Meet DanLadi

Dan Ladi is a ten-year-old boy who has lived at Transition House (TH) for a couple years. He used to be involved in the occult, which caused his family to fear him and want to endanger him to protect themselves. God rescued Dan Ladi and brought him to Gidan Bege, where he began to be freed from the occult and showed a desire to change his life. In June 2004, Dan Ladi and the other boys in my Family Group (seventeen boys I spend time with each month), watched the "Jesus Film for Kids". He was really affected by it and the next day he prayed to receive Christ! Talk about coming from the darkness to the light!

One day recently I noticed Dan Ladi was sitting by himself with his head in his hands. I sat next to him and discovered he was sobbing. Once he calmed down, he was able to tell me that he was crying for his Father, because he was not a Christian. Dan Ladi, who is now experiencing life free from the occult, faithfully intercedes for his family. Join Dan Ladi in praying for his family, especially his dad who is an alcoholic. And pray that Dan Ladi's faith will continue to grow and that he will be strong and resist sin.

Meet the Musa family

John, 17 and Peter, 12, are brothers who live in one of our Care Centers. Their father died four years ago, leaving their mom, Rebekah, to care for five children. Her two daughters turned to prostitution and her oldest son became an alcoholic. John and Peter both began working to help their mom with the income. One of her daughters has two children, Jerry and Blessing, and she left him with Rebekah to care for. Rebekah became sick often and she worried about the futures of John, Peter and Jerry. Rebekah and John and Peter visited Gidan Bege and decided it was best for the boys came to live at Gidan Bege to ensure that their spiritual, physical, and educational needs were met. In November last year, we discovered that Rebekah is HIV+. I connected her to Spring of Life, a local HIV/AIDS ministry, who is caring for her in her home. I recently went with the boys to visit Rebekah. It was a fun time as we sang songs together and the boys told her about what they are learning in school. However, Rebekah is not getting better and the boys could sense it. Please pray for the Musa family and for me, that God will give increased grace and wisdom. Also pray for Jerry and Blessing, that a loving Nigerian home will be found for them.

Christmas andd New Year's memories

Although this was the first time I was not with my family on Christmas Day, I had a very memorable First Christmas in Nigeria! We had parties at our Care Centers, where each boy received a new outfit! They were so excited and thankful! I spent Christmas Eve and Day at our missions retreat center, Miango. On Christmas morning, a small group of us met at 6am and drove to two nearby extinct volcanoes. As the sun rose and painted the sky all shades of oranges and pinks, we hiked up the volcanoes, pushing through the grass that was taller than us. As we hiked, I stopped along the way to take pictures, attempting to capture the majestic artwork of our Creator. We were surrounding by flat plains stretching far into the horizon, scattered palm trees, and the silence of the early morning. I could imagine people in the nearby villages waking up, building fires, and celebrating the birth of Christ in their very special, simple and reverent way. The knowledge that Jesus' life was being celebrated all over the world that day sent peace and joy into my soul. It was a moment etched in my memory forever.

New Year's Eve was also memorable as I arrived at TH at 11 p.m. and joined the kids in praise and worship. We also had a time of confession so that the kids could go into the New Year with a clean heart before God. The kids confessed to stealing, anger, and lying. It touched my heart when one of our youngest confessed to stealing from three of his friends and asked them for forgiveness. We had a powerful prayer time and then more praising and dancing!

The next day 40 of our young boys were invited to a program in a garden/park run by a local Nigerian lady. Her generosity blessed us so much! I got so much joy watching 'my boys' playing on the playground, eating good food and competing in a dancing contest! It was the best New Year's of my life!