LIONS!!!

Lion’s are big scary animals with big teeth and big claws. They are agile and very strong; they could easily rip someone to pieces in a matter of moments. Africa is full of them and I never wanted to meet one face to face in the wild. I’ve already had my first encounter with a lion and I’ll tell you about it but first let me ask you some off the subject questions…

When you think back to your childhood, do you have good memories?
What type of memories do you have?
Do you enjoy thinking about the years past and the days ahead?

For me, the good memories far outweigh the bad. I remember spending many summer days playing with my brothers, my cousins and my dad. I remember the Saturday fishing trips to Neville Island. I even remember when Ricky, Stephen, Bryan, my dad, and I caught 48 fish. I remember the day my dad took us out of school to go skiing at Boyce Park with my cousins. I remember my parents reading to me, teaching me how to read, to draw, and to tell time. I remember the times my mother and I would have a cup of Lipton tea with a bowl of Wheaties (no milk) and we would play crazy 8’s together. I remember shopping with her and she would always buy me provolone cheese and my favorite cereal. I remember evening Bible studies with my family, Christmas morning, Easter morning, and long summer days swimming in our pool. I even remember the bump on the way to church which would make your stomach drop…it would tickle all of us kids, we all would laugh and sometimes my dad would turn around so we could do it again!

What does all of this have to do with encountering a lion?

My first encounter with a lion took place many years ago. I was a small boy (maybe 10) and my dad decided to take my brothers and sisters to the Pittsburgh Zoo for the day. My brothers, sisters and I had a great day seeing all of the animals, the fish, the lions!, the snakes, the monkeys, the birds and the alligators. My dad bought us soft pretzels, Pepsi, and ice cream. The goal was to eat the ice cream before it melted down your forearm and dripped off of your elbow. It was a hot day, humid and sticky, but, to me, it was one of the greatest days and memories that I have ever had. My good memories definitely outweigh the bad. I hope this is true for you as well.

For the boys and girls here, their bad memories far outweigh the good. Their memories would rather be forgotten, placed in a steel box and launched to the moon. To relive them would be cruel torture and would border on the edge of insanity. Their memories of their parents are bittersweet. Some have lost one parent, other’s both or none. Some have lost a parent and then been accused of killing them. Some have had to flee from their families because they were accused of being in a secret cult. Some have been physically beaten, tied by their feet, hung from the roof and burned. Their memories are dark spots, deep in the recesses of their minds. They are areas that they would rather forget, move on and continue their lives. For some, they have been healed of the hurt, the pain, and the sadness. For others, our newer ones, many years of counseling and prayer will be needed.

How are they bittersweet?
Some of our boys have great memories of their childhood. They remember times with their father’s and mother’s and brothers and sisters. They remember learning how to work on vehicles and how to farm. They remember spending quality time with their families. Tragedy struck for many of our boys when one or both of their parents died. Even more tragedy struck when their uncles and aunts or remaining parent accused them of being the culprit. Can you imagine? Your father or mother dies of malaria or some other disease and you are accused of putting some sort of curse on them. Someone has to be blamed so they blame you. Can you imagine?

Fortunately our boys (and girls) are receiving love and protection. Our kids are being taught scripture, education and basic life skills. Our boys are receiving hope again and love. We have over 100 boys in Jos, and 15 girls. I’m personally witnessing a transformation in their lives. I’ve seen one boy who rarely smiled, after a month he felt safe enough to smile again. Another boy doesn’t stop singing. Another doesn’t stop smiling.

There is a flip side to the tragedy that has struck in their lives; I hope you gather that from this post. Africa, Nigeria in particular, is not a country full of lions, malaria, HIV and orphans. We actually have amazing men and women, boys and girls here. We have future missionaries, pastors, doctors, Godly fathers and virtuous mothers. We have over 100 boys and 15 girls that I like to look at as gold mines. To have more men and women involved in their care, praying for them and coming to see them would be incredible. Our smaller boys love balloons and bubble gum. They love drawing pictures, singing songs and playing football (soccer). They have a hope now despite the darkness of their pasts. They have good memories that are beginning to push out the bad. They have a joy that they never dreamed they would ever have again. This is Nigeria, a land of opportunity. These are the boys and girls of City Ministries Nigeria. These are the kids I came to Nigeria for; these are the ones that are giving me more good memories that will last a lifetime.

Guess what? You are making this possible…praise the Lord and thank you for your faithfulness to God, towards these kids and towards me.

Pray for these kids, God knows their hurts and their futures. Pray for them, pray for the staff and pray for me.

SHOTS FIRED!

Shots were fired at an American man this past week. He ended up making most of the saves but Nigeria still won the game 2-1 over the USA to advance to the next round of the Olympic soccer championship. With the Olympics taking place in Beijing, Nigeria is watching closely their beloved soccer team. Today the team won again to advance to the gold medal game. When they won the gold in 96’ there was rioting in the streets and people were going crazy all over Nigeria. I’m excited to see what happens this weekend when the game takes place.

This week was also junior and senior camp week. For 2 weeks I was under the impression that I was going to the junior camp but at the last minute they told me I would be at senior camp. I felt bad because I told all of the junior boys that I would be at their camp. I approached senior camp with a bad attitude and with bitterness. I really wanted to be with the smaller boys because I feel more appreciated and they are more fun to play with. After camp started and we were assigned to our study groups, I had to repent of my bad attitude...

I was put in a group with a man named “uncle Bobby” from Chicago. His church sponsored the camp and he came to take part in it. From day one I began to love this guy and appreciate him very much. We ended up having an incredible time together and I feel we were very effective in ministering and teaching the boys. The theme for the week was "walk worthy". this is taking from Ephesians ch. 4:1 which says "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called".

Monday through Saturday we covered different characteristics of what it means to walk worthy.

Monday started with "walk with courage",

Tuesday, "walk with discipline"

Wednesday, "walk with vision"

Thursday, "walk with endurance"

Friday, "walk with compassion"

and Saturday, "walk with self-sacrifice"

At the then of the week the boys each expressed areas in which they grew and they were very excited that I would be around for the next two years. During the week I began to see more and more of the need that the senior boys have. Many of them are very immature in their walks with the Lord. There are others who are very strong and who are growing daily. I believe God put me with Uncle Bobby and the senior camp so that I could be encouraged by him and so that I could see the need the senior boys have. Needless to say, I’ll be spending a lot of time with our senior boys. The camp ended on Saturday and then I was finally able to go home and get some much needed rest.

in other news,

Last Sunday I was officially welcomed as the newest member of Emmanuel Baptist Church. This Sunday I visited one of the daughter churches of EBC, after the service I had pounded yam with the pastor and his family. He said I was the first white man to ever eat with his family at his house, a great honor.

Other than that, this Thursday will be 8 weeks for me since I came to Nigeria. There have been days when I wanted to quit and go home but these last few weeks I have been having an incredible time here. Sometimes I wonder how I’ll ever be able to leave this place. Nigeria is my home and I absolutely love my time here in this wonderful country. There are so many great things here; the weather, the sound of the rain on my roof, the people, the mountains, the boys, and of course, the soccer team. I’m not only the newest member of EBC, I’m also the newest fan of Nigerian soccer. I’m having a great time with the boys following their team, correction….our team!

To conclude, I just want to say thank you for all that you are doing on your side of the ocean. May the Lord richly bless you for your faithfulness, kindness and generosity.

THANK YOU!

update from the last 2 weeks

I apologize to everyone who has e-mailed me and has not heard back from me. I’ve been very busy with my church family showing them around Nigeria for the last two weeks. I didn’t even stay at my house and I barely had a chance to get home to check e-mails. When I did write I mainly wanted to give you an update on Nathan and let you know that he needed your prayers.

Now I’m resting after a tiring two weeks. When teams come they usually want to jam a bunch of things in a short amount of time. When my team was here i found myself doing a lot of running around but I was able to enjoy them and see other facets of the ministry. My assignment was to be with my church wherever they went and assist in any way I could. I met them in Abuja and then we traveled to Jos the following morning. When we arrived in Jos I was given a box that my family packed for me. In it were all sorts of exciting items; M&M’s, Oreo’s, pretzels, Heinz Ketchup, Franks Red Hot Sauce, Fig Newtons, cake mixes, brownie mixes and plenty of seasonings and spices. They also brought me many books for personal study and for teaching to the boys. I had a great time opening and enjoying the gifts that they brought for me.

The first day did not have a happy ending. In the evening is when Nathan broke both of his legs. Here in Nigeria we don’t have a 911 service or ambulances so we had to take him on a stretcher in the back of a van to the local hospital. 72 hours later he was evacuated to South Africa. The team maintained their composure very well and was able to continue on with the scheduled events. The main thing they did was washing the boys’ feet and giving them a new pair of shoes. We also did 3 medical outreaches, 1 prison “inreach”, spent 7 hours on Sunday leading a church service(2 actually), and visited the different care centers.

The team left on Thursday at 1 PM and arrived safely back in the United States. Many on the team were talking about future opportunities to do long term missions. I’m excited because I may see some of them back here next summer…we’ll see!

As for me, I’m resting and relaxing. Friday I spent all day in my house and ate some of the junk food that they brought my way. I journaled, prayed and read. I had a great time alone. This week the boys go to summer camp. I’m not sure what it will be like but I’m looking forward to it. I’m being sent to the senior camp so I’ll have older and more mature boys. It ought to be an exciting week. Pray that there are boys who commit their lives to Christ.

If there are certain things that you’d like for me to write about then please e-mail me your topics at joeshriver18@gmail.com

pics of nathan

this is the doctor who operated on Nathan. he "just so happened to be there". he is an orthopedic surgeon who visits nigeria once every 2 years. God orchestrated everything perfectly and we can rejoice that Dr. Zurske was available and that he did an incredible job on Nathan's legs.
this is the structure that Nathan was climbing when it came out of the ground. the structure lannded on him and sandwiched him between the cement and the tower. Praise the Lord that his head did not get hurt.



here are some pics of nathan. i've only added three because i figured they best tell his story. he is a strong young man and was an encouragement to everyone here. i did not see him cry once, he dealt with his injuries very bravely. he flew to S. africa on thursday morning and was welcomed by his father upon arrival. his family could really use our prayers, nathan's grandmother just passed away, he is in a hospital in south africa with two broken legs, his sister is moving to the philippines in a week for two years and his family are all scattered.

personally, (call it morbid) i am rejoicing with them. God is at work even during difficult times and circumstances. it may not make a lot of sense on this side of eternity but He tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God". in other words, "He is well aware of what is going on...thank HIM".

so, i just wanted to briefly add some pictures, i'm swamped with things to do but i think it's important that you are able to see Nathan and his smile. please pray for the Wuerffel family