Dear Friends and Family,
Today was travel day. Things went smoothly from getting to the Nairobi airport then on to Madagascar. A minor glitch was trying to find the ITEM Coordinator, Julien Mvemba, who came to meet me at the airport. I exited and he wasn’t there where he normally is. I walked out into the open so I could be seen easily. I stood and stood. And tried to get my international phone connected but couldn’t. So I stood some more….wondering. I was waiting about 20 minutes when I looked to my right and there was Julien 5 feet away but he still hadn’t seen me. Then he did. Everything is fine.
I want to take this travel day to mention to interesting observations from my time in Nigeria. One is how some Muslim and Christian kids get along and how you report a minor traffic accident. Plus, I’ll tell you about the Glory Dome in Abuja, Nigeria.
MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN STUDENTS
The ECWA Guest House, where I was staying in Jos, had a bus full of students stay there briefly. They were high school age, all studying veterinary medicine. In the group were a good number of Muslim kids. You could tell they way the girls had their heads covered.
What was interesting was how these Muslim teens were still “hip.” The girls had scarves over their heads. Then wore fashionable, trendy looking hats on top of the scarf. They looked and acted like any other teenager. The girls just had their heads covered. I saw one with her entire face covered.
The other thing I noticed was that the adult supervisor was a Christian and prayed a Christian prayer with the group. Interesting.
PARKING LOT ACCIDENT? NO HARM NO FOUL
Williams was borrowing a car one day. It was a big Toyota SUV. While backing up to maneuver himself to be able to get out of the parking lot, he backed into another car and left a small but easily noticeable dent. He didn’t even get out of the car. The other driver pointed to it. Williams told him he was sorry, and drove off. The other guys didn’t seem upset. I told Williams about our laws. He said theirs were not like that.
THE DUNAMIS GLORY DOME, ABUJA
As I was being taken to the airport in Abuja on Friday, we passed a huge, REALLY HUGE dome. It was the Dunamis Church home church. I didn’t have my camera out so didn’t get a picture. But there are plenty on the internet. Here is one of four I pulled off the internet and put into the photo album.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GLORY DOME
There are more pics of the dome, inside and out, in the photo album.
The Glory Dome is the largest church in the world now.
Also in the photo album are some initial pictures that I took driving from the airport to the hotel.
THE WEEK AHEAD
It’s a simple schedule this week. I have a one-on-one meeting with Julien tomorrow, Monday. We meet with Christian and denominational leaders on Tuesday. We meet with the ITEM team on Wednesday. And I fly back to Nairobi on Thursday, my first step towards home. I will leave Nairobi Saturday evening.
The Tuesday meeting is critical. I’ve been told that it’s best to meet with denominational leaders to build a relationship so they know who you are when you start inviting their pastors to seminars and mentoring.
PRAYER
Pray most importantly for the meeting Tuesday that it will go well and that a good relationship will be formed with each one.
That’s all or today. Thank for praying! Thanks for your interest!
By His grace,
Steve