Our New Home: Niger Creek Compound, Jos, Nigeria

We have arrived in beautiful Jos, Nigeria! The journey was smooth and fairly uneventful (Besides Katie picking up a stomach bug along the way and being sick the first few days in Nigeria. Thankfully, she is much better now). We have had an amazingly warm reception at the Niger Creek Compound where we are living in close proximity to the Abts (our coworkers at BRiCC) and 6 other missionary families. We have had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people and sharing meals with a few of them. So far we have had orientation on culture, going to the market, finances and technology in Nigeria.

Next week we will visit BRiCC for the first time! It was so exciting to meet the core leadership when we arrived and we are so excited to be a part of that close knit team. Some of the ideas they already have for us is for Katie to be a part of teaching a prenatal workshop with two nurses. This would make a huge impact in the Muslim community as death rates during pregnancy are very high due to little or no prenatal care and lack of exercise. It has also been suggested that Jeremy could plan a music festival to get some positive PR for BRiCC. We are so excited to see how these ideas grow and develop!  Please pray that God would show us exactly where He wants us to fit in.

 

We were so blessed and amazed by our new home! We are living in a large unit within a Triplex. We were shocked by how modern and nice it is (it’s even bigger then our first apartment back home). The biggest surprise for Katie was the washer and drier! Praise God, we don’t have to hand wash our clothes, but with the electricity out about 75% of the time since we arrived…never say never! Still, our house and new neighbors have been such a blessing and we are feeling right at home.

Please continue to pray that we learn the language and culture quickly and find our place within what God is already doing in Jos through SIM and so many other missions and development organizations. 

Here are some photos of our new place :)

This is our front entrance

In the Living Room with Jeremy's borrowed guitar

Our Bedroom

We were excited to find these beauties!

Our backyard

Basketball courts right outside our front door....

In Every High and Every Low

This song really encouraged me today. Its hard to fight uncertainty when it feels like we are swimming in it, but I know He never lets go of me!

Please Pray

Our tickets are booked for March 13th for the long ride between South Bend and Abuja, Nigeria! After we arrive in Nigeria's coast side capital, we will have a day long journey by car north to Jos. We couldn't be more excited to have our tickets finally booked, but we've hit a major road block!

OUR VISAS HAVE BEEN DENIED! They warned us that visas were difficult to obtain and apparently this happens up to 50% of the time, but it still hurts. The Nigerian consulate has cited that we didn't include all of the 20+ documents needed for our application, but they were all there. So SIM will be resubmitting our application ASAP. Our travel coordinator believes we may be able to still leave on the 13th, but can't guarantee it. Luckily, our tickets our transferable and we can change them until the 12th.

PLEASE PRAY:

1. That God would place the correct person on the job when our applications go through and that they will be granted quickly. We know that He works everything for good and trust His timing in our adventure.  

2. Please pray for God to continue to grow our faith.

3. Please pray for the strengthening of believers as violence against Christians escalates in Northern Nigeria. Pray that God would give us His words and love for those in desperate situations.

Our Olympic Moment

What an amazing and uncertain month! With our leave date changing every day as well as many joys and disappointments, we were starting to feel like a ship tossed by a raging sea. Still, God never failed as our anchor and provider.

Today we reached 100% of our support and we praise God for what He alone could do so quickly and amazingly! It feels like we are two of the joyful Olympians waving their flags and smiling ear-to-ear at the opening ceremonies. There has been so much that has lead us to this moment and so much more to come...

Please praise God who provides (with us) and continue to remember us in your prayers.

1. Pray that we use our time off work next week wisely and prepare thoroughly.
2. Pray that our visas will not be delayed any further.
3. Pray that everything would come together so that we can leave by March 11th as planned.

Over $8,000 Raised!

Wow, what a night! Praise God for the 50 wonderful couples who enjoyed a romantic night out at Jeremy and my Valentines Benefit Dinner. We were able to raise over $8,000 and are now well on our way to Nigeria:) It was so wonderful to see everyone having fun, but even better to feel all the support of our family and friends. It's amazing how our many creative and talented friends have come around us with great ideas and creative ways to make our trip possible. Thank you Tom for your wonderful idea of selling candles that remind everyone to pray that we will be a light in Nigeria. Thank you Emily for using your photography talents to make everyone's night more memorable. And a big THANK YOU to Beth for turning my idea of a concert into the best event of our year :) It is such a blessing to see all the members of our body working together to share Christ's love!

Please pray for us as we collect our documents (still looking for my diploma...2 moves + 1 year = complete chaos) and send in our Visa applications. God knows the timing, but we want to leave ASAP :)

Thanks for all of your support!

Captivated

Praise God that our move went well and we are settling into Jeremy's mom's house comfortably! It is such a blessing to have such supportive family and friends that made our move so much easier. We were even able to get everything moved in before the worst of the snow hit on Tuesday night!

Now that that huge task is accomplished, our stress in getting much lower and we are able to relax and spend more time preparing for our trip! We are so excited for the Valentine's fundraiser our church, Living Gospel is hosting and are confident that God will use it to encourage others and provide the support we need to get out on the mission field in Jos, Nigeria.

It was very encouraging to share about our trip with our church and families last Sunday and amazing to feel their support and see how it challenges everyone to live their lives more intentionally for Christ wherever they are. I'm also amazed to see how God is working, not only in our lives, but in the lives of those around us...from the Amish friend we met a few years ago at the Holy Walk in Bremen to our own families.

I'm so excited to see God transforming His people as well all seek to serve Him together :)

I was really encouraged to hear this song on the radio today. It really challenged me to remember that our sold out love for Christ should be at the center of all we say and do. I hope it encourages you!

Job Description: Relationships

So our job description is in and we are pumped!

We will be involved in relationship building ministry with a Jos, Nigeria, through a community center called BRICC.  The focus for our short term trip will be to enter into relationships with people who live in the mixed Muslim-Christian neighborhood where BRICC has its office.  As we become familiar with the culture and build relationships, we may get involved in the programs BRICC has initiated in the neighborhood.  Initially, we will go as language and cultural learners. Our “learner status” can open up opportunities for deeper relationships which we pray will result in opportunities to share our faith.  Jeremy may have opportunities to use his music degree both in giving lessons and relating to men interested in guitar and perhaps occasionally writing and maybe performing music for BRiCC's promotional videos.  Katie may have opportunities to help with teaching seminars BRICC may facilitate. 

There may also be opportunities for us to participate in and eventually to help facilitate a newly launched ministry initiative called InReach, which is about taking to small groups of Nigerians, helping teach what BRICC has been learning about relationship building with Muslims: taking Muslim Evangelism from “an event” to a way of life.

I (Katie) am so excited about this job description because it fits so well with our passion to build relationships with Muslims and desire to see them come to Christ. It is also very cool to see how God is 

confirming some things He has already been talking to me about...I feel like He wants to use this trip to change my own heart and focus my desires on the only thing of lasting importance and that is developing sacrificial relationships that impact people for eternity. 

Please continue to pray for us during this exciting time. Some of the of our major prayer needs during the next few weeks are...

1. Courage to present our trip to our church family on Feb 2nd.
2. Time and energy to move our things into storage and ourselves into Jeremy's mom's house
3. Patience as we wait for God to provide the funds we need for our dream to become a reality. 
4. Persistence as we begin to learn Housa in order to relate better to the people we will meet.