The Anthis Family Adventures
Volume 3, Issue #8 joel.anthis@sim.org
www.anthisfamily.com November, 2004
Anthis Update
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings to all of you as we reflect on all the reasons we are thankful this Thanksgiving weekend. We are thankful for God’s protection, and His provision for us in our lives here in Nigeria and for His daily love and comfort as we are separated from friends and family over this holiday.
There can be a few obstacles to celebrating a traditional American Thanksgiving here in Jos. There are no grocery stores with Butterballs and all the trimmings. We acquired a very skinny turkey from our Hausa language instructor about 2 weeks ago. Abigail named our turkey “Celery.” The challenge was to keep it alive and protect it from our dogs until the fateful day. Someone had to help us on that day as no one in our family was raised on a farm. In the end, however, Celery was smoked on our grill and enjoyed by all (high on taste but low on meat), and we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with other American missionaries. It was nice to be with members of our mission family and to reflect on God’s goodness.
Today our Church family celebrated the Nigerian Christian tradition of Thanksgiving. We had a special time of praise and worship and then we each brought an offering of our first fruits. The money raised will be used to further the missionary efforts of our Church and to complete a house for the church pastor. The hope is that enough money was raised to finish building a sanctuary for the new church in Gamu village (a Muslim village in a neighboring State where Cindy went earlier this year on an outreach.)
The Family with Celery our Thanksgiving Turkey. The Family ready to go to our Nigerian Thanksgiving service.
Medical Rounds
Thanks to all of you who prayed for Cindy as she traveled to a village last weekend for a medical outreach with a team from ECWA Evangel Hospital. Cindy was the only non-Nigerian and the only doctor on the trip. The team saw close to 500 patients in 2 days. Each person seen in the clinic was also prayed with and individually counseled. Each night the Gospel was presented in a large group setting. A number of young people and children trusted Jesus as their Lord for the first time.
Children at the evening meeting during Cindy’s village outreach
One small boy and his mother helped to show us yet again that we are here for such a time as this. Augustine is 5 years old. His mother is a widow and has lost all hope in life. After her husband died, his brothers came and took everything that the family possessed. This is a very cruel custom in some parts of Nigeria. Augustine’s mother is living with her own mother, who is also a widow. Neither of them have a job and the family exists on what they grow in their small garden. Augustine can not hear. His ears constantly drain infected fluid. His mother heard a medical team was in their village and brought him to be seen. When Cindy explained to her that Joel came to Nigeria to help children just like Augustine, she wept. Augustine will travel with his mother to Jos and have his hearing formally evaluated. He will likely need surgery and/or a solar powered hearing aid. They cannot afford to pay for anything, and it will be our joy to use ministry funds to cover their medical expenses. We praise God that He has given us the privilege to share the hope of Christ in such a practical way to the people of Nigeria.
Joel sees many patients with foreign bodies in the airway and esophagus. He saw one ten year old boy in September who had inhaled a straight needle into the lower part of his right lung. A previous operation had failed to remove it, as we just didn’t have the specialized equipment needed for such surgery. Thankfully, the necessary equipment was able to be purchased and brought out last month with this young boy in mind. Joel was then able to remove the needle without difficulty. Additionally, another boy’s life was saved this month. A bean that was blocking both of the young boy’s lungs was removed with this same equipment. We praise the Lord for His bountiful provision that allows us to use our skills to His glory.
Joel and his patient upon hospital discharge after removing the needle from his lung.
Family Life
We want to extend an invitation to any of you all who want to come to Nigeria to participate in what God is doing here! At the beginning of this month we were visited by Ruth Ann and KC Campbell. They were a great encouragement to us and they were very well received by all the Nigerians they met as age is highly esteemed here. This couple from Virginia Beach, Virginia are 78 and 80 respectively! So we don’t want to hear any excuses about the trip to Nigeria being too hard.
Ruth Ann and KC Campbell at Evangel Hospital
Prayer and Praise
Praises:
- For all the blessings that God has poured out on our family in the last year
- That Austin, Allison, and Abigail continue to do well in Nigeria
- That God has given us the privilege of bringing hope and healing in the name of Jesus
Prayer Requests:
- That God would continue to give us opportunities to share His love in words and deeds
- For continued growth in Christ-likeness for each member of our family
- For us not to be lonely or homesick as the Holidays approach
Serving Christ on your behalf here in Nigeria,
Joel and Cindy
Austin, Allison, and Abigail