Back in the UK

There's a lot you learn from travelling the world. One is that when you belong to Jesus you have a family of brothers and sisiters that transcends national boundaries.  I have met my family in Australia, Papua New Guinea, the UK and Nigeria.  There may be many cultural differences but the most important thing is that we all have the same Father who cares for us in whatever part of the globe we happen to be.  For the next few weeks we'll be reconnecting with family in the UK whilst missing and praying for the family we have in Nigeria and the US.  It's a joy and a privilege to travel around the beautiful highlands of Scotland showing what's been happening to us in Nigeria, showing that our God is not a provincial deity but the one who created and cares for the whole world.  Be a part of his work. Get in touch and find out the wonders that he's doing.

Peace

In a beautiful, albeit unplanned, display of harmony three weeks ago two BRICC families had babies.  In the morning Alhaji's wife had a little girl.  That afternoon Doris, wife of Friday the carpenter whose shop is beside the BRICC office, had a boy.

One Muslim family; one Christian.  One girl; one boy.

This morning some of the BRICC family visited Friday's house to meet the baby.  Too many times we've had to go to offer sympathy to bereaved families, hoping that the encouragement of seeing Christian and Muslim visit together would offer a little consolation.  Today was going to be different, today we went to celebrate a new life and we enjoyed it, passing little Praises from person to person, laughing as Sadiq joked with Veronica about the best number of children to have, luxuriating in the sense that we are a family though from different tribes, nations and religions. 

Doris & Praises

Doris spoke wisely as she told us how blessed she felt.  BRICC was not able to shower the baby with the traditional largesse but she said that didn't matter.  All the riches in the world are not worth as much as family and she knew that BRICC was her family.  If she or those she loved were in trouble comfort would come from family, not from a cold pile of money, and all present were in agreement.

This morning was about life. This afternoon we thought of death.  I heard and felt the bomb blast in Jos which has broken so many lives and destroyed so much property. Nothing can prevail against such hatred except love.  Pray for Jos.  Pray for BRICC bringing lives together, offering hope, showing people can live and love together.  Pray for Nigeria.

Storm

The rainy season has well and truly arrived.

Last night there was the strongest and most damaging storm we've yet experienced here, complete with twirling winds, a calm eye, then winds going the opposite way.

Bakle trying to make a path to get the car out

I've long been unhappy with the proximity of very tall eucalyptus trees too close to our house.  Last night one came down, missing the car by 2" and almost reaching the house. 
Fraser's library suffered worse.  A corner of the roof blew off leaving only the plastic ceiling to protect the books.  What do you do in such a situation when the winds are howling, the power is off and the night pitch black except for the lightning?  Pray.  We sent out an urgent prayer request to our supporters in the UK and this morning discovered that although the library floor was soaking and a new skylight apparent, no books had been affected.

New lighting for the library

"I'd run 5.75 miles & still beat Dad when he did one lap"

Today's title quote comes from James after he'd completed the six hour sponsored relay yesterday morning.  It's impressive when teenagers are willing to get out of bed and leave the house at 6am on a Saturday morning to spend six hours running miles in a relay to raise money for a refuge/discipleship centre for MBBs who can lose everything when they decide to follow Jesus. 

Waiting for his turn

People of all ages formed teams of 6-8 and took it in turns to run four laps of the school track (one mile).  Ruth was in "Double Trouble" where team-mates partnered with the same colour top; James' team was "Anonymous" where the team cape was ceremonially handed over as one member took over from another.  Most people were there to have fun (though to me running miles and fun are not words that really go together) and raise money but it was interesting to see the competition between one team of men and another of boys from the school.  By the end the older men were bringing in pacesetters to help them achieve most miles run in the time allowed.  Another team of older people were wearing tye-dye tops and doing pirouttes or hopscotch as they passed the posts - there was room for everyone.

In the heat (over 30C) I couldn't help imagining what a six hour relay would've been like in Scotland.  For a start we wouldn't have needed to hope for rain to cool things down and I doubt there would've been the almost carnival atmosphere under blue skies as everyone would've been wrapped up against the cold and the runners covered in mud in the dismal grey.  That's my memory of school sporting events anyway.  Yesterday they ran to a background of cheerful music, ate snowcones and danced in and out of the water sprinkler across the track.

Fraser and I did do a little. I struck a blow for English individuality by going round with Ruth for a couple of laps in my dress and almost high heeled sandals.  We ran most of the way though I had to beg to walk after a while. Not to be outdone, Fraser went round with James for a lap and kept up fairly well until the final straight when willingness collided with ability as he suggested they sprinted the last little bit.  James took off but Fraser's body decided that was a silly suggestion and he had to walk to the post.  He had recovered sufficiently to take part in the final lap before the end at 1pm when everyone was invited to go round together.  It was quite moving to see a crowd of old, young and everything in between setting off to the stirring notes of the Chariots of Fire theme and endiing by going through a tunnel of the linked arms of those who'd finished before.
Needless to say there are some stiff people in our house today but it was all worth it.

Yesterday we had a BRICC get-together to welcome some new members of the team.
The first to arrive was Josh, an accountant from the UK.  The word accountant produces all sorts of images but being out on the mission field is not one of them.  Josh is a Godsend.  He's making sense of the BRICC "accounts" and setting up a system that should keep us straight once he leaves in June.  He and his doctor wife Hannah have been highly welcome and extremely useful so don't despair if you're an accountant, God could have a place for you overseas bringing hope to poor missionaries who need hand-holding through financial systems.
Jeremy and Katie arrived in Jos from the US last week and will stay until July.  He's a musician who's also worked as a barista, she has experience in counselling so I'm hoping for a BRICC coffee shop with musical interludes.   One of the good things about BRICC is that there's a place for everyone, it's just a matter of identifying it.
Finally there was Esther, a Nigerian lady who's going to be the BRICC book-keeper, trained by Josh to keep us all in order.  I don't envy her at all!

Opportunities

In Nigeria any time can be church time. I think I've already mentioned the dedication of  the preachers near TCNN who switch on their loudspeakers at 4am to ensure that everyone has a holy start to the day. This morning an enterprising person spotted a gap in the market. He knew that what Bukuru really needed was a service that started at 1am and he was the man to provide it. How thankful I am that such people have easy access to microphones and amplifying equipment.

I'm truly thankful and humbled by the way that God is using Toby and me to spread the message of InReach. It's the original and basic message of the Bible - God is love and Jesus commands us to live out his love to others, pointing them towards him as we do so. Simple but not always easy. This week we finished our six weeks with the pastors, completed week five with a small group of Bible college students in Kagoro and were challenged and honoured to go through the whole thing in five hours for a group of Nigeria workers who are returning to the northern city of Kano this weekend.  I'm busy trying to get our InReach guidebook ready for printing. Every group has been asking for materials to help them start their own conversations. If every Christian was more concerned with showing God's love than condemning those who are different the world would be turned upside down as Jesus meant it to be.

Hallelujah, le keke est arrivé!

About a year ago BRICC was given a donation to buy a second keke.  After excuses, broken promises and finally police involvement we got our hands on it today.

Soon it'll be joining the swarm of kekes already buzzing round Jos, driven this time by a Muslim and bringing in much needed funds to BRICC's programmes.