I was sitting in the parlor with some children a few weeks ago, when one of the boys looked out the window and said, “Crystal, Mohammed is bringing your Jesus.” “My Jesus?” I asked. “Oh, your scissors,” he corrected. An amusing confusion of words, and yet there is something to be taken from it. In our world today, many people want to believe that “all roads lead to the same god.” In the name of cultural tolerance, we become religiously pluralistic. We see that many times here in Nigeria, too, that those who are Christians are still enslaved by the fears and teachings of their former or traditional religious teachings and beliefs. But Christ tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way. My good works, my money, my medicines – these cannot bring my Jesus to me any more than Mohammed can. Jesus chose to come to us, out of His great love for us, and He’s already done all the work of reconciliation. All we have to do is accept that – believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6:28-29 “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”
What’s been happening?
Education
One of our teachers received an appointment in a government school leaving us with a vacancy in Class 1. The Lord provided us with a number of different candidates, enabling us to hire someone with the qualifications we desired. We are happy to have Mr. Paul Ochala join our teaching staff – he is the first to come in under the new interview and exam procedure we have implemented to help us hire qualified staff.
“Aunty Crystal, how much is 40 in 9 places?” The boys are running the grinder for Daniel but can’t seem to figure out how much money people should be paying them or how much they should end up with total. We really need to address this. We have begun an evening math class for our Class 5 and 6 students who have been struggling. We are praying that this extra emphasis will prepare them for their Secondary School entrance exams, and that all of our Class 6 students will see admittance to secondary schools next year.
Unekwu was home from university for a month break, and we were able to solidify some plans for the proposed school building. We are excited to announce that we have an estimate for the first phase of work, which will be the nursery building, and we hope to begin clearing land at the end of September.
Health
Ojonoka’s surgery to allow her to have a full-head of hair instead of a large wound covering ¾ of her head has gone very successfully. Please pray for her continued recovery. We miss her.
Bethany, our baby with spina bifida, has had a shunt put in place and the opening in her back closed, but she is not doing well. The courage of her young mother is amazing. Her family was demanding that she come back to the village and dispose of “that thing,” but she has stuck by her baby girl. Praise God for a mother’s fierce love that recognizes the value of this precious life.
Church
We have been reading Pilgrim’s Progress in daily devotions with Classes 4, 5, and 6. I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond to it, but they are loving it! They whine every time I stop reading J Pray that God will use this very vivid image of the Christian journey to encourage and challenge the children in their own relationship with Christ.
Construction
MOM has been blessed with some monetary donations for the building of a male hostel, and work has been really moving along. “Look, Mom, I can hot wire a car!” Yep, I’m picking up lots of new skills as a missionary. Our pick-up, in its deplorable condition is our “workhorse”, and I’ve gotten to drive it a few times. Hot-wiring is the only way to start it J
New Arrivals
Babies, babies everywhere. The past few months have seen the arrival of lots of little boys. First was Donald, followed by Harold; then came Adam and twin boys, Goodness and Godwin. These five were soon joined by another set of twins, Timothy and Titus. We are thankful for the relative good health of all the babies. Timothy struggled at the beginning, but is really improving.
Looking Ahead
The garden is really starting to flourish, so we hope to have a nice harvest in a few months. I’d love to be able to help out by supplying some vegetables and yams to the kitchen for the kids. We actually planted quite a few yams, even though I can’t eat them (they don’t digest, and I get sick no matter how they’re cooked), so I’ll be able to give those away freely.
In Februrary, Yakubu Akibo (one of our teachers) and I attended a conference on Learners with Special Needs, sponsored by the Education Trust Fund of Nigeria. One of the best parts was the mashed potatoes with cheese…just kidding (kind of J)! One of the best things to come out of that conference was contact made with an area coordinator for Special Olympics ( I didn’t even know they held it in this country)! Please pray that God will prepare several workers to be coaches so that the mentally disabled members of our family here will have the opportunity to participate.
In the Spotlight…
Esther Anibe Edeh. Anibe is our mommy – a gentle and indispensable part of what makes this ministry run smoothly. However, she has been struggling with some health issues over the past few years, and since the birth of her last child in March, she has been very sick and weak. She has been in and out of the hospital three or four times since then and is even in hospital now. No one seems to be able to figure out what is wrong or how to help her. Please lift her up in prayer as the situation is becoming quite serious.
Pray for…
continued funds for Bibles as we open up our memory verse program to some of the villagers – some showing interest in Bibles are Muslims.
a number of organizations in the United States are showing a strong interest in MOM. Please be in prayer with us as we seek wisdom as we develop new relationships.
staff! We are understaffed at the moment. We need people who are dedicated to serve and to stick it out even when times are tough. Please pray especially for nannies so that we can reduce the number of times children have to change caregivers.
the children of Stuanton, VA. Many of you know that I taught in Virginia before coming here – the kids there are still near and dear to my heart. There has been a big increase in gang activity in the Staunton area over the past year, and some of my kids are getting caught up in it. Please pray for these precious lives that Satan is seeking to destroy.
Praise God for…
a keyboard! God provided a very nice and affordable keyboard for our music program.
new converts and newly baptized believers. We had two baptisms in late February, and about 8 decisions for Christ this month.
short term mission teams. Zoya Ministries (a group of 28) was here for a week and helped out in many, many ways. Ashley Ross, Shannon Picazo, and Chelsea DiLoreto from Maryland and North Carolina are currently here working with us. They are a great help and encouragement.
continued good health and safety. I still have not had malaria! and even when I punched a huge hole in the front of the oil pan on a bush road at 5 in the morning, God provided one of our own boys to help me. I continued with my journey by public transport and the car was repaired by the time I returned.
the recent graduation at Lee High in Staunton, VA. All of the kids we were working with and praying for as they struggled to pass the state-mandated standardized tests made it and are the proud new owners of a high school diploma – all in that group have also been accepted to colleges!
Random foods: crickets and termites…yum!yum!
