Crystal Gosnell

Working to serve the orphans of Ministry of Mercy Children's Home in Otutulu, Nigeria

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

January 2008

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 65ยบ 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.

November 2007

I like the Psalms. They are very real. When I read them, I feel like I’m in the company of a real person – another human being struggling to make sense of a fallen world. The psalms of depression and self-pity are right next to ones of exuberant joy, which are right next to the ones asking God to bash in the heads of all his enemies. It looks a bit like my own journal – (well, maybe not the bashing in heads part) J
For a period of about two months I experienced several severe anxiety attacks (I call them that for lack of anything better to call them). Leaving the compound seemed just too overwhelming. When I would try to plan a trip to town (or when I actually made it into a vehicle), my body would start shaking and I would have to fight back tears and the urge to jump from the vehicle and walk back home. I had never experienced anything like it before, and, praise God, they’ve stopped and things are back to normal again.
During that time, God offered me two supports. One is a faithful friend who listened to me non-judgmentally and encouraged me but also pushed me to face what I didn’t want to face and would not allow me to fall into self-pity. The second support was in the form of the Psalms. I could lament with David:
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and sorrow in my heart day after day?” Psalm 13:1-2a
I could plead: “Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience.” Psalm 15:12
and then later testify that:
“I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He pulled me out of a horrible pit, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock and made my steps secure. He placed a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” Psalm 40:1-3a
May our prayer be that which Mark Buchanan includes at the end of the second chapter in his book, Hidden in Plain Sight.
“Help us, each and all, to see and believe more deeply what God is up to in the thickness and thinness of our fallen lives, the awkwardness and messiness of broken people living together. Help us find the Spirit in the midst of our tiredness and testiness, our heartbreak and disappointment. Come fresh to us and renew us in God’s grace when all our natural good will gets buried beneath our hurt and anger. What life calls for is not, first and foremost, more cunning, more skill, more resources. It calls for more faith. O Lord, increase our faith.”

What’s Been Happening:

School/Church/Evangelism:

The last time I wrote I spoke of being understaffed in the education department. Well, thank you all for your prayers. We started this school year with a total of 13 teachers! This enables us to have a teacher for each class and even two sections of Nursery classes 1-3, keeping the number of students in each class under 20! I also have a teacher exclusively for P.E. and library, thus improving these programs and enabling us to provide for the students based on their developmental levels.

So, there we were, just beginning the last swimming class for the day when the madaki (local village leader) came down to the stream carrying a broom and a bag. A bit strange, but I didn’t give it too much though – until the madaki asked to speak to me. He was informing me that we should leave because he wanted to use the stream for something and we couldn’t be there, when two more men came down the path. The first one was leading a small goat on a rope and carrying a bird and a knife in his other hand; the second one was holding red and black feathers used in traditional worship. They had come to do animal sacrifice. What a strange interruption to swimming lessons, but traditional beliefs and practices still have a strong hold on people here. Many of the fears of the water that we work to overcome in our classes are based on the fear of water spirits that are believed to steal people away. Please pray that those who are still in darkness will see the great light of Christ.

The work on the school building continues in fits and starts. We have begun molding blocks and cutting wood for the foundation. We need about 2,000 blocks for the foundation – that takes approximately 80 bags of cement and a lot of work. We only have one block mold, so we can only make one block at a time. Praise God that we now have the means to quickly, easily, and safely transfer the funds here for the project work. Thanks to Jane Galley for all of her work on this. We also had a prayer and commissioning of the site in July.

During my parents’ visit in July, my father not only shared his flannelgraph lessons with our children at MoM, but he was able to share these lessons on the life of David in the village in the evenings as well. Many who attended were Muslims and those in traditional religion. Pray that the seeds that were planted will bear fruit. One young man has been asking me about becoming a Christian and about how he can tell his family if he decides to convert; a local mallam (Islamic teacher) is also open to dialogue.

Speaking of Islam, the end of Ramadan was officially signaled by the two-day Sallah celebration. Out of deference to our Muslim friends and neighbors, our school does observe this holiday, as the Muslim schools observe Christmas and Easter holidays. However, we assembled our students for an hour each morning and prayed for family members, friends, and neighbors who are blinded by Islam and for God to raise up and protect those who would witness to Muslims. The children prayed that we may be driven back to the Bible to find ways to relate the truth of Jesus to Muslims in ways they can understand and that through our loving relationships we may win the right to witness of Christ’s love.

Of course, a lot of the most important discussions come up from just sitting and talking with people For example, last week I was talking with two Christian youth from the village: Somehow, the question of killing in self-defense came up. As we discussed its various implications, one of them said, “but if you shoot them, they can’t go to hell because all their sin will come on you.” I responded by talking about how each person must give an account before God for what he/she has done: we can’t stand in for any other person. The only one who can stand in as a substitute for anyone’s sin is Christ. Finally, this young man looked at me and asked, “Are you saying this from your head or from the Bible?” I told him that it was in the Bible. He replied, “Can you write down the verses for me so that I can study it, because my own idea about it is just from my head.” Pray that we would be faithful (and accurate) stewards of the Truth that has been entrusted to us.

Health:

After much effort on the part of our health staff and some of our visiting medical personnel, Juliana, the mentally disabled teenage daughter of one of our staff (I.P.), died in late July. Her father has already suffered the loss of his first wife, and his new wife gave birth to a stillborn baby about a year ago. Please keep the family in prayer.

One of our teachers, Olive, suffered a miscarriage following a motorcycle accident with her husband, our school supervisor. Pray for physical and emotional healing.

A little over a year old, Elizabeth has been failing to thrive and suffering bouts of diarrhea and fever. No tests were conclusive or covered all of the symptoms (which recently included swelling of the limbs and a persistent cough) until recently. She was tested and found to have sickle cell and possibly tuberculosis. The medicines seem to be helping, but the sores in her mouth still make eating difficult, and unfortunately, there is no cure for sickle cell. Please pray for wisdom as our health workers seek to manage her condition.

New Arrivals:

· Benjamin Samuel has recently joined our health staff. What a blessing to have a second health worker to help handle the job of providing for the health needs of almost 200 people.

· Mary Joseph and her son Daniel have also joined us. Mary has been a big help in keeping the orphanage clean. Washing the floors everyday is a great help as this is where our babies crawl and play.

· A young lady with multiple physical disabilities, Ojoma, was abandoned by her parents to a traditional healer in a local town. This man is the only father she has ever known, but he is very aged and is worried about what will happen to this delightful young lady if he should die. She is now at MoM, attending school and is a great help with our babies.

· Welcome to our new teachers – Jeremiah Musa, Stephen Ochala, Lawrence Simon, Aminu Ameh, and Shedrach Ahiaba. Welcome back to Yakubu Akibo. Please keep these young men in prayer as they adjust to the demands of teaching here, and pray that they will be strong, godly role models for our boys.

· And babies, babies, babies – Baby Tom, who is living with me, came in July at 8 days of age, weighing less than 3 lbs. He’s now 3 months old and weighs over 8 lbs.; Aishat was next. She was three months old when she came and tested positive for HIV/AIDS. However, she is asymptomatic and has a great chance of reverting to negative status by 18 months of age; then came Ejura and an Ibo baby girl abandoned by her mother; these were followed by Jordan. In the meantime, one of our teachers on maternity leave, Lydia, gave birth to twins two months prematurely, and we were informed of a woman who had given birth to quadruplets who needed help giving them a healthy start. All are doing well.

Looking Ahead:

· I am planning lessons on the Holy Spirit for my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Sunday School class. Please pray that God will give me the words to say so that it will be understandable to them. Pray that they may begin to let the Holy Spirit help them apply the Bible truths they learn to their daily lives.

· We are praying to begin a junior high school next year. This means we need to start working on registering our school, selecting curriculum, and staffing. I still need a strong English teacher.

· Elections in our state, Kogi, have been nullified due to election fraud. Please pray for peace and safety as the political campaigning, posturing, and fighting heats up again. Did you know that the price of machetes, the murder weapon of choice for political thugs, more than tripled during the last elections? A number of politically-motivated killings have already taken place, including one man who was beheaded and dismembered – it is rumored that he had a magic that protected him from bullets, causing his attackers to use such horrific measures. Some of the fighting is taking place within parties, not just between parties.

Spotlight on…

Helene Simon. Helene is one of our primary school children. She is about 9 years old and is a delightful spitfire J Helene loves snuggling and baking cakes with me. She is a bright but strong-willed girl. When her aunty left, she moved down to stay with Daniel and Esther. One day, having been caught stealing, she was told to pack her things to go back up to an aunty. On checking her bag before sending her up, they found some packets of spaghetti on the bottom. She was told to unpack her things. She would continue to stay where she was. Please pray that she would learn obedience and that the hold of the habit of stealing would be broken. Pray that her sharp mind will be a gift cultivated and used for the Lord.

Praise for:
- our new school staff!
- progress on the school building!
- the time of fellowship with all our short-term visitors since April.
- safety on the road – my trip to and from Abuja as my parents were leaving was quite “exciting” – more than 20 hours at various mechanics, a new timing belt, three new throttle cables, a new accelerator, a stalled vehicle on a bad road in the dark, police harassment, a cramped taxi ride to the airport, and a broken shoe (among other things)
- the health of our babies; especially the preemies who beat all odds to make it this far
- the ministering of Christ’s physical body through the hands and feet of His people

Pray for:
- the continuing work on the school building project.
- those of our students and staff who are struggling for admission to higher education.
- our students at secondary schools and universities – for safety and that their hearts and minds would be guarded against the temptations of the world.
- healing for Elizabeth
- an increasing desire to pursue an increasing measure of faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love so that we will not be ineffective or unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1-9)
- Jason Jordan, one of my former students, who was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison at his recent trial. He is still writing letters and reaching out. Pray that God would send people to Jason who can speak the love of Christ in a way that he can understand.
- the church to preach a clear message of the Gospel and the truths of the Bible, and for more discipleship.

Random Funny Printer Problem: For two days I couldn’t print anything because there was a gecko inside my printer. There was no way to get him out and no way to print anything without smooshing him all over the insides of the printer.

May 2007

8“So I am praying while not knowing how to pray. I am resting while feeling restless, at peace while tempted, safe while still anxious, surrounded by a cloud of light while still in darkness, in love while still doubting.” ~Henri Nouwen

This is the beautiful paradox of a sinner living by grace. And I am comforted by the story of Elijah. Immediately after being used in one of God’s most amazing displays of power, he prays that the Lord would let him die because his work is fruitless. God ministers to Elijah’s physical needs and then says, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah says “I’ve eagerly served you, and there’s nothing to show for it.” God says, “Go to the mountain and wait for me.” There Elijah learns to listen for the still small voice of the Lord speaking to his heart. He is then asked to go back out and serve the Lord again – with the promise that God will make all things right in His time. What a reassurance that the God of Elijah is the same God I serve.

Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up. Hebrews 12:1-2a, 3

What’s been happening

School/Church:

We are again understaffed in the education department. In March, Dorcas Sunday was married and left the ministry. Then in April, after a difficult situation between one of our teachers and the director, the teacher resigned. A third teacher, Roselyn David, is on study leave to take her WAEC exams. However, one of our Federal College of Education graduates who originally wanted to pursue secretarial studies has decided to enter the classroom instead. We praise God for Unekwu Isah as she joins our teaching staff.

It’s “Agbanyoji” time again! Those are the little green books of memory verses outlining church doctrine which students can complete to earn a Bible. As a new crop of students has reached the age where they can read and memorize, they are eagerly begging for their own memory verse booklets so that they too can proudly carry their own Bible to church. I have hidden Your word in my heart so that I might not sin against thee.

Health:

With the money from some of our donors we have been buying eggs once every other week to serve to our children. It is a big help. We also received a donation of a live cow from the governor! We look forward to eating him on Children’s National Holiday (May 27) J If the money is there, the administration has decided that they would like to try and provide a cow a month.

All of our new baby boys were recently circumcised. Medugu developed severe bleeding after a few hours, but we were able to get it to stop before the next morning and all are recovering well.

Of the 4-month-old twins, Haruna was the smaller and more sickly. He was given to a missionary nurse in Anyigba to care for. It was then discovered that he had a hernia that would need surgery. He was sent to Evangel Mission Hospital in Jos. While all of this was going on, Adukwu, the healthy one, developed a serious condition. He was not passing any stools, his stomach was swelling, he was dehydrated, and he even stopped passing any urine. I sat up with him for 26 hours, and then on Sunday evening he was taken to the hospital. The doctor suspected a bowel blockage and did surgery, finding nothing. Two days later he died. Meanwhile, Haruna was recovering well from his own surgery. He has returned to us at Otutulu and is currently staying with me. He is a fat, happy, talkative little man.

Please keep one of our little ones, Aaron Shehu (3 years, 9 months) in prayer. Our suspicions of sickle cell were confirmed by blood tests at the hospital today. This explains the recent pain in his hands and leg – he is in “sickle cell crisis”. There is no cure for sickle cell, you can only try to prevent the child from going into crisis, which can lead to death, by avoiding malaria, infections, and exposure to cold.

Sharing diagnosis and treatment with patients is not a priority for doctors/hospitals here. In fact, if you dare to ask what you or your child are ill with and what the medicines are that they are giving you, you are likely to be yelled at and left untreated or poorly treated in the future as you have dared to “question” the doctor. It is very frustrating, because we don’t then know how to prevent similar illness and/or death in the future. A sad case in point, Nefisetu (Crystal), who lived with me for 4 months was a healthy 10-month-old girl, developmentally on track, who fell sick with fever and vomiting. Two days later, after on-site treatment didn’t seem to be helping, we took her to the hospital – she sounded as if she may have been in respiratory distress. At the hospital they transfused her. The next day she died. There is no explanation as to why this otherwise healthy baby suddenly died.


New Arrivals:

Welcome to two new staff members and two new babies:

· Rhoda recently joined us as a cook. What a blessing this helping hand is to Fitumi, the 20-year-old young lady who was the sole cook for the entire ministry for the past few months.

· Hannah Yunusa is the lovely bride of our health worker, Sabo Yunusa. They wed on March 28th.

· One of our staff members, Mary Sunday, recently gave birth to her third baby boy. Surgery was necessary for the mother, but after a lengthy hospital stay, we are happy to have her back with us. Please also keep the baby in prayer as his left arm was broken during the delivery process.

· Our other new baby came to us after a close friend of many here in the ministry as well as a teacher to many of our secondary school students at CMML Special School, Iyale, died during her third C-section birth. The baby girl survived and has joined us as one of our motherless babies. Please keep the father, also a teacher at Special School, in your prayers as he takes on the raising of the first two children (both boys) as a single father.



Looking Ahead

Our Children’s Day celebration is coming up on May 27. We have invited the Vice Chancellor of Kogi State University – a strong proponent of education and integrity – to join us on that day. Preparations are underway – the field rings with calls of “left, right, left, right” and children lope from goalpost to goalpost with their legs tied together in all manner of scrap materials in training for the three-legged race J

With the clearing of the land well underway for the school building project, we hope to begin digging the foundation and start molding blocks soon.

It’s family reunion time J My uncle and his family will be coming for a visit in June, and my parents will be coming out with two of my other cousins in July. I look forward to seeing them. My father is planning on bringing his flannelgraph materials. Please pray that a proposed outreach in the local village(s) will be fruitful. There are so many children there who are very dear to me who have never heard the gospel of Christ. Because of their Muslim and traditional religion backgrounds, they won’t be attending Sunday School, but if someone is telling a story, they (along with their parents) will come and listen out of curiosity.

After what some are calling the most corrupt elections ever in Nigeria, the handover of power is set to take place on May 29. During the two weekends of elections, few dared to travel. While most of the killings took place before and between elections, the election days themselves were marked by hired thugs stealing ballot boxes and marking ballots for their own party, etc. Please pray that the handover will go smoothly and peacefully.


Spotlight on…

Udu and Ekwo. These two young men are friends of mine from the village. I got to know them when my bougainvillea tree blew over in the wind last year. They were walking past, noticed it, and asked if they could fix it for me. I said, “Sure.” They have become an encouragement to me in so many ways. They are always there to lend a helping hand, they are faithful prayer partners, they have given me an introduction into their families – one of which is Muslim, one of which is traditional religion providing a rapport from which to begin witnessing, and they help me maneuver through different culture questions. Both are also recipients of the Bibles many of you have helped provide through our scripture memory program. Udo was just telling me the other day how much having his own Bible has helped him. “Before when you go home from the church you can forget what they talk about, but now I can come home and read it myself. It helps me a lot.” Both young men are working to pay their way through secondary school on their own. Please pray that they would see the means to continue their education and that their hunger for God’s Word would continue to grow and be satisfied by fellowship with the Holy Spirit.








Praise For:

- Anibe who has continued to gain strength. She is even able to attend our evening classes now.
- Comfort who has recovered completely from her illness in January.
- CERI, the Eskridge’s and Crockett’s, and Paul Welle’s team from Canada who have all provided encouragement, assistance, and blessings through their visits.
- the privilege of being part of a Christian community that upholds and supports one another through difficult times.
- the renewal of my quota position and visa – despite the two-day wait I endured because I didn’t understand that “we’ve lost your file” means “we want money”. I eventually got everything without having to pay any bribes.
- a God whose strength is made complete in our weakness.


Pray For:

- strength, wisdom, and a deepening hunger and thirst for God
- the various building projects in their various stages
- our students at secondary schools and universities – for safety and that their hearts and minds would be guarded against the temptations of the world
- staff – we need more staff in every department
- patience and understanding as we grow as an organization
- several of my students from US who are facing state and federal drug, gun, and gang charges.



Random Funny Kitchen Sight: Monkey sitting on top of the oven waiting to be cooked while anteater boils in a pot on the front burner. (Yep, that would be in my kitchen.)

Monday, April 14, 2008

June 2006

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!

About Me

Crystal is a missionary with Liebenzell USA. She has been living and working in Otutulu, Nigeria on the compound of Ministry of Mercy Children's Home for the past four years. Her primary role is as Director of Education of the orphanage school but her work and ministry involves every aspect of daily life.