involved the building of a large “shade” (a network of sticks and bamboo poles covered with palm branches) and benches for all our visitors to sit on. There were no official numbers of those attending (some estimate that there were about 2,000). Needless to say, the number of conference attendees far exceeded the total population of Ministry of Mercy and Otutulu village combined! There were messages on forgiveness, giving, evangelism, godly families, and the church’s responsibility to those with HIV/AIDS, interspersed with singing and testimonies. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and learning for all involved.
There have also been some recent opportunities for evangelism in the village. Over the past month, four deaths have directly affected our village. Of the four, only one was a Christian, but times like these cause people to reflect on their own mortality and what comes after this world. Spending time with people in their grief not only builds relationships, but it puts one in direct contact with the questions people ask as they seek reassurance and comfort. There was also opportunity to once again share the message of Christ with the families in the village through the sharing of Christmas gifts, each of which comes with an account of Christ’s birth in the local language of Igala.
Medical:
Sabo and Benjamin, our two medical workers have been keeping busy with runny noses and runny bottoms, but most cases have not been too serious.
Baby Jordan is still struggling, so please keep him in your prayers. He’s about 2 ½ months old and due to lingering illness has really lost a lot of weight since he came. He gave us a scare in the middle of the night about two weeks ago, but he’s still hanging in there.
My most recent baby, Tom (5 ½ months), and I have spent two weeks at Jos for the holidays, but our secondary motivation in coming to Jos was for Tom’s much-needed hernia surgery. They decided to circumcise him at the same time. The surgery took place at Evangel Hospital (a mission hospital) on December 27 at 8:15 in the morning. By 4 p.m. that same day, we were discharged. Tom is recovering well and we’re almost sleeping through the night again. Praise God for a successful surgery.
Hellos and Goodbyes:
On December 1st we said good-bye to our dear friends, the Wilsons, a missionary family in a nearby town who have gone home on an extended furlough. Please pray for them as they re-adjust to life in the States and seek God’s guidance in the next phase of their lives and ministry.
December 1st also brought a special kind of hello with the opening of a branch of Ministry of Mercy in the state capital of Lokoja. This branch is currently housed in an old hotel. There are a lot of logistical and administrative details that need to be worked out, but for now we have two aunties, a manager, and five children there. Four of the children are babies we transferred from Otutulu, and the fifth is a newly-admitted 6-month-old boy whose mother died after a prolonged illness.
Looking Forward
I am currently working on curriculum guides for dental hygiene, a safety program, and a character-development program to be integrated into our health and Bible classes, as well as revising our timetable so that it allows for more effective teaching. I hope to have this completed before the end of this school year.
I am also in the process of planning for a Junior Secondary School program for next year. This requires staffing, scheduling, and curriculum decisions. My greatest need right now is for a strong English teacher. Please also pray for understanding among the teaching staff as I propose to extend the school day and make other changes, which I hope will improve the quality of education we offer.
As always, the school building project continues. We would like to be to the roofing stage by the end of February, but there’s a lot of work to be done before then. Please keep the project and the safety of the workers in prayer.
Finally, as some of you may have heard, I have decided to buy a car. It has been a year now since I have had a vehicle, so aside from the normal hassles of travel in this country, just arranging a ride has been an added stress. Unreliable vehicles, walking for miles when no commercial vehicle can be found, and feeding a baby while traveling on a motorcycle are just a few of the challenges lack of a vehicle presents. Not that I don’t enjoy the adventure, but… A car fund has been opened at Liebenzell, and I’m praying to be able to have a reliable, rugged car by the end of January.
Spotlight on…
Silas “Oyibo” Paul, one of our albino children. Though he has been with us for a long time, just this year his mother died. Silas is in class 4, and he’s a very special young man. He loves to help out with babies and young children and often helps me when I need someone to watch my baby. He is also very creative. He loves to build, and fix, and he’s really got an ear for music. He’s teaching himself to play tunes on the keyboard. He loves listening to Bible stories and songs on CD as well as the groups Sweet Honey in the Rock and Caedmon’s Call. He still accepts hugs and kisses and likes to be told that he’s loved. Oyibo has incredible energy and will, but sometimes it doesn’t get channeled in the right direction. He struggles with angry outbursts and insulting others. He’s also recently had trouble with stealing and lying. He loves the Lord. Please pray that He will grow more and more attuned to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Praise for:
friends who opened their homes to me and my baby for the holidays
the relative good health of our kids
a successful first term of the school year
forward progress on the school building
the joy of the Lord, whose birth we celebrate this time of year, that is our strength
successful surgery and recovery for Tom
Pray for:
continued progress on the school building
Baby Jordan’s health
the Abebefes and Crocketts who are in the process of trying to adopt from MoM
wisdom, understanding, and flexibility as we continue to adapt, expand, and improve our education programs
hearts to be open to the One who came to save us from our sins, and boldness to proclaim the Good News
Random Funny Laundry Lesson: If you leave your clothes soaking too long in river water, you can breed colonies of at least three different types of larva-parasite type critters, and you’ll spend a good part of an afternoon killing them with bleach and picking them off before actually getting down to washing the clothes.
