Music Ministry In Lagos

This past Sunday, Threadstone started a youth ministry in The Waterbrook Church in Lagos. Our primary job in the ministry is to lead worship for the youth, and the second is to build relationships with the kids to disciple them and be a light into their lives through friendship. The ministry went fairly well today. It was the first time that these teenagers have ever been in a service together so they were a little shy at the start, but by the end of the service they were opening up and having fun worshipping God. Our primary focus was to break down the "cool" walls that these kids put up and allow them to have fun together. Our hope is that in the future the kids will be comfortable enough with us and each other that they can share what is really going on in their lives. We barely touched the surface of the pain some of these kids have endured today. The speaker's talk was on the pain that all of us feel, namely the pain that is caused by things that have happened to us. After the program was finished we were able to hangout with the students and get to know they better. They were shy at first, but after a few minutes they warmed up to us and we were able to connect with them. We talked mostly about superficial things like names, where they were from, and interests. Next time we meet we hope to take the conversation a little further and really start to build strong relationships with the students. I personally am excited for this ministry because as far as I have seen it is the only ministry for teenagers in Nigeria that reaches out to address what teens are really going through. Please be praying for the success of this ministry, it has so much potential to help teenagers build their relationship with God!

Old Friends and Exciting Opportunities

Just a couple weeks ago I was given the opportunity to surprise Victor Ibrahim by picking him up from boarding school. Some of you may remember Victor, whom we befriended in 2008-2009 and have sponsored ever since. Victor was excited to see me and found it humorous that I was driving him around Jos. It was encouraging to see that Victor was looking healthy and to hear how well he is doing in school.
Since our little reunion I have been with Threadstone going back and forth between Lagos and Abuja. The band is beginning to really take off in the Nigerian music industry. Recently we played a show called "Industry Night" at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos. All of the major artists, radio stations, and producers were present for the show, which made it a critical show or the band, and we nailed it! People accepted the idea of Christian rock music for a secular audience with open arms, and since then things have begun to pick up for the band. This past weekend we were called to Abuja by the top rated radio station in the city for a radio interview and a big event called "Praise Jam."
I would also like to apologize for the lack of posts and the lack of detail within the posts. The only internet I have access to is the internet on my blackberry phone. I will do my best to start posting more often to include more details.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!