Sunday, March 22...
I had opportunity to spend some time with Rev Dr Ojong this week. He is a professor at the University of Calabar here in the Philosophy of Sciences. He is a full-time professor on a stipend to pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The Redeemed is a strong force in Nigeria with an aggressive mandate of planting a church every 5 kilometers. They don’t believe anyone should have the excuse of not being able to make it to a church…especially when there is one every 5 kilometers. His parish is one of the main parishes with 1500+ members. I have ministered there many times and always enjoy their fellowship. He has been a blessing in being able to help us with transportation and connecting us with the right people in regard to some basic daily needs…..shipping, courier services, etc. I’ve mentioned it before but you can’t walk into business like these and get what you need done without a local with you. Many times, these pastors will take us to their ‘members’ businesses. The members are blessed by the business and having ‘daddy’ oversee the transactions keeps things honest. With the help of many, our passports finally made it to Lagos. We are now in the process of ‘applying’ (that means paying) for re-application of our visas. It’s a long story and once things are in place we may be able to share the details. At this point however, we are caught in a system controlled by the world and its ways. We have prayed and trust that God will make a way for us to stay as long as He needs for us to.
I will be ministering in a program for the Redeemed in the near future. Rev Ojong will be organizing a women’s meeting for a number of the parishes and we will finish the program for the entire church on a Sunday. His parishes are a bit more progressive…the people are generally more educated and we do not need to use interpreters as English is the prevailing language for the educated people in Calabar.
Jon just brought me a treat……avacadoes are about 20 cents a piece here. They eat them whole but we’ve made a lot of guacamole…..we add tomatoes and onions and taa – daa !! Now that we have the guacamole…what about the chips?? Well, we have found that banana chips…sliced the long way…fried in oil will suffice. It’s actually quite good and hits the spot. Today however, we have no banana chips and Jon’s guacamole is especially good tonight. Well, one thing about Nigeria, it brings the creativity out for sure…..I’m missing the crunch of the chips and the only food we have with a crunch is about a cup and a half of corn flakes. Yes, I said corn flakes. We sprinkled the corn flakes on the top of the guacamole and we laugh as we imagine we are at On the Border dining on Guacamole Live !!! Well, this version is Nigeria Live and it actually tastes good. Who knows, maybe we’ll start a trend !!!
We worshiped at Rev Okoro’s church today. It was the last day of the conference this week. What a wonderful experience. We were given a very powerful message on inner wounds and healing. The Nigerians don’t generally share their ‘secret’ wounds of the heart and so when ‘Daddy Okoro’ taught with a father’s heart of the need to be healed, there was a great response. Rev Okoro is certainly a blessing to many. We also closed out the program with communion. I was asked to help serve the communion. That was a special experience as well…serving 3000 people communion. I was amazed at how well the practical details worked with such a group of that size. The service started at 7:30…..we ended communion at 2:30. When these people come to church – they stay until God is finished……what a blessing.
We were blessed to have a gentleman to drive us back and forth to the program during the week from Rev Okoro’s church. A wonderful man who also has 3 sons and one daughter and so we immediately connected by our hearts for our children. He and his wife wanted to treat Eli to something special today and so we were taken to a place called Chicken Republic. It’s a franchise that sells fried or baked chicken but the twist is that they sell chips – that’s French fries to you and me. Boy, was Eli blessed. He had chicken, fried and a cold Sprite. We sat in the a/c and visited with this lovely couple. It was a time of refreshing for us. They then took us a ways down the road and bought us ice cream. Does it get any better? Not when you’re 13!!!
(I must admit I ate my share as well!)
God is so faithful to me. He knows when I need a re-charging…I was so blessed by the service. God touched my heart in many ways. Communion moved my spirit. God had spoken to me earlier in the week that He longed to hear His people sing Holy, Holy, Holy, as He took me to His Word in Revelation of the worship around the throne. Then today as we were praying during communion, Rev Okoro opened his mouth and started singing Holy, holy, Holy – the people joined in and it was a piece of heaven. After service I asked Rev Okoro if singing that hymn was a usual occurrence during communion. He smiled brightly and said, “No, never have we sung it before that way. It was just that I could hear it in my spirit and I let God take control.” I am blessed as I lay down to sleep this evening. This is why I love Nigeria. Despite the challenges, there is nothing more precious to me than obedience to the Spirit of God. Thank you Father, thank you my Daddy, for allowing me to worship with these people, in this place and in these days of your Kingdom. May You forever receive all Glory and Praise. Amen
I had opportunity to spend some time with Rev Dr Ojong this week. He is a professor at the University of Calabar here in the Philosophy of Sciences. He is a full-time professor on a stipend to pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The Redeemed is a strong force in Nigeria with an aggressive mandate of planting a church every 5 kilometers. They don’t believe anyone should have the excuse of not being able to make it to a church…especially when there is one every 5 kilometers. His parish is one of the main parishes with 1500+ members. I have ministered there many times and always enjoy their fellowship. He has been a blessing in being able to help us with transportation and connecting us with the right people in regard to some basic daily needs…..shipping, courier services, etc. I’ve mentioned it before but you can’t walk into business like these and get what you need done without a local with you. Many times, these pastors will take us to their ‘members’ businesses. The members are blessed by the business and having ‘daddy’ oversee the transactions keeps things honest. With the help of many, our passports finally made it to Lagos. We are now in the process of ‘applying’ (that means paying) for re-application of our visas. It’s a long story and once things are in place we may be able to share the details. At this point however, we are caught in a system controlled by the world and its ways. We have prayed and trust that God will make a way for us to stay as long as He needs for us to.
I will be ministering in a program for the Redeemed in the near future. Rev Ojong will be organizing a women’s meeting for a number of the parishes and we will finish the program for the entire church on a Sunday. His parishes are a bit more progressive…the people are generally more educated and we do not need to use interpreters as English is the prevailing language for the educated people in Calabar.
Jon just brought me a treat……avacadoes are about 20 cents a piece here. They eat them whole but we’ve made a lot of guacamole…..we add tomatoes and onions and taa – daa !! Now that we have the guacamole…what about the chips?? Well, we have found that banana chips…sliced the long way…fried in oil will suffice. It’s actually quite good and hits the spot. Today however, we have no banana chips and Jon’s guacamole is especially good tonight. Well, one thing about Nigeria, it brings the creativity out for sure…..I’m missing the crunch of the chips and the only food we have with a crunch is about a cup and a half of corn flakes. Yes, I said corn flakes. We sprinkled the corn flakes on the top of the guacamole and we laugh as we imagine we are at On the Border dining on Guacamole Live !!! Well, this version is Nigeria Live and it actually tastes good. Who knows, maybe we’ll start a trend !!!
We worshiped at Rev Okoro’s church today. It was the last day of the conference this week. What a wonderful experience. We were given a very powerful message on inner wounds and healing. The Nigerians don’t generally share their ‘secret’ wounds of the heart and so when ‘Daddy Okoro’ taught with a father’s heart of the need to be healed, there was a great response. Rev Okoro is certainly a blessing to many. We also closed out the program with communion. I was asked to help serve the communion. That was a special experience as well…serving 3000 people communion. I was amazed at how well the practical details worked with such a group of that size. The service started at 7:30…..we ended communion at 2:30. When these people come to church – they stay until God is finished……what a blessing.
We were blessed to have a gentleman to drive us back and forth to the program during the week from Rev Okoro’s church. A wonderful man who also has 3 sons and one daughter and so we immediately connected by our hearts for our children. He and his wife wanted to treat Eli to something special today and so we were taken to a place called Chicken Republic. It’s a franchise that sells fried or baked chicken but the twist is that they sell chips – that’s French fries to you and me. Boy, was Eli blessed. He had chicken, fried and a cold Sprite. We sat in the a/c and visited with this lovely couple. It was a time of refreshing for us. They then took us a ways down the road and bought us ice cream. Does it get any better? Not when you’re 13!!!
(I must admit I ate my share as well!)
God is so faithful to me. He knows when I need a re-charging…I was so blessed by the service. God touched my heart in many ways. Communion moved my spirit. God had spoken to me earlier in the week that He longed to hear His people sing Holy, Holy, Holy, as He took me to His Word in Revelation of the worship around the throne. Then today as we were praying during communion, Rev Okoro opened his mouth and started singing Holy, holy, Holy – the people joined in and it was a piece of heaven. After service I asked Rev Okoro if singing that hymn was a usual occurrence during communion. He smiled brightly and said, “No, never have we sung it before that way. It was just that I could hear it in my spirit and I let God take control.” I am blessed as I lay down to sleep this evening. This is why I love Nigeria. Despite the challenges, there is nothing more precious to me than obedience to the Spirit of God. Thank you Father, thank you my Daddy, for allowing me to worship with these people, in this place and in these days of your Kingdom. May You forever receive all Glory and Praise. Amen
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