Well, I don't expect to be winning any awards in blogging.  Here are some pictures from the past few months.  It is so strange to think that I am scheduled to leave Nigeria in about 4 months.  I appreciate your prayers as I make decisions about when I will leave and what I will be doing when I get home. 

 Our kids had the opportunity to perform at a Christmas celebration with a local TV station.  A couple of missionaries and Nigerians taught them some songs and dances.  We were so proud. :)

 We thought this would be a good idea for a thank you card when people give to Cornerstone.  This is in class 1 (1st grade).  Of course some of the kids that didn't get to hold a letter weren't so happy. 

Karis and Maimaiki.  Maimaiki means surprise in Hausa.  She is one of our girls that lives in Gyero.  I love spending time with her!

 Hanging out with Nkarena and Enoch.  Nkarena is a staff kid and Enoch is one of our boys. 

 We came to greet the girls on Christmas.  They all got new dresses. 

 Our last night in Ghana.  We had a great time relaxing and wandering around. 

 Canopy Walk in Ghana

cornerstone kids!

cornerstone kids is the name of our school in gyero! we wanted something that would remind us of Christ and came upon the verse Ephesians 2:20 where it says that we are the building and Jesus Christ is the cornerstone.  we are super busy right now trying to get things ready...uniforms, textbooks, furniture, classrooms, training teachers...so please pray over the next two weeks that God would give us direction, clarity, and energy! Please pray for our staff. We have six teachers and an additional five staff members...(including missionaries)

we covet your prayers and support! if you would like to help financially, please email me at hrlacroix@hotmail.com.  hopefully sooner than later i will be writing about some of the needs that we have. we are beyond excited about doing this but realize that it is a huge undertaking and prayer is so important! love! heather

run of the bulls

This past Sunday, four friends and I set out to visit a Nigerian friend of ours at his home near Bauchi.  We met Wade when we went on an outreach up north earlier this year.  You say his name like wah-dah. He is a missionary as well.  He has an amazing story of coming to Christ.  I guess all of our stories are amazing! He is a Fulani.  Fulanis are the largest nomadic people group in the world, and are about 98% Muslim.
Part of the adventure was getting there! Two of my friends have been to his home before, so we thought they would remember the way...but what should have been a 3 1/2 hour trip turned into a 5 1/2 hour trip! To their credit, Nigeria isn't the easiest place to travel in. There are not a lot of street signs, and the scenery is very different between dry and wet season.  When we finally made it to their house, we ate and visited with his family a bit.  He has two sons and his wife is about to have another baby.  The four girls slept in the same room. We attempted to go to bed around 11, but ended up staying up until about 2 making animals on the wall because of the mosquitos!
The next morning we got up and Wade showed us around his village.  Then we went to the Fulani market.  We didn't really know what to expect, but it ended up being a lot of fun! They had some cool crafts and cloth.  I bought a stick. Sounds weird, but it will remind me of Nigeria and the Fulanis herding their cows.  Dustin wanted to get some milk, so we ended up in the section where they were selling cows.  They had the cows in a fenced in area, but there were also a lot of trucks coming in and unloading cows.  The market was very muddy because of wet season, so we were having to step carefully.  Before we realized it, we were in a pretty tight space with hot coals and people behind us, and an angry bull in front of us! There were three guys holding ropes that were attached to the bull's nose and legs and they were having a pretty difficult time controlling it! It was one of those situations where you start to laugh, and then realize, hmm maybe this isn't the best place to be! I don't know who said what or how we decided, but we made a run for it through the mud, crowd, and cows coming in!
Now I can say it was a memorable and fun experience, but I'm pretty certain that I won't be booking my flight for the run of the bulls anytime soon!

Feeling Overwhelmed X 2

I have been back in Jos for a week now.  I took Karenina to the airport yesterday.  It was so great to have her here. It's unbelievably special to me that she came here to see and experience my life here.  I will post more on her visit soon! 
While I was home I got to spend some time with lots of friends and family.  It was a great encouragement to me to find that people were interested to hear about Nigeria.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of support that I receive from everyone through prayer, words of encouragement, donating supplies, and money.  It was special to me that people are interested in Nigeria.  I think coming home helped me to realize how much I do love this place.  So I was overwhelmed, in a good way, by my time at home.
While I was at home I had the opportunity to share about the school that we are starting at one of our care centers.  We are starting a school in Gyero.  Gyero is in a village about 15 minutes out of Jos.  We house and feed over 100 kids at the care center.  They currently attend the goverment school, which is often on strike.  If you want to learn more about what we are doing, watch the video that I posted on my blog.  We are in great need of your prayers and financial support.
After being on vacation for a month, which I am extremely grateful for, I am realizing that we have MUCH to do before school begins in September.  We are currently painting the classrooms and trying to figure out issues like desks, storage, cirriculum, and teachers.  We also need to discuss discipline, class placement, schedules...the list goes on!
I am asking you to please be praying for our team over the next few weeks.  This is much bigger than us!
Please pray:
**for discernment and wisdom in all the decisions that need to be made.
**for the teachers...that God would prepare them and provide us with the resources to pay and train them.
**the children that will be attending the school...that we be wise about what is most important and meet their needs!

Kings Kids from Dan McCain on Vimeo.

This video was made to give you a glimpse of one of our ministries in Jos.  The kids you see in the video live in a village called Gyero.  We will be starting an education center here in September. We are employing teachers for grades K-5.  We hope that this will provide some consistent and quality education for the boys and girls.  As a part of my support team, I would love for you to be involved in this project.  You can do this by praying, donating school supplies, or helping financially.  I will be returning to Jos on July 20.  If you would like to send money or supplies back with me, please let me know! Soon I will write more about specific areas of need.  We are in great need of your prayers.

Sweet Home Alabama

In a couple of days I will be home for a visit! I am so excited to see my family and friends! I will be home for a month, and then return to Nigeria.  My good friend Karenina is coming back with me for a visit.  I told her to bring all her things just in case she decides to stay. :)

I sent this out in an email, but wanted to make sure that everyone sees it.  If you would like to be added to my email list, please let me know!

Sannu! I hope this finds you well! I cannot believe that I am coming home this weekend! I am excited to share what life has been like in Nigeria over the past year as well as hear what has been going on in your lives.

I am also excited to share about what I will be doing when I return to Nigeria. I am transitioning from teaching at Hillcrest School to City Ministries. City Ministries has care centers around Nigeria for street kids and orphans. My focus will be in a village called Gyero. We are opening an educational center for the 100 boys and girls. We will be employing six teachers to teach Preschool through 5th Grade. We realize that this is a huge project. We would love and appreciate your help in providing resources for the center. Listed on the next page are resources that are hard to find in Jos. If you would like to help by purchasing some of these items, we would be so grateful. I leave to come back on July 20, so if you could get the items to me by July 17, that would be helpful.

We also need financial help. We will be providing six teachers with a monthly salary as well as providing desks, textbooks, and materials for the boys and girls. If you are interested in giving a one time or a monthly gift to the center, you can donate it to my ministry account with a note for Gyero Education. You can give online at http://www.sim.org/giveusa. My account number is 029555. If you have any questions, please email me at hrlacroix@hotmail.com.

Most importantly, please join me in praying for the boys and girls in Gyero! They have come from many different backgrounds and have had unusual and sometimes difficult experiences. We have the opportunity to provide them with a stable and loving environment and quality education. Thank you so much for your partnership in this!

Resources for Gyero Education Center

glue sticks
 scissors
cardstock
colored paper
wall stapler
marbles
dice
dry erase markers
crayons
colored pencils
pencil pouches
felt tip pens
calculators
staplers/staples
erasers
flashlights
batteries
pencil sharpeners
children’s books
coloring books
small learning games
stickers
small items for rewards
soccer balls
jump ropes
math manipulatives
educational dvds
inflatable globe
stopwatch
cubes

Pictures from Outreach

Playing with the parachute!

Ladies waiting in line at the clinic

Having fun before church!

To see more pictures from our trip go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/hrlacroix/SpringBreak?feat=directlink

Spring Break Trip!!!!!

Over spring break a group of us went on an outreach in northern Nigeria. I was so excited to be able to travel to some different parts of Nigeria and get a real village experience. Our team was made up of seven baturis and six Nigerians. Baturi means white person in Hausa. The first day we drove about six or seven hours. Traveling in Nigeria is quite an “adventure”. Oftentimes the roads are bumpy and the driving is erratic. It’s amazing how you adjust to these things even if they are different than anything you have ever experienced. Restroom breaks include a roll of toilet paper and a “concealed” spot in the bushes. Again, it’s funny how you adjust to new experiences. 


Before we got to the village, I had been told this would be the first time for many of the people to see a white person. When we got there, we spent some time greeting the people. I began to joke around with some of the kids. I was playing with one of the kids, but didn’t realize that there was a little boy behind him freaking out. He obviously had not seen one of me before. :)

Afterwards we spent some time playing with the kids and setting up for a film show. It was so much fun just running around with the kids and trying to think of games that don’t take much explanation. Later we showed a couple of films. It’s cool because they are films that are in their language and they share the gospel through a story.

The next day was Sunday so one of our team members preached and then we set up the medical clinic. It was organized chaos. They received a card to come into the clinic. When they came in they got their blood pressure taken and then saw one of the two nurses from our team. They interviewed them and wrote a prescription for them. Then they moved to the next station where their prescription was filled. The drugs that we had were basic things like Ibprofun, eye drops, malaria medicine, and cough syrup. But these are things that are not easily accessible for people in a village. We also provided everything for free. While some were working in the clinic the rest of us played with the kids. We had a great time trying to teach them some games and our friend Dazaan made it much easier by translating for us. It would be so cool to be able to fluently speak the Hausa language. But even those who have taken one or two classes find it difficult to communicate. I was so glad that we had some Nigerians with us so that they could translate and have some good conversations with people. They were able to pray with and for those who came to the clinic. When we finished up our day, we left and went back to Malumfashi. There is a City Ministries care center there and we stayed there for the night. It was nice to have a shower (bucket bath) and relax. We slept outside and it was perfect weather.

On Tuesday we got up and drove up to the border. We were across the street from the Niger border. We were in the desert! It was so windy and dusty, which was good for us because it kept the heat bearable. We did basically the same set up with the clinic and playing with the kids. We rotated so that we all did some of everything. Before the film show in the evening, we did a puppet show. The kids (and some of the adults) couldn’t figure it out, so they kept running back and forth, trying to see how this was happening. We were in this village for two full days. After the people went through the clinic, they had the option to have someone pray for them. Many of the people did this, and I think it was encouraging for them and for us.

The last village that we went to, was back towards Jos, outside of Kano. We stopped in Kano for a couple of hours, for a much needed shower and a meal at the Pizza Hott. It was hot pizza served in a really nice hut. :) It was good to relax a little before moving on to the next village. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to know the Lerosas. They are from Switzerland. They already speak three or four languages and are now busy learning English and Hausa. We had fun teaching them some of the “essential” English phrases like calling a joke cheesy or corny.

We got to the last village in time to set up our tents and go to bed.The next morning we got up had breakfast. Some of the guys went to greet the chief. Greetings are a big deal here, and they wanted to let him know what we were doing. We had a connection with a pastor at each village. The chief of this village did not want us to give out free medical care. So we prayed about it as a group and decided to spend the day playing with the kids and later that evening we had a meal for the church members. We were still able to do a puppet show and show a film.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go and visit these villages. I feel like I had the real “African” experience and I continue to be amazed at the greatness of our Lord. We are such a small part of this world, and He chooses to use us to be His vessel to carry the message of Jesus Christ to our neighborhoods and around the world. Thank you so much for being a part of this. I pray that God would bless you and keep you! I would love to hear from you!

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” Psalm 16:5-6

~What an encouragement these verses have been to me. He is enough for us and we have a beautiful inheritance with Him!~

I was able to spend just a few minutes with these boys. I met them when we were helping do relief work. SIM partnered with Global Relief to help 250 families affected by the crisis. Relief work is an amazing task. I was thankful to be a small part of the work that day.

With all that has occurred over the past two months, I find myself needing a fresh perspective on life here in Nigeria. When I think of my time with these boys, it is a great reminder of why I am here. We talked about what heaven will be like and how there will be no more fighting. Please continue to pray for peace in Jos.

Science Fair


Each of the classes in the elementary school had the opportunity to do a science project. The students shared their projects with other classes.
 
 

 

Selnan did research to find the most fertile soil in his area.

David told some first graders about his science fair project.

Praise and Prayers

Praisefor God’s protection

Praisefor God working in the lives of my students -They have been asking some great questions lately.

Pray for peace in Jos. Pray for the leaders of the city, state, and country.

Pray for the church of Nigeria.

Pray for the next three months of school. We have a lot of material to cover. Pray that the students and I would be focused.

Prayfor my transition from teaching at Hillcrest International School to working with CityMinistriesin an educational capacity next year. (City Ministries operates several orphanages I was privileged to be involved with over the Christmas holidays.)

Thank you for partnering with me. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.

Love in Christ, Heather

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.

Isn't it Cool?

Isn't it cool how God works? We have praise and worship night on Wednesday nights. Someone usually shares their testimony and we sing and have time of fellowship together. Tonight, my friend Rachel shared and so much of what she said was what I needed to hear. She was talking about the difference between a faith that is dead and faith that is alive. So often I get caught up in my daily needs and desires. I want to grow and go deeper. She shared this poem and I want to share it with you.
"I Will Not Die an Unlived Life"
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear of falling
Or of catching fire
I choose to inhabit my days
To allow my living to open me
Making me less afraid,
More accessible
To loosen my heart,
So that it becomes a wing, a torck, a promise
I choose to risk my significance.

--Donna Markova

My prayer is that God would grow me and that I would make the conscience effort to live in the day that He has set for me. I pray this for you as well.

OBUDU!

Hello! The first nine weeks has come and gone. I spent all day last Friday conferencing with parents, and then we had a much needed week off for October break. A group of us went to Obudu, which is in Cross River State south of here. The trip was about seven hours, but went very smoothly thanks to Baba, our driver. We were able to have three days of relaxation and fun. It was good to be in a different setting. It was quiet and there was an abundance of fresh air, two things we don't have much of in Jos. We spent two days at the pool and one day of hiking.

School started back today. It was good to seek the kids again. Please pray for wisdom in teaching and that I would point them to Christ daily. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Not sure if you can see what is being carried on this truck. Inside, are cows and up top are donkeys. As well as a few Nigerians.

Our first night there...we ate at "The Ultimate Restaurant" in the village.

Just wanted to make sure that you see how awesome it is. :)

This was our view from the pool. No complaints.

Just a normal day in the village...:)

This is the view from Holy Mountain. There were only a few opportunities to take pictures because of all the fog.

View from our hike. The amazing thing is, is that there are people that live out here. They farm on this land. A bunch of teenage boys from the village came along on our hike. They were wearing normal flip flops and were running all over the place. They helped us by carrying our backpacks and showing us where to step. I was very thankful for them!

We hiked to this waterfall. It was quiet a slippery hike. But it was also quiet a nice view.

View from the President's villa. It was so cool to be above the clouds.

Dee and I on the cable car. Dee is from Texas and she is here to do discipleship with the kids at the care centers here in Jos.

View of a village from the cable car.

The view from the cable car. Amazing view!

Claudia, Karis, and I at dinner on our last night. These two kept me laughing most of the weekend.

Pictures!!

My class on Independence Celebration Day.

Lisa and I. I am so thankful for her friendship. She's lovely. (I say lovely because she is from England and they say that. It's funny that I didn't really anticipate learning more about other cultures besides Nigerian, but it's been so fun and funny as well!)

Fun night of dinner and fellowship. Thankful for these friends.

Somewhat of a pyramid. My favorite part is the pile of chacos to the left side.

Tara and I (Tara is the first grade teacher. She is an encouragement to me!)

My sweet friend Grace and her husband Musa with their two girls, Jemimah and Sophie.