"Aunty, I have seen the world, but I have never be out in the world," Alheri said.

Selah (contemplate)

Today I was with my little princesses. They love to hear stories, so I shared with them about how God took me to Zimbabwe and to China before He brought me to Nigeria. As I shared, I realized that they did not have a clue how to picture where I was talking about. I told them I will bring a map of the world so that they can understand.

All they know is what they have seen. Like most of us, whatever is in front of them is what they focus on. But if that is how we live, are we really living? And yet, if we don't see what is right in front of us, we will miss God at work.

Selah

The whole world is out there, crying, starving, hurting, unforgiving, performing, striving, trying.... dying.

So when Alheri said she has never been out in the world, it made me think. Today they were all dressed up because they were going on a field trip to the city. My eyes were opened to the fact that every day all they see is their little village, except for the occasional trip out.

Yes, dear girls, the world seems small, but there are many people in America who love you, who are praying for you - Alheri, specifically, is on the Prayer Calendar for tomorrow. Please pray for Alheri and the other girls, that they will learn how to love, how to trust, how to believe, how to hope.... and how to share this with others in their world.

Moses was involved in the occult and his life was in danger. In Nigeria, if someone is in the Secret Society, then they may get possessed by evil and kill people. As a result, the people in Moses' village became afraid of him and threatened to kill him, so his mother brought him to Gidan Bege about 4 years ago. Moses is now a kind-hearted, patient, and obedient boy. He loves Jesus and wants to be a pastor when he grows up.

Yesterday he came to me because he really wants to see his mom. One of the boys, DanLadi, was going to visit his own mother and Moses wanted to join him, because they are in the same village. However, Moses' mom has said that his life is still in danger and that he cannot go and visit her right now. When Uncle Alex was explaining this to him, tears fell down his cheeks. Not being able to visit his mom? Because people are afraid of him? What? It is difficult to understand. And yet, that is reality for him.

He is now part of our family. Moses is loved by everyone and strives to follow Christ. But, a child needs his mother. Pray for us as we are the mothers and fathers to these precious children.

Seeking Him

The Chicago Team from Moody Church left yesterday. We had an amazing two weeks together. God definitely hand-picked the six special folks that made up the team. Each of them brought unique gifts into the time with the boys, specifically during camp. I have posted 31 pics HERE .

The pics above are of us at the Miango Falls and of me sharing my testimony at Camp, with our theme verse in background - Psalm 139:23-24

Our older boys sometimes get the shaft, so to speak, because we have to 'dumb-down' things sometimes, to accomodate the younger ones who live in the Care Centers, too. Our goal at Camp was to dig deep into the Word with the boys, to expose them to intimate encounters with God. To facilitate this, each Chicago team member had a small group of boys that they met with three times a day during Camp. As they spent time going through the study "Seeking Him" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom, they addressed humility, obedience, honesty, repentance, and having a personal devotional life.

We saw immediately that the boys were clinging onto every word and were thirsty for more. This really shows us as leaders in the ministry how we need to improve on meeting the spiritual needs of all the boys, in creative and diligent ways.

I had never been a camp director before, so it was a new experience, but I loved it! I worked alongside Elisha and Bob, two Nigerian staff, and God really helped us to communicate well and to be a team all week.

I have more to share, but am also trying to catch up on a lot, so will stop here.

There is nothing remotely spiritual about this blog today. It is camp-related, in a way, though. The amazing God stuff from camp will be posted soon, along with lots of pics.

Our camp was in Jos, the city I live in, so I just drove home every night. However, last night was the final night of camp and it is not safe to drive late at night here, so I opted to sleep in the house where the Nigerian staff were sleeping. I had assumed I would have a bed. Well, you know what assuming does to you. I found out too late that I was going to have to sleep on the floor. Now, I had a mattress, so you may ask why was this a problem? Well, I have stayed in this house before and I have seen the rats and mice that abide in the home. So sleeping on the floor was not cool, but it had to be done.

I wrapped my sheet all around me and even covered my head, thinking that this would protect me from Stuart Little and his giant friends. I was in that state of sleep when I was aware of my vulnerability, yet still trying to be asleep. Unfortunately, my foot escaped the safety and shelter of the sheet. And, yes, the rat rubbed against my foot and I was immediately awake and kicking like mad. I kept my eyes focused on the ceiling because I did not want to actually see my visitor. After a few seconds, I high-tailed it to the living room and crashed on the couch. Of course, sleep alluded me all night, for I was very aware of the presence of the visitors.

Still makes me squirm.

Mid-Camp

Camp is halfway over!!! It has been incredible. The theme of the camp is "Joy of Personal Revival" Psalm 137:23-24 and we are using a study called "Seeking Him" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom. Because we have the older boys, we realize the need they have to dig deep into the Word. All 6 of the team members from Chicago have a small group that they do the study with. They have noticed, as I have in the past, that there are boys who are confused about eternal security, what is forgiveness and confession all about, etc. Please be praying for God's spirit to open eyes and surrender hearts.

The pics above show the ladies on the team chatting with the boys during free time and one of Victoria and me. My best idea of the camp was to hire a nurse to take care of the boys medical needs. As camp director, I have been able to focus on the many administration needs of the camp, thanks to Victoria.

Rest accomplished

Many of you will be thrilled to hear that I rested this weekend. With the exception of church this morning, I was in my house in comfy clothes all weekend. For those of who do not know me - this is a victory and an answer to prayer that I am learning to rest. I even forced myself to lay down on the couch today, even though I was not tired. A few hours later, I woke up :)

I watched a couple movies, worked on my computer a lot (but still in comfy clothes, drinking coffee and listening to great music), visited with my neighbor and slept.

The calm before the storm. A good storm is coming our way. The Chicago Team from Moody Church arrives in Jos on Friday!!! I am really excited about this group of 6; two of them came with a previous team to Nigeria. Next Monday, Camp starts!!!!!!

Since 'my' team is hosting camp, that put me in charge of camp. Thankfully, we are doing the camp for the older kids and not the smaller ones, so that means less 'activity' times and more God times. The Jr boys are having camp, hosted by an Irish team and longterm Danish missionaries. More to come...

Below is a pic of Abner and me - many of you have heard about him and will be happy to hear that he just graduated from primary school! A precious couple in Colorado have 'adopted' him and want to send him to a private secondary school in September. An incredible opportunity for an incredible young man.