Nigeria Update #11 - Sunday 12/9/12

Update #11

We were not able to post from Nigeria as we had planned. This is an update that I wrote while there. Please scroll down for additional updates or see a list of Recent Posts to the left. 

6:55 AM
In 2009 we went to the city of Ibadan and preached a Ministers Conference in one church and a Gospel Crusade at Landmark Christ Mission. Bro. Stephen Kuye is the Pastor at Landmark. We had a great visit that year in Ibadan.

We were able on that occasion to leave enough money behind to put a roof on a church building that Bro. Kuye's congregation was erecting. They had the trusses and roof on within three weeks.

The new church walls had been built around the existing small church building. They soon removed the old building, poured the floor and completed many other things in order to have church in the new structure.

We are excited about going back for another visit today. We are anxious to see the new building and preach for them again.

Bro. Kuye is a quiet and Godly man. He was converted to Christ under Bro. Shobanke's ministry many years ago. He is one of the first men that we met in Nigeria and we love being with him.

He is one of many men in this country that labor faithfully for God in less than ideal circumstances. They love God fervently and press right through adversity, poverty and opposition.

These good men make me want to do better and walk closer to God. I am so glad to be among them. I thank God for the privilege to know such men and call them brother and friend.

It is definitely going to be an exciting and memorable day for us.

6:50 PM
We left before 8:00 this morning and arrived back at the hotel in Abeokuta about 4:30. It has been a super day.

We were blessed to visit and worship with many friends today at Landmark Christ Mission in Ibadan. Pastor Kuye and his folks welcomed us with open arms. The worship service was great and we had a wonderful altar service. God moved among the people and I am thankful.

The church was full and the neighborhood and dirt streets were full of people too! I love that kind of preaching. I kept picking out people passing by on the streets and sitting on their porches and giving them a slice of Gospel preaching.

I about preached myself into a fit. I believe God was planting some Gospel seed in that Muslim society. Did I mention that I love to preach in settings like that?

This was our last service in Nigeria this visit and I was very thrilled to see people blessed. Thank you to all the folks that prayed specifically for this service. It worked again.

I was blessed and honored to be ask by Pastor Kuye to preach in the new church. It is beautiful and spacious. The old church was about 20x40 and the new one is 40x70+. The platform area is only slightly smaller than the old building.

The floor is poured, including a poured platform, the inside walls are finished and painted. They finish the block walls here in concrete like stuff and call it plaster. It has a smooth finish and looks nice.

Some of the windows are installed and there is a small study for the Pastor and a small room for the sound equipment. It really looks good and I am so happy for them. It would be neat to help them complete some more of the building project. I am praying about what to do and gathering information. I will let you know.

Here are a few pictures from Bro. Kuye's church and then some more news below.

Across the street

Pastor Kuye and Pastor Shobanke

Pastor Kuye

The Adelani family

We ate lunch in Ibadan at the new KFC! Can you believe that? KFC in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria! What will they think of next?

Just two weeks ago we ate at the original Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, Kentucky and today we ate KFC in Nigeria. The world is getting smaller every day.

The chicken was very good and the prices were comparable to Chicken Republic. Now we know why Chicken Republic has started offering fried chicken. The Big Dog  Bird has arrived.

We visited outside with the hotel staff for a while when we arrived back at the hotel. We all had a lot of fun.

We were going to get cleaned up and work on packing but the water and electric are off. That means no air so we are laying across the bed trying to be as still and cool as possible. I figure we will have three or four hours awake in the middle of the night so we can work on pulling things together then.

God bless you all.

Davy

Nigeria Update #10 - Saturday 12/8/12

Update #10

We were not able to post from Nigeria as we had planned. This is an update that I wrote while there. Please scroll down for additional updates or see a list of Recent Posts to the left. 

8:20 AM

We both slept a little better and we thank God for that.

The last day of the Ministers Conference is upon us. It is hard to believe this trip is wrapping up soon. We looked forward to it so long and in two days we will be leaving.

I do hate to leave these folks so bad. I know that it will probably be two years before we see most of them again. I suppose that is part of being an evangelist.

Bro. Shobanke does his very best to treat us well. He is a terrific host. I pray that God blesses him tremendously for the blessing he is to us.

8:05 PM

What a wonderful conclusion to the Ministers Conference. The men and women filled the altars today dedicating themselves to God's service. It was beautiful. I challenged them this morning to walk in purity before God and they responded. I believe God performed a lasting work in some hearts and lives.

It was great to see the preachers and all of the church workers rejoicing and praising God at the end. Bro. Shobanke danced and shouted like a young man. It was a refreshing move of the Holy Ghost.

These were services #11 and #12 today and God helped in a mighty way. God bless all that were praying. I could feel the strength and the help of God. He helped me boldly declare some things I needed to preach and I believe it was in response to your prayers.

When it was time to say goodbye we hugged and wept all over the place. These people have my heart and I sure hate to part from them. They were all declaring that God would send me back in 2013. I told them we will see. If He sends me back I will be glad to come.

We are aiming for bed soon because we must rise early in the morning. Bro. Shobanke will be here around 7:30 AM. It is about a two hour drive to Ibadan if all goes well.

We will be preaching one service for Bro. Kuye there and then coming back tomorrow afternoon by God's grace. I will try to tell you more about his church tomorrow.

I hope you are enjoying the pictures we are posting each day. There is no way to capture the excitement of these services or to convey what we feel while we are there. I am afraid a few words and pictures will never communicate it well but that is all we can do.

This is Dr. Hull and his wife Arleta. They are the Baptist missionaries that I wrote about earlier. Dr. Hull came to the Ministers Conference on Friday morning and they both attended Saturday morning. It was very kind of them to visit the conference. 

It is common today to turn a cold shoulder toward those that do not believe just like you but how Christ like is that? We decided long ago to err on the side of compassion and kindness and it has always proven to be the best route. The Hull's extended their hospitality to us and we tried to do the same to them.

God bless you all.

Davy