Matthew 28:19a “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”
Did you know that the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is part of the Easter story!– I’m sure in the history of Biblical exegesis it’s been discovered before, but I had never noticed it before. Jesus’ first words to His disciples after His resurrection were to go and preach repentance and remission of sin in His name. Go and preach the gospel – the work of atonement is finished – don’t keep it to yourself; go and tell the good news!
Ezekiel 2:3a, 3:7a “And He said to me: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel…But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me…’”
But the work is not always easy; people are not always willing to hear this message of incredibly good news. Before he went out on “the mission field,” the prophet Ezekiel was told by the Lord that the people he was being sent to would not listen to him. Ezekiel went anyway. Why? Why bother? Obedience. God calls us to obey. I cannot change anyone’s heart; I cannot save anyone; I cannot do anything by my own power. I can only be available and obedient – a vessel for the Lord to use. This is what pleases God; “for I desire faithfulness and not sacrifice...” Hosea 6:6 As Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” I Corinthians 3:6
Let us thrill in the joy of His resurrection; let us labor together in obedience in His vineyard; let us boast in Christ alone.
What’s Been Happening?
Education:
Ah yes, April, the beginning of a new season…of exam malpractice. Students in their final year of secondary schooling must take at least one of two exams (WAEC and NECO) to qualify for their O-level certificates. (That’s like a high school diploma.) In many cases, students have not been taught enough to pass the exams even if they did try, and teachers and school supervisors see an easy way to make extra money. They charge a “logistics” fee to each student and then provide the students with the answers for the exams – often writing them on the board to be copied down. We have five students currently taking these exams. We pray that they will study well and maintain their integrity by completing the exams without engaging in the cheating around them. Sometimes if a testing centers exams are cancelled because of malpractice, but there is evidence that a specific individual did not cheat, that student’s scores are allowed to stand.
“How many of you would like one million naira?” All hands shot up. A white woman was talking about money, suddenly everyone was interested. Thus began an outreach to a local government school. One of my teachers was burdened with the lack of direction and focus he saw among the secondary students in his hometown and asked me to come and speak to them about their futures. We left each of them with a handout giving them Biblical examples of young people who stood strong against peer pressure and an invitation to follow Christ.
Another outreach the education department was able to be a part of was through the distribution to local primary schools of a booklet promoting both Igala literacy and Bible truth. An organization called Mannah Publications made available a book called “The Powerful Lantern”, written in the local language and illustrating how the word of God is a lamp unto our feet. In the process of learning to read this booklet, each child gets to color and keep their own copy. Students gain valuable reading skills, the priceless truth about God’s word, and the exciting gift of their very own book.
Church:
After finishing our series on the Holy Spirit in Sunday School, we practiced how to study not just read the Bible. We are continuing to use those skills as we learn to follow in Jesus’ footsteps with a series of lessons on Jesus and his growing up years – growing in stature, wisdom, favor with God, and favor with man. Please pray that they would be attuned to the direction of the Holy Spirit as we go through this series. We are having some serious problems with some of our children’s behaviors. Several have become masters of stealing and lying, others are involved in destruction of property. Pray that we will have wisdom in how to discipline and guide them.
Through a Christian bookstore in Jos, I am able to find many books written specifically for and about Christians in an African context. I keep these on display in a bookshelf in my house and frequently get requests to borrow the books. YEAH! The most popular topics are relationships/sexuality, HIV/AIDS, puberty – topics that everybody wants to know about, but no one wants to talk about. These books offer an opening to conversation. The current is a novel called, Hello, Sweet Baby and deals with the issue of sex outside of marriage and unwanted pregnancy. One boy asked me to photocopy the whole book for him so that he could share it with his friends because he wanted them to be warned as he now was about the consequences of teen sex. I told him to keep the book and I’d buy another copy J
Medical:
In February we had an epidemic of vomiting and diarrhea that claimed the life of one of our teacher’s twin baby girl. More than 20 of our children were affected and more than 10 required hospitalization, including my Tom. I spent four days in the hospital with him before he was released. We still do not know the exact cause of the outbreak, but we thank God the rest of the babies are doing well now.
I had an oozing, painful sore on the big toe of my right foot. We had unsuccessfully tried cleaning, bandaging, and pressing it. It turns out my toenail was severely in-grown. In mid-April I went to a nearby Christian hospital run by some missionary friends where they did a quick out-patient surgery to excise the offending segment of nail. Everything has healed up nicely and they refused to let me pay for “trimming my toenail.”
Hellos and Goodbyes:
Mohammed Alih, our little fighter – born with multiple handicaps, his Muslim parents separated when he was born 17 years ago because of his condition. He died of unknown causes in February.
Abigail was a healthy 17-year-old, attending secondary school and making plans for her future three years ago when she was inexplicably struck with paralysis of her lower body. There was no precipitating illness or trauma that is known. She is now confined to a wheelchair and must use a catheter. After years of going to prayer houses, she has come to Ministry of Mercy for help. She is being given some strengthening exercises, school lessons, and encouragement to accept her condition and to learn to be independent.
Three new staff joined us in February: Rachel, an Ibo student from KSU who is awaiting entrance into law school; Joseph Onalo, our new class 3 teacher; and Martha, a new auntie-in-training.
We have admitted and transferred to our Lokoja branch two baby boys, twin girls, and an abandoned baby girl. We also welcomed Abraham Victory Yunusa, the first-born baby boy of our health worker, Sabo and his wife, Hannah.
And then there’s Rafiki, the newest member to my household. He’s an orphaned baby monkey. His mother was shot out of a tree, and his leg was injured by the bullet. Have you ever tried getting a monkey to take his medicine? He loves to be held, and even got out of his cage one night and came to my bed looking for me. He and Tom seem to get along well, though, eating together, playing together, napping together and following me around the house. Of course, he doesn’t like when Tom gets a hold of that tempting tail!
Looking Forward
Our children have been working hard, and have almost completed the filling of the foundation. Now that the cashew harvest is in and the new crops have been planted, we will be able to see workers again to dig gravel so that we can begin the flooring and walls of the school building.
We have seen an increase in participation of the youth in the church, both from the ministry and the village. I am hoping to collaborate with them on a film outreach to the local villages at the end of May using The Passion of the Christ and The End of the Spear. Please pray that the Truth of Jesus Christ will be made clear to unbelievers and the Truth of the transforming power of Christ in our lives will become real to believers.
We are seeing a high rate of recidivism in our nursery school program. This is merely a sign of a deeper, underlying problem in the way our nursery program is run. I am working to revamp some things, but I can’t do it alone. My prayer is for at least three teachers or retired teachers trained in Early Childhood Education and with some years of experience to come and join us for three months (preferably September-November) and help to train my nursery teachers. Please share this request with anyone you know who may be interested or who may know people who would be interested and willing.
Spotlight on…
Iko and Chubiyo. “They have been starving these babies to death,” said Daniel on the admission of twin girls in early February. The babies were about three months old and weighed less than 5 lbs. each. They were nothing but skin and bones and attitude! Praise God for their fighting spirit. After less than 2 months at Ministry of Mercy, they are almost unrecognizable for their squeezable cheeks and round bellies J Their father died in a car accident while returning from visiting their mother at a prayer house in November. The mother died at the prayer house in December.
Praise for:
a set of wheels – after more than a year without a car, the Lord provided, through you all, a 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser for less than 80% of the price that was quoted me
safety during the gubernatorial re-elections – I was present during a political shooting
the recovery of our children from the epidemic that threatened them
the successful wedding of our administrative secretary, Joshua Omonoji
God’s protection over Unekwu during a bank robbery while he was there on business for the ministry
a Risen Savior!
Pray for:
continued progress on the school building
the hearts of our children
healing for Stephen who fell from a mango tree, hitting his face on some wood window frames below the tree – his nose is severely broken and he needed stitches above one eye among other things – we thank God his life was spared
the father of one of my teachers who has been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit – the police have admitted as much but are determined to punish someone
people to answer the call to help with our nursery school program
an easing of tribal tensions between Igalas and Fulanis – there have been some terrible cases of killings recently, which spark indiscriminate retaliation
hearts to be open to the One who came to save us from our sins, and boldness to proclaim the Good News
Random Week of Random Happenings: In one week I collected five baby rats from a nest in my cupboard, had worms dropping from the ceiling in my kitchen, cleaned more than ten 5-gallon buckets of bat poop and dirt out of my ceiling, and prepared against a rumored Fulani attack (it didn’t happen).
