9-28-09

Into the bush!

 

After living in Africa for almost a month, this weekend I got the REAL African experience. I had the opportunity to go with a team of Nigerians, Texans and assorted other short-termers to do a medical outreach combined with film ministry in the bush.

 

… it took us eight hours to get there and only 4 ½ to get back… Which means that we wandered around and got stuck in the mud for a considerable amount of time. In the rainy season (which is almost over) the maize is tall and it all looks the same, so it is understandable that it took awhile to find the right village. Teams like ours are strategically sent to places where there has been a church plant through ECWA so that there can be follow up.

 

Once we arrived people started showing up for medical treatment. They would get a translator who went through the whole process with them, talk to some of the guys from the Texas team about the gospel, see the medial people about their needs and go to the pharmacy to receive free medicine. Others set up the stuff for a puppet show for the kids or played football(soccer) and Frisbee with the kids. I held babies and tried to communicate (ie smiled a lot) with the women waiting for medical. I love the how colorful they were. This tribe had a lot of jewelry and a little less clothing than we normally wear. In the evening we showed an African made film about a man who turned away from animism and the gospel was presented. After the film we attempted to speak Hausa with the young people who stayed around and laughed together at how hard it is to communicate.

 

The whole team camped out that night- I was blessed to borrow some great camping gear that makes me want to go to REI when I get back… or to send some of that type of gear to the missionaries who do these trips all the time. In the morning we had church with the people who showed up, danced and sang and smiled a lot(best universal form of communication!) and headed back. On the trip back I heard a story of one of the people who came to the outreach that just thrilled me with how God pursues us so I’ll share it with you…

 

…. Somewhere in the process of us being “lost” for several hours (in the heat, with no food, thinking we’d never find the place) a 20 something year old named Ayouba saw us and just felt that he needed to go where the visitors were going. So he followed us on his bike for a distance that took us 45 mins in the vehicles, and even got lost a few times before finding the village we were staying in. He ended up having a 2 hour conversation with one of the Nigerians on the trip and accepted Christ! Praise God! I don’t know about you, but to me that testifies that God will make it happen when someone is ready to accept Christ. I am amazed that this man was so stirred and convicted that he needed to hear our message that he went to all the trouble to follow us into the middle of nowhere, knowing that he would need to ride back home that night in the pitch black- He didn’t know it would be with a new relationship with his Savior. So cool! So often I will try to convince myself that whatever I’m convicted by couldn’t be right because its too much of a hassle… like talking to someone I don’t know about Jesus, or loving someone who hurt me, or asking a hard question, or not ignoring the beggar on the road, or getting up early to pray… So many things fall under that category and I guess I’d like to challenge you to listen and obey today. Amazing things happen when we do.

Holly in Nigerian clothes

Living room

Kitchen

This is the view from Holly's apartment. The gate is the back of the compound.

Holly with Miracle, age 6, making a card for Uncle Joseph, who runs the ministry. Miracle has a lot of trouble with reading and can't recognize letters yet. Pray for good ideas to keep him engaged in school.

plan B

Hello Everyone! thank you so much for praying...I just wanted to let you know how things are here. I now have an official(ish) schedule of my life, though currently I'm not there because of rides/ feeling sick, ect.

Here it is!

Monday morning- I will either be teaching English in the Widow's ministry or taking part in Prison Ministry. At 12:30 there is a Bible Study for all the women in City ministries- we are doing the Beth Moore Esther study. So far it has been really good. The Afternoon is for preparation of anything I need for the rest of the week plus all the nessicary things like shopping for food in the market, ect.

Tuesday mornings I will be team teaching Math and Social studies to the Boys at Gidan Bege. Every other weekday they go through the ACE literacy curriculum with their Teacher Mama Alex. Then I will help with the Medical Outreach for GB. Tuesdays it is a Christian outreach and they will be doing some deeper Bible studies with the women who come to the clinic. In the Afternoon I will be spending time with the boys in either discipleship/Biblestudy stuff or crafts and learning Games.

Wednesday I will go to GB for the Muslim women medical outreach. Last week I spent time with their kids drawing and learning bits of Hausa from the women. I may also learn some simple medical things to help in the actual clinic. In the Afternoon there is the blindtown medical outreach. Blindtown is the highly Muslim area where the poorest live. Many people there are afflicted with river blindness or leperosy. We give medications, take blood pressure (since high blood pressure and diabetes is common because of the diet) and play with the kids.

Thursday I will be teaching english with the Widows and then spending time with the boys in discipleship, crafts, and reading.

Fridays I will be in school with the boys again and come home before 1:30 for various safety reasons.

I am also waiting to hear from UFM, an organization that does brothel outreach and has a one year program for women coming out of prostitution. When it starts up I will probably do that a few days a week. Please pray for the leadership of City ministries and UFM as they figure out how we can work together.

Also, pray that I'll know what to do with the boys... I need to figure out some kind of structure for Biblestudy and activities to fill time and help with learning. The boys in this stage of the program are just off the streets. They stay at GB for 3-6 months as a trial period and most have been to little if any school. This week some of the boys at GB are graduating to Gyero or Transition House. Six will be left, and there is a waiting list of boys to be let into the program. Pray for wisdom with the new boys.

Pray for boldness and that I'll be able to relate to people despite language barriers. Some days I'm really good at getting into the culture, and other days I just want to retreat. Pray that I'll be focused on people and Jesus, not on all the things I think I should get done.

Pray for the Muslims durring Raamadan (month of fasting). Yesterday morning I woke up at 5 am to the sound of prayers and chanting. My only thought was, that is the sound of people dying without Christ. Pray that God reveal himself to them while they are trying so hard to be good enough to make it to heaven. Pray that christians will be a light to them in everyday interactions. If you want more info on praying durring Raamaday see www.30-days.net.

If you have any ideas of things to try with the boys email me at hollyraeabbe@gmail.com!

thanks again for praying!