Blessings in Nigeria (A Tip of the Iceberg)

· Brandon was in the hospital for 2 days in what turned out to be an anaerobic bacterial infection of his stomach. Each member of the team was hit by a similar or the same infection. The Lord brought us through, and in spite of sickness, used it to build many relationships and witness to nurses, etc. I (Matthew) was blessed to have a long Bible study with Brandon, and share some of our own deeper stories in life. I’m glad for the time we spent together.
· Heheheh, much of the transportation that we used in Nigeria, was via motorcycles. Although there were a couple of crazy bike drivers, and a few incidents happened, (ie. Brandon got into a wreck with Lindsay where the driver was going too fast and ran into Lindsay’s bike.) God watched over the team and provided safe travel.
· With the overflowing volume of kids that showed up to VBS, we had enough VBS supplies and left-overs to give to the church and orphanage. Instead of feeding the 5000, we call it supplying the 1000.
· The proprietor of the Calvary Chapel – One Man Village gave us the building free, which allowed for the VBS and Galatians conference. She and her family also had the women over for tea, movies, and fed them. She made fresh squeezed OJ the second day, of which I though was just the greatest thing since, well, the last time I had OJ before leaving J
· Nigerian’s helped out when we were at the end of ourselves. This was at the end of the 2nd weak of VBS, where the Nigerian’s picked up where we couldn’t. The team was exhausted at the end of the last day, waiting for donuts to be delivered. We had 350 kids to continue to interact with while waiting, but just when we couldn’t do it anymore, some men from the congregation stepped up and took over.
· God gave words for teaching many times, whether it be after a drama, where Josh said he had never been so bold, or at the Galatians conference, where the Lord spoke through each and every speaker to bring many to a saving grace understanding of the gospel.
· There were many neat relationships created through the women’s conference and discipleship.
· The team was able to bless Josh with provision of supplies such as a generator, fans, and chairs which will be used in later house studies.
· We had travel guiding from many natives in Abuja such as Sam, Ok, Prince, and Mama Rose. It was a blessing that they were there to help us get around.
· I was so blessed to have the light-hearted dancing and fun during fellowship to start off the trip. I learned a lot about the culture, and was blessed to get to know some of the church members.
· God brought quiet moments with the kids when needed in children’s church, VBS, and otherwise.
· The Lord was faithful in giving the words during the Women’s conference to really touch the lives of women.
· Mama Rose made dinner once and brought it to the market when she helped to pick out fabric for dresses.
· Pastor Godfrey expressed that he saw so much genuine love in our group.
· The owner of the Green Apple Kitchen told us that she was going to miss us.
· Do the math, but we had exactly ½ donut left after feeding the 250 kids. That was a sign of provision.
· We could see in the faces of Nigerian’s that lives were touched through drama and Josh’s message after the drama.
· Falicia, a member of the CC – One Man Village, was hospitable to the women. She had them over for coffee, tea, and biscuits.
· There were over 300 kids, with over 40:1, and yet it all came through.
· The Nigerian culture was so included us in their community. They have such a sense of personable love that one cannot mistake.
· The Lord gave us energy to play with the children even though we felt tired.
· The children just wanted attention and love. They were literally climbing the walls outside and looking through at us as we prepared for VBS. There were such smiles on the children’s faces when we played with them and loved them.
· The Lord taught us trust and contentment through the people here.
· The Lord gave us grace and flexibility to live together and have a great time together (14 people in one house).

Chad's Thoughts

I hope this letter finds you all doing well. I just wanted to take a minute now that I have email, to say how HONORED I was to lead you guys to Nigeria. I know that I could have never imagined all that happened, whether the different sicknesses, the 350+ kids at VBS, or the precious new family we have in Nigeria. God's hand was truly with us....He is so faithful all the time!!!!

I was so blessed to lead such a HUMBLE team! It was wonderful to see God work through us and in us, and also to see that He had placed each person on the team for a purpose! I have never been apart of such a special team where you see God's faithfulness and power each moment of each day!

I am actually getting teary-eyed while I write you all (no joke). God has given me a special place in my heart for each one of you! It blows my mind how each and every person on the team continually carried each other's burdens. I know that the example of Humility given in Philippians 2 was met!!!! Thanks for taking it easy on me as well. I know at times I didn't have it all together, or that things went according to plan. I am glad you all put up with me and that you were FLEXIBLE! Thank you!

I hope that you all have a great week. Lets keep the communication going now that we are back. As family we need to continue carrying each others burdens...not just when we are in Nigeria. I know that for those I have talked to it has been hard adjusting to AMERICAN culture again. I pray that you rest in the arms of Jesus. He will give each of us the strength and He will show us how to serve now that we are home. I love the fact that God is in control and he will show us our next step in life if we wait on him. I pray we can all be faithful to where he has called us, until he shows us otherwise!

Sorry for the long email, I wanted to talk about adjusting back into America before we returned, but didn't get a chance. I am looking forward to seeing you all soon and want to set up a time for a reunion dinner around the 17th of September when Lindsey is home! We can have a time of debriefing then, prayer, worship, and family fun!!!! Can someone help with this...Maybe at the Gray's again?

Well, I love you guys and miss you!
In Christ,
Chad

Michael's Final Thoughts

Our team prayed that we would be the hands and feet of Jesus and we were. For three weeks, I walked in Jesus' footprints as I took the gospel to the ends of the earth. For three weeks, I was Jesus' hands touching the desolate and annointing the sick, loving on the children and caring for the poor, Jesus' words speaking encouragement and petitioning God on the behalf of the weak, Jesus' smile welcoming the little children, Jesus' eyes that broke through the language barrier with a deep love, Jesus' tears as I sat with the beaten down and broken-hearted. I experienced a humility that goes beyond any words as I was brought people desperate for a miracle and looking at me to pray the prayer that would bring it. Crushed in spirit when I stood up from this meager prayer and saw no obvious change in this person's life as their eyes welled up with tears and their last hopes seemingly dashed with what seemed like an unanswered prayer. Yet, through it all an unshakable faith weld up within me. I got a small glimple of what Jesus must have felt as the crowds pushed in on him yearning for just a moment of His time and just a word of healing and hope.

What a contrast to the life I've always known. What to do with this new perspective, or should I say revelation, of what really matters to God in this world today. And, how do I weave what I experienced back into this culture that seems to me today to be even more clearly in complete contrast to God's call for His people. I don't want to step into my old footprints for I can't now that I have had this surpassing revelation. Now that I am so keenly aware of the way billions of people live day-to-day, how do I go back to a culture that's focus is on movie star's weight loss and doggy daycares? I can hear the devil laughing at me right now as he knows he has this very affluent culture's time wrapped-up in the most worthless of causes.

Lord, help me to walk in the ways you've prepared in advance for my life. Help me to step thoughtfully and carefully back into the life you called me to. Give me words to teach my children of what really matters in their lives to you. Give me grace with their naive viewpoint. Give me patience with my friends and family's gluttonous love of material possessions. Forgive me for my part in this as well. Give me words to speak to those I come in contact with that I may speak in balance of truth and grace. Teach me what you would have me do with this call on my life that is so surprisingly new to me yet prepared so long ago by you. Walk with me and be the lamp unto my feet so I may step back into my life and my family in America in your ways. But, seer upon my heart the cry of your people in far off places. Never again let my eyes rest in luxury as my brothers and sisters lie in the cold with nothing to eat. Fan into flame the spark you lit upon my heart and life in Africa. Let me not forget the joy in the midst of suffering. May I be as hungry as these people are for prayer, rejecting the pride that keeps me from asking for it and begin to seek it as hidden treasure. I give you my life as an offering for it is all I have to give. Use all of me (all my heart, all my soul and all my strength) for your kingdom work. May I walk in the faith spoken of in Hebrews 11.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12

Sunday @ Michelle's House

I (Michelle) went to Costco and got steaks and roast beef galore, so if anyone is missing sitting around in a living room talking with everyone, please feel free to come to my house on Sunday after church. And eat yourself silly, take a nap, enjoy the AC, and use my flushing toilet and shower, if you want to! I miss you all so much, but I am so grateful for the times we had! Let me know if you feel like coming, or just show up.

After this gracious invitation, a group gathered Sunday Night at Michelle's house, ate, exchanged pictures, and watched Tommy Boy.

I bet it was a great time, so thanks Michelle.
~MW

Amy's Thoughts

Hey everyone!

Man I miss you all so much! I just wanted to say Thankyou so much for all the prayers and support the last week! I have never felt so loved and taken care of, it touched my life in a way I can not describe. And thankyou for packing for me and taking care of all of my flight/bags!
I got back from the hospital yesterday and am feeling really good!
Praise the Lord. He has taught me so much through this trial. I don't know if I will be able to come tomarrow, I'm still working on resting but I do need phone numbers because I don't think I have many. I will be praying for you Michael! thankyou for sharing that letter. I definitely share in those thoughts.
**Also I know that Matthew has been pretty sick so please everyone be praying for him!

Team member in the Hospital

I spoke with Chad on the phone today, during our Sunday service here in Corvallis. Team members from Ibudan had arrived back safely to Abuja and things are going well as the team is in their last few days in Nigeria.

When I called I reached Chad and Matthew at teammate Amy Knight's bedside in a Nigerian hospital room. As best they know, she had an alergic reaction to medication that was given to take care of the bacterial related stomach problems. She broke out in hives andcollapsed at church. An adventurous ride to the hospital followed and all in all a scary ordeal, but it appears that Amy will be fine. I was glad to be able to talk with them on the phone, and hope that Amy was able to call mom at home and let her know she is alright.

Sounds like most other team members are doing better. However, I heard that even veteran missionary Josh Baley got hit this weekend with whatever bug it was that had nailed several team members. I was able to pray with Chad and know the whole team appreciates all the prayers they are getting from loved ones at home. (LL)

2nd VBS / Galatians Conference

We had the second VBS series at One Man Village this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We started out the first day by walking the village and inviting kids via word of mouth. After that we didn’t do any inviting, but watched the numbers of kids grow from 50 the first day to 225 the second day, finishing with 350 the third day. All of the kids lived within walking distance. That should give you an idea of the need for reaching kids here. This city is spread over a massive land area, which means that there are kids everywhere that we would love to be able to reach, but to have masses of kids within walking distance is the same theme wherever we go. It just shocks me the response that we have had by, in essence, pitching a tent, pulling out a guitar and a lesson plan. We were very thankful for the Nigerians of the church on the 3rd day because we were outnumbered, something like 40:1. After the VBS, though, we talked about how God had been faithful to complete the work in each area as we came to the end of ourselves and came to an even deeper reliance on Him.
After the morning VBS we stayed at the church, where we had lunch brought in, and then hosted a Galatians conference. There were several people who came to Christ through the conference, and a lot of lives changed, myself included. The message of grace is so powerful, and fully explained has had an impact on the people here. There are many corrupt churches in the area that preach a message of prosperity, telling people that if they want an extraordinary blessing from God, they have to give an extraordinary amount of money. The pastor will literally stand in front of the church as people come up to give money and bless them. Not only is that kind of corruption going on, but Prince told a story last night about attending a service where the pastor looked at a woman who had just given all of her money as she walked away. He then stopped her and said “Wait, I see that death is over you.” He prayed for her, and then wished her a good evening, informing her that short of praying for her right then, she would have died. So… they use fear and all sorts of corrupt tactics to make money from the people of their churches. Yesterday (Friday) was essentially a rest day. We went to the market and had an enormous amount of fun. I, personally, like bartering. We were warned that everything would be marked up 3-4 times the market value because we are apparently the color of money. My favorite line was “I wouldn’t pay that much for it in America, (Insert Price) final offer.” By the end, it seemed that everyone was having some fun bargain hunting. Three of us purchased Jimbees to bring home to the states.