A Village Outreach

Hi Everyone,

Crist and I have talked alot about doing a village outreach, but usually it's at the Education Center or the Viewing Center or at the Doctor's compound. I don't think we've actually shown you "the village". Well, yesterday, several of us went into Kisayhip B Village to follow-up with the widows from when we took all of their pictures a month ago. We went late afternoon, knowing that we would be leaving no later than 6 p.m. because it's very dangerous to be driving when it gets dark. We saw maybe half of the widows and we'll continue next Tuesday. We handed to each widow their individual picture that was taken. They all LOVED that. Having their picture taken is a wonderful treat and in the Nigerian culture it also is a "hand of friendship" extended.

We walked from hut to hut, calling on the widows and praying with them. We also invited them to a "Forum" that we're having at the Education Center for them on Nov. 28th. It will be a time of getting to know them better and to hear from them what some of their immediate needs might be. It was a sweet time and, of course, we had oodles of children hanging onto our arms and wanting to accompany us on our way. You can see in the pictures a little bit of what the village is like. There are chickens walking all over the place, as well as pigs and dogs. Corn is in the process of being harvested so in the various compounds you could see ears of corn drying on the ground. Some were already beginning to pound the corn (see the two boys). In a way it's like going back in time. Everything is done by hand here, so there is a real sense of how it probably was in the United States back in the 1800's.

All the children were so excited to just be with us. They fight over who's holding our hands and each wants to be the one with that honor. They have so little yet they seem quite content. In the village it is very common to see the littlest ones walking around with no clothes on or at least with no bottoms on. I'm guessing that they're being "potty trained" and it's so much easier without having any pants on to worry about.

We're excited about what the Lord is beginning to prepare for us as we reach out to the widows and orphans in the village. But more important than just meeting immediate needs, we want to establish a long-term relationship with them that will have eternal benefits. It's fun being a part of God's long-term plans.

Well, we'll chat with you again soon.

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

Random Thoughts and Sights

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share a few pictures with you of some things that have been going
on around here.

A week or so ago, Crist dropped me off at Pastor
Dauda and Ladi's home and I put them to work. I had brought from the states a book entitled "50 Things to Make with A Paper Plate." I had been noticing that the Sunday School has NO materials or anything for the kids to do except sit and listen or go outside to play. So I came equipped with pipe cleaners, crayons, paper plates, glue, stickers etc. Over the next two hours, we made "Jesus Loves Me" plates that were colorful and cute. We made 65 to make sure that every child would get one. As people dropped by to visit with Ladi, I put them to work too, so by the end of the craft session, we had 6 people helping. They're going to be handing them out this coming Sunday to the children. We prayed over the plates, so please pray with us that the children will experience God's love for them in these plates.
The next two pictures are of plumbing pipes in the apartments that are almost completed. Will and Theresa will be moving into their apartment this weekend. They are very excited. Crist and John have been working hard the past few weeks to get them finished. Crist helped John with the plumbing and electrical stuff. The electrical picture is of what our electrical stuff looks like. ("stuff" - that's the best I can do in naming things that have to do with electrical "stuff." ooops, there I go again!) For some reason, the past few weeks, we have only had electricity a couple of hours a day and usually that's at night. It had been getting better, but now we've digressed once again. I know many of you wonder how we can use our internet without electricity - here we get internet "cards" that allow us 50 hours of internet time. When our hours are up, we get a new card. It works pretty well. And we're really thankful that we're not dependent on the electric company for our time on the computer. And it's not uncommon for the washing of the clothes to be done at night! We do have a generator that we run every five or six hours for an hour or so to keep the things
in the refrigerator at least cool.

And, of course, what would a blog be without the usual picture of a man and his monkey? grin This isn't a common sight, but as we were driving into our compound, there in front of us was this man. Corrie quickly got out of the car and asked if she could "snap" his picture. He thought she was crazy, but he said she could. Just an interesting sight I thought you might enjoy.

It's hard to believe we're at the half-way point of our time here in Jos. It's been fast, it's been slow and it has certainly been a challenge, but God has been so faithful to Crist and I. We feel His leading and we feel His love - I think we'll stay to see what this next half will be like!! grin

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

Living Water

Hi Everyone,

"I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward." Mark 9:41


Back2Back works alongside a ministry called "Self-Sustaining Enterprises"; a ministry that tries to find ways that can get Nigerians involved with enterprises that will give them work and a way to produce an income for their families and SSE also drills boreholes in areas where there is no water supply or where wells no longer produce a viable water source. RCH is a childrens' home that we have had work teams help at, and (picture of the home with the red roof - see above) their water supply never lasts a full year. Now that rainy season is over, in another month or so, their well will produce only muddy water. A family from the states donated the monies needed for the borehole to be drilled and Crist was there a couple of days ago to watch this process. After tests were done, it was determined that they would need to drill about 35 meters (Crist said that is around 38 yards) down. Katerina and Israel (the Directors of RCH) and their daughter, Jireh, are very very thankful for the generosity of the donors. They are so excited to be able to drink clean, safe water from now on.

The picture below looks like the bushes have snow on them. Crist said it was all the mud that was thrown out of the drilled hole. Water is such a precious and necessary commodity and one that we very much take for granted in the United States. Most Nigerians do not have running water. Most have to lug these huge yellow plastic containers around as they either go down to the river or local waterhole or they pay for their water to be trucked to their home.

It makes me think of Christ as the Living Water. So many people are living dry, empty lives. But He came to give refreshment, new life and water that will never go stale. On a hot, dusty and dry afternoon - there's NOTHING better than a big glass of water. But in eternity, the Living Water is much much better.

Chat with you soon!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

Jehovah Rapha - The Healer

Hi Everyone,

It had been a while since Crist and Moses (the young man to the right in the picture - the village doctor's son) have gone shopping for medical supplies. Some dear friends in Illinois provided the funds for this shopping trip and they were needed badly. A mattress was also purchased with plastic on the top which enables them to wash it down more easily when a patient leaves. They don't use bed linens so having a washable top is better for everyone. We're hoping also soon to be able to begin work on a pit latrine for the doctor's compound. I think I've shared before that all who live there use the bushes to go to the bathroom (even the patients). We're planning on having some hygiene lessons once the pit latrine is built so that the villagers will see the need for it. Sometimes "doing what you've always done" is so much easier - even though a newer and better way is right before you.

We pray that all will see Jesus in these acts of love.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Hi Hi Everyone,
Well, yesterday morning we had twenty-five, 9th and 10th graders from Hillcrest come and do a service outreach at the Education Center. They were a good group - hard working (for the most part - afterall, we are talking about teenagers - grin) and very much wanting to serve. John had alot of projects for them to start and some projects to complete. Some painted the water tower; some painted the first coat of paint on the ceilings of the two rooms at the center; some dug a ditch and laid some wires and then covered up the hole. Some pulled nails from pieces of wood so the wood could be recycled; some worked in the "donation room" at the VC sorting through donations and putting some order to it all (that was my group) and some walked around picking up debris and papers etc. to make the property look clean.

How about those rocks in the above picture (have I told you before how much I love those rocks - grin) of course, the kids had to climb the rocks and see the view from up there. Each time the rocks are climbed, I say a pray that no one will fall and hurt themselves. No one did!

And, of course, anytime we do a project at the Education Center, within minutes the children begin to arrive. By the time the morning was over, I would say we had around 20 children watching and playing. And, of course, like every other time that Crist and I are doing physical labor - we went to bed early - grin!

Chat with you soon!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

wow

Hi Everyone,

One of the sweetest benefits of Crist and I being in Jos, Nigeria is being able to serve along-side our daughter, Corrie, and John and the kids. When your kids are young and you're still in the "Mommy & Daddy" stage, you discipline, guide and just love your children to the next stage of life. Well, we're into "Stage 4" now with our "kids" and all that is left to do is to just love them - which is the fun part. This past week, Corrie and the 8th grade girls at Hillcrest School had an outing to OLA to love on the babies and I went along to help and assist. Wow! It's been a long time since I've been on a bus with a group of 8th grade girls! I even turned my hearing aid lower -grin. Such enthusiasm and zest for life would have been enough to get that bus to OLA even without any fuel in the gas tank. And once we had arrived at OLA, they jumped in and just did what had to be done. It was fun to watch and see how Corrie related to the girls and to see "my own girl" be a a great role model to them. All the pictures, except the first one to the left are of our trip to OLA.

The first picture was of yesterday morning at Hillcrest School at the High School/Middle School Chapel service. Corrie was the "speaker" and she shared about B2B's vision statement which is "Care for Today and Hope for Tomorrow." A group of high school students will be doing a work project at B2B's new Education Center on Saturday morning helping with electrical work, painting and any other odd jobs that need to be done. Corrie shared at Chapel service how education is vital for the orphan and how B2B is trying to come alongside Childrens' Homes to help in this process, knowing that Christ's heart will always be for the "least of these." Corrie was joy-filled, enthusiastic, and 100% authentic and I think every high schooler's ears and eyes were attuned to what she had to say.
All this to say, as a parent watching your child grow, mature and become the person God has called them to be - it was awesome and humbling. It's okay to be a proud mamma, right?

Chat with you again soon!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

A Man Named Crist, and Now a Baby Named Crist

Hi Everyone,

At the Tuesday afternoon Bible study that Crist helps to facilitate, a man named Friday comes from time to time when his schedule permits. He attends the ECWA church we go to and he and his wife recently had a baby boy. The first time he came, he didn't have a Bible, so Crist purchased a Bible for him and when they see each other, they'll talk very casually to one another. Well, after Bible study a couple of Tuesdays ago, he told Crist that he and his wife were going to have their son dedicated at church on the 31st of Oct. and they wanted to name him Crist and would we come to the dedication service on that Sunday. Crist was honored and, of course, we attended church on Sunday not really knowing what would be expected of him.

The dedication was almost at the end of the service and they called Crist up and he prayed for Friday and his wife and also for their son, Crist. After the service, we took a picture of their son and another picture of their family and friends. The service lasted close to three hours and it was warm inside the church, to say the least. But it was a good morning and a great honor to have Crist's name passed to a child in the village. And, if I might add - if this baby Crist grows up to be anything like his namesake Crist - then he will be one blessed fella!!

Proverbs 22:1 - "A good name is more desirable than great riches, to be esteemed is better than silver of gold."
Chat with you soon!

In-joy,
Eileen and Crist

P.S. We were told afterwards by Corrie and John that when a baby is named after you, you are then responsible for paying for their education. Oh my! grin

P.S.S. Did you notice the picture of the baby and he is wearing a wool hat and is swaddled very very warmly with several blankets - it was in the upper 80's - amazing!