MISSIONS UPDATE (Day 7)

At a mega  filling station Koko, Kebbi State.

Cruising into some distant villages at Nigeria/Benin border.

Missionary/Pastor Lazarus Gambo our host at Maje, a border community.

Going to Tungan Aliyu where a new EMS station is starting amidst oppositions.

I and Brother Wuni our associate at Gusau, Zamfara State, a computer engineer/missionary

Students being ministered to on our way back home; around Kagoro/Manchok junction.

Mafeng Nas my companion cleaning the premises of  our church/guest house at Maje.

Mafeng encouraging little Vicky, daughter of the missionary at Tunga Aliyu.

The new school built by the initiatives of Pastor Lazarus

Finally, on the seventh day we were back to Jos. Those who had been following our journey will realize that we could not reach all our intended locations for obvious reasons; our guides lost adequate coordination among themselves and this was followed by financial constrains.

The specific reasons that actually hindered our entrance into Benin Republic was the needs we saw in the lives of other missionaries we met on transit; we were prompted to share with them the meager resources at our disposal.

The trip was confronted by a very serious fuel crisis. We spent almost over half of the money meant for the general purpose of the program on fuel; that was even within Nigeria alone.

Proceeding under such a situation would have made us an unnecessary liability to the brethren over there; as we also noticed their own predicaments; we decided to return home.

However, it will be totally wrong to conclude that the journey was without any positive outcome. We gained deeper insight into missions within the African settings; something one could never achieve without making such an endeavor.

We saw how some strong-hearted brethren paying the high price of living a sacrificial life from far away homelands so that God can use them to win others into His Kingdom. They live under all sorts of inconvenient and uncomfortable environments and situations so that their clients will be happy.       

A typical case was that of Pastor Lazarus Gambo and family an indigene of Bauchi State who had almost forgotten his own people for the sake of the lost in those predominant Moslem or totally heathen communities. 

Apart from the small church building which is attended by a few non-indigenes doing business or government officials at the boarder; there is nothing Christian there.

Pastor Gambo had successfully started a school in which a few children from the community (immigrants from Benin Republic) are gradually gaining good education through a couple and a lady, they are also missionaries.   

What ought to be said more is that; this profound effort should not be seen as ECWA’s responsibility alone; many more ministries or churches should stir up their members into missions to meet up with these kinds of demands.

Having discovered much about the spiritual concern of the places visited; and with the adequate arrangements put in place between us and the brethren on the mission fields there; we were left with one option; to come back and get more prepared prayerfully and otherwise for another engagement sometimes early 2016.

Brethren, as we continue to appreciate your prayers and supports; we are pleading the more, that many of you out there should personally be involved into missions; there is no more time for complacency and slothfulness; give up everything for the advancement of God’s Kingdom in Jesus’ Name.