How you can help

My friend Ruth and I had the opportunity to go to one of the refugee camps not long after the crisis.  It was a good experience because we were able to hear their stories and how the crisis had affected them.  While normalcy is returning to the city of Jos, there still are those who are without basic needs.  SIM has set up a relief fund.  The immediate needs are food and clothing, and as time goes on, rebuilding homes and churches will become the focus.  The relief money will go towards helping Christians and Muslims affected by the crisis, in the name of Jesus Christ.  If you would like to give towards relief efforts here in Jos,  go to  www.sim.org/giveusa and the project name is Nigeria Relief Fund.  The project number is 96038.  Thanks!

pray without ceasing

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement.  What a testimony to the body of Christ.  The last two days have been a lot quieter.  The curfew was lifted till 5 pm.  There is still a heavy presence of police and military.  My heart is sad for the people here.  There is reported to be between 300-500 people killed and over 1,000 injured.    There are said to be approximately 25,000 displaced people in camps around the city.  We hope to be able to get out and help with relief efforts soon.  Many people here live day to day. With this lasting almost a week, they are out of money, food, and water. 
Hopefully school will start back on Tuesday or Wednesday.  I am anxious about how to process this with my students.  Many of them experienced the riots of 2008.  Please pray for wisdom as we all return to our ministries.  Pray that God would use this as an opportunity to proclaim His faithfulness in this fallen world. 
Please pray:
for the displaced people.  Pray that they would have access to basic living needs and that they would be reunited with family members.
for those who lost loved ones. 
for the church of Nigeria.  Pray for wisdom for the pastors and that the body of Christ would unite and boldy proclaim Jesus Christ to this city.
for spiritual awakening in the city of Jos. There are many who don't know the truth of the gospel.  Please pray that somehow through this, they would come to know Christ as their Savior.


I am reminded of the urgency of the gospel.  I pray that we would all live out our faith.  Thank you so much for your prayers.  God is faithful and He is everlasting. 

Please Pray for Jos

It's hard to know what to write. I can't tell you what exactly is happening in Jos, because I don't know. For the third day in a row, we have been restricted to our compounds. On Sunday, some violence broke in the city. There are many rumors as to what started it, but we don't know for sure. There is a large population of Muslims and Christians that coexist in the city of Jos. It seems that when given the opportunity, the tension that is between them erupts into violence. News articles are saying that over 200 people have been killed. I think what hits home the most, is that some of the kids in the care centers around the city are close to some of the violence. My friends that live on my compound work closely with these kids. Please pray for peace to return to the city of Jos. I will give you more details when I know more. Please pray that the Christians here would live out their faith.
As for me, I feel safe. We are all together on our compound. We are sharing meals and spending time together. I appreciate your prayers for the city of Jos!
Here is an article from the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012000542.html

I'll fly away....I mean drive away!

Yes it's true! I finally have a car! In one of my newsletters, I wrote about the need for a car. Someone generously donated towards a vehicle, and I got my car on Christmas Eve! The process was a little different here. I didn't go to a car lot or test drive the car. I put in an order and it only took about 2 months and wala. Driving is an adventure here. It's like a video game. Dunu dunu dunu.

Christmas!!

Christmas in Nigeria was a lot different from what I am used to-in that despite no cold weather, only a few decorations, and missing my friends and family-it was a memorable experience. I live in an apartment complex with other missionaries who work with orphans here in Jos. They thought that it would be cool to spend the week with the kids. The week started with the 40 boys and 40 girls doing a Nativity play in the village.

The next day, we had a morning of games planned for the boys. Dustin and I thought it would be fun to create a boot camp. Dustin was able to pull off the military role a little better than I was. It was a lot of fun. I think the boys really enjoyed it.

Dustin and I...aka Major Pain and GI Jane

wheelbarrow race

waiting in line for chin chin - reward for finishing boot camp

Later that night, we took all 40 boys to my friend Emma-Louise's house. We ate dinner, watched a movie and they all piled in the living room.

The next day we did some fun activities with them before they headed back to Gyero.

making paper chains with the boys
Karis helping some of the boys make Christmas cookies.

40 boys + 2 SUVs = good picturescactus Christmas treeHanging out on Christmas day! One of the families here had us all over. It was so nice to just chill out.

Christmas was different this year. But it was still celebrated for the same reason. I'm so thankful that Jesus Christ came into this world to give us a hope and life. May you be blessed in the new year!

December!!!

Wow. I cannot believe how close it is to Christmas! We have 2 1/2 days and then we are out for Christmas break! My kids and I are definately counting down. Hillcrest has been crazy busy lately with Christmas programs. This past Friday, the elementary school had the opportunity to present City Ministries with all the items that we bought for them. The elementary classes held fundraisers to buy things like toothbrushes, flip flops, material for clothes, candy, and food. We were able to raise over 190,000 Naira, which is close to $1,500! It was so cool. Some of the kids from the care centers here in Jos were able to come and receive the gifts. Each group did a song and a memory verse and then some of of their stories were told. I think that it was awesome for the kids at Hillcrest to be able to raise money for these children, and then to be able to see them and hear some of their stories. Many of the kids from the care centers come from difficult and sad situations. It's so cool that they are being taken care of by people who love the Lord and are sharing that love with the children.
Sunday night was 9 lessons and carols. It was a sweet time of Scripture reading and hymns. This Wednesday night is the elementary music concert. I'm excited to see it. They are pretty cute.
I am expecting to get my car by the weekend! I'm so excited! I think it will make a big difference. I'm getting a Nissian Pathfinder. It will be good for driving around here. You can be praying for patience and courage. :)
I hope to do a better job with this over the next couple of weeks. Thanks for reading and thanks for praying. Merry Christmas!

It's been awhile

Last Friday we had Multicultural Day. The students were encouraged to dress in their traditional dress as we celebrated the different cultures that are represented at Hillcrest. As you can see, I didn't really go all out, but I am supposed to be a "country girl". I think I was pretty excited about being able to wear jeans to school. :) Miss those casual Fridays.

We started the morning with a program and some of the other classes did a song or a skit. Afterwards there were some Tev (tribe in Nigeria) dancers that did a dance.

Then we had lunch together as a class. The parents brought food that represents their home culture. It was a fun day with and for the kids. It's pretty cool to think about the diversity in our class and know that we serve the God who made us all and brought us all here to Jos, Nigeria for this season of our lives.

So I've been here for over three months now. I miss everyone a lot, but I'm pretty sure that God is using this to stretch me and teach me that I need Him. I thought I'd share some interesting and entertaining things that come with living in Nigeria. Hope you enjoy! :)

--Walking downtown is always an adventure. You never know who you will meet or what you will see. Baturi is the word for white person, and you hear it called at you as you walk down the street. It's not meant as an insult, it's just more of an observation.

--The market. Live chickens, the inner parts of cow, some sort of black fish in a circle that smells delightful. The market is lined with shops where you can buy cloth for clothes, basic food shops, and in the middle are stands, kiosks if you will with loads of things like sandals, handbags, pots and pans, etc.

--Motorcycles otherwise known as achabas are everywhere. They weave in and out of traffic, drive on side of the ride, on the wrong side of the road and anywhere else that there is a bit of space. Most of them do not wear helmets. The traffic here is ridiculous, but somehow there is order to the chaos. Not much, but there is some. Even with all this, I am ready to get a car. It will be nice to have the independence again.

Oh yea! I want to share some fantastic news with you. Last month I wrote in my newsletter about the need for a car. I wrote that I would need around $7,000. I found out that someone anonomously donated $7,000!!! I'm so thankful for God's faithfulness. I will let you know when and what I get. It's quiet a long process here, but hopefully I'll have one by January.

Final story for now -- We now have a pet pig on our compound. Long story, but we got it as a gift for our friend Lisa who just got back from a visit home. So we are thinking of keeping it for Christmas dinner. :) mmm bacon.

Hope you are all doing well. I love hearing from you.