Saturday, July 28, 2012

An Update In Pictures


Here are pictures to give you an idea of my past week here in Nigeria. I hope you enjoy looking through them. Thank you for praying for Daniel to receive a new student visa - God answered your prayers on Thursday! Jos has been relatively peaceful the past week, so you can also praise God for that. Pray it stays that way as we go to church tomorrow morning!


Daniel and I in our traditional Nigerian wear for church last Sunday
After lunch Daniel's parents, Daniel, and I went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Jos called Elysar
Daniel and me
Here is a picture of the outside of Daniel's beautiful home
On Wednesday we drove to Abuja to renew Daniel's student visa. Between the trucks, motorcycles, aggressive drivers, and no traffic lanes, it gets a little crazy! It is not unusual to see cars driving the wrong direction (towards oncoming traffic).
Outskirts of Abuja. Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria.
Common sight
We spent Thursday at the American Embassy and, by the grace of God, Daniel received a new student visa! We stayed in Karu at Daniel's father's village Thursday evening before we drove back Friday morning.
The drive to and from Jos includes many military checkpoints. They usually take a look inside of the car and either have you pull over for further examination or let you on your way. I know this isn't a very good picture, but I thought it may give you an idea of what the checkpoints look like. There are about 3 of those barriers at every checkpoint and anywhere from 3-10 soldiers.

People plant cactus around their properties and fields to keep intruders out!

There are a couple traffic lights around the cities, but they usually don't work (and/or drivers disregard them!). Instead, there are policemen at busy intersections to direct who goes where.


Friday, July 20, 2012

I Made It To Nigeria!

Friends and Family,

I made it to Nigeria! Thank you so much for your prayers. The traveling went well; I was even able to sleep most of my time on the airplane. In fact, I was sleeping so much that I kept sleeping through the complimentary beverages and meals! So, I finally asked the man next to me to please nudge me if I was sleeping when the stewardess came through. I didn’t miss any meals after that!

I arrived in Abuja at 4:30am and went through customs without any problems. Daniel and his dad were both waiting for me at the airport, and we traveled to Jos from there! The 3 hr drive from Abuja went well. We went through about ten military check points during their drive. Sometimes the soldiers would pull us over and ask about the luggage in the trunk, but usually they would let us drive through. The military presence in Nigeria, specifically Jos, has been heightened due to the unrest and terrorism.

Thank you so much for praying for my laryngitis. God has definitely answered your prayers! I think a miracle has happened. From the time I left home to when I was in London, I had absolutely no voice. All I could do was whisper. Last time this happened it took me five days to even start getting any sort of voice back. On the flight from London to Abuja, I still had no voice.  Well, when I got off of the plane in Nigeria, all of the sudden I had a voice! It was a weak sounding voice and still difficult talk, but it was definitely better than whispers. Now that a couple more days have passed, my voice is almost entirely back to normal. Praise God!

My time with Daniel’s family has been wonderful. His parents are devout Christians, and so our time has been full of sweet fellowship. We enjoy meals together, evening devotions/prayer time, and just time getting to know one another. It is really neat to be staying in a Nigerian household. It is different visiting a country and staying in a guesthouse than actually staying with natives. I get to do everything from taking bucket baths to eating traditional meals (sometimes without utensils!) to shopping at the street market to get groceries. Dr. Mrs. Iya even took me fabric shopping so that a tailor can sew me some traditional Nigerian dresses!

I had the awesome opportunity today to visit Rafiki (www.rafikifoundation.org). I’ve known about Rafiki for about four years now, but I’ve never actually been to any of the villages. Well, it turns out that Daniel’s dad is the chairman of the board of trustees for Rafiki Village Nigeria. What an awesome opportunity to meet the director of the orphanage and take a tour of the campus! The director, Melanie, knew that I’m on my way to work at Good Shepherd’s Fold in Uganda, so she was more than willing to answer all of my questions about Rafiki orphanage (and believe me, I had many questions!).  We spent about two hours speaking with Melanie and touring the campus. Rafiki is one amazing organization, and I loved seeing the ministry first hand! Rafiki seems to be very similar to GSF, and it made me even more excited to start working in Uganda. Melanie offered to meet with me later on this week to talk more about Rafiki, so hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to take her up on that!

At this point, I thank God for all of prayers He has answered! Specifically, please praise God for granting me traveling mercies and a quick healing from laryngitis. As far as prayer requests go, I please pray for the following:

            - Please pray for continued safety in Jos. The state of emergency has been lifted in Jos, but it continues to be an area of unrest. Pray that God would bring peace to the city of Jos. The Islamic holiday Ramadan just started, so pray that violence does not increase. Also pray for the churches, as Sunday is approaching and church bombings tend to be a common act of terrorism.

            -  These two weeks at Daniel’s house will also be the last two weeks I have with Daniel until we are separate for two years (except occasional visits). Please pray that our time together would be sweet and that the goodbye wouldn’t be too hard! Pray that my relationship with Daniel would act as a stronghold for me rather than an emotional breaking point.

            - Daniel has a visa interview on the 26th. Please pray that the American embassy would grant Daniel a student visa for the upcoming semester!

Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support. I hope that my update encourages you to pray! I've included several pictures for you to check out:

Nigeria has beautiful landscape. It's very green right now because it's the rainy season. Those mountainish shapes in the background are actually large rock formations!

A closer picture of the rock formations as well as a nice message =)

Rafiki is a 30 minute drive from Daniel's home

110 children live at Rafiki

The children are placed into houses that are run by local Nigerian mothers. Each cottage keeps 10-12 children.


This is the clinic of Rafiki. Daniel's parents used to run this clinic and continue to provide free healthcare for the children at Rafiki.

Daniel at Rafiki!

Me looking short at Rafiki

The outskirts of Jos


Roadside businesses

The grocery store


This is the outside of Daniel's compound. It is entirely walled in and gated (see mom - it's secure!)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

On My Way

 
After the past year of preparation leading up to working in Uganda, it almost feels surreal that I’m sitting on the airplane on my way.  What a huge answer to prayer and such a blessing. Thank you for all who have encouraged me to follow God’s leading to Africa and have taken part of this ministry, whether it’s in conversation, prayer, or financial support. As a part of the larger body of Christ, I know I would not be stepping into these two years of ministry without you! It is definitely hard leaving Pennsylvania, especially after saying goodbye to all of my family.

With every goodbye I feel like I understand more and more the cost of being a disciple for Jesus Christ. But the sadness is not without a great joy and peace of knowing I’m diving into service for God. I’m reminded of Paul’s words in Acts 20:24, when he says before he goes into ministry “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

I am spending these first two weeks in Jos, Nigeria visiting the family of my boyfriend, Danial Iya. If you live in Elverson, you probably met him this summer. Daniel and I have been dating for nine months and feel like it is an appropriate time for me to spend some time getting to know his parents. It is also a convenient time as Nigeria is relatively “on the way” to Uganda! While in Nigeria, I will also be visiting a Rafiki Foundation (www.rafikifoundation.org). I’ve heard quite a bit about the Rafiki Foundation and am eager to watch the orphanage in action!

I’ll be in Nigeria until August 1st when I will fly from Abuja, Nigeria to Entebbe, Uganda. It is then that I will start full time ministry at Good Shepherd’s Fold orphanage as the Child Sponsorship Coordinator.

These next few weeks are going to be full of transitions, hellos, and more goodbyes. In light of this, I have a couple things that I would like to ask you to pray for:

1.     Please pray for safety in travel and also during my time in Jos. If you’re unaware of the current conditions of the city of Jos, check out the news and you’ll read of the unrest.
2.     Please pray that my time with Daniel’s family would be fruitful. I woke up yesterday with laryngitis and literally have NO VOICE is except quiet whispers. I sound so pathetic that it’s laughable, but it is going to be hard to get to know Daniel’s parents when I can’t even talk! Please pray quick healing!
3.     These two weeks at Daniel’s house will also be the last two weeks I have with Daniel until we are separate for two years (except occasional visits). Please pray that our time together would be sweet and that the goodbye wouldn’t be too hard! Pray that my relationship with Daniel would act as a stronghold for me rather than an emotional breaking point.

Thank you for your prayers!

I’d also like to share a big praise with you! Last update I mentioned that I would be teaching the missions emphasis portion of Vacation Bible School at Community Evangelical Free Church. It went so well! The children definitely seemed to understand the idea of an orphanage in Uganda. I also spent a day talking about specific children at Good Shepherd’s Fold and asking for the CEFC children to keep these GSF kids in their prayers. They definitely took the testimonies of these children to heart and had many great questions! The last day I taught we actually did a craft. The craft had two parts: one part served as a reminder for the children to pray for the kids at GSF, and the other part was for an encouragement for the kids at GSF. They were given two Africa cutouts. On one cutout they posted a picture of themselves with a message such as “I am praying for you!” On the other cutout they posted a picture of a child from GSF and wrote something like “Remember to pray for Amon at GSF.” The CEFC children seemed to love the craft and asked how they could continue connection with the children they were praying for! I posted a couple pictures of the craft for you to check out. I had Daniel helping me with the teaching and he taught the children an African praise song. The kids loved it, and so I posted that too if you’re interested in checking it out!






Thanks again for your prayers. I’ll keep you updated as internet permits!

Monday, July 16, 2012

Traveling to Uganda

I would really appreciate your prayers as I travel. My parents are going to drive me to the JFK Airport tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

Here is my flight information:

British Airways booking reference: 2K2AXS

Passenger(s) MISS CORINNE STOLTZFUS

Flight number BA0178
From John F Kennedy (NY) (New York) Terminal 7
To Heathrow (London) Terminal 5
Depart 17 Jul 2012 08:00
Arrive 17 Jul 2012 19:40
Cabin World Traveller
Operated by British Airways
Booking status Confirmed

Flight number BA0083
From Heathrow (London) Terminal 5
To Abuja
Depart 17 Jul 2012 22:15
Arrive 18 Jul 2012 04:35
Cabin World Traveller
Operated by British Airways
Booking status Confirmed