The Anthis Family Adventures
Volume 4, Issue #2 joel.anthis@sim.org www.anthisfamily.com March, 2004
Anthis family summer 2003 The kids in Dad’s bed while Mom was in Kenya!
Anthis Update
Dear Friends and Family,
The harmatan (hazy cloud-like Saharan dust) is beginning to lift and the weather is heating up. It actually rained today for the first time since late September! The kids celebrated by playing in the rain and puddles and mud. We are blessed to have the rains come early this year. Our Nigerian friends greet us saying, “Allah, ya kawo shi.” This means, “God brought the rain.” It is a good reminder to us that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” (James 1:17)
Cindy’s Corner
Thanks to all who prayed for Cindy as she traveled to Kenya for a continuing medical education conference which is held in Africa every other year specifically for missionaries. It was a very useful and encouraging time. Joel (aka “Mr. Mom”) did a great job with the kids. He had his hands full as Allison had malaria, Abby had a bad cold, and Joel had the flu! He was very thankful when Cindy returned. Everyone is finally well now.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for Austin’s adjustment after our last letter. God has been faithful to answer your prayers. Austin turned 9 in February and had three of his classmates spend the night to celebrate. One boy was Korean, one was Nigerian, and one was an American who was born in Liberia! It was quite an international group and they had a great time and enjoyed an indoor “camp-out” complete with a tent in the living room! Austin seems to be forming some friendships for which we are grateful.
Hausa Language Class
We are not sure if we are progressing in our language acquisition, but Abby certainly is! We hear her using Hausa in many different settings. Last night we were watching a video of the Super Bowl and a player dropped a pass. Abby yelled, “Kai!” which roughly translated means, “OH! NO”. The other day when the electricity went off, Abby said, “Kai! Babu NEPA.” This means, “OH! NO, there is no electricity.” We hope that the fact that Abby is speaking Hausa means we are learning enough to pass it along. We wish we had her sharp mind.
Joel and his patient, Amina. Joel celebrates the arrival of his operative microscope!
Medical Rounds
The medical work has continued to increase and become more fruitful in all respects. One nice Muslim lady named Amina came to the ENT clinic several weeks ago and she is pictured above. She had a very large mucocele, or blocked sinus, which had grossly disfigured her face and displaced her right eye. She is from a village seven hours to the north in the desert near Niger and Chad. Joel took her to the OR last week and the corrective surgery went very well. During her post-operative recovery in the hospital, Joel had the opportunity to share the gospel with Amina. Although she can neither read nor write, she said she had heard of Jesus because her son had somehow acquired a Bible and had read some of it to her. In fact, Amina said she understood the gospel and would like to become a follower of Jesus. But since there are no Christians where she lives, she is afraid of persecution and is taking time to think about her decision and count the cost. Please pray for Amina. As Joel told her, we came to Nigeria to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ both physically and spiritually; Amina is why we are here!
We are rejoicing in the arrival of an operative microscope. This is a vital piece of equipment that will allow Joel to do many specialized ear surgeries, and we appreciate all of you that prayed and gave to allow us to get this microscope here. Please continue to pray that the rest of the equipment Joel needs to be effective would be acquired and successfully shipped to Jos. This continues to be an enormous objective.
Additionally, Joel had a meeting with the Medical Director of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) recently which resulted in a plan for Joel to be appointed as an Associate Lecturer with JUTH. This is a very exciting prospect that would allow Joel to help train young Nigerian ENT physicians.
Prayer and Praise
Praises
- God’s faithfulness in establishing our ministry in Jos
- God’s restoration of good health for all of us
- God’s protection for our family
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Joel’s patient Amina – that Christ would continue to heal her both physically and spiritually
- Pray that Joel will get his academic credentials and be able to teach at JUTH (this will take many months)
- There are many opportunities here for Cindy to be involved in ministry. Pray for Cindy to know where God wants her to become more involved
- Pray for more of the equipment Joel needs to do ENT specific work to be acquired and shipped to Jos
In Christ,
Joel and Cindy
Austin, Allison, and Abigail