New Season!

June-July 2012

Spring, summer… many changes since we wrote in February and not just with the weather. 

Our Home in Jos... Looking Peaceful

A Season of Increased Peace. 

Fewer bombings, more quiet.  Increased security especially on Sundays and around our targeted church compounds here in Jos.  We enjoyed three weekends away from our house on a quieter SIM compound, only about a ten minute drive from home.  Very refreshing after the trials of the bomb attack just three weeks prior.

A Season of Special Guests.  Talk about answered prayer!

A Weekend Getaway!

The Kallows.  This U.K. couple came to Jos expressly for City Ministries.  Brenda demonstrated enthusiasm specifically for our sponsoring program.  She joined us with visits to different centers, interviewing and picture taking.  The Kallows were here until April and plan to make repeated trips each year, Lord willing.

Mrs. Alison Ajayi.  This is a new worker in Nigeria from the U.K. and skilled in office management.  Alison agreed to take up the SIM narrative reporting that John has been doing. 

Visitors from our home church.  Not often does our home church mission’s pastor visit Nigeria.  We were very blessed to have Pastor Tom Keppeler and Brandon Verbrugge come from Elmbrook Chruch.  They made the most of their few days: meeting many of our CARE kids and being an encouragement everywhere.

Jen Shares a Photo.  January 2012

Melissa and Jennifer.  Our older daughter, Jennifer, with friend, Scott, visited during dry season (Dec-Jan).  Melissa came during May-June for the mango/rainy season.  Both visits included work, fun and a warm up for the “big transition” (below).

A Season of Ministry Catch-up and Handover

Sponsoring, finances and recordkeeping tasks do not let up.  But our usual routine will soon take a turn.  Like many others at our age, it’s time for us to transition back to the home front.  Retire?  Actually, we will carry on parts of our work during the coming months along with our home assignment.  But we are in the process of handing our work over to others as we relocate to the U.S. and enter this new season of life.  The Kallows and Alison are already involved in this process. 

Melissa Helps Interview.  May 2012

How can we carry on some parts of our work after leaving the field?  The internet makes this possible.  Email is already a basic tool for all of us, and we will continue to take advantage of it.

A Season of Transition.

We will leave Nigeria in early September and begin being regular U.S. residents rather than “visitors.”  We have a small place where we will live in Wisconsin, and we have wonderful family members and friends to help us.  This should be an adventure!  Please pray for us and the home (our new mission field) that we will transition into.

Thanks for standing with us in prayer and with finances. Thanks, too, for continuing to support us through SIM.  Our membership does not suddenly “quit,” nor does SIM’s service to us (some medical, administrative and other help.)  For this we trust God and his further enabling.

Sponsoring Help from Kallows

Thank you!  You are a blessing to us.

John and Nancy

A Senior Boy Tells His Story

Pastor Tom and Brandon with New Stuff on Screen

Working the Finances with Tuhu

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                                          

February-March 2012

       Still Standing

Christians and many Muslims in Jos struggle for peace.  But overpowering headlines tell how badly these efforts have fallen short.  Especially in recent days.  You see, we had a suicide bomber show up about a block from our compound.  His target was a large church on Sunday morning, February 26^th.  Worshippers were all inside when a deafening blast went off.   The reverberations blew out two glass window louvers in our house and gave us a serious jolt.

The bomber wanted to terrorize or kill as many Christians as possible.  Later, the extremist Islamic group “Boko Haram” took credit for the job, their latest attempt to push their particular brand of religion.

The people in the church were a target but God intervened, only a very few were killed.  The bomber planned to run his carload of explosives up a wide approach to the door, but God provided a motorcycle to be in the way.  While the cyclist fled on foot to safety, his fallen cycle stopped the vehicle.  The explosion that followed did not reach the building interior.  Some inside said they saw a mysterious “giant” (angel?) protecting them.  The building (which was under construction) didn’t fall, only cracked.  As the dust swirled in the air, most worshippers did not panic.  And the church leadership remained confident, proceeding to hold the other services scheduled for that morning!!  These and other amazing things were told after the attack, real testimonies of the power of our great God. 

The intended targets became testimonies and they are still standing.

Another strange thing happened about a week later.  At two in the morning (according to my neighbor who awoke) some reckless speedster drove into the wall that surrounds our house.  We didn’t wake up and didn’t see anything until the next day, surprised that we could view passing traffic through a 3’x4’ hole.  Along with the new opening came some serious top-to-bottom cracks, but the wall was still standing.  I spent the afternoon making a patch with old roofing sheets and blocks so that uninvited wanderers would not find their way in.  Our work includes “bringing people in,” but this didn’t seem like a very good method.

After this second “shot,” with a car practically aimed at our house, I was challenged to think about our commitments.  Testimony?  Target?  The worshippers near our house on the 26^th were both, but they stood tall and were not deterred.  We all want to follow Christ with the same resolve.  Even in spite of our personal “cracks,” our heart’s desire is to be still standing even while tested.

         Please pray

1.  Give thanks for many who emailed us with reassuring verses and expressions of care.

2.  Give thanks for our experience of God’s protection at this time.  Our loss during the explosion was small, a couple pieces of glass and a piece of ceiling.  Meanwhile, not far away, lives were taken.

3.  Pray for those whose church was targeted on the 26^th.  Pray as they put in new security measures and continue construction.

4.  Pray for those in Boko Haram and others who resort to violence.  Pray that they would learn what Christianity really means and respond to Christ’s invitation.  A few already have!

5.  Give thanks for God’s protection over our orphans and needy children.  None of our centers were close to these acts of terrorism.

6.  Give thanks for God’s protection the night that our wall took a hit.  The mystery driver never showed his face afterward, leaving only his front “Honda” license frame and other broken pieces.  Workers repaired the wall five days later, including the entire section with cracks.  We were able to continue regular work and other activities and have lost very little sleep.

7.  Pray for clear leading from God, to be confident in Him alone and to take our stand when called upon.

 “Finally, be strong in the Lord 

and in his mighty power. 

Put on the full armor of God 

so that you can take your stand 

against the devil’s schemes.”

Ephesians 6:10-11

Love in Christ,

John (and Nancy) Sawyer                                                                  

nsawyer_cmjos@yahoo.com                

Please note:  Three photos were courtesy of our neighbor, Carmen McCain.