Service and Mission to the Widows and Orphans of Nigeria

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Gehrig's Update



Dear Family, Friends and Supporters,

Nigeria is just starting its rainy season.  We have had some very serious storms but I think that is the norm here.  Out of our first 16 days it stormed at least 13 times.  The storms are a work of God.  The thunder will roll and roll and you can see the very dark clouds and the rain but it just kind of sits there and then hours later we will get hit with a lot of wind and some very close lightning and then the rain.  It just dumps and dumps and hails and dumps and dumps some more.  Of course our metal roofs amplify it even more.  Conversation is nearly impossible. Then it passes on and you wonder where did all the water go?  The soil here is very rocky and drains quickly, so very quickly that in just a few minutes you have a thin skim of mud on the low spots and gravelly dirt on the high spots.  

The number of rocks here makes you think Rockbridge County, Virginia has a rock shortage.  Huge ridges, almost mountains but not to Virginia’s standards.  Huge boulders everywhere. Ronda said the other day that they reminded her of Indian Rock up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and they do.  It is just like God used his hands like a child does on a gravelly beach and scooped up the ridges.  At the top, sides, and bottom of the ridges is this huge collection of boulders from stadium size down to pebbles.  The ridges and rocks are beautiful. Can’t wait to have time to pack a picnic lunch and spend the day climbing and exploring with Ronda. 

We have been without power company power at least 40 percent of the time since we have been here. Apparently that is normal. The voltage swings wildly; I have seen it as low as 166 and as high as 241 volts.  It just goes off and it may come back on in 5 minutes or 16 hours later.  We do have a large generator which we run enough to keep our fridges and freezers cold and our children’s clothes clean. We thank the Lord for that constantly. The generator is expensive to run as you can imagine.   We have adjusted to the lack of power and we can make coffee by heating water by gas and pouring it over the coffee in the coffee filter. If we have coffee what else can you ask?  J.  Upper 80’s to very low 90’s is usually the daytime high.  At nights it cools down to the low 80’s sometimes the high 70’s unless there is a storm then low 70’s.  It is very humid at times but most of the time it is very bearable. We have no heat or AC in any houses or buildings.  It is a blessing because there is no required maintenance or power usage.  Ceiling fans in every room though.  We do have a washer and dryer, another huge blessing!  

The mosquitoes are very numerous.  We had a war on them today in our house and the primary school.  The school had literally thousands of them, enough to require a broom and dust pan to clear the floor. Their bites are bad and Ronda and I have bad reactions to them, welts the size of a shirt button and they take about a week to disappear.  Not like the wimpy VA mosquitoes which disappear in about twenty minutes on me.   
They are rebuilding the road in front of the Village.  They have heavy construction equipment doing that but everything else is pretty much done manually.  Plowing, digging of footers, construction, etc. is done manually.  No equipment involved.  I rode into town with our Village Director, Melanie, this morning and the workers had dug drainage ditches at least four feet deep and four wide by hand probably a couple miles of it on both sides of the road.  Picks and shovels.  Back breaking work.  So impressive. There is 70 % unemployment in the Plateau State. You can tell these men are grateful for the work.

The people here in the village are wonderful. They are so very welcoming and appreciative.  The children are well behaved and beautiful and so smart.  I asked one boy what he learned in school this week and he proceeded to tell me the complete Bible lesson for the week and everything else from reading to science.  I know he had it right because everyone connected to Rafiki does the same Bible lesson/devotion every day.  The adult national staff and the Rafiki overseas staff do devotions every weekday together.  Then I lead the same lesson with our guards every day at 4pm - so far out of my comfort zone.  Even through the official language here is English I still struggle with understanding - but then I struggled understanding English in the US.  Ronda is doing great catching on to the language and customs and her understanding and speaking is impressive to me as well as the nationals. Yes, I am jealous.  

I have helped fixed a couple of long standing electrical problems since being here. Our power is 410/230volts, 3 phase, 50 cycle.  We have one power distribution transformer 200kva, 33KV to 410/230V.  We only have three or four three phase motors that I have found so far.  I brought hair clippers with me but even with using a step-down transformer the 50 cycles cause it to vibrate so hard that I could barely hang on to them.  
 
Our water distribution system is more complex than our electrical distribution.  We have four wells and numerous tanks, some mounted on the ground and some mounted on towers. The village is entirely gravity fed but we have a couple of lift pumps to get the water up into the towers and various types of controls.  We have one working solar powered well pump and other wells are equipped with regular submersible pumps.  The road divides the water system as well as the village which complicates everything.  The water tastes great but we have to filter it before drinking or cooking to be completely safe although the children and national kitchen staff drinks it without filtering or boiling.  I have started rinsing my toothbrush in the tap water and have suffered no ill effects that I have noticed. Ha.

God’s blessing is shown to us every day.  The gracious, welcoming, and friendly people are a blessing in itself.  They also are smart and many of them are God-fearing and know the Gospel well. The village is blessed with an experienced director of 13 years (Melanie).  With Ronda’s and my arrival came another Virginian, Erica, whose father works at Grief Brothers, a paper mill I used to work at, down the James River from Big Island about 40 miles. Small world.  J  She is the Headmaster of the school and a very capable one.  Ronda is gearing up for a teachers training program referred to as RICE. She also is distributing lesson materials to headmasters of the denominational partner schools throughout the Plateau State of Nigeria. She was just thrill the other day when she got to hand out her first lessons to one of the partner Headmasters.  

We are also blessed to have our own nurse, very capable in taking care of most illnesses and wounds of the ROS and of the children.  She practiced stitches on a fresh ram’s leg the other day after one was butchered for the children’s meals.  The Ram was given to the children as a gift by the local Chief.  Our kitchen staff will prepare it specifically for our tenth anniversary celebration this week.  We are also blessed with a very capable maintenance crew in electrical, plumbing, fixing, lawn care, and gardening.  This is not a throwaway society as America is; things are fixed even the things not made to be fixed.  Also we have a good labor force in the older village boys and girls.  We had one boy who fixed four broken sewing machines so the girls could sew aprons for the Home Economics Practical Exam that the state requires.  The older boys are curious and love to learn.  I worked on a broken door latch in a narrow hallway the other day while about 8 to 10 boys held my tools, light, and parts while looking over my shoulder.  The bad thing about it I had no idea on how to get the locked door open with a broken key but with God’s patience and help, a small hammer blow on a screw driver stuck into a blind hole the door magically opened.  The boys then helped replace the broken door latch.  I could go on and on with the blessings but time to move on to other things.  

God bless,

Gehrig

Saturday, May 25, 2013

May 2013 Pt. 2

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings are extremely important here in Nigeria. “You are welcome,” took us aback again and again. We are used to it following “thank you,” but the first greeting to newcomers is a wide open door of hospitality. We could not help but think of Christ, The Door.  Believers have done nothing to be welcomed into His kingdom. He does not call us to enter in because we have done something worthy but merely of His good pleasure. Likewise we have done nothing yet to aid our Nigerian friends yet they welcome us heartily. Pray that we will not stumble them in any way as we seek to fit into this culture and mindset.

“Well done,” (or Sannu in Hausa) is another kindly greeting that comes before one had done anything, let alone anything noteworthy or well. It is a surprise to the ears, and also serves as a personal challenge to the two of us. Pray that we would work with great fidelity and diligence. We long to hear well done from the Lord, but mostly pray our Nigerian friends would see Christ at work and find His excellence noteworthy. He alone has done all things well.

“Lafia” is the correct answer to nearly every question or greeting. In basic terms it means “all is well” or “it is fine.” Every morning you will be asked, “How was your night?” Lafia. “How is your wife (yayamatanka)?” Lafia. “How are your children (yayayara)?” Lafia. Though the courteous answer would always be “fine”, it is also the correct answer. The Lord Jesus Christ has been more than enough these first two weeks in country. We are way more than fine here.

To answer many of your emails at all once-

Yes to beautiful home, abundant and delicious food, and being able to communicate some with our family members.

Yes to mosquito bitten, Gehrig driving van loads of children to church, and the start of the rainy season.

No to our shipment coming yet, seeing cobras or any exotic animals, or getting sick.

Yes to bottled water for brushing teeth, being here for family visitation day (picture right), and the best mangoes ever.

Yes Ronda has gotten to distribute Rafiki Bible Study materials for local church schools (322 pre-primary and P1-P6 students!).

Yes we are content, learning, and part of an amazing team.

Yes God has shown Himself faithful, planted a deep love for these children, and surrounded us with a capable and committed core of national staff.

Yes the best part of every day is centered around the Rafiki Bible Study. Gehrig and Ronda have both been privileged to lead it many times already.

Yes to a good national church, meaningful work, and utter certainty that God has purposed our time here for our good and His glory.

One short story will explain much. Our Village Administrator was interviewing candidates for substitute mother positions. Genuine Christian conversion is a prerequisite for employment in this covenant community. One lady professed herself a Christian, but as the interview continued it became apparent to her that was not the case. As the gospel was clearly presented she understood and her countenance changed. She left Rafiki Village Nigeria a new creation. Thank you for your consistent prayers. The LORD is answering!

Please pray

  • We would daily become better fitted and more efficient teammates and workers
  • That we would quickly learn travel routes, customs, names, and responsibilities
  • That Christ would be preeminent in every conversation and interaction
  • Safety in every area
  • Successful procurement of an extended visa, CERPAC, and driver’s license
  • Timely delivery of our household goods, tools, clothing, and medications without pilfering or   excessive duty
  • Regular communication with our family and other supporters
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As always, if you would prefer to be removed from this mailing list, just let us know. Please feel free to print a copy for those without email or for your church prayer meeting.

God bless you,

Gehrig and Ronda