Eulogy of a Gecko: 9:46 PM, June 13, 2007

     Thomas the Gecko was not your normal American gecko. He was of the popular African species…also known as the large kind. At the dawn of this fateful day, Thomas found himself in much wahalla, trouble in Hausa terms. He was blissfully unaware the tragedy that awaited him. He had been left alone…locked up…screened in, one might say.
     The gap between the door and its screen proved to be an unkind home to Thomas. Left alone, we can only imagine the horrors he faced. First, the heatstroke. After he came to, he thanked God for the screen so that he would be safe from mosquitos and malaria, however, unbeknownst to Thomas, there was quite a hole in that screen. Safety would not be found for Mr. Thomas. Second, sunburn…or sunroast. And that is how Thomas the Gecko was discovered, black and roasted. He endured such distress that he was unrecognizable.
     After the first attempt to remove the unknown guest was unsuccessful. Movement was then observed, closely followed by a scream, a slammed door, and unsupressable silent giggles. Mr. Thomas was only in view for a few seconds when the door was reopened as we soon realized that there was a further infestation of larva and maggots. The door was reopened, and we then recognized our squished friend. I had noticed him when I locked the screen earlier today in a hurry, not realized that as I sealed the door, I was sealing his fate.
     Soon we heard footsteps. I called out, “Hello?” Apparently, the guard had been alerted by the screams of the following realizations, “Ew, it was soft,” “It moved!!” and “Sick out.” He asked what was the trouble and was very confused when we had no threatening intruder, however, he was able to come to our rescue to our great joy. Oh wait, this story is about Mr. Thomas, not us.
     I’m going to go get cake.
     The End.

JETS

     So yesterday I went to church for the first time here in Jos. We went to the ECWA Seminary Church which is at the seminary JETS. Reverend Maigadi asked all of the guests at the service to stand up and introduce themselves. Then he informed us that we would do something we wouldn’t forget…and I won’t. We stood at the front of the church, and then people started coming down to shake our hands and telling us, ‘you’re welcome’ while the choir sang. The line was never ending and my cheeks started to hurt. Reverend Maigadi came across too. It was fun to see a friendly face because we had eaten at his house on Wednesday. The worship at this church was full of joy, and it small congregation of 300 was louder than all of Central…or maybe it just seemed that way because it was a much smaller room.
     It was missions week there so they and a panel of 4 missionaries, and the committee chair asked them questions. It was very enlightening to hear about the EMS missionaries. One of the men was a missionary to Nigeria, but was sent home due to visa problems. From what I could gather, they have to get a visa for both Sudan and Kenya so that every time they are forced to leave Sudan, they spend time in Kenya. Please pray that these missionaries from his team would be able to receive visas and be able to return to Sudan. Also there was much talk about funding. I found out from Susan (a SIM missionary) that the EMS missionaries get their monthly ’salary’ from ECWA…or they are supposed to. The average ’salary’ is 8,000 to 10,000 Naira (roughly 60 to 80 dollars) a month, however, it is not rare for a missionary to not receive any funds for months. There is the uncertainty if another envelope with come or not, and due to the remote areas where some of the missionaries are, there is little they can do. I was a little confused because they were talking about the need for funds and for better structure in ECWA. However, through conversation I gathered that there is a money flow problem from after the church gives the money to ECWA and the distribution to the EMS missionaries. I don’t presume to know everything, but I did hear several times about how SIM takes care of their missionaries in various ways which was in apparent opposition from ECWA. I want to take this opportunity to again thank each of you who have supported me both financially and with prayer. Not everyone on the field has support, and it seems many are neglected even by the people who are sending them. I feel truly blessed with all that has been given to me, and I thank the Lord. Also, please pray for these missionaries and ECWA.
     After teaching on Friday, we attempted to climb this mountain/hill/boulders…in skirts. It was a bigger challenge than we had expected. The picture on the right is Abagail. I was very impressed with her climbing skills. She was much bolder than I. On the left is my roommate Kirsten…we watched the movie Superman, and she apparently gained extra hero powered strength from the movie.

     The following is the Pastor’s Column from the Church notice that I got today. Please let me know your thoughts. I think he makes at least two very good points.

     George Hunter calls the privatization of faith “Mad Christianity”. He explains that a person is deemed mad or insane if the world existing in his or her head doesn’t connect with the world of reality. He says that for many Christians, faith, God, Jesus, and the world of the miraculous exists only in their heads and fails to intersect with daily living. Faith is mad when it exists in my mind but doesn’t touch real world. Engagement means involvement; we don’t hid ourselves in the Church or in our own safety zones. If we act as the people of God, we will infiltrate this world with this love and values.
     One of the problems of engagement, of course, is lack of time. We often get so caught up in activities related to the Church that we unintentionally marginalize ourselves from the world.
     Bob Lupton refers to this as the problem on “unneighborly neighbors.” And he further made this comment.: “Do strong loyalties to Church necessitate disengagement from those who live next door? If so, I have a misconception of the role of the Christian in this world. I have understood the historic mission of the Church to be proactive, armed with vulnerable love, infiltrating every strata of society, transforming fallen people and systems through the power of the spirit. It is tempting to allow the local church body to become our enclave of like-minded friends that provides a protective haven from the daily bombardment of destructive values. Yet engagement -not withdrawal- has always been the operative world of the Church militant. And love of one;s neighbor remains its fundamental tactic.”
     Will we make the time for engagement? It’s a crucial question.

Ripple

This is a post on my brother’s blog that you should look at.  Ripple

EMS Children bring me JOY!

     So Thursday and Friday I got to go to the EMS school again during class time.  I helped out with the level 2 class.  The children all greet you together when you walk in the door, and they refer to anyone older as ‘Auntie’ or ‘Uncle.’  On Friday, before the other teacher got to class they all wanted me to teach them ‘my’ language.  Most of the Nigerians here know many languages.  Each family has its own language it seems so they will learn their mother’s language, father’s language, Hausa, and then English.  They don’t understand that our language is just English, so instead I taught them how to say thank you in Swedish.  During the first couple hours of class, they work self paced in workbooks.  I graded their math from the day before (which they mostly failed) and was really sad that they don’t get more interactive teaching.   I was really excited when the teacher asked my to teach them the subtraction again during the last hour of school.  It was so exciting to see them start to understand and to get a taste of what I might want to be doing.  I loved it!!  All of the children were asking if I would be back on Monday, and it broke my heart to tell them no.  Apparently these children get very few visitors.  Hopefully, I will get to see them some time next week.  I can’t explain the atmosphere of the children and their smiles.  I promise pictures soon, but I don’t think I will be going back until late next week. 
     Praise the Lord for good sleep, good friends, and the children.  My roommate and I have also been having a lot of fun and enjoyed coming up with new ideas to work with the children.  She has been such a blessing.  This next week I will be going to the boys homes.  I am excited to see them because I hear about them alot.  Please pray for the provision of food at these homes because funds are short and also for the vehicles to stay in working condition.  Right now we are very handicapped with broken vehicles which makes moving supplies very difficult.  Thank you!

The Beginning (a very good place to start…)

     So I have arrived. I met up with the missionary couple in Frankfurt, and then went through customs in Abuja with no problem. That night we stayed in an ECWA guest house which is like a hotel. ECWA(Evangelical Chuch of West Africa. Anyway, my fridge played Fleur de Leis when I opened it which made me laugh. Please be praying for my acclimation to the new time zone and for good sleep. Jetlag is not my friend.
     The drive to Jos was interesting. We went through 9 or 10 stops where the military or officials will check your car papers, ask what you are carrying with you, and then sometimes try to get money from you. We just gave them water. It amused me to see a man in uniform, with a large military weapon, smiling at you friendly as you drove past.
     The past several days, I have met with various people to do some orientation and to learn about the culture. Kauna has been a good friend. She was in charge of getting me set up, taking me to the market, and things. The first day I was in Jos, I got to go to the EMS school. EMS is the missions branch of ECWA. The school is full of children whose parents are Nigerians doing missions all around Nigeria. A lot of their parents are in remote and volatile locations, and they get few visitors. A few minutes after we arrived it started raining (like it does every day!), so we had to go inside the girls dormitory. Many kids piled into the class room where songs had already begun. The children were amazing percussionists. It blew me away. They would use a wood board and a plastic plate or something metal or just their hands. One of the older girls would quickly lead into a new song after one had been sung for a while so it almost sounded like one continuous song of praise to the Lord! I caught on to some of the songs, but was really excited when they started singing “I am in the Lord’s Army,” although that line and “Yes Sir” are the only two that were in English. It was a joyous time. I would have taken some pictures, but alas, when I was up at odd hours in Abuja, I accidentally dropped my camera into the toilet…long story. Anyway, my camera was MIA until yesterday when, PRAISE THE LORD!, it started working again. I am going back to the EMS school tomorrow morning so hopefully we will get some pictures up soon.
     My roommate, Kirsten, and I have been having lots of fun in the apartment. We had to walk around with candles last night because the power went out about 2 PM yesterday, but I heard a rumor about an hour ago (3 PM today) that it is back on. And lastly, get excited…I made my first venture out of the compound gates all by myself today. Crossing the street was something of a feat! It’s pretty busy…and crazy…Nigeria road ‘rules’ are more like ‘guidelines,’ including lane lines and which side of the road to drive on at times. I am going to go check on the food in the fridge now.

P.S. If you want to get an email when I have updated my blog, send me your email address and let me know.

Praise Jesus

     So I just read an email from the office in Jos. They informed me that there is an older missionary couple that is scheduled to be on my last flight from Frankfurt to Abuja. Praise Jesus that I will not be alone, and I know what a comfort that will be to my parents!

Tenative Schedule

     So the garage sale went very well last week. I raised $500. Praise Jesus. And thank you to all who contributed.
     Right now I am in Chicago visiting my sister, but I will be returning to Dallas on Tuesday morning. Then I am on mission packing until Saturday when I leave. So this is the rundown for my arrival:

Saturday: I leave DFW at 9:20 AM. I fly up to Chicago and then to Frankfurt.
Sunday: I arrive in Abuja (the capital of Nigeria) at 3:40 PM (which is 9:40 AM for y’all). After I arrive, one of SIM’s drivers will pick me up and take me to the guest house in Abuja. There, I will spend the night because there will not be enough daylight hours to drive to Jos.
Monday: The driver will come back and pick me up, and we will drive to Jos. Please pray for this leg of the travel specifically. The roads are somewhat dangerous due to other drivers, but also we will most likely be stopped multiple times. I don’t fully know what to expect.

I will be leaving Nigeria on August 14th, arriving in the US on the 15th, and coming home on the 16th. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. I will try to post once I get into Jos as soon as I can.

School Is Out!

     School is out, and I survived. Now I am off again. Yesterday, I spent the majority of the day learning about the Nigerian culture and preparing for my trip. I got the opportunity to meet with three individuals who have all spent considerable time in Jos. One of the individuals is here on furlow and will be returning mid-June. I am excited that I will be able to welcome her back home.
     I learned that I still have a lot of work to do. One of which is to continue my fundraising. My roommate, Allison, and I prayerwalked to church the last Sunday we were in College Station to raise funds for our mission trips this summer, and this Saturday I will be having a garage sale. If you are in the Dallas area and have anything you would like to donate to the sale, please let me know.
     Thank you so much for your support. Please continue to be in prayer for God’s provision, patience, and strength. I will be listing more specific prayer requests later.