Nigeria... Haiti... God is there

Nigeria:
If you haven't heard, there has been rioting, killing, and destruction in Jos, Nigeria (where I lived for 4 years) since last Sunday. I won't go into the details of why this is going on here - but you can check http://bbc.com/ for more specific information (though keep in mind it is still a media's report).

Thankfully, the military and police responded quickly. The city of Jos was put on a 24 hour curfew for two days straight, to try and quell the violence.

Early Tuesday morning at 3am Chicago time, I received a text from Nigeria to pray for the village of Gyero, where 100+ of City Ministries orphans live. I spent a lot of time in Gyero and was heartbroken to hear that the violence had spread to this little village off the beaten path. I prayed and prayed and was so grateful to receive a text an hour later that said the military had arrived and regained control. Ok, so *that* is a miracle. That the military would even care to go out to little Gyero. But GOD cares and He sent them!

Praise GOD none of our children or staff were hurt, but other village kids and adults were killed during this attack.

Yesterday, the 24 hour curfew was lifted and people are allowed to move around between 10am - 5pm Nigeria time (which is 7 hours ahead of CST).

I've received reports from friends there that it seems calm, but to not assume it is safe. Please continue to pray!!


Haiti:

We are all stunned and the media is a great way to keep informed. However, to get more intimate with it all...

Aaron and Jamie Ivey live in Austin, TX. They've already adopted a boy from America and a girl
from Haiti. The Ivey's have been working for 2 1/2 years to adopt Amos, who is still in Haiti. He is safe and they are working desperately to complete the adoption and bring him home. Here is a video that Aaron made for Amos.




See their interview on CNN here:

http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/15/familys-adopted-son-in-haiti/



Also, the Livesay family are missionaries in Haiti. Here is a very encouraging post on their blog about God's sovereignty and concern for the least of these...

http://livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/2010/01/day-eight.html