Who we are

Meet some of our members and hear their stories.

Who We Are: John and Nancy Sawyer, House of Hope

Friday, 19 October 2007 03:40 Written by Mike Blyth
John and Nancy Sawyer have worked in Nigeria for 25 years. Until the past four years, John was teaching at Hillcrest School and Nancy was involved in nursing and administrative work. In the past four years, though, they have both been working with House of Hope, an urban ministry program helping children at risk, mainly homeless boys. As well, in the same ministry, John and Nancy support the care and education of children of Nigerian (“national”) missionaries.

This short (8 minute) video tells a bit about those children and what the House of Hope is doing for them.

Moses

Wednesday, 29 August 2007 17:48 Written by Erin Rigsby
Visit Erin Rigsby's Blog
Moses was involved in the occult and his life was in danger. In Nigeria, if someone is in a secret society, they may get possessed by evil and kill people. As a result, the people in Moses' village became afraid of him and threatened to kill him, so his mother brought him to Gidan Bege about four years ago. Moses is now a kind-hearted, patient and obedient boy. He loves Jesus and wants to be a pastor when he grows up.

Yesterday he came to me because he really wants to see his mom. One of the boys, DanLadi, was going to visit his own mother and Moses wanted to join him, because they are in the same village. Moses' mom, however, has said that his life is still in danger and that he cannot go visit her right now. When “Uncle Alex” was explaining this to him, tears fell down his cheeks. Not being able to visit his mom? Because people are afraid of him? What? It is difficult to understand. And yet, that is reality for him.

Moses is now part of our family. He is loved by everyone and strives to follow Christ. But, a child needs his mother. Pray for us as we are the mothers and fathers to these precious children.

Erin Rigsby is an SIM nurse working with the homeless and disadvantaged children at “Gidan Bege”, or House of Hope. See her blog and website for more information.

Who We Are: Susan Bertrand, Spring of Life

Monday, 15 January 2007 15:05 Written by Mike Blyth

Susan BertrandA registered nurse with experience in oncology and hospice, Susan became interested in Nigeria in February 2005 when she attended an AIDS conference. There, she met a missionary with SIM. Since September 2005, she has been working at Spring of Life, with home-based care, AIDS education, and the hospital HIV clinic.

“My purpose is to bring the hope and light of Jesus Christ to people living with HIV/AIDS through my ministry at Spring of Life, a counseling and care center. My work includes monitoring patients through anti-retroviral therapy (ARV), teaching AIDS awareness and prevention, managing AIDS related illnesses and follow-up through a home-based care program. I oversee a group of home-based care workers who teach ”drug adherence“ to patients taking ARV. Teaching adherence means explaining and emphasizing the importance of taking all one's medications every day, and helping patients find ways to do this. I help train leaders in local ECWA churches in all aspects of HIV, encouraging them to care for members of their own churches who are living with HIV/AIDS.” See Susan's Blog

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