There is not vehicle traffic today because of the planned election. However we have learned that the election is cancelled becasue none of the election materials have been delivered to the country. The election is now scheduled for Monday. Not sure how they are going to get the required ballot boxes to all of Nigeria before thatb time but it also means that Monday will be a no travel day.
This might impact our travel on Tuesday if there is another cancelation. We do not have our travel plans to Abuja just yet but we do want to be on the plane back to Caanada on Tuesday evening.
Specail Thanks
The speed of internet has allowed us to communicate almost instantly with those at home concerning what is happening here in Nigeria. We want to extend a special thank you to all who have read our blog, followed our emails and been part of our Prayer Team. We know that people on our direct prayer team have solicited the prayers of other Canadians and also non Canadians. There are many prayer partners whom we do not know but have been told of others in their network who are praying for this mission. We extend a sincere thank you to all. Without your prayers and words of encouragement we would not have accomplished all that was intended. We are particularly grateful for the quick responses to a series of very challenging situations yesterday. (just for the record, I (Shirley) did not cry...........but was close at times)
We are not sure itf there will be another blog but keep checking and we will keep you posted about our return.......and the effect of the election stuff on this
Salama duka (Peace to all)
John anad Shirley
Saturday, 2 April 2011
continued....Friday April 1st part 3
Pastor Emmanuel met us at the back gate for a rendevous from our vehicle to his car. We had a small walkway to manouver. He was extremely happy, overjoyed and excited to see us safely back to the compound. He drove us to the guest house and we hit the bed at 3:30 ish.
In the morning John realized that he had lost his money belt. You must carry cash here...........there are no credit cards used. While at check point 1 he had removed his belt from his backpack and put it on his waist. We had no idea where it was lost. He had been in and out of the truck several times at the check point and we feared it was gone. Another possibility was that it was in Pastor B's truck or in Pastor E's car. I asked Pstor E this morning if we had left anything in his car and he said only a book. I decided to walk and retrace our path from the transfer point of the the two vehicles. I was shocked..........it was lying in plan view of people walking to go to vote. I thoought for sure that it would be empty and the money belt would be just tossed by the finder. Amazing...........truly a miracle. All of the cash was still there. Personally I saw 8-10 people walk right past it as I was walking towards this location. Our God is an awesome God!
In the morning John realized that he had lost his money belt. You must carry cash here...........there are no credit cards used. While at check point 1 he had removed his belt from his backpack and put it on his waist. We had no idea where it was lost. He had been in and out of the truck several times at the check point and we feared it was gone. Another possibility was that it was in Pastor B's truck or in Pastor E's car. I asked Pstor E this morning if we had left anything in his car and he said only a book. I decided to walk and retrace our path from the transfer point of the the two vehicles. I was shocked..........it was lying in plan view of people walking to go to vote. I thoought for sure that it would be empty and the money belt would be just tossed by the finder. Amazing...........truly a miracle. All of the cash was still there. Personally I saw 8-10 people walk right past it as I was walking towards this location. Our God is an awesome God!
continued....Friday April 1st
Although the fuel problem with our truck was solved it was overheating. We carried on with a long drive. We needed to get home to Jos because Saturday was election day and a no travel ban is in effect. We finally approaced Jos at about 1:30 am. We were rejoicing that we would soon be able to lay our bodies horizontal and get some sleep. Bitrus did all of the driving and Monica monitor for pot holes. It was very exhausting. As we approached the city limites there was evidence of a huge crash that had happened earlier. Several cars and a livestock truck were completed crashed, over turned and burned. The cattle carcasses were burned also and still evident. According to today's news one of the vehicles had brake failure. Approximately 20 people died according to reports. The police check point that is usually at that location was moved about 1/2 km closer to Jos. Our car was heating and losing power as we climbed this last hill.
Earler in the day we had received an email from the Canadain embassy reminding us of the no travel from Sat. 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. We were aware of the approaching checkpoints but we were shocked when they told us know one could pass after 12:00 midnight and that we would be spending the night in the car. This is when we sent out our SOS for prayer. We received direct responses from our prayer partners and at the same time Bitrus received a phone call from Pastor Emmanuel (ECWA Seminary). Pastor E had been phoning frequently to check on our location and was veryy worried for our well being. He was in contact with the provost and also the State Commissioner of Public Works who attends his church. The State Commisioner contacted the General in command of the secutiry troops and we were given clearance to pass the checkpoints. The troops came looking specifically for the Canadian missionaries. Unfortunatley we did not have an escort vehicle and thus were detained at each of the next 4 chekpoints. Each time we needed to explain and ask them to call their platoon leader to verify our actions. The last check point attendant actually knew Bitrus. At the 3rd checkpoint the patrol officer had the platoon commander speaking on a phone in one ear and the commissioner speaking to him in the other ear. Very interesting. We were totally amazed at how many people were on thier phones between 1:30 and 3:30 to ensure our safe arrival at Jos guest house.
Earler in the day we had received an email from the Canadain embassy reminding us of the no travel from Sat. 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. We were aware of the approaching checkpoints but we were shocked when they told us know one could pass after 12:00 midnight and that we would be spending the night in the car. This is when we sent out our SOS for prayer. We received direct responses from our prayer partners and at the same time Bitrus received a phone call from Pastor Emmanuel (ECWA Seminary). Pastor E had been phoning frequently to check on our location and was veryy worried for our well being. He was in contact with the provost and also the State Commissioner of Public Works who attends his church. The State Commisioner contacted the General in command of the secutiry troops and we were given clearance to pass the checkpoints. The troops came looking specifically for the Canadian missionaries. Unfortunatley we did not have an escort vehicle and thus were detained at each of the next 4 chekpoints. Each time we needed to explain and ask them to call their platoon leader to verify our actions. The last check point attendant actually knew Bitrus. At the 3rd checkpoint the patrol officer had the platoon commander speaking on a phone in one ear and the commissioner speaking to him in the other ear. Very interesting. We were totally amazed at how many people were on thier phones between 1:30 and 3:30 to ensure our safe arrival at Jos guest house.
Friday April 1st
This was a driving day. We left the house at 6:00 a.m. to go to Jos, however we did make one brief stop to get introduced to aq friend of Bitrus and Monica who was seeking election to the House of Representatives. We were soon on the road but had gone less than 100 km when the truck died. We were in the middle of the road. Bitrus hiked to the village in the south (only a short distance) and found several men who accompanied him back to the truck. It was obvious to us that they were not skilled mechanics. Bitrus then flagged a motorcycle and travelled north about 30 minutes to find a mechanic who hopped on the bike and came back to the location of the truck still sitting in the middle of the road. The roads are so bad that everybody just drives wherever they can find a path, regardless of which side of the road one should be on. We thought this man was a skilled mechanic and he was an answer to prayer once again. He gathered a small group of assistants. Nigerian people are very kind and willing to help those in need. He did many things over the course of 6 hours (remove gas tank, empty fuel into jerry cans, clean the filter and put everything back). His only tools were simple wrenches and screw drivers carried in a small box about half the size of a loaf of bread. While he was working on our vehicle another car with a family (Mom, Dad and 6 kids) pulled to our location. At this point in time we had pushed the truck to the shade of a large tree. Our mechanic never left our vehicle but one of his helpers kindly spent about an hour helping this other family. A testament of their willingness to help others. The owner of the property where we were located brough out a wooden bench for us to sit on while we waited. After all of the parts were put back together we were ready to be "on the road again" but alas that was not to be. The battery was now dead. What to do? The mechanic flagged down a passing truck loaded with bags of grain and carrying 7 men. He explained the situation and they allowed him to take out their battery, install it in our truck, start our truck and return their battery to their vehicle..........would this happen in Canada ?????...........another example of the kindness of these people. Unfortunately when the battery was placed back in the grain carrying truck it would not start. The vehicles here are all very very old. Anyway, with some manouvering the truck did go and these men were on their way. We were at this road side from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. As we continued we knew we would not get back to Jos before dark.
Shirley had a fall while searching for a suitable outdoor washroom but we were thankful she did not get a concussion on her head and only has a few scrapes and sore spots. She fell backwards trying to descend a cement block wall.
continued....................
Shirley had a fall while searching for a suitable outdoor washroom but we were thankful she did not get a concussion on her head and only has a few scrapes and sore spots. She fell backwards trying to descend a cement block wall.
continued....................
continued....Thursday March 31st
when we returned to Peter's home in the evening we were able to check all of the equip[ment and much to our surprise everything works fine. (anwer to pray)
The drive to these remote villages was very interesting. We crossed dry river beds, some creeks with water, and for the most part drove on sandy, dusty donkey paths.
We also saw women in the fields winnowing the grain in the same manner as bible times.
We saw the "women with leaves" at a small stream but were respectful of their culture and did not take photos.
at the conclusion of the seminar we were invited to the pastor's home for food. We sat in the shade of the front porch of their mud hut. In our company were a goat, chickens and lizards (small ones). When the meal was finished we were presented with a gift..............the "live goat". He had a rope on his neck and he went in the back of the truck with several other people who were hitching a ride closer to their homes. As were are in the habit of doing we again ran out of gas. The young man in charge of the goat was sent walking for a jerry can of gas. This meant the ladies (plus a baby) were left in charge of the goat. To recieve a goat as a gift in the African culture is a very high honour. We delivered the goat to the CMO bible school where he was prepared for a meal.
On our passage out, we saw a group of nomads called the Fulani tribe. They live in collapsible straw "igloo" style huts.
The drive to these remote villages was very interesting. We crossed dry river beds, some creeks with water, and for the most part drove on sandy, dusty donkey paths.
We also saw women in the fields winnowing the grain in the same manner as bible times.
We saw the "women with leaves" at a small stream but were respectful of their culture and did not take photos.
at the conclusion of the seminar we were invited to the pastor's home for food. We sat in the shade of the front porch of their mud hut. In our company were a goat, chickens and lizards (small ones). When the meal was finished we were presented with a gift..............the "live goat". He had a rope on his neck and he went in the back of the truck with several other people who were hitching a ride closer to their homes. As were are in the habit of doing we again ran out of gas. The young man in charge of the goat was sent walking for a jerry can of gas. This meant the ladies (plus a baby) were left in charge of the goat. To recieve a goat as a gift in the African culture is a very high honour. We delivered the goat to the CMO bible school where he was prepared for a meal.
On our passage out, we saw a group of nomads called the Fulani tribe. They live in collapsible straw "igloo" style huts.
Thursday March 31st
While in Michika we were guests of Peter. This was a lovely home and not the traditional mud hut. He offers his home as a base for missionaries and is a special friend of Bitrus and Monica.
A delicacy in NE Nigeria is fried grasshopper and Peter had these available for our morning breakfast. They are called "desert shrimp" and curry is sprinkled on them............they really crunch.
On this day we travelled north towards Niger and Chad. This was another mountain area. The Cameroon Mountains in the west (previous trip) are similar to the Great Smokey Mountains in the USA. The church was in an open field and only a few homes were visible in the distance. Six mission stations had been invited to attend the seminar. About 180 people attended and they trekked from upwards to 20 km each way to come. This was their annual conference and the theme for the year was "Peace". The generator was very small and we did not seem to have enough power to run the projector or the computer. We thought there was an issue with the power cord so gave the young men setting things up our power cord and adaptor. Apparently the adaptor would not work with the generator so they "hot wired" directly to the plug-in of the extension cord. Not a good plan.............the projector appeared to have no power and the computer cable really started to smoke. We quickly pulled all of the stuff. God has a sense of humour because we realized after the fact that these people were illiterate and the power point would have been a distraction. Again Bitrus and another pastor did some interpretation..........tribal language to Hawse then to English for our benefit.
A delicacy in NE Nigeria is fried grasshopper and Peter had these available for our morning breakfast. They are called "desert shrimp" and curry is sprinkled on them............they really crunch.
On this day we travelled north towards Niger and Chad. This was another mountain area. The Cameroon Mountains in the west (previous trip) are similar to the Great Smokey Mountains in the USA. The church was in an open field and only a few homes were visible in the distance. Six mission stations had been invited to attend the seminar. About 180 people attended and they trekked from upwards to 20 km each way to come. This was their annual conference and the theme for the year was "Peace". The generator was very small and we did not seem to have enough power to run the projector or the computer. We thought there was an issue with the power cord so gave the young men setting things up our power cord and adaptor. Apparently the adaptor would not work with the generator so they "hot wired" directly to the plug-in of the extension cord. Not a good plan.............the projector appeared to have no power and the computer cable really started to smoke. We quickly pulled all of the stuff. God has a sense of humour because we realized after the fact that these people were illiterate and the power point would have been a distraction. Again Bitrus and another pastor did some interpretation..........tribal language to Hawse then to English for our benefit.
Wednesday continued....
The name of the village was Karasude and it was situated in the valley surrounded by rocky mountains. When we left we had several men in the back who needed a ride back to town. Our truck again had insufficient power for the hills and so everyone got out to push. Monica and I chose to walk up the hill and let the men do the pushing.
Pastor B was the interpretor for this seminar. Some spoke English, many spoke Hawse, the local language. The people really grasped the concept and we were blessed to hear their own reflections of how they could apply the teaching in their own personal situations.
Pastor B was the interpretor for this seminar. Some spoke English, many spoke Hawse, the local language. The people really grasped the concept and we were blessed to hear their own reflections of how they could apply the teaching in their own personal situations.
Wednesday March 30th
We travelled two hours to reach a very remote tribal village surrounded by mountains, very close to the Cameroon border. This was the main mission station where Biturs and Monica lived for 6 years. They started a school, pastored a church and trained people in basic literacy. Bitrus and Monica are very pleased with the ongoing growth of this mission station. Some of the original children have gone on the attend the bible school and have now returned to the station to be teachers at the primary school. We visited grades 1-6. The children in grades 5 and 6 are taught in English. Some of the children walk long distances to get to school. Two tiny girls, ages 7-8, walk 4 km each way (up and down the rugged mountain) to attend school. Many girls are not supported by their families but CMO has a support program for girls who desire to have an education. Even some very young children will take menial tasks to support themselves with school fees. The fees are about 4oo naira paid three times per year. This is about 8 dollars per year.
Pastor Bitrus asked the classes if they had seen a white person before and about half of the children had not seen a Caucasian before. They certainly did look at us very intently.
About 200 villagers are attending the local church........many parents are illiterate so the oral tradition of learning is very important.
At this location we also saw a well which had been dug by hand to a depth of 90 feet. A man was lowered down and filled a bucket with mud........very tedious work.
This was also the location of another seminar with about 200 people attending. This was more than the capacity of the church but everyone just crammed in. Outside temp was 43-45 degrees and the inside temp was HOT!
continued...............................
Pastor Bitrus asked the classes if they had seen a white person before and about half of the children had not seen a Caucasian before. They certainly did look at us very intently.
About 200 villagers are attending the local church........many parents are illiterate so the oral tradition of learning is very important.
At this location we also saw a well which had been dug by hand to a depth of 90 feet. A man was lowered down and filled a bucket with mud........very tedious work.
This was also the location of another seminar with about 200 people attending. This was more than the capacity of the church but everyone just crammed in. Outside temp was 43-45 degrees and the inside temp was HOT!
continued...............................
Tuesday March 29th
We travelled to see some rural villages and to see the work of CMO (Christ Missionary Outreach) which was founded by Pastor Bitrus Audu and his wife Monica. We visited a remote settlement of about 500 people. We visited with the local Pastor and his wife and their 8 children. They looked very young to have so many children. They were a lovely couple and we have some interesting pictures from their setting. We visited his church.............the church is growing. The church pews are concrete forms with no back. We also visited the local school. I was able to teach the children an action song. Many parents came to watch what was happening so re sang some of this new song for their enjoyment. They laughed heartily at the singing.
Later that afternoon we taught a seminar at the CMO bible school with about 65-70 participants. Students attend this bible school for one year of training if they can read and write. If the students lack basic literacy they first learn to read and write and may then spend 2-3 years of training.
Daily life is very challenging. Women spend huge amounts of time getting water, finding sticks for cooking, everything is very labour intensive. There is a lot of unemployment and many men simply congregate in groups under a shade tree while the women look after the needs of the family.
There are many children who do not attend school. Some are looking after the goats or cows and take them for long treks in search of food. Others cannot afford the school uniform or books and for some school is simply not a priority. There is no legislation making school mandatory.
We inadvertenly locked the keys in the car/truck after dinner. This was a major concern (no such thing as CAA)..........we were dependent upon the local folks coming to our rescue. When it was finally decided that the only alternative was to break the back window a small boy said he knew a man who could help. None of the adults knew this man but the little boy took them to his house. He was an autobody repair man and did have proper tools and was able to fish the wire to hook the latch.
We were blessed to meet so many people and to be welcomed into their homes/village. Prayers have been answered.
Later that afternoon we taught a seminar at the CMO bible school with about 65-70 participants. Students attend this bible school for one year of training if they can read and write. If the students lack basic literacy they first learn to read and write and may then spend 2-3 years of training.
Daily life is very challenging. Women spend huge amounts of time getting water, finding sticks for cooking, everything is very labour intensive. There is a lot of unemployment and many men simply congregate in groups under a shade tree while the women look after the needs of the family.
There are many children who do not attend school. Some are looking after the goats or cows and take them for long treks in search of food. Others cannot afford the school uniform or books and for some school is simply not a priority. There is no legislation making school mandatory.
We inadvertenly locked the keys in the car/truck after dinner. This was a major concern (no such thing as CAA)..........we were dependent upon the local folks coming to our rescue. When it was finally decided that the only alternative was to break the back window a small boy said he knew a man who could help. None of the adults knew this man but the little boy took them to his house. He was an autobody repair man and did have proper tools and was able to fish the wire to hook the latch.
We were blessed to meet so many people and to be welcomed into their homes/village. Prayers have been answered.
Mopnday March 28th
MONDAY
We left early in the morning because the temperatures are cooler at that time. The drive was 600km to Michika and we passed through 5 states (Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Adamawa). Initially the road was good but it got progressively worse. After about 300 km it was bone crushing, teeth rattling bad. It was like being on a roller coaster with massive bumps and hollows in the road. Many people choose to drive in the ditch, which is dry at this time of year. We cannot think of anything that compares in Canada.
We began to have car trouble after we ran out of gas.........at times there was no power to manouver the hills. We were stopped for one reason or another three times, so arrived later than planned. In total the journey took 13 hours.
The scenery was beautiful and very hot. We saw a variety of topography changes from mountainous, grasslands to Florida palm trees. The villages and towns were interesting. Most homes were built of mud mixed with dry grass or cement blocks. Each family has their own enclosed compound with a small building for crops, another for chickens and goats, plus living quarters and cooking area.
We left early in the morning because the temperatures are cooler at that time. The drive was 600km to Michika and we passed through 5 states (Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Adamawa). Initially the road was good but it got progressively worse. After about 300 km it was bone crushing, teeth rattling bad. It was like being on a roller coaster with massive bumps and hollows in the road. Many people choose to drive in the ditch, which is dry at this time of year. We cannot think of anything that compares in Canada.
We began to have car trouble after we ran out of gas.........at times there was no power to manouver the hills. We were stopped for one reason or another three times, so arrived later than planned. In total the journey took 13 hours.
The scenery was beautiful and very hot. We saw a variety of topography changes from mountainous, grasslands to Florida palm trees. The villages and towns were interesting. Most homes were built of mud mixed with dry grass or cement blocks. Each family has their own enclosed compound with a small building for crops, another for chickens and goats, plus living quarters and cooking area.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
with thanks to our Nigerian friends
We have been very blessed by our Nigerian friends. Both Pastor E and Pastor B have been amazing. We certainly have enjoyed their sense of humour and the amount of time that we have been together has been excellent. Pastor E took time out of his week to drive us to Kaduna. Both pastors have a very clear understanding of the Peacemaker materials and desire to continue to build peacemaking in their communitites. Pastor B's wife and family have blessed us with delicious meals. We know they have reduced the "hotness" for our benefit.
Both families have hosted us in their homes for dinner but many of the meals are being delivered to us at the guest house. Everyone has been wonderful, even the security guards at the compound.
Love John and Shirley
Both families have hosted us in their homes for dinner but many of the meals are being delivered to us at the guest house. Everyone has been wonderful, even the security guards at the compound.
Love John and Shirley
continued....
The drive home was interesting. We were two hours late leaving and SIM has a rule that pastors and missionaries are not allowed to drive after dark. SIM rules also have a speed limite rule (not over 100 km) Pastor E was teasing us and said we would travel by ECWA rules (no speed restriction) so we would not have to break the SIM rule about driving after dark. We arrived safely in Jos, tired, hot and dusty. We were quick to enjoy a cold shower with the assistance of a bucket.
We attended ECWA church services this morning and Pastor E preached for 50 minutes. It was an excellent sermon and he reminded us of Pastor Don who sometimes breaks into a song in the middle of a sermon. Meet and greet with 500+ people was very lively.....again we were blessed by the praise and worship.
This afternoon we are getting organized for our trip to the hill tribes of Michika, travelling 600 km. Pastor B has borrowed a Nissan 4x4 vehicle for the journey. We leave at 6:00 am om Monday. The terrain is very rough with lots of hill tribes and small villages. We are still teaching the Peacemaker materials but probably under a tree. The tribal people have been invited to congregate in several different settings and the church building will be too small and too hot. We will be hiking to get to some of these villages. Please pray for stamina as the temperatures are very hot once again. (mid 40"s). Please also pray that we have access to water....we have a filter with us but we have not yet used it and in an emergency we can use it but our Canadian mentality prefers bottled water.
We have been told that we may encounter snakes. A very kind gentleman told us this morning after church that the government has now provided the tribal villages with anti-venom for snake bites. Please pray for safety and that we do not have any close encounters. They also have large lizards 3-4 feet long. We return on Friday to Jos because Saturday is a no travel day due to elections beginning on April 2nd. We will not have access to Pastor E's computer for at least a week but we shall try to blog when we return.
Blessings to all
John and Shirley
We attended ECWA church services this morning and Pastor E preached for 50 minutes. It was an excellent sermon and he reminded us of Pastor Don who sometimes breaks into a song in the middle of a sermon. Meet and greet with 500+ people was very lively.....again we were blessed by the praise and worship.
This afternoon we are getting organized for our trip to the hill tribes of Michika, travelling 600 km. Pastor B has borrowed a Nissan 4x4 vehicle for the journey. We leave at 6:00 am om Monday. The terrain is very rough with lots of hill tribes and small villages. We are still teaching the Peacemaker materials but probably under a tree. The tribal people have been invited to congregate in several different settings and the church building will be too small and too hot. We will be hiking to get to some of these villages. Please pray for stamina as the temperatures are very hot once again. (mid 40"s). Please also pray that we have access to water....we have a filter with us but we have not yet used it and in an emergency we can use it but our Canadian mentality prefers bottled water.
We have been told that we may encounter snakes. A very kind gentleman told us this morning after church that the government has now provided the tribal villages with anti-venom for snake bites. Please pray for safety and that we do not have any close encounters. They also have large lizards 3-4 feet long. We return on Friday to Jos because Saturday is a no travel day due to elections beginning on April 2nd. We will not have access to Pastor E's computer for at least a week but we shall try to blog when we return.
Blessings to all
John and Shirley
Sunday
Kaduna Conference
We (along with Pastor Emmanuel and Pastor Bitrus)had a long drive from Jos to Kaduna on Thursday (300 km), most of the road was good pavement but tthere was one section that was rough. We stopped part way to visit with the Pridham sisters who have been ministering for 25 years at the Widow's School. It is very difficult living conditions, as compared to Canada and our prayers are with them. We met the school principal and staff. There are currently about 60 widows at the school but sometimes they have as many as 100. The widows range in age from 16 - 35 and they can spend as much as 3 years at the school learning basic literacy and a domestic skill such as knitting or sewing. These skills can translate into a means of earning some income in the future. The husband of the VP at the widow's school died 3 weeks ago and they are unsure of the families response. It is customary for the grieving family to take the children away from the wife and also to take any property or possessions that the husband may have purchased. Please hold them in prayer.
As we travelled we passed some very rugged terrain but people were still farming in spite of the rocks. Women in particular have a very difficult life, especially in the rural areas. We witnessed a lady carrying a very large container of gravel on her head at a construction site. Many women were searching for sticks and walked miles to find this only to have to walk back to their home or small village with wood for cooking.
The attendance at the Kaduna conference was excellent. Bitrus has hoped to have 30-40 people but in actual fact we had between 75-80. About 1/3 were pastors and another 1/3 church elders. They are desiring to become Peacemaking Churches. The violence in Kaduna finished a few years ago and the people have been living in relative peace.
Kaduna is a city 3 - 4 times larger than Toronto with no high rise buildings, a few 3 story buildings, no public transit, no street lights, no stop signs..........imagine driving in the city. The hotel was adequate but many amenities that we take for granted were lacking. We found the city to be vewry dusty and there was no breeze during our time there. The temperatures were in the mid 40"s . We were given a gift of fresh eggs by an elderly gentleman who had attended the conference. We were humbled by his generousity.
to be continued............
We (along with Pastor Emmanuel and Pastor Bitrus)had a long drive from Jos to Kaduna on Thursday (300 km), most of the road was good pavement but tthere was one section that was rough. We stopped part way to visit with the Pridham sisters who have been ministering for 25 years at the Widow's School. It is very difficult living conditions, as compared to Canada and our prayers are with them. We met the school principal and staff. There are currently about 60 widows at the school but sometimes they have as many as 100. The widows range in age from 16 - 35 and they can spend as much as 3 years at the school learning basic literacy and a domestic skill such as knitting or sewing. These skills can translate into a means of earning some income in the future. The husband of the VP at the widow's school died 3 weeks ago and they are unsure of the families response. It is customary for the grieving family to take the children away from the wife and also to take any property or possessions that the husband may have purchased. Please hold them in prayer.
As we travelled we passed some very rugged terrain but people were still farming in spite of the rocks. Women in particular have a very difficult life, especially in the rural areas. We witnessed a lady carrying a very large container of gravel on her head at a construction site. Many women were searching for sticks and walked miles to find this only to have to walk back to their home or small village with wood for cooking.
The attendance at the Kaduna conference was excellent. Bitrus has hoped to have 30-40 people but in actual fact we had between 75-80. About 1/3 were pastors and another 1/3 church elders. They are desiring to become Peacemaking Churches. The violence in Kaduna finished a few years ago and the people have been living in relative peace.
Kaduna is a city 3 - 4 times larger than Toronto with no high rise buildings, a few 3 story buildings, no public transit, no street lights, no stop signs..........imagine driving in the city. The hotel was adequate but many amenities that we take for granted were lacking. We found the city to be vewry dusty and there was no breeze during our time there. The temperatures were in the mid 40"s . We were given a gift of fresh eggs by an elderly gentleman who had attended the conference. We were humbled by his generousity.
to be continued............
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
continuation of previous post...........
Tomorrow we are leaving early in the morning to travel to Kaduna. We are stopping to have lunch with the Pridham sisters. We were disappointed to miss our lunch engagement on Monday and have been invited to their small village called Samar-Kataf for lunch at their home. This village is only about 3 km off the main highway. Both PAstor Bitrus and Pastor Emmanuel will be trvelling with us. They find it strange that we are visiting and bring a parcel to people that we do not know personally and have never met.
Please pray for safety on the road, and for the teaching of the seminars at the "Good News High Cost Church" in Kaduna. We have been told the temperatures will be in the 40's so please pray also that we will have the stamina to withstand these temperatures.
Nagode da adu'a ku (thank you for your prayers)
John and Shirley
Please pray for safety on the road, and for the teaching of the seminars at the "Good News High Cost Church" in Kaduna. We have been told the temperatures will be in the 40's so please pray also that we will have the stamina to withstand these temperatures.
Nagode da adu'a ku (thank you for your prayers)
John and Shirley
Sanu (hello)
Mun kawo maku gaisuwa daga Nigeria
(We bring greetings from Nigeria)
We are learning some of the "hawse" language (pronounced house - aa)
Yester day was a quiet day near ur community and we enjoyed walking around the compound in the morning. People are very freindly and always willing to chat with us. We met a lovely lady at the counselling centre (Ann - we thought of you..... you should come here). The same building is housing a medical clinic with capabilites fr lab work. The construction of the building is completed and they are still waiting for the furnishings. The counsellor's offoce had a sand box for children's play thereapy.
Many of the students here do plan to go to the USA for their PhD and then return home to Nigeria to aid their own communities or to teach here. There are many, many churches and church organizations in and around the city of Jos.
The Canadian embassy is doing an amazing job of keeping track of our whereabouts. We have had numerous email communications and when they initially could not find us they were calling other Canadian missionaries asking if they knew us and where we were. The information had been provided on our embassy registration but they could not reach us by phone or email. We are not sure why the email did not get us connected. Anyway they spent much of Sunday trying to trace us and on Monday we exchanges several emails with Ed Cashman (the ambassador stationed in Abuja). Ed had also called Doreen - head of SIM (mission agancy) thinking we were part of an SIM team. Doreen called the provost, the president of JETS (Jos ECWA Theological Seminary) whom we had met at our seminars on the week-end. This all led to a visit from Andy Hardings yesterday. He is called a "warden" and represents the ambassador in the area of Jos. He had been called by Ed and asked to visit us to ensure our location and our wellness. Andy has lived in Jos for almost 30 years and also spent time in Canada (BC), although he is originally from Amsterdam. He has many roles as a missionary in Jos, one of which is caring for folks such as us. The Nigerians are very impressed at the concern of the Canadian government for our well-being. They have told us that the Nigerian government would never look for their own people in the same way the Canadian government is looking for us. It made us feel very proud to be Canadian.
In the afternoon we we went to a rural community about 30 minutes from the compound. It is on the edge of the city. As we travelled we passed through an area called (by the locals) the "mechanics village". It is miles of broken down vehicles and open air repair shops for cars and trucks. We saw evidence of burned out over turned vehicles. The people in this area are very poor.
We travelled to a church to teach the peacemaker seminars.Originally we were to teach Monday - Wednesday but Monday was cancelled due to "skirmishes". We have condensed our materials into two days of teaching. About 100 people attended yesterday's seminar and their questions indicated to us that they understood the teaching and could make application to their own life situations.
(We bring greetings from Nigeria)
We are learning some of the "hawse" language (pronounced house - aa)
Yester day was a quiet day near ur community and we enjoyed walking around the compound in the morning. People are very freindly and always willing to chat with us. We met a lovely lady at the counselling centre (Ann - we thought of you..... you should come here). The same building is housing a medical clinic with capabilites fr lab work. The construction of the building is completed and they are still waiting for the furnishings. The counsellor's offoce had a sand box for children's play thereapy.
Many of the students here do plan to go to the USA for their PhD and then return home to Nigeria to aid their own communities or to teach here. There are many, many churches and church organizations in and around the city of Jos.
The Canadian embassy is doing an amazing job of keeping track of our whereabouts. We have had numerous email communications and when they initially could not find us they were calling other Canadian missionaries asking if they knew us and where we were. The information had been provided on our embassy registration but they could not reach us by phone or email. We are not sure why the email did not get us connected. Anyway they spent much of Sunday trying to trace us and on Monday we exchanges several emails with Ed Cashman (the ambassador stationed in Abuja). Ed had also called Doreen - head of SIM (mission agancy) thinking we were part of an SIM team. Doreen called the provost, the president of JETS (Jos ECWA Theological Seminary) whom we had met at our seminars on the week-end. This all led to a visit from Andy Hardings yesterday. He is called a "warden" and represents the ambassador in the area of Jos. He had been called by Ed and asked to visit us to ensure our location and our wellness. Andy has lived in Jos for almost 30 years and also spent time in Canada (BC), although he is originally from Amsterdam. He has many roles as a missionary in Jos, one of which is caring for folks such as us. The Nigerians are very impressed at the concern of the Canadian government for our well-being. They have told us that the Nigerian government would never look for their own people in the same way the Canadian government is looking for us. It made us feel very proud to be Canadian.
In the afternoon we we went to a rural community about 30 minutes from the compound. It is on the edge of the city. As we travelled we passed through an area called (by the locals) the "mechanics village". It is miles of broken down vehicles and open air repair shops for cars and trucks. We saw evidence of burned out over turned vehicles. The people in this area are very poor.
We travelled to a church to teach the peacemaker seminars.Originally we were to teach Monday - Wednesday but Monday was cancelled due to "skirmishes". We have condensed our materials into two days of teaching. About 100 people attended yesterday's seminar and their questions indicated to us that they understood the teaching and could make application to their own life situations.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Interesting day
The weather here is beautiful. Sunny and warm......rather hot 32-35 degrees. When wel eave Jos on Thursday for Kaduna we will have warmer temperatures due to a lower elevation. Then the temp will be around 40 degrees. Jos is at a higher elevation and situated on a very large plateau thus cooler.
The seminars at ECWA church were well attended and very successful. John preached on Sunday at two services which were also well attended (over 500). John preached becasue it is not acceptable for a woman to preach. Pastor Emmanuel, the Sr. Pastor is very much in favour of women pastors but some of the elders are not. It is interesting because many women with theological degrees (PhD) teach the pastors at the seminary.
We had planned to have lunch with the Pridham's today at a small restauant that they frequent. We have changed these plans because of local violence. We have seen smoke billowing from a burned car and heard guns and even some machine gun fire from our front porch at the guest house. It was 1 -2 km away but still very evident to us at the house. We continue to be well looked after here at the house. There is 24 hour security and also a house attendant (Jonathan) who is wonderful. He even offered to do our laundry. Pastor Bitrus' wife Monica is bringing prepared food to us. We are in a safe location here.
We were invited to Pastor Emmanuel's home last night with his wife Lydia. We watched the news and saw the police report aboout yesterday's violence. Pastor Emmanuel lives on the ECWA compound so it was very close to the guest house. Yesterday two men on a motorcycle had a bomb and "blew themselves up" when the bomb detonated before they got to their intended target. Since it was a Sunday morning it is presumed that the target was one of two nearby churches. This was in another section of Jos. Bitrus' daughter says this is now on facebook.
John thought we should go closer and do an "I-report video" for CNN. (just kidding). People here climb the water tower for a better view of what is happening.
Our itinerary changes frequently and we are very flexible so this is not a problem for us. We are currently scheduled to do an extra 3 day seminar for a specific church that could not attend the week-end seminars. This new teaching will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but this may also change due to the current events of the day.
Both yesterday and today we have had lots of email communication with the Canadian embassy located in Abuja. We have been surprised by the contact. They are definitely keeping us informed and also wanting to know where we are and that we are safe. They had tried phoning all day yesterday but we had the phone turned off most of the day because we were at church, had afternoon naps and then out to dinner. We check John's blackberry frequently and have told them to contact us via email and the blackberry.
We have borrowed Pastor Emmanuels computer to do this posting so we are not sure when we will be able to make another posting..............but please keep checking.
Love to all
John and Shirley
The seminars at ECWA church were well attended and very successful. John preached on Sunday at two services which were also well attended (over 500). John preached becasue it is not acceptable for a woman to preach. Pastor Emmanuel, the Sr. Pastor is very much in favour of women pastors but some of the elders are not. It is interesting because many women with theological degrees (PhD) teach the pastors at the seminary.
We had planned to have lunch with the Pridham's today at a small restauant that they frequent. We have changed these plans because of local violence. We have seen smoke billowing from a burned car and heard guns and even some machine gun fire from our front porch at the guest house. It was 1 -2 km away but still very evident to us at the house. We continue to be well looked after here at the house. There is 24 hour security and also a house attendant (Jonathan) who is wonderful. He even offered to do our laundry. Pastor Bitrus' wife Monica is bringing prepared food to us. We are in a safe location here.
We were invited to Pastor Emmanuel's home last night with his wife Lydia. We watched the news and saw the police report aboout yesterday's violence. Pastor Emmanuel lives on the ECWA compound so it was very close to the guest house. Yesterday two men on a motorcycle had a bomb and "blew themselves up" when the bomb detonated before they got to their intended target. Since it was a Sunday morning it is presumed that the target was one of two nearby churches. This was in another section of Jos. Bitrus' daughter says this is now on facebook.
John thought we should go closer and do an "I-report video" for CNN. (just kidding). People here climb the water tower for a better view of what is happening.
Our itinerary changes frequently and we are very flexible so this is not a problem for us. We are currently scheduled to do an extra 3 day seminar for a specific church that could not attend the week-end seminars. This new teaching will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but this may also change due to the current events of the day.
Both yesterday and today we have had lots of email communication with the Canadian embassy located in Abuja. We have been surprised by the contact. They are definitely keeping us informed and also wanting to know where we are and that we are safe. They had tried phoning all day yesterday but we had the phone turned off most of the day because we were at church, had afternoon naps and then out to dinner. We check John's blackberry frequently and have told them to contact us via email and the blackberry.
We have borrowed Pastor Emmanuels computer to do this posting so we are not sure when we will be able to make another posting..............but please keep checking.
Love to all
John and Shirley
Friday, 18 March 2011
teaching day
Hi
We have had a day of rest and review of our materials. Our teaching begins at 4:00 and goes into the early evening. We have a meeting with the media and possibly government officials before we start the seminars.
This is new information as of this morning. It is important that the local government officials see what ECWA is doing to aid in the conflict in the area.
Blessings to all
John and Shirley
ps- I tried to load some pictures but Pastor Emmanuel's computer said there was a security risk.....so there may not be pictures forthcoming unless someone can tell me a different way to load pictures from my "USB" key...........
We have had a day of rest and review of our materials. Our teaching begins at 4:00 and goes into the early evening. We have a meeting with the media and possibly government officials before we start the seminars.
This is new information as of this morning. It is important that the local government officials see what ECWA is doing to aid in the conflict in the area.
Blessings to all
John and Shirley
ps- I tried to load some pictures but Pastor Emmanuel's computer said there was a security risk.....so there may not be pictures forthcoming unless someone can tell me a different way to load pictures from my "USB" key...........
Thursday, 17 March 2011
teaching day
We are behind in our blog information because we really lack internet here in Nigeria. Hydro is intermittent and we have no means of connecting to the internet using our computer. Currently Pastor Emmanuel is letting us use his computer for this post. We are being treated extremely well by our hosts.
Yesterday we drove from Abuja to Jos, aporximately 300 km. We had numerous security checks along the road and there were numerous obstacles placed on the road to ensure drivers were forced to slow. We have some pictures of logs laying on the road and you must weave around them .....feels like a NASCAR driver at times. As we approached Jos there were many more security checks and we witnessed burned out cars and homes as a result of recent violence. The clashes are political, religious and economic.....various tribal groups. Apparently it often begins by "swarming" at night. Certainly nighttime is when many people are out and about in the streets and road side markets.
Our itinerary is changed slightly. The first election occurs on April 2nd and prior to this there are political campaigns and we do not want to get caught up in the gathering of large crowds. Rather than fly from Yola we may take an extra day and drive. We may also do some treking in the mountain area to reach some of the remote tribal groups as seen in the video that we showed at church.
Here it is customary for a man to preach and so John will do the preaching at the Sunday services and we co-teach the Peacemaker teaching opportunities. We are also teaching an addition series of Peacemaker materials on Mon, Tues and Wed............this was a request from one of the churches that was not able to come to the first conference and they wanted the teaching........... we have a very busy schedule.
Blessings to all and thank you for your continued prayers. John and Shirley
ps - I was going to post a picture or two but the camera battery was dead because I left it on by mistake....maybe another post
Yesterday we drove from Abuja to Jos, aporximately 300 km. We had numerous security checks along the road and there were numerous obstacles placed on the road to ensure drivers were forced to slow. We have some pictures of logs laying on the road and you must weave around them .....feels like a NASCAR driver at times. As we approached Jos there were many more security checks and we witnessed burned out cars and homes as a result of recent violence. The clashes are political, religious and economic.....various tribal groups. Apparently it often begins by "swarming" at night. Certainly nighttime is when many people are out and about in the streets and road side markets.
Our itinerary is changed slightly. The first election occurs on April 2nd and prior to this there are political campaigns and we do not want to get caught up in the gathering of large crowds. Rather than fly from Yola we may take an extra day and drive. We may also do some treking in the mountain area to reach some of the remote tribal groups as seen in the video that we showed at church.
Here it is customary for a man to preach and so John will do the preaching at the Sunday services and we co-teach the Peacemaker teaching opportunities. We are also teaching an addition series of Peacemaker materials on Mon, Tues and Wed............this was a request from one of the churches that was not able to come to the first conference and they wanted the teaching........... we have a very busy schedule.
Blessings to all and thank you for your continued prayers. John and Shirley
ps - I was going to post a picture or two but the camera battery was dead because I left it on by mistake....maybe another post
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
First hurdle.............
Hi folks
We are at Toronto airport. We have checked our luggage but had some issues. Our checked baggage was all under weight and the attendant sent it through before checking our carry on luggage. We needed to do some rearranging because our carry on luggage was at the max............it would have been easy to take stuff from our carry on and place it in our checked luggage but it was already sent into "space".
The attendant told us to rearrange items so we basically stuffed my backpack into John's backpack. We had read the rules carfully and thought we were ok with one business bag and one personal bag each. Our interpretation of a personal bag was incorrect. After rearranging we had the same amount of stuff just all in one backpack. Instead of two skinny backpacks we had one over stuffed backpack but it looked like less than before. We then went through customs and waited in the "holding tank" for our flight. While waiting we noticed that other people had 4 carry on bags exactly the same size as our bags. We assume they had a different attendant with a different perspective. Anyway we have 2 business bags and one over stuffed backpack so it is easy to manage........all is well that ends well.
Our checked luggage goes directly to Nigeria so that is a blessing too.
Shirley and John
We are at Toronto airport. We have checked our luggage but had some issues. Our checked baggage was all under weight and the attendant sent it through before checking our carry on luggage. We needed to do some rearranging because our carry on luggage was at the max............it would have been easy to take stuff from our carry on and place it in our checked luggage but it was already sent into "space".
The attendant told us to rearrange items so we basically stuffed my backpack into John's backpack. We had read the rules carfully and thought we were ok with one business bag and one personal bag each. Our interpretation of a personal bag was incorrect. After rearranging we had the same amount of stuff just all in one backpack. Instead of two skinny backpacks we had one over stuffed backpack but it looked like less than before. We then went through customs and waited in the "holding tank" for our flight. While waiting we noticed that other people had 4 carry on bags exactly the same size as our bags. We assume they had a different attendant with a different perspective. Anyway we have 2 business bags and one over stuffed backpack so it is easy to manage........all is well that ends well.
Our checked luggage goes directly to Nigeria so that is a blessing too.
Shirley and John
today is departure day...........
I think the Lord is preparing the way for lots of sleep while on the plane later this evening. I can't think of any other reason why I have been lying awake for over an hour. I also have thought of some other items to preach about and will write dowm my thoughts or His thoughts before daylight. I think today will be a long day of "just waiting" for the plane to actually "lift off".
Blessings to all
Shirley
Blessings to all
Shirley
Monday, 14 March 2011
one more sleep............
Hello everyone
Thank you for being part of our network of friends. We have a number of people who have expressed an interest in praying and keeping up to date about our travels and work in Nigeria. We do not have everyone's email and to make things easier we have set up a blog where we hope to post pictures and keep everyone up to date about a variety of things that may be happening.
There may be times when we do not have access to internet and will need to rely on John's blackberry for some email contact. We hope that we can post (pictures or messages) on a regular basis.
When we looked at the blog this morning, we noticed that we had friends already.............John is his humorous voice said...."I didn't know we had two friends."
If you want to join as a friend the process is fairly simple...........just follow the sign-in and follow the instructions (basically you need an email address and create a password)
You can read the blog without signing in by just using the above blog address.
Shirley
Sunday, 13 March 2011
two more sleeps..........
Just two more sleeps until we depart. We are excited to know that we have many prayer partners with whom we are sharing this experience.
Nothing that we experience will compare at all to what the people in Japan are experiencing. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
We live in a troubled time and our strength and hope comes from Him.
Blessings
Shirley
Nothing that we experience will compare at all to what the people in Japan are experiencing. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
We live in a troubled time and our strength and hope comes from Him.
Blessings
Shirley
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Saturday March 12, 2011
John is busy getting things finished at the office. I am getting the last minute things done at home. Tomorrow is our commissioning at church.
This is my first time using a blog so I am just trying to get it figured out before we depart for Nigeria on Tuesday.
Blessings to all.
This is my first time using a blog so I am just trying to get it figured out before we depart for Nigeria on Tuesday.
Blessings to all.
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