snakes, security, and the Sovereignty of God
Topic: Family
Posted on behalf of Cindy from an email:

We are learning daily to really believe in our hearts, and not just in our heads, that God is Sovereign. He is in control of all things (which is good, as we are in control of nothing!) Thanks to all who prayed about Joel's passport. He traveled back to Kano Sunday night and met with officials on Monday morning. Joel was initially told by the official of the Nigerian FDA that his passport had been sent on to Lagos and he would have to make the 14 hr drive to Lagos to petition for its return and may face "charges." After several hours in the office, lots of phone calls and prayers, eventually Joel was required to write a formal letter of apology for bringing medications into the country, a letter of forfeiture of all our medications which had been impounded, and one other additional letter. We have since been told by several Nigerians that this type of compulsory repentant letter writing is very common here. Joel's passport then "miraculously" made its way all the way from Lagos before our very eyes and was removed from the official's desk and given to Joel. As they say in America, it isn't over until the fat lady sings; but her tune is difficult for us to recognize here in Nigeria, and is quite delayed. While our medication was forfeited, we are thankful that we don't need to travel all the way to Lagos to get the passport. God is in control of every detail and we are grateful that we can see His hand even in the struggles. Dr. Nate Smith, a missionary to Kenya, told me last year that when opposition arises to block what the Lord has called you to do on the mission field, it can often be our response to that very opposition that is a more powerful witness for the Lord than what we had set out to accomplish. So it was with this perspective in mind, and with a miraculous God-given amount of patience (as any of you who know Joel can attest to) that Joel was able to be sincerely grateful to the official and leave on amiable terms.

Many of you were also praying that a large hole in the wall by our house would be repaired quickly. God has answered this prayer as well! One morning 2 women showed up at my door and greeted me. They spoke no English so I was not sure what they wanted. Then they began a most amazing task. Each had a bucket and they repeatedly filled their buckets and carried dirt and gravel on their heads to the site of the hole. They then carried the bricks that had been delivered one by one on their heads to the place they were needed. They sang as they worked and seemed not to tire. They spoke to Abby and to the kids playing in the yard. It seems in this culture, this kind of work is considered "women's" work. A man came later to dig a trench and lay the bricks and the wall is now about 3 feet tall. The work continues and we have learned something of the culture in the process!

Now to the exciting stuff.. On our third full day in the country, while we were unpacking we heard a scream from the woman who is helping us in our house. It seems a LARGE green snake crawled across her feet as she was coming into the house. She stopped and the snake slithered through a hole in the screen and right into the living room. Well now I was screaming! I called to Joel and he came equipped with Austin's commemorative Astros Louisville Slugger baseball bat. He killed the snake and kept it for the kids to see after school. (They thought it was great.) I later learned while talking to the hospital chaplain that these bright green snakes are "good snakes" and not poisonous. I'm not sure any snake in my living room will ever be considered a "good snake". We did take the opportunity to learn our first Hausa word "macheche" which means snake. I hope I don't have to use it too often.

The children are adjusting very well overall. Abby is a hit with everyone she meets as she is so engaging. She has picked up the words for "hello how are you", ("Sanu") in Hausa and greets people as we pass. She seems to love our new home, especially the chickens, roosters and goats that are our neighbors. Praise the Lord Allison passed her exam last week and was allowed to start first grade on Monday. Allison says that they do no work at her new school. She says they sing and play. I'm not sure this is true but she seems happy with it. Austin was welcomed with open arms by his whole third grade class that had been expecting him since the beginning of the year. He is also enjoying all the Nigerian boys that live on our compound and come to play soccer every day after school. Of course Austin has already transitioned to calling it football.

We will begin formal Hausa language classes in early October but for now are talking to people and asking for words and phrases. We are engaged in the full-time pursuit of figuring out how to live here in Jos as well. How does one barter in the market for bananas, waste baskets, and clothes hangers? Where do you get containers of butane to cook with? How do you keep your computer from getting fried when the power varies from 130 to 300 volts and is intermittent? How do you communicate with a night guard that only speaks Hausa and has a very significant hearing loss and returned his hearing aid?

Joel has been asked to see two very serious cases at the hospital. They were sent here from Niger (the country to our North), where there are no ENT surgeons in the entire country. One is a 25 year old woman with an enormous laryngeal (voice box) tumor. The other is a man with a huge tumor in his hard palate and midface. Both are very difficult cases and both patients are Muslims. Joel will be helping Dr. Bill Ardill (the general surgeon here) with both cases next week. Joel was able to pray with each patient in the name of Jesus; please pray for spiritual and physical healing for these patients whom the Lord has sent to us.

After being here only two days and still trying to figure out how to get clean water and other living essentials, Austin asked us, "Are most of the other people who live on the hospital compound Christians?" Since everyone who lives here has some connection to the Christian mission hospital, we told him "probably so." Then he immediately asked, "Then when are we going to get off the compound to tell other people about Jesus?" Wow. What focus. Pray that we will remain, like Austin, focused and impatient about this one thing: sharing Jesus with the many who do not know and have not heard.

We can not thank you enough for your prayers. We have really felt God's presence in some trying times over the last few weeks. Pray that we would seek to glorify God in all we do (even the mundane tasks of learning to live here!)