From Makurdi – Oct 15

I have found internet access in a city called Makurdi! We are making our way back towards Jos and out of the more rural areas. We will be back in Jos on Friday which will end our two week adventure in Benue State, Nigeria. I only have time to give you a quick update as I am not sure how long the service or power will last.

The last week and a half Peggy and I have spent time with three different Partners of CRC. First with ECJP (ecumenical commission for Justice and Peace) they were in Gboko, Nigeria. Mr. Orshio with ECJP took us out to two different very rural communities to meet with them just to see a little bit of the area that they work in. ECJP assists in chief and boundary disputes and they work in areas were these issues are prevalent. We then changed hands and spent a couple of days with PCEN (Partners for Christian Empowerment Network). With PCEN we were in Mkar and Takum were we met with the PCEN Chapters there. These are people who have come together to get training and some micro-credit loans from PCEN. We went with a convoy of beaten down African cars to visit the business sites of some of the members of the PCEN chapter. We saw a fish farm, a palm tree nursery, a cassava farmer who is also working on making organic fertilizer so that he uses some of the waste materials in the area and we also went to a health clinic. I think to really know what any of these businesses are like you will have to see my pictures cause it all runs so differently then anything you can imagine from home.

After our days with Uncle Solomon (any person that is older then you, you call uncle or aunty – I think I mentioned that in another post but just thought I would remind you!!), we transferred over to Uncle Bulus and Diaconal Ministries. We have spent each day with a different denomination, all of which are of a Reformed perspective and we have learnt about the teaching they are doing and also met with the Widows groups that the deacons work with. Everyone has been so great when we come in to meet them and even though we are only there for a little while it really seems to encourage them so that is really great!!

Along with the planned activities everyday is a learning experience! Everywhere I look there is something new and different that I need to take a picture of! (I am such a tourist!)An examnple of this is the women, and the men, carry anything and everything on their head. As we drove I saw a little girl carrying her water bottle on her head and then a little while later another girl had one long branch of sugar cane balanced up there – it is amazing! The driving is also a fun experience and the food has been good too plus the fact that they give us food at every place we visit which is so great of them. They are used to people eating very large amounts of rice and pounded yam where as my little stomach can’t seem to hold all of it!
And of course there are things that are difficult to understand and hard to see, like the widows who struggle to keep their kids in schools, the homes some of the people live in, and the state of the clinics. It is hard to explain but my eyes are definitely being opened to the issues that affect this country and I hope and pray that I can encourage them with a smile and a prayer. It is all I have with me at the moment, and I pray that maybe God will use me to help people see that they aren’t alone and that God loves them and that his people love them too.

Like I said this is just a little update but I hope it gives you a little idea of what I have been up to. But as I mentioned before, I will have to show you pictures when I get back.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Please pray for the people here in Nigeria. They work very hard but still it is difficult for them to change their situation in life. Perhaps, with the help of programs like the ones I have been blessed to spend time with people have hope and are given enough assistance to move forward!
Thanks so much!