Prayer notes for January 25, 2008

“Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion.
O you who hear prayer, to you will all men come” (Psalm 65.1-2).

1/ We are grateful for quiet celebrations of Christmas and the New Year here in Jos with our neighbours, Unijos and missionary colleagues.

We had expected that when exams ended in December we might lose electricity, but it did not happen; we continued with about 10 hrs per day, and are grateful for that. At the moment we are having significant problems with water, because the Water Board workers have gone on strike, seeking higher wages. Over the past weeks prices of goods have risen significantly, and at present there is no cooking gas for stoves available at all. Please pray with us for a resolution of these problems.

No gas, no electricity - but a kerosene cooker to the rescue!

2. At the moment undergraduate students are just returning for the second semester. Please pray for safety as they travel. We hope to start courses soon. In about two weeks graduate students hope to write their exams. Please pray for them as they prepare for these exams and then write their theses.

3. We are grateful for the protection and safety of Henk and Vicky Van Andel, who visited us in Nigeria from December 8-20. They managed to visit all IICS and CSI colleagues in the Jos area, and made numerous other visits to get first hand experience of the conditions of our work here at the University and Federal Colleges of Education (see blog entry below).

4. Wendy has been struggling with a sore shoulder for the past weeks. Physiotherapy has helped the situation a little, but the pain did not go away; thus she had x-rays taken. The cause of the problem is still not clear. Please pray that the right solution can be found. Her use of the computer is still limited; this is a real obstacle, since she is trying to finish up work on two textbooks for publication: one for Advanced New Testament Greek, and the other in Early Christianity from an African perspective; we had hoped to have the latter ready for the undergraduate course in the present semester. Please pray for healing and strength for her.

She is happy that she was able to finish the course in Ancient Philosophy with first year seminarians at St. Augustine's Major Seminary. In the photo above are some of her students who wanted their picture taken under the gaze of St. Augustine himself! These students take a three year program in philosophy before going on to the study of theology proper.

The photo was taken in mid-December, just the day after students exchanged their everyday garb for the white seminarian's robe. They were so proud of the transformation, and were only too ready to agree when we suggested we take their picture!

5. Adrian still hopes to get a festschrift that he edited (to honor a retired colleague), published in the spring. He is also editing a syllabus on ecclesiology, which he has used for several years. He hopes to teach this course twice this semester: once at Unijos, and once at another school. Please pray for both of us as we teach our courses this spring.

6. Two highly appreciated colleagues have been very ill, to the point that we were concerned for their survival. Dogara Gwamna, our colleague in New Testament section of our Religious Studies Dept. suffered what seems to be a stroke. And our friend, Tersur Aben, a theologian at TCNN, also suffered a mysterious ailment that severely sapped his energies at Christmas time. At the moment they both appear to be on the way to recovery. Please pray for complete healing, so they can resume the work to which they are committed.

These were happier days for Gwamna (on the far right, beside Danny McCain); this photo was taken a year and a half ago when Gwamna and his colleague James Kiamu (between McCain and Adrian) were defending their doctoral theses. We would pray that this kind of a smile will come back.

7. On February 28-29 the Northern Zone of the Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies (NABIS) hopes to hold its second annual Zonal Conference on the topic "The Role of the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Powers in the Christian Community." Please pray for us as we prepare for this conference; Wendy is on the organizing committee. We need your prayers all the more because our colleague Gwamna, who did so much work to organize this conference last year, cannot be involved. Pray for the invited speakers, and for the members: that many of them will submit papers on this very relevant topic. Pray also that the presentations may truly be constructive for all who attend, and prove helpful in addressing important issues facing the Christian churches of northern Nigeria.

8. The last few weeks we have experienced unseasonably cold weather. To some extent it is caused by harmattan, the fine dust blowing down from the Sahara desert to the north of us.
To show you just a little of the effect, compare this photo taken from our upstairs balcony last October--

With the same view these days -

No wonder Nigerians think this is a good time to burn the dried grasses and foliage left in the fields. It is an old tradition, and we hear that it is justified because by intentionally setting these fires and removing dead grasses they believe they are preventing a far worse fire burning out of control when started unintentionally. Besides, the Nigerians love to hover on the edge of the territory getting burnt to catch rats, hares and other wild animals as they escape the blaze.

No, this is not California! It is Jos, right behind our house!

Sometimes the fires appear to come dangerously close to our house, but to date we have not had trouble with the fires themselves, only with the smoke which can really add to the density of the air already thick from harmattan.

Christmas and New Year in Nigeria

Christmas and New Year's celebrations are behind us. It was great to have a break from the normal round of school activities, to enjoy extra church services, and do extra socializing. The latter is a very important part of festivities, especially in Nigeria. We may not have as many parties as in North America, but the weddings during December certainly bring people together, and that kind of socializing carries on with the rounds of 'greeting' for friends and colleagues. And, whenever we were home, the neighborhood children came to our door, to greet us, looking for candy or some Naira to cheer their day.

The new semester has not really started at Unijos, because students have to raise funds, which is difficult after Christmas, and means that classes are delayed until they return. So this is a good time for us tell you a little about events of the past weeks, especially the excellent visit we enjoyed with Henk Van Andel, the executive director for Christian Studies International, the Canadian arm of IIICS. Henk came with his wife Vicky, and spent almost two weeks with us here in Nigeria in mid-December.

They hoped to get a first-hand experience of the work being done, and living conditions, the reality, the challenges, and the joys of the Nigerian situation. And indeed, during their brief stay they managed to visit all the institutions where our IICS/CSI colleagues work, and were introduced to many of the officials at these schools.

Henk consulting with Umar Danfulani, Head of the Dept. of Religious Studies at Unijos

During their short stay they did their share of visiting, stopping off to meet with our CRC/CRWM colleagues, the Beacon of Hope HIV/AIDS ministry, ACTS bookstore, and Ayuba Gufwan's Beautiful Gate Initiative, an agency providing wheelchairs for the disabled, especially polio victims.

Henk and Vicky did more than just visit. They also gave a number of addresses. In Pankshin, where CSI colleague Rudy Wiebe teaches at the Federal College of Education, Henk spoke to senior staff, faculty and students on academic leadership, and Vicky made two presentations (to 700 students!) on mental health, depression, addiction and associated therapies. But the highlight of their visit came with the IICS/CSI weekend mini-retreat in Miango (Dec. 14-16), where Henk made a presentation on 'Servant Leadership,' and Vicky led two sessions, one entitled 'Thriving While Serving- Reflections on Faith and Mental Health'; and later she spoke on 'The Process of Healing- Trauma, Addiction, Grief, and Pain.'

These presentations were much appreciated, opening up issues well worth our consideration. And appreciation came in the form of some authentic Nigerian clothes to fit the occasion.

On Saturday afternoon the group split up. Some took a hike a few miles from the Miango retreat centre to the edge of the plateau. The hike had as its goal a visit to an old electricity generating plant which provides power for a part of Plateau State; it is generated by water flowing down the plateau through a large pipe.

The hike was a long one, but the view really was marvelous.

Some of our group accompanied Vicky on a visit to Vom, a nearby village where a new clinic for the treatment of addiction had only recently begun its work, with help from IIICS/CRWM colleague Joan Sikkenga, who also put us in touch with one of the founding doctors. Vicky interacted with staff and brought research literature on addiction.

On Sunday we gathered together to hold a church service. Henk van Andel provided the message on 'The Search for Wisdom and Knowledge' (Job 28).


A special treat for all of us at this retreat was the presence of Kember, daughter of Rob and Adrienne Lillo; Kember has been studying ethno-musicology, and was visiting her parents before going on to begin work in Burkina Faso. We were really privileged to have her lead us in music.


Too soon the retreat came to a close. But the Nigeria visit of the Van Andels was not quite finished; from Miango they accompanied the Lotzgesells to their College of Education residence in Akwanga, and from there they traveled to Gidan Waya, to visit Layne Turner at the College of Education of Kaduna, before returning to Jos. They certainly had enough exposure to driving in Nigeria to recognize the need for prayers invariably given before we travel anywhere! Before their visit we prayed for them, especially for safe travel, and we know that the Lord certainly heard these prayers. Their visits really helped them to get a good impression of the various facets of our work here. And as a Nigeria team we are truly grateful for the contributions they made wherever they went during their short stay with us.

A Tale of Two Weddings

On the first of December, a Saturday, we headed off for Pankshin, about two hours south of Jos for the wedding of Cosmos and Felicia in the small village of Njari Fier. Although we were not acquainted with Felicia, Cosmos is our colleague at the university of Jos, in the Dept. of Religious Studies, where he is teaching New Testament Greek to undergraduates. Moreover, he is presently being guided in writing his PhD thesis on Desmond Tutu and nonviolence in Africa with Adrian. Cosmos lost his first wife some two years ago, and has three children, so his new marriage was a truly happy occasion, a cause for celebration.

The trip itself was largely without mishap until we got close to Njari Fier. We actually drove past the crossing, somehow missing the neon yellow sign the family had put up. So we arrived at the College of Education where our CSI colleagues, the Wiebe's, are stationed, and got some direction from the guards. Back we went. The only problem was that in going back in the direction of Jos we met road safety inspection officers, and they made sure to keep up the inspection until they found a number of problems with our vehicle: a brakelight that did not work quite properly and another light, which used only at night, we did not know was malfunctioning, since we hardly ever drive in the dark. The officers impressed on us that we were negligent in the care of our car. At which point we were thankful that our driver and mechanic, Philip, was with us, and he showed them the mechanics tools he had taken along in the 'boot', to convince them that we really were not negligent at all, but grateful to them for pointing out problems which he would solve as soon as we got back to Jos. That softened the point a bit; when they finally recognized that we would not pay to get out of the situation they let us go.

We found the turnoff, and drove on a dirt road for a couple of miles until we found the village, a long distance from the road and close to where arable land turns into mountainous rocks. The wedding was supposed to start at 10am, but that Saturday was designated 'sanitation day' for Plateau state. Thus no traffic movement was allowed the first hours, before 10am; everybody was supposed to be outside their homes, cleaning the environment, getting rid of garbage. Had we not lost the turn, or met the safety inspection, we might have made it by about 12 noon, but by the time we arrived it was closer to 1pm. We expected to join the party for the last of the reception at that point. But in fact the wedding had not yet started. There was a small band playing in the Catholic church where the wedding was to be held, and for some ten minutes we were able to sit in expectation, getting our ears bombarded - as white people (in fact, we were the only 'baturi' or white people at the event) we are given seats of honour, right up front, to get the full benefit of the music. This was a Catholic church and a rather large one for that village, we thought, but the songs, especially praise songs and choruses, are very much the same that one would hear in most any Protestant church.

Shortly after 1pm the groom and his supporters took their place, and soon the officiating clergy also entered, a fairly large team of nine, including a Rev. Father whom we knew from teaching at St. Augustine's Major Seminary in Jos; among them was also a priest who has been our graduate student at Unijos. And finally the flower girls and the bride herself with her supporters came dancing into the church, and the ceremony proper could begin.


The service itself proceeded smoothly, with entrance rites and prayers, readings from scripture, the exhange of vows, prayers of blessing and intercession, concluding with the celebration of the eucharist. As you can see from the clock in the photo below, it was closer to 3pm when the service finished.

After signing of the registry, it was time for taking photos, with a fairly efficient line-up of the various groups to be photographed with the new couple. Here they are taken with the family of Cosmos; the family is fairly prominent in the village, and Cosmos is clearly a favoured son, well-educated in comparison with many. In Nigeria weddings are the responsibility of the groom and his family, and indeed it was clear that much of the village turned up to help them celebrate.


Photography over, it was time to move to the open field next to the church, where the reception was to be held. A number of canopies and plastic chairs had been set out for the group. Most of the churchgoers and villagers had already moved in that direction awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom. Cosmos and Felicia took their time to do so, dancing the whole way, serenaded by two traditional bands, one mostly of women, and one of men, with traditional instruments, horns and drums.


Finally - they arrive at the red carpet, to take the seats of honour reserved for them, no plastic chairs here; upholstered chairs have been taken from various homes in the village to give a comfortable spot from which to enjoy the event. In fact, we ourselves had been given a special spot, also with upholstered chairs, right behind the bride and groom.


The cutting of the cake is always an important moment. Bride and groom hold the knife together while the lady who has prepared the cake explains the ingredients, most of them having to do with love, patience and good humour. But it is not enough to cut the cake. The bride and groom are also asked to feed each other from that cake, and then to help each other take a drink, as their 'first public duty'.

As an important part of the reception numerous dances are held, whether by the couple, the groom with his family, or various family and social groups. In each case the band strikes up a tune and the participants move about rhythmically, while those who are sponsoring or supporting the couple in various ways come forward and 'paste money' on their foreheads or scatter it about them as a way of blessing the new couple. We have observed this very Nigerian custom on a number of celebrative occasions; most of the time small bills are used, 10 or 20 naira, seldom greater amounts. The bills are picked up and counted at the end of each dance. The intention seems to be one of helping to offset costs of the occasion.

It appears that organizers thought not enough money had been donated, for the MC kept on announcing more dances to honour various people in the audience. Adrian had been asked to give a toast, but the time was getting dangerously near 5.30 pm, the limit for us to leave Pankshin to get back to Jos before dark. No food or drinks had been served yet! Well, we waited for the moment of the toast, left our gift, and then headed off quickly to find our car, and Philip, our driver. We did stop after some 20 minutes at a roadside café to pick up soft drinks - we really were thirsty after that marathon celebration.

During one of her final classes with students in Advanced New Testament Greek Wendy received a wedding invitation from her graduate student Okoriko, a canon in the Anglican church. Not in Jos, however, but in Abuja. At first we thought it would be impossible to attend that occasion, but it finally dawned on us that the date, Dec. 8, was the very date we also planned to be in Abuja by evening to pick up our CSI Canada director, Dr. Henk Van Andel, and his wife Vicky, arriving for a visit to Nigeria. So we decided to mix business with pleasure, so to speak, and come to Abuja early that Saturday to be able to celebrate with Okoriko and his bride, Ayedime. The background for this wedding was actually somewhat similar to that of Cosmos, for Okoriko too had lost his first wife some two years ago, and was trying to raise three little ones on his own. But with that the similarities between the two weddings came to an end! We had anticipated that this Abuja wedding would be different, for Abuja is the capital of Nigeria, and things are done a bit more formally there. But we were not quite prepared for how big would be the difference between these two occasions!

We left Jos early, at 6am, and arrived in Abuja without much interruption of roadblock or safety checks on the roads, in time to check in at the ECWA guest house, before trying to find the church. We had a general idea of the area of Abuja where the church was located, in Maitama, a relatively well-to-do section, but as we got close we discovered that those whom we asked could not tell us more precisely how to find it. Finally our driver had the bright idea of asking at the large Catholic church in the area, and indeed, they pointed us the way. It was not far. We arrived with enough time to spare. We had not taken time for coffee or refreshment after the long trip, and as we were looking for drinking water Okoriko himself walked towards us. He had not expected us. The text message we had sent to confirm our acceptance of the invitation had not been received. So he was pleasantly surprised to see us, and welcomed us warmly with a big African hug.

Our driver (from Jos) predicted that a 10am wedding would probably not start before 11. But he was wrong. Promptly at 10 the assembled clergy (and Okoriko one of them) entered the church, St. Matthews, a large and finished, well-lit structure. The organ was playing! No band or chorus singing here. We sang the processional hymn, "To God be the glory" and the church echoed with the refrain sung from our hearts, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" The tone was set for a very happy, but dignified celebration.

After the charge and declaration, we sang "My faith looks up to Thee." This was followed by the vows, exchange of rings, and prayers.

The service continued with scripture readings, more hymns and the address, or sermon. As at the Catholic service, this one also concluded with celebration of the eucharist. However, we were struck by the difference in participants. Whereas in Pankshin the audience was about 90% women (we later found more men outside, drinking!), here there was a much greater balance of men and women, probably not just coincidental.

Celebration of eucharist, or holy communion concluded with the singing of the very fitting hymn, "O perfect love, all human love transcending." And soon the service concluded with signing of the marriage registry, announcements, benediction and closing hymn. Before this was all finished however, the entire group of officiating clergy posed with the new couple for a lovely photo. We heard that Archbishop Akinola himself would have wished to attend this wedding, but sent his regrets, since he was in North America to consecrate Anglican clergy who have come under his jurisdiction.

The couple left the sanctuary for photo-taking on the front steps of the church. Again, the process went rather quickly and efficiently. And soon it was time to move over to the church hall, right beside the church, for the reception. Not in a field this time! In fact, the bride and groom were to sit at the front of the hall, with two other sponsoring couples, while the rest of us sat on chairs in tiers of rows to the back of the hall. This hall was not very big, so those who could not find a place there were accommodated just outside under a canopy. They could hear, if not see what was happening inside. The two of us actually ended up in the front row, and were honoured to sit beside Mrs. Akinola, the lady whom the entire Nigerian Anglican community addresses as 'Mommy'.

The bridal couple danced to enter the room, but it was not a long procession, just long enough for them to receive a warm welcome before they were seated. After the opening prayer and chairman's address, the important moment came, the cutting of the cake. The chairman remarked at the professional job done by Okoriko in feeding his new wife, recognizing he was clearly experienced from feeding his congregation! Okoriko was beaming through the entire event, a joyous occasion indeed!

It was time for the 'nuptial dance'. Okoriko and Ayedime led the dance, and had lots of money 'pasted' on their foreheads, and rather than the 10 and 20 naira bills one commonly sees, there were notes of 500 and even 1,000 naira here. By this time drinks had been passed around, so we could toast the bride and groom. Not long after this plates of jollof rice (something like rice pilaf) and meat or fish were also being passed around, so we did not leave the hall hungry. The entire celebration was finished by 2pm. We were simply astonished that a wedding could be conducted in such a time-conscious manner here in Nigeria, in Abuja.

What a study in contrast these two events! We really enjoyed the Pankshin wedding, and appreciate being invited to participate in such village events. It gives us a chance to see and experience Nigerian life from an angle that is not available in Jos itself. Our work does not often take us into the rural areas, where we find the real roots of the lives of our students and colleagues. Like Okoriko, Cosmos expressed warm appreciation for our taking the time to be there for him at such an important point in his life.

But we could not help noticing that the Abuja wedding had anything but a village flavour. Here a significant core of Nigeria's Anglican clergy celebrated the joyful union of one of their own. The church structure, nicely finished, decorated and well-lit, lent itself to a far more 'Western' atmosphere. The well-known elements, including the cake ceremony and traditional dances with money, were duly observed, but in a far more restrained way. We ourselves appreciated the familiar and beautiful hymns, sung with enthusiasm, and loud enough to fill that spacious structure, but not overwhelming, as in many contemporary services in Nigeria. However much we enjoyed those hymns and the more restrained music, melodious, and loud without altogether battering our ears, we recognized that the 'real Nigeria', if one might call it that, was represented not in the Abuja, but the Pankshin celebration.

Ayuba has a son!

Sunday, November 5, marked the first anniversary of the wedding of Ayuba and Rachel, a very happy event of which we were to be a part. We told you a little about the significance of the wedding last year, because Ayuba is crippled by polio, and depends on wheelchairs to get around, when he is not walking on his hands (with hand-held blocks). Nigerians hardly would have expected Ayuba to get a degree in law or start a wheelchair ministry (with help of our IICS colleague, Ron Rice) for the many others who are also disabled by polio in this country, and certainly not get married. But by God's grace this did happen! And we too have wonderful memories of that day.

But even more important than all these extraordinary events, this past Sunday was the day on which Ayuba and Rachel brought their little son Joseph, born in September, to the University Chapel of Faith to be dedicated. Ayuba has been a member of the congregation for many years. What a day of joy and thanksgiving! Moreover, it is the special wish and hope of every couple who marries here, that within a year there will be another celebration. Ayuba and Rachel can be rightly proud of the gift that God has given to bring special joy to their lives and to their families. they ask prayer for wisdom in bringing up this little one.

Prayer notes for November 6, 2007

1. Give thanks to God for our safe return and the many improvements we have noted since our departure. Pray that these changes may continue, so that the whole country may eventually be transformed. Pray too for the new president and governors, and others who are in leadership positions, that they may exercise true servant-leadership. Corruption filters down to the lowest rungs of the civil service, and even in the church we note leaders who use their office for self-aggrandizement. Please pray for leaders with integrity to prevail in spite of the challenges.

2. Pray for our safety as we travel both within the city and outside of it. In spite of some changes, there are still many dangers on the roads here, especially drivers who display a fatalistic attitude to life. Pray also for God’s protection for us at home, where most robberies occur. We have heard of numerous recent robberies, some perpetrated by known characters (some are or were Unijos students). Pray with us that they may be caught. God is our only real protection.

3. Pray for us too as we take up our work at the university and other schools. Pray that we may complete the unfinished courses well, and for strength as we begin new ones. Pray for students who have asked us to supervise them, yet are faced with various obstacles to full admission. Pray for removal of whatever is holding the situation back. And pray too that God may use our students, so that his church may grow and his kingdom increase.

4. Thank God with us for Adrian’s mother who turned 87 this month. Although lonely after the death of Adrian's father last February, she has moved into a new home in Ottawa, and we pray that this home will also provide better care than was available in her own condo. Please pray for her too as she thus begins a new way of life. And pray for Adrian's siblings who are much involved in caring for her needs.


5. Please remember also our children in your prayers. This year both Sharon and David are living in Toronto. Please pray with us that aside from a good place to live, David may find the job which will allow him to take some courses while he is awaiting a possible return to the Middle East. Pauline and her husband Greg and their children (Gracie and Chris) remain in the Boston area. Thank God with us that Pauline is well on the way to recovery after the severe intestinal infection from which she suffered earlier this year. (The photo was taken this past summer at a cottage, which marked the first time in five years that all of us were able to get together).

Special lectures

Already during the first week of our return to Jos we were pleased to host Nick Lantinga and Isaac Mutua of the International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education ( IAPCHE). They had come for special meetings, lectures and consultations to promote networking among the supporters of IAPCHE.

Although the lectures were held at TCNN, in Bukuru just outside of Jos, both Nick and Isaac came to visit Unijos the next day, and we were pleased to learn that our dept. of Religious Studies is willing to sponsor a conference to help faculty in general deal with the issue of integral Christian scholarship for Africa.

As a university we are privileged to have guest lectures come from time to time. In the middle October Prof. Henk Vroom who specializes in Philosophy of Religion at the Free University of Amsterdam (Faculty of Theology) was a guest of the university to give a number of lectures on the topic of Religion in the Public Square, and the relationship of Religion and the State, with a special focus on Muslim - Christian relationships.

These lectures were much appreciated by our student group, which comprises both Christian and Muslim students. It is a pity that they were cut short when the buildings in which we regularly have classes were unexpectedly occupied for the purpose of university entrance exams. Although there was a bonus in that we as faculty had more chance to interact with Prof. Vroom.