Summer's end

This summer of 2007 has been unusual, even for our typically erratic schedules of teaching, traveling and varied speaking engagements. Originally we planned to leave Nigeria for a two month break from early August, just in time to attend the conference in patristics or early Christianity held every four years in the UK, at Oxford. But a Nigeria-wide strike at the universities (probably connected to the April elections for all levels of government), changed those plans.

Wendy had already prepared a paper, “Solovyov’s Sophia as a Mediating Principle”, for the conference on ‘Sophia’ at the University of Nymegen (the Netherlands), and rather than send this paper to be read for her, she decided she might as well go in person to present it, particularly because the topic was close to the theme of the book she is now preparing for publication with Slavica (Sophia, Beatrice and Mary. A Study in Personification of Wisdom based on Solovyov and Dante). After the conference she wanted to stay in Europe, to make use of excellent library facilities in preparing the papers to be presented in Oxford.

Key to this decision was not only the approval of the head of our Department of Religious Studies but also the concurrence of her sister, Pat Verbrugge, who lives just outside Amsterdam near Utrecht, that she could stay with them during the intervening weeks.

At the Verbrugge’s, a place of peace and quiet near Utrecht

While Adrian went on ahead to Toronto, and was able to attend the annual Vision Conference of IICS/CSI in Kansas City, as well as spend special time with family, Wendy stayed with her sister, and took the time to renew acquaintance with the family too. By the end of July the necessary papers had been written, and she was ready for the trip to England. The Oxford conference was the main purpose for the trip, but she also managed to visit dear friends and supporters of our work, Mel and Vera Macleod in Manchester.

Mel and Vera

Vera and Wendy

And she took a few days to travel to Durham and visited friends and former colleagues (while we were in Moscow), Robin and Penny Minney. Durham cathedral was especially impressive.

Robin and Penny

Wendy at Durham Cathederal

The Patristics conference at Oxford is the single most important international conference for those who are specialized in the study of early Christianity, and Wendy values the opportunity to attend. This year there were close to 800 registered. It is a wonderful occasion to hear good lectures, meet colleagues in one’s area of specialization, find out about new publications, and particularly to have one’s ideas challenged by others who have similar interests.

Wendy in Oxford

Wendy gave two presentations, first a paper on the fourth century Augustine’s work on the Trinity, examining his argument for attributing ‘Wisdom’ to Christ (as in 1 Cor. 1.24). The second paper was based on our teaching work in Jos, and discussed the special challenges of a course on early Christianity, taught to all incoming students, Christian and Muslim alike. But a very special bonus of attending was her meeting longtime friend of IICS Thomas Oden, and hearing about a special project of IVCF publications which he is spearheading, to publish stories of the earliest years of Christianity in Africa.

She was no sooner back in Toronto, and it was time to prepare for another special highlight of this unusual year, a weeklong gathering of our family at a cottage in the Kawartha’s, about an hour’s drive from Toronto. It had been five years since our family was last together, all of us in one place, and we planned this week as a belated celebration of our 35th wedding anniversary (October 2006).

Celebration couple

It was a special time of gathering, celebration, walks, playground activities, swimming, fishing, and canoeing. Oma and Opa were happy for extra time with the grandchildren, while Pauline appreciated a chance to catch up on all the reading she never gets around to except on vacation.

Pauline

The first few days were a little cold, and we took some drives and long walks.

At the Fenelon Falls playground, Chris loved that turtle; and Gracie the slide

Sharon, who found this cottage for us, also did the lion’s share of preparation for this week. it really did take some effort!

We also took time for games inside the cottage.

We are truly thankful to God for this opportunity to be together and celebrate His goodness to us in these past years.

The Helleman family

In just a few short weeks we hope to be back on our way to Nigeria. We know that the strike at Unijos is over, but it appears that the process of students returning to the classroom is somewhat delayed. Over the summer we are grateful to have maintained email contact with a number of students who continued to work hard at their projects and dissertations, in spite of the strike and our absence. Please pray that there will be no further obstacles in starting the new academic year at the university.

We have heard of some heavy storms in the Jos area. Although such storms are not unusual for the end of the rainy season, we know of friends of ours at the college in Gindiri (just outside Jos) who suffered significant damage to property and destruction of the bore hole, which means there is no safe drinking water for the students. Please pray for our colleagues as they deal with these emergencies, and particularly for health concerns raised by these storms.

As we look back over the summer, we are thankful to God for His protection through the many stints of travel. We do not take this for granted. But we are not finished yet, and ask your prayers for upcoming travel to Calgary and Edmonton, where we hope to visit friends, a number of churches and participate in an all-college interdisciplinary studies conference at the the King's College (September 19 and 20). We will present aspects of our work in Nigeria in the workshop, "Heartbreak and Hope in Interfaith Relations in Nigeria.” We certainly would appreciate your prayers for effective communication as we share the joys and challenges of our ministry at Unijos.

Separated for a few weeks

Wendy and I have been separated for a few weeks already. The reason is a practical one: we both needed to attend conferences that, unfortunately, were on different continents. Last year Wendy wanted to attend a conference in the Netherlands on the topic of Sophia. But it was postponed until the end of June this year. She might not even have attended then, if not for the strike at the university, which was still going on when we left Nigeria (in the meantime, it has ended, though we don't know all the details yet). We left Abuja on June 25 and flew together to Amsterdam.

The next morning I helped Wendy get on the train to Nijmegen, and then I went back into the transit area and flew on to Toronto. Wendy made a presentation at this rather small conference, with scholars coming from many European countries.

After the Nijmegen conference, Wendy went to her sister's place, who lives in the Netherlands, but was visiting Alaska at the time. Wendy stayed there alone for two weeks, until her sister returned. Next week she flies to England to vist friends in Manchester and Durham, before she goes to Oxford for the International Patristics conference, which is held every four years. She will make two presentations at this major international event.

While in the Netherlands, whe visited many people, including her nephew, who had an addition to his family a few months ago, and some friends from our Russia days, who live in the Netherlands now. He is Dutch and she is Russian.


In Toronto I went immediately to our little basement apartment, in the house we own there, where oldest daughter, Sharon, also lives, and which she manages. It is wonderful to have this house as our base when we we are in Canada.

In July I flew to Kansas City for the annual vision conference of the International Institute for Christian Studies, which is the US sister organization of Christian Studies International in Canada. All professors are required to attend this conference every other year. I made two presentations, one of an academic nature. A few years ago scholars were invited to make presentations. This year more than 80 presentations were made. There were also four major speakers: Norman Geisler, J.P. Moreland, Randy Newman and Paul Vitz.

I returned to Toronto by way of Boston, where our youngest daughter, Pauline, lives, together with her husband, Greg, and two young children, Grace and Christopher. It was great to be with them for six days, especially since Pauline has not been well for a while. She is slowly recovering from a major gastro-intestinal infection. Early this week she learned from a specialist in Boston that she will get over this infection eventually, although the symptoms may last another year or so. In spite of this, she is encouraged by the news. The week I was at her place she had a minor recurrence and thus she was happy that I was there to help her take care of the children.

On August 6, David, our son, who works as a journalist and newspaper editor in Istanbul, will arrive in Toronto. He has not been home for several years, although we did visit him last year. At the end of the same week, Wendy will return and the four of us will be reunited again.


In the third week of August, the whole family will be together at a cottage north of Toronto. We are looking forward to that occasion. It will be the first time in many years that all of us will be in the same place. Since a number of birthdays already have occurred or will occur about that time, we hope to celebrate all everyone's birthday at the same time. More on that event later.

Psalm 121: Prayer update

"The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121.8)

1. Please continue to pray that the Nigeria-wide university strike may be settled amicably. Pray that the important meeting with government officials scheduled for next week, June 26, may lead to reconciliation. At the University of Jos the vice chancellor of the university has called students back to register for the new academic year, but the situation is rather confused, since the faculty are not yet ready to back down from their positions. Please pray with us for an atmosphere of dialogue to replace growing confrontation.

2. Although U. Yar'Adua, the new president of Nigeria, has promised to make stable provision of power a priority, his intentions are being tested. Our supply of electricity has been low the last weeks, and we experienced problems with our backup systems at the same time. As a result we faced some real challenges in doing our work. Please pray with us for a resolution of related problems of infrastructure.

3. We thank you for your prayers for our daughter Pauline who suffered from a nasty bacterial infection in May. The symptoms have not totally disappeared, but she has recovered her energy significantly. Please pray that tests to be administered when she comes off the remaining medication in a few weeks may show that the bacteria have really gone.

4. We ask your prayers for safety in traveling as we will soon be on our way to Canada. Pray for the Lord's protection. At the moment a nationwide strike has been called, largely a protest over increase in fuel prices, which was a parting 'gift' from former President Obasanjo. We pray it will not cause too much upheaval. The Abuja airport is still open, but we do not know how air traffic will be affected by the time we leave on Monday.

5. Please pray also for constructive participation in a number of conferences. Wendy hopes to join a conference in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and another in Oxford, the United Kingdom, before returning to Canada. Adrian plans to join the annual IICS Vision conference in Kansas City early in July.

We thank you for praying with us! We know that your prayers make a big difference!

Romans 8: Prayer update (Pentecost 2007)

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8.26

1. We are grateful for Pentecost, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Christian church. During this season of Pentecost, please pray with us for Christian churches with which we are acquainted throughout the world. Pray that they may remain as living witnesses of the ascended Lord who calls us now to bring salvation to the ends of the earth in His name. Pray especially for missionaries who continue that work, often in difficult circumstances.

2. Please continue to pray for peace at the beginning of a new political term in Nigeria. We praise God for relatively peaceful elections, even though there were reports of irregularities and violence. In light of the incredible tensions of the weeks of preparation for elections, we are grateful that the April elections in Nigeria proceeded as well as they did. We are also grateful for the ‘normalcy’ of the installation of Umaru Yar'Adua as president (May 29); the opposition had promised strikes and demonstrations, none of which materialized. Democracy in Plateau State even has a success story of a senator who had a bad reputation, and was voted out in spite of his extraordinary efforts to remain in power.

3. The strike at the university continues. Pray with us that it may end soon so that we may finish our post-graduate courses, and that the new academic year may begin for undergraduates.

4. Please pray with us for our youngest daughter Pauline. For some weeks already she has been battling very serious intestinal bacteria, which did not respond to numerous attempts to get rid of them. Last week she ended up in hospital; there are now signs of improvement in her condition, and she has been discharged. Please pray with us that the type of bacteria has been identified correctly, and that she can begin the road of recovery from this debilitating attack. Pray also for Greg and the children, Gracie and Chris who have experienced the stress of these weeks. We are grateful that Sharon, our oldest, could join Pauline and her family this past week, to help out.

5. We are grateful for your prayers for us as we traveled to South Africa in early May. We enjoyed a very warm reception during the two busy and productive weeks at three universities (North West University, at the Potchefstroom and Vaal Triangle campuses, Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch) where we gave lectures, led workshops and held discussions with faculty, administrators and students. It really seemed to us as if the Lord had prepared the way for the message we wanted to convey, to foster cooperation (mainly at the graduate level, in research, and exchange lecturing) between universities in Nigeria and South Africa, especially in the area of philosophy and theology. Please pray that these preparatory talks will result in blessings for our students and respective institutions.

Our South Africa trip: May 1-15

We have just returned from a short trip to South Africa in which we sought to build bridges between universities in Nigeria and South Africa. Since we work primarily with masters and doctoral students, our concern is to enable students to get a good degree in Nigeria, if possible. This is often difficult for a number of reasons. Very few schools offer more than a handful of courses in philosophy. And seminaries do not have the necessary resources to offer a good doctoral degree in theology, since their faculties are limited and their libraries are inadequate.

One of the gates of the University of Potchefstroom

Main library of the University of Potchefstroom

During this two week period we visited three universities, North-West University (NWU, with four campuses, including Potchefstroom and Vaal Triangle), the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein (UFS), and University of Stellenbosch (US). There we made presentations, gave lectures and led seminars or workshops. We also talked with deans, faculty members and deans. Everywhere we went we not only received a very warm welcome but also an excellent reception for our request for help.

Seminary of the Reformed Churches of South Africa

Wendy speaking in the Department of Philosophy

We arrived on Tuesday, May 1, a public holiday, and were picked up from the Johannesburg airport by a member of the Department of Philosophy of the Potchefstroom campus of NWU, Prof. Michael Heyns, whom we had met a number of years earlier in Toronto. That evening Prof. Bennie Vander Walt (emeritus professor of philosophy), who is a friend from way back, and Michael and his wife welcomed us with a lovely supper.

Wendy with Prof. Viljoen in front of church that is on the grounds of the seminary of the Reformed Churches

Wednesday May 2 was spent with the Faculty of Theology, NWU, representing the theological school of the Reformed Churches in South Africa, which started Potchefstroom University. We met Prof. Francois Viljoen and the Dean, Prof. Andries du Plooy. Adrian presented the main points of his paper Theological Education in Africa: Exploring Opportunities and Possible Cooperation. He gave an informal explanation of the situation in the universities of Nigeria, and more specifically the nature of work in the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Jos. After lunch Wendy presented her paper, Hellenization Revisited: The Hellenistic Context of Judaism, Gnosticism and Early Christianity.

Adrian with Prof. Hans Van Deventer at Vaal campus of NWU

On Thursday May 3 we visited the School of Philosophy of NWU, where Adrian made a power point presentation, Building Bridges through World Views. In the afternoon Wendy introduced a paper, Developing Christian Philosophy in Nigeria. She presented the need to develop a Christian philosophy which will be responsive to current needs and challenges of Nigerian society.

The two of us with Profs. Rabali and Van Deventer

We spent Friday May 4 at the Vaal Triangle campus of NWU, about an hour’s drive from Potchefstroom. Our hosts were Prof. Hans Van Deventer and Prof. T.C. Rabali, both of who attended the NABIS in Ekpoma, Nigeria, last July. The campus is more modern than that in Potchefstroom, and the proportion of black students is also much higher. Here we made our main presentations on "Building Bridges" and "Hellenization."

Wendy with Prof. Strauss and his wife

On Saturday, May 7, Prof. Pieter Potgieter drove us to Bloemfontein. We got some sense of how big a country South Africa really is. On Sunday Prof. Danie Strauss, a friend from our time in Amsterdam and our host here, picked us up for the Sunday morning service (in Afrikaans) at the local Dutch Reformed Church and took us around Bloemfontein after the service.

One of the many Dutch Reformed churches in Bloemfontein

Entrance to the University of the Free State

Monday May 7 was spent at the University of the Free State, in Bloemfontein. Wendy started by presenting the theme, Developing Christian Philosophy in Nigeria. In the question period concerns were expressed about ‘imposing’ our views, as Christians, on the students. We responded by explaining that we are not imposing views, but there is a need for Christian insight on issues, such as politics, family and corruption. Adrian then gave an abbreviated presentation of the topic, Theological Education in Africa: Exploring Opportunities and Possible Cooperation. In the afternoon we visited the Anglo-Boer war museum.

Memorial to the women who died in the Anglo-Boer war

The next day we left for the airport and took a flight to Cape Town. We spent one day in the centre of Cape Town, much of it at the waterfront. This city was founded by the Dutch East India Company. By noon of Wednesday, May 9, we got on the train for Stellenbosch, a trip of a little over an hour.

Theological Faculty of the University of Stellenbosch

Emblem of the Theological Faculty of the University of Stellenbosch

At the University of Stellenbosch (US) we had accommodation on campus at a guest house of the faculty of theology. Our stay there was quite different from that in Potchefstroom and Bloemfontein. We met with Johan Botha, who is director of missions for the Uniting Reformed Churches (which includes the Dutch Reformed Church and its ‘daughter’ churches), and who had recently visited Nigeria. His grandfather was the first missionary among the Tiv in Nigeria. We also met Prof. Hendrik Bosman, whom we first met as well at the NABIS conference in Ekpoma. We also made contact with a student from Nigeria, a Tiv, Jonathan Weor, who is enrolled in doctoral studies at US. Bosman is his supervisor.

This Dutch Reformed church is located just outside the campus of the Theological Faculty

It is called the "Mother Church." It was founded in 1686 and is the second oldest church in South Africa

We attended Prof. Xolile Simon’s class in missiology on Thursday morning, May 10. We enjoyed interacting with his presentation on African religion. After that we joined Johan Botha for a brief lunch at a student drop-in center connected with one of the oldest churches in Stellenbosch. Johan expressed appreciation for our efforts in building bridges. We spent much of the rest of the afternoon in conversation with Jonathan Weor.

Wendy with Jonathan Weor, a Tiv doctoral student from Nigeria

We started the next day, Friday, May 11, with a brief conversation with the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Prof. Elna Mouton. We had lunch with Prof. Hendrik Bosman at a lovely spot some distance outside of Stellenbosch. We took Jonathan out for supper that evening – he enjoys pizza! – and had a final discussion yet with Johan Botha on Saturday morning, before Hendrik Bosman took us to the airport, and we headed back to Johannesburg.

Adrian with Prof. Bosman at lunch in a restaurant outside of Stellenbosch

We spent what we thought would be our last evening in Johannesburg with a former colleague at Unijos, Dr. Rosie McNeil, who is at present working on her doctorate in anatomy at the University of Witwatersrand. On Sunday morning she had barely dropped us off at the airport before we discovered that the flight to Lagos had been cancelled. We had to wait for the next flight before we could get out. The airline put us in a nearby hotel for two days. On Tuesday, May 15, we made the trip back to Lagos and Abuja, and were grateful to get back to Jos by car on Wednesday morning.

Wendy with Dr. Rosie McNeil, our neighbor and colleague at Unijos

If there is one impression that remains with us from this two-week visit it is that of good timing for the reception of our message about building bridges between Nigeria and South Africa, and more specifically, our request for cooperation on the future of Christian education, especially in theology and philosophy.

Isaiah 56: Prayer update

".... for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Isaiah 56.7

1. Praise God for the victory we enjoy in Jesus Christ when he rose from the dead. Hallelujah! Pray that God may comfort all those who have lost loved ones during these last weeks. Christ is risen, and all who believe in him will also rise with him.

2. At Unijos examinations for undergraduate students are finished and most students have already returned to their homes and villages. But examinations were hardly over when the association for university faculty announced a Nigeria-wide strike. Colleges of Education are also all on strike at the moment. Although there are some legitimate grievances, it may well be in the interest of the federal government to have students off campus during an election period, to prevent violence on, or originating from university campuses. We are grateful that our undergraduate students at least were able to finish exams before the strike. Pray with us that this matter may be resolved quickly, and that universities may resume work in due time with the new academic year. We would like to be able to finish lectures in the graduate courses, so that our students can start writing their theses.

3. As you know, we are in the middle of an election period. Elections here proceed in three stages, on three separate Saturdays of this month, on each of which no movement of vehicles is allowed. Last Saturday elections were held for state governors. Although this exercise was rather peaceful for most of Nigeria (there were some problems in Kano and Port Harcourt), we are now hearing of troubles in places where results are contested as they are announced. Please pray that the elections of this coming Saturday for the presidency may proceed peacefully, and that the result may indeed be one that the country can accept. Pray for Nigeria, that God-fearing leaders may come to power, and that justice will be done for all Nigerians. After that there will be one more Saturday with elections at the local level.

4. At the moment we are at a critical level in receiving both electricity and water. For some time the water board was on strike; but even after the strike was resolved it was days before any water came through the pipes. Many in Jos are in a far more precarious situation than we, since we do have holding tanks. There are reports of people lining up hours just for a few pails of water. We did have some rain about two weeks ago, but it is not yet steady enough to alleviate the situation. For quite some time now electricity has been reduced to a few hours during the night, and we hardly receive enough to recharge the batteries on which we depend to keep our computers active when we have no light. Sporadically we receive some relief, but it is by no means consistent. Please pray with us for a solution to these problems.

5. Please pray also for our children Sharon in Toronto, David in Istanbul, and Greg and Pauline with the little ones, Gracie and Christopher (who hopes to celebrate his second birthday next week, April 27), and especially now during a time of tension and violence in Nigeria. They are concerned for us, as are many of you, no doubt.

6. Praise God with us for safety in traveling over the past weeks. Last week we took a trip to Donga, to lecture at Veenstra Theological Seminary, the theological institution of the Christian Reformed Church in Nigeria. We traveled back and forth without incident, though we realize that at a time of elections one can expect some irregularities. Thank God with us for a warm reception and fruitful interaction with students there.

7. Pray for us as we plan to lecture in various universities in South Africa early in May (North West University, at the Potchefstroom and Vaal Triangle campuses, Bloemfontein and Stellenbosch). Our intention is to build bridges between universities in Nigeria and South Africa, especially in the area of philosophy and theology, and network with faculty and schools which may be able to help our Nigerian students. Please pray for the lectures, seminars and workshops that we have been asked to lead. Pray also for safety as we travel there and within South Africa.

Visit to Veenstra Seminary (April 10 –13)

While Unijos is on strike, we have opportunities to give lectures elsewhere. This past week we took the opportunity to visit the Veenstra Theological Seminary (VTS) in Donga (Taraba State), about 8 hours by car from Jos. VTS is the main institution for training pastors for the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria. It is affiliated with the University of Jos. So alongside our desire to fulfill a long-standing invitation, there was a double reason for this visit.

Final arrangements for this visit were made only a week before we were to travel. Our trip down coincided with a meeting to be attended by CRWM colleague Mike VanderDyke, who goes for monthly meetings of the missionary board of the CRCN. We were happy that we did not have to take our own car on this journey.

We had arranged with the rector Isaiah Hinkon (seen above with one of the senior teachers of English) and finalized topics for lecturing only a week earlier: three special lectures on the Synoptic Problem (Wendy), on the Interpretation of Revelation (a combined effort: Wendy dealt with the structure and history of interpretation of the book, while Adrian with the three main millennial views). He also lectured on a Reformed Perspective on Politics. We agreed to do this, but it did entail intensive study on our part, to prepare ourselves adequately in such a short time period.

We arrived late Tuesday afternoon, and got settled into the guest house. We were royally welcomed by the children--there are lots of them on the campus!

Wendy presented the first lecture on the Synoptic issue in the chapel at 3pm, Wednesday afternoon.

It was pretty hot, but the students were obviously used to it; they listened attentively and asked lots of good questions afterwards.

The combined programs at the diploma and degree level have about 70 students, with a number of women among them. Alongside these programs the seminary runs a school for the wives of seminary students, teaaching literacy and other basic subjects, as well as a small program for children at the nursery and primary levels.

The original plan was for us to present three lectures on three successive afternoons, from Wednesday through Friday. However, because Saturday, April 14, was to be an election day, on which no vehicle movement would be allowed, we needed to be on our way back to Jos on Friday already. So the last two lectures were given during the schedule for regular classes on Thursday, from 8-10am, and from 11-1pm. The first lecture, on Revelation, was given in the chapel. It was not quite so hot as the evening before.

After the break we moved to a different venue, a ‘hall’ designed and built by Gil Suh. Gil and Joyce Suh, the last of the CRWM missionaries to serve on staff here, left about two years ago, but not without leaving a remarkable legacy, including this wonderful ‘lecture hall’. And indeed it was very comfortable, allowing the breezes to blow through as Adrian lectured on a Reformed Perspective on Politics.

As might be expected this presentation was followed by lively discussion. Politics is a very real topic in this election month. Even some of the children of women attended the lecture.

To finish up this visit the school arranged to entertain us with a football match between students of the seminary playing against youth from the churches in Donga. Because the President of the CRCN (and former principal of VTS), Istifanus Bahago, was conducting seminars in Donga at the time, he joined us for the games that afternoon. We spent the evening with the faculty over a lovely meal with good discussion of current issues faced by the school.

The rector, Isaiah Hinkon, concluded the sessions by thanking us for our contribution.