Almost Home!

It’s hard to believe that we will leave Nigeria in less than a week! Things are going well with wrapping up our duties and getting ready to depart. We have had the pleasure of spending time with a lot of our close friends over the last few days. Some of the things we are looking forward to most are having our friends the Chinke’s over for dinner tonight and hosting a goodbye lunch for the members of BRiCC. We also have the opportunity to share a meal with a young M* couple during Ramadan (a month of fasting from food and WATER during daylight hours beginning this week). Please pray that God will give us the opportunity to share his love with them as they pray and spend time seeking truth and guidance during this demanding fast!  

The women’s health program ended well on Monday and we were able to celebrate with the ladies afterwards. We shared sodas and Katie made them Snickerdoodles (which they all agreed were too sweet:) It was so such an honor for Katie to pass out group photos and graduation certificates to such attentive and enthusiastic students. We know many of them are already sharing the information they learned with their friends. Programs like this have a major impact on the community via word of mouth and we are so thankful that God allowed us to complete the program!  

 

BRiCC's Women's Health Class

Yesterday Katie had the opportunity to give a child safety presentation to the teachers at BRiCC and some community members. It was amazing to see how God used her training as a crisis pregnancy counselor and information she gathered from helping to update SIM’s child safety policy to bring awareness to this growing problem. The teachers were very attentive and interactive as they discussed issues they have noticed in their own work and ways to make sure children are safe a BRiCC. Praise God for our M* friend, the dedicated education coordinator who goes out of his way to make sure things run smoothly in the education department and BRiCC promotes good standards in the community.  

 

Child Safety Training at BRiCC

We are so blessed to be a part of what BRiCC is doing and it’s hard to imagine leaving and not knowing if God will call us back to Nigeria. Please continue to pray that he will reveal his plan for us. Also pray for our health and safety as we travel home. Jeremy was seriously sick last week and now has a cold. Please pray for his health as we say goodbye to our friends and begin our long trip home.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We can’t wait to see you! 

Jeremy dancing for joy that we are coming home soon!

Praise God!

It’s been a good week! It didn’t start off well when tensions in the city caused us to cancel BRiCC’s women’s health class for the second time. Please pray for peace in Jos to continue so that we will be able to finish our last two classes without further problems.

Praise God our interfaith prayer rally was a success! It might seem strange to you to hear that BRiCC organized this time when Muslims and Christians came together in prayer and mutual condemnation of the recent bombings in Jos. I know the first day we visited BRiCC and I saw Muslims and Christians praying together I was honestly a little wary of the theological implications. Since then, I have been a part of many of these times at BRiCC and have come to see them for what they are…The rally this week was a time for leaders of both the Muslim and Christian faiths to get together and set an example to so many who are guided by their actions. The Muslim teachers there were able to condemn the acts of extremists and witness first hand that Christians do indeed pray (many believe this is not the case due to their comparative lack of public prayer). Christians were given the opportunity to hear the heartfelt prayers for peace and healing of their Muslim neighbors. This is a unique time that many Christians don’t often have when they can intercede for the blessing and salvation of someone in darkness that is seeking God in the same room. We know that God answers prayer and reveals himself to those who seek him with their whole hearts. Please pray with us that He will reveal Himself to the hearts of our friends at BRiCC.

 

Our Friends at BRiCC

Sharing a unity song at the rally

We also had the opportunity to visit the beautiful village of Meango and spend time with a 30 year missionary who lives there. It was a wonderful getaway and being out of the city and breathing the country air again was amazing! We were humbled as we visited the graves of many SIM missionaries who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel in Nigeria. As we heard the stories of joy in the midst of sacrifice, our respect grew for the many who serve God long term in Jos. Please continue to be in prayer for the missionaries you support, they struggle daily with harsh living situations and sometimes what seems like insurmountable cultural barriers. Pray that God would strengthen and sustain His workers.

Enjoying the sights in Meango

 

We rounded out our week by helping our close friends the Miller family put on a coffee shop for missionaries from many different organizations and sending countries all gathered here in Jos. This was a great opportunity for Jeremy to use his barista skills to help our friends refine their coffee drinks. Katie also enjoyed serving treats and being there to encourage fellow missionaries and help them to feel as if they had a little piece of home through good conversation and tasty treats. 

Jeremy & April making some fabulous lattes

Hajiya's Story

One month from today we will fly home! So far, our adventure in Nigeria has been a kaleidoscope of highs and lows. We have made many amazing friends and seen God work through us at BRiCC in ways we never expected. In wake of the recent bombings in Jos, we have faced deep heartbreak for the people around us and intense longing for the peace and justice that so many innocent people here deserve, but may never know. The disappointment of being advised to minimize our time at BRiCC due to security concerns has been sharp. Still, we see God working and are encouraged that people are beginning to come out of their houses again and greet each other with cautious optimism. 

We are praying for a return to peace in Jos so that we can continue to build relationships and work as before. One of Katie’s greatest joys before the attacks was meeting with the graduates of the women’s skills acquisition program, hearing their hearts and writing their stories. Since fears are still high and security is tight, it has been impossible to continue these visits for the past few weeks. Please pray that God will surround Jos with peace so we can continue to do His work freely and enjoy this story from one of BRiCC’s lovely graduates. 

Hajiya is all smiles as she proudly describes her catering business. She sells homemade doughnuts out of her own shop, by special order for private parties and at her children’s school. At first, Hajiya didn’t think she would be able to get the training needed to start her business when she heard that other skills programs cost N5,000 ($33). When she learned that BRiCC would give her 3 months of catering training for N500 ($3.30) she was overjoyed. 

One of Hajiya’s biggest success stories is how popular her doughnuts are at her children’s school. While her doughnut’s distinctive flavor pleased many, including the head mistress of the school, Hajiya worried that the fact that she was Yoruba would impair her new opportunity. Still, even though the head mistress of the school is Hausa and so is Hajiya’s competition, this has not hurt her success. In fact, the head mistress is so pleased with Hajiya’s products that she told her competition, a woman of her own tribe, that she need not supply her products at the school any longer. 

Hajiya’s business has not only helped her to overcome tribal prejudices in her community, but also provides her with a small weekly profit that could add up spending money she would otherwise never have or school fees for one of her children over a year’s time. She is also saving money by making things like bread and sweets for her family instead of buying them elsewhere. 

Hajiya has made much more then financial gain from her training at BRiCC. During her time in catering classes, she also met her best friend. Even though Hajiya is a Muslim and her friend is a Christian, they never miss an opportunity to support one another during life’s ups and downs. Hajiya credits this important relationship to BRiCC, because without the catering program she feels she might never have met and come to love her friend.

The kind of close relationship that Hajiya developed with her friend is exactly what BRiCC is working so hard for. These are the relationships that shirk fear and suspicion so thick in Jos you can cut through it. The unfortunate reality is that, for some, having a friendship with someone from another faith could mean the difference between great harm at the hands of angry mob and the security of being hidden in the protective embrace of someone you can trust.