On
the last Sunday of May, almost exactly ten years after our family arrived in
Nigeria, Grace & Glory Baptist Church celebrated its Grand Opening service
with 80 in attendance [pictured]. This is the second church in which our family is
personally involved. For six months, we held Bible studies in a home until eleven
families were ready to start the new work. We are meeting in the banquet hall
of a hotel inside the city of Abuja and have begun evening services
immediately.
On the last Sunday of June, Truth
Baptist Church celebrated its first-ever Family Day. This was a rescheduling of
our anniversary service (usually held in May) and also a celebration of the
completed work for our auditorium expansion. We had plenty of special music,
refreshments after the services, and two photographers ready to take family
photos [ours with Sabrina's Mom] of all in attendance. Putting the
enlarged auditorium to good use, it was the first time Truth Baptist Church had
over 300 in a regular Sunday morning service!
For weeks, my wife and kids had been
counting down the days until my mother-in-law arrived in the middle of June.
This was her 3rd visit to Nigeria and her longest stay, more than 3 weeks. My
children's "Nana" witnessed TBC's Family Day, two Sunday services at
our new church, and spoke for the ladies' fellowship [pictured] as they gathered one
afternoon in our home. It was a sweet, fun-filled, and refreshing time for our
family, and we made a new friend as a young lady from one of our supporting
churches accompanied Sabrina's mom on her trip.
On our survey trip almost 10 1/2
years ago, an assistant pastor (to the veteran missionary with whom we would be
working) named David Amos [pictured] conducted in his native tongue an outdoor service
beside a stream for a village chapel, and then I had the memorable experience
of baptizing several new converts as the village elders looked on. In 2011, not
long after Bro. David became the pastor of that chapel, he went to Heaven and
left behind his wife and two wonderful boys. The life of a widow is
unimaginable in third world countries, but I have watched with amazement at how
Mrs. Amos has provided for herself and her children, has saved to buy land, and
has worked and sacrificed to get a house to the level of roofing, which is the
most expensive part of the home. She needs help, and I wish to ask our
supporting churches and praying friends to give through us the $2000 needed to
put a quality roof on this widow's house. Anything raised above the required
amount will be used to add windows, doors, ceilings, and electrical work for
the Amos family.
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