Quiet Time In Jos

This past month has been much slower than previous months. Threadstone didn't have much on their schedule, and I had to miss what little they did have because of the fuel subsidy strike, which closed down airports temporarily. During my time in Jos I have been able to complete some work with Sports Friends, but the ministry has slowed down the past two weeks because Kyle Abts took the team to the international Sports Friends conference in Thailand. In the meantime I was able to work on college applications, relationships, personal reflection, and photography.

As of Sunday the 29th I was informed I have been accepted to Seattle Pacific University, which is my top choice of school! I'm thankful that God and I are seeing eye to eye on this one. The pressure of getting accepted to a school is off, but I'll be spending the next few months sorting out arrangements to get myself registered and ready for school in the fall.

One advantage of being in one place for an extended period of time is the ability to see friends on a regular basis. Being around Jos has given me the opportunity to build my relationship with the Ibrahim family, and especially Gwakman. Gwakman has been over for several more sleepovers, which have truly been blessed. Gwakman has become a good friend to me, and I'll be sad to leave him when I return to the states. Aside from Gwakman, I've been able to form strong relationships with some of the Hillcrest teachers. Multiple times a week I will be at the Hillcrest compound to cook and eat dinner.

At the beginning of the year, Chris Cowie told me that this year was just as much about personal growth as it is serving God, and he asked me to think of one way that I wanted to grow this year, and after thinking for a minute I told him that I wanted to discover where I fit into the body of Christ and to develop a strong sense of what my talents are. This peaceful time in Jos has been a blessing to my personal life. Through the past few months it has become clear to me where my talents lie, and most of all where God has been using me. God has blessed me with an artistic mind and opportunities to use that talent to give back to Him. The most prominent example is my involvement with Threadstone. More recently, in the absence of Sports Friends and Threadstone work, I have been trying to serve through photography. I have come up with a solid plan or ministry idea yet (something to be praying about please), but I've gotten it started at least. In Nigeria, to hire a professional photographer is so expensive it's absurd, and Christian organizations don't normally have the excess money for such an expense. This past week I volunteered to do a free photoshoot for another Christian rock band called Stage One, and I covered a trauma workshop for a church that has suffered greatly from the violence here in Nigeria. The photos turned out great, and I'm hoping to be able to do more work like this in the near future. P.S. If you want to see some of the pictures I've taken, they are on my Facebook, just add me.

Thanks everyone for the prayers!

Spiritual Life Conference

Starting a June 2nd I attended the annual SIM Spiritual Life Conference, which is essentially a retreat for all of SIM staff to come relax and also grow spiritually. I got the opportunity to serve with the worship team and also to work with the high school/middle school kids with a team from Moody Bible Institute in Spokane. Working with the worship team went well, but it was such an encouragement to see how quickly the youth team was able to connect with the missionary kids and to be able to connect to the high school guys on a deeper level. From the start the main youth leader, Aaron Coski was able to address issues that are specific to missionary kids, and during small groups my co-leader and I were able to get the high school guys to talk about what is really going on. By the end of the week we were revealing and discussing things that the students didn't know about each other.
I'm back in Jos now, and it looks like I will be here for all of January. I'll be starting up with Sports Friends again, but this time I will play the role of cameraman/photographer. As a Christmas present (from myself), I received a new digital SLR camera. Kyle Abts wants me to shoot a Sports Friends video to send back to America and to use as a way of spreading the Sports Friends vision within Nigeria. In addition to my work with Sports Friends I am using my time in Jos to focus on relationships with my local Nigerian friends. Tonight I am having Gwakman over to spend the night and I will be seeing many of my other friends as the month progresses. Thanks for your prayers!