Nov. 2007
I've
been home from Nigeria for a week and a half now. The red Nigerian
dirt has come off of my shoes. The Nigerian smell has been washed
out of my clothes (every country and region has a particular smell).
The tan I got
has started to fade. But I can't get Nigeria out of my head!
Some Stories:
We had finished all the Sunday school activities we had brought for the
kids to do. It was time to have some free-time art! We handed
out the paper and crayons. We showed the kids how to use the chairs
as tables since that's all we had, but many of them improvised by drawing
on their laps. The kids brought their artwork to me with enthusiastic
smiles: "Auntie! Auntie! Look! Look at this!" I would exclaim
with delight over their drawings, but was genuinely surprised to see some
great cartoons.
As the team and I were driving home after the service I commented on my
surprise at seeing how well some of the kids could draw. I heard
a bit of a
chuckle behind me. Andy asked, "What were they drawing?" "Muscle
men and cartoon pigs." I replied. He burst out laughing.
Those were his drawings, the only things he can draw. The kids were
taking the pictures from him and bringing them to me! We all had
a good laugh at that.
At a different time during kid's ministry, we had once again run out of
things to do with the kids. I had them all sit in a circle and asked
them
to tell me about their favorite Bible story. I never would have
expected
what happened next! So many hands shot up into the air and waved
with
eagerness. I called on one boy. He stood up from his seat,
and proceeded to tell me the story of Moses and the Children of Israel
escaping from Egypt. The next kid told the story of Abraham and
Isaac. These kids loved the Bible! Amazing! The storytelling
then turned into a time of figuring out how we could see Jesus in each
of the stories. They knew that Jesus was like Moses because He has
set us free from our sins the way Moses helped to set the Children of
Israel free from Egypt. These kids were making the connection!
It was fantastic. The kid's ministry leader, Josh, confided in me how
hard it is to teach these kids. He shared with me how God told him
that he should simply teach Jesus, and God would do the rest. It
was wonderful to see how God has proven himself faithful to His word.
It was exciting to tell Josh that I had seen with my own eyes what God
has done!
The Trip:
Our goal for the trip was to bless and encourage Prince Lawrence, senior
pastor of CC Abuja, and the guys serving and working with him, along with
the church body. It was fun to see this happen while being blessed
as well!
We worked with the kids a lot. We did children's ministry on Sunday
morning. On Tuesday through Thursday we helped at the first Calvary
Chapel Abuja Retreat, which was held at a facility in the countryside
south of Abuja. Phil Metzger taught the adults while the rest of
the team did
children's ministry for the 20-something kids (ages baby-12). In
the
beginning it felt like there were 50 kids because they were all over the
place. They didn't really know who we were and what we were doing,
but by the end we had built good relationships with them, and we had a
lot of fun together!
We also visited an orphanage that is located just down the street from
Prince's house. It was fun to play with the kids, especially the
toddlers.
One little guy tottered over to me, grabbed my hands, and started dancing!
He made me laugh so hard! The harder I laughed, the more he danced!
It was great!
As I have returned to Vajta, Hungary - to teach my students again, to
live
in a comfortable little room, to work in a beautiful old building - I've
gone through some self-assessment. The Christians we worked with
have so little, materially, but are SO joyful! Their deep gratitude
for Jesus, and
for Salvation, far surpasses what my heart has felt in a long time!
It's a
good reminder to me that 'stuff', and even physical comforts don't always
make life better. It's Jesus that makes life better!
Prayer Requests:
-That the seeds that are growing in the hearts of the young believers
at CC
Abuja would continue to grow and be strengthened and matured.
-That God would sustain Prince and the ministry team, and fill them with
His Spirit, and give them creativity and excitement for what they are
doing.
-That God would guide Prince and the ministry team as they pursue purchasing
property and building a facility where there could be a church, a place
where Bible College students and pastors could study the Word of God,
and housing for missionaries, and visiting outreach teams.
-For health for the staff and students here in Vajta - a mean flu bug
has
been fiercely going around!
-Pray for us teachers that we would have a renewal in creativity and
excitement for teaching the pastors' kids, and that the kids would have
a
new excitement in learning as we pass through the middle of the semester.
-Wisdom in planning for Christmas vacation, and making traveling dates
for the new year.
Thank you for all your support, love, and prayers!! While in Nigeria,
I was
so amazed and excited to see many prayers answered as soon as they left
my lips! We also had great team unity, safety and health (no Montezuma's
Revenge!) I know that was because you were standing in the gap for
the team & me! Thank you!
If you would like to view pictures of the trip, please visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LynnGwyn
and click on the album called: Abuja, Nigeria.
I'd love to hear any comments from you!
Quick Facts:
-Abuja, Nigeria, Africa: the capital of Nigeria, located in central Nigeria.
-Calvary Chapel Abuja: began May 2005
Ministry Team at CC Abuja:
-Prince Lawrence: Senior pastor of CC Abuja, Calvary Chapel Bible College
Europe (CCBCE) alumni
-Josh: (American) assistant pastor, worship leader, kid's ministry
leader,
etc
-Brett: (American) assistant pastor, IT, evangelist, etc
Outreach Team:
-Phil Metzger: (American) Director of CCBCE, senior pastor
of
CC Budapest
-Tamas: (Hungarian) CCBCE alumni, senior pastor of CC Vac, Hungary
-Isabella: (Hungarian) member of CC Baja, Hungary, & has remained
in Abuja to serve
-Agi: (Hungarian) campus nurse at CCBCE
-Lynn: (American/British) teacher of pastors' children
-Andy: (American) CCBCE student (4th semester)
-Joe: (British) CCBCE student (1st semester)
