Alphonsus's Own Story of God's Transforming Power

Hi Everyone,

I know I told you that we'd have more blogs on the Education Center's Dedication Celebration.....but......Alphonsus gave the below testimony to Crist this morning and we just had to share with you all. Alphonsus is our ministry driver and he and Crist have been meeting weekly for Bible Study and prayer. He has become a trusted friend and we care about him deeply. Here in his own words is what he gave to Crist this morning:

"One of the benefits of getting older is that you can look back and see just how far you have come since your youth. Looking back on my life, I would have never thought that I would be where I am today. I come from a broken home; an alcoholic, womanizing father who was violent towards my mother and his children, a mother who was depressed, and siblings who coped by taking drugs and doing other wrong behaviors.

My relationship with Christ has dramatically transformed my life: I am not the fearful, complaining, and unloving person that I once was because of my childhood. The Lord has washed away my fear and replaced it with confidence as I have learned to trust Him for tomorrow. He has taken away my complaining spirit as I have seen His care and his desire to sanctify me through the circumstances of my life. And finally, as I have become aware of the grace He has poured out on me, my desire to serve Him and love others has increased.

Seeing the changes the Lord has accomplished thus far in my character, I am hopeful that in another forty years or so, Christ will at last present me spotless to His Father, my Father."

I don't need to add a thing except "Amen!"

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

Feeding the 5000 (Or What Seemed Like 5000)

Hi Everyone,

Talking and sharing about the Education Center's Dedication/Celebration is going to take several blogs. What a day we had!!! We wanted a special day for all the children of the village so we planned an almost "carnival" type atmosphere for the day. It was "guesstamated" that about 65% of the entire village turned up for the dedication. The ten children above were the children picked to be our first students for the Education Center's tutoring program. They were so proud and excited to be the center's "first". In the picture above, Theresa, our B2B staff member will be the lead teacher and Esther is the Nigerian woman on the left back row in the picture. Remember that wedding Crist and I went to a couple of months ago? Well, Esther was the bride and now lives in the village and has a degree in education. She will be teaching the second class. There are two classrooms at the center.

We cooked for 200 (having no real idea how many would show up). We had rice joloff (rice, tomatoes, diced up green beans, carrots and peas) and some beef chunks that were cooked at the ministry center and transported to the celebration. As we saw the crowds beginning to arrive we began praying for the Lord to multiply the food and He did. We were able to serve all the children (344 children) which was our main concern. As we realized we couldn't feed the entire crowd, we limited it to just the kids. The Chairman of the village came to help cut the ribbons for the center and gave a very heartfelt and gracious speech to all. Theresa then introduced the ten students and a few more people gave little speeches (with an interpreter) and then the ribbons were cut and the celebrations began!!

I'll share more on the next blog about some of the things we had going that day. The picture below is of two of our work team members that came here from Wyoming. They are Jeremiah and Jo Jo and they were married three months ago but waited for their honeymoon. They wanted it to be serving with B2B in Nigeria. What a great couple they are and we're so excited they wanted to start their life together with all of us here at B2B. God bless you both!!!

Chat with you all soon!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

"Work as Unto the Lord"

Hi Everyone!
Have the past two weeks gone by already? We had two work teams from the states come and help us in ministry and work projects and they left yesterday and it sure seems quiet around here. I told you in my last blog that the next few blogs would be about what was accomplished while they were here.

We worked at OLA redoing the baby room. The dirty/drab walls were painted bright Nigerian colors and wooden letters crafted and painted that say "Jesus Loves Me." New curtains were hung and we're having new cribs made and mosquito nets were put up over each crib. I'll send a "finished" picture when it's all put together. Everyone worked really hard and it's so rewarding to watch a project come to completion.

One afternoon, several of the men measured, drilled, glued, cut and stained three new pieces of furniture for the Education Center. These will be filled with books and school supplies and we'll show more on that as the school begins to operate.

We had an absolutely wonderful day last week as we dedicated the new Education Center. After many many months of building, painting and cleaning, we had a day of celebration and from beginning to end it was a day I think that the entire village enjoyed tremendously. I could spend the next month showing you pictures of what happened that day! So stayed tuned - there's much more to come!

While you're battling snow and ice, we're having sunny days with not a cloud in the sky. Jos is in the Plateau State and we're the highest state in the country of Nigeria. This means that the weather is different from every other state. Many Nigerians look at Jos as the "cold" state. Not to Crist and I - we're LOVING IT! We're in the 'winter' month now and within the next two weeks, Jos will enter into the 'summer' months - the HOTTEST three months of the year.

Well, we'll chat with you soon. Bye, Diane, Bobby and Jim - we LOVED having you here and miss you already!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

"We're Back!!!!"

Hi Everyone,
It has been SO LONG since we've had a chance to sit down and share with all of you all that has been happening the past two weeks. We've had two work teams from the states here and it's been really busy - fun/hectic busy - but still almost every minute accounted for. So.....over the next few blogs, I will mostly be showing you pictures of the various outreaches and work projects that the two teams have accomplished.
These first few pictures are of the team going to the Doctor's compound and visiting with the patients and praying with them and also bringing them a live chicken/oil/rice for them to have some extra food while they are patients there. This lady above is Lydia and she is a widow with a foot injury and she asked for prayers regarding God's provision for her once she goes home. She spent her last resources to get the treatment. (NOTE: God did provide for her with a special donation given by some team members - we LOVE how God puts the Body of Christ together!!)

The picture above is of my friend, Diane, from North Carolina who wanted the opportunity to present the chicken to one of the patients (she actually was one of two people that prayed with Lydia). Diane was amazed at how calm the chicken was. She thought the chicken would be flapping and struggling to get free - it didn't. It was very passive.
Another project while we were at the doctor's compound was to have some of the team members paint the pit latrine that has recently been constructed. Crist and Daniel (our Nigerian staff member) were in charge of the crew below (Maria, Daniel, Jo Jo and Casey). Everyone played with the many children that arrived and we handed out little boxes of crayons with a small coloring book. These children were delightful - one little girl looked up at the group as they were passing out the books and said, "God Bless You!" She was so sweet.

It was a very windy day and actually was chilly. But all of our hearts were warmed as we played, prayed and worked. It was a great day!! More pictures will follow of other work projects and of the groups. Both groups were awesome - friendly, hardworking and filled with the love of Jesus!!

Chat with you soon,

Eileen and Crist

Reaching Out....Up.....and Over!!!

Hi Everyone,

Well, the second team came two days ago and things have picked up another notch as we continue going into the village, OLA, RCH and the Education Center. Yesterday was a wonderful day as both teams loaded into the bus and we headed out to the Education Center to do some last minute painting and cleaning, getting it ready for the dedication on Monday. Then mid-morning, we had another widow outreach.

We invited the widows to come to the Oasis Center where we had a seamstress ready to take their measurements as we are having a Nigerian dress for each of the widows made for them. The widows who have children or grandchildren that they are taking care of, were then taken to another area we had set aside that had benches filled with childrens' clothing that they could pick out clothes for their children.

After they had finished, women from the U.S. team would then pray for that widow. And as the morning went on, more and more children from the village kept coming and coming and pretty soon we had at least sixty children there, just playing and wanting to see what was going on. Diane's team had brought 150 little coloring books and small boxes of crayons, so they were handed out to each child and within ten minutes of giving them the coloring books, you could look out all over the property and every single child was sitting down somewhere and was coloring in their very own personal coloring book. Such a small thing for an American child, but here....a very big deal! Very soon, the dresses will be finished and we will deliver the dresses to the widows. What a great day!!! I'm finding that I'm really beginning to love these elderly women of the village. They all walked - many with staffs in their hands - and with smiles on their faces they receive whatever comes their way. We're so very very thankful that we were able to send a new dress their way yesterday! I suspect for most of them, it's been a LONG TIME since they've had any additions to their wardrobe (of maybe one or two dresses). Thank you Lord for Your love and provision for these women and that You allow us to be a part of Your plan for their lives!! Amen

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

"Friends Are Friends Forever When The Lord's The Lord of Them"

Hi Everyone,
I remember a song from about 25 years ago by Michael W. Smith that talked about friendships. Our daughter, Kelley, used to sing it at church and Crist and I love the words to the song. Well, last week, some dear friends joined us in Nigeria for eleven days. We've known Diane and Bobby since we first moved to North Carolina 17 years ago and Jim we just met but feel like we've know him forever. That's the neat thing about being "brothers and sisters in Christ". The picture above was taken as we were on our way to church last Sunday. Bobby is a UMC pastor in N.C. Diane is to my right and Jim lives in Florida right now but used to live in North Carolina. For the past week, we have kept them very very busy!!! On Tuesday and yesterday we spent full days at OLA doing much cleaning and renovating in the Baby's Room. Below is Jim and Bobby holding Ocachee and Lucky. Who do you think is cuter - the men or the babies - grin!!

I have the personality that likes to see "results" so yesterday's efforts were so rewarding. After finishing up in the Babies' Room, we went to the "ladies' room" where Abigail (the woman in the wheel chair that we've shown alot) and Esther (one of the orphans - only she's 20 years old now) and two other women live. It was sooo dirty and had curtains hanging from strings that were nailed to the walls (see picture). There were crumbs EVERYWHERE (no wonder they have rats) and it just looked neglected and sad. So Crist and Bobby put in curtain rods for all eight windows and we hung new curtains that we had made. Then ALL of us moved bunk beds and closets and swept and mopped and cleaned and threw away and voila! What a transformation!!We're going to be hanging mosquito nets over each bed also soon. I'll show more pictures as we get them. Two of the women even helped us clean and they LOVED the results. There's something so cool about the feeling you get when you can actually SEE such good results after alot of hard work. The women just felt so good about their new room. I'm so thankful that we were able to help accomplish that feeling for them. There's not alot of joy in their lives I don't think.

Then, when we arrived back at our apartment, there was Gus, our grandson with his body suit he had designed from balloons stuffed into his shirt and pants. MUSCLE BOY!!! We loved it and it was the perfect ending to a very good day!

There are no two days alike EVER here in Nigeria. Each day brings new challenges and new excitement and new joys for all of us. Yay God!!!!!

In-joy,

Eileen and Crist

P.S. Our wonderful driver, Alphonsus (who has become also a dear friend and brother in Christ) - his six year old daughter, Ruth, died on Tuesday. She had been ill for the past two years and the doctors could never find out exactly what was wrong. Please pray for Alphonsus and Esther for God's comfort and strength to sustain them in the days ahead. The funeral is today.

Now Held In The Arms of God

Hi Everyone,
The picture up above was taken last week with our grandson, Gus, holding baby Joseph. There is a work team here from North Carolina and yesterday afternoon we visited OLA to have them meet and play with the babies and kids there. When we arrived we were told that baby Joseph had died on New Year's Day, the day before. We were all speechless and so very sad. Joseph's young mother died in childbirth and other family members were not able to take care of him, so he was brought to OLA to be taken care of. He was so tiny but he was a fighter and we thought he was doing pretty good. The caregiver said that they had just fed him and put him down for a nap and when they went in to check on him, they noticed that he wasn't breathing. He was 2 1/2 months old. Infant mortalities in Nigeria are high. But, for us, this wasn't just another statistic - we knew baby Joseph - we had all held him and loved him. But we are comforted today knowing that baby Joseph is being held in the arms of the Savior.....but we're gonna miss him....alot.

"Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there." Matthew 19:13-15

In-joy,
Eileen and Crist