Helleman News

Back in the Gambia

2012-01-22T12:32:00.000-05:00

University of the Gambia sign

It feels good to be back in the Gambia, after an absence of 13 months. We are here with a mission: to help start a program in Christian Studies at the University of the Gambia. This is an entirely new program that is intended to prepare Gambians to teach Christian Studies at in Gambian elementary and secondary schools.

Islamic Studies has been taught since this university was established, but Christian Studies were never introduced, largely because Christians form a tiny minority in a country that is about 85% Muslim. Christians and followers of African Traditional Religion (ATR) make up the rest. The Christians are divided into two main groups: the mainline churches, meaning Catholics, Methodists and Anglicans, and the rest, a multiplicity of Pentecostal and other evangelical groups.

At the university, the student body is similarly divided. We hope that we can help to bring Christians students together so that they and the churches they represent can present a united front where the majority are Muslim and/or ATR. Some Muslims, and even some Christians, tend to be syncretistic; they will attend their mosque or church, but they will also sacrifice at a shrine.

Ceremonial entrance arch to Banjul

It is clear that an enormous challenge awaits us. This is compounded by the fact that the second semester has just started, but so far no applicants for this new program have been identified. We knew this already before we arrived, but we were not fully aware of the many hurdles that remain before this program can begin. Yet we are hopeful that it will be implemented very soon.

We brought scholarship money with us for prospective students, but so far none of the churches involved have identified students for this program. Each of the mainline churches is allowed to nominate two students for a scholarship. Four more scholarships are available for students from the remaining churches.

The scholarships are being made available by the Christian Volunteer Movement, a Toronto-based group that has asked us to help start the program at the university, as well as teach some courses at the Gambian Theological Institute GTI), which provides training for pastors and other church leaders. GTI is where we taught when we were here in the fall of 2010, although we also helped to lay the foundations for the program in Christian Studies.

The new program has been accepted by the university, but there are still many steps required before it can start. A committee of the Gambia Christian Council has proposed the criteria for acceptance into the program, but the three bishops have not yet approved them. The most important step for the students will be acceptance by the university. They also need endorsement by the head of their church.

No announcements have been made about this program in the mainline churches so far, thus there have been no applicants yet. There are some prospective students in some of the pentecostal and evangelical churches, but in the absence of the criteria, there was little that they could do.

We too are limited in our ability to move the process along much more quickly, except to pray that the program will start very soon so that we can get in a full semester of teaching. Please pray with us.

In Africa things may sometimes seem to move slowly, if at all, and yet suddenly they pick up speed, and the apparently impossible becomes a reality.

The Gambia is a very small country on the west coast of Africa, with a population of only 1 3/4 million people, that is surrounded on three sides by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean on the fourth side. It is named after the Gambia River, which is its main feature.

We are living in Kololi, a suburb of Banjul, the capital. Kololi is the main tourist area. It is filled with resorts, restaurants, and bars, many of which are close to the beach. The CVM house where we are staying is about 10-15 minutes walk from the beach, thus we have the opportunity to walk along the beach every day. Even though today was a very windy and cold day, thus we walked for two hours. We have not gone swimming yet, but we hope to very soon.

We also want to visit many churches in the next few weeks, in particular those where some of our former students attend in order to publicize the GTI courses and the new program at the university.

The CVM house where we live, which recently received a new coat of paint (not shown)

The university is located in Brikama, about 40 minutes drive from our house. We have driven there several times a year ago, but now we plan to take public transportation as much as possbile in order to save money. Since the program has not yet started, many questions such as scheduling of classes are academic.

Fortunately, our courses have been approved, and we are ready to start teaching. In future blogs we hope to write more about our courses at both the university and GTI.

Prayer note--September 13

2011-09-15T18:51:00.003-04:00

“From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.” Ps. 3.8

Thanks so much for your prayers for the situation in Jos! The outbreak of violence expected after mosque prayers that Friday a little over a week ago did not materialize, and we recognize God’s mercy in response to the many requests raised in prayer.

In general the situation has calmed down. Even so, we must not relax our prayers. The spiral of violence and revenge killings has not abated, though it is no longer on the same scale as before.

Since the weekend there have been a number of attacks in villages close to Jos, where whole families of nine to fourteen have been massacred. It appears that there are some relatively well organized groups, using army uniforms, who come to the villages after dark every second or third night and attack innocent people, mainly to avenge earlier death.

Just a few days ago there was another bomb attack in the centre of Jos. Praise God that no one was seriously injured, since the first bomb, thrown out of a car window, landed in a gutter, and the second, sent a few minutes later, also caused very little damage. But you can imagine what this does for tensions in the city.

So, the prayer requests posted earlier remain very much relevant:

1. Safety. As word of deaths gets out, there is often reaction and retaliation. Pray that this will not happen.
2. Pray for wisdom to know what Christian leaders can do to encourage and enhance peace.
3. Pray that pastors and elders are able to bring violent youth under their control.
4. Pray for the families of both Christians and Muslims who have lost loved ones.
5. And continue to pray for all involved in the peace process, who attempt to build relationships on a different footing. May their efforts be blessed, as Jesus promised (Matt. 5.9).

PS, a special thanks for those who responded to the last prayer note. Our apologies for those not already on gmail, for the trouble it caused in joining the gmail contact groups. But we do hope that the letters will continue to come through more effectively.

Prayer note--September 1

2011-09-15T18:49:00.002-04:00

For a few days already violent confrontation has returned to Jos. This time it is connected with celebrations for the end of Ramadan. On Monday a church was burned, and a pastor killed. A mosque was also burned. Since then tension has escalated, with considerable gunfire in various places in the city, including the university quarters where we used to live, and a number of market places in that area. There are no clear figures on just how many people have been killed to date.

Just what exactly started the trouble this time is not entirely clear; there are some indications of conflict and division among Muslims themselves on the date to start celebrations. Unfortunately it appears also that “Christian” youth have ignored the pleas of their elders and determined on retaliation for last December’s disturbance of Christmas celebrations . With modern technology, rumours about an (attempted) attack fly quickly, and most do not bother to check them out before acting on them.

We have received the following requests for prayers from our colleague at the University of Jos, Dr. Danny McCain:
1. Safety. As word of deaths gets out, there is often reaction and retaliation. Pray that this will not happen.
2. Pray for wisdom to know what Christian leaders can do to encourage and enhance peace.
3. Pray that pastors and elders are able to bring violent youth under their control.
4. Pray for the families of both Christians and Muslims who have lost loved ones.

We would add to that there are now rumours circulating of serious attacks by Muslims tomorrow (Friday) after the mosque prayers. Pray that these may be unfounded. Although the military presence has been of considerable support for our friends and colleagues, to protect, and calm things down, they must continually be on their guard, and careful. Pray that those who are trying to build peace will not become too tired and discouraged themselves.

PS, we have made some attempts to send email prayer requests in a different format, but keep running into various obstacles. A big problem with the present system is that we have no idea whether you are actually receiving these emails, and/or whether they are blocked as spam.

PSS, As we work on this, we would appreciate hearing from you if would like to have your address removed from these lists. Simply respond with ‘Please unsubscribe’ in subject heading.
Of course, we also appreciate hearing from you, if you’d like us to continue sending these prayer notes.

Book launch and art show

2011-05-21T16:46:00.005-04:00

Thanks to all of you who joined us yesterday (Thursday, May 19) for the Crux bookstore launch of Wendy's two books, Solovyov's Sophia as a Nineteenth-Century Russian Appropriation of Dante's Beatrice (2011), and The Feminine Personification of Wisdom: A Study of Homer's Penelope, Cappadocian Macrina, Boethius' Philosophia and Dante's Beatrice (2009), as well as the exhibit of Sharon’s artwork.

The two book covers

It was a wonderful occasion with friends, family, and a wider supportive community to cap the years of thought and writing which came to expression in these two books on feminine personification of wisdom. For those of you who could not join us at Crux Books, we want to give just a little indication of a lovely event.

Melissa Kuipers and John Franklin

Books display

Doug Blomberg and Bob VanderVennen

As some of you may know, when we first planned this event in March, we hoped to do a combined event, to introduce Wendy's books, but also exhibit Sharon's work, particularly because she had done the illustrations for the book covers. She was in hospital at the time, but was able to work on a collage there, and she hoped to put together a new series, so that we would combine an art exhibit with the book launch. She was working on the theme of resurrection, of new life breaking through the bonds of earth and death.

The first major piece in Sharon's new series, Resurrection 2011:
"At the crack of dawn"

Although she came home for much of April, her energy levels did not permit her to advance very far with that project. Just after Easter she went back to St. Michael's hospital with a major flare-up of her auto-immune condition (Wegener's granulomatosis). So an exhibit as she had hoped to give was out of the question. In fact, she emerged from ICU just a little more than a week before this event, and was in no shape even for any decision-making on what, if anything, to present for an exhibit of her work. At that point she turned to her good friend, the Toronto artist Sharon Tiessen, who took the time to review her recent work, and put together a small collection of pieces to help celebrate the occasion.

Jonah series

Two lilies and a dragon tree plant

We appreciated the congenial atmosphere for discussion and socializing provided by Crux bookstore. The launch was held in Leonard Hall, a room which holds second-hand books and is also used for university lectures. Aside from snacks brought by friends, Crux had coffee, tea and cookies available, altogether making a great setting for the book discussion.

The room with several paintings

Wendy and Eleanor Irwin, a colleague at Scarborough College of the University of Toronto

John Franklin wore two hats this day, for he was both chair of the board of Christian Studies International, the organization with which we have served overseas these years, and executive director of Imago, a Christian organization that supports the arts. He began by introducing Imago as the context for his introduction of Sharon's work, and then briefly introduced CSI, as the context for Wendy's academic work, and more particularly the writing of the two books that were celebrated that day.

John Franklin with two posters

In her introduction to the books, Wendy spoke briefly on what motivated her to do this kind of writing, highlighting the experience of teaching in Russia, and encounters there with academic bureaucracy, as well as the experience of wonderfully warm friendships. She concluded by expressing the hope that her work might in some small way contribute to keeping alive the memory of Vladimir Solovyov as a scholar and writer with a broad vision for Russia on the world stage.

Wendy with her two books

View of room and audience

Chaplain Brian Walsh and Marion Taylor of Wycliffe College

We want to thank all who came to help make this a day for celebration. And a special thanks goes to Sharon Tiessen, for without her preparation of the pieces, it would not have been possible to show Sharon’s work. She could not be there, but thanks to our David’s photography and video recording, Sharon has gotten a pretty good impression of how it went.

Easter, resurrection and grace

2011-05-11T08:52:00.012-04:00

With Easter Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This year we have been given special reasons to celebrate that resurrection, for we have experienced it personally. Although it has been some while since we last entered a blog, we want to share this experience with all of you who have followed our adventures over the years.

Some of you may know that Sharon, our eldest, has been affected by an auto-immune disorder, Wegener's granulomatosis. She was first diagnosed with it in 1998. Before Christmas she developed a benign mass in her lungs; this led to pneumonia and a number of infections, which landed her in hospital three times already before Easter.

Because she was coughing up blood again at Easter time, she went to the ER at St. Michael's Hospital for some more tests on Easter Monday (April 25). New evidence of activity in the right lung led the doctors to admit her. Early that evening she started shivering. She received medication and started to doze off. Before she did however, she told Adrian, who was with her at the time, "I don't want to die!" He assured her that she would not.

Early the next morning we received a phone call from the hospital that she had been taken to the ICU because of additional bleeding in her lungs. Wendy went down right away to talk to Sharon yet before they began sedating her, particularly to stop the coughing, which intensified bleeding. At that point the doctors also began an aggressive treatment of the Wegener's disease with steroids. Wendy saw her yet during the afternoon, and then went home for a rest. But a phone-call to the ICU late in the afternoon revealed that Sharon had lost quite a bit more blood, and her condition was critical. That evening we were both at her bedside. We were afraid that we would lose her. Wendy stayed the night in a room near the ICU.

For more than a week Sharon remained sedated, while the doctors tried to stop the bleeding and give her lungs a chance to stabilize; on several occasions she was given plasma exchange to rid her body of dangerous antibodies. She was also given a new drug, rituxomab, only recently approved for special cases like hers. She breathed with the help of a ventilator and breathing tube; it seemed there were more IV lines into her body than we could count. And all we could do was hold her hand, and pray. The doctors and nurses were helpful and kind, but they did not hide the danger of Sharon's condition; until last Saturday, when she was declared out of immediate danger. Even when she came out of sedation it took some time for reality to take hold; she has forgotten much of what happened those first days, but remembers Adrian holding her hand on Wednesday. She became more and more alert in succeeding days.

By that weekend (May 1) our youngest daughter, Pauline, who lives near Boston, had had enough of hearing of Sharon's condition from a distance, and decided to come down, to be near her sister. She was also considerable help for her parents, who were taking turns staying with Sharon. However, Adrian has been experiencing severe problems with sciatica over the past weeks, and sitting in a hospital chair didn't help. And Wendy experienced stress in the form of a nasty toothache. Besides, it was great for Sharon to share time with Pauline, now that she was more alert and aware of her situation.

On Monday, May 9, Sharon was well enough so that she could sit up. She received another plasma replacement treatment, and a third dose of rituxomab. And late last night she was finally transferred out of ICU, back to the respirology division, where she had already spent much of March. She will probably need a few weeks to recover, and regain her strength..

We are so thankful that we have received Sharon back from the dead, as it were. For her it certainly was a resurrection experience, all the more in that it followed immediately after Easter. During these two weeks we have experienced God's extravagant grace, also in the outpouring of prayer by many friends. While Sharon's recovery so far has been amazing, she will require months of further treatment. We ourselves are also improving, albeit slowly. And Pauline's presence for almost a week, accompanied by their youngest, James, was a special treat for everyone, especially for Sharon.

At this point we simply praise God from whom all blessings flow. What the future holds for Sharon, we don't know. But God has assured us of his love. Thank God with us.

February reflections

2011-03-01T11:39:00.013-05:00

The end of February is a good time, perhaps, to take stock of ourselves: where we have been in the last year and where we hope to go in the future. A few snow flurries are still falling as we are writing this, but the sun is much warmer than it was only a few weeks ago, which is a sign that spring is just around the corner. The cherry trees in front of our house that are already budding are yet another sign.

The street where we lived in the Gambia

CVM House, where we stayed

In mid-December we returned from the Gambia. After our visit to Nigeria in early November, we each taught an additional course the Gambian Theological Institute (GTI), which trains pastors and other church leaders. We had many of the same students as in the first courses that we taught in October. We enjoyed teaching them, and from the reports that we continue to receive from them, they enjoyed it as well. Only recently did we finish marking the papers and exams for these courses, since we gave the students until the middle of January to submit their papers. A few papers are still trickling in, and we will have to mark them before we submit the results to our colleagues at Wycliffe College, which administers the diploma program at GTI. The students wrote their exams a few days before we left, which was a busy time for us, since we also had to pack for our return to

Canada

Adrian in class

Wendy in class

Some students

Three more students

Mary Jabang, one of two women students

The week before we left the Gambia we were interviewed on national television for a weekly program. Since this is the only TV station in the country, everyone watches it, as we found out later. We had been interviewed once before in November, when we told viewers about the courses we were teaching at GTI. This time we were asked, “What is the relevance for viewers of what you are teaching?” Adrian's latest course had focused on the nature and work of Jesus. In his response, he emphasized God's love in humbling himself and coming to us in his Son for our salvation. The divinity of Jesus is a major obstacle for Muslims, who accept him as the greatest prophet after Muhamed, but deny that Jesus can be the Son of God, since God has no children. Christmas was only a few weeks away, so that gave Adrian an opportunity to talk about the incarnation of Jesus to Muslim viewers. He admitted that evangelical Christians sometimes have the opposite problem: they find it difficult to accept the full humanity of Christ—that he was a person like us, who got tired and who wept, but who also enjoyed good food and fellowship.

The studio of Gambia Radio and Television

Wendy and Adrian at the studio

Wendy confronted the same question, and her response pointed to the theology of love developed by the 4th century North African giant of the Christian church, Augustine, who was the focus of the course she taught. In the legacy which Augustine left in church work, preaching, and teaching, his accent was on God's grace and mercy in coming to us, accomplishing for us what we could never achieve by our own efforts, no matter how sincere. In his classic work, The Confessions, he recognized the incarnation as a pivotal and irreversible point in time, demolishing the ancient understanding of time as an eternal circle, a view still prevalent today.We are grateful for the opportunity to share something of our teaching on the meaning of Christmas for viewers who might never enter a church but who do watch this weekly program.

With Rev. Junisa, the host of the program

We are also grateful for the opportunity God gave to serve at GTI for several months. We hope to be able to return to the Gambia later this year, but this time to teach in the new program in Christian studies at the University of the Gambia. While the senate of the university has not yet given its final approval to this new program, we have been informed that the Dean of Arts and Humanities, who is a Christian, has been instructed to find students for it. We are encouraged by this information, and pray it will lead to full implementation of the program.

Visit to Nigeria, November 4-16

2010-11-29T04:11:00.034-05:00

Our visit to Nigeria earlier this month was a little like a whirlwind - it went much too quickly. Indeed, we accomplished our main goals, to visit and work with our graduate students, but we certainly would have liked more time to visit friends and former colleagues.

Streets and roads of Jos near the Unijos campus

The trip started somewhat inauspiciously, because our flight was scheduled to leave Banjul around 2am, but did not leave until about 4.30. So we arrived late in Lagos and thus missed the connecting flight to Jos. With some coaxing of the airline staff, Adrian managed to change our ticket to fly to Abuja that same afternoon, and Mary McCain helped arrange for a taxi to take us to Jos. Although we left the Abuja airport at about 4pm, Abuja traffic was heavy, and we had not yet gotten to the stretch of highway leading to the Plateau when it was already getting dark. Needless to say, we were praying the whole way to Jos. Going up the Plateau there were numerous roadblocks to slow us again - we counted at least 20 before we got to Jos, even though the evening curfew is no longer in effect. The police or military at the checkpoints were invariably friendly, and the taxi driver was professional about his work, but we were really grateful to arrive at the McCains around 9pm! They greeted us warmly, and even had some food for us before we transferred to the house where we used to live on campus, just a few minutes walk from the McCains.

We were tired, since we had hardly slept the previous night on the flight from Banjul. But the next day with the use of our cell phones we lost little time to get in touch with our students, to let them know we arrived and were ready to work with them on their projects. It was Friday, so it was a day when we would not ordinarily go out, certainly not in the afternoon unless it was necessary for marketing and groceries to get us going. But on that score Mary really helped out by having us over for the hot meal.

Zaria Road

This double road is a wonderful new feature in Jos, finished in the last months, and passing through the city from north to south; it makes for a much smoother transition through the city.

During that day, Friday, our department hosted external examiners for master's students, and one of those defending was Wendy's former student, Sunday Gwomna, who had completed his thesis on Ephesians with Danny McCain. When he dropped by that evening with one of the elders of his congregation, we were happy to congratulate him. He in turn took advantage of the occasion to ask us to join him at his church on Sunday, and for Adrian to preach. It was not hard to agree to that request, especially on what would certainly be a festive occasion, at the completion of work on the thesis.

Adrian with pastor Sunday after the service

Sunday school classes between the two services, held outdoors

We joined pastor Sunday for two services, first the English, attended by about 50, most of them students, and then for the Hausa service, for which the hall was packed. Adrian's message on suffering as an integral and not abnormal part of the life of the Christian, was well-received. This was the congregation whose church, located not far from the university, in a predominantly Muslim area, had now been burned three times. So they were meeting in a community centre not far from their own location.

The entry to the community centre; the structure is made of local bricks, widely used.

But after the service pastor Sunday proudly showed us a new compound nearby, acquired by the church, with a much more secure wall. This will be the location of the parsonage and the chapel for English services, while they are rebuilding the walls of the older location.

Sunday, Adrian and Wendy, in front of the new gate

The new property will not be accessed until after Christmas time; but the high quality wall and gate are very important for this congregation.

The important thing is that we did get to work with most of the students for whom we came. Although Cosmos had presented his proposal in an initial seminar at Unijos, there was still much to be settled, and Adrian had a few sessions with him, to get this proposal for research on a stronger footing. He also was able to contact Dennis, who is now teaching in a city at some distance from Jos; since our last visit Dennis managed to present the requisite number of seminars, and was ready for upgrading, and is thus at the same stage as Wendy's student Rebecca.

To help prepare Rebecca for this upgrading procedure, Wendy especially helped her strengthen the theoretical framework, a segment of the first chapter, which needed some work. We had time to go through a few versions, and were able to complete this far more efficiently than through email; so Rebecca was especially grateful for our coming. When we had completed the bulk of the work we celebrated the event with herself and her husband Sam by going out for lunch in a restaurant not far from Bukuru, where they live on the campus of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria.

Adrian, Sam, Rebecca and Wendy

Wendy's other PhD student, Dauda, had in the meantime transferred the actual work on the thesis to a supervisor at the university of KwasuluNatal in South Africa. He had recently submitted the entire thesis for defence, so at this point Wendy only took the time for a careful reading, providing him some comments which will hopefully be helpful when the time comes for defence.

At the King's Bite: Danfulani and his wife, the external examiner, Wendy, Adrian and Kangdim

Elias Lamle, Danfulani and his wife

Our visit also gave a pleasant opportunity to catch up with Elias Lamle, whom Wendy had helped with his thesis on joking relationships among the Tarok of the Plateau, a thesis he had defended successfully at Leuven in Belgium this past June. We appreciated the invitation of colleagues in the Religious Studies department, Umar Danfulani and Jotham Kangdim to join them for supper, together with Elias and the external examiner for the department that day. At the moment Elias is still examining various options for work including a position in a center for peace and conflict studies, a position that would certainly allow him to implement the work for his doctoral studies.

Aside from the discussions with our graduate students we also discovered that our department of Religious Studies has a new name; it is now the department of Religious Studies and Philosophy. To date no faculty has been hired specifically to teach philosophy, though one recently hired Master's graduate does have a background in philosophy from St. Augustine's Major Seminary, where philosophy is taught for three years to prospective priests, before they begin the work in theology. We did take some time to talk with our former graduate students, who were hired in the department at the junior level, with the understanding that they acquire a doctoral degree which will help qualify them to teach philosophy. It is difficult, of course, for a student to write a thesis at that level, when they are lacking in the necessary preparatory courses. We tried to advise them on a program of reading; but we also knew that St. Augustine's does have faculty members well qualified in philosophy, and so we took the time to the visit with our former colleagues at the St.Augustine's Seminary, so that there might be the necessary cooperation.

Our friend and dean of the Seminary, Fr. Peter Kamai.was happy to receive some of our dictionaries and reference works for the Seminary library

On our last Sunday in Jos we attended the NKST Anglo-Jos service, one of the few congregations of the Tiv church which has an English service. Many of the Unijos students attend. It was wonderful to worship there again, and to meet former friends and colleagues. During the ethno-religious troubles earlier this year the church and parsonage had been attacked, and although the church did not suffer much damage, the parsonage was still without a roof. In fact in that neighbourhood there were whole streets of houses still without roofs, and with considerable indication of fire damage.

At the university one of the benefits of the recent troubles is that the university has finally put a solid fence separating the campus from the main highway, giving at least some slight protection for the campus residents when troubles arise.

Entrance gate and the new fence of the Permanent Site campus of Unijos

Although most of our days in Jos were packed, our last day was particularly interesting. Rather early in the day we walked over to the building which houses our department.

We hardly recognized the campus where we used to teach; many new buildings are being added.

Our expectations of meeting numerous colleagues were not disappointed, for this was the day when our faculty was to hold its election for a new dean. Our good friend and colleague Danfulani was standing for the position. Aside from the importance of the occasion for our department, we were happy for this chance to meet many old friends and colleagues gathered for the election, especially Gwamna as new head of our department. But it was special treat to meet Timothy Tseror, with whom we had worked in Tanzania; although he had stayed in Mwanza a year after we left, he was now back in Jos, teaching once more in the history department of Unijos. He invited us for supper that night yet, and honoured us by having pounded yam with a special meat soup!

Timothy's wife and his youngest daughter joined him for the second year he taught at St. Augustine's University in Tanzania, in Mwanza. It was a special treat for us that after we left he and his family was able to occupy the house given us, and which we had helped to furnish at the time.

On Tuesday morning we finished up what needed to be done at the house. Aside from work with students we had also taken the time to make decisions on a number of things we had left in the house in 2008, like books, thinking that our IICS colleagues who would be staying at the house could use them.

So it was time to do some "housecleaning". Alongside books and equipment we found materials for teaching that had only been collecting dust. Some of these we managed to pass along to our graduate students, some to friends and colleagues at Unijos and TCNN, and finally. some ended up in a smoky fire in the pit behind our house! It was really time to say goodbye! So, we were off to the airport shortly after 10.30am, in time for the Arik flight to Lagos, which arrived a little late, but this time it was not a problem, since the flight to Banjul was not scheduled to leave until 8pm that night; it actually left on time, and after a landing at Accra in Ghana, flew straight to Banjul - not stopping first in Dakar, Senegal as we had anticipated. So we arrived at 11:30pm, about 30 minutes earlier than expected!

Although we were tired from a rather hectic schedule of visits and consultations, we had enjoyed the cooler air of Jos on the Plateau, and really appreciated the opportunity of meeting many friends, along with our students, encouraging them, as well as being encouraged ourselves by the good things which are happening in Jos, in spite of the troubles of these past months.

Finishing our first courses

2010-11-03T10:37:00.006-04:00

Last Friday and Saturday, respectively, we managed to finish the first two courses (Introduction to New Testament/Wendy, and Introduction to Christian Theology/Adrian), with students at the Gambia Theological Institute (GTI).

Our GCC classroom

Wendy teaching

Praise God with us, as everything went smoothly, and we have not found it difficult to translate skills acquired in teaching in Nigeria, for this new setting in West Africa. And thank you to all who prayed with us; the Lord heard and answered us!

We have enjoyed working with the GTI students, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds! Although some have barely finished high school, others have finished teacher’s college and are working as teachers; most are pastors or working in some kind of Christian ministry, though we also have two lawyers.

Three students

We have discovered that they are not shy in class, and ask lots of questions, just like our students in Nigeria. That is a blessings, for we quickly got a sense of whether or not what we were teaching was helpful and appropriate.

Mary

Room overview

By God’s grace, we hope to begin the second set of courses (Augustine’s Confessions/Wendy, and Christology/Adrian) by mid-November, when we return from Nigeria.

So we would ask you to pray with us for safety in the travelling planned for the next two weeks, as we hope to visit Nigeria (leaving November 4, to return to the Gambia on the 16th). Our main concern is to work with our Unijos graduate students.

Please pray for constructive sessions as we help them more effectively than just by email. Pray also for colleagues at the University of Jos, both our IICS colleagues who continue their ministry in that context, as well as our Nigerian colleagues, who carry on their work under considerable obstacles, whether provision of light, water and internet, as well as ethnic/religion tension, which can still so easily erupt in violence.

CVM in the Gambia

2010-11-03T09:36:00.008-04:00

During the past two weeks we have also taken time to do some "sightseeing" beyond Banjul, and we want to share with you some views from our visits, as well as typical views of the roadside, first from our visit to Brikama, about forty-five minutes drive south of Kololi (where our compound is located).

Brikama roadside photos

For the first two weeks of our stay here we were the only guests at the CVM compound, but by mid-October we were joined by Stephen Wik, CVM staff worker from British Columbia. The next day we were joined by two pharmacists from Edmonton, Katie Wong and Rosanna Yan, who came to help out at the pharmacy of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital for two weeks.

Katie and Rosanna in front of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital

With Stephen, Katie and Rosanna we took a trip to the village of Jidda, south of Banjul, beyond Brikama. This village is special for CVM work, because it has been a focus of their wholistic ministry here in the Gambia, Typical of rural areas, the cultivation of groundnuts, or peanuts, as we know them, provides a staple crop.

Groundnut field

Groundnut plant

Cleaning plants

We also visited the plot of ground, and small house which the people of Jidda have allotted to CVM driver/assistant Martin, in thanks for his considerable help to their community. He lost no time in digging the well, which has been a real boon to his numerous neighbours. He was certainly a hero to the children, and the centre of attention when he showed them his new Canadian laptop.

Well

Children with laptop

As we waited for tea at Martin's house, we discovered that the day of our visit had been designated as a Gambia-wide day for immunization against polio. Although the immunization was given by mouth and not painful, the "strange" procedure elicited a fair amount of tears!

Polio immunization

Katie and Rosanna have already left the Gambia, since they planned to continue their visit to Africa with an attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Before they left we said goodbye to them with a restaurant dinner with the entire CVM team here, including not only Martin, but also Joseph, the night watchman, Ibrahim, and our cook, Victoria, with her little daughter, Agnes, who enjoyed herself immensely on this occasion.

Dinner with CVM group

Agnes

CVM group photo

New programme at the University of the Gambia

2010-11-03T08:53:00.013-04:00

An important reason for our coming to the Gambia this year was to meet with some officials of the University of the Gambia, particularly to greet them, and to discover the status of the proposed programme in Christian Studies, which will be held on the Brikama campus of the University, approximately 35 km from where we are staying.

Courtyard of the Brikama campus, with the building for the Department of Arts and Humanities

About a week ago we were able to establish contact with professor Gomez, who is head of the Department of Arts and Humanities, and also now acting deputy dean.

Meeting with Prof.Gomez

Prof. Gomez is hopeful that the approval of the new programme will be given soon, in an upcoming meeting of the university senate. Please pray with us that this will indeed materialize.

Since that meeting we have also met with the bishops of both the Methodist and Catholic Church, while we had a lovely supper with the Anglican bishop on our first night here in the Gambia.

Meeting with the Rt. Rev. W.P. Stephens, bishop of the Methodist Church of the Gambia

Bishop Stephens, together with his Anglican and Catholic counterparts, are very important in directing the affairs of the Gambia Christian Council, the body which will oversee the new programme. Please pray with us for these leaders, and their various contributions to this process.

GCC secretariat

The GCC secretariat is located across the road from the University Law Faculty, not far from where we are living. The Brikama campus is further away. Another new campus is being built even further from Banjul.

Faculty of Law

Beginning teaching in the Gambia

2010-10-18T11:45:00.013-04:00

It is hard to believe that we have been here in West Africa less than two weeks. For some reason it seems that we have been here much longer already! Perhaps that is an indication that we are able to pick up from our former experience teaching in Africa, in both

Nigeria

and

Tanzania

. Indeed, aside from the considerable heat (between 28-32 degrees C indoors) and humidity, we have not found the adjustment very difficult. And we do realize that this represents the answer to many prayers on our behalf. So we thank all those who prayed! The Lord has answered our prayers in a wonderful way. So it is time that we update you on what has happened in these first days in the

Gambia

Adrian at Barcelona airport

To begin with, our travels went very smoothly - something we have learned not to take for granted - and we are grateful for prayers for safe travel! We left Toronto on Monday afternoon, Oc.5, and flew BA to London, Heathrow. By noon of Oct. 5 we were on our way to Barcelona, where we made the transition with AirMorocco to fly to Casablanca and Banjul. We arrived almost exactly on schedule at midnight that Tuesday - a feat that is by no means the norm, as we discovered.

CVM House -- The sign above the door reads 'Welcome to CVM House, The Gambia, West Africa

It was great to meet Martin, the driver assistant of the Christian Volunteer Movement (CVM) here in the Gambia, who took us to the compound rented by CVM in Kololi, one of the "suburbs" of Banjul, not too far from the ocean. This is the place which we will regard as home for the next few weeks. It did not take long to find a bed - after such travels we were thankful to sleep on solid ground.It has not been difficult to settle in. The home, two concrete buildings, is relatively new and well-built, thus in good shape, and with running water.

Archway, the approach to Banjul

Those first days Martin took us around for some essential shopping, particularly for things we would need in teaching, and to orient us to our new environment.

Adrian and Martin near ocean in Banjul

Crocodile (a tame one)

Dance costume (in museum)

Ancient trees

We took much of the rest of the week to prepare for our first classes at the Gambia Theological Institute, an ecumenical institution for pastors and Christian leaders. Wendy was to begin on Friday, and Adrian, Saturday. There was little electricity those first two days, but toward the end of the week the situation improved, and with it our ability both to tolerate the heat (with fans), and to set up email communication, since the internet connection does not work when the power is off.

Faraja Anglican church

Although many of our students are pastors or church planters, in the class we also have some involved in other professions, including two lawyers who are brothers. Our students also represent a number of different countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, the USA, and Nepal. They are a lively enthusiastic group, not afraid to ask questions! Sometime we have to cut back a bit on questions, so we can present at least a fair percentage of the materials for the course at hand.

Ad for our courses in local paper

Wendy is doing four sessions of five hours on Friday on Introduction to the New Testament, while Adrian on Saturdays for almost six hours introduces students to Systematic Theology. Friday afternoon is prayer time in this country. The courses were advertised in the local papers, and on the radio, and many students were contacted by cell-phone, but even so not all those who had enrolled in previous courses heard about these sessions in time. But the turnout of 11 and 18 in the respective classes the first meeting was sufficient for the courses to be held.

We have not yet met with officials at the University of the Gambia, but by God's grace we hope to do so in the coming week. Thank you for praying with us on these challenges. Prayer is the backbone of our ministry; so, please continue to pray that we may help our students constructively, challenging and providing them with adequate tools for their various ministries.

New project in the Gambia

2010-08-23T09:12:00.028-04:00

For about a year now we have kept a low profile, except when we needed to ask for prayer in conjunction with the various crises in the Jos area of Nigeria. Not that we have been idle here in Toronto. Actually we have kept pretty busy with major renovations to our old Toronto house (for Adrian), and rewriting and preparing a book for publication (Wendy). So, is that what we plan to continue doing? Not quite! We certainly appreciated this year for changing gears, as it were, after many years of overseas service. We wanted that period of time to reflect on our experience, and to discover prayerfully what the Lord might have in store for us to do in these years (after turning 65). So, we are ready for a new venture, and it looks like a new venture is coming our way! Indeed, we have some interesting news to share!

Early this summer we were invited to participate in the development of a Department of Christian Studies at the University of the Gambia. If you have not heard of the Gambia, we can tell you that it is not a big country.

The Gambia is situated in West Africa. It is an agricultural country, with an economy dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism. About a third of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.

Market scenes

As a former British colony in West Africa, the official language is English. It has a population of a few million, of which about 90% are Muslim, though it also has a long history of religious tolerance. But at the University of the Gambia (UTG), where all students are required to take some courses inreligion, only Islamic Religious Studies have been offered. For some time now, Christian students have been asking for a program in Christian Religious Studies. With the support of The Gambia Christian Council (a small board of Christians representing the major Christian bodies, to liaise with the government) they made an official proposal, which received the necessary government approval. The head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at UTG, Prof. Pierre Gomez, a Christian, was instrumental in motivating further discussion, to accede to the request of students. The first crucial level of discussion, within the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, took place this past May, and Prof. Gomez was confident that discussions at higher levels (finishing with university senate approval) would not be a problem.

So how did we get involved? Through one of our supporting churches in Toronto, some months ago we met Glen and Marion Taylor, professors in Old Testament at Wycliffe College, the evangelical Anglican college of the University of Toronto; they, in turn, put us in touch with Steve Hewko who, with his wife, founded the Christian Volunteer Movement (CVM), as an agency for holistic mission to the Gambia. At present Steve is a doctoral student in theology atWycliffe College, but he has been travelling to the Gambia for many years already, even teaching at the University of the Gambia in the years when the university just got started, some ten years ago.

For more information about CVM, see the website: http://cvmcanada.com/.

The University of the Gambia awarding doctorate degree

During this past year, together with Prof. Glen Taylor, Steve has been instrumental in starting an institute for training pastors, called the Gambia Theological Institute, which is intended to meet the growing need for formal theological education for the small but vibrant Christian community in this largely Muslim West-African nation. In this project Steve and Glen have also worked in close conjunction with The Gambia Christian Council, which is fully supportive of its goals. The Institute is an ecumenical institution where pastors and other Christian leaders can attend courses on a variety of subjects, and work towards a diploma in theology or divinity (which will be accredited by Wycliffe College).

Anglican church

Church women

The program meets a real need, since at present the Gambia has no formal institutions for pastoral or theological training at all. The first group of students to take the program are now within a few courses of receiving their diploma. Many of the courses have been taught by graduate students in theology at Wycliffe. It is their hope and dream that this diploma program will eventually be offered through the University of the Gambia, together with the program in Christian Studies.

The good news is that the University Senate has approved the new program in Christian Studies. It did not happen quite as soon as had been expected (in June). We heard of this approval early in August. At that time we also heard that the Vice Chancellor of the university advised postponing the program until January 2011 or perhaps even September 2011, to give the various university departments more time to submit the CVs of prospective faculty to teach in this department.

So what then, are our plans? With the blessing of the Christian Volunteer Movement we have decided to go ahead with plans to teach in The Gambia this fall, as we had originally planned. Although we will not yet be lecturing at the University, we will teach a number of courses for the Gambia Theological Institute. Adrian has been asked to some courses in systematic theology; Wendy will provide an introduction to the New Testament, and a course on St. Augustine. As well, we will offer some public lectures at the University, and offer a seminar, if Prof. Gomez is open to that. This will give us a chance to foster relationships already established with partners at the University and at the Gambia Christian Council. And we can see at first hand the need and opportunity for further teaching there.

University convocation

At the same time we hope to use the opportunity being back in West Africa to travel to Jos, to take time for personal face-to-face consultation with our graduate students. One of Adrian's students, Cosmos, has been offered a scholarship to finish his dissertation, and has plans to travel to South Africa when the money comes through. Wendy has two students, Dauda and Rebecca, whose dissertations are coming closer to the point of completion. So it really will be good to have opportunities for consultation on a more immediate basis, after working by email contact these many months.

Practically speaking, we hope to be on our way to the Gambia in late September, to give the first set of courses (one each) in October; by the end of October we hope to travel to Nigeria for two weeks, after which we return to the Gambia for another month of teaching. We hope to be back in Canada by mid-December. The question of housing is being worked out. We expect to use the house which has been rented by the Christian Volunteer Movement, the umbrella organization through which Wycliffe graduate students raise funding when they go overseas to teach at the pastor's institute. Since we are both formally retired at this time, we plan to go out in a "volunteer" capacity with Christian Studies International, which has agreed to continue as an umbrella organization for this venture, and will continue to accept funding on our behalf.

Girls

Classroom

Aside from material needs for this venture, we would ask your prayers. Some wonderful doors are being opened up. This is an exciting opportunity for us, because it allows us to put into practice the experience we have gained teaching in very similar circumstances in

Nigeria

. For the

Gambia

too a rare window of opportunity has opened up for the profile of Christianity to be raised at the highest levels of education. Even with a history of religious tolerance, the profile of Christianity is currently not high, and academically it is rated as inferior to Islam. One of the big problems for the churches in the

Gambia

is the lack of proper theological training of its pastors. If the laity is not well educated either, one can imagine the range of beliefs, opinions, and even heresies that take hold. There is very little good Christian literature available, and no respectable academic Christian literature can be found in the university library. This scarcity of literature is indicative of the state of education in the Gambia at all levels, starting with the elementary. Many church members, including some pastors, are barely literate.

Children and classrooms

So the Theological Institute is an answer to the prayers of many in the Gambia. Recent developments at the university also mean new hope that a theological training program can eventually be incorporated into the regular university curriculum. Open to new development, The Gambia has accented university training for its people as an important step in that direction. At the university every student is required to take a course in religion. The new program will make it possible for Christian students to take courses in Christian studies, whether as a requirement, or to complete a major or minor for their degrees. And it will allow interested Muslim students to learn about Christianity from committed Christian professors. These new developments at the university have been greeted with much joy by many Gambians, as an answer to decades' long prayer for their country and the church. Please pray with us that these hopes will be realized, and that the Lord will bless our plans to participate in this new program.

Prayer for Peace, Sequel--April 2

2010-04-02T17:52:00.007-04:00

"Praise awaits you, O God, in Sion ... O you who hear prayer. ...You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior." Psalm 65. 1-5

Praise God for an awesome answer to the prayers lifted up for the peace initiatives in Bukuru yesterday, Thursday. This morning we received a remarkable account of what happened there from our IICS colleague Danny McCain, who participated in the talks. As we had suspected, and also heard through Bishop Kwashi's appeal in January, youth on both sides, Christian and Muslim, were a big part of the troubles of the past weeks in and around Jos ( Plateau State, Nigeria). And those troubles were not minor. Danny speaks of genocide like conditions in the villages. In Bukuru itself the main market with hundreds of shops was completely destroyed, hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed and dozens of people were killed. We do not wish to overemphasize the atrocity, but only when we realize how bad things are can we properly appreciate what happened. It was nothing short of miraculous.

On Thursday (yesterday) Rev. Yakubu Pam, the chairman of the North-Central zone of CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella organization of all Christian denominations in Nigeria), had called a meeting as an effort to bring peace between the Berom Christian youth and the Hausa/Fulani Muslim youth.

The event, held at the main Cinema of Bukuru, close to an area of severe fighting during the January crisis, attracted over a thousand people attending. Critical to the success was participation of the leaders of the warring factions, men responsible for so much death and destruction, Ishaya for the Christian youth and Magaji, the Muslim youth leader.

Aside from prayers, speeches and appeals, the occasion was used to honor these leaders for restraint in a recent encounter, averting another serious crisis; in turn they were asked to pledge themselves to a new role as peace makers, so that when they learn of trouble, they will go to intervene, also to "encourage others to be peace makers until peace is restored to Plateau. So help me God.”

This is clearly not yet the end of the story! But it is an extremely significant step in the right direction, and the first truly good news story that we have heard in quite some time. In his own speech Danny spoke about the need to forgive, if the cycle of vengeance is to be broken.

*** So let us continue to pray:
** Forgiveness is not something that can be manufactured, but we can pray that such a spirit of forgiveness will begin to take root, to undermine the spirit of hatred and bitterness.

** Let us also pray for meaningful employment for these youth. If these young men are to turn to a new life of positive contribution to their communities it is also vital that there be opportunities for meaningful work.

** And let us pray for a solution to another big problem, endemic in these communities - as indeed in so many cities around the globe – especially among young unemployed or underemployed youth, the attraction of drugs. We also need to pray that such issues can be addressed.

** But above all let us thank God for such a gracious answer to prayer. Danny writes, "I just wish that I could somehow communicate what happened in that old cinema hall yesterday. I do not have words and I am quite sure that pictures and even videos cannot adequately capture the emotions and potential good that will come out of that meeting."

** Thursday's meeting was the second of the kind organized by Yakubu Pam and his organization for peace: ³Young Ambassadors for Community Peace and Inter-Faith Foundation. The week before on 23 March he had arranged an amazing meeting between the Christian and Muslim youth in the Kwarafa Cinema almost in the heart of the Muslim area in Jos. Let us pray that God will continue to bless these efforts with much success.

** Thank you for praying with us. As you share in the pain of these people, so far away, but close to our hearts, you will also share in their joy, as new directions take hold.

Prayer for Peace--April 1

2010-04-02T17:50:00.008-04:00

"By his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53.5

Dear Friends in Christ,

We have just received word of a special prayer meeting to support peace efforts in the Jos area, Plateau State (Nigeria), to be held in Bukuru, just outside Jos, on 1st April, and would ask that you join in prayer for these efforts for peace.

A terrible massacre took place close to Bukuru, home of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (where most of the students we supervise are on faculty), during the night of March 6. Three Christian villages of the Birom, the largest tribe in the Jos area, were attacked by what are reported to be Fulani (nomadic Muslim) herdsmen. Hardly a week later there were more killings in another village not far away. In these incidents men, women and children were brutally slaughtered, some 300-500 in the first, 13 in the second. From eye-witnesses we hear of merciless use of weapons of violence, machetes and guns.

The killings were supposedly a taking of revenge for Berom attacks on Muslim villages during the January riots, when Muslims attacked Christians and burned churches and property in Jos. "Christians," especially those from the Birom ethnic group, retaliated.

Jos itself remains quiet, if tense, under strict curfew since the January troubles. The city has a considerable police/military presence. Outlying villages cannot be protected in this way, and are far more vulnerable to retaliatory attacks.

*It is vital that we pray for both Christians and Muslims in these conflict situations. The current troubles are not just an expression of religious hatred and intolerance; the causes are complex and deep-seated, involving ethnic rivalry, competition for land, and political allegiance.

*Pray for continued peace, for all efforts to maintain peace, and to work for reconciliation; pray that somehow the cycle of violence can be broken.

*Pray that the Christian community will remain watchful and careful without resorting to retaliatory violence. Pray also that church leaders will not feed into the desire for revenge, but will set an example in wise behavior, refusing to act on rumor or tribal agenda.

*Pray that the truth may get a hearing in these contexts. There is so much suspicion, mutual distrust and fear. Often it is fed by the circulation of hasty text messages and rumor-mongering, passing on information which only foments jealousy and hatred.

*Pray for the safety of our colleagues at the university and at the seminaries, missionaries, faculty and students. Pray especially for safety in travel in and around Jos.

*Pray that a sense of justice and fairness may return to this situation. Pray that police and military intervention may be vigilant, impartial, acting with integrity and justice in dealing with perpetrators of violence.

*Pray for our colleagues, as educators; we ask special prayers for IICS/CSI colleagues, the McCains, Wiebes, Lillos, Yilpets and Katrina Korb. It is difficult to concentrate on meaningful academic work in a context of tension and violence.

*Pray especially for political leadership, for the state governor Yang, and for acting President Goodluck Jonathan as he seeks to install responsible leaders. There has been so much confusion about Nigeria's President Yara'dua, who has hardly been seen in Nigeria these last weeks and months. Pray for his health and ability to help bring healing in this situation.

*Pray for both Muslim and Christian families who have been affected by all the troubles of this year. So many have been killed in interreligous and tribal attacks these last weeks. So many are suffering the after-effects, in loss of life, possession and community. May the Lord provide comfort also through those who are working for peace.

As we remember the suffering of our Lord on our behalf, we would ask you to pray with us for those who are suffering in Nigeria, and specifically in the Jos area.

Prayer for Jos, Sequel--January 28

2010-04-02T17:45:00.007-04:00

“But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.” Psalm 10.14

Dear praying friends,

Thank you for praying with us! Since writing you last week we have heard from numerous friends and colleagues who testify to the power of prayer to give peace in the midst of violence and suffering.

*Praise God for a degree of normalcy that has returned to Jos. Federal troops moved into Jos in large numbers to help bring the situation under control, to restore order and enforce the curfew, which is now relaxed to 6pm to 6am.

*Pray for those who have lost so much. The numbers of those known to have been killed are more than 300, probably closer to 400. The number of those injured or displaced, traumatized through the loss of loved ones, their homes and possessions are far higher. Pray for speedy help for refugees in the thousands, without adequate food, water, or blankets, with no place to return to. Many are too afraid to go back.

*Pray particularly for the English-speaking congregation of the Reformed (NKST) church in Anglo-Jos, where we and many NKST students from Unijos have worshiped. The parsonage was badly damaged; the photo attached with this represents many other homes destroyed. One of our Unijos students, Abel, lost everything in the crisis when his house, next to the parsonage of the church, was set ablaze along with it. He was thankful to escape with his family and a few vital papers before the attack came. But we are also sad to hear of destruction to the Muslim neighborhood in retaliation for attempts on the church. Pray that Christians will not forget to model the behaviour which Jesus taught, and that Christian leaders will encourage a way that makes for peace and good relationships.

*Pray that violence will not spread further in a radius from Jos to the lower Plateau State and neigbouring states. We received horrific stories of massacre from outlying villages, where it is far more difficult for troops to bring order. There has also been significant conflict at the college of education in Pankshin where the Wiebe’s are teaching. Most of these communities have a relatively small cluster of Hausa Muslims, mostly traders, at the center of town, while mainly Christian local people, “indigenes”, live on the outskirts. Through the use of cell phones and texting the news of violence spreads quickly; over the past years those who hear of trouble have inclined to taking matters into their own hands, retaliating against the group perceived to be responsible.

*Please pray that those responsible can be brought to justice, and an attempt be made to address the underlying causes. This week more than 300 were arrested in connection with the violent attacks, and some taken to the capital Abuja for questioning. The amazing discovery was that those who perpetrated the present crisis are for the most part the very same ones arrested last year, but set free on bail, and never prosecuted.

*Pray that the real causes for the violent attacks can be addressed. It appears that the crisis started with a clash over the redevelopment of some land by its owner in Jos; opposition to the project escalated into a religious crisis, with ‘suspected’ Muslim youths attacking Christians and churches. But the truth is hard to come by, because Muslim authorities are at pains to deny such allegations, for the simple reason that it almost inevitably leads to reprisal against Muslims in other communities. So the blame is placed on Christians, which has the opposite effect, resulting in identifiable Christian communities or institutions, and particularly churches and seminaries being targeted. There is a high price for exposure of true motives and actual perpetrators. As a nation Nigeria can be compared to a tinderbox; it seems to take the smallest provocation to set off a vicious cycle of reprisal.

* Pray that God will bless the various efforts to address the underlying issueswhich are certainly not just religious, but represent a struggle for ethnic and political superiority in Jos. The latest crisis clearly resulted from resentment for last year's rioting, and desire for revenge.Pray for those who attempt to bring reconciliation betwen the Hausa/Muslim and local tribes/Christian communities. With a series of riots between 2001 and 2008 the city has steadily divided into Christian and Muslim areas, the southern part comprising mostly Christian “indigenes”, with the northern part (where the university is located) mainly Hausa-speaking Muslims, who are still classified as settlers and thus are restricted politically and in other ways, though they have lived in Jos for decades. But the “indigene” restriction has worked in the favour of Hausa/Muslims in northern cities like Kano, where traders from other states, mostly Christian, are similarly restricted, and church buildings are probably more vulnerable than are mosques in Jos. Until the "settlers" in the northern states are granted rights, any modification of settler status in Jos is rather unlikely, particularly because in the last years Jos has taken in many who fled the northern states over imposition of conditions of shari’ah there.

We close by quoting the prayer of the Anglican Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin A. Kwashi
(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/januaryweb-only/14-21.0.html):
“We must also pray for our state government, our Houses of Assembly at state and federal levels and our law enforcement agents, that they may choose the path of truth and justice, and deal with crime by its proper name, so that no-one, no matter how high or low, no matter of what faith or creed, should be exempt from facing the law. The national leadership should be lifted up to God, that they may rise beyond a concern for political success and seek to do good and right in all things for the benefit of all people. This is a most urgent prayer request, because Nigeria as a nation has a large and ever-increasing army of leaderless, lawless, unemployable, unemployed, demoralized, and near hopeless youth. This, to my prophetic mind, is the big security issue which the governments at local, state and federal levels are not taking seriously. For example, every crisis in Nigeria in the last ten years has been executed by this generation of young people. With each passing year, they perfect their skills, and when they run out of a supply of money—or when they become bored with any situation—then any opportunity for action gives them satisfaction. This army has no religion, but can choose to go under the name of religion to achieve its motives. They are uneducated, and so their values are totally different, as are their ways of handling weapons or choosing how issues are settled. Please pray for us.”

Prayer for Jos--January 20

2010-04-02T17:43:00.002-04:00

Dear praying friends,

From personal contact and internet reports we are learning that there is once more a serious crisis in Jos. At the university students were halfway through final exams on Monday when the university was closed. Jos is under a 24-hour curfew, which means that there should not be anyone in the streets at all. But the gunfire is ongoing, and reports tell us that more than 200 people have died. This is so sad.

The university area is only one of those where the tensions run high. We have been in touch with the McCains on the Unijos campus where we used to live, and they are alright, though the gunshots are rather loud and close. There has also been a lot of trouble in Bukuru, south of Jos, where the Theological College of Northern Nigeria is located. We know of one student who was killed. The Wiebe's, who just returned to Nigeria from Canada, were on the road back to Jos, but were not allowed to proceed when within less than an hour away. They had to go back to Abuja until the curfew is lifted.

We have no clear idea of what sparked this latest round of violence. The reports seem to focus on a Catholic church on the east side of Jos, which was burned down. There are typically many more rumours during such a crisis, and as soon as some are killed, the revenge killing can start a vicious cycle. Additional troops have been sent into Jos, and one hopes that this will lead to the city becoming calmer today, Wednesday.

Please pray with us, that peace may be restored to the city, and that the Lord will keep in safety our many colleagues and friends in Jos. May our they find comfort in the Lord's protection, love and sovereignty. Pray that government intervention and reinforcement of troops in the area may be effective. Please pray for efforts toward a more lasting peace. One of the significant reasons for recurring violence is that those who perpetrate are not called to account, and indeed the reasons for violence are complex. Pray for a sense of justice, so that there will be some hope that the never-ending spiral of vengeance and reprisal can be broken. May the Lord guide and prosper all who seek peace.

Family time: August 15-22

2009-11-22T15:22:00.024-05:00

Our party on August 15 was also the spark for some lovely time with family. Pauline and Greg came the night before the celebration, and stayed to spend a week with us in Toronto.

After he got used to the feel of the grass James just loved to move about, fast, on all fours- almost always a happy smile on his face

But he got tired too. Greg comforts James as we get ready to set off for the Willowdale CRC

Long after she would normally have been in bed and fast asleep Gracie was still alert and ready to be the life of the party

It was wonderful to have some close relatives join us; Wendy's brother Andy came from Cambridge with two daughters, Marcia and Stephanie

And Adrian's brother Hans came with Hennie, from Ottawa

Sharon took time to catch up with Hennie that evening

David was a big help that day, taking photographs; this one was on him!

We stayed close to home the first few days after the party because first Chris came down with flu, and a significant fever, even though he did not complain much. Opa took some special time with James - not hard to please as long as we had some food he could eat!

By Monday Gracie also came down with a flu, and that one was more persistent; it took about three days before she felt better. It was actually pretty warm those days while Gracie was sick in bed, but for Chris and James, a perfect time to have water fun in our backyard.

By Thursday everyone was well enough to enjoy an outing to Black Creek Pioneer Village, where there was much to enjoy, games and crafts to try out, old machinery to watch, animals, and more. Gracie loved running around; she was clearly over the flu by that time.

Both Chris and Gracie loved the animals there

James spent much of the day in the baby carriage,

and was happy for the most part

But really enjoyed getting out to crawl about too!

Thursday evening was pretty special: Greg and Pauline wanted to watch the Boston Red Sox in a game, taking Chris with them, and found it easier to get tickets for a game in Toronto than in Boston itself. Adrian and David joined them, while Wendy and Sharon had fun babysitting Gracie and James.

A special benefit of all of us being together was the opportunity for a family photo

Two sisters on Saturday morning (in front of our home), and time to say farewell. We admired Pauline's efficiency in getting all the goods and children packed into the van!

Celebration August 15

2009-11-21T17:52:00.031-05:00

"Great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23)

Saturday, August 15 was a special day, a day of celebration for Adrian's 65th birthday, and thirty-five years of ordained ministry; he started as pastor in Terrace (BC), 1974. We also celebrated twentyfive years of overseas work in missions, the first ten years in the Philippines with Christian Reformed World Missions, as we taught and held Bible studies first in Bacolod City (Negros island), and later in Manila. We had an interlude of several years while Adrian earned a ThM in missiology (at Calvin Seminary) and a PhD in ecumenism (at the Toronto School of Theology). After that we served for fifteen years under the auspices of Christian Studies International (the Canadian branch of International Institute for Christian Studies), in partnership with CRWM: seven years at Moscow State University in Russia, almost seven years at the University of Jos in Nigeria, and finally a semester teaching philosophy at St. Augustine University in Tanzania. We have so much for which to give thanks!

Colorful flowers to help us celebrate

To mark the occasion we invited family, friends and colleagues, many who had faithfully supported our work over the years, to come and celebrate the day with us. The party was held at the Willowdale Christian Reformed Church from 4-6.30 pm. that Saturday. We are very thankful indeed for the many who turned up at the Willowdale CRC to join us in celebration.

The Willowdale CRC social hall is a lovely venue for such an occasion

As with any good party, there was lots to eat and drink!

We were honored by the attendance of Dirk and Rie Jongkind, former members of Toronto First CRC, now residents at Holland Home in Brampton

Fred and Jane Reinders in conversation with Wilma Bouma, who was among the first board members when CSI was newly organized and joined us all the way from Vancouver

A number of guests helped us remember the reasons for this celebration.

Fred Reinders, longtime chair of the board of CSI, brought words of appreciation on behalf of CSI

It was great that CSI colleague David Hallett, currently teaching in Beijing, was able to join us for this occasion

Trish de Jong of CRWM (Burlington office) brought greetings on behalf of our denominational mission

Bob vander Vennen, former executive director of CSI, reminisced about the years we worked so closely together

We really appreciated the contribution of Hanneke Cost Budde, missionary colleague working with AIDS victims in Tanzania, where we taught these last months

Wilma reflected with us on the many years of Adrian's ministry, beginning with pastoral work in Terrace BC, and later in the Philippines - she was one of few who actually got to visit us in these locations!

All in all, it was a wonderful celebration. We are grateful for those who joined us in person, as well as those who were unable to be there for various reasons, but who did send their best wishes. Our daughter Sharon deserves much of the credit for preparation and organizing the event.

Sharon also helped care for one of the babies in attendance

We are especially grateful to our friends Jack and Martiny Van Meggelen who hosted us after the reception to provide our out-of-town guests with an outdoor dinner.

Wilma and the two of us, with Jack and Martiny

Our thanks is extended indeed to all those who helped make this such a memorable day. Above all, we praise God for his faithfulness to us throughout these many years.

Farewell St. Augustine University of Tanzania, and farewell St. Nicholas!

2009-07-24T16:11:00.003-04:00

The semester of teaching at St. Augustine University of Tanzania is finished. In mid-June students wrote the exams for both our courses: Introduction to Political Ideas (Adrian) and Introduction to Philosophy (Wendy). We marked these right away, and turned in the results. So the time came to say goodbye to SAUT and Mwanza, to express our thanks for five months of teaching, and for opportunities given to make contacts, also at other universities in Tanzania. We arrived early in February in order to volunteer our services. Overall, we found the experience at SAUT enjoyable, even though it also had its challenges.

On campus, behind our house

In Tanzania we discovered the "other face of Africa" in a country which is politically stable and peaceful. We also discovered the great need in education and a warm welcome for IICS/CSI faculty to come and teach. We were not only at SAUT to teach, but also to investigate possible placement for CSI/IICS professors in the future. We found SAUT to be an excellent university—the second largest university, and the largest private university in Tanzania. It is well-organized, certainly in comparison with the norm at federal universities of Nigeria. Right now there is an urgent need for more lecturers. All the universities are experiencing enormous growth, but there are not enough qualified lecturers, especially in some areas of study. Moreover, Tanzania is the most peaceful country in Africa. Thus we feel that SAUT is an excellent place to send professors, whether for long- or short-term assignments. Both in Mwanza and in Dar es Salaam we heard the same story: "We are facing a scarcity of teachers at all levels." One of the most important aspects of our visit to East Africa has been to recognize and communicate that need.

We did not find it hard to settle in and adjust. Even without much knowledge of Swahili, the language used everywhere in Tanzania, we did not find it difficult to purchase basic items, such as dishes, pots and pans, cutlery, towels, etc. With a smile, good will and gestures we were able to communicate our intentions and to purchase grocery and market items as well as the basic necessities to make the house habitable.

Our dining room

Our living room

Our kitchen

We were even able to coax some flowers to make our home a bit more attractive

Of course, we discovered power outages; but we counted the hours when we lost electricity, not those when it was working (as in Nigeria). We experienced some water shortages, but mainly at the beginning, before the university provided a water tank, which gave us a regular supply of water. Provision of a gas tank was also very helpful, allowing us to cook even when the power was off.

Saut community day

We found the end of the semester rather hectic. We had not been adequately informed about the methods used in submission of marks for continuing assessment of students (i.e. marks for assignments and tests given during the semester), to be handed in at least two weeks before the end of the semester. As a result we were faced with a few busy days compiling these marks and collecting the required signatures of the students when the time came. After that we had to submit our proposed examination papers.

Wendy working with Lucas, one of her best students

Partly to accommodate our desire to leave by June 23 (the day before the end of the exam period), our exams were scheduled during the first two days of exams, June 12 and 13. So our busyness only increased as we marked exams and prepared marks for submission of results to the examination officer. On the exams students identified themselves only with their examination code number, so we had no idea who wrote each exam, nor could we know individual results. The examination office will calculate the final marks by adding the continuing assessment mark to the results of the final exam. Both of us know that several of our students failed, but we are not sure which ones. Adrian’s students will receive mostly Bs, while Wendy’s students will get the whole range from As to Fs.

The pace changed on the final days before departure. We received invitations from several colleagues to share a meal; the Vice-Chancellor and the DVC Academic also took us out for dinner at one of the more fancy restaurants in Mwanza. They told us that they wanted us to stay at SAUT, forever! Unfortunately, we have to leave, we told them. Before we left for the airport to fly to Dar es Salaam, the DVC dropped by to wish us farewell. “It is a sad day,” he added.

Rev. Dr. B. Mfumbusa, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who was our main contact person

After leaving Mwanza (June 23) we spent almost a week in Dar es Salaam where we investigated some universities as well. Our first goal was to visit the University of Dar es Salaam, where we had a contact, the father of one of Wendy's students, prof. Mutakyahawha, senior professor in geology. We met him at his home and shared a meal as we told our story of the availability of IICS/CSI lecturers to come and teach.

Prof. Mutakyahwha

The next visit was at the Dar es Salaam Business School of Mzumbe University, where we met the dean, Dr. Andrew H. Mbwambo.

Prof. Andrew Mbwambo

Again, we heard of the great need for lecturers, especially in subjects like accounting, marketing and management. Although we do know of a few people who have expressed interest in going toTanzania to teach, over the next weeks and months we hope to interest more who are willing to go there.

Not only did we say farewell for St. Augustine, we also said farewell to St. Nicholas Church. When we first arrived in Mwanza, we attended the Catholic chapel on campus, but services were in Swahili, and the Catholic regulations do not allow us, as Protestant, to participate in communion. One Sunday we did attend a bilingual and international service of the Assemblies of God Pentecostal church in town, but the worship style was far too loud for our ears. Then we found St. Nicholas, the Anglican church with a service in English spliced between two services in Swahili.

The English congregation at St. Nicholas had its own pastor, named Paul, and a worship leader, named Moses, who greeted us every Sunday with a hearty, “Welcome church! You are not lost. You have come to the right place.”

St. Nicholas Church

Pastor Paul's baby baptized in May

We continued worshiping with St. Nicholas for the rest of our stay in Mwanza, and quickly found friends there. Adrian even preached there several times, a highlight being the Easter service. We are very thankful that we were able to find a church where we could feel at home.

St.Nicholas dressed up for Easter

The experience of being in Mwanza is one that we will treasure. We have left Mwanza, and only God knows whether we will be able to return to SAUT and St. Nicholas Church in the future. But we certainly can warmly encourage other professors to come to Tanzania in the years to come.

SAUT Worldview Workshop: 23 May 2009

2009-05-30T06:56:00.011-04:00

The flyer that we posted all over the campus

Saturday, 23 May 2009, was a true highlight for our experience of this semester of teaching at St. Augustine University (SAUT). The idea for a workshop on worldviews which compete for attention as we teach at the university grew out of discussions with our colleagues here inTanzania. We recognized a desire to teach in an integral Christian way, but most of our colleagues had done their graduate work at secular universities, either in Africa or overseas, and were shaped by that. SAUT labels itself as a “secular” university, owned and operated by the Episcopal Conference of Tanzania. "Secular" in this case means "not pontifical"; it also means that it is open to students of all denominations and faiths. Both of us have Muslim students in the class. Not all lecturers are Catholics; there are also a few Muslims on the faculty.

The Vice-Chancellor opening the workshop with prayer

We had planned the event for some time, providing the groundwork through preliminary discussions with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Mfumbusa, as well as Dr. Kitima, the Vice Chancellor. Flyers had been placed all over the campus, and we had spoken with the colleagues we knew, to invite them to this event. Most promised to come. We had also invited the Tanzanian IAPCHE members to come to Mwanza for the occasion. So we worked carefully to prepare a set of power-point presentations for the workshop. And we urged those supporting our work to pray for this event. So you can imagine that we were very thankful that the workshop turned out to be successful, especially because on the day itself there were a number of significant SAUT events competing with ours. We had hoped for twenty participants, but had prepared chairs for as many as fifty people, realizing that under the circumstances half that number would be a good turnout. Indeed, the total attendance for the whole workshop was twenty-two; not everyone was able to stay for all presentations.

Adrian and Wendy looking over the program before the workshop

For the workshop we had chosen the title, “The University Teache and Competing Worldviews,” hoping to demonstrate that a Christian worldview can play a constructive role in a context where it has competition. We planned two sessions; the first was to deal with some operative worldviews, especially the western or secular one that is dominant on many university campuses, as well as the African or traditional worldview that continues to influence lecturers and students alike here, and finally, the Christian or biblical worldview that we want to encourage lecturers to implement in classroom teaching. The second session was intended to show our colleagues how one can teach from within this Christian worldview. Both presentations were well received, as we heard from later reports.

We were especially grateful that the Vice-Chancellor of SAUT, joined us to open the workshop with prayer and a word of encouragement for this project. He was accompanied by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic of the university, but they had to hurry off to another event which hosted a local Member of Parliament. The head of the department of philosophy, Dr. Aidan Msafiri gave a general introduction for the sessions, and welcomed the lecturers and graduate students who represented various faculties and departments. We were grateful for his support and participation, for we had specifically invited him to show how a Christian worldview might be applied more concretely in his own discipline, which is environmental ethics. We also asked one of our colleagues specialized in African traditional religion, Julian Mugishagwe, to introduce the African worldview. In this way we wanted to make sure that this was not a workshop introduced only from outside SAUT. Our hope is that the program we developed can be adapted and used again in the future. We left two cd's with copies of the program with Msafiri, who has already stated plans to repeat the workshop.

Msafiri making his presentation on using a Christian worldview in teaching environmental issues

Our colleague Julian who presented the African worldview

Wendy using a card made by our daughter Sharon that illustrates how time binds us in the secular worldview

Before closing the workshop we took the opportunity to donate a number of relevant and valuable books for the library of SAUT. These were eight publications of Dr. Benny van der Walt, from the University of Potchefstroom in

South Africa

, all dealing with the issue of worldviews. Benny had sent copies of these books to us when he knew that we would be teaching in

Tanzania

. Little did he know that we were planning this workshop on worldviews. We thought it a great opportunity to formally hand them over to Msafiri.

Presenting the van der Walt books to Msafiri

Sister Esther, a colleague from Ireland

The group picture was taken at the end when some participants had already left

Isaac Mutua with one of the participants

For this workshop we had invited Rev. Isaac Mutua from

Kenya

, director of CPCHEA (Centre for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education; see the website: www.cpchea.org) and Africaregional director for IAPCHE (International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education; at the website: www.iapche.org), to attend and use the opportunity to introduce the work of these organizations. In that regard he was successful. Most of the participants of the workshop signed up to become members of IAPCHE. Later that day, and on Sunday afternoon, Isaac had further opportunities to talk with both the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, about SAUT becoming an institutional member. Both of these university officials are supportive of the goals of IAPCHE and CPCHEA, and said the matter would receive careful consideration. We certainly left a number of our colleagues with a new enthusiasm for teaching from a Christian perspective. So all in all, we are thankful for this workshop, and pray that the benefits will continue to multiply in future.

Isaac with Adrian and Peter, a IAPCHE member from Tanzania

Isaac with Adrian and Wendy

Prayer Notes for Ascension and Pentecost

2009-05-29T02:02:00.003-04:00

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” (Psalm 24.7)

1. We want to give thanks for the workshop on Worldviews, for faculty and graduate students, held last Saturday, May 23. Dr. Isaac Mutua, the East Africa representative for the International Association for Christian Higher Education (IAPCHE), came already on Thursday to join us for the event. The attendance at the workshop itself was not large, since there were a number of other events on campus demanding the presence of faculty. But those who did attend expressed their appreciation for the presentations, which introduced a Christian perspective as it impacts teaching in various branches of scholarship. We are grateful for the participation of two colleagues, Julian Mugishagwe, specialized in African traditional religion, who introduced the African worldview, and also Rev. Dr. Aidan Msafiri, head of our Department of Philosophy, who gave an example applying a Christian worldview concretely in his own discipline, namely, environmental ethics.

2. We would ask your prayers regarding our own plans for travel in the next few weeks. Early in June we had hoped to travel to Nairobi to follow up our contacts with universities there, but that will not be possible now. Exams at SAUT are scheduled for the second and third weeks of June. As soon as we finish marking exams, we will visit a number of universities in Dar es Salaam with an eye to possible placement for IICS/CSI faculty. We would ask your prayers for wisdom in these discussions, and for safety as we travel to Dar es Salaam and then return to Canada.

3. Thank you for your prayers for our work at this university. During the last few weeks we have had numerous opportunities to share our experience of teaching at St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) with scholars who are considering teaching overseas, explaining to them the educational needs in East Africa, especially in Tanzania, where university lecturers are in short supply. University officials have reminded us of a special need for lecturers in engineering. Please pray with us that Christian scholars in Canada and the United States will respond positively to that need.

Colleagues in Mwanza

2009-05-19T06:12:00.015-04:00

One of the joys of working overseas is making new friends, both among faculty members of the university where we are working, and in the local expatriate community. In the various overseas contexts in which we have worked over the last decades we have found it useful to make acquaintance with our immediate colleagues, who have worked in our specific environment much longer already, but also with other expats who have lived in the specific context cross-culturally, for they have already faced and dealt with the challenges which one faces inevitably in a new environment - questions like: Where can one find reliable medicines? potato peelers? baking soda? or language books? The significance of such questions might not make sense to our new colleagues who have not themselves come from overseas, while other expats will understand quickly what we really need to know to make the necessary adjustments . Before we traveled to Tanzania we had already corresponded and even spoken on Skype with Steve and Jan, who have worked in the Mwanza region on numerous agricultural and poverty alleviation projects.

Steve and Jan, with their three boys, at the Good Friday potluck

And on arrival in Dar es Salaam in early February, we appreciated getting hints on how to work effectively in the Tanzanian context with Margaret Ngujuna, country representative for Christian Reformed World Relief Commitee (CRWRC) in Tanzania.

Adrian with Margaret in her office in Dar es Salaam

Upon arrival in Mwanza, aside from meetings with the SAUT administration, one of our first contacts at the university was the Nigerian colleague from Unijos, Timothy, a historian, who was happy to know that we had just come from Jos, and was anxious to get the latest news from us about the situation in Jos, where his wife, still living in Unijos campus housing, had come through the November riots with some minor unpleasantness and inconvenience.

Timothy and Adrian

We were glad that we could set his heart at ease regarding general conditions in Jos, and the relative peace experienced at the time we were there. Since then we have enjoyed numerous opportunities to converse with him about the situation in Jos and Nigeria. We also met Peter, a bright young lecturer in the social sciences from southern Nigeria, also teaching at SAUT on his sabbatical. And we have met a number of expat faculty who have come from Europe, from Germany and Austria, as well as American Jesuit priests who have been teaching here for many years, from the time when SAUT was still the Nyegezi Social Training Institute.

But before leaving Toronto we had heard of Erin Carter, a nurse and member of our supporting church, the Willowdale Christian Reformed Church (of northern Toronto), who had come to Mwanza through CRWRC, to volunteer for a number of months at a clinic/hospital run by the Africa Inland Church (AIC), the biggest evangelical denomination here in East Africa. But even before we actually were able to meet Erin, we made contact with another couple also working with CRCWRC in Mwanza, and like Erin involved with the AIC clinic. Gordon and Peggy Tans had come from Alaska in November of last year; as a nurse Peggy was to work with the same clinic, a welcome support for Erin in that work, while Gordon (a retired lawyer) would volunteer his services at the headquarters of AIC, helping in whatever way he could in financial and legal matters.

One of the highlights of our initial months in Mwanza was the visit of Erin's Mom, Betty Carter, who came to Mwanza early in April to help her daughter say goodbye to the work here, and accompany her on the long flight back home to Toronto.

Erin with her mother, Betty

Betty's visit was special for us, not only because of the mutual connection with our supporting church community, the Willowdale CRC, but particularly because she was able to bring a much needed replacement computer battery for Wendy's Mac (as well as some decaffeinated instant coffee which we could not find here). We especially enjoyed socializing with them and other colleagues on Good Friday, when the Tans invited us over for a potluck lunch in the afternoon, followed by a time of devotions and farewells.

This was the Good Friday gathering. In front: Gordon, Wendy and Jan (Steve took the photo) and around the circle: Inge-Marie, Erin, Naomi, Betty Carter, Peggy, Leif and Adrian

Erin was not the only one leaving. The Michmerhuizens were also winding up their six years of work in Mwanza and region, planning to leave by the second week of May. The Tans themselves would leave a week later, though they do plan to return in September to resume their work with AIC.

Through our attendance at the English language service of the local Anglican church, and through the Michmerhuizens we have been introduced to other members of the expat community in Mwanza, those working in business, in charitable organizations, or as missionaries.

Although the missionary community in Mwanza is not small, it is certainly not as large as its counterpart in Jos, where we would not have expected to meet all, or even the majority of missionaries gathered in one location, as in Mwanza, where many missionaries meet for a potluck dinner and devotions on the first Friday evening of each month. So far we have managed to join them twice, and have found it interesting to discover the variety of the work done, not only in church planting, but in various supportive tasks, like the work of the Danish couple, Leif and Inge-Marie with "Isoma Biblia (Read the Bible)", who focus on distribution of Bibles and related literature. We also met Naomi, who grew up in Tanzania as a child of missionary parents who worked with the AIC; she has now come back after many years in work with Wycliffe in other countries; at present she is helping members of the large local tribe, the Sukuma, facilitating literature development in their own language, helping them write down the stories of the tribe before they are forgotten, since Swahili is the common language and public use of tribal languages has been receding. Other missionaries work with children and development of Sunday School literature, in medical and dental clinics, or as teachers at an large local international school.

Naomi (in foreground)

Although the rate of infection with AIDS is not much worse than in Nigeria, one of the major problems it has brought with it is the many children who are left without parents or near relatives who can support and raise them. These children are sometimes left in hospitals, or abandoned. Tanzanians themselves are largely reluctant to adopt these children when there is no clear family or tribal connection. Thus orphanages have become a sad necessity throughout Africa, and also here in Tanzania. It is a need to which numerous missionaries are addressing their efforts. A few weeks after we arrived in Mwanza we received an email from Hanneke Cost Budde, working in Shinyanga, a few hours south of Mwanza, as the HIV/AIDS coordinator for the Africa Inland Church, Shinyanga diocese. There she works mostly with people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans and widows.

Hanneke with a mother who helps with foster care, and the five children she has rescued and is raising

It had been years since we met Hanneke in Toronto, where she worked with Knox Presbyterian Church (when our daughter Sharon was attending there); her work is now supported by that church. We met her just after Easter, when she came to Mwanza to take Grace, a Canadian co-worker, to the airport, and give her a lovely farewell lunch at Tunza, a local lakeside restaurant.

Wendy, with Hanneke, her youngest charge, and Grace

As a social worker Hanneke is in a position to help many needy people, especially the women, but she has also become involved with abandoned children. Hanneke has taken under her care and adopted a number of children who would probably not have made it without her timely intervention.

Hanneke and her youngest at Tunza

Prayer notes

2009-04-21T07:09:00.004-04:00

“Christ is risen!” “He is risen, indeed!”

1. We give thanks with Christians around the world, East and West, for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! Without his rising from the dead our faith would be meaningless. But thanks be to God, for his indescribable gift of grace for us. May his new life be our inspiration every day in all we do.

2. Thank God with us for the opportunity early in April for both of us to present recent research efforts at a seminar for faculty and graduate students. We made PowerPoint presentations (Adrian on the impact of the Palestinian crisis on Christian/Muslim dialogue; Wendy on Wisdom, Witchcraft and Healing) which were well received. It appears that these presentations have helped open other doors, especially in terms of getting to know our colleagues at this university.

3. We are thankful for new opportunities for Christians to make a difference in the universities of Tanzania. This past week we enjoyed good talks with the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic affairs, as well as the Vice Chancellor of St. Augustine University of Tanzania here. The door is wide open especially because, like other universities of Tanzania, SAUT is expanding very rapidly to meet a significant and growing demand for higher education.

4. We would ask your prayers for a workshop we are planning for May 23. We have been given a provisional green light to organize a seminar for faculty and graduate students on “The university teacher and competing worldviews.” At this one-day workshop we hope to show the importance of worldviews for teaching, introduce a Christian perspective, and demonstrate how it can support constructive teaching in various branches of learning.

“Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son, Endless is the glory Thou o’er death hast won.”

Trip to Bujora, museum of the Sukuma tribal region

2009-04-17T02:12:00.011-04:00

The Easter break was an excellent opportunity to explore the region neighboring Mwanza, but where were we to go? Adrian asked his graduate students for suggestions, and some mentioned a regional museum dedicated to what was once the dominant tribe of the area, the Sukuma. Most people in Mwanza and at the university speak Swahili, but the Sukuma are the largest tribe in Tanzania. But we are not so much aware of tribalism and tribal distinctives here as we were in Nigeria. So we decided this would be a very good way to discover something of the local history and see as well how the people of Tanzania lived during the pre-colonial period.

Sign for the Sukuma Museum

One of Adrian’s students, Pascal, was interested in visiting this museum himself; so together with Albert, his former fellow student, who is now teaching at SAUT, we took off in Albert’s vehicle, heading for Bujora, about a half hour ride east of Mwanza. Once we left the highway we found that the “short distance” to the museum (according to our guidebook to Tanzania), was a few kilometers, and we were glad we did not have to walk that part, since most of it was uphill. The museum, and particularly its chapel, was built on the highest ground in this region. The museum itself was established in 1954 by a Canadian priest, Fr. David Clement, together with local committees to help preserve some of the local culture. At the time, Bujora was a forest, an area known for violent death, whether from predatory animals or from tribal groups who specialized in twisting the necks of their victims.

A prominent feature of the museum, a map of the area, once dominated by the Sukuma and its various subordinate kingdoms. Bujora, the location of the museum, is directly east of Mwanza; the town is not marked, but identified by the end of the railway tracks on the water. Our university is located in the area to the southwest of Mwanza, labeled Negeji (Nyegezi is the name today).

The chapel, a central focus on the grounds of the museum

The community worshiping on the grounds was practicing for the Maundy Thursday services to be held later that day. The singing, typical of Catholic services in East Africa, formed a lovely backdrop for our visit.

This museum was built by the Roman Catholic Church, which began work in converting the tribe over the last 100 or more years. The chapel, built in the shape of a traditional tribal house (though much bigger than such a hut!) represents the heart of this open-air museum. We noticed it before we saw any other parts of the museum, since it took a little while to locate our guide.

View inside the chapel; the altar also incorporates traditional shapes

A special feature for a Catholic chapel is the container and cupboard to keep the reserved host. In this chapel the container had been built, on a smaller scale, of course, as a typical two-storey royal residence, as below.

The royal pavilion, for the chief or king of the tribe; it is also designed in the shape of a royal throne

Pascal, modeling the king, with attributes of royalty, especially his feathered crown and shield

The wooden throne for the king was carved out of a single piece of wood. The smaller stools were of interest to us, because the shape is exactly like those still constructed and used by the Tiv of Nigeria; indeed the Tiv are a Bantu tribe, as are most of the tribes of Tanzania. But also of interest in this scene is the gameboard displayed here; although the rules are a bit more elaborate, the principle for the game is the same as that which we discovered as a favorite in the Philippines, where it is called “sunka.”

One of the prerogatives of royalty was to call the people to assembly, and for this purpose the drum was essential. The museum collected a number of drums, most of them are rather well preserved.

Our guide, Sylvester, was helpful in explaining the significance of what we saw, particularly the central importance of the drum, also featured at the signature exhibit marking the opening of the museum.

Drums are important especially for traditional dances. As focal point for an annual dance competition at harvest time (June to August), the Dance pavilion at this museum was instrumental in keeping alive the traditional tribal dances. The competitions feature competing dance societies each trying to attract the largest crowds through innovative dance steps or props. The dances are performed with use of different implements (like those in farming); some use very distinctive clogs, and we noted dances which feature a python.

The skin of a python is used in dances. Even a live python is a favorite feature in some dances. Sylvester told us that a python is kept on the museum grounds for this purpose (although we did not get to see it).

Dancing with high clogs

Wendy with plaque acknowledging donors for the construction of the dance pavilion. It was interesting for us to note that donations had come especially from Canadians.

Aside from these central structures, the museum also featured items of everyday life.

A representative hut of the blacksmith

Some ironwork implements of the blacksmith

Inside the family homestead of a representative of the tribe, containers for milking cows or goats, as well as containers for drinking

Pots for keeping water, and gourds used as ladles, or spoons

Especially interesting was the hut of a medicine man, or traditional healer, featuring photos of well-known medicine men, with their implements, like horns for medicinal ingredients.

More implements, a skin on which the sick could rest, and bracelets as amulets against danger and evil.

Outside the hut of the medicine man, shrines as replicas of huts for the ancestors, as the focus of prayer to the gods; as 'living-dead' the ancestors were to intercede with deity on behalf of the family.

A chicken coop used to protect chickens from predators

Ferry trip to Nansio, Ukerewe Island

2009-04-16T06:24:00.014-04:00

We used the Easter break, a week without classes and teaching, to explore our surroundings here in Mwanza. One of the things we looked forward to doing was to take a ferry ride to one of the nearby islands on Lake Victoria. We had planned to take the ferry to one of the bigger islands, Ukerewe, on Tuesday, but that morning it was raining so hard that we decided to postpone the trip a day or more. For Wednesday we had expected a visit from some colleagues, but when that fell through decided to go ahead with the ferry even though it was raining a bit in the morning. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the docks early in the morning, to catch the 9 am ferry.

It was rather overcast leaving Mwanza, but the rain had stopped

It was a passenger boat with no vehicles, so the loading did not take long. We were off; we sailed for quite a while with land and/or islands on both sides. Lake Victoria is a huge lake, but we were always within sight of land. Yet there were times when we saw mostly water on the horizon.

Some of these islands looked habitable.

But this one had the same kind of bare rock formation which we find all around Mwanza; in fact, it reminds us of the rocky outcroppings around Jos in

Nigeria

The trip took about three hours; it was pretty slow, actually, so we could enjoy just being out on the lake, seeing the islands around us and other boats out on the lake.

These sailboats are used for fishing, which is main industry on lake

We rode on the upper deck of the ferry, so we remained protected from rain or sunshine.

Wendy at our table on the upper deck

In fact, the day cleared, and by noon the sun was shining. By 12.15 we arrived at our destination, Nansio, not a very big town.

Approaching Nansio

After reserving tickets for the return trip we took a walk into town. We did not have much time - loading for the return trip was at 1.30 - but we also found there was not that much to see, certainly without taking a taxi and going to one of the resorts of which we had read; the town was as 'scruffy' as the tour book said it was. Most of the picnic ingredients we had taken were already exhausted by our arrival at Nansio, so we were happy to find a fairly decent small restaurant. It was clean, and the food arrived within five minutes of ordering. So we had our warm meal. When we returned to the ferry, going back with the same one on which we arrived, we found out that food had been prepared for the passengers (2 pm. is the normal time for lunch here).

Adrian, after lunch, ready to board ferry for return trip

The return trip took about the same amount of time as the trip going. As we went, it got more sunny, so the lake looked different, the water was more blue.

Leaving Nansio

Adrian on board, a relaxing day

People even sat on deck during the return trip

Rocky coastline

Near Mwanza

Views of Mwanza from the lake

Bismarck rock, seen from the lake

We got back to Mwanza just after 5 pm. We were exhausted - from what? sitting? But we found the trip worthwhile, expanding our horizons just a bit, especially since the lake is certainly the dominant and most interesting feature of Mwanza. For trivia lovers, it is the second largest freshwater lake in the world.

Teaching in Tanzania

2009-04-13T04:58:00.014-04:00

We want to begin by wishing all of you a happy Easter. Today is a holiday here and thus we have a one week break from teaching (that started last Tuesday, so classes begin again tomorrow).

This time we want to share some reflections on our teaching here in Tanzania. Although the teaching itself does not differ greatly from our work in Nigeria, the context is certainly different, and that impacts our relationship with students, and our methods as well.

Chapel on Malimbe campus

Plaque commemorating founding of SAUT as a university in 1999 (before that it was Nyegezi Social Institute)

To begin, we realize that a big difference between our work here in Tanzania and in Nigeria is the factor of language. As in

Nigeria

, English is the medium of instruction, but outside of class, Swahili, the national language, is used almost exclusively by both faculty and students. If competence in English left much to be desired for Nigerian students, we find that Tanzanian students, for the most part, have at least a passive acquaintance with the language. Many students in both countries find it difficult to write well in English, largely because they do not read enough good books and articles. The library, here, as in Jos, is not adequate even for undergraduate, much less graduate students. Yet SAUT is commited to building a decent library, certainly by African standards. The new library building indicates that.

Entrance to library

New library building

No bags are allowed into the library, but books disappear anyway

Students studying in the library

Our students at SAUT are also more shy than in

Nigeria

. They are not so ready to offer answers when a question is raised. Perhaps the context has its impact, because Wendy's class in introductory philosophy is large: 122 students in all. But they do have a chance to talk when the Friday tutorial is given. A course typically meets three hours per week. While two hours are devoted to lectures, the third hour involves ‘tutorials.’ Students are divided into small groups for discussion. But we have discovered that such group discussions spill over outside the classroom. The campus is dotted with groups of students comparing notes, explaining the lecture materials to each other. To judge by these groups, students here seem more committed to their studies than those in Nigeria.

Wendy talking to students in a discussion group

One of about ten discussion groups in her class

Discussion groups can be found all over the campus

Adrian's graduate course in the “History of Political Ideas” has fourteen MA students, a fairly typical size for a class at that level. Again he uses the two-hour period to lecture; in the tutorial hour students read and discuss portions of texts of major political philosophers. He has discovered that his students are not used to this kind of intensive reading. They have never been exposed to reading either Plato or Aristotle, or any other major authors introduced; and they have little or no background in philosophy to prepare them for the challenge. Students who have graduated from SAUT have had as least two required philosophy courses: the introductory course that Wendy is now teaching and a course in logic. But students who graduated from other Tanzanian universities were not required to take any philosophy courses. At SAUT, the philosophy program will soon be expanded; the department is proposing a new BA in Philosophy for students in education which will have many more courses in philosophy.

Adrian teaching his class

Wth about 6000 students, SAUT is already the largest private university in Tanzania and the second-largest overall. It appears that education was not a priority in Tanzania for the first years after independence, but that has changed in recent years. Universities are springing up out of the ground, as it were, and are scrambling to find enough lecturers. This is the reason why SAUT invited us. Each of us is teaching one course this semester, which is not unusual here, especially for foreigners. This leaves us time to learn a bit of Swahili and to finish some research projects.

As you can see in the photos below, the buildings are springing out of the ground to accommodate the new students expected each year. All these buildings, including the library, are very close to our house. This is the new campus of SAUT.

The new administration building

The new classroom building, with ten very large classrooms

One of the women's hostels, with Lake Victoria in the background; this hostel is across the road from our house

Prayer notes

2009-03-13T09:34:00.018-04:00

"Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God"

(Acts 10.4).

1. We are grateful that so many prayers about our new work in Tanzania are being answered. We have very pleasant working relationships with colleagues in administration, and more particularly in philosophy. Although students use Swahili almost all the time, except for lectures, we find we are managing to get around with what little we know, with gestures and other forms of communication, which work fine when there is goodwill.

2. We are thankful for the opportunity we had to visit Jos and meet with our graduate students in January and to encourage them in their work. There was some unrest at the time, but reports we have received indicate that things are calming down. Please continue to pray with us for an end to the violence and for true peace for Jos. But last week IICS colleagues who live a few hours driving distance outside of Jos experienced armed robbery; please pray for the Lotzgesells as they cope with the trauma and loss.

3. We are thankful for the safety in travel we have experienced these last weeks, both internationally and locally. Here in Tanzania we do not have a car, and get around in public mini-buses, which are great for getting us back and forth to the campus from Mwanza for visits, shopping, etc. Please pray for our safety on local transportation.

4. When we first arrived, we were warned that mail by regular post might not get through; but over the past two weeks we have received a number of pieces of mail! On campus we are able to use internet, although it is rather slow much of the time (that's why we are using only our gmail accounts at this time). And our cell phones work fine here. Thank God with us for good communications.

5. One of our concerns on arrival was to find a worshiping community. During these first weeks we visited some local churches; the singing is almost invariably beautiful, but the services are best described as loud and louder. So we are thankful that we found a local Anglican church which holds a traditional service; the attendance is not large, and the English service is sandwiched in between two services in Swahili which are much better attended. As a result the priest tends to hurry the service somewhat, but we are very thankful that we can understand what is going on!

The Anglican church in Mwanza, where we worship on Sundays

Thank you for praying with us!

The challenges of life at SAUT

2009-03-09T04:11:00.016-04:00

We were spoiled during the first days of our stay in Mwanza! We experienced water coming from the taps every day, and the electricity being on almost nonstop. Yes, we were warned that we might experience some problems with water and electricity, but those brief interruptions were nothing compared with what has become the norm in Jos, where we talked about the hours when we actually had power, and when water did flow. Well, that wonderful situation did not last. But by the second week of our stay here, the situation went increasingly downhill. First, it was a day or two without water, although still not bad when compared to Jos, where we got water once a week at most. The difference is that in Jos we had large storage tanks for water, while here we only have a few pails of water to tide us over. So three days without water was the limit. During the second week one night without power was not so bad, but this time the power didn’t come back until the end of the day. People at the university explained that only the phase coming to our house was affected; the other phases, which include the women’s hostels across the road from our place, continued to have power. But last weekend we experienced a severe thunderstorm, which seems to have taken down some poles and wires and damaged a transformer. Our phase went out again, this time for a day and a half. We can live with candles for a day or so, and even get warm food at the student cafeteria, but to keep the food in the refrigerator from spoiling we finally brought it to a neighboring house which was not affected. The residents were gracious in even providing hot water for our thermos, so we could make tea on those mornings when we were without power. Our stove is half electrical and half with gas burners, which is ideal for our situation. Unfortunately, the gas tank had not yet been provided, so we were still dependent on electricity for cooking.

The water tower being installed, concrete was poured around posts

None of these problems are insurmountable. University officials promised to help solve both the water and electrical problems. Already in the first week a tower for the water tank was deposited in the back yard, but it stood up side down there for a few weeks. No water tank was available, we were told; and the gas tank did not materialize either—it was difficult to find the right kind, apparently. But one day, a little over a week ago, the plumber came (there is only one for the whole university), together with his assistant, and they started working on the tower. They put it in place, and a few days later poured concrete around the four legs. “Tomorrow we will bring a water tank,” they promised. And, indeed, they did. It still took several days, but finally this past Friday, March 6, the installation was complete and water started flowing into the tank. Now all the water for the house is routed through the tank, which holds 1000 liters, and we find that water flows in our house, even when the water has been turned off; and we should have enough to cover the emergencies.

That Friday really was a banner day! While the plumber was putting the final touches on the water tank, our Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, Mfumbusa, came by to deliver a gas tank, with a regulator and hose. He did not have the necessary clips to fasten the hose, so we had to go into Mwanza for that. It was not easy to find the right ones — only one hardware store carried them. But Adrian managed, and that evening we celebrated—to think that our immediate water and cooking-gas problems had been solved on one and the same day! Around supper time the power went off for a while, but it did not bother us much that evening, we were able to prepare our meal at home. We have heard of major problems looming in Tanzania’s provision of electricity, because the demand is more than the available supply, and some transformers which are needed are not available. Thus we are grateful that we will not be so vulnerable now, at least for cooking our meals.

The newly delivered gas tank that still needed to be installed

The assistant plumber resting after a job well done

We have not managed to overcome all the challenges we face. There are still problems with the working of our cell phones, which is a common problem in Tanzania, as in Nigeria, with the system often overloaded; also with the internet, since we have to walk about half a kilometer to go to a computer room, but again, not insurmountable, though it does limit the opportunity for us to do email. We generally go early in the morning, when there are only a few students online. Later on in the day with heavier use it gets very slow.

A flower and a bird can brighten our days here

Thus we do have our share of challenges in living here. The university personnel have been very helpful in solving such problems, however, even if it did take a few weeks. We continue to experience a warm reception here, and our teaching seems to be appreciated greatly.

Wendy in front of Bismark Rock, a local attraction

A bird perched not far from Bismark Rock

Arrival in Mwanza

2009-02-24T02:24:00.016-05:00

The last leg of our journey of these weeks, the flight to Mwanza on a rather small plane, went without a hitch. We immediately realized that Mwanza, on Lake Victoria, and at a much higher elevation than Dar es Salaam, was also decidedly cooler than Dar. The quality of the air also seemed more like that of Jos, which is on a plateau.

We were thankful to meet the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, Bernardin Mfumbusa, with whom we had corresponded over the last months. Because the house we were to occupy was not ready (there was some confusion over the date of our arrival), he took us to a local hotel, the Isamo (where we stayed for two nights), and then took us out for dinner at a lovely restaurant, the Tilapia (named for the local fish) which, as we soon realized, was one of the best of Mwanza.

View of Lake Victoria from Isamo hotel, looking west

View of Mwanza from the Isamo, looking south toward the peninsula on which the university is located; like Jos, the city is built on the rocks and is distinctively hilly

Mwanza looking north toward the center of the city

It was raining off and on for the first few days, and was decidedly cool for us. In fact, after the problems with the Johannesburg flight, we had both come down with colds and we really felt the cool breezes! It rains here from time to time, since it is rainy season now. But we discovered that when the sun did come out, it is much hotter than Jos! We are very close to the equator here (about 2 ½ degree south), and the sun is pretty much directly overhead. Starting in early March it will be north of us. So we feel the strength of the sun's rays, and really need to keep suntan lotion on hand here, even if it is cooler than in Dar es Salaam.

The next day Mfumbusa took us around to meet many people whom we needed to get to know on campus, so we got a good look at the facilities, and met so many that it was hard to keep track of them all!

But we would not forget Timothy, the Nigerian professor of history who is spending his sabbatical year teaching here at SAUT.

Students were still writing exams to finish the first semester, so things were actually pretty quiet on the grounds for the first few days. This was good for us, because we had to do some shopping.

On Friday morning, first thing, the SAUT driver, Sylvester, took us to see the house, right smack in the middle of the campus, near the women’s hostels, not far from the classrooms and the imposing new library building. We discovered that the house already had some basic furniture, three beds, a dining room set and living room furniture and lerned that the refrigerator and stove would be delivered later that day. The house had been left stripped of everything by the former occupant, who had moved into Mwanza. After seeing it, we went shopping for pots and pans, plates, silverware and other basic kitchen equipment, as well as a first installment of groceries.

When we got back to the house after doing our shopping, we discovered that the stove and refrigerator had arrived, and were happy that the electrician also came to make sure everything was properly connected. That night we were able to cook a simple meal, get a shower, and sleep in new beds with new sheets! It was especially wonderful to be able to unpack our bags after all these weeks of travel. It would take us numerous trips into Mwanza over the next days to finish shopping for the basics, but we were thankful to have a good head start on the matter.

We were thankful too that Sylvester was with us when we went shopping the first time, because Swahili is a new language for us. Although the lectures at the university will be in English, everywhere else people speak Swahili! It would have been difficult for us to get the shopping done without some help.

The women's hostels, our nearest neighbors on campus

We soon discovered that the impressive new building (only two years old) which features prominently on the SAUT website is the library

Our home on campus

Adrian at our back door, which is also our main door

On Saturday we took a bit of time to explore our immediate surroundings, and Adrian was brave enough to take a ride into Mwanza with the local mini-bus, called ‘dala-dala’; they take about 20 passengers (although it seems there is always room for one more!). The cost is reasonable enough, the equivalent of about 30 cents for a 10 km ride into town. The alternative is taxis, which cost about $10 from town to the university. We do that when it is late at night, and thus not safe in a dala-dala, or when we have too much to carry. We do not intend to buy a car for these few months, so these kinds of transportation allow us to get around fairly well.

A mini bus is know locally as a 'dala-dala'; each route has its own station in the center of the city

We also discovered that we do not need to go into Mwanza for all our purchases. Between the university (located on a peninsula of lake Victoria, outside of Mwanza) and the lake there are roads, and houses, and even some villages; as we took some walks over the next few days we found that people sell fruits, vegetables and other daily necessities like bread, and at prices that are comparable to what we pay in town. That will certainly simplify life for us the next few months.

Area roads near university

The university is located in a rather rural and agricultural setting

We are beginning to settle into a new routine. Unlike Jos, we do not have household help here. Our house is smaller, with a kitchen, dining room, living room and three small bedrooms. At the moment it rains rather frequently and it is not too hot yet nor too dusty either; so we can keep things under control. Water runs fairly consistently, though we have had days when it was ‘off’ more than ‘on’; we have been promised a water-holding tank, which will be helpful. Electricity has been fairly consistent, although the voltage fluctuates considerably, and we have had some evenings when it went off, and even one day when we had no power at all.

We do not have the 12-volt backup systems that we had in Jos, so when the power is off we have to manage with candles and flashlights. At the moment our stove is electrical, though it has provision for gas burners; we hope to get a tank hooked up soon, so at least we can do some cooking when the power is off. So there are still some basics which need attention here!

Settling into a routine in our new Malimbe campus home

But our main assignment is to teach in the Department of Philosophy. We were introduced to the head of the department, Aidan Msafiri, on the first day, and discussed the courses we were to teach. Adrian’s MA class on the history of political ideas started on Monday, Feb. 16. Wendy is teaching introduction to philosophy, which also introduces the students to ancient philosophy. This course started on Friday, Feb. 13. The students had little time to recoup their energies after exams before starting the new semester. In fact, there were only a few students who showed up; the rest of the 122 students came along for first main lecture the next Wednesday (Feb. 18)! We are getting the matter of textbooks and basic readings straightened out. Textbooks do not seem to be available at all for the students to buy. The library simply has multiple copies of basic texts, and students will probably have to photocopy some sections for themselves. But like Nigeria, this is an oral culture, and we expect that the really important teaching will be done in the classroom.

Karibu means Welcome! We certainly feel warmly welcomed at SAUT

Further travel update

2009-02-23T03:13:00.011-05:00

When we left Jos on the first of February, we flew to Lagos to connect with South African Airlines taking us to Johannesburg and from there, the next day to Dar es Salaam (we took the long way to Dar, via Johannesburg mainly because that was far cheaper than the short route via Kenya). We arrived in Lagos late in the afternoon, checked in for our flight to Johannesburg, and waited in that rather unattractive airport for many hours. When it was finally time to board, we were informed that the plane was late in arriving. But, as we were to discover later, there were other problems….

This was the 747 that we took from Lagos to Johannesburg--it was later being towed away after our arrival.

We waited for more than an hour in sweltering heat in long lines in a miserably small room with very few seats, obviously meant for far fewer people than those planning to fly to Johannesburg that night. The air-conditioning in the airport was not working properly, or it could not cope with the numbers of people. Later we discovered that the reason why we could not depart was because the air-conditioning system on the plane had broken down. When we were finally allowed to board that system had still not been repaired, and we discovered that the heat in the airport was nothing compared to that on the plane. Once we were airborne the cabins cooled down considerably, so we went from one extreme to another. We arrived in Johannesburg the next morning somewhat tired after all that. But, fortunately, the airport in Johannesburg is newly renovated (in preparation for the 2010 World Cup games) and we were able to get a good breakfast and some much needed coffee to keep us awake for our flight to Dar es Salaam in the afternoon.

We knew that the flight to Johannesberg would be a night flight, and had decided in advance to spend a day in Dar es Salaam before continuing on to Mwanza, both to catch our breath (and catch up on sleep), and acquaint ourselves, if briefly, with Dar, the largest city of Tanzania. We arrived in Dar early in the evening and stood in line for about an hour while our visas for Tanzania were being prepared. After we picked up our luggage, we were very happy to be greeted by Rachel Brink, a CRWRC volunteer, who drove us to the Catholic guest house where we are staying for two nights, until leaving for Mwanza on Wednesday.

Our room in the guest house is in center of the photo; Adrian

The next day we went to the CRWRC office, where we met the rest of the staff, especially theTanzania country representative for CRWRC, Margaret Njuguna, who gave us an overview of the work CRWRC was doing in Tanzania.

Margaret gave us some good tips for successful work in Tanzania

Then Rachel took us on a tour of Dar es Salaam, and we treated her to lunch; she took us to a lovely Indian restaurant. We also bought a new phone for Wendy and a new SIM card for Adrian so his old phone could work in Tanzania. By the way, Dar means 'port'; thus Dar es Salaam is 'peaceful port.'

Rachel took us to a spot in Dar with a good view of the ocean

One of the main attractions of Dar is its location on the Indian Ocean, and we appreciated the breeze and the view, although Dar has few good beaches. Back in the guest house we were thankful that we could make use of a wireless connection, to let family and colleagues know that we had arrived safe and well.

Travel update

2009-02-03T09:49:00.023-05:00

It is hard to believe that it has been more than two weeks ago since we left Canada; so much has happened in the meantime. After two overnight flights, first from Toronto, and again from London, giving us very little sleep, it was good to arrive in Abuja. The flight with BA was more economical than others, but meant a rather long and tedious day waiting in Terminal 5, the new BA terminal at Heathrow; unlike the older Terminal 4 where we used to arrive, there were no comfortable chairs on which to rest; the builders obviously wanted us to keep moving, or shop at their ritzy shops with overpriced goods! Once in Abuja, our driver wasted no time in taking us to Jos, where we arrived before noon.

For the first three days we stayed at the CRC guest house, and soon settled in. The day after our arrival we already welcomed three of our doctoral students, and we saw the other three not long after, during the following week, when we had moved back into our old house at the university. We discovered that while we were away, Chikas, one of our students, had been successful in her application to finish her studies in

Germany

, and we were able to congratulate her on a handsome scholarship! And Dauda, one of Wendy's students in New Testament, has also made progress on his research at the South African university of Kwasu Natal, and will be able to finish doctoral work there. So it now looks like we still have responsibilities for two students, Adrian for Cosmos and Dennis, Wendy for Kate (who is only in beginning stages of her work), and Rebecca.

Us, with our doctoral students Cosmos, Kate, and Dennis

We are still listed as faculty in our department at Unijos--disregard the spelling of Adrian's name, which happened repeatedly

Wendy was able to spend considerable time with Rebecca Dali, who was also able to make the first of three required presentations. It went quite well, and we are thankful for this.

Rebecca at her seminar, from left to right: Chikas, colleagues Ibrahim Musa, Umar Danfulani (former HOD), Danny McCain, Musa Gaiya (former HOD also), Dennis, Wendy, Rebecca, Adrian, Kate, and colleague Pauline Lere

We spent about two weeks back in the house we used to occupy, which has been used by IICS colleagues who are in Jos from time to time to teach, or take a break from their own locations. It felt somewhat strange for us to be back in the home where we spent the last six years. The basic furniture that belonged to the university was still there, but most of our own belongings were gone; we sold them when we left about eight months ago. So at first we had the impression we were just camping in the place where we had lived so long. Yet there were enough of our old things left for us to feel at home again after a few days. It was also helpful that some IICS colleagues stayed with us for several days. By living together we got to know them better than we had before.

During these weeks it was a special joy to have Angelina helping us, and to welcome our longtime helper, Julie (and her daughter Sharon) back to our house again too.

Jos itself had not changed much, except that we noticed many buildings burned down in our area of Northern Jos, including several churches where we had worshipped. Zaria Road, a main artery from the North to the centre of the city, had changed the most, since it was being widened. In addition, parts of this road were lined with hulks of hundreds of burnt out cars and trucks, including a few fire engines. These businesses were owned by Muslims. Other businesses owned by Christians were destroyed as well. Although many churches had been burnt, we saw no mosques that had been leveled, although there may have been some. The latest Jos crisis was supposedly political, but many people wonder why, then, so many houses of worship and businesses were targeted, but no government buildings? Many people we talked to in Jos have theories about the reasons for this crisis, which was much worse than the one in 2001, a few days before 9/11, but no one knows for sure, and it is by no means clear also who was responsible for organizing the killing and burning. A number of commissions were immediately formed to analyze the recent crisis, but even so the answer will not necessarily emerge. The report of the commission that examined the 2001 crisis has never been published.

Below are a few more scenes from the devastation in Jos during the riots last November. It includes scenes of the burning of buildings, cars, and Trinity Anglican Church (where we worshipped for a few years).

Reflections on 2008

2009-01-01T13:55:00.066-05:00

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).

Our family, minus Greg who could not come to Toronto

The end of a year and the beginning of a new one is a good time to reflect on what has happened in the last twelve months. By looking backwards we realize that we live by grace alone: God has planned things better than we ever could. Thus it is also an appropriate time to thank God for his provision and care. Without his help we would not have been able to accomplish anything.

Wendy and Adrian in the office of the head of our department at the University of Jos in Nigeria

Christmas Day 2007 and New Year’s Day 2008 we celebrated in Jos, which was the third time we were in Nigeria for these events. Spending Christmas in the tropics is totally different from being in Canada, where the weather is much colder at that time of year. Nigeria has never experienced a white Christmas. Yet December and January are two months when the weather is very comfortable. The dry season has started, and flowers are in bloom, but it is not yet as hot as it gets in April and May.

Flowers bloom all year round

During the first months of 2008 we were finishing our courses at the university and helping a number of graduate students complete their theses. It got a bit hectic in April when we were trying to sell some of our possessions, in preparation for winding up our work in Nigeria, and returning to Canada in May. We left behind some books and basic necessities, which will still be needed when we plan to be back in Jos in a few weeks. But we also gave away many of our books to friends, colleagues, and especially to some of the local seminaries and schools that can make good use of them.

We often held classes in our office, which was small but had lots of light -- useful especially when there was no electricity

We returned to Canada in May. Soon after arrival we took off for the Dominican Republic for a vacation. This was a new adventure, especially in staying at a resort on the ocean, with a beautiful beach. Like many tourists, our stay under those conditions meant we were insulated from the poverty, which is one of the drawbacks of this type of tourism. But for us it was a much needed break.

Enjoying the resort in Dominican Republic

Immediately after we got home again, we got busy with medical checkups and tests. We both felt run down after the last months in Nigeria. Wendy had a sore shoulder, which resulted from a fall more than a year ago and could not be treated adequately there. Thankfully, now we both enjoy good health and are ready to go back to Africa again for a while.

Toronto skyline

Our 100 year -old house in downtown Toronto

Backyard barbeque

July is always the time of year for the annual Vision conference of IICS/CSI in Kansas City. On the way there we traveled via Florida in order to visit our dentist in Melbourne, who provides free dental care to IICS/CSI professors; thus it is well worth the trip. As always, the conference itself was a wonderful occasion to reflect on the work of the year, to be inspired by a great variety of talks, to meet old friends and to make new ones. We appreciated Paul Marshall's contribution as one of the key speakers. He has a gift for explaining things in an easy and engaging way. Our relationship with Paul goes back many years to our return to Toronto from the Philippines in the late eighties.

August through November kept us busy with visits to many supporting churches and work on writing projects. Wendy added a number of chapters to her book on Sophia, or the personification of philosophy. Except for the final editing she managed to get the book finished, which is quite a relief, since we are gearing up for more travel soon. Adrian worked on some articles related to research on Christian-Muslim dialogue, and has also given significant time to a proposal for a conference planned for next year in Toronto, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a crucial factor in relations among Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

The highlight of November came on the 19^th of the month with the birth of our third grandchild, James Thomas, to Pauline and Greg Roy, a brother for Gracie and Chris. Wendy helped out for a week and a half before the birth and stayed more than a week afterwards. Adrian drove down to see the new baby and to pick up Wendy. On the drive back to Toronto we ran into a snow storm in New York State. Fortunately, it did not last long, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. But this snow proved to be a harbinger of things to come. Like many across North America, we experienced lots of snow during December, and a lovely white Christmas in Toronto.

Newly arrived James Thomas (J.T.)

Chris, Gracie and Pauline with J.T.

Oma holding J.T.

Opa holding and feeding J.T.

As 2009 begins, we need to gear up for our return to Africa in mid-January. We will go to Jos first of all to give whatever encouragement and help we can to our doctoral students. Then we will travel on to Tanzania to teach for a semester at St. Augustine University in Mwanza, the second largest city in that country. While we are in East Africa we will have several additional assignments, especially investigating possibilities for IICS/CSI colleagues to teach in the universities there.

Map of Tanzania: Mwanza lies on Lake Victoria in the north

We are thankful that we are able to return to Africa for this work. During these last months we have been restored and given new energy. In spite of a global recession, and many indications of doom and gloom, we are thankful for many good things that happened in the year 2008. We pray that 2009 may prove to be a year of special blessings not only for us but for you as well. Please pray for us as we travel back to Africa and begin teaching in a new environment.