Dear Friends and Family,
Warmest greetings from Port Harcourt. We trust all is well with you all, as you continue in life’s struggles to glorify God. We are thankful for this opportunity to connect for a brief moment.
I am in my bedroom trying to compose my scattered thoughts before the kids come home from school and the noise level skyrockets. It’s been a moderate rain much of the day, the last days of the months long rainy season. We average around 15 feet of rain a year here on the coast, but this years rain seem especially strong and deadly. Many hundreds have died in the north, where thousands of acres of valuable crop land have been destroyed. Here in our area, many of the poorer are condemned to live in substandard shacks, where waters fill their homes regularly. One lady told me she has to leave her child in a floating tub while she goes out to look for what to do to survive. As others in similar situations, she locks her son inside, trusting God to keep him safe. What a burden many single mothers face, leaving small children to fend for themselves while they go out to work for wages that can no longer sustain them.
There are several things to share with you as a continuance of our last letter. I told you of Jonathan’s condition and how we had a measure of hope and peace when we left him. I felt we had done what was needed and we prayed he was on his way to renewal. Unfortunately one week after our departure he was back in ICU for almost a week. He was bleeding and it is difficult to get that under control with him. They gave him several units of blood before finally getting the bleeding to stop. But in the process of all this, they identified 6 more tumors that have come up, one about the size of a golf ball near his heart. He is back in surgery today were they are trying to do a stent on his liver and possibly get a biopsy soon on the largest tumor. He is at peace with the process, which is taking , in my layman’s paternal opinion, far too long. Please join us in prayer for him in this critical juncture, as once again I am out of place to assist him. Pray for our wisdom that we may know how best to serve him. And pray for those medical staff as they join the battle to save his life.
I mentioned that my friend Brooks died just before our coming back to Nigeria. Here it is usual that only the children or young unmarried adults are buried quickly after death. Not much ceremony is observed for them. But for adults it takes a bit more effort. He did not have the cultural necessities that prolong most burials here, but there was still much to do. First of all, we had to find a suitable place for the burial. Most folks return their loved one’s remains to their village of origin, which was not financially possible for him. The main cemetery in town in known for being a place were they dig up the dead to sell the body and the plot again. Though I have had to use that cemetery before, with great reluctance, we were blessed to be able to buy a plot in a new private cemetery where security is solid as the body is encased in concrete. We were able to have a well attended service here at our compound before proceeding to the cemetery. Of course there was solid rain to have to contend with, but no one seemed to mind. It was a fitting burial for a gentle soul, who leaves behind a wife and two children. Please pray for them and the many other widows and orphans who face great struggles here.
I was also saddened to learn of the death of my oldest friend in Nigeria, Dr. Richard Usoh. A friend in Lubbock had been like a father when Richard was studying agriculture at Texas Tech. He gave me Richard’s picture and asked me to look him up. This I did soon after arriving in Nigeria, and so began a treasured friendship. The last conversation I had with him he was still planning on how he could bless my life. His death and two classmates back in Fulton make me keenly aware of the brevity of life and how quickly it can all come to an end. It presses me to ready my own life, and make sure I communicate the hope that Christ gives us to as many as possible.
On to other matters…We have on most Sundays around 270 to 300 in attendance. We are thankful to have weekly visitors, so there is hope for future growth. The challenge is to mature those who have been baptized over the past year, to grow into the fullness of Christ. Land has been purchased on our street where we pray we can develop a multipurpose building to serve the needs of an expanding body and those who come to us looking for solutions.
We do still continue to feed ever larger groups of needy folks. We are very grateful for all who have donated so that this ministry can take place. If you could see the crowds of hungry children being fed in the name of Jesus, I know your heart would be full. Thank you for allowing God to use you in this way. I want to especially thank Br. Bill McDonald who wrote on our behalf and gathered an amount of contributions that will certainly help us carry on for some time more, God willing. Always, when we reach the end of our strength God sends a reminder that it is His Divine Grace that enables, and His purposes He will sustain.
I mentioned that we had established a free skill acquisition center for sewing, and a good number of young people have come to learn a needed skill. We want to enable others to help themselves, instead of looking for handouts to survive. Nkiru and others have been working hard to open two additional centers, one for hair dressing and one for cooking, hopefully by this weekend. These are to be staffed by those we have helped to develop in each of these areas. These we are making available free of charge, trusting God will provide for anything that is good. I have hopes of also starting a woodworking center sometime in the future.
Please continue to pray for our safety and security. Two more of our circle fell into the hands of muggers and thieves, who beat them mercilessly before releasing them. At least they went with their lives, which is not the case of many. Two groups of kidnapped children were found recently not too far from us. The children are used for various purposes, some to be killed for body parts in an extreme case of evil. A neighbor of a friend was kidnapped in front of his home. He heard them on the phone bargaining about the price of his liver and kidneys. He told them that he would be able to give them several times the amount they had agreed on but they refused. Fortunately a police patrol stumbled upon the gang and he was able to escape a certain death.
In spite of all the dangers and troubles, we were blessed in so many ways. Nkiru was honored at her birthday. So many people showed her love, a return of the love she has given them. We also celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on the 27th, remembering the vows and commitments we made to each other, and the grace that has followed us these difficult years. We were also pleased that she received an 8 year visa to visit Canada. We had applied hoping to be able to go through Canada on our trip to the US, spending a brief moment to celebrate with Naphtali on his graduation from Great Lakes Christian High School. The visa came too late for that, but we hope that some time in future we will still have the chance to visit, perhaps at his next graduation.
We also we able to be strengthened in faith by the visit of a group of Americans who came to hold a medical outreach in the northern state of Gombe. The group led by long term missionary Lee Hodges of Hope Springs, visited an orphanage they support as well as a well drilling ministry that provides clean water to villages that desperately need it. I know the difficulties they faced, and dangers. Yet they demonstrated in practical ways that God still loves His children, calling those far away.
You also strengthen our faith, knowing the sacrifices you make on our behalf so that we may stay harnessed to the task that lays before us. May that zeal He has placed in our hearts never grow cold. May He keep us focused on the task at hand. And may His name be honored among all nations by the work that we do together.
May God continue to bless you richly,
We love you,
Cliff, Nkiru and family
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