Saying Good-Bye to Nicky

My dear English friend left on the 24th to return home, raise support, and come back as a long-term missionary! I am really thankful because she has been such a wonderful friend to me. In typical Nigerian style, we held a send-forth party for Nicky to celebrate her and all she has done in the past year. While I am the medical consultant, Nicky was the educational consultant and she worked mainly in our rural Care Center, Gyero. She will really be missed… but we are praying she comes back quickly!

(PS - those are bottles of soda :)

Medical Update

As the nurse for the boys, I am 'on-call' to help with various illnesses and wounds and the like. I am also training the Nigerian staff to care for the boys, so that they will not be dependent on me. A missionary is always trying to work ones self out of a job! Recently, I was asked to look at one of the boys, Caleb. As soon as I saw him, I knew he had the mumps! Now, I have never seen mumps before in my life, since the States provides the mumps vaccine. So, from the medical viewpoint, it was exciting. But poor Caleb, and then two other boys after him, were in a lot of pain. We are so thankful that the complication of sterility did not affect them!

Joseph was carrying boiling water in a bucket on his head and tripped. The water burned a portion of his back and chest. Very painful, but no infection or dehydration has resulted. We also tested all 58 of our boys in Gyero for HIV and all are negative! One of our boys was in a motorcycle accident. The witnesses told me they thought he would surely die because of the severity of the accident, but no broken bones! In the 10 years of this ministry, not one boy has died! Continue to pray for protection and wisdom for those of us caring for the boys.

Meet Christian

Age: 10 yrs old

Likes: Football, Ice Cream, Bicycles

History: "Our parents who are not true Christians brought up my seven brothers and me. I grew up in Miango but my father grew sick and so my uncle took us to a woman who called herself a herbalist. "She said we are in a secret cult and she beat us. My father agreed we are in a cult and said we must leave, so he made my brothers, my mom leave and me. "My mom had no work and could not look after all of us so some of us left to live on the streets and beg. A staff member of Gidan Bege found Sunday and me on the street, he then took to us to Gidan Bege's Transition House, where I now live with my brothers (Timothy, Sunday and Daniel) I am the youngest boy there. "I received Christ at Gidan Bege. When I grow up I want to be a Pastor."

Sponsor one of our boys for only $25/month! This covers food, education and other necessary expenses. Email john.sawyer@sim.org if you are interested in adding one of our beautiful boys to your family!

Kenya

Nigeria does not have any giraffe's, lions, or the such, except for the ones in wildlife parks.

Since I was in Kenya, one weekend at the conference, I used Christmas gifts and saved money to go on a safari.

Incredible. For more pics, click here.

In Kenya

On Sunday I arrived in Kenya to attend the Christian Medical Dental Assoc Conference for missionaries serving in Africa. It was recommended that I come to broaden my understanding and knowledge of medical care in Africa. I am really excited to connect with other missionaries who can share their wisdom, to be challenged intellectually, and to be fed spiritually. I am especially praying for a woman to bond with and share heart needs with while I am here. I return to Nigeria on the 18th.

Another friend goes to heaven

You have heard about the Musa family. I shared with you that Rebekah, mother of John and Peter, died on Jan 3rd. It is so sad to share that on Feb 3rd, one month after her mother died, Ladi also lost her battle to HIV.

Ladi loved Jesus and ended her days singing praises to Him so all in the hospital ward could hear that she was not afraid of death.... for now, she really lives, with her Savior.

She leaves behind a 5 year old, Jerry, and 10-year-old Kyauta. John, Ladi's brother, is dealing with a lot of anger at God. And what becomes of Jerry and Gift? Please cry out to God on behalf of this family!

www.juststopandthink.com

He is healed!!!

On January 13th I received one of the best calls of my life. Abner's doctor called to tell me that Abner is able to walk! He is assisted by the use of braces on his legs and crutches, but he is no longer crawling on the ground! Praise God! Abner travelled to his village to visit his family, who are missionaries. He told me later that his father was crying, he was so happy, and that many people in the village called Abner a miracle.

He returned to Jos on Jan 25th and was greeted by 100+ fellow classmates who began dancing and crying and laughing, praising God that their friend was walking! When I saw him walking towards me, I was filled with awe of our Lord's goodness and His love for this precious boy. God used many people in the States to partner financially and to pray (you!). Many others in Nigeria helped in so many ways over the months to ensure that Abner received the best care. Thank you, Lord for this team of people you used to change the life of this dear one. Abner wants to follow in the footsteps of his father and be a pastor when he grows up.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

Abner, may you not only walk, but run to tell people about Jesus!

In Memory of a friend

Rebekah Musa (in blue), mother of John and Peter who live in our Care Center, passed away on January 3rd from AIDS. She was a precious friend of mine. This picture was taken just a couple days before Christmas, 2 weeks before she died. My friend Susan and I visited her and her daughter Ladi (in white, also HIV+) to bring some Christmas presents and to visit.

The day before she died, as I sat down to pray with her, she laid my head on her lap. She must have know that she was leaving soon and I am so thankful for her display of love and affection.

We do not grieve as those without hope, for Rebekah knew Jesus as her Savior and now she is healed, dancing, and is ALIVE.

Abner will walk!!!

I was recently able to travel to Kano, four hours away, to visit Abner. I was able to spend a lot of time with him. He was quite surprised and happy to see me. I also met with the therapist, Sheila, who will be working with Abner everyday. She did his first therapy assessment with me there and she concluded that, yes, Abner has a good chance of walking again! They have measured him for braces that will keep his legs straight and he will need to use crutches for now... maybe they can be discarded later. Sheila said that she has seen people like Abner walk well after just a couple weeks of therapy but that each person is different. It also really depends on his own cooperation. Poor guy was in quite a bit of pain during therapy. You can pray: for Abner's left leg, which is significantly weaker than his right, for good pain management, that Abner will not get discouraged, that his parents will be able to visit him soon (it has been over a month). He is called the chief by the nurses bc he has been there so long :) He has good friends with other patients and I was so encouraged to see the good care that he has received.

For more pics of our visit, click here.

Two years!!!

On December 28th, I will celebrate TWO years here in Nigeria! Can you believe it?! So much has happened and I have learned SO much. Thank you so much to all of you who have helped me to thrive here through your prayers and support.

To get more information on my last two year in Nigeria, please go to www.webmissions.net/erinrigsby

Sponsor a child!!!

We have hundreds of boys. We need help to care for their physical, educational, and material needs. You can sponsor a boy for just $25 a month! You will be given the opportunity to communicate via mail with them, if you choose. Please prayerfully consider adding a beautiful Nigerian boy to your family! How to give: Please consider a tax-deductible donation to sponsor a child.

Send your check, made out to SIM, to: SIM USA, PO BOX 7900, Charlotte, NC 28241. Please designate it "Urban Nigeria - #85550 - Child Sponsorship."

If you would like to donate online, please visit www.sim.org/giveusa.

Baptism

Twenty-nine of our boys were recently baptized! We piled into vans and headed out to Gyero, the rural/bush area where one of our Care Centers is located. It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky expanding across the green land and hills that make up Gyero. We drove as far as we could, and then walked a ways to a small body of water. There were about 50 of us there, the boys and then those of us who came in support to witness and worship with them. The boys carried different expressions; of excitement, of contemplation, and of shyness. I could not stop smiling or taking pictures! All of them previously accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, some of them years ago, and have shown a desire to serve and obey Him. Thank you, Lord, for your grace.

Bible Study

Every Thursday I meet with our Middle Boys (ages 12-16) for Bible Study. There are eighteen of them and we get into some really good discussions.We have recently been discussing the topic of Eternal Security. This topic has been debated among Christians for many years and it is no different in our class. I have role-played as a non-Christian, peppering them with questions about grace, forgiveness, and mercy and have learned a lot about what they believe. This is a big responsibility and blessing that God has given me to teach Truth to the boys, to expose them to the Bible, and ultimately, to draw them closer to God. Please pray that I will have adequate preparation time each week and that each Thursday afternoon, God will reveal to us Who He is and the reality of what it means to be a child of God.
Check out this link www.juststopandthink.com

Visit from team from Moody Church in Chicago

While I lived in Chicago I attended Moody Church. Last month eight people from Moody came to visit me and another Moody missionary, Claudia Long. Claudia has a camping ministry. So we combined both of our ministries by having my Senior Boys work alongside the team out at the camp, doing construction. The boys really loved this, many times stopping their work to talk and laugh with the team members. It is so good for my boys to have exposure to as many visitors as possible, to expand their knowledge of the Lord and of His world. I was blessed with the hard work of this team and their love for my boys. The boys earned money for their work, giving them such a feeling of satisfaction that they are begging me for another workday, even though the team is gone! Please pray for our Senior Boys to continue to mature spiritually and emotionally and that I will know how to encourage them as a sister in Christ.

Johnny

Johnny is a 16-year-old boy who lives in our Care Center. His father died when he was young. His mother, Mary, whom I have mentioned before, died of AIDS in June. The two weeks before she died, I spent a lot of time with her and Johnny in the hospital. When I received the call in the early morning that she had died, I wept for Johnny and I wept for the death of a young woman whose life was stolen by this awful disease. I immediately went to get Johnny at our Care Center and I held him as both of us cried. Then we went to his grandmother’s house to be with her and to make preparations for the funeral. Funerals are typically done the same day or soon after the death because embalming is so expensive. After a few hours, many of our boys came to the house to greet the family. The coffin came and in the small yard about 100 of us gathered to honor Mary’s life and to praise God that she had become a Christian just months before she died. The boys sang some beautiful songs and then we drove to the nearby graveyard for a final prayer.

Last month Johnny and John, whose story I have shared in the past, whose mom also has HIV, and I went together to the market so that they could make a cross for Mary’s gravesite. After they finished, we went and placed it at the site, along with two of our other boys. Johnny is close to his grandmother and he and I visit her often. Please pray that I will know how to love and support Johnny through his grieving process of his mom.

Update on Abner

After seven years of crawling on the ground as a result of polio, Abner is on his way to walking upright! (See blog on 8/23 for background on Abner.) He is in a hospital four hours away, but I was able to visit him recently. He is very happy, making friends with the other children on the ward. The ward is a big room with lots of beds lining the walls. There are cribs, too, with babies who have had various orthopedic surgeries. I enjoyed giving him small gifts, laughing with him, and praying with him. Both of his hips are contracted as a result of the polio. He has been on traction to gently pull the muscles of his legs straight.

On the 13th, he had a surgery to straighten one of his legs and a cast put on to maintain the position. In two weeks, the same operation will be repeated on the other leg. It is estimated that he will still need another seven weeks in the hospital. Please pray that he will not be lonely, for protection for his mother who travels back and forth from the village, and for complete healing so that he will one day walk again!

Exposure

Our oldest boys are called "Senior Boys."

They have been with us the longest and will soon be leaving us, transitioning into society. Our first boy "graduated" last month and is now attending YWAM Discipleship Training School in southern Nigeria! We want to expose our boys to life outside of our Care Centers, to give them understanding of all that God can do through them in the real world. To accomplish this, we took half of the Senior Boys to the YWAM base and the other half to Abuja, the capitol of Nigeria. Each trip was amazing and God really taught the boys a lot!

Highlights for the boys:1) First boat ride!

2) First elevator ride!

3) First visit to an airport!

4) Being served by people "higher" than the boys humbled them and encouraged them to serve the younger boys at our Care Centers.

5) Spending time with a wealthy, God-fearing man who testified that God honors integrity and that it is possible to be honest in a corrupt nation.

6) First time to see an automatic hand-dryer (pic on left).

Wish you could have seen this!

1) I see many different things being carried on the back of the motorcycles here, but this one took the cake - the passenger was carrying an entire car door! I just wish you could've seen it! I laughed out loud and was so bummed I was alone in my car with no one to share the moment with.

2) One night, on a recent trip to YWAM with our boys, I was eating dinner. I could not tell what meat was on my plate, due to the lack of light. So I asked one of the guys and he said, "Well, I was not going to tell you, but it is a chicken head and foot." What!?! I proceeded to pick up what I thought was the bone of the foot and soon discovered that it was the beak of the head! I screamed and busted into laughter. Apparently, honored guests are given these pieces. And I soon honored my boys with them.

3) Some of our boys recently experienced riding in an elevator for the first time. As we started moving up, one boy fell to his knees in sincere terror, exclaiming, "the end has come!"

HIV/AIDS testing

We recently tested all of our boys in our Jos Care Center for HIV. The day started by local ministries presenting education about HIV/AIDS. A special time was when Uncle Bulus, a man in his early 30's, testified that even though he discovered in 1999 that he is positive, God is still using his life. He said that he chose to not spread the disease, but to spread the message of HIV and of Jesus Christ! This was a real encouragement for all of us to see a healthy looking man who is living each day for Jesus, even though he knows the disease will eventually take his life. We have 68 boys in this center, and I knew that it would be very possible for some to be tested HIV+. Sadly, one of our older boys, James, tested positive. It is so hard for him and for us staff. We really need your prayers in how to care for him in all aspects and that God will free him from fear and despair.

Victim of polio

Abner, 14 yrs old, was struck with polio at age seven, and has crawled on the ground ever since. Last year, a team from the States visited the school Abner attends (Evangelical Missionary Kids School, where I help with the health care). God gave them compassion on Abner and as a result, they have sent in money to sponsor a corrective surgery for him! The hope is that he will soon be able to walk with the aid of braces! He had the surgery on July 28th. Please pray for healing, the therapy, and the many long hours he spends alone in the hospital (he is 4 hrs from where I live, and even further from his parents). I will keep you posted.