SIM Nigeria

God used a stolen iPod to change someone's destiny forever. Let me explain...

Two weeks ago was my first time to spend the night with the kids at our orphanage in Gyero (20 minutes outside of Jos). Right before going to bed I realized my iPod had gone missing. After looking for it a long time, we concluded that it was stolen. With no way to search 60 kids at 10 o'clock at night, and thinking the culprit would sell it first thing the next day at the market, I was content with being iPodless.

So, you can image how surprised I was to got a call from one of the house parents the following day informing me they found the iPod on one of the kids. Unfortunately, the kid who took it was Simon, one the boys I had gone hiking with the previous day.

See the rest of the story in Justin's blog!

Kaum zu glauben, dass bereits ein ganzer Monat seit meinem letzten Eintrag vergangen ist. Du warst wirklich geduldig.

Herzlich willkommen in Gyero!
In diesem Dorf sind unsere Mädchen und die Knaben, die die Primarschule besuchen, zu Hause. Nach den Unruhen im Jahr 2001 konnten wir güngstig Land erwerben, da viele Bewohner aus dem Ort weggezogen sind. Über die Jahre konnte Dank Spenden Haus um Haus gebaut werden.

Read the whole article in Corinne's blog or here in an automated, rough translation to English.

“The spiritual decision I made this year in camp was not to steal, no fighting, and no lying. May God give me understanding and love to people, not to be bad to any people in this community.” –Jos ECWA Camp Youth Alive Camper

Two youths at ECWA Camp

As I read over this evaluation the other day, I could not help but wonder about the camper who wrote it. Was he involved in the recent Jos crisis? Did he have an opportunity to retaliate and involve himself in violence? Did he choose not to in the name of love and Christ-like humility? Has he been an agent of peace and comfort to those in his community now in the wake of the crisis? All of these questions started swirling around in my head and I started to have a new perspective of the situation we’re living in.

Like the rest of the Jos population, the events of late November 2008 set me back on my heels and made me take another look at the city and community I live in. As someone who has devoted her life towards working with youth, specifically, Nigerian youth, my heart ached when I heard that youths were the ones carrying out many of these atrocities.

Sitting on a concrete block in the ruins of the burned out church yesterday, listening to the members singing songs of praise and devotion in English and Hausa, I felt closer than I ever had to the events of the New Testament church. I have been reading the book of Hebrews for the past two months, noticing the emphasis on suffering in passages such as

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Heb. 10:32–36.

The church in Rikkos was one of the worst-hit during the religious violence at the end of November. The pastor was killed, the church and clinic burned, and the houses of many members burned as well. In just the ECWA denomination across Jos, two hundred homes were destroyed and at least twelve people killed. (See the whole article for more info and a video of the women singing).