Sleeping on Concrete 4.25.08

Tuesday was a great day. Tim Malloy (Aggie), Brian (from Chicago) and Johnny (from N. Ireland) and I went to a ministry center about 90 minutes away, a small town called Kagoro. Saw lots of countryside, met about 20 orphans living at the center there, and was able to see the donation of the motorcycle which some of you helped purchase back in December. the new owner, the coordinator of the center, was truly ecstatic. The boys got new soccer balls and some other gifts. and plans were made for a team to visit the center in July to do work of all sorts there and at the nearby Fulani school.

The Fulani people, some 20 million of them, are semi-nomadic cattle herders who are 99% Muslim. The school is part of this ministry here in Nigeria, and used as a means to help meet their needs. we also got to visit with the local chief's wife. the chief of this tribal area has been in power for about 64 years! they are believers and hugely supportive of our ministries in their area.

Today was highlighted by the senior boys work back here in Jos at their main health and outreach center, Gidan Bege. We started the morning with our bible study, Proverbs 4-5 today. Then the boys spent the morning painting the front of the center--will finish tomorrow. They had to walk 2-3 miles to get there, but were early! and did great work---learning a new trade while of course also giving back to their community. We all had some jollaf rice when it was over. the "kitchens" at these places are comprised solely of huge, huge kettles used to cook rice and other grains over wood fires. (Remember the $1,000 Stampede donated toward the grain purchase last December?...well...this is it!) Imagine a pot with 150 pounds of rice in it, if you can. I will try to get photos someday when I can borrow a camera.

WRT RW: Looks like the main need they have for me here is in the area of communications. This ministry is very complex, and very few in the west can understand what is being done here and what the needs are. So I will be re-building an old web site www.cityministriesnigeria.org they have and building various collateral material to help raise awareness and support of everything going on. That was not exactly what I expected when I arrived, but it seems clear that is where God is leading me. And they are excited about getting the word out through these untapped resources, like the web. My main obstacle in doing this work, ironically, is of course the lack of my own computer and the lack of internet connectivity/electricity here.

There are of course massive needs here. and please trust that I only present you with a few that especially hit me. At the Fulani school mentioned above, 31 young kids came pouring out of the classroom, which serves as their sleeping quarters as well, when we drove up. they gave all of us big hugs around the legs, b/c most of these kids are only 8-10 years old. As I saw where they slept, what stood out was that there were only 5 large pieces of foam leaning against the walls of the room.

This meant that at least 24 of these young kids sleep directly on the concrete floor. No blankets. No pillows. no padding. nothing. Imagine your own kids sleeping directly upon the concrete in your garage each night. (some of you may like the idea!) Well, I found out we can buy basic foam bedding for about $30 per piece. I personally can't deal with the thought of these kids sleeping on concrete, so we are already in the process of getting foam beds for the kids. We have ordered 10 of them, and it would be great if someone, or many of you, chipped in to defray this cost.

If you are interested, just let me know. But how can we all sleep on beds each night when they are on the concrete? We have to get this done, and we will. and many of these Muslim children, and perhaps their parents, will see the love and care they are receiving from us, and some may someday come to the Lord. Even if they don't, I gotta believe this act of helping these kids pleases our Lord and demonstrates our service toward those in need. thanks.