Posted by gpbcadmin | Posted in Nigeria Trip | Posted on August 30, 2011
I have to make this post quick. We started SMITE yesterday, and it has been wonderful. The delegates are all so eager to learn and enthusiastic in their application of it all. The clubs have been going well too. So far, after two days, we have seen over 700 in clubs with over 300 saved. Praise the LORD! Below you will see a picture of me teaching my level 1 classes, a group of the children at the church with me, and a picture of the club that I am leading.
By the way…the children at my club are learning that the white doesn’t rub off…though they have tried hard. I believe that I am the first white person that many of the little children in the club have ever seen up close and especially ever touched. In fact, one boy went running away on the first day shouting, “I touched him three times!” It’s awesome.
More to come…
In the service of the KING,
Pastor Jared Decker
Posted by gpbcadmin | Posted in Nigeria Trip | Posted on August 28, 2011
What an amazing day in Nigeria. I preached this morning in the small village of Chaufey (Chofwe). It was a wonderful experience. The service was held in the tribal language of Housa and Bro. Isaac and Pastor Zackara interpreted for me in Sunday School and the morning Service.
Salvation Baptist Church is held in a villager’s unfinished house. It has a dirt floor, wooded benches, and mud brick walls. Oh…and no air conditioning, fans, or electricity for that matter. How pathetically pampered our Christianity is. Most people would never go to church if those were the conditions. There were children, teenagers, adults, and even seniors in the crowd. A man from a neighboring village even walked to come for his first time, because he had heard there was a church in Chaufey.
These people were so hungry for the Word of God. They have already been given prime property in the village to build a real church building. Bro. Holmes told me today that it would take about $3000 to build the total facility. I would love for our church to begin to pray about giving special offerings in order to build this church. I would like to see us adopt the congregation and church at Chaufey as our own.
The village is very poor. Above you will see a local kitchen. Wow. Wouldn’t it be great to help this village have a church building?
I then preached at Truth Baptist Church in NyaNya for the evening service. It was a wonderful time with a packed house. We will begin to teach SMITE camp tomorrow morning from this location. There were already many delegates in the auditorium tonight. Pray for us.
By the way…there is no air conditioning in this building either. So, the suit coat came off about two minutes after this picture was taken. Pray that God will bless as we begin tomorrow. Thank you to everyone back home that is holding down the fort. I love you all.
More to come…
In the service of the KING,
Pastor Jared Decker
Posted by gpbcadmin | Posted in Nigeria Trip | Posted on August 27, 2011
We had a great day today. We started out the day by going to choir practice at Truth Baptist Church. The Nigerian Christians have something that we don’t when it comes to singing. They not only want to sing for the Lord, but they enjoy it and do it loudly. I am planning on video recording some of the singing next week to let everyone get a taste of what we need.
After the choir practice, Mrs. Sabrina Holmes and Tunda (Toonday) took Bro. McGuffee and me to the “craft” market. It is kind of like a tourist market. (I should also be able to shop in the every-day market sometime next weekend) It was a wonderful experience learning how to barter for the price on everything I wanted to buy. You do have to lay aside the notion that to do so is rude or to say “that is too much…I will look at another shop” is offensive. That is just the way things are done.
We were able to stop and have a good conversation with a muslim shop keeper. He asked many questions of us, and I believe that we answered them in a way that he now has something to think about. He could not argue with what we answered, so I pray that we made a difference. There is a large mosque next to the market and there are multiple mosques in the area…even though this is not the muslim area. In fact, we sat in traffic again yesterday afternoon, because the muslims praying at the call to pray were spilled out into the road.
We also had the priviledge of meeting the ambassador from Thailand to Nigeria. We met him, because his wife saw us and wanted a picture with us. We began to talk and found out that he had also been the ambassador for Thailand at the UN building in New York for 5 years. It is just amazing that we got to meet someone with that kind of status while we were shopping in a Nigerian market.
We are getting ready for the services tomorrow and SMITE next week. I will be preaching at Bro. Zakahrah’s (Zakara) church in Jabi, just north of NyaNya where we are, tomorrow morning. Then I will be preaching at Truth Baptist Church on Sunday night to kick off SMITE camp. I will be making a couple more video clips so that one can be played on Wednesday to update on the beginning of SMITE and one can be played on Sunday to update on the ending of SMITE. I love you all and can’t tell you how much we are seeing the evidence of your prayers.
There was a suicide car bombing at the UN building on the other side of town yesterday. It killed 18 people, and at the market today, we spoke to one of the shopkeepers whose wife is a nurse that helped with many victims of the bombing. He said there will probably be more dead when it is all over. Please pray for safety and that God will use that bombing to soften people’s hearts.
More to come…
In the service of the KING,
Pastor Jared Decker
Posted by gpbcadmin | Posted in Nigeria Trip | Posted on August 26, 2011
Well, I’ve gotten connected to the internet, so I am going to add some pictures to this post.
What a wonderful time we are having here. Bro. McGuffee and I have been teaching in the Bible College everyday. We have been doing leader training to prepare the college students to lead club teams next week. Wow! These men are receptive and have a burning desire to learn more. As we teach, they are soaking everything up like sponges, and then they ask questions that show how much they want to learn and improve.
I have made many friends here and have been encouraged by what I see happening in Nigeria. I truly believe that Nigeria could be the next America when it comes to evangelizing the world for Christ. These people have a heart to reach their country, but they also have a desire to spread all throughout Africa and the rest of the world as well. Praise the Lord for what He is doing here already…and we haven’t even started SMITE yet.
Please continue to pray for our safety. There was a suicide bombing of the UN building in Abujah today, but it was nowhere near where we are. We truly need much prayer for the safety of all the teams as they travel to clubs next week. They have closed one of the main bypasses down, and it has caused much more traffic congestion than normal. We have spent over 8 hours in traffic in the last few days. AHHHHHH!
On a side note before I close this post…I have put a video clip together that will be shown in church on Sunday. It is just a quick, personal update from me. In it I also let everyone know that Bro. Mark Holmes (the missionary here that we support) will be preaching this year’s missions conference the last full week of January. I am excited about that. I should also be able to see Bro. Timothy Ojo this next week. We have supported his orphanage ministry for over a year now, and I am looking forward to having some personal contact with him again. Continue to pray for us.
More to come…
In the service of the KING,
Pastor Jared Decker
