Thursday October 4, 2007
Today is our first day of ministering in Nigeria. The Leadership Conference was well attended. Dr. Kilpatrick and I spoke for 6 hours and answered questions from the participants.
Naming Ceremony: After the Conference, we were invited to participate in a naming ceremony for. ?Success Ekpegi Aji .' It was quite an experience. A Brother and Sister had been married for a long time without a child. They met with the pastor and expressed their need, and the pastor prayed for them. Later that year the Sister conceived and had a baby boy, so the parents used the naming ceremony as an opportunity to share their testimony to the invited neighbors. The pastor preached the word of God to the people and Dr. Kilpatrick and I had the privilege of dedicating the baby, Success, to God in prayer.
Friday October 5, 2007
Today we were invited to a Christian Radio Talk Show by Dr. Prince Ebgene, who is a pastor and the Host of the Radio Program, to share more on the topic of our Leadership Conference; "God's Design for Multiplication." Dr. Egbene had attended our full day Leadership Conference and felt that this message needed to be heard by a larger audience. So, this morning we went to the studio and produced two programs which will be aired in four days.
Later in the afternoon, while I was at the War on AIDS office counseling with and praying for people, Dr. Kilpatrick and the host pastor's wife went to the market to experience Nigeria bargain-hunting. I was told that she did well and successfully purchased two items.
Tonight, Dr. Kilpatrick spoke to over 50 women who had come to the church to hear a special talk just for them. The women received the word very well. Afterwards, many of them came for special prayer. It was late by the time Dr. Kilpatrick finished praying for the seekers one by one. Then we went back to our hotel rooms and retired for the night.
Saturday October 6, 2007
We woke up very early, drove one and half hours to the Okpafulo village for our meeting. On the way we had a little car trouble, which we suspected was caused by a bad spark plug. Here again we taught the people, and the teaching was well received as evidenced by the questions asked. Dr. Kilpatrick and Pastor Joshua went back to Makurdi for the services on Sunday, while I stayed back for the Dedication of the church clinic.
God's Care Clinic. I had the honor and privilege of talking to the villagers about the Great Physician and praying a prayer of dedication to mark the opening of the Church clinic in Okpafulo. The community leaders expressed their appreciation for what the mission is doing in their land. The clinic will be a means to minister to the physical needs of the people in the community as well as pointing them to Christ, the Great Physician, for both physical and spiritual needs.
Sunday October 7?Okpafulo
The church service was well attended by more than 150 people. God helped me to preach and the people responded very well with many standing up for prayer. A man was traveling by, and not knowing why, stopped to worship with us. Afterwards, he testified that God designed the service for him and ordered his steps to be at the right place at the right time.. that the message was relevant to him. He said, "It was all for me. ?God used the message to speak to my heart, and my needs."
Monday October 8?Travel to Owerri, Imo State ? Nigeria
Most of today was spent on the road. We left about 7.00 a.m. and arrived Owerri, Imo State at about 3.00 p.m. We had a service at 6.00 pm
Tuesday October 9?Village
I traveled to the village to see my mother. Then we visited my parents-in-law. Diane prayed for my father-in-law who has been sick for many years. We had a church service at 6.00 p.m. and Dr. Kilpatrick spoke.
Wednesday October 10?Owerri
A friend of mine invited us for lunch. Diane spoke at their church while I spoke at our church. The service was well attended and the message well received with many coming forward for prayer.
Thursday October 11?Travel to Ghana
We left Owerri, Imo State for Lagos. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours so we got to Lagos very late. When we went to the Virgin Nigeria Airways to pay for the ticket, we were told that we had to pay for a round trip. We talked to them about why we should not have to pay for a round trip, but to no avail. If we did not pay, we would have to stay overnight in Lagos, pay taxi and hotel bills, etc. and miss our meeting in Ghana. Considering all that, we decided to pay for the round trip. The devil stole that from us but we won because we were not crushed, and we had our meeting in Ghana.
Friday October 12?Leadership Conference
We had chapel service with the students. We now have over 180 students and are still growing. It's very impressive! We also had a Leadership Conference in Ghana with over 100 in attendance. The people listened well, took notes and asked meaningful questions.
After the meeting, John Adams, our host, took Dr. Kilpatrick and me to see the Atlantic Ocean. It was awesome! Later that evening, I had a meeting with the Field Executive Council. Reports were given and we made decisions on a number of administrative issues.
Saturday October 13
While Dr. Kilpatrick meet with the students, I spent most of today meeting with the Board of Governors of the Atlantic Wesleyan College. God has blessed the school with men and women of caliber who are assisting us in charting the course for the college. After the meeting we visited the Castle in Cape Coast.
Sunday October 14?Worship and return to USA via London.
We had a combined service. All four of the EBM Ghana churches came together and worshiped on the campus. It was a time of rejoicing, worshiping and hearing the mind of God.
After the service, we left for the Airport to return to the USA.
