uncle Joseph

I believe there is a longing in the hearts of many men to be a father. Some may never have that privilege but maybe they will be able to be an uncle. Personally, I long to be a father and raise up a Godly heritage of warrior boys and virtuous young women. I’ve always wanted to have a large family and to raise my children to honor the Lord and to give their lives as a living sacrifice. Oh what a joyful day that will be when I’m blessed enough to welcome a child into my family and become a daddy. That day seems so far away yet, today, this very day, I am a daddy to many young children.

I’m grateful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to be here in Nigeria and to act as a father to these children. It’s easy to feel so inadequate and so unworthy to be able to be a part of their lives. What do you say to them? How do you treat them? How can I relate to them? What can I possibly do to help them?

I have no idea what it’s like to be an orphan. I don’t know what it is like to have my life in danger by my own family. I’ve never lived under a bridge or on the streets. I’ve always had running water, electricity, a comfortable bed and a loving family. I’ve never even entertained the thought of my parents getting rid of me. I’ve never had to go days without food or water. I’ve never had to beg for money. I’ve never cried myself to sleep for days and days and days. I don’t know what its like to lose my mother AND my father. I’ve never been in the shoes of these boys, I’ve never had to face life the way they have.

It all boils down to the fact that; I’ve never been a street boy in the streets on Nigeria…have you?

As much as I long to be a father, I’m excited to be “Uncle Joseph” to 63 boys and 15 girls. The kids call the staff “Auntie and Uncle_______”. I’m probably there tallest uncle they’ve seen in Nigeria. I’m beginning to develop some great relationships with the Nigerian staff and with the boys. This week I spent Tuesday and Thursday night with the boys in their rooms. I walked the 1 hour trek with them to their school. We also piled in a vehicle on the Thursday because someone was going our way. They love it when I try their food and practice my Hausa. They love it when I dive for the soccer ball and run around with them. These boys are beginning to open up more and more each day. They wait to see if I’m for real or not. They’ve already been burned more than once; will I do the same thing to them? Will I leave them, will I hurt them, and can we trust Uncle Joseph?

These are the questions that seem to be running through the minds of my newest nephews and nieces. Hopefully they see that I love them and I came to Nigeria for them.

There seems to be a gap between hope and despair. I’m confident in the fact that only Christ can give them hope; only He can give you hope. Yes, our backgrounds are vastly different but inside we are all the same. We were all created in the image of God. God’s image is on them. God’s image is on you, His image is on me. What a joy it is to be able to see God working in their lives. I hope you can share in this joy as you read this from your homes. Pray that these boys will hope only in the Lord Jesus and nothing else.

robbed!

Corruption in Nigeria seems to never cease. It’s not uncommon for people to be confronted by an armed robber. Many people even live inside of gated fences with guards patrolling their houses. Earlier this week I received a taste of what it means to be robbed. It may surprise you in regards to whom and how I was robbed but let me give you a little background before I tell you how it all went down.

The week started off with a cultural orientation review with the Nigerian staff with whom I am partnering.

Tuesday morning I met with my “boss” to discuss my plans thus far. I’m still trying to figure out where I’ll best serve. So far it seems like Gyero and Transition House will be the two main areas of focus. Gyero is roughly an hour away, or 12 miles! The roads are so bad that it takes 1 hour to travel something like 12 miles. I will probably spend a lot of time in Gyero with the boys out there. They also have a farm and given my farming experience, Gyero seems to be a perfect fit for me. There are also needs in regards to maintenance and for Bible teaching and mentoring.

On Tuesday I went to Gyero to spend the day and the night. When I arrived I was given an official tour of the farm that needs much work. It started to rain when we walked to the farm so I gave my rain jacket to Sunday (one of the boys) because I didn’t want him to get sick. It turns out that I got wet and in turn I was sick that night and for the last few days. On Tuesday night I read the boys the “Pineapple Story” and they were all very attentive and excited. At the climax of the story I jokingly said “okay, I’ll read the rest of the story tomorrow”. They were all surprised and pleaded with me to keep reading…so I did. These boys love stories and they long for attention.

Now, how did I get robbed? I told you it may surprise you in regards to how and whom the robbery took place.

Do you remember what I said about getting wet and sick? When I went to see the farm I was wearing a t-shirt and I got very wet. When I returned from the walk I hung my shirt on a bed post so that it would dry out but when I went to take the shirt back to where I was staying, one of the boys offered to carry it for me. His name is Joseph Danladi(see picture and shirt over his shoulder), he is an orphan and he’s been in the ministry for a few years. Later on in the evening, I forgot about my shirt and when I asked Joseph where it was he said that he had it with him.
I said, Joseph, do you have my shirt?
He said “yes, I have it”
I said “can I have it back?”
He shook his head “no”
I said “why not?”
He said “because I want to sleep with it tonight”
At this point I said, “Okay, Joseph, you can have it tonight but tomorrow please give it back to me”.
Joseph came to me armed with a heart longing for a father and affection. These boys have been robbed of paternal care and love. They’ve spent a large portion of their lives trying to survive on the streets of Nigeria. When I came to Gyero Joseph was quick to welcome me and show his longing for affection. Joseph did not steal my shirt, he simply borrowed it for the night. He wanted anything he could to remind him of me. My shirt carries my scent and it is a part of me. As far as I know, Joseph wanted to be near his father. My shirt was the closest thing to having a father close to him when he slept.

These boys are starving for affection. Some of them have been through atrocious acts and abuse. Others have been without a male or female influence for the majority of their lives. Joseph has no father and he has no mother. As far as he is concerned, I am his father until I leave and return to the U.S. In two years, I too will abandon him.

While I was in Gyero I told the boys about my friends and family in the U.S. I told them about my friend Sarah who gave me the pineapple story. I told them that she is their age and that she wants to start a business selling bread to her neighbors to help sponsor orphans. They were very interested to know more about her and about sponsors in the U.S.

I would like you to consider sponsoring orphans and contributing to the ministry here. These boys need food, clothing, shoes and school supplies. These are simply material items. Above all, they need love, they need people like you and me to come and spend time with them, to read them Bible stories and teach them about Jesus. Consider visiting Nigeria, consider these boys and girls in your prayers. Before you eat breakfast tomorrow, consider the wonderful food that is in front of you. Consider the comfort of your bed and of the wonderful family God has given to you. Consider these boys who have been robbed of their rights to simply be loved.

If you are interested in finding out more about this then please write back or visit the following link…

http://www.cityministriesnigeria.org/

I’m sorry that this post was very long. I hope that you read it all and you can get a better look into the ministry that I’m involved with.

Here are some Prayer requests:
1. For direction in regards to where to serve
2. I’ll be in Kano(99.9% muslim) from the 20th-28th. Pray for effectiveness in outreach.
3. Pray that I’ll find a cheap car to get me to and from ministry locations.

Other than that, thank you all again and again for giving me the privilege of serving the church in Nigeria. I praise the Lord for all that you’ve done to make this possible. Please continue to stay in touch…I love hearing from you.

Oh and Bryan, e-mail me soon

a week in review

“Na gajia”---I’m tired!

This week has been very busy. I finished my cultural orientation on Tuesday and then Wednesday, Thurs and Friday I finally made my rounds exploring the city ministries and determining where I would fit the best.

Monday and Tuesday where spent doing things like:
-Filling out immigration papers
-Learning how finances work here
-Learning how to avoid offending a Nigerian
-Signing my will
-and shopping in the market

Wednesday was spent at Gidan Bege. This is where the boys are first cared for to determine why they came to GB. The goal is to reconcile these kids with there families but often times this is not the possible. The boys spend at least 6 months being cared for, loved, fed and counseled. Their cases are usually pretty drastic and sad but it’s important to remember that we can actually help them now. No matter what happened in the past, through the love of Christ, these boys are loved and taught scripture. I spent Wednesday with them playing soccer, cards, eating, napping, and I even had a Bible study from Luke 15. At the end we all prayed, each boy knelt on the cement and they all began to pray. I knelt with them and was so caught up in their sincerity that I barely prayed. I just listened; I didn’t understand what they were saying because they were praying in Hausa. But I did know that they were speaking to their Father, a Father they never knew they had.

After I left GB I went with a group of Nigerians to “bad boys” for an outreach. This is a small town where people go to do bad things…go figure! We went for a different reason. We went to share Christ with these Nigerians. Many were keen to listen to the “baturi”(white person). I was able to have many conversations with these men, women and children. We were there for roughly an hour and the rain started to POUR! More on this later.

Thursday was spent visiting Transition House(TH). This is the location in which the boys transition out of the ministry and back to their families or into the workplace. My only involvement in TH will probably be in the area of Bible studies and Bible classes. I’m still not sure how much time I’ll be spending at TH…we’ll see.

Friday was the highlight of my week even though there was still no electricity. Friday I went to Gyero to explore the ministry and to take one of our new girls to live with the other 13 orphan girls. Let me explain better…

City ministries does not just bring in orphan boys, we also bring in girls(though not the norm). generally girls are more valuable at home and boys are not. The boys usually are the ones who are sent to the streets to beg. Some are forced, others have no other choice to survive. On Friday we took a new orphan girl to Gyero, her name is Mary and she is nine yrs. Old. She became an orphan over the weekend when her mother died. We took Mary to live out with the other 13 girls. I went to Gyero to visit the boys and see where I may fit the best. The boys received me well and all of them kept saying “dogo baturi”(tall white person). They couldn’t believe my height. The boys showed me around the ministry. We walked out into the farm area, met some Fulani’s (nomad’s) and explored the living quarters. At one point I could here the praying of Muslims in the distance. Friday is their Sunday, the day to worship and pray in the mosque. I can see myself spending a lot of time in Gyero. The boys want me to move in with them…I just may…we’ll see.

This week we had all sorts of storms. At one point I thought the roof was going to blow off and rain was going to cover my bed...the storms here are crazy. This is the rainy season and believe me, it rains hard here.

I hope that gives you a good look into my last week. On Friday night I made myself some dinner. It was not a normal dinner. This was a candle light dinner! The only bad part about the meal was that I was all alone, me, myself, and I. brighter days will come…family as well.

PRAY

Here are some things you can pray for:
Direction on where to serve
My health
Pray also for Mary, the new orphan girl.

Ps. The lizards name is Samson. The more yellow they have, the tougher they are. The more battles they won.